Zombies, Run! 2018 April 14

This morning I ran the second training mission for the Spring 2018 Virtual Race from Zombies, Run! I’m looking forward to running the 5K and 10K races starting next weekend and hope to bring my pace down a bit when I do. I’ve always enjoyed the extra effort that goes into the stories for the virtual races, and, while this one hasn’t grabbed my interest in the way others have, I’m hoping for something that lives up to the standards set by the other races.

We’ve had a report from our friends in London: the Crown Jewels have been stolen under the cover of the zombie apocalypse! You’ve been recruited to the Queen’s Own Royal Guards: Tactical Zombie Division, along with Commander Sara Smith – Runner 8.

Runner 5, we need you to catch the thieves and discover what else they’re planning…

Join thousands of runners worldwide in a high-tech, story-driven running adventure. You choose the distance. You choose the route. We make it a mission.

 

Consentacle

 

Consentacle is a card game that uses consent as a central part of the game. The card art is stunning, the mechanics are polished and the game’s purpose is perfectly realized. The game places players in the role of sexual partners trying to communicate desire, foster trust and achieve satisfaction together. The science fiction theme of a human and alien having a romantic encounter is appealing to a speculative fiction enthusiast like myself, but the game play is good enough to be rewarding even if that isn’t a draw.

Consentacle is a game where you and a partner help a tentacled alien and a curious human have a mutually satisfying romantic encounter.

In Consentacle, you and a partner squirm your way to a mutually satisfying Human x Alien romance… with or without the benefit of verbal communication! You’ll need to divine the other’s desires in order to build trust, play your cards right, and transform mutual trust into starry satisfaction. How tingly will your interplanetary liaison feel in the end? Will your encounter leave one party sweaty and exhausted, the other hungering for more? It’s up to the two of you to find out… together!

 

Part Time UFO

Part Time UFO is a fun and whimsical mobile game. It was developed by HAL Laboratory, the group behind the Nintendo games Kirby and BoxBoy!, and the same high level of polish and love of quirky environments shines through in this game. It’s an intuitively controlled puzzle game that offers a generous learning curve and lots of delightful surprises. This game is a smile-inducing, head-shaking wonder.

Part Time UFO is available for Android and iOS.

Zombies, Run! 2018 March 18

I had a good run this morning to and through Point Pleasant Park. It was a cold late-winter day, but it felt good to be surrounded by trees for a while.

I’ve been rerunning season 2 of Zombies, Run! ahead of the April virtual race. Running along trains, heading off bandits and keeping Able safe has been fun to experience again.

Run to the Deep

This my second Saturday in a row enjoying a virtual race from the British Science Association and Racelink. Run to the Deep takes a horizontal 10 km and maps a descent of the same distance onto it, so that sea life, ship wrecks and the barely known depths are explored. The run is narrated by Pierre-Yves Cousteau and it’s every bit as good as I had hoped.

Following in the footsteps of the hugely popular Run the Solar System, Run to the Deep is a 10k ‘virtual race’ which involves journeying from the sea surface to the bottom of the ocean– accompanied by music and audio commentary from explorer Pierre-Yves Cousteau, son of the famous marine conservationist Jacques-Yves Cousteau. Discover mysterious creatures, amazing seascapes, and explore alien environments as you run down to the depths of the ocean.

My running today wasn’t as strong as I might have liked, but it was fun. I made the mistake of ending my run at Dartmouth Crossing, a hideously anti-pedestrian shopping zone, so there was a lot of stopping and starting at poorly designed traffic lights.

The race is free to enter and is running from March 9th until March 18, 2018.

Run the Solar System

This morning I ran Racelink (Six to Start) and the British Science Association‘s Run the Solar System virtual 10k. It scaled down the solar system to the 10 km length of the run so that as distances were reached new facts and comments were shared about each planet passed between the sun and Neptune. Like the other Six to Start virtual races I’ve done (Zombies, Run!’s 5 virtual races) it was an engaging audio experience.

 Run the Solar System is a 10k ‘virtual race’ which involves journeying across the Solar System from the Sun to Neptune in just 10 kilometres, accompanied by music and audio commentary from science broadcaster Dallas Campbell.

This virtual race was first created for British Science Week 2017 (10-19 March) and is supported by Yakult UK. Now, due to the race’s huge success, we’re thrilled to announce that we’ve reopened it. You can download the app and take part wherever you like, whenever you like, with no time limit!

The virtual race will be available to run until June 20, 2018, and I recommend you take advantage of the free entry.

My pace was a bit slower than I would have hoped, but overall I’m happy to have run 10 km in under an hour.

Altered Sweet

Altered Sweet is an overflowing, delightful tribute album featuring covers of Matthew Sweet songs. Futureman Records has put together 27 cover songs from as many artists and overall it’s a great collection. I would have liked to hear more brave reinterpretations of the songs, and a few dozen more songs, but it does pay capable tribute to one of the greatest songwriters and his diverse body of work. Highlights for me include Fireking‘s take on “Dead Smile“,  simplefriend’s version of the hit “Sick of Myself“, and Gretchen’s Wheel‘s “Walk Out“.