Wednesday 26 August 2015

IFTTT Review

Hey Guys,

So I'm sure a lot of you saw my test IFTTT post a few days ago, as I was trying out one of the functionalities of IFTTT. So - what is IFTTT? It stands for If This Then That. No, it doesn't have some sort of crazy hidden meaning - It is just an app and webpage where you build recipes for if a certain thing happens, do another certain thing.

You are able to connect certain channels to your IFTTT account, for things such as Twitter, Facebook, Dropbox etc. (For the full list check out this page) and then use these channels in your recipes. The recipe I was testing was this:




If it detects a new post on this very blog (yes, this one!) it posts a Buffer Tweet to @TheGeekCircle following the template shown on the second photo. Another one of my recipes is to post the weather of the next day to my family Slack. Slack is a collaboration/messaging service, and there should be a review of that coming out soon.




I would definitely recommend IFTTT to anyone, especially if they find themselves doing the same thing whenever a certain thing happens. It's free, so... Why not give it a go! You would be surprised at what it can do!

Keep checking up here for the latest in geek!

Sunday 23 August 2015

IFTTT Test

Hey Guys,

This is just a test for a hopefully upcoming post about IFTTT.


Keep checking up here for the latest in geek!

Mazecraft Review

Hey Guys,

So today, I'm reviewing another free mobile app, but this one’s a bit different. Mazecraft is, as the name would suggest, a maze building game. You build mazes, share them, and play other people’s mazes. You can collect coins in people’s mazes, and these coins can be used to build other mazes. This aspect I like, as it makes sure that you play mazes as well as build them. However, this can also be a bit of a problem, as some people just created empty levels with paths to all the coins.



This is one of my mazes that I have made, with many aspects such as doors, saws and spikes. You can see the total cost of the maze in the top right corner. When people play your levels, they can tip it 1-5 coins. this determines the rating of the level, that can be seen by other players.

All in all, I think this game is excellent for anyone that likes puzzle games, as well as building.

Keep checking up here for the latest in geek!

Thursday 20 August 2015

King of Thieves Review

Hey Guys,

Sorry that I haven't posted in a while, but I've been on holiday in California. I've been vlogging about it on my YouTube Channel, so make sure to check that out if you haven’t done so already. Today I’m going to be reviewing King of Thieves. King of Thieves (or KoT) is the mix of a platformer and a PvP multiplayer, free for Android or iOS. Below is a screenshot of my current base design.


You can see the 3 different traps of my base: the Red Guy, the Green Cannon and the Fly one. This is my defence: the way you protect your gold and gems. You can edit the layout of your base so that is more difficult for attackers to get your loot. You also have the statue (centre top with 3 gems and a progress bar). This is what attackers have to get to when attacking, and the dungeon door (below and to the right of the statue with the key holes). Before attacking, the attackers must use up their lock picks to open your door (a slowly regenerating nanocurrency). Only one of the locks is the correct one, so it is chance to how many lock picks it takes to break in.

Once you are in, you have to complete their dungeon. Your character moves when it can, but if it hits a wall it stops. The only way to change direction is to wall-jump, and while on a wall, you would slowly slide down it. You have to dodge the traps: the cannons shoot, the flies follow you and the red blobs fly repeatedly between two points.

Like most games in this style, there is a ‘supercurrency’ for players who pay extra to build up their character quickly. As well as this, there are two other currencies. Gold is the thing you use to upgrade your traps and other misc. items such as the speed your lock picks take to regenerate. Gems are the items that define your status. Every so often, you get a gem from a gem mine, and these gems have a value. When you collect the gems they go into storage, and you use these gems in rituals to combine them, making bigger gems. The risk of this, though, is that when you have a ritual ongoing, other players have a chance of stealing your gems after attacking you. Your personal overall gem value is the sum of every gem you have, defining your rank and status. Here is a photo of my current gem collection.


One of the very well-made parts of this game is the collaboration with other players. When a gem is stolen off you, you are able to try to retrieve it by attacking the player that stole the gem originally. If you fail, people in your alliance are able to also attack that person, giving you a higher chance that you will get your gem back. You also compete in wars, where you have a few day’s battle with another alliance, and the group that gains the most gems during that time wins some of the supercurrency.

All in all, I think that this game is excellent for anyone that wants a game they don’t want to be playing all the time, but can play occasionally. People that like platformers such as Mario and multiplayer games like Clash of Clans would enjoy this game.


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Friday 7 August 2015

Moyu AoLong Review

Hey Guys,

So recently I ordered a Moyu AoLong V2 from Amazon, but it was from China so I expected not to get it before I went on holiday (check out my YouTube Channel for videos on that soon!). I got the cube a week or so ago, and have had some time to get used to it. First of all, I don't think what I was sent was an AoLong V2 - I heard one of the main changes in the V2 was that it reduces corner twists, yet my cube has frequent corner twists.



The turning is good along with corner cutting, although there are infrequent minor locks. All in all, I think that this is one of the best speedcubes on the market, and is definitely worth the £12 ($18).


Keep checking here for the latest in geek!

Thursday 6 August 2015

Moyu LingPo 2x2 Review

Hey Guys,

Sorry that I've not posted recently, but I've been very busy working on the new Geek Circle website that should be up soon. If you want to check that out, you can download the latest release here. I've recently had the Stickerless Moyu LingPo delivered, and after using it a bit, decided to write a post about it.



The LingPo has extremely fast turning - the best I've ever seen on a cube. Corner-cutting is good, at 45° and 15 reverse. When the cube came, it needed a bit of work - tensioning and lubing, but after that it was fine. Pops and lockups are non-existent, apart from the occasional minor catch. 

All in all, I'd greatly recommend this 2x2 to absolutely anyone that wants a good 2x2, wether you're a beginner or the new Feliks Zemdigs - especially as it is only £12 (~$18).

Keep checking up here for the latest in geek!