Games as Art

As we hurtle toward the monster consumer frenzy that is Black Friday, I thought I’d take a step back and mention three different efforts to create tabletop games that qualify as art. At TAGIE last week, I met a USC graduate student named James A. Taylor. He’s creating a board game as part of his studies at the School of …

Novels for 2010

The fine people at Angry Robot have announced the release dates for both Amortals and Vegas Knights, my first two original novels. Amortals should be out in the UK and Australia in April 2010 and in the US and the rest of the world in June 2010. Vegas Knights is slated to hit the UK and Australia in June 2010 …

Games On Demand

One bit of advice I gave people at TAGIE was to limit their risk with new games, especially when starting out. Rather than blow five figures on a short run of games through a traditional printer, try a POD (print on demand) service first. You’ll learn more about what you’re doing, and you won’t be out nearly so much money. …

What a Card

At this year’s Gen Con, my pal Dan Tibbles of Bucephalus Games gave me the birthday present he’d been threatening me with for months. I had no idea what it might be, and when he handed me my very own card for his company’s game Bill of Rights, he caught me by surprise. I had the chance to play the …

TAGIE/ChiTAG Report

I had a fantastic time at the TAGIE/ChiTAG conventions this weekend. I drove down on Thursday morning and made it in time to join the panel on “Design and Development,” moderated by my friend Mike Gray of Hasbro. It’s always a kick to join Mike on one of these panels because I remember sitting in the audience of one of …

Off to TAGIE and ChiTAG!

Later today, I’m off to TAGIE (the Toy and Game Inventor Expo) held down at Navy Pier in Chicago. Assuming rush-hour traffic doesn’t devour me alive, I should be on my first panel at 11 AM on “Design and Development,” moderated by the ever-excellent Mike Gray. Tomorrow, I have two panels. The first, “Online and Interactive,” starts at 10 AM, …

The Emperor’s Weekend

My son Marty has the titular role in the KFAD production of The Emperor’s New Clothes. The play runs this Friday and Saturday at 7 PM and Sunday at 2 PM at the First Presbyterian Church in Beloit. If you live in the area, come on out and join us in watching Marty parade around stage in his long johns!

TAGIE Awards Voting Open

The voting is open for this year’s TAGIE Awards, and since the award ceremony is on Friday night, I assume that they’ll have to close the voting soon. For all my game industry friends out there, the Game of the Year nominees are strong. They include Reiner Knizia, Peggy Brown, and Arne Lauwers. Be sure to stop by the website …

Game of Choice Up Now

“Game of Choice,” my latest column for the High Adventure section of The Escapist, is up and ready for you to enjoy. In it, I write about how I decided to run my son Marty’s first at-home RPG using Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition. There are lots of great RPGs out there, and I’d guess that Marty will get around …

TAGIE and ChiTAG

I’ve been asked to be a speaker again at this year’s Toy and Game Inventor Expo (TAGIE). I had to back out at the last second last year due to a family illness, but I had a great time at the show the year before. The convention is held on Navy Pier in downtown Chicago on November 19 and 20. …