Tabletop Feature
Germans take their board games seriously. You'd expect as much from the country of origin for some of the best known modern classics like Settlers of Catan and Caracassonne. So it makes sense that the biggest, convention for board games and their makers takes places every year in Essen, Germany at Spie. Going on this past weekend, Spiel 2007 is were games go to get noticed, each hoping to get the attention of new players and hopefully fall under the right eyes to get them distributed throughout Europe and beyond. That’s also not to mention the thousands of attendees who go just to try out some new games, do some cosplaying, and all the usual gaming con stuff.
Although I wasn't able to travel to the other side of the world this year to check it out, the folks over at both Board Game Geek and and Spotlight On Games did, snapping a bunch of pictures and talking about some of the more than 500 new titles that debuted! So if you're into board games, check out the news from the show and see what you can expect to show up on your game store shelves in the next year. Or, just take a gander at the official Spiel gallery to ogle a few cute German guys. Nett!
Germans take their board games seriously. You'd expect as much from the country of origin for some of the best known modern classics like Settlers of Catan and Caracassonne. So it makes sense that the biggest, convention for board games and their makers takes places every year in Essen, Germany at Spie. Going on this past weekend, Spiel 2007 is were games go to get noticed, each hoping to get the attention of new players and hopefully fall under the right eyes to get them distributed throughout Europe and beyond. That’s also not to mention the thousands of attendees who go just to try out some new games, do some cosplaying, and all the usual gaming con stuff.
Although I wasn't able to travel to the other side of the world this year to check it out, the folks over at both Board Game Geek and and Spotlight On Games did, snapping a bunch of pictures and talking about some of the more than 500 new titles that debuted! So if you're into board games, check out the news from the show and see what you can expect to show up on your game store shelves in the next year. Or, just take a gander at the official Spiel gallery to ogle a few cute German guys. Nett!
With Gaylaxicon just wrapping up, it's hard to say that there's no sci-fi/fantasy event that caters to the gay gaming crowd's discerning tastes, but why have one when you can have two? That's the thinking behind Keith Bailey's recent and ambitious undertaking, Outlandish: Gay Con. Besides an eye-brow-raising name, there's not much to the fledgling gay gaming convention, just a hope and a twinkle in one gamer's eye, so Bailey's asking for all the help he can get:
"If you know any gay Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror/Comic/Gaming writers, artists, costumers, makeup artists, film directors, celebrities, performers, musicians, volunteers, willing to help make this event happen and a big success. Please get them involved. I want to have the first con in May 2008. I realize that isn't much time and that the con will not be as big as I want it to become, but if we do it well then it will be a good promotion for the following year. Thank you all in advance for your help and support."
If you want to get in on the ground floor and help build this new con into something cool, join up at the
Outlandish: Gay Con Myspace page and find out how you can pitch in. Web designers esspecially should take a look, 'cause prioirty one needs to be getting this whole deal its own real website. Best of luck to Bailey and here's hoping the first annual Gay Con goes off without a hitch!
Making one of the most natural fits I've ever seen in gaming, WizKids games and Disney have cooperated to bring the ships and crews of the phenomenal Pirates of the Caribbean movies to the Pirates constructible miniatures game with the new and aptly-named Pirates of the Caribbean expansion. To hype the expansion, the two companies are putting on a giveaway with a few thousand prizes and one heck of a grand prize:
WizKids Inc. announced today prizes for the Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean PocketModel™ game sweepstakes. The sweepstakes grand prize is a trip for four to a Disney Theme Park, including round-trip airfare to a Disney resort, hotel room, tickets to a Disney resort and $1,000 spending money. There will be other Pirates prizes for thousands of instant winners.
To enter, all you have to do is grab a booster pack of
Pirate's Pirates of the Caribbean expansion, fill out the sweepstakes card inside, and send it in. Sounds easy. For more details, you can check out the
contest's full rules and details.
Contest or no, any game where I get to send my tentacled beastie after Jack Sparrow gets my gaming dollar!
Who knows how many games you've bought, rescuing them from the dusty shelves of game stores the world over. But now, it's time for them to return the favor.
How many pages of gaming material will it take to save your life? To find out, Greg Porter of BTRC (Blacksburg Tactical Research Center)—a doughty little gaming company short on reknown but high on arms—decided to test out his personal arsenal on a few boxes worth of Gen Con 40th Anniversary guidebooks. Putting the 314 page convention guides through all manners of torture, Porter tests swords, axes, crossbows, rifles, shotguns, and a variety of other weapons on his collection all in the name of gaming science! He's since set down his findings in this free PDF, complete with pictures of the mayhem and his own witty commentary. Warning, don't look if you're a die-hard bibliophile or shocked by scenes of soft-bound brutality!
Hit the jump for one of BTRC's past ballistic tests using the Hero fifth edition rulebook as the victim below. Turns out that Hero is in fact not faster than a speeding bullet.
Giving you another way to indulge your latent poke'mania, the new Pokemon Trading Figure Game is available now! You can choose between the Next Quest: Riptide or Flamethower four-figure starters sets and get to battling, further customizing your poke'horde with new additions from booster one-figure, two-figure, or three-figure booster packs. Later this week I'll snag a set of these and set down an honest review, but for now, I'm torn between which starter I'll choose in the same way I choked making the decision between charmander, bulbasaur, or squirtle. Any suggestions are welcome! Check out the Pokemon website for more miniature monsters and a walkthrough on how to play.
People get paid to do very strange things. In few professions is this more apparent than in the tabletop gaming industry, wherein for the last thirty-some years authors have been paid to sit in basements and put pen to paper describing creatures that would put even the most opium-addled of medieval bestiaries to shame. As evidence, headinjurytheater.com presents their article “Celebrating 30 Years of Very Stupid Monsters.” From the biclops to the owlephant, collected here are these some of the stupidest creatures ever to appear in Dungeons & Dragons (and perhaps all fantasy as a genre). One of the best mentioned is the Fiend Folio's senmurv, which comes with the totally apt comment “If the furry community ever chose a Gay Pride mascot, I swear, this would have to be it.”
Hit the link to check out this hilarious gallery of shame.
Think you’re the best DM around? Think again. At this past Gen Con, I got to see something really new, roleplaying for the hardest of the hardcore: Iron DM
In this competitive tournament, Dungeon Masters are given three "mystery ingredients" with which they have 1 hour to craft the most awesome, complete, exciting adventure experience they can muster. The DMs then run their adventure for groups of discerning players, using props, gimmicks, and plenty of showmanship in a battle for the title "Iron DM." Presided over by author and taskmaster Nicolas Logue, this year's Iron DM special ingredients were "river rafts," "rakshasa," and "redemption," which came together to make the winning adventure involving a race for salvation down the River Styx. The game has a ton of energy, a lot more (good-natured) shit-talking, and was really something to see. A big hit this year, expect an even bigger Iron DM tournament at next year's Gen Con Indy, and be sure to check out their classy little website if you think you're DM enough.
Somewhat overshadowed by the hullabaloo on the horizon announced at this year's Gen Con, just prior to the show Privateer Press announced their plans for not one, but two new expansions to their game of full-metal minis action, Warmachine. In line for 2008 comes Warmachine Legends and Pirates of the Broken Coast. The former looks to be an expansion in the vein of Escalation and Apotheosis, focusing on new units and warcasters for the current factions, while the latter—hold onto your booty—sees a whole armada of pirates sail into the fracas. About bloody time considering the company's name is Privateer Press. Check out what little info there is over on the Privateer website.
Lectric Lich survived another Gen Con Indy and is ready with a rundown of all the news, events, and excitement. Head on over to the Tabletop Gaming section for the complete rundown!
Gen Con Indy, the biggest convention in tabletop gaming takes place this week from the 16th to the 19th in scenic Indianapolis, Indiana (home of humidity, river sushi, and Scottish eggs). Whether you're local or have to travel across the country, head on down for gaming's biggest party of the year! If you're lucky, you might even run into me and my horde of camera-wielding zombie minions as we cover the show. While that means things will be scarce on the Tabletop Gaming side of things for the next week, expect the full report from the show early upon my grim return next week!
Jumping into the gap left by dearly departed Dragon and Dungeon magazines, gaming-industry celeb Wolfgang Baur presents the first issue of his d20 extravaganza: Kobold Quartery! From Wolf's personal site:
Kobold Quarterly is the scrappy little magazine of Open Design, a tiny journal that covers the world's premiere roleplaying game and the world's best fantasy adventures.
Each issue is written by the industry's best, including well-known RPG designers, and each features full-color art by fantasy artists new and familiar.
Because Kobold Quarterly is not associated with any particular company, we can run what gamers want, instead of what the marketing department wants. It's one editor and a community of Open Design patrons putting together everything from great interviews to character optimization, from the finest world-building techniques to tested tactical crunch.
Premiere Issue Features
* The Ecology of the Derro
* The Princes of Hell series
* 8 excellent treasures
* An interview with Paizo publisher Erik Mona
* Steam & Sorcery in the Free City of Zobeck
* And more!
I'm ecstatic to see long time favorite articles like monster ecologies being given a new lease on life, and trust good doctor Baur (being a former editor-in-chief of Dragon) to put out a quality publication. Even though it only comes out four times a year, something sure beats the hell out of nothing. Once I pick up my copy I'll be sure to post up some first impressions. Till then, find out more on the Kobold Quarterly website.
And girls who like girls who like rumble packs!
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