"Solasta: Crown of the Magister" is a turn-based RPG set in a medieval fantasy world a thousand years after a magical cataclysm. Your party of 4 heroes have to contend with baddies seeking to reopen a rift and overrun the world of Solasta itself. The game uses the Dungeons and Dragons "SRD" 5.1 Ruleset to be faithful to a tabletop experience. That means less to me as I'm not a tabletop gamer, I felt getting food was a chore for the travelling between locations one will be doing, the differences to other computer RPGs didn't impact my pleasure. There is a great range of vistas for one to eliminate enemies by spell or by sword in (I'm into sorcery myself). From the dungeons to lava infested forests to the SF like scenes close to the rift. The game is well implemented and friendly to play. I particularly appreciated being able to save in the middle of battles! My playthrough was on an easy setting, on more difficult settings crafting and factional alignment would be more critical I feel. I muddled through. With the right strategy the battles were easier but still felt worthwhile. I'll probably get the expansions and replay on a harder setting.

Aeons ago I went to King Edward VI Grammar School, Norwich courtesy of passing the 11 plus test as it was. (I think being a great reader I knew plenty of synonyms for the word "nice".) The opportunity came for me to visit the school in session, courtesy of the kind support staff at the school. The school is part of me, my history. Norwich is my Heimat. I wanted to see how it was now compared with what I remembered. I'm interested in how things work, schools can be considered both as elaborate mechanisms and also as living organisms which adapt to their environment. Necessarily "Norwich School" has adapted to the modern times in the UK. So I wasn't surprised to see posters celebrating coloured women mathematicians.

The live action TV series "Kanojo, Okarishimasu" is based (like so many) on a Japanese manga series. I can't compare the TV series I watched to the manga itself. But both have the theme of the lonely being able to rent out dads, children,... and girlfriends. So the hero is a student wimp who resorts to renting a girlfriend after being dumped to preserve face. But gets more than he bargained for as she's not only also a student in the same university but also lives next door! There may be familiar themes and happenings - the males are mostly incompetent, the females are apparently assured and able. But it flows sweetly and gracefully and amusingly. I liked it because the world isn't under threat, there aren't soap opera revelations, it's a comedy of manners.

"Internet Court" is a short and sweet FMV game about a specious Internet court. It's a well written and witty parody of the Japanese Phoenix Wright and similar games. There are four different "cases" to handle, ranging from suing people for being unfriended to writing bad fan fiction. Player interaction is choosing from a number of options, or finding issues in evidence. The choices are not timed, and though the wrong choices can end a case prematurely the game then allows you to try again. The game simulates a web meeting, and allows you to fast forward through the FMV sequences. You can replay any of the cases independently. The background music is unobtrusive, similar to arcade games of yore. The game also includes outtakes and other extra material. The game ran without any problems under Windows 11. It feels like it's all done by family and friends who are really enjoying themselves doing it. Pleasant lunacy.

"Breakout 13" is a Chinese FMV game based on real events. A dubious treatment centre claimed to cure Internet and other addictions by aversion therapy like electric shocks. The spoken dialogue in the game is in Chinese, there are English subtitles which contain very few errors. "Breakout 13" was released in two sections on Steam, this review is for the whole game. I played "Breakout 13" under Parallels on a M1 Macbook. The only glitch was an issue with the background in one place which didn't affect being able to play the game. This is an expansive high quality FMV game, there are a lot of actors and places to see as well as plenty of game interaction. It's more than just choosing a dialogue option in between video clips. "Breakout 13" has a number of chapters and two possible endings (you make a choice right towards the end which determines which you proceed to). It's worth playing both endings, one has more gameplay the other more fun, but both leave story threads hanging. You only need to replay the end of the previous chapter to get the second ending. You play Zhang Yang whose mother sends him to the treatment centre to be cured of skipping school to play video games. As Zhang Yang in your attempts to leave the treatment centre you will have to make difficult choices; how much will you collaborate with the oppressive regime of the centre, will you betray other students who trust you to be released. The FMV format makes these choices more immediate and more poignant. The treatment centre is one to be left as soon as possible. Thuggish guards treat the students as army recruits to be beaten into shape. Students are rewarded for informing on each other. The Nero-like director when he's not administering electric shocks is composing odes for his victims to sing his praises. I don't know how accurate the portrayal of the treatment centre is, it may well be close to the reality. This game is firmly on the side of the victims. The gameplay is varied and fits naturally into Zhang Yang's story. There are dialogue choices to be made which influence what happens and your relationships with the NPCs in the game. Some challenges have multiple solutions. There are timed puzzles where you search rooms for objects and clues - the time limits are ample, and the game highlights where to search and where you've found what there was to find. You get to watch some CCTV footage and listen to bugs to gather clues. There are a few puzzles where you need to unlock computers or phones or safes. There are also sequence where you need to quickly drag the mouse across the screen in a certain direction, or click quickly on a circle, or during the aversion therapy click on the phrases the director wants you to say. I managed these and I'm not very good at action sequences. Harder to me was you need to ensure other people like you enough, or don't suspect you too much, to proceed in the game. The dialogue choices you make are critical here and it's not always obvious which is the right choice. In mitigation "Breakout 13" lets you see each chapter as a flowchart of different scenes, and to retry any scene. This is very neat and means you can easily progress past some difficult points without replaying the whole game. Also there is some leeway before you're suspected too much, or people refuse to trust you. This going back in time to rewrite what you did does interrupt the narrative flow but is a clever feature. The instrumental background music in "Breakout 13" is there to supplement the ambient sounds. There are chords on a guitar, notes on a piano. At one point you get a Chinese rap song full of youthful angst against unfeeling parents, the lyrics are translated. "Breakout 13" has achievements, I got most not all. As you play you also unlock collectibles or sets of videos for the key characters in the game. These are well worth watching through as they add depth to the story. You can also unexpectedly give flowers or throw eggs at characters in the game, you don't pay to do this and you can see how many flowers or eggs the different characters have received. Your character Zhang Yang is not the most popular. I didn't think he was the most interesting character in the game. "Breakout 13" will be a different game to a Chinese person than a Westerner. In traditional Oriental culture parents push their children to study hard, Zhang Yang would be seen as an unfilial son needing correction. Daughters can be seen as disposable assets. China is changing, it now has its own slacker culture called "lying flat". For me "Breakout 13" is the biggest and best FMV game I've played. A keeper.

We had a pleasant few days in Cromer, enjoying fish and chips at Number One in Cromer, a crazy golf course, and the Amazona Zoo.

"Late Shift" is a FMV game where you play Matt, a parking lot attendant forced into a dangerous criminal heist. Your interaction is limited to choosing from a number of options at points in the FMV footage. The game reflects the choices you make. The production qualities are good, upmarket cars some glossy visuals brooding music. The tone of the game is very noir and downbeat and gloomy and dark. Proper actors are used for the characters in the game, the acting at times is rather theatrical but for that I blame the writer and director. There are twists and turns in the plot as reflects a noir story. On the first playthrough it all works pretty well, giving a sense of involvement which just watching a TV drama doesn't. There is quite a bit of swearing which for me doesn't add anything. It's on the second and subsequent playthroughs as you try to get a better ending where it all begins to pall. You can't skip the long video sequences, you have to start from the beginning of the game each time. Your character Matt using the F word nearly every sentence starts to grate. You realise that many of the choices you make aren't really choices, the game railroads you where it needs you to go. This has to be so in FMV games but replaying the game makes it more obvious. There are choices you make which are significant but it may seem arbitrary which those are. This won't bother very many but the writer could have tried harder with the mathematics that Matt supposedly knows. True it's not as bad as the science fiction author who wrote a story about the highest prime number. What I do consider unforgivable is that in a story nominally Chinese flavoured is the historical blunder. The Macguffin in this story is a late Ming dynasty bowl we're told. We're also told this bowl has been around for over a millennium. No that's impossible as the Ming dynasty was from 1368 to 1644.

In "Six Survivors" a small group of people are trapped in a mall while zombies roam outside. While that is the setting for this off the wall TV drama happily this isn't yet another zombie survival show. Instead our little group have romances, domestic arguments, discuss life and the universe, and enjoy watching the zombies shuffling around outside. This deliciously off the wall effort is based on a manga 'Ikinokotta 6-nin ni Yoru to'. Keep watching to the end to see that being a zombie doesn't preclude sharing a little affection and a severed arm.

"Jack Move" is a turn-based RPG set in the future where megacorporations have replaced governments, and every one and their dog is into cyber hacking. Your character is Noa up against the evil Monomind corporation, the plot may be simple and 2D but this is a cheerful RPG-lite game. Well done pixel graphics, in some places hard to tell where you can get to. Totally keyboard controlled which works alright though fiddly moving diagonally. The bouncy arcade music accompanies you as you face the random JRPG battles. "Jack Move" isn't a difficult game, it's easy enough to grind so your character is more than strong enough for the final endgame, and there isn't real replayability. The software and hardware components you buy or find replace the spells and enchanted items in a traditional RPG. Imaginative fun within its restricted bounds, and Noa gives a cheerful victory sign each time you win.

Beamish is an old Northern mining pit area turned into a fascinating collection of recreations of times past. A great place to visit.

"Druidstone" is a third-person fantasy RPG where you control a small party in a fight against the dark forces corrupting a magical forest. To be honest I found the plot not the strongest part of the game. What was good and kept me going was the variety of missions to be accomplished, and the sense of achievement when the game proclaimed your efforts as successful. As you progress you get gold to buy equipment, and experience which as you level up allows you to choose new talents for your party members. You also can get green stars which let you upgrade talents and equipment. You can (and will need to) replay missions to get all the experience and upgrade stars going. This for me further inconvenienced the story as the replay doesn't reflect where you are in the story. It isn't until you tackle missions that you may realise what equipment and talents you need. There are more Adventure style puzzles in some of the missions, in one or two cases I had to refer to walkthroughs as the solution wasn't fair I felt. For most of the game the music is gentle and matching the forest settings with cute animals and meditative druids. However the final boss battles has a discordant techno thrash theme to assail the eardrums.

"One Piece" is a wacky manga adaptation really hits the high notes. The plot has overly enthusiastic young pirate "Monkey D. Luffy" going on a quest to become King of the Pirates. The first season has him collecting a crew, and a lot of back story to establish the world and characters. Lunatic. Colourful even just considering the hair of the characters. Varied scenarios and situations. Wonderful.

Hi there it's me again. In case you're deprived and missed out on my previous pieces I'm me. Humans have called me "Bear" and "Bandit" and most recently "Jasper" over the years. But you're not wet behind the whiskers and expecting me to tell you my deep and inscrutable singular name are you? This time I'm going to give you the low-down on some toys that humans may inflict on you. You may naively think humans get you toys as a thank you for the headless mice and no longer flying birds you present them with but no, that's so not so. As strange as it may seem for being oversized humans suffer from low self-esteem. Giving us toys and making us play with them gives them a smidgeon of self-worth. A little compensation for all those genetic defects depriving them of nice fur coats and whiskers.

We return to North Yorkshire to see places like The Forbidden Corner and Fountains Abbey.

"Song of the Bandits" sees the Wild West transplanted to an area of China where Korean refugees have fled the Japanese annexation of their country. A tale of bandits who become involved with the resistance movement in Korea trying to defy the cruel Japanese. This TV series should have a notice that no Japanese were harmed in the making. Japan did violently annex Korea but this isn't 100% true history. Instead it is a well produced tale of heroes fighting against overwhelming odds, with fine set pieces that would suit the best Westerns. A lot of gunplay and also archery too. There's a stagecoach robbery or something like it, slimy behaviour by the murderous Japanese, a heroine giving her all for the Korean cause etc. There are some oddities. The last episode leaves a lot unresolved and unfinished. The main female lead "Seohyun" is less dominant than the supporting actress "Lee Ho-Jung". "Seohyun" 's role is largely that of a traditional passive female. Netflix cut back the original plan for the TV series (apparently losing back stories for a lot of the characters). "Seohyun" also gained her fame as a "K-pop" group idol rather than as an actress. "Lee Ho-Jung" carries her very meaty role like a star.

"Shadowrun: Dragonfall" is an isometric turn-based RPG set in the future when magic has reappeared. So there's spells and elves as well as cyber hackers and advanced weaponry. The plot of "Dragonfall" concerns a homicidal dragon "Firewing" who may not be as dead as everyone hopes. As you play and gain experience you can upgrade your player character in various disciplines. It is important to be sensible here and not try to be jack of all trades but rather master of a few. Your squad is limited to 4, you can swap in and out your team colleagues. They also can be upgraded as you play but in a simpler fashion. The graphics may be more basic than some RPGs, there's no spoken dialogue, but the writing and depth of the gameworld is very good. I liked particularly the ethical angle - you get to make hard choices of being ruthless or nice and those choices felt hard. Besides battles in the physical gameworld you also get to fight in cyberspace. For this you need a character with those skills.

I manage to be frugal most of the time but not all the time. One of my failures to be frugal this year was in deciding to buy a new Apple iPhone. My dubious rationale for this was the slight improvement in the camera or battery life justified the expense. So in the months leading up to the iPhone 15 being formally announced I surfed rumours about it on the Internet. And was too credulous in believing one rumour that in the UK the iPhone 15 wouldn't have a SIM tray any more. As I wanted to take this putative new mobile phone on holiday with me in October and November I decided to convert the SIM card in my existing phone to be an eSim ahead of time. This turned out to be a bad idea on two counts at least. My current SIM card was with Vodafone which served well apart from when I was travelling and using Google Maps. That tended to eat through the small data allowance on the plan I was on, I don't use a mobile much so normally not an issue. So I decided to switch from "Vodafone" to LycaMobile and then just move the eSim over when the new phone arrived. The port from "Vodafone" to "LycaMobile" went smoothly, the downside was at home "Vodafone" 's network seemed better than EE 's. Ah well. The new iPhone arrived late September and it arrived with a SIM tray so worrying about using an eSim had been a total waste of time! And to make matters worse "LycaMobile" couldn't move the eSim from the old iPhone to the new. So I decided to change horses in midstream and move from "LycaMobile" to 1pMobile which I had been considering in the first place as "1pMobile" suited my mobile usage better. There was a hiccup getting a PAC code from "LycaMobile" as they were having technical issues so it was into October before I could start the port in of the number with "1pMobile". It was then that it transpired that "LycaMobile" had suffered a major cyber attack and were having to rebuild their servers. The port in took weeks and I was worried lest I lose the mobile number which would have been painful. It did complete late October but not a saga I want to rerun. I also had another learning experience getting a suitable case for the new iPhone but that's another story.

I went to Mexico to see Mayan remains like Chichen Itza, sample Mexican food like churros, and enjoy refined cultural pursuits like Lucha Libre aka Mexican wrestling.

I've done another advent calendar for Virginia. For more information see Advent Calendar 2022.

Illuminations now seem the thing at stately homes and gardens. Virginia and I went again to see the lights at Wimpole Hall this darkening evening. Not too crowded and it didn't drizzle too much. It wasn't always clear in the darkness where the path was. The first light installation was very impressive, like a magic carpet of coloured sprites that wove across the ground. The rest were okay but not as good as last year for me. I missed the lasers in the smoke from last time. We rounded off the walk round with churros from one of the refreshment vans. Only needed one bag between us, and it was a sticky experience. Churros normally you dip but for simplicity here they poured the sauce over the dough sticks.