Steve Jackson's Blog, page 315

April 27, 2017: New Ogre Miniatures Set 1 Previews

I am a huge fan of miniatures and minis wargames. So when we got the test shots of Ogre Miniatures Set 1 , I was like a kid on Christmas morning. So many sprues! So much plastic! So much Ogre ! 

While these are not final, they give a good idea of where the models are going. The infantry clip system is one of the coolest things I've seen, and from what I've seen of Ogre Miniatures Set 2 will play a role there as well. But I'm a fan of the classics, and the Howitzer looks amazing to me. I love the textured base, and just the size of that gun. Of course, the Ogres look incredible, too. Some small details on the designs will get tweaked . . . again, these are not final.The red color, in particular, will be darker.

We liked this batch enough that we sent Ben Williams, one of our production artists who is also a renowned miniatures painter, home to spiff up the Ogres. As you can see, the results were incredible. Ben created masterpieces in a matter of hours, with stellar shading and highlighting. His work was so good that some posters thought I had Photoshopped them, but I can assure you, I held them as you see them, in my own two hands. 

 



Look for Ogre Miniatures Set 1 at your local game store later this year (after it ships to Kickstarter backers). 



– Hunter Shelburne



Warehouse 23 News: Build Together But Compete To Win!

Play cards to get pieces, use those pieces to construct the most epic courtyards in the castle (the more towers, the better), and revel in your glory! Combine the Red & Blue set of Castellan with the Green & Yellow (International Edition) set for a 3- or 4-player game. Pick it up at Warehouse 23 and get building! 

April 26, 2017: International Tabletop Day Is This Saturday, April 29!

The last Saturday in April has become a hallowed day for geeks and gamers (it's certainly a bit of a holiday for me): International Tabletop Day, an annual event hosted by Geek & Sundry, held at friendly local game stores around the country!



This is the fifth annual event, and I've had a blast at all of them! The theme for 2017 is "How have games changed your life?" Folks are submitting videos for this, and Geek & Sundry is running an awesome blog series focusing on game stores with unique or exceptional stories about changing the lives of their proprietors, customers, and community. They are fascinating and heartwarming to read; I highly suggest checking those out. 



Geek & Sundry has even partnered with Extra-Life, one of the biggest gaming charities, to help raise money for children's hospitals. You can join their Extra-Life team to help out as well!



As for the day itself, all you need is get out and play! Find a place, be it your local game store, home, or somewhere else, hunker down, and play some games on Saturday! You don't have to play at a game store, but I recommend checking it out if you have one close by, because they may have some awesome swag (plus you can meet new people to play games).



Of course, we're getting involved! Post pictures of yourself playing our games with the hashtag #PlaySJGames that weekend and tag us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, and you'll be entered to win a Tabletop Day prize package, including new releases like Batman: The Animated Series Dice Game , Simon's Cat Card Game , and (of course)  Munchkin ! Plus you'll get a stash of promos. Retailers, share your event with us on social media and we'll boost the signal as well!



If you're in Austin, you may also see my smiling face around town. I'll swing by Dragon's Lair with some promo loot and demo games, and then head up to Wonko's Toys and Games with the same. I'll be playing games, sharing pictures, and giving away stuff like crazy, so be on the lookout if you want some swag!



Wherever you are this Saturday, enjoy our geekiest holiday - celebrate International Tabletop Day! 



– Hunter Shelburne



Warehouse 23 News: The Law Comes To Munchkin Apocalypse!

You trudge out of the wastes into MegaCity One looking for loot, but beware of the infamous Judge Dredd! Even during the end of the world, someone has to uphold the law. Get Munchkin Apocalypse: Judge Dredd on Warehouse 23 while there's still a planet to play on!

 

 

April 25, 2017: Munchkin Musings: April 2017

What ho, my many loyal Munchkin friends?



Sorry . . . it's hard to stop thinking in iambic pentameter once you're in that groove. Obviously, the big news this month is the success of the Munchkin Shakespeare Kickstarter project, which brought in over $295,000 on pledges by 5,280 backers. Ultimately, the Kickstarter funded the creation of nine separate Munchkin Shakespeare games, expansions, and accessories. The centerpiece is Munchkin Shakespeare Deluxe , of course, and it is supported by the Kickstarter-exclusive expansion, Limited Engagement . Preorders have closed, but you can talk to your Friendly Local Game Store about preordering through them when the game comes out in September. [Edit: This is posting very late this month because we've had so much other news, but it does let me report that as of Thursday the 20th, all the files for all the Shakespeare goodies have been approved to go to our manufacturer!]



The other big news is progress on the Munchkin Collectible Card Game . Thanks to heroic work by Devin Lewis, Sam Mitschke, and Randy Scheunemann, the text for all the cards in the first core release is done and in to production! All of the art is also complete, and they are now working on finalizing the rules and the design of the packaging. Devin has also been hard at work editing the cards for the first expansion wave. Developing a CCG is a lot of hard work and we've all learned a whole lot of game-design skills as this has lumbered toward game shelves, but we are pleased with the result, and we're pretty sure y'all will be, too.



Now that all the Shakespeare stuff is taken care of, everything for the 2017 Munchkin schedule is at print, on its way to us, or already in our warehouse. This is by far the earliest we have ever hit that milestone, and it's a testament to the hard work of many people here at SJ Games and our talented freelancers. Thanks, team!



If you missed the announcement of the Unrivaled tournament series, check it out here. We're looking forward to finding out who the best of the best Munchkin players will be!



We've also got a new booster hitting shelves in April: Munchkin Curses . You can find it at your friendly local game store this week! 



That's it for this month! I'll be back in May with more news from the world of Munchkin .



– Andrew Hackard



Warehouse 23 News: Destroy The Humans! Take Their Cities! Conquer Earth!



In this strategic dice game, you compete with other Martian invaders to overthrow Cities and get your picture taken with famous monuments (before blowing them up). Look out for Nukes, because the humans won't go without a fight. So grab your ray gun and head to Warehouse 23 to snag Mars Attacks  – The Dice Game !

April 24, 2017: Preorder Lar DeSouza's Super Munchkin Guest Artist Edition Today!

Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! Wait, it's Super Munchkin Guest Artist Edition , with art from Lar DeSouza! How did I mix up a boardgame, a bird, and a plane? I need to get my eyes checked. 



Aside from being an awesome dude, Lar DeSouza is known for his stellar art, particularly comics, mashups, and pinups. Who better to take on the world of tights, powers, and capes? I had the honor of meeting Lar during Gen Con 2016, at Munchkin Tavern. In addition to being an incredible artist, he's one of the nicest people I've ever met. We interviewed Lar on the Daily Illuminator, and asked him about his artistic process, as well as the work he does for MS charities. He may be drawing heroes, but he's doing the real heroics for charity!



Our Guest Artist Edition series is a limited run, celebrating the 15th anniversary of  Munchkin , so make sure to preorder Super Munchkin Guest Artist Edition today to make sure you get a copy! Just ask your friendly local game store, or check out Warehouse 23. Get yours before it's up, up, and away!



– Hunter Shelburne



Warehouse 23 News: May The Most Miserable Party Win!

Bad things happen on adventures: you get cursed, robbed, sometimes even backstabbed. Luckily for you, that's how you win at Munchkin Gloom. Transparent cards let you literally pile on the misery of your adventurers until they meet their untimely demise, while your opponents try to keep them safe and happy. Grab it at Warehouse 23 before something unfortunate befalls you . . .

April 23, 2017: Happy Birthday And Rest In Peace, Shakespeare!

William Shakespeare, entirely apart from his many literary contributions to our world, also gave us a trivia question: He was born and died on the same date, April 23. (Different years, though.) So today, we thought it appropriate to celebrate his life while reminding you that it's not too late to ask your friendly local game store to preorder Munchkin Shakespeare Deluxe from their distributor.



And while you're at it, thank Shakespeare for giving you only one date to remember. He did it for you.



– Andrew Hackard



Warehouse 23 News:



Strange Things Are Afoot In Bill & Ted's Excellent Boardgame!

Play as one of several alternate-timeline versions of Bill S. Preston, Esquire, and Ted Theodore Logan, navigating the Circuits of Time in your time-traveling phone booth and gathering Famous Dudes for your oral history-report. Look out for the Evil Dudes, though – they'll pilfer your prominent passengers if you're not careful! Dial up Bill & Ted's Excellent Boardgame at Warehouse 23 before history class!

 

April 22, 2017: Rest In Peace, Bob Taylor

Every Monday evening, I make sure to check out the latest issue of Randy Cassingham's This Is True email newsletter. One of its regular weekly features is the "Honorary Unsubscribe," which notes the passing of someone who slipped under the radar of mainstream media but is worthy of remembrance. A recent honoree was Robert Taylor, who is fundamentally responsible for the computer you're reading this on right now, the Internet used to get that information to you, and a whole lot else that we take for granted as part of modern life.



Here's the amazing article. It's well worth a read. Thanks for everything you did, Bob; we literally wouldn't be here without you.



– Andrew Hackard



Warehouse 23 News: Here Thar Be Loot!

Prepare yourself for the wacky high-seas adventure of Munchkin Booty! Practice your terrible Accent as you plunder the seven seas for the Treasure you'll need to defeat all manner of nautical nasties. Pick up Munchkin Booty or Munchkin Booty 2 – Jump the Shark at Warehouse 23!

 

April 21, 2017: A Busy Day At The Office

Today was especially packed, with good progress on four different game lines . . .



GURPS – We can see the light at the end of the tunnel on the Dungeon Fantasy prepress work. It might get to print next week, if all goes well, which would give it a shot at appearing at Gen Con.



Ogre – Today, we saw Ben's first paints of the new plastic Ogres, and they are crisp and beautiful. They also taught us more about "proof-checking" molded plastic, which will pay off down the line on other Ogre minis sets, on Car Wars , and who knows what else? And we saw test shots of the plastic Paneuro units. Some of them still need some tweaklets, but overall we are happy!



Munchkin – We held the final pre-mortem check for the various parts of Munchkin Shakespeare today, and Production had done such a great job that corrections were quick, so the entire project has gone to press.



Munchkin CCG – I played my first games with the current rules and card draft. A good time was had. We may need to either buff the Ranger deck or nerf the Warrior a bit, but all the buzzing, whirring collectible-card-game parts fit together and delivered some nice, quick little fights with actual tactics on both sides.



And this is why it's fun to be in the game business.



– Steve Jackson



Warehouse 23 News: Gaming To The Extreme!



Sometimes you want to go over the top in your GURPS game. Give in to that temptation with Pyramid #3/102: Epic . With this issue, you'll augment gear, come back from death, fight an alien invasion, and more. Download it individually, or subscribe today for many more months of epic fun!

April 20, 2017: What Table Is Large Enough To Hold Discworld?

Have you seen the Discworld Roleplaying Game ? Recently we've shown you sneak peeks at the Introduction, some setting material, and a few bits of game mechanics.



When we're talking about the largest hardcover we've ever released, though, there's far more contained therein than can be revealed in even a meaty preview. So today we're looking at everything else, thanks to the Table of Contents. Peruse its three pages to get a sense of the 11-plus chapters of the Discworld Roleplaying Game .



The ultimate guide to gaming within the world of Sir Terry Pratchett's Discworld series can be yours! If your friendly local game shop doesn't have it on the shelf . . . perhaps they already sold out! Ask them to order it for you. And when you're looking for some place to share the excitement for this epic game, the GURPS forums are the best place to Disc-uss!



– Steven Marsh



Warehouse 23 News: This Message Will Self-Destruct . . .

Spy, steal (sorry - "recover"), or assassinate your way to victory! Munchkin Impossible lets you deploy increasingly irresponsible spy gadgets as you don disguises and alter allegiances to suit your current mission. Shake or stir into other Munchkin sets to add international intrigue. Pick it up at Warehouse 23 before the timer hits 00:00!

April 19, 2017: More GURPS Books Available Via CreateSpace

In January, we told you about our plans to make more out-of-print GURPS books available again as softcover print-on-demand editions. We continued the experiment in March with three more out-of-print books. And now we're happy to announce that two more titles are available: GURPS Mysteries and GURPS Spaceships .



You can buy these titles via these handy links:



GURPS Mysteries  - Buy at Amazon / Buy at CreateSpace


GURPS Spaceships  - Buy at Amazon / Buy at CreateSpace
These two black-and-white reprints join GURPS Magic , GURPS Thaumatology , GURPS Ultra-Tech , GURPS High-Tech , GURPS Bio-Tech , and GURPS Infinite Worlds as part of our print-on-demand initiative.



You can find a handy list of all print-on-demand items currently available - complete with ready-to-use links - at the GURPS On Demand page.



As we noted in January and March, this is a test, so if you've wanted print copies of any of these books at your gaming table, now's a terrific time to get them. (And I can't help but note that GURPS Spaceships works great to amp up both sides of the conflict in a  GURPS Mars Attacks game . . .)



-- Steven Marsh



Warehouse 23 News: It's Chaos! It's Madness! It's . . . Munchkin Curses!



Throw trouble at your friends and foes . . . then bask in their suffering. But brace yourself for the reperCURSEions! With our latest booster,  Munchkin Curses , you can add 12 new curses, 2 new monsters, and a special Curse Reverse card to your favorite Munchkin game.  Be the bane of your fellow players' existence by getting your very own copy from Warehouse 23 now! 

April 18, 2017: Ogre Miniatures Set 1 BackerKit Closing Today!

We've reached another checkpoint for Ogre Miniatures Set 1 ; BackerKit surveys and preorders are closing today! 



If you're a Kickstarter backer, this means that you need to submit your BackerKit survey to get rewards by the end of the day. If you've already submitted your survey, then you're all set! For you fans who missed the  Ogre Miniatures Set 1  Kickstarter, or are just now hearing about this, preorder using this BackerKit link. It's the perfect complement to Ogre Sixth Edition , with over 40 detailed miniatures representing all the units in the base game. 



If you're on the fence, we have some early test shots to tantalize you. These are not final products, but are close to what you'll be seeing in the finished miniatures. (The Ogre Mark V has slight gun-angle issues, which we are addressing.)

We use the term "miniature" loosely when it comes to Ogres, of course; these things are sizeable. We can't wait to get the sets out to backers and preorders later this year! Plus, you can get some cool alternate colors, like hunter-green, or even glow-in-the-dark. 



Make sure you preorder before midnight tonight. If you're already a backer, get that survey submitted!



– Hunter Shelburne



Warehouse 23 News: Celebrating 15 Years Of Munchkin With Lar DeSouza!



Super Munchkin Guest Artist Edition joins the unique visual style of comic creator Lar deSouza with Super Munchkin - a parody of capes, utility belts, day-saving, and nemeses. Fly through the city and smash villains with the super take on this Munchkin favorite. Pre-order your copy from Warehouse 23 today!