Steve Jackson's Blog, page 103

January 27, 2023: Kobolds Ate My Baby! The Orange Book On BackerKit

The Kobolds are back! 9th Level Games is currently funding Kobolds Ate My Baby! The Orange Book over on BackerKit. It's a totally new edition of KAMB! powered by their award-winning polymorph™ system.

We love the game, and we also love its artist, a cool guy named John Kovalic! When the last edition was funded, we collaborated on a stretch goal on the project: Munchkin Kobolds Ate My Baby! (that's still available, by the way, and would pair deliciously with Munchkin Babies . . .)

Some awesome stuff on this BackerKit:A Kobolds Ate My Baby! x Mörk Borg  zine, SMÖRKAS BORG!Plush kobolds!A HUGE Digital Adventure Pack, with even more adventures unlockable as stretch goals.Did I mention the PLUSH KOBOLDS yet?And if you want more adorably menacing kobold content, check out 9th Level's TikTok page! Their charming spokeskobold, Yeet, makes regular appearances.

All Hail King Torg!

– Irene Zielinski

Warehouse 23 News: Venice Awaits!

GURPS Hot Spots: Renaissance Venice is your guide to one of the most fascinating locales of the Renaissance era. Thanks to Matt Riggsby's gift for presenting a gamer's-eye view, the city comes alive with insight into its history, government, military power, noteworthy personalities, and more. Download it today from Warehouse 23!

January 26, 2023: In Praise Of PDFs

I recently wrote about our efforts at "uplifting" our print-on-demand reprints to color with full errata as part of our On Demand program. This had another side effect – which is one of my favorite aspects of the digital era. Namely, we updated all those volumes in folks' Warehouse 23 digital libraries.

This was nontrivial! We're still in the process of breaking in the new Warehouse 23, so we needed to redo the files on all our digital stores. In addition, I took the opportunity to refresh the preview files, since I want folks to see extracts of the exact files they're getting if they buy the PDFs.

If you purchased these items previously through an account with our online store, simply log into that account, check out your downloadable library (on the new or old site), and grab the new versions today!

– Steven Marsh

Warehouse 23 News: Faerie Bag!

Carry your dice in style using this large, satin-lined dice bag! Featuring custom art that perfectly accents any tabletop game, this whimsical dice bag will bring you luck at your next game night. You provide the faerie dust! Get your Deluxe Dice Bag: Happy Faeries now on Warehouse 23! 

January 25, 2023: GURPS Trending On TikTok

The topic of GURPS and a potential fifth edition came up on TikTok, and Irene ran with it, asking fans for feedback on what they'd like to see in a (hypothetical) new edition of the game. While we don't have any specific news in regard to a new edition, it's great to see the incredible reaction to the clip! It became our highest viewed by far, and generated a ton of comments. Some had particularly good suggestions, and others requested stuff we already make, so either way it was  an excellent way to spread the word about GURPS .

If you haven't checked it out yet, our TikTok is a great place to get short-form videos on many of our games. Jump in the comments and join the community! 

@stevejacksongames #question from @stevejacksongames #stitch with @geek_the_gm 👀 c'mon, weigh in! #gurps #gurpstok #ttrpg #beggartok ♬ original sound - Steve Jackson Games

– Hunter Shelburne

Warehouse 23 News: Mess With Reality

GURPS is a dream for rule-tweakers and customizers – but some folks want to take things even further. GURPS Power-Ups 9: Alternate Attributes shows you how to shake up a foundational element of GURPS , by doing something different with attributes themselves. Sean Punch offers insight into various options, opportunities, and pitfalls. A new world of possibilities awaits a download from Warehouse 23!

January 24, 2023: Wiz-War Live On Kickstarter!

The classic game of wizarding warfare is back! Wiz-War is live on Kickstarter now, returning for a ninth edition. In Wiz-War, players take control of a variety of wizards trying to nab treasure from their opponents or defeat them with spells like Fireball! and Lightning! With modular, double-sided gameboards, each arena is unique and provides a new maze to explore.

Designed by Tom Jolly, our new edition features art by the legendary Phil Foglio. You'll get standies, lots of tokens for spell effects, and a custom d4/d8 combination die that is unique to this edition!

The campaign runs until February 2, so pledge now. And tune into Twitch at 2 p.m. Central this Thursday to catch a live-play of the game with Steve Jackson!

– Hunter Shelburne

Warehouse 23 News: Now Serving Cthulhu!

Serving Cthulhu is fun . . . except for all those other cultists out to get you. So get them first! Cthulhu Dice lets you drive your rivals mad . . . very, very quickly. Players take turns rolling the big, beautiful, custom 12-sided die embossed with tentacles, Elder Signs, and more. Destroy your opponents' sanity (or better yet, steal it)! But watch out for Cthulhu – when he comes up, he takes sanity from everyone! Order now on Warehouse 23!

January 23, 2023: Now In Print-On-Demand: Murphy's Rules!

It's not only GURPS that is being added to our ever-expanding catalog of print-on-demand books. The Murphy's Rules collection from the late nineties has now found its way into the print-on-demand library, making it easier than ever to grab this classic work that pokes fun at gaming. The book has been unavailable in print for several years – well over a decade! – so we welcome this chance to bring this collection back to the physical world.

One thing strikes fear into the hearts (and laughter into the twisted minds) of publishers everywhere. Some game rules are good, some are bad, and some are Murphy's! From the pages of Space Gamer and Pyramid, this is the cartoon feature that takes those rules and skewers them, bleeding, for everyone to mock. (Us? Attitude? It's all right; we pick on our own stuff, too.) The strip has featured a great roster of artists over the years, including multiple-Origins Award-winner John Kovalic and Pulitzer Prize-winner Ben Sargent!

You can find Murphy's Rules in print at Amazon and DrivethruRPG.

– Phil Reed

Warehouse 23 News: Who Do You Know?

The Contact advantage in GURPS can be challenging to wrap your mind around. Who are they? How useful can they be? And what, specifically, can they do? GURPS Social Engineering: Keeping in Contact is an exhaustive guide to tapping the full potential of Contacts, with insight into what they can do, plus new options and possibilities to make them even more useful and interesting. And it all awaits your download from Warehouse 23!

January 22, 2023: Subscribe To The Steve Jackson Games Newsletter

Would you like to receive information on new games, special events, and important news? Subscribe to our newsletter and you will start receiving a few emails every month where we highlight the latest games and expansions, and (at times) direct you to our crowdfunding campaigns.

The newsletter is just one way to stay in touch with us. For other options, including links to our various social-media channels, visit this page on our site.

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Warehouse 23 News: Become A Legend!

In Munchkin Legends , you'll face mythical monsters and collect legendary treasures. Challenge the Boogie Man to a dance-off and cheat by wearing Achilles' Heels. And if you think you're up to it . . . release the Kraken! Get your copy today on Warehouse 23!

January 21, 2023: Now Available On Demand: GURPS . . . In Color!

You've probably already heard me proclaim the possibilities of our popular On Demand program, which brings out-of-print, difficult-to-get, and/or never-in-print items to your gaming bookshelf. But we're proud to announce something a bit different. Namely, nearly the entire GURPS Fourth Edition library of books that were originally published in color are now available again in color.

The short version is that, if you visit our On Demand page, you'll see a section devoted to color reprints of those long out-of-print hardcovers. Poke around and fill your collection if you'd like. (That "color" tag in the corner isn't on the printed volume; it's to make it obvious what you're buying.) Keep reading for a more-detailed explanation . . .

As some background: GURPS Fourth Edition has been around for a while. We've gone through a couple different desktop-publishing software packages (and who knows how many software versions), several different printing methods, and the rise of PDF. Throughout the years, many of those GURPS volumes – which were originally printed in color – were reprinted through traditional methods in black and white (since small-scale color reprints using traditional printers remains uneconomical). As required by the printers, we couldn't use the full-color files to create monochromatic books, because the art and color text too often looked terrible when converted.

When we went to do PDF versions, we had another difficult choice: We could maintain two different sets of files (one color, one B&W), implementing errata on both items, because we still needed the monochromatic files for traditional reprints. Had we gone this route, this would have doubled the work of any errata efforts, as well as introduced the possibility of version drift or other issues. So the route we chose was to just maintain the current print version, which meant just maintaining the black-and-white versions.

Times change, software evolves, we learn stuff, and staff gets more awesome. Last year, our GURPS production guru Nikki Vrtis realized she could "uplift" our current printing (B&W) print-on-demand files with the original color data and images. So she did just that, making some of these volumes available again in color – without usurious online prices – for the first time in years.

We still have one more book we hope to release in this format ( GURPS Powers , we're looking at you). But in the meantime, it's good to welcome these volumes part of the On Demand family.

– Steven Marsh

Warehouse 23 News: Five Adventures Means Five Times The Fun!

The Fantasy Trip Adventures provides five ready-to-use scenarios for The Fantasy Trip , from a tower that may be running too efficiently to a cavern of chaos where the normal rules don't apply. Grab your sword and get this collection today from Warehouse 23!

January 20, 2023: Calamityware And "Troubles With International Shipping"

Shipping to other nations has become more complicated and expensive than ever, and we often find ourselves unable to offer physical Kickstarter rewards to anyone outside of the United States. This frustrates many who live in other nations, and it frustrates us as well since we want our games to be available globally, but the difficulties are often far greater than the return. It is very, very easy to lose money on an international package, for a wide number of reasons that are outlined nicely in this blog post at Calamityware.

In that post, the author, Don Moyer, perfectly illustrates some of the reasons that Calamityware put an end to international shipping. A few of these include:

"As our package crosses borders, packaging tracking fails and the shipment disappears. Gone. That poor package is never heard from again. Even though we did nothing wrong, we must ship a replacement product and pay the shipping a second time. Ouch."

"Many countries impose sales taxes or value-added taxes (VAT). Calculating the appropriate tax for each jurisdiction is complex and wildly inconsistent. We are expected to pay those taxes on various schedules to various offices with various submission requirements. And the requirements can change at any moment. You can't count on being notified. Babysitting tax requirements never ends. Ouch."

"Even if we could calculate and collect the correct tax, there are places where we aren't permitted to submit the taxes directly. Instead, we must pay a certificated international tax accountant a retainer to pass the taxes through to the designated bureaucrats. Ouch."

These are by no means all of the stated reasons that Calamityware has stopped shipping to addresses outside of the U.S. and Canada. I recommend reading the blog post for more information. It's an educational and well-crafted read.

(How did I find this? I stumbled across a Kickstarter campaign for a sweet art print and as I read, I followed a link to the blog post. I'm glad I did, because it's good to know we're not alone in our frustrations with the current state of international sales and shipping.)

– Phil Reed

Warehouse 23 News: Puzzle The Illuminati?

We've transformed the original 1982 cover for  Illuminati  into a dark, menacing, and totally illuminated 1,000-piece puzzle. The cover shows, in symbolic form, the different ways the Illuminati scheme to take over the world . . . stealth and violence, threats and bribes. The little puppet figure in front became one of the game's icons, and the Eye in the Pyramid itself became the logo of Steve Jackson Games! Order the Illuminati 1,000 Piece Puzzle now on Warehouse 23!

January 19, 2023: Wiz-War On Kickstarter January 23!

After a long, long wait, we're happy to report that the new edition of Wiz-War is set to launch on Kickstarter on Monday, January 23. This ninth edition of Tom Jolly's classic game was developed by Steve and is illustrated by Phil Foglio, and the project is without stretch goals so that we don't accidentally cause a delay. Better still, we've worked with the factory on tooling samples so that we can minimize the time between the Kickstarter campaign and delivery of the project to backers.

Wiz-War is open to United States, Canada, EU, and UK addresses. Those of you outside of the U.S. will be responsible for any fees your government may apply to your game. 

To receive an email notification when the project launches, please follow the campaign page right here.

We look forward to seeing many of you join us on Monday!

– Phil Reed

Warehouse 23 News: A Realm Of Adventure Awaits

You've got heroes ready for GURPS Dungeon Fantasy ; now you need to give them something to do! GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Setting: Cold Shard Mountains presents a ready-to-use region that was forged of six distinct eras, resulting in a world that's both familiar yet full of unique opportunities, with monsters, treasures, and adventures galore. Don't delay; download it today from Warehouse 23!

January 18, 2023: Munchkin Side Quests Back In Print, Side Quests 2 Coming In 2023

We've started shipping the latest printing of Munchkin Side Quests to stores, giving everyone another opportunity at adding this pack of 30 cards to Munchkin games everywhere!

If you're unfamiliar with Side Quests , this pack adds secret goals to the game, granting everyone new ways to mess with the game and amplifying your chance to win  . . . provided that you can complete your side quests faster than your opponents finish theirs.

When you need a short detour from the business of killing monsters and betraying your friends, try Munchkin Side Quests! This 30-card expansion can be added to any of your Munchkin games, and it's illustrated by Ian McGinty, who has previously drawn for the Munchkin Collectible Card Game and Munchkin Magical Mess. Get secret in-game goals that you can complete to cash in for a reward AND, just maybe, surprise everyone with a new way to win the game!

Munchkin Side Quests is available now at your favorite local game store! If you don't have a local store, you may choose to order the mini-expansion at Warehouse 23 or Amazon.com.

Are you looking for more quests? Great news, gang! Munchkin Side Quests 2 is now at print and scheduled to ship to stores in 2023. More ways to win are always welcome, right?

– Phil Reed

Warehouse 23 News: Long Live The Eighties!

Old school returns! The  Classic Pocket Box Games Bundle  includes the forgotten Pocket Box games of the eighties: Undead, Necromancer, One-Page Bulge, Raid on Iran, and Kung Fu 2100. Games that have been out of print and unavailable for decades are available once again, all in retro-inspired packaging and in as near-exact reprints of the originals as we could manage. Order now on Warehouse 23!