Satisfaction Guaranteed

Day 95: I have to admit that I'm not much for electronic games, but not long after the first Angry Birds was released, Kevin introduced me to it when I was at his house for a family event. I was skeptical of it at first, thinking that wingless birds were something contrary to my nature, but it only took playing the first few levels before I was convinced. I got it for my Kindle a few days later, and over the course of the next few weeks, became aware that playing a level until I had achieved a single star was not the way to proceed. I went back to level one and pounded away at it until I'd reached three stars, then moving on to the next game. Rovio came out with a different version (Seasons, if memory serves) before I'd achieved three stars on all the levels, but I added it to my Kindle as well and started pecking (excuse the pun) at it whenever I got stuck in the original. One thing led to another and eventually...yes, really...I scored three stars on every level of every game available to my Kindle. And I was sad; oh, so sad that I didn't have any more pigs to blow up.

There's something eminently gratifying about playing Angry Birds when every portion of the rest of the world seems to have spun out of my personal control. I thought hard about clearing out my scores and starting over, but then the thought occurred that it would be even more challenging to try to beat my previous highs. That's been my project for the last year or so. I'm sure that I've maxed out on perhaps half a dozen, but since I don't know what the maximum scores might be, I frequently plug away at any given level for a week or two before finally giving up and moving on to the next one. Today, I beat one I've been working at for a week, and then smashed through the next one in less than six tries. Even if I don't achieve a new high score, I have the satisfaction of keeping the pigs under control.

A Dacha On Boardwalk

Year Five, Day 1: It'll cost you 500 Rubles to stay in my dacha on Boardw...I mean, on the old Arbat. You'll get off much cheaper if you land on Mitnaya where a night in a sleazy hotel will only run 250 Rubles. Yes, this is an authentic Parker Brothers Monopoly board, a limited edition purchased about forty years ago when I was struggling to get a handle on the Russian language. With only records, tapes and books to guide me, I did very poorly with the spoken word, but eventually learned enough to be able to read children's stories at the elementary-school level. The few times I tried to hold up my end of a basic "hi, how are you" conversation were miserable failures. That said, as a good capitalist, I bought two of the game boards (a monopoly on Monopolies, if you will) so that I could preserve one still in the mailer as a collectible. What made the Russian version even more special was a one-time-only issue of a new metal character piece, a bear. A later Russian-language edition was released minus the iconic ursine.

So...welcome to Year Five of 365 Caws. When I started this project, I only expected it to run for a year, but I enjoyed it so much that I decided to continue it for a second...and a third and fourth. I find that writing a daily essay helps me keep my creative edge, although rounding up photo material is sometimes very difficult, especially during the winter months. Nevertheless, I know that many of my readers are "visual" folk, so rest assured I have no intention of eliminating the daily photo. Some of you have been with me all the way, and I appreciate your patience with me on those days when I haven't been quite up to par. Thank you so much for your loyalty! I hope I can continue to entertain you.

They're Coming!

Day 35: Unlike "Angry Birds," "Plants vz. Zombies" puts your reflexes to the test. I had downloaded it to my Kindle Fire after running out of Angry Birds the first time, but it didn't hold my attention like I'd hoped it would. I played the first few games of the "Adventure" level, and then "Birds" came out with a new universe and an update for an older one. I went back, gleeful at being able to pitch birds once again. When I'd earned three stars in all the levels, I shifted gears and began trying to improve my previous scores. That kept me occupied until the release of "Angry Birds Star Wars 2."

For about three weeks, I was in Bird Paradise, although I could hear a voice in the back of my mind saying, "If you play more than one game each day, you're going to run yourself out of birds again." I told the voice to put a sock in it and kept playing. Just as predicted, I exhausted the basic game, thinking I'd buy more characters and try to earn all the avatars, but when I checked the prices for "points" of purchasing power, my eyes dropped out of my head. The cheapest packet ($9.99) barely gave you enough points for one minor character. Saddened, I put "Angry Birds" aside.

Re-enter the Zombies! Desperate for some way to waste time, I resumed the game and found it to be more fun than I had remembered. I'm still not out of the "Adventure" level yet, and I've run up against a batch of Zombies I haven't been able to defeat in four days. Frustrating as that may be, it fills the description of "time-waster" perfectly and after all, that's why I bought it.

"Use The Force!"

Day 23: Surely Obi-Wan Kenobi must have been guiding my hand as I swept through both worlds of "Angry Birds Star Wars 2," but I think the Master taught me too well. Unless I purchase new characters (and there is an abundance of them), my work here is done. Rovio's latest release put a new slant on the game yet again, keeping it fresh and just as entertaining as the earlier versions. I've earned the full complement of credits which will allow me to buy some (but hardly all) of the other characters. Anything more requires cash-money. This time, I'm tempted. I love my Angry Birds.