Steve Jackson's Blog, page 310

June 16, 2017: Take A Trip Along The Silk Road!

The tradition of excellence that is the GURPS Hot Spots series continues with the latest release -  The Silk Road . Written by Matt Riggsby (the scribe responsible for  GURPS Hot Spots: Renaissance Florence and GURPS Fantasy-Tech 1: The Edge of Reality ),  The Silk Road serves as a guide to the region and era when East met West for trade and travel along a transcontinental highway.



Like the entire Hot Spots series, this volume gives gamers the info needed to make its locale come to life: the history, geography, culture, food, people, and empires of the Silk Road's Central Asian region. It also offers extensive adventure and campaign ideas, with insight into designing characters, traveling this route, and bringing the area into other GURPS settings and supplements.



Don't delay; The Silk Road awaits the intrepid! Download it today, only from Warehouse 23.



– Steven Marsh



Warehouse 23 News: Download A Castle Today



Who hasn't dreamed of building their very own castle? Now you can, with Cardboard Heroes Castles: Walls and Towers . If you're up to a real Cardboard Heroes challenge, download and print this PDF version of the award-winning classic. Get it today, only from Warehouse 23!

June 15, 2017: Announcements For October

This October, we've got some highly anticipated heavy hitters coming your way! Munchkin gets a new entry point, as well as some Shakespearean accessories, and Dungeon Fantasy RPG gives players everything they need to get started, all in one box!

Munchkin Lite



All the monster-killing fun in an easy-to-learn set!



Go down in the dungeon. Fight every monster you meet. Stab your rivals in the back and steal their stuff. Grab the treasure and run! Munchkin Lite is a slimmed-down version of our classic card game, meant for smaller tables and faster games. Kick down the door and you'll be looting rooms in no time!



Featuring new art on a host of classic cards, all drawn by John Kovalic. 

Munchkin Shakespeare Drama Dice



Six dice – that's enough for a star and five understudies!



Tired of passing a single die around your board when your cowardly friends run away from monsters? Never fear, you'll never be out of Munchkin Shakespeare dice again! This set also has four Munchkin Shakespeare bonus cards.



So roll with your role, and tread the boards!

Munchkin Shakespeare Kill-O-Meter



Is it two bees, or not two bees? Keep track with a Kill-O-Meter!



With the Munchkin Shakespeare Kill-O-Meter , whenever a card hits the table, you turn the dials to keep track of your new total. You don't have time to stop and count when the show must go on!



The Munchkin Shakespeare Kill-O-Meter also comes with four special Munchkin Shakespeare bonus cards, and it's all illustrated by Lar deSouza! So let the curtain rise, and consider the only question that really matters: To loot or not to loot?

Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game



Storm Dungeons. Slay Monsters. Seize Treasure.



A fun hack 'n' slash campaign challenges unique heroes with clever dungeons, so you need a game that lets you customize and perfect characters, monsters, treasures, and traps. That's where the ready-to-play Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game comes in. Choose from 11 classic professions and nine races. Tailor your hero using quick-start templates and the time-tested  GURPS  point-build system. Gear up with a massive list of customizable armor and weapons. Pick from over 400 spells. Then battle foes chosen from more than 80 monsters.



Harness the customizing power of the award-winning GURPS , streamlined to give you exactly what you need to take fully realized characters on fantastic adventures.

Dungeon Fantasy GM Screen



At your fingertips (and away from prying eyes!).



The  Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game  is designed to run quickly, but why not step up your game? The  Dungeon Fantasy GM Screen  pulls together key information for the GM who likes to keep the action moving. Say goodbye to page-flipping for important tables and modifiers!



This sturdy screen will also foil the classic hack 'n' slash tradition of "accidentally" glimpsing the GM's notes, so the players will have to satisfy themselves with the beautiful full-color art on their side. But they're welcome to exploit the included 16-page booklet, which speeds up character creation and advancement by summarizing all the abilities . . . or the second booklet of 13 ready-to-use heroes.



Old-school hacking and slashing calls for the right accessories - and this one is perfect for the GM who wants to set a swift pace and keep a few surprises hidden away!



All this power guarantees epic games in no time . . . starting with the new adventure that comes in the box!



– Hunter Shelburne



Warehouse 23 News: We Dare You To Delve...

Take your game of Munchkin Cthulhu to new (creepy) places with Munchkin Cthulhu 4: Crazed Caverns . Mix in the 16 Portals and 20 Dungeons to explore just how deep your madness goes. Pick it up at Warehouse 23, before you're too far gone!
 

June 14, 2017: Haunt a Ghosts Love Candy Game Day This Weekend

Boo! It might be summer, the season of blue skies and beach bodies, but you know what's way more fun?



Ghosts and candy.



That's why stores across North America will run  Ghosts Love Candy  Game Days this weekend.



The events will feature demos of the new game, plus lots of free promo items, including cards and finger puppets. Share pictures on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram with #GhostsLoveCandy to be automatically entered to win a playmat and a signed copy of the game! 



Also, feel free to dress up. It might not be autumn yet, but when you play Ghosts Love Candy , it's always Halloween, and you're a ghost haunting trick-or-treaters to get some of your favorite candy. 



This is no trick, just a treat! Get to an event this weekend and you'll agree. 



-- Ariel Barkhurst



Warehouse 23 News: Celebrate With Cthulhu!



Need to declare your independence? There's no better way to do that than by submitting to the Elder God of Cute, the July 4 Chibithulhu plush toy ! Order him at Warehouse 23.

June 13, 2017: Act Fast – SUPER Fast! Sign Up For A Super Summer Retail Kit Before They Disappear!

It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's Super Munchkin Guest Artist Edition, with art by the one and only Lar deSouza!



Setting aside the question of why I thought this game was a bird or a plane, I'm here to tell retailers how to get it – for free! Just sign up for the Super Summer Retail Kit!



We're hosting sign-ups now, so stores can get this collection of exclusive cards, unique bookmarks, and a fistful of posters right away. Most important, it includes a demo copy of Super Munchkin Guest Artist Edition, which you can use to seek out more munchkin fans!



On July 22, 2017, these stores are also invited to host a #PlayMunchkin event! Participating stores offer some super prizes!



So, super munchkins, get your friendly local game store to step up to their great responsibility!

 
-- Ariel Barkhurst



Warehouse 23 News: Let The Madness Embrace You!



Warehouse 23 has Plush Tentacles for the person in your life who really needs a good fuzzy hug now and then. Get them in green or purple - or order both and double your madness! We mean "fun." (No, actually, we mean "madness.")

June 12, 2017: Munchkin Musings: June 2017

Hello,  Munchkin mob! It's the monthly peek into what we're working on here in Munchkin land.



The big news for this month is the impending release of Munchkin Pathfinder 2 – Guns and Razzes . Some lucky fans who went to PaizoCon got early peeks, and so far, we're hearing good reviews! Look for it on the shelves of your local game store toward the end of this month.



Phil Reed is, as I write this, in Hong Kong visiting some of the factories that make our games. He got to see several items from the Munchkin Shakespeare Kickstarter project, and everything's looking good so far. We'll have the rewards out to backers in September, with the various Munchkin Shakespeare games and accessories shipping to stores throughout the fall. It's a treat to get Phil's up-to-the-minute progress reports!



Steve and I are both hard at work on our own 2018 projects. My first set for 2018 is currently in playtest, and I'm working on the next two right now. I'm actually a bit behind where I wanted to be at this point in the year, so it's going to be a busy month catching up to my design schedule. Fortunately, it's a bit of a quiet month, so getting all that work done shouldn't be a huge problem.



We've got some cool things coming up in the second half of 2017, including some y'all don't know about yet . . . so keep watching Munchkin News and the Daily Illuminator for updates, and make sure to check our New Releases page frequently. See y'all in July!



– Andrew Hackard



Warehouse 23 News: Guns. Lots Of Guns!



Munchkin Pathfinder 2: Guns and Razzes adds the Gunslinger class and Razmiran Vision faction to your game of Munchkin Pathfinder , giving new options for shooting or backstabbing your way to victory! This 112-card expansion also includes many other unique Treasures and Monsters for your door-kicking pleasure. Get this new release today at Warehouse 23!

June 11, 2017: Munchkin at Brickworld!

Greetings, builders and brick-heads! Brickworld Chicago happens June 17-18, and the new-and-improved brick-built Munchkin board will be there! Built by SJ Games event manager Guy Himber, we've featured his extraordinary board in the past, but now it's super-powered! 

Seats at the game will be available at the Brickworld Charity Auction, where you can bid to win a chance to play on this amazing game board! We will be playing Munchkin: Marvel Edition.
 
Face off against Magneto on the bridge of terror!  Fight alongside Spider-Man!  Battle over the Sanctum Sanctorum and Avenger's Tower.  The first to reach level 10 wins a face-off between Galactus and Thanos! All participants will get tons of Munchkin swag and rare goodies, and the champ will take home the most powerful bookmark in creation: The Official Munchkin World NYC Bookmark with all three signatures. This rare bookmark will grant you +5 in combat, plus extra treasure AND two Levels (which can be for the win!). In addition, we will bestow upon them one of the rare Munchkin Knights messenger bags to hold all their loot! 
 

Four lucky players will face off against Guy to try to take home the victory! So bring your best Munchkin power-ups and be prepared to get stabbed in the back as we fight it out for the best treasure and Allies.



– Hunter Shelburne



Warehouse 23 News: Now You're Playing With Portals!

Portal Kombat adds 24 Portal links and 10 new cards for Munchkin Quest that let you instantly pop from one side of the dungeon to the other, or even remotely affect another room! Teleport over to Warehouse 23 to add some massive motion to your munchkining.

June 10, 2017: Say Hello To New Warehouse Manager Philip Villarreal!

Hi, there! I guess this is where I introduce myself. My name is Philip Villarreal, and I am the new Warehouse 23 Manager for Steve Jackson Games.



I grew up in a small town near Houston, TX, where everyone knew everyone, and recently graduated from Texas State University (eat 'em up, cats!) with a degree in Management. I've been in the retail industry just about my entire working career, and am looking forward to working with all the awesome people here at Steve Jackson Games.

In my spare time, I enjoy playing boardgames, tabletop games, and miniature games; DMing for my RPG group; or playing whichever new video game has caught my interest. I also eat way too much pizza. Seriously, I could have pizza just about every day. 
 



– Philip Villarreal



Warehouse 23 News: More Fun For Your Giant Cybernetic Tanks



Add more fun to your Ogre games with Ogre Scenario Book 3 . Its nine new scenarios were all written by the inimitable Steve Jackson, ranging from frantic fun to decidedly deadly. Download it today, only from Warehouse 23!

June 9, 2017: Simon's Cat Card Game Reprint!

Since  Simon's Cat Card Game  came out last summer, we've gone back to the printer over and over and . . . Anyway, we've got a new reprint loading on the boat in Hong Kong, on its way to our primary warehouse. The response to the game has been spectacular - it was our #7 game for 2016 - and watching as the re-orders come in makes all of us at the office happy. It's great to see one of our games take off strong, and your enthusiasm rewards us and encourages us to create more family games.



Thanks, everyone, for making Simon's Cat Card Game a hit. We'll see what we can do about getting another family game into your hands - maybe even another family game about cats . . .



– Phil Reed



Warehouse 23 News: Unforgettable Finds!



Discover breathtaking loot with GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Treasures 2: Epic Treasures , an assortment of ready-to-use, exciting (but nonmagical) treasure perfect for your crypt-crawling campaigns. Download it today from the troves of Warehouse 23!

June 8, 2017: Munchkin Shakespeare Tooling Samples

The stage hands have been hard at work, so we've got new tooling samples for Munchkin Shakespeare to show off! This past week, we received samples for Munchkin Shakespeare Deluxe , Munchkin Shakespeare: Limited Engagement , and the various accessories. These are not final, but show where the printing process is at, and gives us an idea of what the end product will look like.

We unboxed the set live on Facebook as well, where we went through a few more of the cards. Two Bees, or Not Two Bees? Why not both! We'll be unboxing Limited Engagement on a future stream, so make sure you like our page to stay informed.

Look for Munchkin Shakespeare Deluxe this September. We'll be delivering first to backers, and shortly thereafter, it will hit store shelves!



– Hunter Shelburne



Warehouse 23 News: "I Am On The Objective!"

Ogre: Objective 218 is a fast-playing, two-player card game based on Battle for Hill 218. Strategically place Infantry, GEV, Ogre, and other armored units on the table to destroy enemy cards and create a supply line - and occupy your enemy's command post for the win. Roll on over to Warehouse 23 for a copy today!
 

June 7, 2017: Hong Kong Update

As mentioned last week, my June started in Hong Kong for a series of project checks and factory tours. I arrived late on Friday and collapsed, hoping for a long night of sleep and the chance to reset my internal clock. No luck, but I did get a Saturday in Hong Kong completely to myself for a short vacation. I was too exhausted for much, but I did make my way to one of the local Toys"R"Us stores and was blown away at the difference between the store here and in Texas. I even shot a short video to show everyone just how incredible TRU is in Hong Kong.








 




On Sunday, David Blanchard, our rep with Grand Prix International (the company we work with to manufacture games), joined me. We mixed business with pleasure, discussing the schedule and projects as we caught a few of the Hong Kong sights.



Monday, things got off to a strong start with a visit to the Hong Kong office and then a drive into China to check a new . . . well, the details are far too secret to discuss at this time. The new capabilities will be a huge help as we move forward with some new projects, and I can even see this resource coming into play for Car Wars at some point in the future. After hours in the car, we returned to Hong Kong and collapsed. Not much sleep each night here, but I'll take the four hours when I can get it.



– Phil Reed



Warehouse 23 News: Just How Powerful Are You?

Nobody wants to slow down an epic Munchkin battle with a bunch of math . . . so deploy the Munchkin Kill-O-Meter ! Simply turn the dial up or down to keep track of your monster-slaying ability, to free you up for things like strategy and gloating! This time-saving tool comes in various flavors, including Munchkin Cthulhu , Munchkin Zombies , and Munchkin Apocalypse . They even come with bonus Munchkin cards! Dial one up at Warehouse 23 today.