The new Hirakumi Style in Volleyball Legends is a powerful, defense-focused style inspired by Hirugami Sachirō from Haikyuu. Known for its unmatched blocking ability, it’s perfect for players who enjoy saving points and controlling the game from the front line. If defense is your strength, this style is worth unlocking using the steps in this Hirakumi Style guide.
How to Unlock Hirakumi Style in Volleyball Legends
Just like all other Styles and Abilities in Volleyball Legends, the Hirakumi Style is unlocked through the gacha system. To get started, tap on the Style icon located at the bottom of the main screen. This will take you to the area where you can roll for Styles. You can choose between using Lucky Spins or Default Spins to try your luck at getting the Hirakumi Style.
Hirakumi is a Godly-tier Style, which means it’s quite rare. If you use Default Spins, the chance of getting it is only 0.5%. That’s why it’s a good idea to use Lucky Spins instead, as they give you a better chance: around 5%. Before you start spinning with Lucky Spins, make sure you select Hirakumi under the Godly Tier. This helps the system focus your rolls toward that specific Style.
Hirakumi Style Stats in Volleyball Legends
That’s some vertical leap, huh.
Here’s a clear breakdown of the Hirakumi Style in Volleyball Legends, along with what makes it stand out:
Hirakumi stands out in Volleyball Legends as the only character with a maximum Block stat. This makes him incredibly effective at shutting down attacks from any other character in the game. His blocking ability allows him to stop even the strongest spikes completely when timed correctly.
While his movement speed is quite low compared to others, he makes up for it with his strong defensive presence. If you’re the kind of player who prefers to control the pace of the match through solid defense and precise timing, Hirakumi is a great choice.
Players who stay near the net and focus on reading the opponent’s moves will get the most out of his role, using it to deliver game-changing blocks.
And here are the Stats:
Block – 100%
Bump – 20%
Dive – 30%
Jump -100%
Serve – 90%
Set – 50%
Speed – 10%
Spike – 40%
That is all for my Hirakumi Style guide. Check out our Volleyball Legends Style Tier List to see more relevant Styles that can help you become the king of the court.
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Looking for a social activity that’s basically COVID-proof? Allow us to present… two-player board games! If you’re lucky enough to live with at least one other person of a game-playing age and inclination, this is a fun thing you can do without the leaving the house, inviting anyone round, or (once you have the game), even spending money!
Convinced? Great! Here are some of our favourite games for two to help you prepare for whatever comes along next…
Hive, aka ‘insect chess’, is a strong contender for my favourite two-player game EVER, which is maybe surprising given my complete ambivalence about actual chess. This neat strategy game packs bags of depth and replayability into a handful of tactile Bakelite pieces, and will fit in a handbag or even a (large) pocket if you buy the mini version.
The game itself has just a handful of rules, and absolutely zero set-up beyond tipping the pieces out of the bag and splitting them by colour. On a turn, either add a new piece to the playing area or move a piece you’ve placed already. Pieces feature different types of insects that move in different ways. In the basic version of the game there are just five species to get your head around: ants, grasshoppers, beetles, spiders and the all-important queen bee.
You win the game if your opponent’s queen is completely surrounded by other pieces, regardless of whether those pieces are yours or theirs. There are just a couple of additional rules relating to placement and movement, but that’s basically the whole game (check out the Shut Up and Sit Down review here for a more complete run-through if you like to dot the ‘i’s and cross the ‘t’s).
Once you’re under way, this simple set of rules magically transforms into a quick-yet-satisfying playing experience that will get those mental cogs turning just enough without causing total burn-out, and will almost certainly leave you coming back for more.
As if that wasn’t enough, sturdiness of the pieces and lack of a board make this a game you can play pretty much anywhere. We’ve played Hive in the pub, in the park, even on a picnic blanket at a festival. Admittedly some of these settings might not be immediately relevant, but a game this durable will still be going strong when they are!
Once upon a time, way back when we were taking our very first steps into modern board gaming, Andy went on a quest to find a great two-player game for us to take on holiday, and came back with a neat little box containing Jaipur. We hadn’t played that many Euro-style games by this point, and initially I confess that the Middle-Eastern marketplace theme and apparent excess of camels left me a touch sceptical. But, as soon as I got to grips with the carefully balanced back-and-forth of the gameplay, my scepticism dissolved, and even the quantity of camels began to make sense.
Jaipur is a two-player card game in which players compete for the approval of the Maharaja, which they can gain by becoming the richest merchant in two out of three rounds of trading in the city of Jaipur’s market place.
The game mainly consists of a deck of cards containing a mixture goods to be traded and a WHOLE LOT of camels. The options on a turn are simple: either take one goods card or ALL THE CAMELS from the market place for free; swap goods cards from your hand and/or camels from your herd with the same number of goods from the market place; or, sell a set of matching goods to gain victory points (the more cards sold at once the better in terms of gaining points).
It’s straightforward on the surface, but with a hand limit of seven cards there are quickly some difficult choices to be made, and the more cards you take from the market the more new ones will appear before your opponent’s next turn and the higher the chance of them being able to claim something especially nice and shiny.
Again this game is super-portable, and packs a lot of depth and replayability into a neat little box. Plus, the recently-released second edition has given it a fresh coat of paint, making it extra vibrant and appealing.
If you prefer your games to have an engaging theme, or at the very least to contain cute plastic animals, Ice Team might be right up your ice floe. The aim of this simple, two-player race game is to get your team of polar bears from one end of the board to the other as quickly as you can, acquiring as many fish as possible along the way.
The modular race course can be arranged in different ways and there’s some randomness in the set-up, so the obstacles you’re tackling will be different each time. The rules for movement are simple: pick a bear and hop it to an adjacent ice berg tile or swim in a straight line across open water. Bears can leap-frog over each other should the opportunity arise, and some of the ice berg tiles do different things, from providing you with fish to letting you satisfyingly surf to the next spot.
There’s a bit of chance involved in winning, with the number of fish you acquire being partly determined by dice rolls, but there’s plenty of strategy too, especially when it comes to making your adorable team work together effectively.
This is a great choice if you’re looking for a game to engage a younger audience (the publishers recommend it for ages 8+), but we’re confident most adults will find it irresistible and more-ish too, and the theme feels just festive enough to make it ideal for Christmas but playable all year round!
Sometimes the premise of a game is so awesome that it’s enough to convince you to give it a try all by itself. We’ve persuaded a whole lot of people to try out Raptor at The Treehouse pretty much on the basis of theme alone, but the good news is that the gameplay is excellent too!
Raptor is an asymmetric game where one player takes on the role of a mother raptor, quietly minding her own business in the jungle/ desert (the board is double-sided) while tending her brood of babies. The other player takes control of a team of scientists, whose aim is to steal at least three of those babies away before the mother can get them safely off the board.
If you’re anything like us you already want to give this a go, but before you dive in let’s talk about how it works. Each player controls their pieces using a small deck of cards numbered one to nine. On each turn, both players draw three cards to choose from, and place the one they want to play face down. The chosen cards are revealed simultaneously (a mechanic we always love, incidentally), and determine who can do what. Each card has a particular power (adding new scientists to the board, say, or letting the mother raptor call some of her babies closer to her), but in order to activate that power the card must have a lower number than the other player. Whoever played the higher number instead gets to perform a number of actions (again, character-specific) equal to the difference in the numbers on the two cards chosen.
Every game of Raptor is guaranteed to be packed with narrative and drama. If the game has a flaw it’s that it seems to be harder to win as the raptors than the scientists, but that only makes victory all the sweeter when you do manage to get your brood to safety!
We know that for some people, competitiveness is a real barrier to enjoyment when it comes to board gaming, and probably never more so than when you’re stuck in a house together with no variety of opponents. Cooperative games offer a neat solution to this: all players work together to defeat the game, so you’re all on the same side and can rage or gloat as a team. The absolute classic of this genre is arguably 2008 release Pandemic in which players race to save the world from viruses, but although this saw a surge in popularity at The Treehouse back in March, we suspect the novelty of this particular theme has probably worn a little thin by this point!
Forbidden Desert was created by the same designer (Matt Leacock, in case you’re interested) and sees players stranded in the desert, racing to assemble a magical air ship from parts which have been scattered across the sand dunes, in order to escape to safety before their water supply runs out. So a bit like going on holiday somewhere hot, if you focus on the right bits!
Players take turns performing actions to bring everyone closer to their goal, moving around the board and excavating spaces to search for airship components. All the while, the sun beats down and a raging sandstorm roams the board, burying everything deeper and deeper under a layer of sand.
This game involves a bunch of really neat mechanics not to mention some great components, and can be played by up to five people if you have them available, although (like most cooperative games) it works beautifully with just two.
If all the options above sound a little too strategic, or if you’re up against some extreme board game scepticism, Tokyo Highway might be the answer. Ever since we added this to our library, we’ve been getting questions along the lines of “what’s that game they’re playing with the tiny cars? It looks so cool!”, and we can only agree: yes, it really does.
To be good at Tokyo Highway, you’ll need spatial awareness, a little bit of strategy, and perhaps most importantly, fine motor skills (don’t be fooled by the plastic tweezers that come with the game – they don’t help as much as you think!). The aim of the game is to place all of your tiny wooden vehicles on sections of your very own highway system, but in order to do this you’ll have to make it cross over and under your opponent’s roads in very specific ways, guaranteeing the creation of an urban planner’s nightmare!
This game is truly unlike any other we’ve come across, and has been known to lure in even the most doubtful gamers. Just make sure your table doesn’t wobble before you begin!
The final Dune Awakening beta is now live, which will allow thousands of fresh-faced players to hop into Funcom’s open world survival MMO for the first time. This beta, which is running over the weekend, will cover the first two major zones of the game, giving folks a peek at the early game experience.
The beta, announced following the release date of the game being pushed back to June 10, is running a few days before the previous date of May 15. A balm to those still burned by the delay, and the last opportunity people will get to check out the game for free.
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This is also the first time your average gamer will get a chance to learn about the game. Our own preview of the early game went live last month, and was largely positive overall. However this preview – which covers the same scope of content that’ll be available in this weekend’s beta – still left us with many questions on what the game will ultimately be building up to in its end-game – a portion that has been discussed by the team, but not shown off to a great extent.
In order to get into this beta, players will have to either wishlist the game on Steam and wait for access to be sent their way via email, or get access via developer giveaways. Access has already been handed out to folks, but it’s not out of the question that more people will be let in over the weekend. So keep an eye out if you’re keen to give it a try, and maybe throw a wishlist on the game for a chance. You never know, you may get lucky!
Are you going to try the game out this weekend? Let us know below, as well as whether or not you’re excited for Dune Awakening!
In Betrayal, players take on the role of characters exploring a spooky mansion. You begin the game in the entrance hall, comfortable in the knowledge that you’re all on the same side, and feeling ready for an adventure. The mansion slowly reveals its secrets as you explore, which (spolier alert) pretty much always include some truly daft architectural choices, given that the room tiles are drawn at random. Some rooms contain items (often useful stuff like weapons, etc), while others trigger creepy little events or, most excitingly, reveal omens. Each time an omen is appears, six dice are rolled, and if the total number that comes out is lower than the number of omens you’ve encountered so far… then it’s officially SPOOK TIME, because The Haunt is about to begin.
This is the point at which Betrayal really comes into its own. The basic game comes with a book of 50 different scenarios which can trigger at this point. Which one you end up with is determined by the number on the omen card that tipped the balance, and which room it was found in (who’s to say a scary plot line can’t begin with a look-up table? Certainly not us!). The only thing the scenarios have in common is that they will pit one player (the traitor) against the rest. Who becomes the traitor is determined by the scenario, but whoever they are, they will now become the keeper of the Traitor’s Tome which will provide them with their new, secret win condition and let them know their new spooky powers.
We’ve played a few games of Betrayal ourselves and had a LOT of discussions with people who’ve playing it at the Treehouse, and are always astonished at the variety of plot lines. Yes, some of them are better-designed from a gameplay point of view than others, but we’ve never been disappointed with the narrative that develops: this game has genuinely produced some of our favourite board game storylines. If you’re up for some super-nerdy viewing, check out this episode of Wil Wheaton’s Tabletop, which does a great job of demonstrating just how funny and unpredictable Betrayal can be!
Pretty much the only downside to this game at the moment is that you do need at least three people to play it, and ideally 5-6 to experience it at it’s best. If you’re lucky enough to have the player count right now, we strongly recommend giving this one a go.
I am looking for a board game along the lines of Monopoly, but, where people in the game can make children and take turns being the parents and the children.
In the middle of the board is a "year clock", that ticks forward one year with each go.
In each go, people take cards like in Monopoly to see what happens as they move around the circuit.
There, could be, many variations of this game.
Where can I find such a game?
Thanks.
EDIT: I could have made this a really nice game, but, didn’t, have time, to write down all the ideas.
People could also collect ideas, teachings, changes, lessons learned, desires, and other things, as gadgets (in the game), which may affect how people move through the game.
There could also be an AI-powered board fate controlled, smartphone, placed in the middle of the board, so that players could play a large infinitude of games with the same board and pieces (the center AI could be powered through an app (and there could also be custom apps for given boards, and users not having a board and pieces could copy them at home with material based on standard board compendium descriptions provided on websites).
“We are still enjoying online games with friends and family, including improvised Just One using pen and paper; a little rough and ready homemade web version of Telestrations coded by a friend; a phone-based version of Cards Against Humanity called All Bad Cards, and most of the Jackbox games (repeat faves are Quiplash, Drawful, Fibbage and Trivia Murder Party). We’ve also been meeting our friends in Board Game Arena to play Hanabi which is nice because they live in Hamburg.
I’m lucky enough to be researching design fictions on my PhD so I’ve been able spend time playing some old and not so old text based adventures and narrative games (in the name of research!) on Steam and Itch.io, some of which I grabbed in the latter’s ‘Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality’ a while back.
We’ve had a few breaks in play, but when we can get everyone together we continue roleplaying using Discord and Foundry Virtual Tabletop. We are about six sessions into the Enemy Within Campaign from Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.
We’ve also recently discovered that Airbnb now offers online experience tours, so we can finally realise our literal board game name location challenge: we’ve been saving two bottles of Jaipur IPA so that we can play Jaipur while drinking Jaipur, and now we can have a complete date night of that plus an online tour of Jaipur, India!”
Patrick:
“In our house we’ve been enjoying online card games like Magic: the Gathering Arena and Legends of Runeterra. They’re not quite the same as sitting opposite an opponent to duke it out, but they both scratch a strategic itch! Magic in particular is in a good place right now, and it’s great to just drop a game or two over the course of an afternoon.”
Then, last but very definitely not least… Ella:
“I’ve been making board games into drinking games (Cobra Paw) and I’m going to make a huge Battleships board to put drinks on in place of ships, then if your opponent hits your boat you neck whatever drink is on that square 🤪”
Slowly but surely we’re getting a clearer picture of what’s in store for us over the festive season at the end of this weirdest of years. It’s looking like getting family together around a table will be ‘a thing’ this year in our part of the world, but with pubs shut in a lot of places and household mingling still limited, Christmas merriment might still need a bit of a helping hand.
That’s where (you guessed it) board games come in! Long a traditional component of Christmas for lots of families, board games have come a very long way over the past decade or so, and have never offered so many effective ways to get the fun started. Here’s our Christmas Games Guide 2020 to help you navigate these crowded waters and find the perfect family game for Christmas…
Yep, an Oblivion Remastered modder has done the thing all of us have secretly wanted for years. They’ve stuck a penthouse at the summit of the Imperial City’s White-Gold Tower, so you can live far above the potato-faced NPC masses and take in the views like a Cyrodiilic and pre-computer version of New Vegas‘ Mr House.
As player home mods go, it’s possibly the least subtle bit of design placement I’ve ever seen, but let’s face it, you didn’t splash out for an remaster with gorgeous UE5 visuals not to be able to take in a stunning panorama of central Cyrodiil from your character’s digs.
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The modder behind this goes by RBDinteractive, and their ‘Champion Penthouse‘ is designed to finally deliver a reward for ending the Oblivion Crisis and saving the entire world that isn’t just some admittedly cool armour you might not even end up using.
The concept’s very similar to a classic Oblivion mod – Vince Bly’s ‘Top of the World‘. Based on the fact RBDinteractive’s credited the fix and port script for OG Oblivion mods that modder Haphestia (whom we’ve recently interviewed about Oblivion Remastered modding) has developed for the remaster, it looks like there’s even a chance one could be loosely based on the other.
Though, there are plenty of differences, with Top of the World’s square wooden room atop the tower could seemingly only be fast-travelled to, while the Champion Penthouse is a rounded stone suite that slightly more closely matches the design of the tower itself, and can be gotten to via a ladder found to the right when you enter at ground level.
Not a bad place to crash, eh? | Image credit: RBDinteractive/Bethesda
The furnishings and architecture are different, but the view’s the same breathtaking one that’s prompted both modders to decide to perch a house that’s open to Cyrodiil’s wider worldspace here, so you can take in the views from any angle in all their glory.
It’s worth noting that as for right now the Champion’s Penthouse is accessible at any time for free, since it’s free and there’s no quest attached, but RBDinteractive’s suggested that might change soon. “I’m gonna try to learn how to edit quests and [have] homes be purchased,” they wrote in the mod’s comments section, “I’ll let you know if I get it working. My idea would be to get the penthouse when you beat the main quest, because everyone refers to you as Champion.”
So, there you go. A house ideal for those who love nice views, and the literal worst nightmare of those who’re afraid of heights. Hey, you’ve fought your way through legions of Daedra pouring out of a not-quite-hell, surely you can handle the terror of knowing you might plummet to your death if you sleepwalk ten feet.
At the moment, pretty much everyone in the world has got more than usual to deal with when it comes to mental health. Since the start of the pandemic, we’ve all had some learning to do on what it takes to keep ourselves sane when our usual routines are disrupted and many sources of enjoyment aren’t available to provide a pick-me-up, and that’s just those of us lucky enough to have avoided major trauma or bereavement.
I suspect most regular board gamers would be willing to at least speculate that the hobby was doing their brains some good. It turns out there’s plenty of real life science to back this up, at least in certain areas (abstract strategy games and dementia, for example). I’m not qualified to say anything clever about the research, although a lot of it does ring true for me: this post is a reflection on how board gaming has helped my mental wellbeing over the past twelve months and why I think that is.
This is a personal subject so I’ll introduce myself for a change: Hi, I’m Ruth. For the last three-and-a-bit years I’ve been running the Treehouse with my other half Andy. Unless stated otherwise it’s probably me writing the social media and blog posts and behind the camera taking the pictures. Things I’ve learned about my mental health in the last twelve months: being below a certain level of busy is bad for me; even small amounts of random chitchat with other humans is good for me; I’m still capable of experiencing boredom (genuinely a surprise); houseplants are so beneficial for my mood that it’s almost weird. Big things I miss: sitting round a table with family and friends; working with the rest of the Treehouse team. Small things I miss: the sound of the Treehouse full of people having fun; live music (this one might belong in ‘big things’ actually); PINTS.
In The Book, a fictional “Guide to Rebuilding Civilization”, which freely mixes factual and imaginary concepts and objects, one double page is a devoted to a board game.
I have only access to the Italian translation; here the game is described on pages 372-3 and is called La griglia (literally, “The grid”). It is a 2-player game on a 5×8 board with ten tokens for each player, five initially on the board and five to be added in later moves. Enemy pieces are captured by creating a row of own pieces, that allows one to “shoot” at an enemy piece as far as the row is long (if I understand correctly). The goal is to be the first to take five enemy tokens.
Does anyone know more details about this game? Is it an existing game or was it invented for the book? (Of course, it has in any case elements of many historical board games.)
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