Can you see yourself living your own science fiction adventure, road tripping all over the universe?

I love the idea of being far into the future, a space chick, running around the galaxies on a universe-wide backpacking trip. Best road trip ever!

I read The Hitchhiker's Guide when we had to, in school. I barely remember it from then. But, when the movie came out I was eager to see it. How can a series of books reach such popularity and not be great? Of course, popular is in the eye of the masses of beholders.

The movie based on the books was good, only good, not great. Too much was packed into one movie. As if they had to get the entire series of books in just one movie. Maybe someone knew the author, Douglas Adams, was not going to live to become a very old man. Maybe someone just felt the movies would be tough to sell or keep in budget or... who knows? I don't.

Welcome to the Restaurant at the End of the Universe

I found the movie good, but I thought it came from such great, original stories - it could have been better. The Hitcher's Guide to the Galaxy movie gives you a sense of the books, the type of humour and a snapshot of the story. It is not enough.

If the movie draws you in, pick up the series of books. Find a comfortable reading space and make your popcorn at home. The movie was like a spin cycle version of the books, your clothes get dry but you missed all the adventures of getting dirty clothes in the first place.

Don't Panic... Did you Bring your Towel?

Towel Day is May 25th!

It all began with Ardania...

Majesty, then Majesty: Northern Expansion and then Majesty Gold - I bought all of them new in early 2000 and onwards as each became available. I played with my nephew, Zack. He was a little boy then. Majesty was a game I didn't have to explain or apologize for. It was kid friendly without being one of those games Zack came to call "educational" as a code for Mother approved.

Now Majesty 2 is out. Has been out a few years actually. I'd love to see what they have done as an encore to a game I already rate as one of the best for fun and ease of play. A simple game which does not need an entire day to play a round or complete a few missions. Most games the downfall is length and finding a good place to stop. Majesty comes in a series of missions with definite beginnings and endings. Connected to a central story but not turn based where a game can be unending.

Majesty is the fantasy simulation game where you build your own kingdom. The problem is... your citizens don't just co-operate the way they do in other strategy, simulation and city building games. In Majesty they can decide not to help you at all.

The little characters in Majesty won't work unless you pay them

You may find Majesty is a bit more real than you like. The game play is pretty simple. You won't need to struggle to understand how the game works or what you need to do.

But, monsters will attack. They come from outside your kingdom, wandering in. However, they also come from right under your nose, the sewers inside your kingdom. At any time a big rat will step out right into your village and start destroying something. You aren't usually as prepared as you thought you were. Plus, your people may not be helping you when you need them.

In that way, the game of Majesty is not the light weight it seems.

From Caesar's Rome you can travel in time and space to China, Egypt or Greece.

Caesar IV (4) didn't live up to the greatness of Caesar III. My only real problem is just the way the game moves with the keyboard and mouse. It feels awkward. It looks great, it has fresh challenges and overall it is a good upgrade to Caesar games past. I just didn't enjoy it as much as other games in the Caesar series.

There are other games in the series which are not extensions of Caesar IV but individual games which can be played on their own. Each is based in a different time period. So, give them a try, become a time and place traveler while building cities and not getting picked off by armies, locusts and other problems.

I have played:

• Caesar II (I found it as a free download and was curious to see how the old version played)
• Caesar III
• Caesar IV
• Pharaoh (with the Queen of the Nile expansion)
• Emperor
• Master of Olympus

Of them all Caesar III is still my favourite for just the simple, easy game play. There was a strategy to figure out and the balance is tipped easily enough that you do have to adjust your strategy when you try to do things a slightly different way. I've yet to complete all the levels - which is a good thing because I don't want a game which doesn't give a challenge and is all over in a week.

I am the Extreme City Planner

What do you most enjoy about city building games? For me it is the time to play god, to arrange a city just the way I want it. I am the city planner. I design my city while the game tries to kill me off with advancing armies, sneak attacks, crime waves, poverty, lack of water or other resources, tributes to Caesar and Rome, a demand for frivolous things like entertainment and decorations and the mood of my workers.

Second to city planning I try to find the balance of conditions and resources which will create a thriving village, city or town. Caesar is a good game for changing the conditions and limiting or switching resources. This makes the game challenging just on the city building level.

However, city building is not enough. You can't neglect or take your military for granted. In the early levels you can manage but as the game progresses you really need to find the best way to quickly build up your city and your ability to protect your city too. All while not going bankrupt. Caesar doesn't like it when you run out of money and can't send him gifts and resources which he demands. If you fail... he sends his armies to attack you. Your city is destroyed and you - start the level over.

Aren't you glad it's just a game sometimes?

Stronghold is one of the most under rated games.

Stronghold has it all: city building, fighting and defence campaigns and it's a simulation of the Middle Ages.

Being great at city buildings, gathering resources and timing the growth of your cities will not be enough. If you've been a great war machine, fighting off armies on land, air and sea, that won't be enough either. Stronghold pushes you to become both a builder and a fighter.

To win at Stronghold you need to build, fight and thrive all at the same time. The early levels are there to show you how the game controls work and give you a mild taste of the challenge to come. I enjoyed the city building, it's my favourite part.

I'm not a great fighter

The trouble playing Stronghold (for me) were the military campaigns. I was happy getting my village set up but just as it began to thrive I'd need the fighting force which I had not given much attention to. Stronghold is more realistic that way. The battles don't wait for you to be ready.

I do have a mild god complex

One feature of Stronghold which I especially have fun with is the ability to choose to be a nice ruler or a mean and heartless rulers. In your kingdom you are the woman (or man) in charge. Do you build nice things, make the village and kingdom pretty and keep everyone happy or ... Do you build devices to discipline and torture your people and keep them working for you out of fear?

Don't think you have to be nice. These are not real people, just game characters created from code and pixels. No one is watching over your shoulder to tell about your mistreatment of your village. At any time you can change your ways and offer them some pretty flowers. At least for a little while. Just a tease or a little misdirection to get keep them from leaving the village, dying or other minor but annoying things which would inconvenience you.

Of course, just as you have your villagers in line there is an army camped outside your boundaries just lining up to attack your castle and destroy everything you have built up.

I rushed home from ballet class to watch 'Get Smart' on television. I can remember one day especially, waiting at the glass and wood doors of the building, it was a rainy afternoon, and my Mom was soon going to pull up in the car and pick me up. That one day sticks in my memory for no reason I can think of. I just remember the rain and the theme at the beginning of "Get Smart" going through my head over and over as I waited for my Mom. Once we were home it was always just in good time to see Maxwell Smart, the Chief and Agent 99.

Do you Remember Maxwell Smart and Agent 99?

Maxwell Smart (Agent 86) was an agent of CONTROL, along with Agent 99 and other super spies. They fought KAOS. Max always had great gadgets and a shiny red convertible car. Best known among the gadgets was his shoe phone. I still see someone refer to the shoe phone on modern TV shows every now and then. Of course, the shoe phone back then was rotary. So much has changed since the days of Maxwell Smart (1965 - 1970).

It's funny how much I enjoyed the show. I don't watch many comedies these days. I usually find them too silly and immature. The same old jokes, misunderstandings and such which situation comedies have been all about for too many years. 'Get Smart' was more than stupid humour. Max seemed to bumble around and yet he always pulled it off (with help). I really liked Agent 99 and the Chief though. Agent 99 was so cool and collected, so smart and such a modern 70's woman.

Barbara Feldon was Agent 99. She was always the smart woman behind the bumbling but lovable Maxwell Smart (Don Adams). Recently I watched the modern remake of 'Get Smart' with Anne Hathaway. Although she captured Agent 99 quite well, there was much less snarkiness and feeling of being superior to Barbara Feldon as Agent 99. She did respect Max and though she had the odd smirk at his goof ups, I never felt she was smirking at his expense. Barbara Feldon as Agent 99 was class and clever, very well dressed too.

I enjoyed the opening and closing credits and watched every time. I don't know if I expected something to be different, but I did think it was funny to see him get stuck in the phone booth or have his nose caught in the doors. That's how I remember the show most of all, the opening music and the long corridor of doors.

The Unclassified Get Smart Site

Get Smart with Would you Believe...