Tuesday, February 25, 2020
Monday, February 24, 2020
Friday, February 21, 2020
Wooden Jigsaw Puzzles: A Comparison (Monday Musings 80)
I've decided to write as many posts as possible, and titling it Monday Musings from now on, to insure that I don't "fall behind" lol.
As another hobby to consider (to give your eyes much needed rest from all the blue light of video games) is jigsaw puzzles. I got into puzzles once again as my friend introduced me to the Wentworth wooden puzzles. I was so impressed with these puzzles because of the quality and the satisfying tactile feel when you put the pieces together, that I wanted to order some myself.
Upon visiting Wentworth's online site, my heart sank as the puzzles were rather pricey, though at $50 for a 250-piece puzzle, the cost/time is actually reasonable, as long as you do the puzzle a couple of times. Since I'm very slow, it takes about 2 hours, so if you do the puzzle 2 or 3 times, it's cheaper than going to the movies. So I thought of getting one, but then the shipping charges were astronomical, since it's shipping from the UK. However, I found out later that Wentworth often has free shipping to US! But not realizing that at the time, I decided to see if there are US manufacturers which will have lower shipping costs.
Therefore, I did more research and stumbled upon the ridiculous Stave puzzles (Barbara Bush-endorsed) at average price of $1000 (perhaps even $2000 as some are $15K), so this brand will not be reviewed. I then fell upon the much more affordable and reasonable Architect and Liberty puzzles.
I find that they are all equal to each other, so the puzzle manufacturer that is best for you is based really on your preferences and what you're looking for. I'll outline the differences between the three, in alphabetical order.
Artifact puzzles is the most creative of not just the pictures offered, but the many interesting puzzle shapes. I don't find the tired, drab images of known paintings, and boring, uninspired nature scenes, as compelling as the fantastical pictures including monsters, cartoon characters, and so forth that Artifact offers.
Although Artifact pieces are the most loose fitting of the three, the irregularly irregular pieces are significantly more bizarre and odd than the other brands, and therefore quite compelling. It's interesting to see how these weird pieces fit together, often leading to a lot of "Ah ha" moments. They're coming out with the new Ecru line which offers tighter fitting pieces with no glare design, but it's more costly of course. Further, the designs aren't as whimsical or fantastic as their regular line, so I have a feeling that I'd prefer the regular over the upcoming Ecru. Picture for me tends to be most important.
Artifact tends to have the most whimsy pieces out of the three, meaning pieces that are shaped thematically. So a cat puzzle will have cat-shaped pieces.
The image quality on Artifact and Wentworth is better than Liberty in the sense that the images seem like it's actually painted on the wooden pieces. One of the Liberty puzzle pieces had a small peel, that can be glued, so I don't find this a deal breaker.
If interested in Artifact, I would recommend the Griffin that comes with a clever surprise (spoilers avoided here).
All the Artifact puzzles I own are so completely different from each other (I have 4!). Other customers also noticed that any time you get a puzzle from Artifact, it's a whole new experience.
As for the Liberty Puzzle, it has the same thickness as Artifact (6.35 mm), but the fit of the pieces are much tighter, so in that sense the pieces are better quality than Artifact's regular line, only marred by the fact that a piece may (or may not) have some peeling (it seems like this would be a rare occurrence), unlike Artifact and Wentworth.
Liberty does have a lot of whimsy pieces, not as much as the Artifact, but more so than the
Wentworth. The pieces are more redundant than Artifact, tending to be more regularly irregular, rather than the irregularly irregular shapes of Artifact.
The Wentworth is made of considerably thinner wood than Artifact and Liberty, less than half the thickness (3 mm versus 6.35 mm). The thicker wood feels more luxurious, but because the Wentworth pieces are thinner, it's the best fitting of the three. The sensation of putting the pieces together in a satisfying click, so it has the most pleasant sensory experience out of all three. There are whimsy pieces, but nowhere near as much as Artifact and Liberty, and more regular-shaped pieces than even the Liberty.
Wentworth includes a rather lovely felt bag to hold the pieces within its sturdy box. Sadly, Artifact and Liberty don't.
If you prefer unique pictures, and thicker, peculiar, odd and whimsical pieces, I'd recommend Artifact. If you prefer an equally thick cut with better fit, and you don't mind more regularly irregular shaped pieces, than I'd chose the Liberty. Finally, if you want that tactile, satisfying click feel with nice bag, and don't mind less creative shapes, then Wentworth is the puzzle for you. With these criteria in mind, Artifact is my favorite of the three due to the creativity aspects.
If none of these issues matter to you, I'd recommend ordering the designs that you find the most pleasing, because you can't go wrong with any of these puzzle manufacturers. They all cost around the same price, and Wentworth frequently has sales where shipping is free to the US.
For all three manufacturers, prices are cheaper ordering online at their websites:
Artifact Puzzles
Liberty Puzzles
Wentworth Puzzles
The How of Happiness Review
As another hobby to consider (to give your eyes much needed rest from all the blue light of video games) is jigsaw puzzles. I got into puzzles once again as my friend introduced me to the Wentworth wooden puzzles. I was so impressed with these puzzles because of the quality and the satisfying tactile feel when you put the pieces together, that I wanted to order some myself.
Upon visiting Wentworth's online site, my heart sank as the puzzles were rather pricey, though at $50 for a 250-piece puzzle, the cost/time is actually reasonable, as long as you do the puzzle a couple of times. Since I'm very slow, it takes about 2 hours, so if you do the puzzle 2 or 3 times, it's cheaper than going to the movies. So I thought of getting one, but then the shipping charges were astronomical, since it's shipping from the UK. However, I found out later that Wentworth often has free shipping to US! But not realizing that at the time, I decided to see if there are US manufacturers which will have lower shipping costs.
Therefore, I did more research and stumbled upon the ridiculous Stave puzzles (Barbara Bush-endorsed) at average price of $1000 (perhaps even $2000 as some are $15K), so this brand will not be reviewed. I then fell upon the much more affordable and reasonable Architect and Liberty puzzles.
I find that they are all equal to each other, so the puzzle manufacturer that is best for you is based really on your preferences and what you're looking for. I'll outline the differences between the three, in alphabetical order.
Artifact puzzles is the most creative of not just the pictures offered, but the many interesting puzzle shapes. I don't find the tired, drab images of known paintings, and boring, uninspired nature scenes, as compelling as the fantastical pictures including monsters, cartoon characters, and so forth that Artifact offers.
Although Artifact pieces are the most loose fitting of the three, the irregularly irregular pieces are significantly more bizarre and odd than the other brands, and therefore quite compelling. It's interesting to see how these weird pieces fit together, often leading to a lot of "Ah ha" moments. They're coming out with the new Ecru line which offers tighter fitting pieces with no glare design, but it's more costly of course. Further, the designs aren't as whimsical or fantastic as their regular line, so I have a feeling that I'd prefer the regular over the upcoming Ecru. Picture for me tends to be most important.
 |
| Artifact's Mechanical Griffin |
The image quality on Artifact and Wentworth is better than Liberty in the sense that the images seem like it's actually painted on the wooden pieces. One of the Liberty puzzle pieces had a small peel, that can be glued, so I don't find this a deal breaker.
If interested in Artifact, I would recommend the Griffin that comes with a clever surprise (spoilers avoided here).
All the Artifact puzzles I own are so completely different from each other (I have 4!). Other customers also noticed that any time you get a puzzle from Artifact, it's a whole new experience.
As for the Liberty Puzzle, it has the same thickness as Artifact (6.35 mm), but the fit of the pieces are much tighter, so in that sense the pieces are better quality than Artifact's regular line, only marred by the fact that a piece may (or may not) have some peeling (it seems like this would be a rare occurrence), unlike Artifact and Wentworth.
Liberty does have a lot of whimsy pieces, not as much as the Artifact, but more so than the
 |
| Liberty's and Wentworth's An Exuberant Success |
The Wentworth is made of considerably thinner wood than Artifact and Liberty, less than half the thickness (3 mm versus 6.35 mm). The thicker wood feels more luxurious, but because the Wentworth pieces are thinner, it's the best fitting of the three. The sensation of putting the pieces together in a satisfying click, so it has the most pleasant sensory experience out of all three. There are whimsy pieces, but nowhere near as much as Artifact and Liberty, and more regular-shaped pieces than even the Liberty.
Wentworth includes a rather lovely felt bag to hold the pieces within its sturdy box. Sadly, Artifact and Liberty don't.
If you prefer unique pictures, and thicker, peculiar, odd and whimsical pieces, I'd recommend Artifact. If you prefer an equally thick cut with better fit, and you don't mind more regularly irregular shaped pieces, than I'd chose the Liberty. Finally, if you want that tactile, satisfying click feel with nice bag, and don't mind less creative shapes, then Wentworth is the puzzle for you. With these criteria in mind, Artifact is my favorite of the three due to the creativity aspects.
If none of these issues matter to you, I'd recommend ordering the designs that you find the most pleasing, because you can't go wrong with any of these puzzle manufacturers. They all cost around the same price, and Wentworth frequently has sales where shipping is free to the US.
For all three manufacturers, prices are cheaper ordering online at their websites:
Artifact Puzzles
Liberty Puzzles
Wentworth Puzzles
The How of Happiness Review
Buds, Blooms, And Thorns Review Of La Viña By Devir Games
Buds, Blooms, and Thorns Review of La Viña by Devir Games
DisclaimerSupport me on Patreon!
Vitals:
Title: La Viña
Designed by: Jose Ramón Palacios
Publisher: Devir Games
MSRP: $25
2-5p | 30-45 min | 8+
Introduction:
DisclaimerSupport me on Patreon!
Title: La Viña
Designed by: Jose Ramón Palacios
Publisher: Devir Games
MSRP: $25
2-5p | 30-45 min | 8+
Introduction:
A very old viticulturist has passed on to a better place. When his heirs meet at his house, the question of who will become the new owner of the vineyard is brought up. The jewel of all the old man's property is this small plot of vines, producing grapes of the highest quality, which has sadly fallen into neglect. The various types of grapevines have overgrown the area without any care or supervision. The deceased owner left a will stating that he wanted the vineyard to be brought back to its former glory. In order to avoid splitting up the plot, he declared that the vineyard would be granted to whomever is able to obtain the best yield from it. The grape harvest has just started, and there are many wineries that have offered a good price for the grapes they need.
Taking turns, each player will move his grape picker down the aisle between the vines on the trellises. The player looks at the grape cards and chooses which one he wants to collect, then puts it into one of his baskets. When he comes out of the vineyard at the end of the aisle, the grape picker can deliver the grapes in his baskets to the wineries, so long as he has collected the minimum quantity they require. He then receives the reward that the wineries offer. When a player carries out his last delivery, the game ends. The rest of the players continue to play until they come to the end of the aisle for the last time. The one who has obtained the most prestige is then declared the winner.
—description from the publisher
Blooms:
Blooms are the game's highlights and features. Elements that are exceptional.
Buds are interesting parts of the game I would like to explore more.
Thorns are a game's shortcomings and any issues I feel are noteworthy.
Buds, Blooms, and Thorns Rating:
Pictures:
Taking turns, each player will move his grape picker down the aisle between the vines on the trellises. The player looks at the grape cards and chooses which one he wants to collect, then puts it into one of his baskets. When he comes out of the vineyard at the end of the aisle, the grape picker can deliver the grapes in his baskets to the wineries, so long as he has collected the minimum quantity they require. He then receives the reward that the wineries offer. When a player carries out his last delivery, the game ends. The rest of the players continue to play until they come to the end of the aisle for the last time. The one who has obtained the most prestige is then declared the winner.
—description from the publisher
Blooms:
Blooms are the game's highlights and features. Elements that are exceptional.
- Outstanding presentation, artwork, and component quality. I especially love the prestige tokens.
- I love the mechanic that allows you to move as far forward along the path as you like, but the person at the back moves first.
- Great balance between gaining resources (grapes) and racing to the end in order to sell for points.
- I like how the barrels are used to count down to the end of the game, with the last player to sell at a particular winery gaining a bonus and the game ending once someone places their last barrel. It's a nice blend of racing to end the game and timing your sales for maximum benefit.
Buds are interesting parts of the game I would like to explore more.
- A lot of different Grape and Winery cards mean there will be a different mix every game, making each game play differently.
- The game scales great from 2 to 5 players, with some minor changes for 2 players (each player controls two workers).
Thorns are a game's shortcomings and any issues I feel are noteworthy.
- The rulebook is pretty poorly translated. There are a few areas where the description of gameplay is not as clear as it could be and a few other areas where things are missing or just left unexplained. It took watching the gameplay video and reading forum comments to make sure we had all the rules correct.
- The basket upgrades felt very unbalanced. I thought it was a translation error at first, so my second game we played a little different, but then later I learned that the unbalanced feeling rule is correct.
- Not much gameplay arc. There's no sense of growth in the game; what you do in the first round is pretty much what you do in the last round, and it feels like it takes too long to get to the end because of this.
There are some things that La Viña does great - incorporating the theme, balancing resource gathering versus racing to sell, etc. However, there are some areas where La Viña just doesn't quite hit the mark. The rulebook leaves a lot unclear, and there's not much game arc, however the biggest issue is that the basket upgrades feels very unbalanced.
There are always fewer upgrades available than players and there's no rule against upgrading from a small bucket to the large bin, skipping over the medium basket. The first time I played we thought this was wrong, so the second time we said you could only upgrade one step at a time. So you couldn't upgrade your starting 2 card bucket straight to a 4 card bin. You'd first have to upgrade it to a 3 card basket. You could upgrade your 3 card basket at the start to a 4 card bin, but then risk getting stuck with a 2 card bucket that can't be upgraded because all the 3 card baskets are taken. That change felt a lot more balanced. But then, after watching a gameplay video with the publisher, I saw that it was allowed to upgrade directly from the small basket to the large bin. It seems like an obvious move to shoot for in the first round, which isn't too hard since the difference is only 7 prestige, and that means the player(s) finishing last have no shot at getting that upgrade. That feels wrong and unbalanced, but I guess that's correct.
La Viña is very close to being a Bloom game for me. I think for what it does though, Parks from Keymaster Games scratches the same itch and does it a bit better. If I hadn't played Parks, I probably would have enjoyed La Viña more. But the unbalanced feel of the basket upgrades, the poorly translated rulebook, and lack of any game arc are enough to knock it down to a Bud. It is quite a bit cheaper than Parks though, so if you want this style of game, La Viña is a great affordable alternative. For me though, since I have both games, I'd choose to play Parks over La Viña pretty much every time.
There are always fewer upgrades available than players and there's no rule against upgrading from a small bucket to the large bin, skipping over the medium basket. The first time I played we thought this was wrong, so the second time we said you could only upgrade one step at a time. So you couldn't upgrade your starting 2 card bucket straight to a 4 card bin. You'd first have to upgrade it to a 3 card basket. You could upgrade your 3 card basket at the start to a 4 card bin, but then risk getting stuck with a 2 card bucket that can't be upgraded because all the 3 card baskets are taken. That change felt a lot more balanced. But then, after watching a gameplay video with the publisher, I saw that it was allowed to upgrade directly from the small basket to the large bin. It seems like an obvious move to shoot for in the first round, which isn't too hard since the difference is only 7 prestige, and that means the player(s) finishing last have no shot at getting that upgrade. That feels wrong and unbalanced, but I guess that's correct.
La Viña is very close to being a Bloom game for me. I think for what it does though, Parks from Keymaster Games scratches the same itch and does it a bit better. If I hadn't played Parks, I probably would have enjoyed La Viña more. But the unbalanced feel of the basket upgrades, the poorly translated rulebook, and lack of any game arc are enough to knock it down to a Bud. It is quite a bit cheaper than Parks though, so if you want this style of game, La Viña is a great affordable alternative. For me though, since I have both games, I'd choose to play Parks over La Viña pretty much every time.
 |
| Bud! This game definitely has some great moments. It's good for several plays and should appeal to most gamers, especially if you enjoy other games like this. |
Did you like this review? Show your support: Support me on Patreon!Also, click the heart at Board Game Links 
, like GJJ Games on Facebook 
, or follow on Twitter 
. And be sure to check out my games on Tabletop Generation.
GJJ Games Reviews are independent, unpaid reviews of games I, George Jaros, have played with my family and friends. Some of these games I own, some are owned by friends, some are borrowed, and some were provided by a publisher or designer for my honest feedback and evaluation. I make every attempt to be both honest and constructively critical in my reviews, and they are all my opinions. There are four types of reviews on GJJ Games: Full Reviews feature critical reviews based on a rubric and games receive a rating from 0 to 100. Quick Reviews and Kickstarter Previews are either shorter reviews of published games or detailed preview reviews of crowdfunding games that will receive a rating from 0 to 10 based on my impressions of the game. Buds, Blooms,and Thorns reviews are shorter reviews of either published or upcoming games that highlight three aspects of a game: Buds are parts of a game I look forward to exploring more, Blooms are outstanding features of a game, and Thorns are shortcomings of a game. Each BBT review game will receive an overall rating of Thorn, Bud, or Bloom.
, like GJJ Games on Facebook , or follow on Twitter . And be sure to check out my games on Tabletop Generation.Grav-StuG Kickstarter (January 2019)
Grav-StuG Kickstarter
I am pleased to announce the Grav-StuG, a plastic model kit, will be coming to Kickstarter January 2019!
More details to come.....
Each new product offering will be very focused, a single product, its actual production costs and any profits expected will need to be folded into the overall funding goal. This is a strong departure from the retail model, where revenues are gained over time and the investment/debt is front loaded.
Product availability outside of Kickstarter will be limited, only 100-300 units beyond the total needed to fulfill the Kickstarter will be run for post Kickstarter inventory, some of that will be soaked up by the inevitable issues, damaged kits, mispacked or missing items from a kit and kits that never make it to the backer and were lost in transit.
There may be re-runs offered on popular kits in future Kickstarter's, but there will be minimums that need to be met, typically a 500-unit run will be needed. The best way for a customer to approach this is to buy what you want and what you think you will need at the time of the offering, I cannot make a promise that there will be a second run if the overall interest is not there.
Customers will need to pay for the actual shipping costs for the products they back. Shipping, as we all know is very expensive from the US to anywhere outside its borders. Each Kickstarter will be shipped directly from China to mitigate the expense to the customer as much as possible, this means most of the world will likely see a drastic cost reduction, but the US will experience a small increase. Why don't I just ship the US backers from the US? Because it's a hidden cost, shipping to the US, warehouse staff and other costs would need to be calculated into the Kickstarter and would increase the price once the true costs are factored in.
Each Kickstarter will absorb the costs and required profits into a 1000 minimum unit run. If it costs $40,000 for the molds, production, boxes and other service costs, then the cost of each unit would be $40.00.
Do you get a discount? Discounts will be offered when you pick up multiple kits, not by the overall success of a product or campaign. Those are profits that get re-invested to make DreamForge healthy, to pay for additional stock, to help pay for re-release of the current line of kits, as those tools will need to be re-cut at some point.
To be clear, this is not going to be a song and dance Kickstarter model, there may be extras offered if there is room on the sprues, but anything extra in the form of products adds to the costs and I will not be bulking the costs to deal with that. I am trying to keep the price per kit to you as low as I possibly can.
Most of our campaigns will be short, ten to fifteen days with as much warning as I can provide about an upcoming campaign. I will be active during the campaign, answering questions, taking feedback and interacting with my customers but by the time the project launches, the current product will be locked in and not subject to revision or design changes.
The conversations I have with my customers before a campaign will allow us to develop products together and help deliver the kinds of items you would like to see.
Scale in millimeters:
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Super Mario 64 (N64)
Hey, welcome back, it's Super Adventures 9th birthday etc. But never mind that, I've got TERRIBLE NEWS for you. Some quirk of Blogger has retroactively screwed up all my damn 256 colour images, removing shades and leaving them more dithered than they should be.
It only ruined little bits of them, only a few of the colours, but ideally you want your screenshots to be 0% ruined.
So I've got GOOD NEWS for you: mecha-neko wrote a thing and I did a thing and over Christmas we replaced something like 14,000 images over 1000 posts. So now the site is entirely fixed... or mostly broken, or somewhere in between. Why not click a few old posts and find out! I mean after reading this one.
This week on Super Adventures, it's Super Mario 64!
It's a game that needs no introduction, so instead I'll start off by talking about how much I hate 3D platformers. Actually I don't hate them, as long as they keep their distance and don't bother me, but they've never been my genre. I like 2D platformers, I like games where you wander around in 3D, but somehow when you combine the two I lose interest. Maybe it's because I don't like slipping off narrow platforms and misjudging depth.
Actually I will give the game a bit of an introduction, because I like trivia. Super Mario 64 was designed by pioneering Nintendo game genius Shigeru Miyamoto, who's been making Marios since the first Donkey Kong arcade cabinet. He'd already set the template for the 2D platformer genre with Super Mario Bros. so they were hoping he could pull off the same trick in 3D. And he did... though he took a few months longer than planned. Unfortunately Mario 64 was meant to be the big launch title that got people buying the Nintendo 64, so they had to delay the console for months as well. They probably made the right choice though, as the PlayStation and Saturn were well established even before the delay and the N64 needed to show off some actual magic to lure people over to a cartridge-based machine without videos, voices or CD music.
Personally I love the N64 and I've got a lot of nostalgia for it, but Mario 64 not so much. I've maybe played the game twice and the furthest I've gotten is the stone slab boss that falls on you. But some people seem to like it, and it's "acclaimed as one of the greatest video games of all time", so I'm going to give it another few hours to win me over.
Read on »
It only ruined little bits of them, only a few of the colours, but ideally you want your screenshots to be 0% ruined.
So I've got GOOD NEWS for you: mecha-neko wrote a thing and I did a thing and over Christmas we replaced something like 14,000 images over 1000 posts. So now the site is entirely fixed... or mostly broken, or somewhere in between. Why not click a few old posts and find out! I mean after reading this one.
| Developer: | Nintendo | | | Release Date: | 1997 (1996 in Japan + US) | | | Systems: | N64, DS, iQue Player |
This week on Super Adventures, it's Super Mario 64!
It's a game that needs no introduction, so instead I'll start off by talking about how much I hate 3D platformers. Actually I don't hate them, as long as they keep their distance and don't bother me, but they've never been my genre. I like 2D platformers, I like games where you wander around in 3D, but somehow when you combine the two I lose interest. Maybe it's because I don't like slipping off narrow platforms and misjudging depth.
Actually I will give the game a bit of an introduction, because I like trivia. Super Mario 64 was designed by pioneering Nintendo game genius Shigeru Miyamoto, who's been making Marios since the first Donkey Kong arcade cabinet. He'd already set the template for the 2D platformer genre with Super Mario Bros. so they were hoping he could pull off the same trick in 3D. And he did... though he took a few months longer than planned. Unfortunately Mario 64 was meant to be the big launch title that got people buying the Nintendo 64, so they had to delay the console for months as well. They probably made the right choice though, as the PlayStation and Saturn were well established even before the delay and the N64 needed to show off some actual magic to lure people over to a cartridge-based machine without videos, voices or CD music.
Personally I love the N64 and I've got a lot of nostalgia for it, but Mario 64 not so much. I've maybe played the game twice and the furthest I've gotten is the stone slab boss that falls on you. But some people seem to like it, and it's "acclaimed as one of the greatest video games of all time", so I'm going to give it another few hours to win me over.
Read on »
Download Ghost Rider Mod For Gta Sandeas
y.yadav gamer
mod for gta sandeas only
all types hack repack
see our my tube
mod is made for only gta sandeas not for any gta and other self plese dont use this mod for any other gta sandeas hardly reqested for all viwer to read how to use this go to discrition of mod(dom)
note dont use any mod usin this mod please
dom
to activate this mod press home button
to control your bike press control+c
to fire the mod press+x
to atack any one press+tab+r
to give fire well press+t
mod password is+fulla1
click here to download click
click here to download in full speed click
installigation video will soon avlable
mod for gta sandeas only
all types hack repack
see our my tube
mod is made for only gta sandeas not for any gta and other self plese dont use this mod for any other gta sandeas hardly reqested for all viwer to read how to use this go to discrition of mod(dom)
note dont use any mod usin this mod please
dom
to activate this mod press home button
to control your bike press control+c
to fire the mod press+x
to atack any one press+tab+r
to give fire well press+t
mod password is+fulla1
click here to download click
click here to download in full speed click
installigation video will soon avlable
Friday, February 14, 2020
Brave Browser the Best privacy-focused Browser of 2019
Out of all the privacy-focused products and apps available on the market, Brave has been voted the best. Other winners of Product Hunt's Golden Kitty awards showed that there was a huge interest in privacy-enhancing products and apps such as chats, maps, and other collaboration tools.
An extremely productive year for Brave
Last year has been a pivotal one for the crypto industry, but few companies managed to see the kind of success Brave did. Almost every day of the year has been packed witch action, as the company managed to officially launch its browser, get its Basic Attention Token out, and onboard hundreds of thousands of verified publishers on its rewards platform.
Luckily, the effort Brave has been putting into its product hasn't gone unnoticed.
The company's revolutionary browser has been voted the best privacy-focused product of 2019, for which it received a Golden Kitty award. The awards, hosted by Product Hunt, were given to the most popular products across 23 different product categories.
Ryan Hoover, the founder of Product Hunt said:
"Our annual Golden Kitty awards celebrate all the great products that makers have launched throughout the year"
Brave's win is important for the company—with this year seeing the most user votes ever, it's a clear indicator of the browser's rapidly rising popularity.
Privacy and blockchain are the strongest forces in tech right now
If reaching 10 million monthly active users in December was Brave's crown achievement, then the Product Hunt award was the cherry on top.
The recognition Brave got from Product Hunt users shows that a market for privacy-focused apps is thriving. All of the apps and products that got a Golden Kitty award from Product Hunt users focused heavily on data protection. Everything from automatic investment apps and remote collaboration tools to smart home products emphasized their privacy.
AI and machine learning rose as another note-worthy trend, but blockchain seemed to be the most dominating force in app development. Blockchain-based messaging apps and maps were hugely popular with Product Hunt users, who seem to value innovation and security.
For those users, Brave is a perfect platform. The company's research and development team has recently debuted its privacy-preserving distributed VPN, which could potentially bring even more security to the user than its already existing Tor extension.
Brave's effort to revolutionize the advertising industry has also been recognized by some of the biggest names in publishing—major publications such as The Washington Post, The Guardian, NDTV, NPR, and Qz have all joined the platform. Some of the highest-ranking websites in the world, including Wikipedia, WikiHow, Vimeo, Internet Archive, and DuckDuckGo, are also among Brave's 390,000 verified publishers.
Earn Basic Attention Token (BAT) with Brave Web Browser
Try Brave Browser
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