GAMA just launched a new program called Games to Troops. Publishers who wish to donate 168 games can have them sent to US military Moral, Welfare, and Recreation locations around the world. I’m wondering if I can find 168 authors’ copies of things around here somewhere.
No matter what my opinion might be of my country’s leadership, I always support the men and women risking their lives out there, doing the job they pledged to do. If you’re a publisher, I urge you to do the same.
On Marvel Heroes Battle Dice, Squashua asks:
Hey Matt; I’ve seen these things on the shelves at Wal-Mart. If you stuff a figure into a die, doesn’t that unbalance (load) it?
Good question, and it’s one I gave a lot of thought to while designing the game. Because of that, the rules are such that it doesn’t benefit you much to roll one particular number, or low or high. High numbers are good because you get to add them to your stats, but the low numbers allow you to choose which stat to battle over. All numbers have their benefits. This makes it harder to justify loading a die.
The figures are light enough that I don’t think they’d put the dice too far off true, no matter how you loaded them. I set the rules this way they are to help allay any concerns about cheating. After all, it would be easy to glue a coin to the bottom of the inside of a pop-die—even if that would clearly be wrong—and that would load the die far more than any figure.
Playmates Toys has announced that Marvel Heroes Battle Dice Series 2 will be in stores by July 1. Also, DC Battle Dice should be in stores by November 1, just in time for the holidays.
In the meantime, Web of Webhead has a kind review of the original game.
Also, MarvelBattleDice.com updated its figure gallery to include game stats for each character. Better yet, they also have a full checklist of the rules inside the game’s pop-dice.
The auction for the first-ever copy of the first edition of the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game is over. The boxed set went for a staggering $810.00. Congratulations to a2jeff, whoever you are, and to Greg Stafford too!
Greg has a whole new raft of auctions up too. This includes the first-ever copy of Reich, a boardgame published by Chaosium before it was even incorporated.
There’s even Greg’s author’s copy of Horsemen of the Apocalypse, a charity jam book to which I contributed an essay too. You can find a free copy of “What Was I Thinking?” on my Downloads page. If that inspires you, put a bid on Greg’s copy of the book and get a dead-tree copy complete with his autograph.
Just four and a half hours left in the auction of the first-ever copy of the first edition of the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game, and it’s up to just shy of $800. I’m looking forward to seeing if there’s a last-minute burst of bids.
I see many of Greg’s other offerings are going for decent prices too. The autographed copy of his Prince Valiant game, though, is currently a steal at only $10.
My wife and I ran down to Chicago on Saturday night to see Wicked, the musical based upon Gregory Maguire’s book. It tells the story of the Wizard of Oz from the point of view of the Wicked Witch of the West. We loved it.
I’m a sucker for children’s literature—especially with strong elements of the fantastic. Things like Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Phantom Tollbooth, and so on. Wicked takes the two-dimensional characters from the original tale and inflates them with life. Plus, the music is wonderful, and the talented actors engaged the crowd through every moment.
Edit: Included author’s name.
Two days ago, I mentioned legendary RPG designer Greg Stafford’s auction of various parts of his gaming collection. Today, the price for the first-ever copy of the first edition of Call of Cthulhu is already up to $663.34. Go Greg!
There are just over four days left in the auction as I write this, so it could still go higher. If this must be yours, get your bids in soon!
The Diana Jones Award website has a spiffy new makeover. Drool over it for a while, anticipating the eventual release of the sixth annual shortlist.
Who knew this would last so long? No matter how much longer it goes, it’s already been a great ride.
Greg Stafford, the legendary shaman of the gaming industry, is selling off some of his personal games collection on eBay. This includes, among other gems, an autographed copy of the rulebook for White Bear & Red Moon, an autographed copy of the Prince Valiant RPG, and—get this—the first copy of the first edition of the Call of Cthulhu RPG.
It’s still in the original shrink-wrap.
Apologies (and thanks!) to Anthony Ragan for the heads-up.
I’ve just agreed to be this year’s guest of honor at Protospiel, a small convention dedicated purely to novice game designers. It’s scheduled for July 13–15 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, home to my alma mater, the University of Michigan.
If you’re an aspiring game designer—especially for board or card games, although games of all types are welcome—I recommend attending, if only to see what others of your ilk have rattling around in their brains. I’m looking forward to it and hope to see you there!
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