The game was “Clue.”  Apparently Clue has been updated to make the characters and the gameplay a little more interesting.  They’ve added more weapons, chance cards and a few other twists that were not in the original.  A quick look at the copyright date on the game box showed the prior version was released in 1996.  The latest version was released in 2008.  A lot changed in 12 years.  I am so glad they changed it.  Our family had a great time playing the new version of Clue.

I wonder how many other games have gone through a similar kind of facelift.

Board game facelifts is a post from: Words of Wisdom by MrWes thank you for reading my blog.

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It’s about a restaurant owner who loses his business due to circumstances beyond his control.  He eventually ends up going through unemployment system.  He’s searching for an “Entry Level” position in the corporate world.  The characters he meets on his journey and the interviewing situations are priceless.  I’m sure many people who see this video will be able to relate to the situations

The best part about the movie is that it has a happy ending.  I am definitely recommending this video to my friends that have been through this process before.

Watch “Entry Level” the movie is a post from: Words of Wisdom by MrWes thank you for reading my blog.

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I only play three Facebook Applications; FarmTown, FarmVille, and Cafe World.  These games provide a little entertainment and some friendly competition between neighbors.  However, there has been some frustration involved with trying to play these games when you have a very busy schedule. 

Old Strategy:  For the farm games, I usually plant a crop that takes 2 or 3 days to grow.  In Cafe World, I usually select a dish that takes 1 or 2 days to cook.  This strategy works most of the time when I have a normal schedule.  But when life gets crazy, time seems to disappear without a trace.  By the time I remember to visit the farm the crop has gone to waste.  When I remember to get back to the Cafe the food has spoiled and flies are buzzing around the pots and pans.

New Strategy: My strategy has changed a little.  Now after I plant the crops or select a dish to cook, I set a Google Calendar Event with reminders to let me know when I need to harvest my crops or serve up my dishes.

It has brought the fun back into playing these games again.

Google Calendar saved my Farm is a post from: Words of Wisdom by MrWes thank you for reading my blog.

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While doing research for this post, I stumbled across a few interesting websites I will mention in this post.

9 Ways to keep your mind sharp:

1. Mental Arobics - If you want to get a mental workout, visit www.lumosity.com/brain-games
2. Math Word Problems - www.purplemath.com/modules/translat.htm
3. Verbal Fluency – lookup the words you don’t know manually, you know that thing called the dictionary.  I know you could look it up on the web, but it won’t give your brain the same kind of workout.
4. Play sudoku – www.websudoku.com
5. Play a strategy game – (Chess, Go, Othello)
6. Learn a new skill – something you’ve never done before
7. Read a non-fiction book – perhaps on the new skill you’re learning
8. Teach a skill – you really need to understand the skill in order to teach someone else that same skill
9. Feed your brain healthy diet – www.fi.edu/learn/brain/index.html

Remember: Your brain is a precision instrument, keep it sharp by providing it with daily challenges.

9 ways to keep your mind sharp is a post from: Words of Wisdom by MrWes thank you for reading my blog.

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Café World allows you to layout your own Café.  You place the stove where the cook prepares the food, where the serving tables are and where the customers eat.  If you have a good layout, the cook is efficient, the waiters & waitresses can clean and serve efficiently and customers will get seated and served in a timely fashion.  If your customers are happy, then they tell other customers about it and more customers come.  If the customer walks in, but doesn’t see anywhere to sit, they grow impatient and leave unhappy.  If the customer walks in and sits down but isn’t served within a reasonable time, they walk out unhappy.

It’s interesting to note that changing the placement of  a door, table, chair or even a serving table can dramatically change traffic patterns either for good or bad.

Another interesting thing, is a layout that works for light traffic doesn’t always work well when it gets really busy.  Customers have to wait longer and grow more impatient.

I’m sure the larger restaurants, grocery and department stores do traffic flow studies, but I wonder if they do foot traffic simulations like this to see how traffic changes when fixture placement changes.

Store layout and traffic patterns affect sales is a post from: Words of Wisdom by MrWes thank you for reading my blog.

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The challenge is Time and resource management.  Of course you get to have some healthy competition with your Facebook friends as well.

You start off with 3 stoves, 3 serving tables, 2 dining tables and 2 chairs.  You also get a decent amount of money to decorate your Café.

Café Dishes take various times to cook and if they aren’t served in a timely manner will spoil on the stove.  Which means you have to clean up the mess and start all over again.

If you don’t plan it right you run out of hot food.  I’ve already had all the patrons get up and walk out on me because there wasn’t food ready to eat.

There are also challenges of meeting your customers’ needs.  If the customers walk in and there aren’t any empty tables,you  eventually see a though bubble with a clock in it.  Then they leave your Café unhappy.

The Solution is to add more tables and chairs.  Well, that’s part of the solution.  You still have to manage getting the food to the customers at the right time.  If you do, they’re happy and give you a thumbs up.  You know how well you’re doing by the Buzz Rating.  A Rating that indicates how popular your Café is getting with the community.  The higher it goes, the more people come to visit your Café.

The other part of the Solution can be solved with more ovens and serving tables.  This ensures you can keep up with the demand for the dishes you cook.

I heard from one of my kids it’s a little like the Sims.

You get to pick your neighbors and visit their Cafés.

Overall it’s pretty fun.  Unfortunately, there’s not much interaction between you and your friends in Café World.

Having said that, this game is for individual play.  Great, if you want your kids to have a little fun without worrying about them interacting with other people on the internet.

Have you tried it?  What do you think?  How do you like it?

Zynga has done it again is a post from: Words of Wisdom by MrWes thank you for reading my blog.

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