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 I have written a large number of pieces, primarily focussed on gaming and nerd culture. Trading Card Games are a special focus of mine.  I have played Magic: the Gathering since I was 8 years old. I love to explore the ways that TCGs convey emergent narratives through gameplay.

Card Games

Wargamer •

This Pikachu in a raincoat is now the second most expensive Pokémon card ever sold

Back in February, Wargamer covered the most expensive Pokémon card sale of all time, Logan Paul's PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator, which sold for $16 million dollars (£12 million pounds). On September 28th, another Pikachu card earned a silver medal, selling for around half as much at $8.4 million dollars (£6.3 million pounds). This time, Pikachu was kitted out in a raincoat, and carrying an umbrella rather than a quill pen.
The card, unofficially known as "raincoat Pikachu", is a promo from a 2015 c...
Wargamer •

This new MTG Commander from Darkhold Destiny can become massive, despite having a 0/0 statline

Gargantos, the Endbringer from Magic: the Gathering's new Darkhold Destiny expansion has the potential to become truly gargantuan.Given that it was only revealed on Friday, we've only seen a small number of cards from the upcoming MTG Darkhold Destiny expansion. All the same, some of these new reveals seem pretty massive, quite literally in the case of Gargantos, the Endbringer, a card that can grow to incredible sizes, despite technically being a 0/0.
If you're unfamiliar with Gargantos, they a...
Wargamer •

MTG's four new Marvel - Darkhold Destiny Commander decks have been revealed

In 2027,  Magic: the Gathering and Marvel will be crossing over once again for Darkhold Destiny. This set will tell a new original story featuring the Asgardian Death Goddess Hela, the magical mutant Ilyana Rasputin, and, of course, the sinister Darkhold tome. Just like the previous Marvel crossover, it will also release alongside four Commander decks. Card lists haven't been revealed, so we can't delve fully into their eldritch secrets just yet, but we can still analyze what we know so far.
The...
Wargamer •

Futuristic Rare Mew and Mewtwo Pokémon cards are now worth less than their full art counterparts

Futuristic Rares are the headline new art treatment introduced in the Pokémon TCG's 30th Celebration set. Cards in this art style are depicted as though they're made of chrome, with the energy card symbols displayed in the background behind them. Only four Futuristic Rare Pokémon cards currently exist, and only two of them have been released: Mew and Mewtwo ex (the two Futuristic Rare Pikachus are debuting in the 30th Celebration Ultra-Premium Collection, which releases in November). Yet, for al...
Wargamer •

New Delta Reign artwork puts a smile on the face of one of the Pokémon TCG's saddest Pokémon

There are several unwritten laws of the Pokémon universe: Magikarp will always splash around impotently, full art Charizard cards will always be worth an obscene amount of cash, and Azurill will always be miserable. Quite why this is the case isn't exactly clear, but in almost every piece of official artwork, the Polka Dot Pokémon Azurill is depicted looking absolutely heartbroken. Well, that cycle of sadness ends in November, since the new Pokémon TCG expansion features two pieces of Azurill ar...
Wargamer •

The artwork on this new MTG card comes from a 15 year old unreleased set

The artwork for the new MTG card Darksteel Angel was first commissioned back in 2011, but it's only gone to print now. Let's talk about why.If you thought the artwork for Darksteel Angel from the new MTG Reality Fracture Commander deck seemed eerily familiar, but you couldn't quite put your finger on why, you're not alone. Darksteel Angel's art actually comes from a year 15 year old advert for an MTG set that was marketed but then deliberately never saw the light of day: Mirrodin Pure.
Let's jum...
Wargamer •

MTG head designer reveals scrapped plans to return dead characters in Reality Fracture

Five deceased MTG characters were planned to be included as the Deans of Hexhaven in Reality Fracture, according to the head designer.Mark Rosewater is Magic: the Gathering's Head Designer. His Drive To Work podcast contains more than 1300 episodes of him providing insider stories about MTG's design and development. One of the most recent episodes contains some insights about Reality Fracture, including cut plans to incorporate parallel universe versions of several dead characters.
The podcast e...
Wargamer •

The Pokémon TCG is releasing a new tool kit designed to encourage players to play competitively

Anyone who has seen just how quickly Pokémon TCG packs sell out can tell you that these cards are incredibly popular. Despite this, the game isn't played by every member of its community. A large fraction of the Pokémon TCG's audience exclusively slot their cards into binders to collect, rather than shuffling them together to form a deck. The Pokémon Company is attempting to address this, with a new release designed to streamline the experience of playing competitively - the Deck Crafter's Colle...
Wargamer •

The next Pokémon TCG expansion features the most hauntingly beautiful illustration of a sea urchin that I've ever seen

Tetsu Kayama has given us one of the eeriest, yet also most beautiful, pieces of Pokémon TCG art of their career with a new Pincurchin card.Every Pokémon out there is someone's favorite, and thanks to Pokémon TCG artist Tetsu Kayama, Pincurchin, the sea urchin Pokémon, is sure to gain a few more fans. When the Delta Reign expansion launches in November, the unusual echinoderm will appear on an illustration rare card that shows off the unnerving elegance of the deep sea.
Someone at the Pokémon Co...
Wargamer •

MTG's oddest Secret Lair deck launches tomorrow

Odds and Ends is a Magic: the Gathering Commander deck all about playing cards with odd mana values, and it is due to release tomorrow.Sometimes Magic: the Gathering Secret Lair drops contain a handful of cards, and sometimes Wizards of the Coast just decides to release an entire deck. Odds and Ends is a Commander deck that will be available to purchase from the Official MTG Secret Lair store from Monday, September 28th 9am Pacific Time to Tuesday, September 28th 9am Pacific Time.
Odds and Ends...
Wargamer •

Draw an obscene number of cards by worshiping a ghostly dragon with this new MTG combo

Prerelease weekend for Reality Fracture is upon us. Since Magic: the Gathering's newest set is almost officially out, cunning players have been scanning every card it contains to find all manner of busted combos. As usual, they've succeeded in digging up something truly bizarre. It turns out that you can draw heaps of cards by combining the brand new ghostly dragon Niv-Mizzet, Ghost Counsel with the obscure enchantment Words of Worship. The latter was only ever printed once, 24 years ago, in the...
Wargamer •

Pikachu literally goes to space alongside a new selection of Pokémon TCG accessories

The Pokémon Company teamed up with the European Space Agency to send a plushie into space and to release a new line of Pokémon accessories.In one small step for a mon, and one giant leap for Pokémon kind, the Pokémon Company International has teamed up with the European Space Agency (ESA). The week of the 4th to the 10th of October is Space Week, and this year Pokémon fans will be able to celebrate this cosmic occasion with a series of events, exhibits, and new Pokémon TCG Accessories. Let's tak...
Wargamer •

The MTG Reality Fracture Commander precon reprints this $24 dollar demon

The MTG Reality Fracture Multiverse Reforged Commander deck has reprinted the $20+ demon Archfiend of Despair, allowing it to resume its reign of terror..Originally printed in Battlebond back in 2018, Archfiend of Despair is a massive damage doubling demon, popular among MTG players willing to pay big mana for a big threat in black. This hellish curve topper was reprinted once in Commander Masters in 2023, but Wizards of the Coast has dragged it back from hell and slotted it into Reality Fractur...
Wargamer •

This big buff bug is the least valuable reprint in the Pokémon TCG's Celebration Classic Collection

The Pokémon TCG's 30th Celebration Classic Collection contains a slew of valuable reprints, but which of them is the least exciting option?The Pokémon TCG's 30th Celebrations Classic Collection contains some incredibly iconic reprints. From Base Set Charizard to Aquapolis's Crystal Lugia. Yet, given that the collection contains 30 cards, not all of them can be winners. Every iconic group has to contain a weak link. For every Umbreon, there must be a Flareon.  In the case of the Classic Collectio...
Wargamer •

MTG players are incredibly underwhelmed by this new 5 color planeswalker typal commander

Designing 5 color MTG Commanders can be tricky. Their prohibitive casting cost makes them difficult to play, and it's tough to determine what an acceptable power level is for a five colour card. Because of this, Wizards of the Coast sometimes use a little trick where they design a legendary creature with only a few colors in its casting cost, but then they give it a five color activated ability. This means that the card is able to lead a five color Commander deck, but can be played very easily....
Wargamer •

Get ahold of some Bat Themed Pokémon TCG promos for Halloween

Since it's the middle of September, Halloween is on the horizon, and you've probably already seen plenty of pumpkin themed merch creeping into stores. The Pokémon TCG is getting into the spooky spirit, with the announcement of this year's batch of promotional 'Pokéween' cards. As anyone who's been lost in Mount Moon in Pokémon Red or Blue will tell you, there are few things scarier than a swarm of Zubats. So, in that spirit, throughout October 2026, players will be able to get their hands on pro...
Wargamer •

The Eldrazi make an explosive return in MTG's Reality Fracture expansion

It's not a real party until the Eldrazi show up. At least that's what Emrakul has always proclaimed in her million and one twisted voices that are at once as fleeting as a whisper and as furious as a scream. Magic: the Gathering players looking to harness some eldritch power are in luck, since the infamous otherworldly titan Emrakul has finally broken free of Innistrad's moon, where she was once imprisoned, to devour and consume once more.
Emrakul, the Exigent Doom, like each of the previous ite...
Wargamer •

This Jigglypuff reprint from the Pokémon TCG's 30th Celebration set shows how much the game has changed over time

Many of the reprints included in The Pokémon TCG's 30th Celebration Classic Collection are former meta champions. Long before Dragapult dominated the competetive scene, Sneasel from Neo Genesis was beating up the opposition, and EX Ruby and Sapphire's Delcatty was the premier option for digging through your deck. It's hard to believe it, looking at the card now, but Erika's Jigglypuff has absolutely earned its place in this highlight reel of former champions thanks to the curve topping power tha...
Wargamer •

Why is MTG's echoverse so edgy?

Is anyone else noticing a bit of a trend emerging in Magic: the Gathering's Reality Fracture card reveals? The alternative universe version of Gideon Jura is a selfish mercenary, unlike his prime timeline counterpart, who died a heroic martyr. Gallia of the Endless Dance has gone from being a frolicking party girl to a zombified mourner. Even Mabel the mouse, from Bloomburrow, is wielding the dark arts and embarking on a regicidal quest of vengeance. Why is everyone from the Echoverse so edgy, e...
Wargamer •

I'm Hyped for the Pokémon TCG's 30th Celebration set, I just wish it was bigger

The Pokémon TCG's 30th Celebration set releases next week, and it's going to be big! It's designed as a commemoration of three decades of Pikachu and pals, and as a tour of the most beloved icons in the series. Still, given that there are more than 1,000 Pokémon out there (1,025 to be exact), and 30th Celebration contains 128 unique card (32 of which are Pikachu), it's inevitable that a few fan favorites won't make the cut.
One of the main strengths of Pokémon is its character design. Every Poké...
Wargamer •

The Pauper format is set to get a Zeta makeover

In a change of course, MTG's Pauper Format Panel has made most of the downshifted cards from the Zeta Secret Lair playable in the format.The MTG Zeta Secret Lair dropped earlier this week. The release definitely did not go smoothly, with even Wizards of the Coast describing it as a "disaster". Yet, despite the fact that many players won't be able to get their hands on Zeta cards, the Secret Lair is still going to be incredibly impactful. Many Zeta cards were downshifted to the common rarity, mea...
Wargamer •

The Pokémon TCG is receiving a new slew of Mega Attack Rares

Mega Attack Rares have been part of the Pokémon TCG for just over a year now. This, somewhat divisive, art treatment is exclusive to mega evolved Pokémon. A Mega Hyper Rare card has the name of its most powerful attack written out in bold font in the background of its art. English Mega Hyper Rares feature Japanese text, while Japanese Mega Hyper Rares have English text scrawled behind them. We've not recieved any new Mega Hyper Rare cards since they debuted in Ascended Heroes earlier this year....
Wargamer •

The upcoming MTG set will contain an ogre crab wizard

MTG's head designer has just shown off a slew of previews for Reality Fracture, including information about an unusual new creature.Magic: the Gathering contains a lot of... distinct creature type combinations. There's a shark octopus ninja (Shark Shredder, Killer Clone), a bird assassin (Aven Heartstabber), and even a snake elf detective (Lonis, Genetics Expert). Well, when Reality Fracture comes out, we'll have a new unusual creature in town: an ogre crab wizard.
We've not yet seen the card th...
Wargamer •

Mega Lucario Z is set to make its Pokémon TCG debut

There's already a Mega Lucario ex Pokémon card, but it's been announced that we're getting another one, depicting Lucario's Z Mega form.Some Pokémon are so marketable iconic that giving them one mega form just isn't enough. Pokémon Legends Z-A provided new "Z" mega transformations for both Lucario and Garchomp, despite the fact that they were both already capable of mega evolving. A trading card for Lucario's new mega form (Mega Lucario Z) has just been previewed and it's due to release in a cur...
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Gaming

Wargamer •

MTG's oddest Secret Lair deck launches tomorrow

Odds and Ends is a Magic: the Gathering Commander deck all about playing cards with odd mana values, and it is due to release tomorrow.Sometimes Magic: the Gathering Secret Lair drops contain a handful of cards, and sometimes Wizards of the Coast just decides to release an entire deck. Odds and Ends is a Commander deck that will be available to purchase from the Official MTG Secret Lair store from Monday, September 28th 9am Pacific Time to Tuesday, September 28th 9am Pacific Time.
Odds and Ends...
Wargamer •

We interviewed the designer of this metatextual murder mystery TTRPG

Il Fantasma del Giallo: The Phantom of the Yellow is a TTRPG about murder, disgraced actors hoping for one last chance, and trends in Italian cinema in the sixties and seventies. Players control actors who take on a variety of archetypal cinematic roles, as the lines between reality and fiction begin to warp and blur together.
Il Fantasma del Giallo is currently crowdfunding on Kickstarter, with the campaign set to conclude on the 22nd of July. It was created by Laurence Phillips, a designer bas...
Unwinnable •

Dark Souls is About Breaking with the Past - Unwinnable

The first Dark Souls game is set during the dying days of a supposedly golden era. In the distant past, the sun god Gwyn and his armies overthrew the immortal stone-scaled dragons who previously held dominion over the world, bringing an end to the Age of Ancients and ushering in the Age of Fire. But now, centuries later, the flames are fading, and all the ills of the world can be traced to those who are desperately trying to fan their dying embers.

Gwyn’s power is embodied by a continuously bur...
SUPERJUMP •

Feastopia Is Both Adorable and Intimidating

In Feastopia, you’re tasked with constructing a city entirely for the purpose of producing food offerings to appease the insatiable appetite of your god. As this god grows in power, it changes shape and begins to make increasingly difficult demands for more complex varieties of food. This premise may sound Lovecraftian and slightly sinister, but worry not. You’re not feeding an unknowable Old One with the souls of the damned; instead, you’re feeding Swiss rolls, candy, and milk shakes to a bib-w...
SUPERJUMP •

The Games of Not This Year - 2025 Edition

The NoTY Awards are back for their second year, and I had so much fun with it in 2024 that we've made this a team project, just like our Game of the Year piece! Seems I'm not the only one whose yearly playlist has a lot of games from prior years, so let's jump right into all the gaming goodness!

I've been going through 2023's GOTY, Baldur's Gate 3, with a friend for the better part of this year. We've...taken our time (mostly because I'm turning on all the candles and lamps in any given room) a...
Wargamer •

Roma XLI is a social deduction board game about seizing power after stabbing Caesar

Turn on each other after toppling a dictator in Roma XLI, a social deduction board game about crying havoc and conspiring with Cleopatra.So Caesar's dead. You and your co-conspirators all gathered together on the Ides of March to finish him off. Even his old pal Brutus got in on it. Roma XLI (or 'Rome 41') is a new Social Deduction board game that asks the question 'what comes next'?
Roma XLI takes social deduction gameplay (of the sort that characterizes games like Werewolf, Secret Hitler, and...
SUPERJUMP •

50 Outstanding Games Released in 2025

Welcome to SUPERJUMP's annual Games of the Year celebration.As always, I like to introduce these awards by expressing gratitude for the year gone by.

Thank you game developers.You are creating marvels of art and science - important cultural artifacts - under increasingly difficult circumstances. Whether you work for a large studio or you're a solo developer: thank you. We continue to live in an increasingly turbulent and intolerant world; your creative talents not only give many of us a brief e...
SUPERJUMP •

Interview: Creating Beat 'Em Up Sequel Super Alloy Crush

Super Alloy Crush is an upcoming 2D sci-fi beat 'em up. It currently has no announced release date, but a demo is available on Steam. The game is being developed by Alloy Mushroom, a two-person team based in China. I spoke with one half of the duo, who goes by the pseudonym "Mabi Mogu" (which means "paralyzed mushroom"). . What’s

Tell me a bit about yourself. How long have you been developing games, and how did you get into the business?

We are a two-person team called “Alloy Mushroom.”I (Mabi...
Wargamer •

This bleakly comedic board game has you overwork yourself running an anime studio

JISOGI is a board game about running an anime studio. While it's clearly made with a lot of love for shows from Shōnen to Shōjo, it takes a decidedly, and deservedly, jaded look at the crunch and the extreme pressure that's placed on artists, writers, producers, and directors to keep the Japanese animation industry afloat. Its title, "JISOGI", is derived from an expression about how keeping a business going is like riding a bicycle, because the wheels need to constantly be kept spinning to preve...
SUPERJUMP •

How Changing One Mechanic Elevated Reus 2 Beyond Its Predecessor

Reus, designed by Abbey Games, is a simulation game about gods, giants, and growth. You start with a barren planet and gradually fill it with life. First, you place down biomes like swamps, forests, oceans, and deserts. Then you fill these wild spaces with animals, minerals, and plants. When humans come to settle the land, you support the development of their communities so that they can flourish, but you also need to ensure that you don’t give any one group too many resources too quickly, other...
Wargamer •

My favorite board game of 2025 was this symphonic space opera

Usually, Sci-Fi board games involve epic battles waged across the stars. From Twilight Imperium to Arcs, chances are that if you're playing a tabletop game set in space, you'll be spending your turns blowing up fleets of enemy battlecruisers. Philharmonix takes a decidedly different approach. Instead of conducting full scale interplanetary warfare, you'll be conducting an alien orchestra. Philharmonix is slightly bloated, maybe a bit too complex for its own good, and it's my favorite board game...
SUPERJUMP •

I Tried Out the New Stranger Things D&D Module… Even Though I’ve Never Seen the Show

Can you still welcome yourself to the Hellfire Club if you've never seen an episode of Stranger Things?

When I was a university student 10 years ago (oh dear, I am getting old), I was on the committee of the adventure gaming society. We were a small, but lovable, group of geeks who gathered together every Saturday to play board games and tabletop RPGs of every persuasion. We played a lot of Fantasy Flight’s Game of Thrones board game, which is at its best and bloodiest when you can get a whole...
Wargamer •

We uncover a treasure trove of D&D history with TTRPG researcher Shannon Appelcline

Shannon Appelcline talks to us about Dungeons and Designers: Origins, his series that tracks D&D’s transformation from a passion project into an international juggernaut.Shannon Appelcline is an ENNIE award winning historian of tabletop roleplaying games. He's authored books on RPGs of all kinds, from the star spanning Sci-Fi epic Traveller, to the eldritch Lovecraftian horror game Call of Cthulu. His latest project documents the early history of Dungeons and Dragons. Appelcline has already writ...
SUPERJUMP •

Skygard Arena Review

Whatever else Skygard Arena may be, it’s undoubtedly ambitious. It aims to unify the character diversity of a MOBA, like League of Legends, with the turn-based tactical combat of something like XCOM. The game doesn’t quite succeed in reaching its loftiest ambitions, but it makes a valiant attempt.

Skygard Arena is the debut title from French studio Gemelli Games. For a small team, they’re attempting a pretty vast undertaking here in creating a potential eSport. Players can build teams featuring...
Wargamer •

Winnie the Pooh detective game now in development?

CrowD Games have announced a board game, that will be releasing in November, where Winnie the Pooh and friends become serious detectives. Thanks to the US copyright on the original Winnie the Pooh story expiring in January 2022, several enterprising creatives have attempted to use the character to tell new tales. We can all grimly recall the two Blood and Honey horror films that reimagined the adorable bear as a fluffy yellow Jason Voorhees. Now, CrowD Games (the publisher of En Route and Barrag...
SUPERJUMP •

Stewpots and Space Travel: An Interview With Takuma Okada

Takuma Okada is a tabletop game designer based in Portland, Oregon. Going by the title “No Road Home” on itch.io, Okada has been designing games about identity, isolation, and exploration since 2018. Their works include Stewpot: Tales from a Fantasy Tavern, a game about retired adventurers settling down and opening up a pub, which has been nominated for the 2025 ENNIE award for “Best Family Game”. They also created the Alone series, a selection of three solo-journaling games about exploring wond...
Wargamer •

Look out Wingspan, a new birdy board game just launched on Kickstarter

Isle of Feathers has arrived on Kickstarter - a tile-laying puzzle board game where players compete to build their vision of an avian paradise.Ever heard of a Sandy Gallito, Varied Tit, or Chatham Shag? No, these are not 19th-century innuendos, but birds in the new Kickstarter board game Isle of Feathers, which arrived on the crowdfunding platform on September 28.
Isle of Feathers has the tagline 'A Love Letter To Strange Birds', and as you'd expect, it's absolutely full of feathered freaks. In...
Wyrd Science •

Girl By Moonlight: Hope, Transcendence, Transformation

Hope can be a powerful thing. The desire to believe, to push on in the face of adversity has been the subject of countless stories. From Star Wars, which asserts that "rebellions are built on hope", to Warhammer 40,000’s more cynical message that "hope is the first step on the road to disappointment."  Discussions about the strength, or the futility, of hope have rumbled on for as long as people have told stories. Whatever other vices may have burst forth from Pandora’s Box, or jar if you’re fee...
SUPERJUMP •

Galactic Glitch Review

Galactic Glitch, by Crunchy Leaf Games, is a sci-fi shooter with a roguelike progression system. You’ll be blasting your way through space, getting blown apart, and then returning to action stronger and ready to progress just a little bit further.

The game attempts to differentiate itself from other roguelikes through its physics-based combat. You’re able to lift destructible space debris and even smaller enemies, and bombarding opponents with them.

All of Galactic Glitch’s sci-fi shootouts ta...
SUPERJUMP •

Now Playing at SUPERJUMP, Issue 33

We're back with a brand new Now Playing, and we've reached the third-of-a-century mark!! Some of us are playing more games than usual, and some are sticking with the games they've been hooked on for a while. No matter what we're playing, we want to share with you and maybe send you down the path to try something new. Let us know in the comments what you're playing and what news has you excited for the future!

Magic: The Gathering recently crossed over with Final Fantasy. While this move was cer...
SUPERJUMP •

Synergy Invites Us To Question Our Assumptions About City Building Games

From RPGs to action games, every genre carries its share of baggage.

The exploration, expansion, exploitation, and extermination necessary to progress in Civilization and other 4X games define success in rigidly specific form. To win the game, a player’s civilization must prove itself superior to the competition. Rivals must be crushed militarily and outstripped scientifically. Their competing religions must be consigned to history, and the player must develop a hegemonic global culture that en...
SUPERJUMP •

TTRPGs Can Help Build Positive Communities

Tabletop RPG characters are constantly thrust into dangerous situations. Whether they’re vanquishing a dragon, navigating a dungeon, or dethroning a tyrant, the lives of the characters that we dream up are always fraught with risk. But that danger should always be restricted to the realms of our imagination, and everyone gathered around the table has the right to feel secure and comfortable while they play. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. The internet is rife with horror stories about...
Card Gamer •

StarVaders Review - Card Gamer

Images courtesy of Pengonauts
Invaders are attacking the earth, invaders from beyond the stars. StarVaders, if you will. Using mech and a deck you’ll fight to save the world in this deckbuilding robo-roguelike, from Pengonauts.
Slay the Spire has inspired countless successors, and players are spoiled for choice when it comes to choosing a new roguelike deck builder these days. Does StarVaders blast open a niche for itself, or will it end up engulfed in a swarm of similar titles? Does it rise to...
SUPERJUMP •

An Interview with the Developers of Microtopia

An interview with Cordyceps Collective on how real insect behaviour inspired their design and much more

There is more overlap between video games and insects than you might expect. Satoshi Tajiri was inspired to create Pokémon by his time hunting bugs as a child. Hollow Knight shows us that insects can be as central to a Metroidvania game as vampires and space parasites, and Animal Crossing would just feel incomplete without the trusty bug-catching net.

Cordyceps Collective are a Netherlands-...
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Other Articles

South West Londoner •

Review: See How They Run

See How They Run is a comical whodunnit, which lovingly spoofs the murder mystery genre with the care and affection that only a sincere parody can provide.

There are some great laughs, but it builds towards a disappointing conclusion. The film is certainly funny, but it’s hardly a mystery of Agatha Christie’s calibre.

Our leading duo consists of the eager and excitable rookie Constable Stalker (Saoirse

Ronan) and her boozy superior officer Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell).

The pair have a d
South West Londoner •

Thor: Love and Thunder proves lightning does strike twice

There have now been four Thor films and their quality varies wildly – but Thor: Love and Thunder is among the franchise’s best.

The Original Thor (2009) was a perfectly serviceable superhero origin story, that did a fine job of introducing Chris Hemsworth’s titular character without excelling enough to be truly great or being inadequate enough to be truly terrible.

Thor: The Dark World (2013) ranks among Marvel’s most forgettable films, as it features an utterly generic plotline performed by a
South West Londoner •

Elizabeth II: The Queen & history's other longest reigning rulers

In February of 1952 Queen Elizabeth II became the queen of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.

Her platinum jubilee, in June of 2022, marks the official public celebration of her 70 year long reign.

Elizabeth II is one of history’s longest reigning rulers, however, she does not have the longest reign of all time.

Several other rulers have had reigns which have rivalled, or even exceeded, her 70 years.

Here are a few of their stories…

Louis XIV ruled France from May 1643 to September 17
North West Londoner •

Labour keeps control of Enfield but Conservatives make gains

Labour kept control of Enfield council on Thursday after holding the 38 seats they took into the 2022 election, but the Conservatives had a successful night gaining seven councillors and shutting out any other party from the area.

The election results mean that all of Enfield’s 63 seats are held by either Labour or Tory councillors, after the Greens, the Liberal Democrats and the Independent Community First Group, a group of former Labour councillors, lost their two, one and seven councillors r
South West Londoner •

Fundraiser launched for injured Croydon swan

A fundraiser is in progress to assist the treatment of a swan from Croydon who was hurt in a dog attack.

Wayne the swan was injured on the afternoon of the 7 February after a dog bit him on the beak.

The Swan Sanctuary is a wildlife rescue service based in Shepperton, specialising in treating swans.

The sanctuary took Wayne into its care on 8 February.

In a Facebook post The Swan Sanctuary announced: “Wayne was attacked by a dog and has suffered a life changing injury to his beak.”

“We are