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. …
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!
Ann on TV
My wife Ann is a school social worker for the School District of Janesville, Wisconsin. Her main job is to serve as the homeless student liaison for the district. In this role, she’s spoken at conferences across the country, and just recently she’s been on local television twice. Tonight, she also hauled herself out of her sickbed to appear on …
Be an Angry Robot
My friends (and publishers) at Angry Robot have helpfully provided a solution for all your Halloween costuming needs: the Angry Robot mask. Just print, cut, strap (or staple, glue, weld, etc.), and you’re all set to scare the simpering souls out of your fleshy, free-willed friends. Better yet, the Angry Robots promise the nebulous award of “prizes” for the best …
Taking Gaming by Swarm
Mike Bohlmann caught one of my seminars at Gen Con this summer. Afterward, he introduced himself and explained his idea about sourcing new RPG projects by tapping the collective gaming hivemind. The result is bySwarm.com. It all seems like a solid plan and an engaging way for players and designers to be involved at every step of the process. As …
Kars for Kids
My friend Clifford Meth recommends this charity–Kars4Kids–which turns your old car into summer camp time for needy kids. It sounds like a great cause and an easy way to support it. Just keep away from that jingle on the site’s front page, which will earworm you in seconds. I donated one of my first post-college junkers to a charity like …
POD Board and Card Games?
The Game Crafter is a new site that promises to bring print on demand (POD) to board and card games. The prices aren’t great for big runs, of course, but they’re perfect for prototypes or for testing out ideas. I mean, $6.28 (plus shipping, I presume) to have a single deck of custom cards printed for a prototype is wonderful. …
This Is Not a Game
I just finished reading This Is Not a Game, the latest novel from Walter Jon Williams, and honestly I’m surprised the book hasn’t gotten more buzz among the circles in which I hang. For one, Walter is one of the original generation of cyberpunks. (His big breakout book was Hardwired, back in 1986. I had the pleasure of sitting on …
Downing Back Up
Way back in 2006, I wrote about the many losses game designer and filmmaker Todd Downing had suffered in the previous year. I’m glad to say that things are looking up for Todd and his family, and you can read all about it in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. I wouldn’t say the story has a happy ending, because it’s clearly far …
Paragon of Jobs
My friends at NCSoft who work on City of Heroes/City of Villains just had their group renamed Paragon Studios and have a snazzy new logo to go with it. The best part, though, is this entry on their jobs board: Powers Designer. That’s right. They’re looking for someone whose full-time job will be to design powers for superheroes. I love …