Making more progress since I started getting IVIG infusions! I'm finally feeling like I'm able to recover from the marathon of infections I had and I'm building up my strength again! Still some recovering to do and fluid retention to lose, but I'm getting there!

I'm trying out a few new blog goals that are more reasonable for me and are based on feedback from previous years: posting twice a week, one “Chronic SOS” post a month, and more personal experiences. I'm working on some other outside projects - I'll be excited to share those when I can!

For this month's Chronic SOS, I'll be sharing stuff from the Cozy Grove games. As of now, they have a console game and a mobile game, Camp Spirit. I'm a huge fan of cozy games and they're also easier to play with dexterity issues! Having a mobile game is also good for times when my hand pain is more severe or I'm traveling.

Cozy Grove

The OG Cozy Grove game is available on consoles and PC. In it, you're a camping Spirit Scout on a haunted island. It's very similar to Animal Crossing in a lot of ways - island and tent/house you can decorate, collecting resources, baking, crafting, simulation game in real time - but it's got more of a storyline and quests. Though I wish there were more games with the date and time like in The Sims or Stardew Valley, I do really enjoy the game!

The Spirit Scouts are sort of like a paranormal helping Girl Scout troop. The dynamic island is inhabited with deceased bears that you help reach enlightenment by helping them discover their unfinished business and resolve it. Naturally, the storyline can get emotional with discussions of loss and the regrets of the ghosts. Though it's emotional at times, like Spiritfarer, it can have some profound life lessons as well.

With all the traumatic and life threatening things I've been through, I often feel that most of my life has been while I'm dying and with grief, loss, and death nearby. Playing as a Spirit Scout, not at odds with death and loss, but coexisting with it and helping the deceased reach peace feels cathartic, in a way. Modern American culture is often removed from death and loss and it's somewhat taboo - but perhaps it's time for us to be more like the Spirit Scouts and not resist and deny it, but focus on empathy and creating peace?

“All those who are lost deserve kindness” - Spirit Scout motto

Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit

Just in June of this year, Netflix (who acquired Spry Fox, the game developers) released a sequel on mobile. The game is available for free with a Netflix subscription and can be played on Android and iOS (Apple) devices.

Many hardcore gamers turn up their noses at mobile games for not playing like a PC or console game; however; CG Camp Spirit plays exactly like a “regular” video game (but touchscreen). The premise is the same as the original, but is on a smaller island (later two) and features a different roster of deceased bears. Instead of a runaway boat, your character was in a bus crash and got separated from the rest of the troop on a haunted island.

Other than the location and characters, the game doesn't deviate much from the prequel. You collect resources, decorate the island and your tent, perform quests, and ultimately try to help the locals reach enlightenment. Meanwhile, you can repair your totaled bus in the hopes of returning home.

The dialog has the same theme and hits you with life and philosophical lessons you might not be expecting from a video game! A handful of times, I've read a conversation in the game and had moments of realization that I had to take a few minutes to process.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I'd list both games as members of my favorite video games! If you're unsure if you want to buy the console version, I highly recommend getting Camp Spirit to see if you would like it.

Want to share something sweet that helps the medicine go down? Want to share the best medicine, laughter? Fill out my Google form here and select "suggestions"! I'd love to hear from you!