Medieval

Medieval II Gold Pack (Total War, Total War Kingdoms)
$19.99
I've played many games from this genre, starting with the original Lords of the Realm 2 (though I guess it's not original is it's a sequel...). I've played shogun TW, Medival TW, Rome TW, and now Medieval 2 TW. It's good to be able to say there has been steady improvement thorughout the series. The game will take a long time to play through. And if you move too slowly and conservatively you may even lose. One of the thnigs I found annoying was when your empire reaches a certain size, one day people decide to just be unhappy. It gets annoying when all your cities are almost revolting back home even with full garrisons and low taxes etc., and you're trying to fight a war elsewhere. It adds realism though, which is good. I found the game a bit more challenging than Rome TW, but it moves a little slower and funds are more scarce. I wish it had Pirates! style naval combat, but you'll have to get Empire TW if you want an approximation of that. Overall an enjoyable game that keeps you interested for quite some time.

Medieval Life (DK Eyewitness Books)
$15.99
In the Dorling Kindersley style, wonderful photographs of clothing, tools, furniture, weapons, musical instruments and more. I especially liked the page describing the process of illuminating and gilding a manuscript. Grades 6-12

Medieval Chess Set
$129.95
For the price, this is a great chess set. Excellent detail on the pieces and case. The finish or paint on the board has a few spots that are faded a bit. I am unsure if the fading will continue over extended use and time. My 8 year old son loves the set.

LEGO��� Castle Medieval Market Village (10193)
$99.99
The Lego Medieval Marketplace arrived well in advance of the estimated delivery date. We had fun assembling it with our grandson. He thoroughly enjoyed playing with it once it was completed. It took less time to assemble than we thought it would. Packages of the Legos were not numbered by steps, so we had to open all packages to begin the assembly process. You need a very large area to spread all of the parts out on for assembly.