Steve Jackson's Blog, page 416

June 28, 2014: Crowdfunding Focus: Reading Rainbow For Every Child

We're a community of nerds. Let's just be honest about that. So when I say "LeVar Burton," most of us will reply by holding up hairclips in front of our eyes and completely failing to get a date – ever – just like our hero, Geordi LaForge.



However, for many people who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s, LeVar Burton is better known as the host of Reading Rainbow , a program on public television dedicated to the radical idea that reading is fun.



Mr. Burton has launched a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign to create new Reading Rainbow educational material and digitize the Reading Rainbow library and host it all online, where it is accessible to students and teachers any time they want. In America today, 1 in 4 children grows up illiterate, which is shocking and shameful in a country as rich in resources and ideas as the United States.



The campaign ends on July 2. We backed it, and we hope you'll do the same.



– Andrew Hackard



Warehouse 23 News: The Alpha And Omega?



As the fun new playtest rulebook for Federation Commander , the recently released Federation Commander: Omega Playtest Rulebook is rightly the "alpha" of the Omega! Pretty cool, right? New weapons, ships, backgrounds, and more are all a download away – from Warehouse 23!

June 27, 2014: The Official Munchkin Bookmark Of Board Game Geekery

A while back the folks from BoardGameGeek asked us to do a Munchkin bookmark for them. We agreed, and this is the result! Right now you can only get it from the BoardGameGeek Store, so go get it while supplies last.



– Brian Engard



Warehouse 23 News: Who Says The Future Has All The Answers?



Delve into the past with GURPS Low-Tech to discover the tools your ancestors used and some that we might still use today.  Need a knife in a post-apocalytic wasteland or stranded back in time with just the clothes on your back find what you need in this trusty volume.  Available from Warehouse 23 .

June 25, 2014: Closed For Summer Break!

That's right folks, we're going to be closed starting on Friday, June 27th; we'll re-open on Monday, July 7th. The Warehouse will also be closed, so it might take a little while for your Warehouse 23 orders to ship if you place them in or around that time span. As always, most digital orders are immediately available, so you can get the latest GURPS releases even when we're not here. See you on the other side!



– Brian Engard



 



Warehouse 23 News: Enjoy Your Stay At Sylvan Pines!



On the mad island of Al Amarja, the Sylvan Pines psychiatric facility may seem to be just another country villa or spa for the rich.  But one after the other, the patients and staff are dying. The first one seemed to be a suicide. The second was clearly murder.  Over the Edge: Welcome to Sylvan Pines invites the players to discover the dark secrets that haunt the corridors, but will they find out before the crazy computer running the asylum makes them the next victims? Available from Warehouse 23 .

June 26, 2014: Introducing Rhea Friesen - Community Manager

Howdy! As the Community Manager, I am here for you, the fans, critics, community leaders, or anyone else who enjoys gathering around a flat surface and moving small items over it. My goal is to serve as the community advocate inside SJ Games. But, "where did I come from?" you ask . . .



Aliens from Mars beamed me down. At least, that's how I remember it. Because of this I can't live without LEGO, playing music, and tabletop games. Minimal side effects, though. Also, I play flute in a wannabe ska band called Sounds Like Satellites (Facebook), listen to live local music, and enjoy anything outside involving water.



My first ever instructional game video on Zombie Dice is posted here.



Obligatory boring part:
I graduated from Texas State University in Mass Communication with an emphasis in Advertising and immediately pursued a career in Higher Education Marketing. As an Interactive Marketing Specialist at TWG Plus, I was a key contributor to online marketing, social media, branding, and research projects.



I love getting to know people. Come talk to me at events or through our social channels! Warning: I suffer from chronic exclamation point overuse. (They made me take some out. !!! :P)



– Rhea Friesen
RheaFriesen.com
@RheaFriesen



Warehouse 23 News: Move Into Your Own Town – Cheap!



Have the heroes ventured over the distant hill? Do they expect to find an exciting city of adventure? Don't disappoint them! Town Backdrop: Wolverton is a ready-to-use fantasy city ready to drop anywhere at a moment's notice. Download it today from Warehouse 23, and go to town!

June 23, 2014: Batman. Bazooka Joe. Coca-Cola. It's The Vegas Licensing Show!

After Origins last week I spent one day at home before rushing out to Las Vegas for the Licensing Expo, a massive convention where licensors (people who own cool stuffs) and licensees (people who make cool stuffs) meet to work deals, trade stories, and generally plot global domination. This is the place to go if you want to discuss making awesome things using almost any character or brand on the planet. Batman. Coca-Cola. Transformers, Scooby Doo. Star Wars. Strawberry Shortcake. Hello Kitty. And, obviously, many more.



So why would I visit such a show? Well, so far I've had formal meetings with:



USAopoly. To talk about the upcoming Munchkin Adventure Time and to go over the final USAopoly Munchkin plans for 2015. What Munchkin excitement is USAopoly working on for next year? I'm not saying . . . yet.


Surge. Our incredible agents, Mark and Elan, are really helping us to expand Munchkin to new audiences. Besides the Mighty Fine t-shirts, Boom Studios comic books, and Funko toy line, Surge is working on a few other things that will help us make Munchkin even bigger and drop some great new ways of enjoying Munchkin on the world. Again, the unannounced secrets remain secret for now.


Topps. With Munchkin Apocalypse Mars Attacks! in stores and Mars Attacks The Dice Game at print, what possible reasons could I have to sit down with the company behind such greats as Garbage Pail Kids, Bazooka Joe, and Wacky Packages? No reason at all. Honest.


Secret. I'm not saying who else I talked with. Nope. Not gonna share.
I consider the show a complete success, but I'll leave it for all of you to decide how this trip worked out for us . . . later. Much, much later. When? Well, I need to get home and trade mail and calls with a few of the companies I chatted with before it's time to get into any of the specifics about what may or may not be on our schedule for 2015 and 2016.



Catch me at a show and I may just give you a few hints.



– Phil Reed



Warehouse 23 News: The Eyes Have It



The EIP Illuminati Department requests that you identify yourself with the appropriate Illuminati Eye-In-Pyramid pin .



The EIP Illuminati Department requests that you identify yourself with the appropriate Illuminati Eye-In-Pyramid pin .



Signed, the Department of Redundancy Department.

June 24, 2014: Last Chance For The Kickstarter

The Munchkin Bricks Kickstarter ends at 11am Central time today (Tuesday, for those of you who are reading this too late.) It's already magnificently overfunded, and we already have one taker on the $750 "add a new color" level. I'm hoping for more at the last minute!



The new card and bookmark can be seen in Update 24. Page down to Update 22 to see Guy's new, INSANE stretch goal for $55,000! A new exclusive color for KS backers, and more loot! Will he make it? I don't know! That's the way a stre-e-e-e-e-etch goal is supposed to work! Actual stretching should be involved!



At Brickworld, Guy and I were interviewed by Beyond the Brick. At 1:05 you can see some of his giant models. The actual-size Chibithulhu model is at 1:56. So cute! Guy's daring prediction about the future of the infosphere is at 5:12. And the fashionable shirt I'm wearing is by Will Heron Designs.



– Steve Jackson



Warehouse 23 News: Unleash Your Inner Wolf



Be the best lycanthrope you can be with Bite Me! Playing a Lycanthrope . It has rules, advice, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game character options, and more. Download it today from Warehouse 23!

June 22, 2014: Practice Your Sneer And Stock Your Sinister Armory, With This Pyramid

Why should good guys have all the fun? The latest issue of Pyramid looks at stuff that's designed for the more adversarial side of most gaming groups, with Pyramid #3/67: Tools of the Trade – Villains .



This issue's fiendish features include an assortment of GURPS Mass Combat armies for fantasy overlords; a GURPS guide to selling your soul for perverse profit; and Sean Punch's Designers Notes for GURPS Zombies , with a new campaign idea featuring the restless dead plus three additional zombies (including GURPS stats).



However, bad guys aren't limited to realms of the fantastic! This month we also include information and GURPS stats on one of the most feared German tanks of WWII (from GURPS Tactical Shooting author Hans-Christian Vortisch), a selection of henchmen templates for action-oriented campaigns, and even an opulent abode perfect for that sinister someone to scheme or unwind in.



Regardless of your evildoers' era or ambitions, this issue of Pyramid is sure to have something to give them the edge against those meddling heroes. Pick it up today!



– Steven Marsh



Warehouse 23 News: Magical Power You Can Download



Adventure awaits all Ars Magica heroes, with Ars Magica: Tales of Power . Now you can have excitement at a moment's notice by downloading the digital version of these five stories. It's so easy, it's just like magic . . . and only from Warehouse 23!

June 21, 2014: Munchkin Bricks, BRICKS, **BRIIICKS!!**

Guy Himber's "Munchkin Bricks" Kickstarter is rolling along very well - as I write this, it's over $42,000, almost three times the initial goal. But there's one very cool support level that nobody has chosen, and there are only a couple of days left! So I have upped the reward a bit . . .



At the $750 level, you get to pick a new color and add it to the project. That not only adds variety, but it means that everybody has more choices for their item sets! So whoever picks this level is helping everybody. So I'm donating some more rewards. Because I know that munchkins cooperate . . . when it's in their own best interest!



This level will now include a copy of Munchkin signed by me, John K, and Andrew, plus one of the now-almost-unfindable "Evil Stevie Changes the Rules" cards - and I'll work out the rule with you before I send it. These items will be shipped directly to you by SJ Games ASAP after the project closes. There will also be some special and signed bricks - for details, see the $750 level in the project description.



So: If you give us all a new color, I'll give you your own new rule. It could be related to the color, or entirely something else. What could be fairer?



What colors would I like to see added? Well, there were a lot of votes for purple. White is always shiny, and it's easy to paint if you want to (the Miter just cries out to have its detail painted, for instance). Transparent colors are magical. And, as Guy suggested in the project description, light blue and powder-puff pink are always frightening. In a perfect world, we'd see more than one color sponsor . . . which is why I'm offering the extra loot. So go for it!



– Steve Jackson



(I'll add helpfully that if anyone wants to make me very happy with a $750 donation, I'm very partial to orange, specifically Pantone 159. --Andrew)



(Why did I not think of that? Oh, yeah, it's because I went to Rice. Now some good Aggie out there is going to sponsor maroon, too, right? --SJ)



Warehouse 23 News: Turn Your World Upside Down



Feral gnomes and savage halflings prowl the forests alongside warlike humans and barbarous elves, while peaceful goblins, orcs, and ogres farm the land, always fearful of another brutal attack.  Penumbra: The Ebon Mirror takes your party through the looking glass into a backwards world where the laws of reason and magic have been radically twisted.  The Ebon Mirror is a d20 system adventure designed for characters of 8th through 10th level. Available from Warehouse 23 .

June 20, 2014: Origins 2014 Recap

Man, Origins was a lot of fun this year! We did a lot of cool stuff; here's some of it in no particular order.



We announced a bunch of really cool things. First, there was our partnership with Mighty Fine to make a line of Munchkin t-shirts. Then, we talked about how Funko is going to make a line of Munchkin toys. We also talked about how BOOM! Studios is going to make a series of Munchkin comic books, and about how Alderac Entertainment Group is combining what's awesome about  Smash Up  with what's awesome about  Munchkin  to make  Munchkin Smash Up.  We made all of these announcements at the Munchkin Tavern, where our friends and fans were hanging out, playing games, and enjoying our special  Munchkin -themed menu!



We ran a  Mars Attacks: The Dice Game tournament, and it was a rousing success! Fans got to play the new game against each other, with winners getting things like copies of  Munchkin Pathfinder Deluxe and dinner on us! Here are some pics of the tournament:







We met a lot of really enthusiastic fans. They came to demo games with us and spin the prize wheel for fabulous prizes, and some of them came dressed in costume! They even got things signed by John Kovalic! Here are some pictures:







Oh, also, Andrew Hackard was on a podcast! Go check it out!



– Brian Engard



     



Warehouse 23 News: Got Your Head In The Clouds?



Federation Commander: Lesser Magellanic Cloud Playtest Pack adds rules, weapons, systems, ships, and more to your Federation Commander games. Adventure awaits at Warehouse 23.



 

June 19, 2014: Announcements For October

We've got some exciting stuff coming up in October!





Car Wars Classic
Drive Offensively!



He triggered the rear guns once more. A direct hit! The blue car skidded as the driver lost control – then flipped and caught fire.



That would teach him not to tailgate . . .



Drive the freeways of the future – where the right of way goes to the biggest guns. Players choose their vehicles – complete with weapons, armor, power plants, suspension, and even body style. Then they take them out on the road . . . to come home as "aces," or to crash and burn. If a driver survives, his abilities improve, and he can earn money to buy bigger and better cars. Advanced rules let players design their own customized cars, trucks, and cycles.



Playing time 30 minutes and up, for players 10 and older. Any number can play . . . games with 2 to 8 are best.



Game components include:



103 full-color game counters and separate Turning Key.


64-page rulebook, plus extra tables and record sheets.


2-sided game map, with autoduel arena and raceway.
This is the original version of the game; it's great as a starter set. Check out Deluxe Car Wars for a fancier presentation of the same game.






Revolution! Anarchy



The legitimate authorities have given way to mob rule . . . It's Anarchy !



Force the Warden to throw your enemies in Jail!


Blackmail the Heretic and take over the Asylum!


Bribe the Anarchist . . . his effects change every turn!
Revolution! Anarchy includes a new board overlay, new bidding boards, and two new sets of player components, allowing you to play with up to six people. This is not a stand-alone game; you need Revolution! to play.






Tile Chess



Think Outside the Board!



Tile Chess is chess without boundaries. All you need are the tiles.* Each tile represents a chess piece, and as you place the tiles, you create the board. You can play Tile Chess just about anywhere with up to three opponents!



* You need to know how to play chess, of course.



No board! No borders!



– Brian Engard



Warehouse 23 News: Dragons Rule!



Sculptor extraordinaire Richard Kerr has worked his magic and brought gorgeous, fearsome dragons to Steve Jackson Games' line of miniatures. Monster Miniatures: Dragons - Valor and Snarl comes with two fearsome dragons to display to your friends or to use in your favorite miniatures game. These dragons are completely modular; you can mix and match bodies, wings, necks, and heads to make your own unique dragon. Available from Warehouse 23 .