issue 13 // volume 43

Barrels of fun

> ‘Niagara’ board game review

Ed Appleby
Illustrator

 

I: time for every white man’s favourite
game, “Take the natives’ stuff!”

down the middle, and the spaces are
represented by clear plastic disks. The
board is mounted on its box, forming
“Niagara Falls” at the end. The disks move
down toward the falls, bringing the player
with them. Similar to other moving board

Niagara (2004) is a “pickup-and-
deliver”-style family board game designed
by Thomas Liesching and published by
Rio Grande Games. In the game, you
play a treasure hunter looking for hidden
native jewels stashed along the river.
Players take turns moving up and down
the river in canoes, picking up jewels
and dropping them off at your campsite.
At the same time, you have to watch out
for other treasure hunters as well as the
river, which changes its flow according
to the weather. One uncalculated
move, and over Niagara Falls you go.

This game is simple and fun, with
a surprisingly complex and innovative
mechanic. The board has a groove

games like Tzolk’in (2012), you need to
anticipate not only the moves of other
players, but the moves of the board as
well. However, Niagara is purely delightful
due to its very accessible simplicity.

Talso really appreciate the story
that the game tells. You play white
adventurers hunting down these jewels,
and the local Iroquois and Shawnee
just happen to forget to mention the
extremely dangerous waterfall.

I find the game to be good fun.
It runs pretty short, and its simplicity
opens gameplay up for a lot of casual
and first-time gamers. More advanced
gamers may crave something a little more
complex, but will still find it enjoyable.

The best Christmas movies
for the holiday season

> Getting festive on the screen

Cazzy Lewchuk
Opinions Editor

 

I: that time of year again! Christmas music invades
your ears, decorations are in your face, and stores are
crowded everywhere as rampant consumers find material
goods as gifts for their loved ones. There are a lot of
Christmas movies to choose from on Netflix and every
TV channel ever, but here are some of the very best.

 

A Christmas Story (1983)

Arguably the best Christmas movie of all time. Set in

the 1940s, it follows young Ralphie (Peter Billingsly)

in comical adventures leading up to the big day. There

are so many classic scenes here. Getting one’s tongue
frozen on a flagpole, “Mommy’s little piggy!,” and of
course, Ralphie’s biggest Christmas wish: an official

Red Ryder carbine action 200-shot range model air rifle.
Naturally, everyone warns him “You'll shoot your eye out!”
Delightfully nostalgic, this one is a staple of the season.

The Nightmare before Christmas (1993)

“What’s this?” Perhaps the best-known and loved Tim
Burton movie, it’s a beautiful Claymation adventure of
holiday worlds colliding. When Jack Skellington (Chris
Sarandon), the Pumpkin King of Halloweentown,
stumbles into Christmastown, he discovers true
Christmas magic. Jack decides to give Santa Claus a
“vacation” and hijacks Christmas for himself. Things
quickly go very wrong as monsters and ghouls attempt
to celebrate the holiday. Suitable for all ages but

still deliciously creepy, it’s beautifully crafted and
features a delightful Danny Elfman soundtrack.

 

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

There are a lot of adaptions of the Scrooge story, but
this one is the very best. It features Michael Caine as
Scrooge, Kermit the Frog as Bob Cratchit, and Gonzo as
Charles Dickens/the Narrator. Despite featuring musical
numbers and half of the characters being Muppets, this
is still an incredibly faithful adaption of the original
novel. A lot of the dialogue is even verbatim. It combines
the most beloved Christmas story of all time (besides
the manger one) with all the zany antics of a Muppet
tale, and the results will make you quite happy inside.

 

Love Actually (2003)

An all-star ensemble British cast including Hugh

Grant, Alan Rickman, Colin Firth, Liam Neeson, Kiera
Knightley, and more round out these nine intertwining
plots. It tells many stories of all kinds of love (“love,
actually, is all around”), romantic and familial alike. The
concept of “intertwining ensemble cast during a holiday”
has been ripped off several times since, but nothing

 

   

arts // no. 9

 

Illustration by Ed Appleby

comes close to capturing the magic of this modern
classic. It’s overly sentimental and sugary, but it’s also
relatable and genuinely heartwarming in its message.
If you're feeling down over the holidays, or just need a
reminder of love in the world, give this one a chance.

 

It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)

It was dismissed by critics and didn’t earn much when
it first came out in theatres, but it went on to be the
Christmas movie, and is considered one of the very
best movies ever made. Small-towner George Bailey
(James Stewart) is one of the most beloved men

in Bedford Falls. But after being ripped off by the
villainous banker Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore) and
endangering the town, George contemplates suicide
on Christmas Eve. Enter his guardian angel, Clarence
(Henry Travers), who shows George how much worse
off everyone would be if he was never born. It’s often
parodied and universally cherished, because it really is
that charming and well-done. An oldie, but a goodie.

BO Ege