July’s Jaunts

Have been a bit quiet on the blog front of late, life has a habit of taking over, and I’ve recently returned from a holiday in Yorkshire. We stayed at the Tollerton Caravan Park, some 10 miles north of York, which proved to be a very peaceful place – well, except for the train line on its border!

Anyway, there will be lots to report on with regard to that trip, including visits to Lightwater Valley Theme Park (watch for the interesting tale of the swan pedalo rescue), Rievaulx and Byland Abbeys and The National Railway Museum (a bit of a sting in the ‘tale’ with this one, or more specifically a burn on the belly).

So that’s a taste of future posts, but in the meantime, before I leave the Yorkshire theme, a word of warning if you’re visiting Thirsk. The short stay car park in front of the Wetherspoon’s in the town square, states that parking is free for up to 60 minutes. However, what is not immediately apparent is that you still have to press for a ticket to record your time of arrival. We missed this bit and were almost presented with a parking ticket, but fortunately our mistake was pointed out to us by a friendly parking attendant (yes, they do exist) so that we could remedy the situation in the nick of time!

As with any holiday, we returned with bags full of washing, only for the washing machine to go into meltdown. There’s no doubt that appliances do tend to pick their moments to break down! However, following my favourable experience of buying a new fridge/freezer from Co-op Electrical online, I headed straight to the website in search of a new machine. I was thrilled to find a sleek silver Beko number, at an astounding £110 off, which boasted rave reviews, so I wasted no time in placing my order. This was on the Monday – by 9.00 am Wednesday morning the machine was here and raring to go! I’m extremely pleased with it, and will be looking at reviewing it in more detail in a future post.

Earlier in the month we returned to a favourite visitor attraction of ours – Dover Castle. Having rejoined English Heritage this year (courtesy of Tesco Clubcard vouchers) we were eager to make the, now free, trip. However, this meant journeying across Kent, a manoeuvre greatly hampered by the existence of Operation Stack, which is still in place as I write. The journey was a nightmare, with many other roads on route log-jammed as a result. We finally arrived at the castle over an hour later than we should have done, but fortunately went on to have a lovely visit.

For those of us living in Kent, Operation Stack is a nightmare, which needs to be remedied by creating decent lorry parks just off the motorway. Of course, the source of the problem is far more complex, with its origins in Calais, which also need to be addressed.

So with July coming to a close it’s been a busy, but interesting month, now I’m just waiting for the return of summer, which I hope is just round the corner!

Pontin’s – My Bargain Break

A few weeks back, I found myself packing my bag and heading off to Pontin’s at Camber Sands. Not something I thought I would find myself doing, as I’d heard some none too favourable reviews in the past, but my daughter had booked a cheap break, and I’d agreed to accompany her and my toddler grandson on the trip.

My expectations had not been particularly high, partly due to what I’d heard, but also because I knew that my daughter had only paid in the region of £60 for a Monday to Friday stay. The paperwork had stated that our accommodation would be available from 4pm, but as we were relying on a lift there, ended up arriving before midday.

My plan on arrival was to ask if there was somewhere comfortable that we could wait with our luggage, but when I approached reception I was met with a cheery, “Hold on, I’ll see if your accommodation is ready,” – and it was! So by noon we were in our holiday apartment settling in, which gave us, in effect, a bonus afternoon.

Our ground floor ‘apartment’ (requested to make it easier with a pushchair) was basic, but adequate for a short stay. There was one bedroom with a double bed and a sofa bed in the main area, a small kitchen area with new-looking fridge and tired-looking cooker, which actually worked very well. The bathroom consisted of toilet, washbasin and shower that were OK, but we discovered the shower cubicle was broken. However, when we reported this to reception a maintenance man was despatched and a repair made within about half hour, so that was good service

Our main gripe was the bedding. Having paid for the privilege of having bedding provided, it was thin and ‘shiny’ and tended to slip off the beds every night, leaving us a bit chilly. I’m unsure as to whether this was the regular bedding however, as towards the end of our stay, we saw ‘proper sheets’ being placed in the neighbouring empty apartments.

Site facilities are good. There are a number of outdoor play areas for children of varying ages, a pirate crazy golf and a swimming pool, featuring a main pool with slide and a lovely warm toddler pool with assorted floats. Of course, there was also the inevitable arcade and a children’s club, large clubroom, pub and restaurant. Being off-season, evening entertainment took place in the pub as opposed to the larger club, as there didn’t appear to be that many of us staying there. Despite that, every evening there was a quiz (which I actually won one night and was presented with a bottle of wine) a children’s dance session and other entertainment.

My grandson loved the dressed-up characters that appeared at 10 each morning and again at the evening session and made use of the soft play area and toys in the children’s club.

As were we fortunate to have such lovely weather during our stay, we were also able to visit the beach, which just involved crossing the road outside and walking down a short lane.

We went for the self-catering option and, although there was a Nisa at the site entrance, found the shop opposite and the post office/village store further down the road cheaper options for shopping. Although, in its favour, the Nisa did have a £1 section selling useful things such as children’s arm bands.

There is actually a half-board option available, whereby breakfast and evening meal are provided at the Sands restaurant, but even if you do not select this deal, you can buy a three-course evening meal for £8.95, which is worth remembering.

Overall I enjoyed our Pontin’s stay, some of the accommodation is a little tired, but a little sprucing up could make all the difference. The facilities were good, but with over 700 apartments on site, could get a bit packed during high season. We were fortunate that as much of the accommodation was empty during our stay, we had easy access to everything that we wanted to do.

Although we didn’t meet huge numbers of fellow guests, we did see quite a few rabbits (lovely) and a huge number of seagulls, with regards to which I must issue a warning. On our first morning there, we heard a rap on the door. When I opened it there was no one to be seen, however when I glanced down towards the ground I was greeted by the sight of a cheeky gull. It was funny the first time, but wore thin as the week progressed, with this happening several times a day. At no point did we feed the gulls, indeed the site requests that you don’t, but did return one afternoon to find our ‘neighbour’ feeding them – not good!

I’m not sure that I would have wanted to spend a long holiday at Pontin’s Camber Sands, but would certainly consider another short break in the future.

Fancy a trip to Pontin’s at Camber Sands?

Visit pontins.com/holiday-parks/camber-sands  

Travelodge – A Peaceful Harbour

It’s been some time since we stayed in a Travelodge, having not had any distant family gatherings or long haul visits needing accommodation in the past year or so. However, a couple of weeks ago, hubby and I decided to have an impromptu break whilst our son was up to knees in a river in Wales (geography field trip).

My husband had wanted to visit The Turner Contemporary in Margate for some time, so we decided to head down to Thanet and make an overnight stay of it. The gallery itself was disappointing (see wheres-turner for more about that) but our choice of Travelodge was a great success.

Before travelling, I’d trawled the Internet for B&B accommodation that looked promising, but didn’t find much to my liking. So I decided to see if there were any Travelodges in the area that may be worth a try. I was immediately drawn to the Ramsgate Seafront hotel, which overlooks the harbour. Prices were reasonable (£47 for double room) and we decided to go for the breakfast option bringing the total to just over £60.

Although this branch did not have dedicated parking, it was opposite a public car park where it cost just £4 to leave our car for 24 hours.

On arrival we received a friendly greeting from the guy on reception and were promptly directed to our room. My immediate thought as I entered said room was that it actually looked different from other Travelodge rooms we’d stayed in before. It definitely felt a bit ‘higher end’ with a really comfy king-sized bed, tasteful decoration and a smarter looking bathroom. I understand that Travelodge is currently updating some of its hotels, so hopefully we’ll be able to enjoy more of these improved rooms.

The cleanliness of the room was also better than some we’d visited and all of the staff that we encountered during our stay were friendly and helpful.

We’d never gone for the breakfast option at a Travelodge before, partly because all that had been on offer was a ‘pre-packed’ version, but at this branch a full buffet breakfast was provided. By pre-booking our breakfast it was £1 cheaper per person than if we’d decided to request it on the day, a small saving but worth bearing in mind. We were able to help ourselves to whatever we wanted from a number of choices including various cereals, fruit, croissants, scrambled egg, bacon, sausages, tomatoes, beans, toast and various preserves. There was apple and orange juice to drink as well as tea and a range of coffee. We left feeling very replete!

There had also been an evening meal option too, but we had decided not to go for this, as we had wanted to stroll out in the evening and eat elsewhere. As luck would have it, just a very short distance from where we were staying, we found a pub/restaurant called ‘The Goose’. This worked on the principle of a Wetherspoons but the food was actually nicer and even better value. We enjoyed two main courses for just £8.95 and two delicious desserts for just £4.75 (not each but for the two!) I can highly recommend the food and service at The Goose!

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Travelodge Ramsgate Seafront and would certainly return for another visit. Thank you to everyone there.

You can view this accommodation at travelodge.co.uk/hotels/510/Ramsgate-Seafront

You can also read my previous Travelodge reviews and comments by visiting:

travelodge-tales-latest

travelodge-tips

travelodge-tales  

All About April

Well April’s certainly seen some lovely weather, with warm sunny days that hint more at summer than spring. I’ve certainly been enjoying the warm spell, experiencing my first spring in my new rural home – you can read more at www.ruraljoy.blogspot.co.uk

Of course, one of the big stories of the moment has been the election campaign with all its related debates, broadcasts and inevitable slanging matches – candidates running down the opposition as opposed to concentrating on their own policies. Like many voters I’m finding this a tough one to call, although I think that I’ve finally decided on how I’m going to vote. Key issues for me include saving the NHS, protecting our children’s education and putting an end to the ‘rob the poor to make the rich richer’ mentality!

With regard to education, I’m continuing my campaign to call for a complete review of Ofsted, please join me with that by tweeting #OfstedNoConfidence or lobbying your local MP.

I’ve been fortunate enough to get away for a short break this month, enjoying some time with my daughter and toddler grandson at Camber Sands. The weather was unbelievably kind to us and we were able to build sandcastles on the beach and even paddle in the sea! My daughter had booked us in at Pontin’s, which had caused me a little trepidation as I’d heard some damning reviews in the past, but I was pleasantly surprised. Although the accommodation was a little tired, the staff were lovely and the facilities pretty good. You’ll be able to read more about my stay in a future post.

Although I’m only a very occasional visitor to McDonald’s I recently went to my local branch that had recently been refurbished – and promptly despaired at the service! The branch has taken on a new Argos-esque persona whereby you queue twice – once to order and another to collect said order. The waiting time seemed much increased from the old system and the staff appeared more interested in distributing balloons than serving customers. This is no doubt another subject I’ll revisit in a future post.

Hope you’ve all had a great month, soaking up the sunshine and hopefully not becoming too disillusioned by all the political speak. Feel free to share some of your April highs and lows in the comments section of this blog!

Ofsted – Review and Reform

Over the last few months I’ve written a couple of blog posts Are Ofsted Off The Mark? and Ofsted - The Response highlighting the inconsistencies of Ofsted reports and calling for a review of the system. Those of you who follow me on Twitter may have joined in the #OfstedNoConfidence campaign, see hashtag/ofstednoconfidence

 

The reasons that I would like to see a total overhaul of Ofsted stem both from personal experience and the accounts that I read and hear from others concerning inconsistent and unfair reports.

For a number of years I worked in schools as support for the visually impaired. One school in particular that I went to had been given a glowing report, but turned out to be the worst school I’ve ever set foot in. Behaviour was appalling, morale was low (teachers and students) and lessons were not taught with any energy or enthusiasm.

A few years ago my son’s school was put into special measures by Ofsted, despite it being a high achieving establishment with a sense of pride and belonging. When I challenged Ofsted they admitted they had marked the school down on teaching and behaviour purely for it to score low enough to be put into these measures. Their main gripe was financial management, but as the school had no bursar or finance department, perhaps all that needed to happen was to agree to instigate one or the other. For some reason their agenda included getting rid of the (great, to my mind) head, by promising him that if he resigned other posts would be safe. As soon as he was clear of the school all the governors were dismissed and certain teaching staff ‘disappeared’ overnight. So much for making that deal good.

More recently there have been some other appalling, and quite sad, stories in the news about popular schools that have been condemned by Ofsted to the incredulity of staff, parents and pupils alike. Think Durham Free School, Bisham Primary School and The Ilfracombe Academy, to name a few.

Appeals and complaints directed at Ofsted themselves cut no mustard and The Department of Education seem to think that it’s nothing to do with them. So it’s down to us – the parents, teachers and students – to make enough noise to force an independent review of the situation.

It would appear that Ofsted don’t always work to the agenda that you would expect. Are some schools merely condemned just so they can be controlled by some of the dubious trusts that exist? To quote the Green Party, “Ofsted has become a political tool, as schools put into special measures can be fast-tracked to Academy status”. This is just one point of view, but I personally believe Ofsted have a different motive than is first apparent.

What reforms do there need to be? Well, here are a few ideas for starters.

- Change the existing forms designed for parents to complete, from tick boxes to forms that allow free and full comment.

- Include parents in the inspections themselves, holding a discussion session that can be attended by all those who would like to have their say.

- Ensure that all Ofsted teams are made up of a fair mix of inspectors from different backgrounds, beliefs, ages etc

- Ensure that all relevant data and comments are considered during the inspection, to include press (good and bad), parental complaints, evidence of community involvement, details of particularly difficulties that the school has had to overcome and so on.

- If a school genuinely falls down on a particular category, assistance should be provided to overcome that particular issue, rather than dismiss the head/close the school/put the school in special measures when there is often a solution available.

If there are ideas that you would like to see added to this list, please leave a comment on this blog, or tweet me @blogsbyjoy

Thank you for your support, please remember to use #OfstedNoConfidence on Twitter!

January’s Highs And Lows

It’s been a strange month. The weather has been freezing cold one moment and unseasonably mild the next. With a general election looming this year, there have been debates on how and even whether there should be party debates and slanging matches have started between party leaders.

I’ve been trying to keep warm in the ‘glorified shed’ (you can keep up with the latest on that at www.ruraljoy.blogspot.co.uk) and despairing as to whether any party leader is actually fit to run the country!

 

Anyway, here are a few of my other highs and lows for the month.

Highs

Discovering a handy website for knitting patterns and wool, as I had been very frustrated at the lack of decent patterns available. My local craft and wool shop only seems to stock patterns that appear to belong in the 1970s and knitting magazines tend to print lots of patterns for small items, with only the odd cardigan or jumper that may or may not be appealing. I was very pleased therefore to discover www.deramores.com where you can sign up for a newsletter giving you access to free patterns as well as purchase reasonably priced patterns and wool. My order was processed and despatched literally within hours and I was very pleased with my purchases.

Grabbing some late sale bargains, including a pair of trousers from Wallis reduced from £30 to £10, a cardigan from Dorothy Perkins down from £25 to £10 and a perfume set from Boots for just £8 as opposed to its original £28! That amounted to £83 worth of shopping for just £28 – well £20 actually, as I used my Boots Advantage points for the perfume!

Receiving my first £5 Morrisons’ Match and More voucher, despite only purchasing quite minor amounts of shopping in the store and targeting offers most of the time, these points still added up very quickly!

Enjoying Father Brown on TV, although why it’s shoved into an afternoon slot on BBC1 I don’t know – it would make great evening viewing. In fact, that’s exactly when I do watch it, as I record it on my Humax box. It has a great cast and if you’ve never seen it I strongly recommend you start watching!

Lows

Finding out that Sainsburys’ online grocery shopping slaps on an extra charge for orders under £40, although I can report that Tesco only put an extra fee on the bill for orders under £25. My elderly mother-in-law particularly wanted to order some groceries from Sainsburys’ and enlisted our help. As she is only catering for herself, we checked that the minimum order for delivery was indeed £25. It was not until we got to the checkout stage, that we discovered the extra charge. Fair enough, there has to be a minimum amount to make delivery viable, but I don’t believe any supermarket should be charging extra for orders above the £25 mark.

The return of Broadchurch to our TV screens has been somewhat of a disappointment to me. I’d read various articles saying that the story was going to be really different and exciting, yet half of the programme each week seems to be going over old ground and dwelling on the court case relating to the last series. I would have much preferred more emphasis on a new story than dredging up the past – I can only hope it will improve as the weeks go by.

Reading ‘Natural Causes’ by James Oswald, which I’m not criticising for its writing or characterisation, but purely saying the plot was not for me. I like a good detective story, but this was too gory for me, with a higher body count than even a series of Midsomer Murders! It has some great reviews, but personally I prefer a little more mystery and a little less graphic content.

What Price An Opinion?

I was absolutely incensed to see, when I turned on the TV this morning for a spot of news, a couple being interviewed after being ‘charged’ for writing a review about a hotel in which they had stayed.

The review in question had been somewhat negative, but listening to the report, it would appear rightly so. The couple had experienced a number of problems with their room, which they had reported, but had not been solved. Disgruntled with their stay, they consequently wrote a review commenting on their experience, which I believe they were perfectly within their rights to do. OK, so they didn’t pay a premium rate for their room, but it should still have been fit for purpose.

However, the hotel still had their credit card details from when they had paid for their room, and apparently helped themselves to a payment of £100 in light of the comments the couple had made. They justified this by saying it was in the small print (very small print as it appears) that anyone writing a bad review would incur a charge. How ludicrous!

This case throws up a fair number of important issues.

We shouldn't pay for others shortcomings

Firstly, I believe that as consumers, we should all have the right to speak as we find. If we receive bad service or shoddy goods, we should firstly exercise our right to complain to those concerned (as the couple in this case did), but if our grievances aren’t resolved, we should be able to warn others of the shortcomings, to prevent others having to repeat our bad experience.

A second, connected point is that we should all be able to exercise freedom of speech, with the exception of the use of abusive or threatening comments.

Thirdly, it should not be, to my mind, legal for anyone to take further payments from a debit/credit card just because they were once given the details as part of a separate transaction. I believe this is just another breach of consumer rights.

Of course, this whole subject is close to my heart, as I regularly write reviews on goods and services – good and bad – and believe I offer a service in doing just that! If businesses want to avoid getting bad reviews, they should, quite simply, ensure that they maintain basic standards and that the goods and services that they supply meet all health and safety regulations, and are fit for purpose. Where mistakes are made or standards are lacking, they should endeavour to rectify the situation promptly and with good grace – this can turn a potentially bad review into a more positive one!

On the other side of the coin, it would appear that some people threaten to write damning reviews unless they are offered a discounted price. This is equally wrong. Just as we expect to be treated respectfully by companies, we should act responsibly as customers. Reviews need to be truthful in order to be helpful to others, sticking to the facts and be made in order to put across a fair point, as opposed to seeking personal gain.

Reviews of products and services can be beneficial to all – potential customers and businesses alike – so let’s protect our right to speak out when things are wrong, without the threat of being ‘fined’ for so doing, as this just rubs salt into already painful wounds!

What do you think?

Mini Oven Review

(It’s the oven that’s mini, not the review by the way)

Due to our current, somewhat strange living arrangements ( read more here ) we decided to invest in a mini oven, which would allow us to cook some of the foods that we’d been missing, and were unable to conjure up on our basic camping stove and grill arrangement.

After doing a bit of research and reading various customer reviews, we plumped for the Andrew James Mini Combi Oven from Amazon. With a two-plate hob and multi-function oven, it seemed a good buy.

I’m pleased to report that we’re really getting on quite well with it and have appreciated all that it has to offer. On the downside, it does take longer than the average oven to heat up (the hob too) but once it gets going it cooks really well. In fact, pastry for example, cooks much better than it did in our previous oven, becoming a lovely even, golden brown colour, of which any Bake Off contestant would be immensely proud.

The oven capacity is a decent size, enabling me to cook a full roast dinner, and the internal dimensions allow enough space for a large pizza tray.

With a choice of five oven settings, however, it seems a shame that the instruction booklet doesn’t explain which setting would best suit which type of dish. The settings consist of: upper heating and low heating with fan; upper heating and fan; upper heating and lower heating; lower heating; upper heating. The instructions merely advise that four out of the five settings are suitable for baking, with the other function acting as a grill. So we’ve resorted to good old trial and error to work out which arrangement is best for which dish, and slowly but surely we’re getting there.

So if you’ve got limited kitchen space, are looking for a temporary cooker whilst living in a shambles, sorry doing a renovation project, or just fancy an economical change, then I can recommend the Andrew James Mini Oven, despite its sketchy instructions

What’s happened to ‘Which?’

Several years ago, my husband decided to take out a subscription to ‘Which?’ magazine, as at that time it published some good product reviews relative to our lifestyle.

Out of my league

However, recent editions of the magazine have wandered off the point somewhat, reviewing products including £1000 coffee grinders as opposed to items such as £75 vacuum cleaners.

Indeed many of the products reviewed appear more geared towards those with a very affluent lifestyle as opposed to us mere mortals trying to scrape together an honest wage. You are far more likely to read about products by Miele and Smeg, than Beko and Bosch, despite these brands offering appliances that perform well. It seems us ordinary folk are no longer the ‘Which?’ target audience.

The one exception to this rule is their amazing verdict that Aldi is the best supermarket. Are they kidding? All the branches I have ever tried have been poorly laid out, offered limited product choice and were staffed by some very unhelpful individuals. To me Aldi is bottom of the supermarket scale.

Accordingly, hubby decided to cancel his membership to ‘Which?’ – a process that actually deserves a review all of its own.

Simple but serviceable

Prior to ringing the subscriptions department, he had cancelled membership with another company, a process that had taken approximately one minute. The ‘Which?’ operator had other ideas, however.

The conversation lasted for over 10 minutes during which time various incentives (none of any use) were offered to continue with the subscription, numerous questions were asked (and opinions given) and a large amount of ‘sales speak’ was employed.

By the end of the conversation my husband had indeed managed to cancel his subscription, but was left looking rather shell-shocked, feeling that he had just undergone some rigorous debriefing session.

So my Shoppers’ Joy award for the most harrowing ‘end of subscription’ experience goes to ‘Which?’ magazine. Well, it’s about time the reviewers were reviewed.

Follow me on Twitter @shoppersjoy

July’s Blog Review

Wow what a scorcher! The temperature rose, along with tempers in some cases, but I’ve had a fun month and hope that you have too! We’ve been out baring our lily-white legs and complaining about the heat in typical British style, whilst making the most of what the great outdoors has to offer.

With the change in weather I managed a spot of camping and am spending much of my summer in my static caravan on the east coast. What are your summer plans?

Back on the subject of rising tempers, some of the things that annoyed me this month were free bus passes being automatically issued to those in their 60s however well off they are, stores putting their returns departments on their upper floors and people having loud phone conversations, peppered with expletives, whilst on public transport.

There were mixed reactions on the bus pass front, with suggestions that there should be some form of charge for issuing the passes to help with admin costs and comments that the qualifying age should be raised to 70, both of which I feel would help the situation.

In response to my ‘Mobile Madness’ blog, bemoaning the loud, explicit phone conversations passengers have on buses, JC remarked that this is a generational thing, which I agree with to a point, although I can’t help but smile when a really upbeat, current tune sounds as a ringtone, and is promptly answered by some grey-haired little old lady on the bus.

Reviews this month included ‘bake at home’ products, body creams, curl treatments and coffee shops. I also took trips to Colchester Zoo and Penshurst Place, both of which I highly recommend.

There’s lots more planned for August, so keep reading!

Follow me on Twitter @shoppersjoy

DS Games: Cate West Vanishing Files

It’s been some since I last reviewed a DS game, but today I’m looking at one that I’ve played and replayed several times over – Cate West Vanishing Files.

Cate is a writer who has ‘visions’ that help her to solve a series of crimes occurring in the city of Arcadia.

As with so many of these games, hidden object levels features heavily, but with this game the graphics are good with many of the objects cleverly, though not impossibly, hidden.

Other levels in the game include spot the difference, a ‘replace the objects’ level that is a bit like spot the difference, but you replace the missing objects in one of the pictures, and a game that involves eliminating possible suspects using given clues. The worrying thing about that level is that one of the suspects looks alarmingly like Jimmy Carr, which was a bit unsettling.

I do enjoy playing this game, as it’s a bit more challenging than some, with a bit of variety too. I really recommend giving this game a go.

Follow me on Twitter @shoppersjoy

DS Games – Big Word Puzzle Book

I really love a good word puzzle – in fact I just love playing with words – so as I’m also a fan of DS games, the Big Word Puzzle Book is a firm favourite.

The game features eight puzzle challenges, each of which can be played at four different levels- easy, medium, difficult and expert.

 

Some of the word games are old favourites, such as hangman, word search and codeword (substituting numbers with the correct letters), whilst others are a bit more unusual.

I love playing Guessword, where you literally have to guess a random word through the process of elimination. With careful thought it\s amazing how few guesses it sometimes takes to be right.

I also enjoy Combinates, a kind of scaled down Scrabble board where you aim to get the highest score possible using all the given letters.

Other games include DIY Crossword (place words in the grid provided), Spellitaire (a quick-fire word making game) and Pop-Up Garden (an anagram game).

This game allows you to save four profiles at a time and you can play in single or multiplayer mode.

Highly recommended for all word puzzle fans.

Follow me on Twitter @shoppersjoy

DS Games – Amazing Adventures The Forgotten Ruins

Another day, another hidden object game – this time levels alternate with some fun minigames including ‘spot the difference’, ‘memory match’, ‘tile swap’, jigsaw puzzles and, my favourite, Mah-Jong.

The mix of games is really quite good and the hidden object scenes are clear, with a good assortment of objects to find. During the course of the game you also need to find 17 jade masks and 17 glyphs in order to unlock the unlimited ‘seek and solve’ and freeplay minigames.

This game has a good, clear layout, the option to save 3 versions of the game at a time and you can achieve different ‘levels of player’ as you progress through the story.

I’ve actually played this game a few times over now, but still enjoy it just as much as I did the first time through.

Follow me on Twitter @shoppersjoy

DS Games – Mystery Tales Time Travel

This wins the prize for the most frustrating DS game that I have ever played! Why? All will be revealed shortly.

The blurb made the game sound interesting, spanning settings across France, China, Egypt, Rome and so on. It’s basically a hidden object game once again with the added twist of ‘casting spells’.

In addition to finding listed objects, you need to find frogs, eyes, jewels and feathers, which combine to make ‘spells’. What you actually do is join some dots to make a shape, releasing a hint, some extra time or whatever. Drawing the shapes becomes very tedious and several times I got over-enthusiastic and started to draw too early, failing the task, which meant I had to repeat it – maddening!

You are also meant to collect jigsaw pieces throughout the game, but I often forgot to look for these.

The first few levels were fine to play, some things were a bit tricky to find, but it’s boring if you find everything easily anyway. But then I got to the Sacrificial Altar level and things started to get very frustrating.

I spent ages trying to find the numbers and arrows requested, eventually finding the first few, before becoming completely stuck. Even returning to the level over a series of days got me nowhere, partly because the graphics in this scene are not at all clear. In desperation I turned to the Internet for help – something I never normally do. One suggestion was to turn the brightness up on the DS, but this didn’t help me. Another was to use a spell, but either this is only possible on certain versions, or my game had a ‘bug’ preventing me from doing so. In the end I resorted to random tapping, which meant time penalties, but with perseverance and restarting the level several times over I go there in the end. A very haphazard method that I went on to use in another couple of frustrating levels.

Another really annoying thing about this game is that you can only save one version of the game at a time, and when you load story mode ‘new game’ appears top of the list, meaning it’s very easy to click on it by accident as opposed to ‘continue’ and lose all your game so far.

Despite all the setbacks, I managed to get to the end of the game – I must be a glutton for punishment, are you?

Follow me on Twitter @shoppersjoy

DS Games – Vampire Moon, The Mystery Of The Hidden Sun

Vampire stories have become increasingly popular over recent years, with this Transylvania-based DS game following the trend.

News reporter, Emily Davis, sets out to solve a mystery, but as with many games of this type, I tend to skim the story and get down to the business of actual game play.

Once again, the game consists of hidden object levels, putting a few of the objects to minimal use along the way. The hidden object scenes are quite average, although you do need to find some notes and jewels in addition to the listed objects.

There are a few minigames, but these are quite basic and easy to complete. I found the labyrinth games the easiest I’ve solved and there is a game that just involves rubbing your stylus over the screen, to reveal symbols – like the old ‘magic drawing’ books I had as a child.

Although I would only rate this as an ‘average’ game, there is still some enjoyment to be had from it.

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DS Games – The Last Window & Phoenix Wright

For the latest in my DS reviews I’m looking at two games that combine searching for items with interviewing characters,

The Last Window: The Secret of Cape West

In this game you play as Kyle Hyde, ex-cop turned salesman, trying to unravel mysteries from the past, connected to the apartment block (formerly Hotel Cape West) where he now lives. In the very early stages of this game I got a little bored, as the conversations seemed a bit slow and the tasks few and far between. However, once the characters and storyline had been established, the game became more enjoyable. In addition to finding and using objects and selecting questions to ask fellow residents, you get to play an ‘arcade-style’ game, a bar game, draw a portrait and solve puzzles. As you complete each chapter of the story, you can read a detailed version in the ‘book’ section of the game. I actually really loved this game in the end and am off to find a copy of Hotel Dusk, the forerunner of The Last Window.

Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations

The idea of this game is to collect evidence and question suspects and witnesses, then produce the evidence and further question characters in court. The concept of this game is really good, as it takes thoughtful consideration to produce the correct items and choose the right questions at the appropriate time. Some characters totally ‘lock up’ when quizzed and you have to endeavour to break open their defences. However, what really annoyed me about this game were the irritating mannerisms and reactions of certain characters. In fact, many of the characters were painfully annoying. Prolonged sneezing, contemplation of coffee, exclamatory shrieks and repetitive phrases really detracted from the game itself – it would be greatly improved if a lot of these quirks were removed. There are more games in this series, but despite it being a good, long game with some nice ideas, I’m not sure that I can stand any more of the craziness!

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DS Games: CSI

This series of games is based on the TV series by the same name (which I admit to never watching) and revolves around collecting evidence to solve a series of crimes. You use various forensic tools to connect suspects to the crime scene and are ‘marked’ on your performance.

I’ve played three CSI DS games with each following the format of examining crime scenes, collecting and processing evidence and interviewing suspects, although they all vary somewhat with regard to animation, employment of tools and interviewing technique.

Dark Motives The first game I played and the first chronologically too. The graphics are a bit grainy and not as clear as I would like. To move around the scenes you guide an arrow cursor, which turns green over items of interest. This can be a bit erratic to control, sometimes zooming in on objects that you don’t want it to. I really wasn’t keen on the menu setup on this game either, there are tabs at the bottom of a screen that you click on to reveal subheadings, which just makes the whole screen feel a bit crowded. Usage of tools is basic, just click on the one you want and hold it over the item you want to use it on, without actually doing anything with it – what is a pain is trying to put back a tool you don’t want to use! Another problem I found is that you only get one save file, meaning that only one player can save games at a time, which is a bit annoying. I liked the idea of the game, rather than the game itself.

Deadly Intent, The Hidden Cases I noticed a big improvement in this game, although I found the animation a little ‘cartoony’. You are given three separate save files, allowing more than one player to have a game in progress. The cursor system works better, you move a circular icon, a bit like a gun sight around the scene and it flashes over points of interest. In this game you feel that you actually get to ‘use’ the tools e.g. move the stylus across an object to dust for fingerprints, then blow into the microphone to remove excess powder. Processing evidence in the lab becomes more involved too, performing puzzle-type tasks. The menu setup is clearer, the interview technique better and the game generally has a nicer feel than Dark Motives.

Unsolved! This has all the best features of Deadly Intent, but with nicer graphics. This was by far my favourite version, combining all the best elements – three save files, ability to use tools, interesting tasks to process evidence and taking part in interviews where you can so easily go wrong if you don’t think things through carefully. If I repeat any of them, this will be the one.

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DS Games – Secret Files

Continuing with my review of mystery, puzzle DS games, today I’m looking at the ‘Secret Files’ series.

Secret Files: Tunguska The first of the ‘Secret Files’ games sees Nina Kalenkov embark on a journey to discover the mystery behind her father’s kidnapping. The game moves through a variety of interesting locations across the world, in which you collect objects and use them in inventive ways to reach your end goal. There were times when I got really stuck with the combining of objects, as they were not always used in the way that you would expect, sometimes involving quite a lengthy sequence of events, but the level of thought needed made the game really interesting. Hints and help functions are available if you get really stuck, but avoid using these if  you can, because you will get there in the end if you think laterally. I actually loved the challenge of this game, which kept me busy for some considerable time, and would rate it amongst my favourite DS games to date.

Secret Files 2: Puritas Cordis This follows a similar format but with a brand new story. This time Nina endeavours to track down an extreme secret society intent on destroying the world. I don’t know whether it was just because I’d already played the first game and was starting to see how things worked, but this seemed easier to solve and I completed it much faster. I was disappointed to reach the end so abruptly, when I felt that I should have had more left to solve. The question is if I hadn’t previously played Tunguska, would I have found this harder? I will never know.

What games would you recommend? comments@shoppersjoy.co.uk

DS Games – The Jewelled Collection

There are a fair number of DS games around that involve matching rows of jewels on a board, until the whole area has been covered (simplified explanation). In some cases, jewel boards form a small part of a wider game, but in others the game consists of little else.

So far in this category I have played:

Jewel Quest Mysteries, Curse Of The Emerald Tear This is the first ‘jewel’ game that I ever played, one of many available in the ‘Jewel Quest’ series. I really enjoyed this game as it alternates between hidden object scenes and jewel boards, offering a bit of variety. It also has a separate bonus game, Mysteryville, a hidden object game with a few twists, further increasing playing time and options. The hidden object levels are really well done, having lots of detailed scenes that are also clear. By finding jewels and coins in these levels, you can ‘buy’ extra help features to use if you get a bit stuck. The jewel boards progress in difficulty throughout the game, increasing the challenge. Overall a very good game.

Jewel Quest Expeditions Having thoroughly enjoyed the first Jewel Quest game I’d tried, I was keen to give this one a go. As it was described as a ‘game adventure through Africa’, I presumed that it would include some appropriate game play in addition to jewel boards. However, apart from a series of rather unsatisfying story screens that I decided were best ‘skipped’, it comprised of just board after board of jewel puzzles. Admittedly, the boards become progressively harder, sometimes involving new twists to the game, but I would have preferred to have some mini games or hidden objects scenes to break the monotony. One of my biggest complaints is that although you can strive to accumulate what looks like an impressive score, there is no way of saving scores and comparing them, making it all seem a bit pointless. More variety definitely needed in this one.

Jewel Link Mysteries, Mountains of Madness The only game that I’ve tried so far from the Jewel Link series. This one again mixes hidden object games and jewel boards, with an extra ‘combination’ level in between. This level allows you to use some of the objects collected, be it in a basic way. It’s also possible to accumulate various bonus features during the course of the game to use to assist in the jewel board levels. I quite enjoyed this game, although I found the hidden object levels not as clear or as interesting as in other games I’ve played.

What games would you recommend? comments@shoppersjoy.co.uk

DS Games – Ghosts and Rooms

I’m a big fan of DS games, chiefly of the mystery/puzzle genres, and find getting ‘lost’ in a game is a great way to unwind.

Almost all my games have been bought from Amazon – either new or used but in excellent condition – where I can find almost every game imaginable at a reasonable price.

Many of the games I play contain a ‘hidden object’ element, often with added minigames and features, but there are some that are really quite unique. In the first of my DS game reviews, I look at some of these more novel games.

Ghost Trick (Phantom Detective) – An odd concept, but certainly a different game. The story starts with murder of the character that you then play as, which you attempt to solve, in addition to other mysteries, in the form of a ghost. This allows you to ‘inhabit’ various objects and manipulate them to change the course of events. Some of the sequences that you need to perform take quite a bit of working out, but in a challenging rather than a frustrating way. I really enjoyed the game, despite its odd quality and the irritating character in the white coat, as it’s just so different from others I’ve played, and lasted longer too. I can certainly recommend Ghost Trick if you enjoy a bit of problem solving.

Rooms – An interesting take on traditional sliding puzzles – where you rearrange squares to form a picture – with some unusual twists. Your aim is to make your way to the exit of each set of rooms, with the difficulty level increasing all the time. Extra features include finding keys and explosives to use, swapping the location of rooms and ‘travelling’ through a ‘magic’ wardrobe. I did find this a little frustrating in the later stages and thought the underlying story a bit strange, but enjoyed the individual puzzles at face value. Certainly a challenge!

Zenses (Ocean and Rainforest editions) – I love the somewhat simple concepts of these puzzles, which are anything but simple to master. If you do find a few of the puzzles a bit too easy, just up the difficulty level for more of a challenge. Activities include combining patterns, matching shapes, building stacks and clearing boards of patterns, interspersed with memory challenges. It’s difficult to do these puzzles justice with words, as they are really quite clever – you just have to play them to appreciate them. I definitely recommend Zenses if you love a good, visual puzzle.

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