Over at Kobold Quartlery, to celebrate the release of the Kobold Guide to Board Game Design, they’ve asked a number of the contributors, “What’s the first board game you fell in love with?” I gave them an answer, and they posted it this week.
Hint: It’s Dungeon, but hustle on over there to see why. While you’re at it, check out the rest of the essays up so far, from Mike Selinker and Richard Levy.
I’m proud to announce that today my wife Ann is in Madison, Wisconsin, to help accept the state superintendent’s Friend of Education award on behalf of Project 16:49. Ann works as the homeless student liaison for the School District of Janesville, and she and Robin Stuht – her counterpart in Beloit – have been working tirelessly over the past couple years to set up a shelter for homeless teens in Rock County. Many homeless children can enter a shelter with their family, but a large number of homeless teens don’t have that option. They’re not yet old enough to enter a shelter for adults, so they have zero places to go.
To help raise awareness about this problem, filmmaker Rubin Burgos created a documentary about three local homeless teens. He called it Sixteen Forty-Nine after the numbers of hours and minutes a child has to wait between leaving the safe haven of a school in the afternoon and returning the next morning. Ann and Robin took up that banner, naming their effort Project 16:49, and they’ve been showing this moving film all around the area to help drum up support ever since.
This pays off in all sorts of ways, not just raising funds for the shelter itself but also motivating people to chip in as best they can. Earlier this month, for instance, the staff of the Mercy Health Mall teamed up to donate backpacks full of school and personal supplies for Janesville’s homeless teens. (That’s them in the photo. Ann’s the one in the blue dress in the middle.)
Today, State Superintendent Tony Evers is recognizing Project 16:49’s efforts (along with eight others) in a ceremony at the state capitol, and Ann and Robin are there to accept the award. Read the official press release, and if you can manage it, visit the Project 16:49 website to see if there’s something you can do to help.
I spend my days entertaining people, which I love, but my wife and her friends are out there on the front lines every day, working hard to help people in the worst need. I’m glad the state superintendent stood up to recognize and endorse all their hard work.
My pal Ed Healy has spent the last several weeks wandering the country and visiting game stores, helping promote games. Along the way, he’s filmed all sorts of people telling stories about games and what they mean to them. For a heartwarming example, check out blind game store owner Phil Glotfelty’s account of meeting a customer who was deaf. Lester Smith and I met with Ed while he was at Noble Knight Games in Janesville, Wisconsin, a few weeks ago, and Ed recorded my story about how I first got involved with adventure games.
It may be coincidence that this was released during Speak Out With Your Geek Out, but I’m happy to take advantage of that and declare this my official geeky post for the week.
This week is Speak Out With Your Geek Out, which was started by my friend Monica Valentinelli, with whom I sat on many panels at Geek.Kon this past Saturday. The whole idea is to publicly talk about your geeky hobbies in an effort to help remove any stigmas others might attach to them. As a professional geek, I like this idea. A lot.
To help promote it, I interviewed Monica for Wired.com’s Geek Dad blog. Head on over there and learn all about it. And then, if you’re a geek who’s so inclined, join in.
As I’ve mentioned before, I’ll be at Geek.Kon up in Madison, Wisconsin, this weekend. It’s bound to be a blast, with all sorts of guests, including my friends Bill Bodden, Troy Denning, Jim Frenkel, John Kovalic, Matt McElroy, Aaron Pavao, and Monica Valentinelli. It all kicks off this afternoon, and the fun goes straight on through Sunday.
I can’t make it up tonight or Sunday, but I will be there all day Saturday, starting at 9 AM and running through the night. Check my schedule for details. I hope to see you there!
Over at Geeks of Doom (love that name), Gary Makries gives Star Wars vs. Star Trek a rave review.
I laughed, I cried, I rejoiced… I enjoyed the book so much, I didn’t put it down.
Check out the rest of it, and listen to the man when he says, “Well, guess who needs to go shopping? Yep, you do.”
Just today, Kobold Quarterly released The Kobold Guide to Board Game Design. Legendary designer and puzzle master Mike Selinker edited the book, and he assembled a killer lineup of designers and essays for the book. Besides himself, the writers include Rob Daviau, James Ernest, Richard Garfield, Dave Howell, Steve Jackson, Richard C. Levy, Andrew Looney, Michelle Nephew, Paul Peterson, Lisa Steenson, Jeff Tidball, Teeuwynn Woodruff, Dale Yu, and me.
Honestly, it’s an honor just to be included on such a list. The fact that it’s all wrapped inside a cover by John Kovalic makes for sweet icing on an already delicious cake.
My essay is called “Metaphor vs. Mechanics,” and it addresses the natural tension between how a game works and what it’s about. Other pieces cover the gamut from pacing gameplay and writing rules to building prototypes and getting published. If you have any interest at all in game design, grab this book. It’s out in both print and PDF.
Book of Extreme Facts apparently is in stores for your enjoyment now. It’s a collection of crazy records and facts that Kris Oprisko and I gathered for IDW, and it features illustrations by Brian Miroglio, Marc Rueda, Sagar Forniés, Mariano Saura Copete, Albert Carreres, Guillermo Perez, Yair Herrera (who illustrated my Complete Idiot’s Guide to Drawing Superheroes and Villains), and German Torres. It also features a snazzy lenticular cover by Locke & Key artist Gabriel Rodiguez that gives it a 3D effect as you move it.
I had a lot of fun working on this book, and my kids have been poring over it since the moment my advance copies showed it. For some samples of what’s in it, be sure to stop by the official site at BookOfExtremeFacts.com.
Meanwhile, check out this sure to be short lived record involving the book, recorded for RecordSetter.com.
Earlier today, IDW announced that it is publishing a brand-new series of comic books based on Magic: The Gathering, the original, bestselling collectible card game from Wizards of the Coast. It’s being illustrated by the fantastic Martin Cóccolo, and the excellent Denton Tipton is editing it. Most amazing of all is that I’m writing it.
This is the first comic I’ve written since the Blood Bowl series I handled for Boom! Studios, and I’m loving it. Writing a comic is the most structured sort of prose challenge around, but it’s so satisfying to see a talented artist bring the images I describe to life.
This isn’t, though, the first time I’ve been involved with a Magic: The Gathering comic. Way back in 1996, I wrote backup material for Fallen Angel, a Magic comic from Acclaim Comics written by Nancy Collins. This time around, though, I’m handling the main event, and I can’t wait for you all to read it.
Here’s the press release, in full:
Once again, I’ll be at guest at this year’s Geek.Kon up in Madison, Wisconsin, which runs from September 9 through 11. I’m joining a fantastic group of guests, including my pals Bill Bodden, Troy Denning, Jim Frenkel, John Kovalic, Matt McElroy, Aaron Pavao, and Monica Valentinelli.
I may be at the show Friday or Sunday, but I’ll be there for sure all day Saturday, September 10. So far, my Saturday schedule looks like this: