Christmas In May

We received this 1000 piece puzzle last Christmas.

At the start of the lockdown, I asked the kids if they wanted to work on a puzzle but they did not seem too enthusiastic.  After more than a month of staying at home, working on a puzzle suddenly did not seem like such a bad idea. 

 

I pulled the puzzle out of storage on Sunday and we brought back the other foldable table. 

(MacGyver had set up two foldable tables at the start of the lockdown -- one for me and another for GI to use as we worked from home.  When GI went back to his place, we packed up the 2nd table and put it back in the garage.)

 

 We started the puzzle after 9:30 PM right after I logged off from work.

(We had to do some testing and I had to log in.)

 

We completed the sides by 11:35PM.

 

 

We had most of the names of the games on the sides of the puzzle before midnight.

 

 

PogiPoints came over after lunch on Monday to help with the puzzle.

He and MyGirl worked on the puzzle together.

 

He proudly completed the corner with the backgammon board before 2:30PM.

 

  

By 3:30PM the puzzle looked like this.

 



 

 The kids and I resumed working on the puzzle after dinner.
 The two corners were completed by 8PM.

 

By 9PM we had three corners.

 

RD and MyGirl had a working arrangement of calling out descriptions and deciphering locations.

They called this piece Jose Rizal.

 

All four corners were done after 10PM.

 

Bits and pieces of the middle of the puzzle were taking shape.

This is where we were at 10:24PM

 

10:40 PM -- we are getting excited as the puzzle approaches completion.

 

 

 11:15 PM -- NO!!!!!  One piece is missing!

 

After 10 minutes of searching, we found the last piece inside the box.

We got MacGyver to put in the last piece of the puzzle.

 

 That was fun!

 

Pac-Man Lives

You never really know when a blast from your past will hit you.

I remember spending hours playing Pac-Man.

I can't really remember if I was any good at it.

I spotted Pac-Man on these windows along one of the buildings in Sydney.

I thought that was pretty cool.

Then I found a Pac-Man cap while I was window shopping.

Cute!

In case you want to spend a few minutes catching ghosts and chomping fruits, 

here's a link to play Pac-Man Doodle.

D&D

GI and RD played Dungeons & Dragons with their cousins the other night.  I the boys that MacGyver played D&D when we were in high school.  He and a bunch of other guys in our year were really into playing this game.  In fact, they managed to convince a teacher to serve as their adviser and formed a Dungeons & Dragons Club at school.  Yes, indeed, they managed to legitimise their playing games at school and actually get credit for it. 

GI was astounded.  He exclaimed, "That's my Dad!"

Pokémon GOne

I happened to find this photo of the two boys in an old flash drive.

GI was more into Pokemon when they were kids.

It is entirely possible that the shirt RD is wearing is a hand-me-down from GI.

But when the Pokemon GO craze started in July, it was RD that went Pokemon hunting.

For a time, he would go with me to the mall and the library just to catch Pokemon.

Boggled Anew

I had a chance to play boggle with the kids and their cousins last weekend.

I was totally amazed with the new model of Boggle.

It is smaller, more compact, and there even is a built-in timer (batteries not included).

But the best feature is that all the cubes are enclosed within the toy.

That is really mind boggling.

Imagine, no more lost cubes.

No more bending down to pick up the cube that fell out while shaking.

No more cubes to be washed because the 3-year old put them in his mouth.

I love it!

When I sat down to join the kids, I asked them what their rules were.

I was told minimum number of characters was three.

No problem.  They twisted the toy to scramble the letters.  Then the timer started.

When the timer rang, players took turns announcing and crossing out common words.

When everybody was done, the kids started calling out their scores.

I said, "Six!" since I had six words left.

They gave me a funny (what is wrong with old people) look 

then one of the kids said, "It's the number of letters, Tita."

"Oh, in that case, "Twenty-one!"

We Rock!

Actually it is not just 'We Rock!', it is Wii Rock!  

Our Wii is expanding by leaps and bounds.  MacGyver had been checking out a set of drum pads on GumTree and the seller asked whether MacGyver would like to get the guitar set as well.  After haggling down the price, we found ourselves the new owners of one pre-loved Wii Rock Band.  MyGirl and MacGyver picked it up yesterday.

The kids' cousins have had Wii Rock Band for years and I have seen these kids play both the guitar and the drums which such skill and dexterity that I was simply awestruck. However, after trying the game out myself, my appreciation of their skill has just increased a hundredfold.  

It is so hard to play this game.  And I was already playing on EASY!

For the drums yesterday, the kids laughed as I played.  "Mom!  You are a half beat off." Somehow the signals from my brain to my hands to hit the drum pads were not quite fast enough.  (So much for hand-eye coordination.)

This morning on the guitar for the first time, after MyGirl gave me the instructions on how to play, my reaction was, "Oh I have to strum with my right hand, too?"  MyGirl laughed thinking I was joking.  It was only when I started to play that she realised I was actually serious.  

The boys joined in after a while and RD asked me, "Which is easier, the guitar or the drums?"

I replied, "Definitely the drums because for the guitar, your left hand has to press something and then the right hand has to strum."

I tell you, when you watch the kids, they make it look so easy.  I have decided that I'll just be part of the audience, thank you.

Here is MyGirl playing the guitar ...

GI on the drums ...

... and RD on the (real) keyboard.

Addictive Math Game

Who would have thought that 2+2 could be so addictive?

2048 -- I am sure you have heard of this game before.  The game is simple enough, within a 4x4 grid, put 2 and 2 together to make 4, put 4 and 4 together to make 8, put 8 and 8 together to make 16, and so on and so forth until you manage to get 1024 and 1024 to make 2048.

Easier said than done.

I had heard the kids talking about this game several months ago however there was no compelling urge for me to download the game and try it.  It was not until GI came home last week and said that he was seated beside someone on the bus who was playing this game and he told her (he actually TOLD her) (yes, she was a total stranger), "I think you are playing it the wrong way."

I don't know if he gave her any constructive suggestions on how to get 2048 but his story made me want to find out how easy or difficult the game was.  I knew it was doable because the kids have managed to get 2048 at one point in time or another.

So I downloaded the game last week and tried my luck.  I showed MacGyver the game and he was hooked.   He spent several days and nights playing the game, trying to get the magic number.  

I think because the concept is so simple, one feels the solution should also be simple.  Well, let me tell you now ... it is not.  

Let me tell you something else.  The game is addictive and time consuming.  Don't even get started.

I have a friend that has reached 4096 with a score of 48,960.  Eldest Sis's kids have downloaded the expanded version of the game.   Jersey Girl's high score is 56,896.  I can only assume that 2048 is just too easy for them.  
 

For me and MacGyver, it was a real challenge to get 2048 but we finally did it.

MacGyver got 2048 last Saturday

 and I managed to put 1024 and 1024 together tonight.

Now we can get on with our lives.  

(Unless the objective is to get 2048 in all the devices where we've downloaded the game.)

Young Ones and Young Once

Check out my young ones.  

 

We have MyGirl in the up and at 'em stance and the boys catching extra z's.  The boys have their own PC-based activities and hardly play the Wii.  However, when they do get to play, GI fills the snowball fight scoreboard and RD tries out his creative tennis serves much to his opponent's consternation. 

On the brighter side, check out my supposed Wii age.

I managed to keep my balance for 30 seconds and hit the numbers within a given time for the body test that Wii had given that day to calculate my Wii Age.  I was tickled pink and had to take a screenshot.   

Wii says my body is still in great condition but I know better.  It needs a lot of work. I can't fit into my clothes anymore and I think it needs more activity than pressing Wii buttons (and grabbing cookies). 

Just so you know, I do not trust the Wii to determine what shape I'm in.  The other day, when the random body test I got was the one that required me to take twenty steps to see if I walked in a balanced manner and the other test was one with instructions I did not quite understand, I ended up with a Wii age of sixty!   (Needless to say I took the test again and did not stop until I was happy with the calculated age.  After which, I celebrated with another cookie.) 

We are Family

We are a family.  

Father, mother, sister, brother and oldest brother. 

And with our recent Gumtree acquisition, now Wii Our Family.

We got the second hand Wii so that we can get some exercise.  

I have to say that MacGyver and MyGirl are the ones that are able to use the Wii the most.  Can you tell who is the least Wii fit?

Check out MyGirl's Mii character in  signature purple.

(The date stamps mark when the user logs into this Wii place.)

I wanted to get a shot of MyGirl while she was in her purple singlet.  

I got this one of her trying to help me get a decent picture of Mii and MyGirl.

Finally Figured E Out

After years and years (and years) of having this puzzle, I finally figured out how to solve it.

If I remember correctly, Mother brought this home for me from one of her trips to the States.  I don't know if it was a convention give-away or if she actually went to a toy shop and picked this up. Needless to say, I was unable to solve it ... until last night.

MyGirl had come into the room to get the other links.  She had just read the previous blogpost and was challenged.  She wanted to see if she could solve the easier ones.  When I arrived in her room, she showed me that she had managed to separate the CAST STAR.  She was able to separate the star from the main key chain but she couldn't get it back.  Well, I admitted that I had forgotten its solution so I couldn't help her put it back together.  But I tried.

As I was working on the star, she worked on the other ones. One by one she would tell me that she figured this one or that one out.  When I finally managed to get the star back into the loop, I picked up this E puzzle.  

After looking at it and moving the pieces around, I thought to myself, I really think I can do this.  The secret MUST be in the legs of the letter E.  At this point, MyGirl picked up the CAST HORSE which has a similar U-shaped piece to this E puzzle.  She announced that she was able to solve it.  

I try the puzzle again.  I am almost sure I can crack this.  

True enough, after several twists of the pieces, the circle just slips out.

Mystery solved!

When Two Become One

What does it mean  when two  ...

... become one?

It means you know how to solve the puzzle.   :)

Thanks to MyGirl's godmother, we have added a new one to the collection.

It's the Hanayama CAST RING II.  Difficulty Level = 5.  And it's quite amazing.

MyGirl has discovered its secret.  I still have to sit down and figure out the solution.

There was a flier in the box, so we now know what to call the puzzles on the fourth row from the top (left to right).

1.  CAST HORSE (difficult level = 2) 

2.  CAST STAR (difficulty = 3) 

3.  CAST RING (difficulty = 4)

4.  CAST RING II (difficulty = 5)

P.S.  I think that the base pieces of this collection actually belong to Slash-M.  If you're looking for your toys, Slash-M, they're with me.  MyGirl is now at the age where she can appreciate playing with them.

Riddle Me This

MyGirl and I were doing the riddles for August.   You can tell I didn't know the answer and I was just playing around.

I had no idea what the answer was so I used up some credits to get the first clue --starts with a B.  

I put BENFOLD just for the heck of it and showed my phone to MyGirl.  As soon as she saw what I had put, she added the S to spell BEN FOLDS.  (Yes, she is my ghost editor.)   

At this point, she unveiled the next clue.  

When the clue appeared indicating that the last letter was S, MyGirl could not resist taking a screenshot (**).

Mind you, I still don't know the answer.  I do know one thing, Ben Folds is NOT the right answer. (He is a singer-songwriter-pianist-musician that the boys listen to.)

Complete set of letters are B E N F O L D S K E G D O G W.

Starts with a B, ends with an S.

(** Taking a screenshot -- press your Home button and the Wake/Sleep button at the same time.  This works for the iPod and the iPhone, and yes, on my Samsung Galaxy Mini 2.  MyGirl taught me that, too.)

Block Heads ... Literally

Lego Block Heads, that is.

Do you recognise these "famous" characters?

Five Exhibitions

Five exhibitions. That is all one needs. Take your pick.

Choose five.

Dot.

Double Dot.

Check.

Cave.

Picking / Begging.

Giving.

Double Giving.

Lollipop.

Around the World.

Falling Star.

Double Falling Star.

To my delight, MyGirl has finally decided to take up playing jackstones.

She has created her own rules, mind you, which include separating any jacks that fall within half a centimeter of each other and allowing the neighboring jacks to move while picking up the chosen jack/s.

Balls bouncing twice are still big no-no's, though. The ball MUST be caught after one bounce ... yes, by the same hand that bounced it.

Did I mention that she prefers to have about 20 jacks on the floor?

Interesting game of jacks when MyGirl is playing.

That's my girl all right!

I love her.

Good Games Never Die

I am sure that our generation spent more time in front of electronic gadgets and playing games which required batteries or electricity than our parents did. And I am certain that my children are playing many more games on the computer and other handheld devices than I ever have (or will).

There was a time that these games were not readily available in the homes. We got these treats when we went out. At Shakey's we were able to play Night Driver, at Baguio Country Club there were pinball machines and PacMan, in Cubao (was it at Fiesta Carnival or at Ali Mall?) there were lots more arcade games.

At a certain point in time, computers became part of some households and simple games were introduced. We began with simple games like

Pong

and Space Invaders.

My all-time favorites would also include

Frogger

and of course the addictive

Lode Runner

Spy's Demise

Tetris

and Burger Time

There were more games that followed, both in the PC and battery operated games. We were lucky enough to have Game and Watch to keep us busy.

I think we had Toss, Fire, Vermin, Octopus and one or two more. We spent hours pushing those buttons trying our best to get high scores. Am sure the beeping drove my parents mad, not to mention the strain on our eyes caused by those little screens. On a positive note, perhaps it improved our hand-and-eye coordination a little bit.

As the years passed, the games became more "complicated" and "exciting."

I mean, "Sabrina dies at dawn!" for heaven's sake. That would be reason enough to play game the interactive game Transylvania, of course.

I remember it was the first time I'd heard of the term "hermetically sealed" and I think I had to look up 'elixir' to be sure it was worth picking up. I swear I played the game so much that I would have been able to draw a map to navigate through the various places within the game. (Come to think of it, I might have actually done that.)

Hhmmm ... those were the days.

Well what do you know? History repeats itself.

Although the kids are playing these often times violent, very high-tech memory hungry games with superior graphics and all, by some interesting quirk in nature, GI (and his siblings) are now hooked on Tetris. And when I say hooked, I mean HOOKED!

Since it is still officially summer, I am not at his back, but GI can often be seen multi-tasking watching something on his PC while playing Tetris on his PSP. Case in point on his being addicted to the game: he played Tetris all throughout the movie UP at the Overflow.

I know that after several series of Lode Runner games, I would imagine little men running across and in between words of a book I was reading. When this started happening, I knew for sure that I had been playing too much computer games. With all the hours GI spends getting his high score, I wouldn't be surprised if he starts looking as buildings as being parts of oddly shaped pieces. When he tells me that he has started dreaming about these falling tetrominoes, I will give him a knowing smile which will say, "You are playing too much Tetris, Mister."

In closing, I can say that good games never die, apparently they just get passed on to the next generation and are considered as classics.

Puzzle Gene

When I was young(er) I loved solving puzzles. As previously mentioned, I spent one whole summer figuring out how to solve the Rubik's cube. Apparently, RD has inherited my puzzle gene and is just as intrigued and interested in solving puzzles.

Eldest Sis (or was it Z) gave us a toy which I call the Rubik's sphere. When we got the toy, I hesitated to mix it up because I didn't have the time nor the patience to solve it. (And I knew it would drive me nuts if I mixed it up and was unable to fix it up.) So we left the puzzle untouched for the longest time.

One day, one of the children had the bright idea of mixing up the sphere. Around and around the colored pieces went, until the blues were mixed up with the reds and yellows; the greens were all over the place along with the orange pieces.

I just let it be. I knew that if I made an attempt to solve the thing, I would get hooked and might not be able to focus.

So the toy was left all a-jumble.

The other week, RD had been complaining of boredom so I dropped the sphere on his lap and said, "Here, solve this."

Truth be told, I was just trying to keep him busy.

Imagine my surprise when out of the blue he shouted, "I solved it!"

I was impressed! It was true. All the colors had found their way to their proper places.

RD had really outdone himself.