From crafting pixel-perfect replicas of their iconic Golden Arches and world-famous menu items to stacking block upon block into full-on restaurants, fans have been building their love for McDonald’s in MINECRAFT for years.

And now, inspired by their imagination and the global big screen adventure A MINECRAFT MOVIE debuting in theaters on April 3, 2025, we’re bringing the film’s cinematic world to McDonald’s fans of all ages with a Minecraft Movie Meal Deal and Happy Meal.

Starting on April 2, 2025, fans will enter the McDonald’s portal with the new limited-time meal, including exclusive collectibles and matching cards that unlock additional in-game experiences, a fiery hot sauce inspired by The Nether, special pixelated packaging, and more.

“It’s truly exciting to see Minecraft and McDonald’s come together in such a creative way both here in Aotearoa, and around the world,” said Kylie Freeland, Managing Director of McDonald’s NZ & Pacific Islands. “Both brands share a passion for creativity and connection, and this collaboration is a fun, new way for our community to experience McDonald’s.”

A Minecraft Movie Meal stars one of the six A Minecraft Movie x McDonald’s themed collectibles inspired by McDonald’s most beloved characters and menu items, and popular Minecraft treasures. Elevate your mining sessions with a Big Mac Crystal, Birdie Wings, Fry Helmet, Grimace Egg, Soda Potion or Zombie Hamburglar – and collect them all to stock up your inventory. Each collectible comes with a matching card and a code that fans can scan to unlock the exclusive skin in the Minecraft Marketplace.

In addition to the collectibles and cards, McDonald’s App customers have the chance to purchase an exclusive McDonald’s Minecraft Marketplace add-on using their MyMacca’s Rewards points. Fans who purchase the pack will receive a one-time redeemable code to unlock a McDonald’s Add-On pack which includes additional components to your game play such as McDonaldland characters, builds and tools.

Fans can choose any favourites medium combo (Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, McChicken, Cheeseburger, Filet-O-Fish or 6 pk Chicken McNuggets) for their A Minecraft Movie Meal. Craving a saucy kick to your Chicken McNuggets? Pair it with a side of Nether Flame – a limited-edition hot sauce inspired by The Nether with crushed red pepper and flaming cayenne, balanced with hints of garlic and sweetness.

So, head to your local McDonald’s starting April 2, 2025 and join us on a legendary A Minecraft Movie adventure, while supplies last.

The post The World is Yours to Build w. McDonald’s appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Star Wars: Unlimited is a new trading card game from Fantasy Flight Games set in the Star Wars universe.

We checked out the 110-card Spark of Rebellion Two-Player Starter Set.

I seem to have gone full circle. It was FFG’s excellent X-Wing miniatures that got me back into tabletop games and then on to Magic the Gathering. Now here I am with an FFG Star Wars TCG that is very reminiscent of the Wizards of the Coast game.

The Star Wars Unlimited Spark of Rebellion Two-Player Starter Set is based on the original trilogy of movies: A New Hope to Return of the Jedi. This kit has Darth Vader leading the Empire and Luke Skywalker leading the rebels.

The kit has all you need to get going with the game. There are two decks, one for the Empire and another for the Rebels. There are also a couple of deck boxes, some cardboard tokens and folded paper playmats. The paper playmats have set-up instructions and reference panels to get you into the game faster.

Each 52-card deck has a leader card, either Luke or Vader and a base card, Cloud City or The Death Star. The rest are units, tactics, and events. There are also six upgrade token cards.

The first thing that struck me was the art on the cards. The colour-line-drawn images have a comic-book look that gives them a unique style. These are a lot different than the more regular painted cards included in the X-Wing game.

The game starts with each player having a hand of six cards. The base and leader card are placed in the boxes on the playmat. Two cards from each player’s hand are placed in their resource boxes.

The game is played over a series of phases, the first being the action phase. At this time players attack and use abilities against their opponent. Each card has a cost. Unit cards have a power number and HP. Power is how much damage the unit dishes out whereas HP is how much it can take. Upgrades can add to a unit’s power and / or HP.

The game is unique in that battles are fought on the ground and in space, with units dedicated to each. Units can only attack opponents’ units in the same arena (ground or space), or the base. As well as attacking opponents’ forces, units can also directly attack the base. Each base starts with 30 hit points and the game ends when on player’s base HP reaches zero.

Leader cards have a unique ability available to the player from the start of the game. But they also have an epic ability that can be used only when enough resources are available to deploy them in the ground arena. The leader’s card is then flipped to become a unit card. This epic action can only be used once per game.

The regroup phase allows players to draw two more cards. Optionally, one card can be selected from the player’s hand as a resource card.

As with all collectable trading card games, decks are supplemented by booster packs. A Spark of Rebellion booster pack contains 16 cards: one leader, one base, nine commons, one rare, one legendary and one foil card.

The game is easy to pick up, especially if you have played other TCGs. The 24-page quick start rulebook does a pretty good job of explaining this but does leave a few gaps. I had the same issue with X-Wing to start with, but that’s what the Internet is for. To be fair, the Star Wars Unlimited website has loads of information on how to play the basic game as well as variations such as premier, draft play, seal play and the multiplayer-focused, Twin Suns.

It’s still early days for Star Wars: Unlimited but it is already an easy-to-play dynamic card game that offers players a lot of fun with some beautiful card art. Fantasy Flight Games have good form in supporting and enhancing their games with new rules, card types and organised tournament play. It’ll be exciting to see what other packs get released from across the Star Wars mythos.

The post Star Wars: Unlimited Spark of Rebellion TCG Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

NOW CLOSED – The Galaxy should be more fun.

And with Minix it is.

Introducing a new collectible figure line, Minix, 12cm PVC characters that represent differing pop culture Universes. From Rebel Moon, Kiss, Wednesday (Netflix series), Naruto, The Witcher, Stranger Things, Squid Games and more, Minix are here.

In all there are characters from anime, series, films, sports and music and the new Rebel Moon series has just landed.

Thanks to our mates at Minix STG has a set of Minix figures from Rebel Moon to giveaway.

To be in with the chance to win you will need to answer this question correctly:

What is it that you love about the Minix figures?

There is no wrong or right answer, be as descriptive as you like, but please keep your answer brief. Every answer that aligns with the above the question is an entry. One entry per person.

You can give us your answer by placing a comment below, hitting us up on Facebook, Tweet to us, or Email Us.

Important stuff: Winner(s) will be randomly selected from those that Comment below / Facebook Comment / Email in accordance to the above Question. Winner(s) will receive a set of Minix figures from Rebel Moon. There is no age restriction on this promotion. Competition ends on the 17th of March 2024. Only New Zealand entries are accepted for this promotion.

Find out more about Minix here and the currently available selection here.

The post Minix Rebel Moon Giveaway! appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

STG’s Darren Price was invited to the launch of the new expansion for Magic: The Gathering, The Lost Caverns of Ixalan. As a follow-up to the 2017 Ixalan expansion, players are invited to return to the mysterious jungles of Ixalan with a few surprises in store.

Magic: The Gathering is a fantasy collectable card game originally inspired by tabletop fantasy role-playing games. Two or more players take on the role of Planeswalkers using spell cards and mana (land) cards to battle each other and reduce their opponents’ life points and win the match. Earlier this year the game celebrated its 30th anniversary.

Players select their deck for each game, strategically choosing cards that align with each other, reflecting their play style, and the anticipated style of their opponents. Deck starter kits are sold to help new players easily get a deck together.

Each card has a unique piece of art on the top portion with a description of the card’s mechanic on the lower portion. There are special cards and chase cards that can be found in the various deck kits and card packs.

It can be overwhelming at first, but the gameplay scales quite well to players’ ability. It had been decades since I last played the game and I was totally lost when I first returned to the game, playing with my kids. The best way to learn Magic is by just joining in and giving it a go. If that doesn’t work for you, there’s a free mobile app, Magic: The Gathering Arena which has tutorials and allows you to use your actual purchased cards, via a redeemable code found in each pack.

Wizards of the Coast, the publishers of Magic: The Gathering chose Fortress Sydney as the venue for The Lost Caverns of Ixalan launch event. Fortress Sydney is a themed gaming event centre and tavern in the heart of Sydney. The location regularly hosts esports tournaments in a dedicated arena.

For the event, Magic fans in attendance received their own Commander deck at the door and were able to take their place at one of the many tables on the arena floor. Whilst the event was restricted to over 18s (likely due to the free-flowing alcohol), it was great to see fans old and young coming together for a preview of the new Magic expansion. Also in attendance was special guest Gavin Verhey, a Principal Game Designer for Magic: The Gathering at Wizards of the Coast.

The Lost Caverns of Ixalan expansion continues the game’s program of tie-ins with licenced properties started with the Universes Beyond decks, The Lord of The Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth, and Doctor Who. Lucky players may come across one of the 26 collaboration cards featuring characters and themes from the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World movie franchises.

This, the ninety-eighth Magic expansion, adds three new game mechanics and new commanders. The Lost Caverns of Ixalan adds 291 regular cards to Magic: The Gathering. The Lost Caverns of Ixalan cards are sold in packs that include Draft Boosters, Set Boosters, Collector Boosters, Commander Decks, Prerelease Packs, Bundles, and Gift Bundles.

Collecting the cards is as much a part of Magic: The Gathering as playing the game, with some cards fetching a small fortune. The one-off One Ring Magic card is purported to be worth between $1 million to $2 million.

With The Lost Caverns of Ixalan launch at Fortress Sydney, Magic: The Gathering goes from strength to strength as part of the resurgence of tabletop fantasy gaming that can be enjoyed by the old and young. If you’ve not tried it already, I recommend you give it a go.

The post Magic: The Gathering – The Lost Caverns of Ixalan – Sydney Launch Event appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

As the first Spring Auckland Armageddon Expo since 2020 set the stage, the scene was set for the return of bigger brands and more variety, a welcome return for those not solely into anime or cosplay.

With still more than an abundance of anime and cosplay to your hearts content if that’s what you’re after, the return of bigger brands like PlayStation, Mighty Ape and Samsung were certainly a highlight to see, making the event start to feel a glimmer of what it used to be years ago.

It was disappointing to still see no return for Xbox and Nintendo though, who were usually a highlight alongside PlayStation of my visit to Auckland Armageddon.

Saying this, PlayStation and Mighty Ape were nowhere near as grand as they used to be. Given the scope of Mighty Ape as a whole online shop, I was surprisingly disappointed by how small their stand was and how little stock they had on display.

PlayStation’s stand was more of a Spider-Man 2 stand, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, it is a major release after all, but ultimately it didn’t show any of the wide scope that PlayStation as a brand is usually known for.

The slow rise of physical guests continued. Voice actor legend Troy Baker was present at this year’s Springeddon and became one of the reasons I attended the event. It was a lot of fun having the likes of Troy Baker attend, but the second main stage where I watched his panel was incredibly small and had a screen at the back that unfortunately made it no easier to see the voice actor.

The show floor, as expected, was very busy, and popular. On the other hand, a negative term to otherwise use could be cramped. Most of the time you couldn’t see the vendors, especially in artist alley, because so many people were standing and struggling to walk in all directions. With not a lot of ventilation I could tell of, a part from the doors on the outskirts, the space become very hot and suffocating, despite only being in Spring.

The unique and tasty food vendors outside were a breath of fresh air, literally, and it was cool to not only see the generic stalls, but also more unique food and drink options.

Artist alley remained one of the most popular spots of the event, as mentioned by the bustling crowds. There’s nothing better than finding something exciting and different, perhaps only found by being exposed to an independent artist. A lot of the bigger vendors selling items felt generic and cheap, which was a shame when comparing to the more independent artists who are vying for recognition.

Although continuously rising back to its former grandeur, Auckland Armageddon can’t quite keep up with the momentum required to grab people’s attention long enough to stick around for years to come, unless you fall into a very specific anime or cosplay niche. Saying this, you can’t deny the crowds, so albeit my time attending an Armageddon Expo may need a long deserved break, I’ll still be there admiring from afar.

The post Armageddon Expo (Auckland, NZ) 2023 appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

NOW CLOSED – Life should be more fun.

And with Minix it is.

Introducing a new collectible figure line, Minix, 12cm PVC characters that represent differing pop culture Universes. From Kiss, Wednesday (Netflix series), Naruto, The Witcher, Stranger Things, Squid Games and more Minix are here.

In all there are characters from anime, series, films, sports and music and Wave 3 and 4 has just released to stores.

Thanks to our mates at Minix STG has a set of Minix figures from Wednesday (Netflix series) and Naruto (anime) to giveaway.

To be in with the chance to win you will need to answer this question correctly:

Now that we are at Wave 3 and 4 of the Minix collectables, tell us your favourite thing about the Minix figures.

You can give us your answer by placing a comment below, hitting us up on Facebook, Tweet to us, or Email Us.

Important stuff: Winner(s) will be randomly selected from those that Comment below / Facebook Comment / Email in accordance to the above Question. Winner(s) will receive a set of Minix figures from Wednesday (Netflix series) and Naruto (anime). There is no age restriction on this promotion. Competition ends on the 7th of September 2023. Only New Zealand entries are accepted for this promotion.

Find out more about Minix here and the currently available selection here.

The post Minix Wave 3 & 4 Giveaway! appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

As we travelled through the misty mountains to Wellington, it wasn’t long until we were greeted by the misty mountain of Sky Stadium, or perhaps the misty towering carpark and building, as a day of Autumn rain settled in at Armageddon Expo’s Wellygeddon.

Despite the rain, people flocked to the yearly  event, putting aside the umbrellas (this is windy Wellington after all) and most without raincoats to get a sprinkling of rain on their everyday outfits and extravagant cosplay costumes. Luckily we managed to pay for a carpark at the event location, even though the carpark chaos and sheer high numbers was insane. Although expensive carpark pricing continues to rise, it certainly made the journey to the event short and easy.

After rushing to find the bathroom because of the long journey to get to Wellington and to get inside the event as we needed to wait to receive our media passes outside, the size and design of Sky Stadium made it quite the task to access the bathroom facilities. It may seem like a pointless thing to point out, but with the number of people and various ages at the event, no doubt needing easy access to such facilities, I wonder if they struggled to find these locations quickly as well, unless just happening to stumble upon them on their journey.

Bathrooms aside, it was time to tackle Wellgeddon. The ring design of the Sky Stadium was very familiar to me, but the frustrations of this design never seem to cease, even if I tried to remind myself to take my time, and not be in a rush. You know when you’re at a shopping centre, or walking along a path and a group of people just stop to have a chat in the middle of the space? That happened here too, despite the already minimal room, especially in certain parts of the ring. This caused build up and a back log of bodies bashing against one another quite often, soon relying on handholding to not loose my partner in the chaos.

Breathes of fresh air occurred on and off throughout the journey of Wellygeddon, and when I mean breathes of fresh air, I mean openings in the crowd where you had room to stretch your legs, take a moment to regain yourself and get your bearings. Because of the high intensity ‘flow’ of the Sky Stadium ring design, I often found myself having to back track as I’d missed something and being a woman of average height, I simply couldn’t see what I was missing out on at times.

Post pandemic world, artist alley continues to be my favourite new appreciation for the local artists. Finding unique gifts or household items is what I’ve loved for years. I will admit I never used to give artist alley as much attention years ago, across all Armageddon Expos, as I was often distracted by the bigger brands and names, but when you take that away (which I am still quite gutted about), you’re left to admire the smaller things in life, for Armageddon Expos, that’s artist alley.

I do wish I had the insight into understanding why bigger brands and names no longer seem to be attending any Armageddon Expos anymore. There was nothing better than the excitement of experiencing new games or previews of technology as they’d just made their way to our shores or were going to.

This ‘wonder’ made me feel less isolated in comparison to the rest of the world and excited for new things to come. Now we can all only hope to have access to such events overseas, which isn’t practical for a lot of people.

As mentioned earlier, the weather didn’t stop people from attending Wellygeddon, with crowds bustling and cars jam packed not only in the Sky Stadium carpark but also out onto one of the main roads into Wellington city. I wonder what pulls others into attending the Armageddon Expos with their families when a lot has changed about the event since Covid, with a lot less big brands, big shops and celebrities. For myself, anything entertainment related is my go to and I’ll never not jump to the opportunity to experience an exciting event.

Ranging from swords, food, pop vinyls, and artwork in all its forms, the local vendors and artists delighted people with their stalls and abundance of goodies to choose from. Although missing the big brands still, for video games and technology especially, we can always rely on the locals of New Zealand to come together and put on a fun event.

The post Wellington (NZ) Armageddon Expo Wrap-up appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

NOW CLOSED – Life should be more fun.

And with Minix it is.

Introducing a new collectible figure line, Minix, 12cm PVC characters that represent differing pop culture Universes. From The Witcher, Stranger Things, Squid Games and more Minix are here.

In all there are characters from anime, series, films, sports and music.

Thanks to our mates at Minix STG has a set of Minix figures from The Witcher and Stranger Things to giveaway.

To be in with the chance to win you will need to answer this question correctly:

Between The Stranger Things and The Witcher (series) which is your fav and why?

You can give us your answer by placing a comment below, hitting us up on Facebook, Tweet to us, or Email Us.

Important stuff: Winner(s) will be randomly selected from those that Comment below / Facebook Comment / Email in accordance to the above Question. Winner(s) will receive a set of Minix figures from The Witcher and Stranger Things series. There is no age restriction on this promotion. Competition ends on the 19th of February 2023. Only New Zealand entries are accepted for this promotion.

Find out more about Minix here and the currently available selection here.

The post Enter to Win Minix Collectible Figures appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Nacelle, the studio behind Netflix’s The Toys That Made Us, The Movies That Made Us, Kevin Hart’s Guide to Black History, Mad About You (2019), and Behind The Attraction on Disney+, has struck a deal with Brentwood Television Funnies, to acquire Biker Mice from Mars, with plans to re-introduce the toy line in 2023.

In 2022, Nacelle began reviving many beloved vintage toy lines such as Robo Force, Sectaurs, The Great Garloo, and Power Lords, with new action figures that honor the rich history of their predecessors.

On the planet Mars, there existed a race of anthropomorphic mice who enjoyed motorsports and had a very similar culture and society to that of human beings.

Eventually, they were all but wiped out by the Plutarkians, an alien race of obese, foul-smelling, worm eating, fish-like humanoids who plunder other planets for their natural resources. Three survivors: Throttle, Modo and Vinnie, manage to find a spaceship and escape the Plutarkian takeover, but instead, they soon find themselves crash-landing on Earth in the city of Chicago.

Along with a charming female mechanic named Charlene “Charley” Davidson, the Biker Mice must defend Earth and defeat the villainous Plutarkians, in an attempt to finally return to their homeland of Mars.

“Biker Mice is the perfect way to start 2023 off with a Mars-based bang! And they’ll fit in, with their unique, creative brilliance, with the rest of brands we’ve recently acquired,” said Nacelle Founder and CEO, Brian Volk-Weiss.

For years, Nacelle has been shining a spotlight on pop-culture through innovative, humorous storytelling that focuses on preserving nostalgia and nostalgic brands throughout history. The resurrection of the Biker Mice from Mars brand is just another step in Nacelle’s overall aforementioned mission.

The release date for the toy line and animated series is still to be revealed.

The post NACELLE STRIKES DEAL TO ACQUIRE BIKER MICE FROM MARS, appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

The stage was set for Palmygeddon last weekend, Palmerston North’s yearly Armageddon Expo for all your entertainment, pop culture, and anime buzz.

Attending public events still seems like a taboo thing, despite the world going back to normal after a crazy couple of years. The struggle to find a car park, seeing the massive queues to get inside Fly Palmy Arena, and squishing your way through the crowds of people inside, showed how eager the entire region was to experience a sense of freedom in a community of welcoming nerds. 

All ages, both young and old, filled the arena, and you couldn’t help but feel a sense of happiness among chaos. Big events such as Palmygeddon are always going to create a huge buzz for the region and it’s nice to think that if you ever had any trouble or were in need of support, you wouldn’t be too far from a friendly face, willing to welcome you into their group of friends. 

‘Artist Alley’, as it’s become known across all of Armageddon Expo’s events, features stalls by budding artists and talented people oozing with creativity. Spending time in this area of the event was a must. Taking the time to cast your eye over the intricate details and have a chat with an artist is definitely worth your time, especially if you enjoy a slower pace and not being on a set timer. 

A prominent area in Palmygeddon now sits the e-sports section where men and women of all ages took part in competitions to win prizes, or in some cases, experiencing an exhilarating game with their peers they might otherwise have never tried. The small area dedicated to esports was bursting at the seams though and could easily justify expanding its area for next year. 

Technology and gaming is an area of Armageddon Expos that has dwindled a lot since Covid, and is something that I’m incredibly eager to find its way back to the surface. Although, asking for big brand video game companies to make their way to Palmygeddon may be a lot to ask for, I do hope the first step in making this happen, is to bring them back to Armageddon Expo’s Auckland event, Auckgeddon, this coming October. 

Unmistakably, anime continued to be the biggest focus at this year’s Palmygeddon and although one can still enjoy the event if you’re not a fan of anime, it did take over the stalls. One could easily find themselves searching for a favourite television, movie or video game fandom with no luck and a lack of representation.

The same could be said for in-person guests. Years ago, in-person guests were what attracted me to Armageddon Expo in the first place. My eyes would shine bright when I realized that I could meet television, movie and video game stars from around the world in little old New Zealand. There is a glimmer of hope though, having had up and coming Stranger Things actress Grace Van Dien attend the recent Bay of Plenty Armageddon Expo in person.

Merely scratching the surface, Palmygeddon is the prime example of an event eager to grow and develop as the years go on. With so much potential, the seed of Palmygeddon sprouted in a Covid stricken world. It’s time for it to bloom. 

The post Palmygeddon! appeared first on Shane the Gamer.