Today, April 14, is the 155th Anniversary of the Pony Express! To celebrate the Google Doodle on the google main search page is a game that you can play.
You are the pony express rider trying to make it through 3 different legs of your journey while avoiding obstacles and collecting as many pieces of mail as possible along the way.
At the end you are welcomed into town and get a score which helps the overall global score of everyone playing together and which you can share with your friends:
You can see I did not do every well, but it was my first time!
Here is the video Google made about the Pony Express and what went into making this game:
A picture has been released of the 8th evolution type for Eevee in the next generation of Pokemon Games X and Y: Sylveon.
Sylveon’s type has not been revealed.
Eevee is a normal type pokemon that can be evolved in to many different forms. It requires many different methods to obtain each type such as using element stones, raising your Eevee’s friendship level, and visiting specific geographic locations in the game. Here is a graphic that shows Eevee in the middle with all of her evolved forms:
Eevee is my favorite pokemon, and I love many of her evolutionary forms especially Flareon, Umbreon, and Leafeon. I love the look of Sylveon and hope that her type will add to making a balanced team comprised only of Eevee evolutions!
Today Nintendo announced a bunch of updates and new games for the Wii U. I am really excited for the announcement of a new Yoshi game currently called Yarn Yoshi.
The game is being developed by the creators of Kirby’s Epic Yarn. The production of the game is being overseen by the director of Yoshi’s Island and Yoshi’s Story. I feel this game is in good hands!
Like Kirby’s Epic Yarn the characters and world look to be made mostly from fabrics and yarn. The game does not yet have a release date.
A brand new set of Pokemon games has been for released later in 2013, Pokemon X and Pokemon Y. The games will be on the 3DS – the first full Pokemon game for the 3DS. Pokemon Rumble is out, but it is a very different style. A worldwide release of the game is expected in October.
The three new starter Pokemon have already been revealed:
Grass Type
Fire Type
Water Type
I am particularly excited for Fennekin because it is a fennec fox and a cute new addition to the Pokemon universe.
Hasbro, the company behind the Monopoly game, has decided it is time to change one of the iconic game pieces for the basic versions of Monopoly. These pieces have been around for years, and they are allowing fans to make the decision on which piece goes and what new one is added.
The pieces at stake for removal: the car, thimble, boot, scottie dog, battleship, hat, iron, and wheelbarrow. You can select each piece to see the “reason” for removal and why it should stay.
New pieces up for vote:
The new options are: robot, diamond ring, cat, helicopter, and guitar.
I voted for the dog piece, as it has always been my favorite:
I encourage you to vote to save your favorite piece as well! As of writing this article the dog and car are in the lead of votes while the iron and wheelbarrow are lowest. Just in case your favorite piece ends up being cut, I hear a “Golden Token” Monopoly set featuring all of the original pieces will be available from Target some time in February.
This year’s games have inspired another set of Guinea Pig Olympics pictures! There are 12, which are featured in a 2013 calander that is available for purchase from Maverick Arts Club. The art is so realistic because real guineas were used as models for the art.
I discovered today that the Tanuki is an actual animal, not just the Japanese translation for raccoon.
My first experience with this animal was through Mario in Super Mario Brothers 3. The Tanooki suit was spelled differently than the actual animal, and it was always translated to me as the raccoon suit. With the recent release of the newest Mario game, Super Mario 3D Land, the suit is back and I decided to look into its origins.
Here is a picture of the first Tanooki suit:
Here is the latest version available in Super Mario 3D Land:
Now, here is the actual animal:
The Tanuki, or Japanese raccoon dog, is often mistranslated into raccoon or badger which are actually very different animals. Tanuki are members of the canidae family which consists of wolves, coyotes, and jackals – so they are not actually raccoons. They are rare outside of Japan, but have been part of Japanese folk lore since ancient times. In such stories they are considered to be happy but mischievous and absent minded creatures which can shape shift to hide or trick humans. Statues of these creatures can be found outside many temples and restaurants. They are prized for their fur.
In the US you can see an animated representation of these little guys in the movie Pom Poko from Studio Ghibli. The movie is rated PG.
Build-A-Bear Workshop is now selling stuffed versions of the Angry Birds.
The game Angry Birds is a very popular game on smart phones and is now playable on Google Chrome as well. To play in the Chrome browser, visit here.
The plush versions are all 5 inches tall and I believe each of them makes a noise. They cost $12 a piece, and are available at your local Build-A-Bear or online.
If you have never played the game the green pigs stole the bird’s eggs, so you shoot the above pictured birds from a catapult to try and destroy the fortresses protecting the pigs. It is a lot more fun than it sounds! To learn more visit Rovio.com.
