Monty Speaks: Happy Holidays
Dear Readers,
I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. I went to the Central Park Zoo where I made fun of all the other animals who didn't get to eat the big feast that Jen prepared. (She didn't get to eat it either, considering I snuck into the kitchen while she was chatting in the living room!)
There is so much going on at Freeverse these days, ToySight is finished, X-Words and CrossCards now have net play, Burning Monkey Casino is shipping, we're revealing BumperCar and so much more. Sheesh! Everyone is working so hard and making such a racket I can't even nap on the floor in peace!
Man, I love being a monkey sometimes.
Monty Zuma
Official Spokesmonkey
Freeverse Software
ToySight Goes Gold!
ToySight, the exciting new collection of games and toys you play by moving in front of your Mac, has officially gone gold! It's being boxed as I type!
ToySight features a dozen interactive games and toys for one or two players. Instead of using a joystick, mouse, or keyboard, you maneuver in front of an iSight or other firewire camera to control the action. See yourself on the game screen, and use your arms to play.
The software will be available at Apple resellers and at the Freeverse Store at a suggested retail price of US $34.95. Mac OS X Required! It's made by the creators of Airburst, so you know it's got to be good! Preorder your copy today!
Burning Monkey Casino shipping!
Burning Monkey Casino is now shipping to Apple retailers near you!
Burning Monkey Casino features five high-stakes games of chance and skill. Players select from up to eight animal avatars, and gamble with imaginary dollars or bananas* in five addictive games:
Blackjack - Play with one to eight decks, and try to tie or beat the dealer in this traditional casino game.
Poker - Eighteen variations of this five-card video game provide hours of enjoyment.
Slots - Pass the time with 3-slot, 4-slot, and 5-slot games, with up to two holds. Big payouts are just a pull away!
Scratch n' Win - Players can savor the experience of scratching lottery tickets, without all of the gummy residue to clean up. Pick from two instant win games, and use six different scratchers... including a Taco!
3-card Monty - The classic street game of finding the Queen is brought to life in vivid color. Keep your eye on the queen!
*Imaginary banana wagers available only in Video Poker and Slots. All other wagers are in imaginary U.S. dollars only. You may imagine that the dollars are from Canada or Hong Kong, but an imaginary agent of a state gaming commission and some imaginary guys that go by the names of "Solly" and "Fatso" will make sure you imagine otherwise.
You can get this for US $19.95 at your favorite Mac software retailer, or from the Freeverse Store.
http://www.freeverse.com/casino.mgi
X-Words Deluxe and Cross Cards 3.0 Ship
Hey, word and card game fans! X-words Deluxe and Crosscards 3.0 are now available! With native OS X support, improved graphics and sounds, new opponents and incredible Internet play via GameSmith!
If you're a fan of Scrabble(tm) and other word games, you'll love both of these games! X-Words Deluxe is a wordmaking game that features animated opponents, a number of different boards and "scenarios", special word lists for kids and experts, and even foreign language lists such as Manx and Gaelic. It also lets you customize anything - from your own game boards, word lists, and bonus words!
CrossCards is what happens when you replace the letter tiles in X-Words Deluxe with playing cards. Build a good hand using your cards to score big points! You can also play against a number of animated opponents, and have the game recommend moves to you while you're learning how to play.
Now that these games are up and running on Mac OS X, and you can find opponents on GameSmith, go download them!
X-words Deluxe web page
http://www.freeverse.com/xwords.mgi
Crosscards web page
http://www.freeverse.com/crosscards.mgi
Introducing BumperCar
If you're a concerned parent who wants to have a little more say in where your child can go on the World Wide Web, we've got the web browser for you.
Freeverse Software is proud to announce BumperCar, the most intelligent kid-friendly web browser available.
BumperCar is an incredible mix of technology and design. Under the hood it uses WebCore and OmniWeb. WebCore is the same engine used by Safari, so web sites load, and load fast! Freeverse has licensed the award winning OmniWeb browser from the OmniGroup to ensure BumperCar's frame is both feature rich and an outstanding Mac OS X Cocoa application. Then, of course, Freeverse has brought it all together -- we've added the smart and fun features to make both parents and kids happy.
BumperCar supports Internet Content Rating Association self-rated sites, has a built-in profanity filter, whitelists, and much more. It can even enforce a time limit, and can prevent uploading of personal data.
On top of that, it comes with a number of games and other kid-friendly content built-in. We're planning on showing it at MacWorld San Francisco in January, so watch our web site for details.
Freeverse Gift Guide
It's now December, and the gift-giving season has kicked into high gear. Whether you're shopping for someone young or old, there's a new game from Freeverse for everyone on your list. Here is a list of all of our recent software that comes in great-looking boxes, so you can wrap them before you give presents.
3D Bridge Deluxe - (Mac) - Obviously, you should get this game for anyone who reads the Bridge column in the newspaper, or always asks if you'll play bridge with them. What sets this game apart from others is its online multiplayer capabilities. Instead of playing a flatter game against a computer, you can play against live people with an artistic and realistic-looking interface. Perfect for the Bridge lover on your list.
3D Crazy Eights (Mac) - Kids, moms, and dads, and even grandparents remember the joy of Crazy Eights. Much like the popular "Uno" game, Crazy Eights is an excellent gift for your favorite card game player. Play using the award-winning 3D interface against opponents online or against animated computer opponents.
Active Lancer (Mac) - If you know anyone who grew up on vertical scrolling shooters in the arcades, on the original Atari 7800 and the Nintendo Entertainment System, as well as the later 16-bit consoles, you should get them Active Lancer. It'll have all the familiar aspects of the games they played back in the day, but with the advanced graphics, and a few new twists that you'd expect from a modern game. Probably not for anyone over 60.
Active Lancer Soundtrack - For all you Active Lancer fans, we have a special CD just for you. The Active Lancer soundtrack by Digital Droo has all of the music, plus some loops for remixers! Now you can enjoy the music without worrying about dodging enemies! This CD is available at the Freeverse Store.
Burning Monkey Casino (Mac) - Yes, the gamblers you know could go to any number of online offshore casinos, and wager real money. Or, you could make sure they're gambling imaginary money with Burning Monkey Casino. Whether your gambler wants to learn how to play 21, or is more interested in slot machines, this is the best game to buy for the person who has five minutes or five hours of free time a day.
Burning Monkey Solitaire (Mac/Win) Also known as Burning Monkey Solitaire 3, you can call it Solitaire on overdrive or whatever you'd like. Get this for the Mac or Windows person you know that is spending way too much time playing the version of Solitaire that came with their computer. This one's better. Trust us, this one's better.
Burning Monkey Mahjong Solitaire (Mac)
Solace (Mac/Win) - This game is popular with women, and with people who play solitaire. Mahjong Solitaire is a tile-matching game complete with the humor you'll find in all of our games.
(Win/Mac) - If you know anyone that goes specifically to game shops, or plays board games that nobody has heard of, they'll get the hang of Solace pretty quickly. Pitting two alliances against each other, the game of military strategy will provide hours of challenging entertainment. Don't expect to see this gamer at breakfast after they open the presents; he or she will be hammering away at the People of Tarth with archery and infantry.
Look for these games at these great online stores, or at your favorite Macintosh software store:
Apple Store | Freeverse Store | Amazon.com
Solace Updated to 1.0.4
Solace, the turn-based multiplayer game of strategic conquest, was updated to version 1.0.4 today.
The 1.04 patch adds features, slightly rebalances gameplay, improves network play, and includes multiple bug fixes. For full details, please read the complete changelog.
Also, Brad Custer of Inside Mac Games made a number of outstanding desktops inspired by Solace. Visit Inside Mac Games for a look at the design.
If you have not tried Solace, why not download a demo today? You'll become absorbed in the strategy!http://www.freeverse.com/solace.mgi
What's Jen Cookin'?
Hi
again!
You know, Santa must get really tired of milk and cookies. Think about it: all that milk sitting out has to upset his stomach, and at some point, every cookie begins to taste the same, despite whatever love may have been put into making it.
So what can you do? Make Santa something different, something original. Something that will cause the taste buds to jump out of his mouth! Make him a guacotaco this christmas. He'll love the way it rhymes as he eats it. Given his penchant for lyrical poetry, he may even rhyme it in something that kids will remember for ages to come:
Hey Dasher, Hey Prancer, hey elf guy named Rocco:
Get over here now and taste this guacotaco!
It's made of tortilla and green guacamole
by people who know I hate just cookies only.
Nice people have put variety in my palate
while my elves hammer out toys with a mallet
But this guacotaco makes sleighriding worth it
when I could be hanging with smurfs, even smurfette.
Some of you will notice that the recipe for the GuacoTaco was given in the poem above. You could improve it by adding salsa, pico de gallo, and whipped cream, but Santa isn't terribly picky. So if you don't have any of that, just use ketchup. Also, if you can't find a tortilla, you can smoosh a piece of bread, but it definitely won't be the same. There's also no subsititute for the guacamole in a guacotaco. You can have it without a real taco, but definitely not without real guacamole.
Happy dining!
Like this recipe? Forward it to a friend!
Freeverse Tip: Active Lancer Weapon Modes, part 2
Last time, we went over the five weapon systems in the Lancer suit. These systems are:
- Spread - weak shots that shoot at a wide angle.
- Plasma - medium strength shots with limited homing powers
- Laser - strong shots that go only forward.
- Dumb Bombs - explosives that hit the ground.
- Missiles - these can lock onto ground targets. You can also get air-to-air missiles if you collect the right upgrades.
This article, along with more pictures, is continued on the Freeverse website. You may read it in its entirety by clicking on the link below:
MontyMail Active Lancer Weapon Modes, Continued
Monkey Chuckles
Two men and Monty died on Christmas Eve and were met by Saint Peter at the pearly gates. "In honour of this holy season," Saint Peter said, "you must each possess something that symbolizes Christmas to get into heaven."
The first man fumbled through his pockets and pulled out a lighter. He flicked it on. "It represents a candle," he said. "You may pass through the pearly gates," Saint Peter said. The second man reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. He shook them and said, "They're bells." Saint Peter said, "you may pass through the pearly gates."
Monty started searching desperately through his pockets and finally pulled out all of Jen Carols's credit cards that he had taken to Vegas with him. St. Peter looked at the man with a raised eyebrow and asked, "And just what do those symbolize?" The man replied, "They're Carols's."
OAKLAND, (CA)--Oakland Raiders football practice was delayed nearly two hours today after a player reported finding an unknown white powdery substance on the practice field. Head coach Bill Callahan immediately suspended practice and called the police and federal investigators. After a complete analysis, FBI forensic experts determined that the white substance unknown to players was the GOAL LINE. Practice resumed after special agents decided the team was unlikely to encounter the substance again.
A woman walks into a pharmacy, strolls over to the counter, and catches the pharmacist's attention. "Can I please get some arsenic?" she asks.
"Arsenic? What do you want arsenic for?" asks the pharmacist. "It's for my husband," she replies.
"Your husband?" exclaims the pharmacist, "I hope you don't mean what I think you mean!" She just nods. "Well, lady," he replies, "I'm an honest man. I can't sell you arsenic, I wouldn't if I could, and I don't know what made you think you could just stroll into a respectable store and expect me me to sell you arsenic.!"
She doesn't say a word. She just reaches into her purse, fishes out a photograph, and hands it across the counter. It is a picture of her husband, kissing the pharmacist's wife underneath the mistletoe at their office holiday party.
Slowly the pharmacist looks up, over the counter, and then straight at her. "Lady," he says, "why didn't you tell me you had a prescription?"
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