My fellow Alliterate and good pal Lester Smith is on a game-designing roll. To add to the free MonsterCon! card game he released last week, he’s now posted rules for the Powerhouses of Wrestling! dice game, the Demon Bound! card game, and the Invasion of the Saucer People! card game. As with the first, the best bits about these games …
Obama-King Art Arrived
Last week, we received a print we’d ordered from a local artist Kenan Pulliam. After Barack Obama’s inauguration as President, Kenan made prints of a painting he calls “Fulfillment of a Dream,” which features Obama looking out over Martin Luther King Jr. You can see a picture of him and the piece in an article about Kenan and his work …
Ann Speaks about Homeless Kids
Today’s Janesville Gazette has an article about homeless students, and it features quotes from my wife Ann about what she and others in the area are trying to do to help. She’ll be giving a lunchtime seminar on the subject, sponsored by the League of Women Voters, on Wednesday. I really enjoy what I do, but I’m always so proud …
Mark Waid on How to Edit
Over on John Rogers’ blog, Mark Waid has an excellent post about how a comic-book editor works–or should. This is required reading for any editor in any creative field. Mark boils it down to two rules: Mark Waid’s First Inviolable Rule For Editors, Including Himself: Never point out a problem unless you have a solution to offer. Mark Waid’s Second …
Play MonsterCon!
At the Alliterates meeting on Monday night, I had the honor of playtesting MonsterCon!, a new card game designed by Lester Smith. As with much of Les’s work, it’s wickedly funny and simple to pick up and shows surprising depth. Best of all, it’s free! Les has posted the rules online, and all you need to play are a deck …
The Game Designing Life
Matthew Sprange, one of the founders of Mongoose Publishing, just released I Am Mongoose, and So Can You!, a new book aimed at showing you how you can make a living in the tabletop gaming industry. I’ve only read through the free sample up at DriveThruRPG.com, but it seems like solid, sensible stuff. The PDF’s a bit pricey at $29.95 …
Who Quits a Day Job?
Sandy Antunes has an excellent column up on RPG.net today, in which he reveals the results of an informal survey of RPG designers and developers. The question he put to them was: “What is your day job?” The results are not particularly scientific, which Sandy (whose day jobs include astrophysicist and stay-at-home dad) freely admits, but they’re fun. I didn’t …
Around the World in XX Games
My pal Keith Baker (the man who created Eberron among many other great games) is planning the adventure of a lifetime later this year. His aim? To travel around the world, running roleplaying games in exchange for hospitality. He calls it Have Dice, Will Travel. If you are a gamer who happens to live in an interesting place and have …
BIFF 2009
The Beloit International Film Festival announced its 2009 lineup this week. The festival runs February 19—22, and I’m hoping to make the most of it. I’ve not heard of many of the films on the docket. If any independent film buffs out there could offer some recommendations, I’d appreciate it. I actually managed to see several films in a theater …
Congratulations x2
A quick shout out to two friends of mine who’ve had good news this week. First, to Carl Kluzke, who made it through the first round of Paizo‘s 2009 edition of its RPG Superstar competition. (Think American Idol, but for RPG designers.) The boundary chalk magic item he concocted for this is good fun with a cool twist. Good luck …