Steve Jackson's Blog, page 423

April 19, 2014: Thank You, Retailers!

On Tuesday, March 18 at 1 pm and again at 4 pm I was fortunate enough to present our upcoming games and expansions to retailers attending the GAMA Trade Show. Each of these one-hour presentations was fantastic fun, and I cannot thank all of the attending retailers enough for showing up to hear me chatter on about games. Sorry if I ran on a bit long, but you guys were warned that it was me and that GAMA gave me an hour. I do love to talk.



During the presentation we discussed not only new titles – and there were plenty of those to chat about, including a surprise from John Kovalic that "accidentally" slipped into the slides – but I also had a chance to ask the retailers about possible future projects. Most popular wouldn't-that-be-incredible potential product? Official Munchkin card sleeves. With new cards! 



We may have to look into that . . .



– Phil Reed



Warehouse 23 News: Ever Feel Like A Zombie At Work?



Great - you'll fit right in here!



In Give Me The Brain , you're a crew of zombie slackers working at a fast-food restaurant, trying to get through all your daily jobs and, if possible, pawn off as much work as you can onto your co-workers.



The worst part is some jobs require a brain…and there's only one to go around!



Available at Warehouse 23 .

April 18, 2014: Andrew Hackard: Guest Of Honor

The Industry Insider Guest of Honor list for Gen Con was published a little while ago. Lo and behold, our own Andrew Hackard,  Munchkin  Czar extraordinaire, is on the list! Congrats to Andrew, and we look forward to all the panels and talks he gives at Gen Con. 



– Brian Engard



Warehouse 23 News: Places You've Only Dreamt Of . . .



Beyond a mere peasant's reckoning, nay beyond the mundane world entirely, lie mythic realms that only the most learned or blessed can perceive.



Ars Magica: Mythic Places describes five magical locales of Faerie, Magic, Dominion, and Infernal might - sites designed to be the foci of many different stories.



Available now at Warehouse 23 .

April 17, 2014: Crowdfunding Focus: Storium

I've been participating in the alpha (and now beta) playtest of something really, really hot.



It's called Storium , and it's on Kickstarter now. It's a medium for roleplaying online that seeks to combine elements of fiction writing, social media, and tabletop RPGs into something that isn't quite like any of those things, but far more than the sum of its parts.



I met Stephen Hood, the man at the center of Storium's swirling vortex, at Origins last year. He pitched his brainchild to me with confidence and verve. He was a gamer when he was a kid, got into a tech career, stopped having time for it, and was burdened with the perception that a lot of people could benefit from the collaboration and creativity that RPGs offered, but didn't really have a way to integrate it into their lives. So he set out to bring the best parts of gaming to them, across a medium that was already integrated into their lives.



Storium is the result, and it's addictive and compelling. It's similar to play-by-post, which makes it low impact for folks with busy schedules, but it uses RPG-like tools to help focus what individual scenes are about and create suspenseful, varied outcomes. You use a deck of custom cards (a world, in Storium terms) that contains character strengths, weaknesses, important locations, assets, goals, and other touchstones to help build the story as you go. The user interface is snappy even in its beta format, so you know what's going on and what challenges are available for characters to address. You can view and browse available games, so you can connect with other users or just read the stuff that other players are doing. There are a few games that I'm regularly tuning into, just like I would for a favorite TV show.



This is the kind of innovation the hobby needs to carry it forward - collaborative storytelling that anybody can do anywhere, at any time. I'm jazzed to be a part of Storium's early development. In fact, I've asked them to let me create an official world for it, a Heroes meets The Shield police drama world called Blue Gene, where a special task force of cops is called upon to thwart the efforts of criminals who use genetic resequencing to cheat at life. They agreed, made it part of a stretch goal, and it funded!



They're lining up contributions from some incredible authors and designers. Help them out if you can, and come join the fun.



– Leonard Balsera



Warehouse 23 News: Every Ninja Needs Guidelines



All ninja employees might need a little reminder about the rules from time to time.



Help them remember with our Ninja Burger: Employee Guidelines Poster .



Available from Warehouse 23 .

April 16, 2014: A Car Wars Hotspot . . . Or Just Plain Hot?

With more snow flurries inflicting themselves on parts of the country lately, you might find yourself saying, "Maybe we should go down south!" If you're living in the action-packed world of Car Wars and are willing to drive a vehicle fitted with armor and armaments, we at Warehouse 23 have you covered. AADA Road Atlas V3: The South is your guide to the perils and possibilities of Florida, Arkansas, South Carolina, and more. Learn what gangs are active where, how dangerous various cities are, and how to get from Point A to Point B with as little (or much!) trouble as you'd like.



This digital reprint classic – perfect for fans of Car Wars and GURPS Classic: Autoduel – includes mini-adventures set in different states, campaign advice for autoduelling action in this area, and one complete tale set in sun-soaked central Florida. This digital edition also includes a combined map of the region for your plotting pleasure. Whether you call the South home or are just hoping to pass through safely, AADA Road Atlas V3: The South has you covered!



– Steven Marsh



Warehouse 23 News: A Sinister Infestation Holds The City In Fear



Vermin, shapeshifters, thieves, and cutthroats lurk in every shadow.



Can you overcome your fears and take back the city?



Den of the Wererats features 55 new Dungeoneer cards, including city maps, lycanthropic curses that transform your opponents, and three new heroes for your Dungeoneer game.



Get this and other Atlas Games products from Warehouse 23 .

April 15, 2014: Peachstate Hobby Show In Dallas On April 17

On Thursday, April 17, Randy and I will be in Dallas attending the Peachstate Hobby Speed Gaming event. I'll spend Thursday morning and afternoon manning our exhibit space, speaking with retailers, and showing off our latest releases, all in preparation for the evening's "Speed Gaming" fun.



What is "Speed Gaming"? I participated in this last fall at Peachstate's Orlando event . . . and it was a lot of fun! What happens is several game publishers sit down at tables and then every fifteen to twenty minutes a new group of retailers join your table for a quick game. Last year I ran a lot of Zombie Dice and Chupacabra , and a little Cthulhu Dice , and this time around Randy and I will add Mars Attacks – The Dice Game to the mix.



If you're a retailer in Texas then we hope to see you at the Peachstate Hobby Speed Gaming event. And if you're a retailer outside of Texas please contact your distributor and ask about upcoming open house sessions. We try to attend as many open houses as possible each year; maybe we'll see you soon!



Oh, and you should also be on the lookout for Randy Scheunemann at the Dallas Games Marathon if you're there!



– Phil Reed



Warehouse 23 News: Get The Job Done Right!



With the Paneuropean Heavy Infantry !



In cities and forests where the terrain can slow down armor, the infantry does its best work.



Each figure represents a squad of heavy infantry and is worth 4 points.



Get this and other Ogre miniatures HERE!

April 14, 2014: Job Openings: Social Media Manager And Editor

Hey, have you checked our job postings lately? You should! We're in need of two new employees.



If you're good with words and have a keen eye for detail, you could become our new Editor. That means you'd be making sure that the copy flows well, adheres to our company style, is correct, and so forth; you'd be taking direction, as needed, from Miranda, our Managing Editor.



If you're social media savvy, have some video-making skills, know about our games (and games in general), and are comfortable talking to the public about our games frequently, you could apply to the Social Media Manager position. You'd be reporting to me and Lenny, and would be part of the Marketing team here at Steve Jackson Games.



What are you waiting for? Apply already!



– Brian Engard



 



Warehouse 23 News: Watch Out, Dr. Stinky Head!



Beware, evil-doers! Axe Cop will chop your heads off and take your stuff! Want to join the fun?



Pick up Munchkin Axe Cop from Warehouse 23 today!

April 13, 2014: More Walking, More Gaming

As I mentioned recently, my wife (the inimitable Nikki Vrtis) and I like to come up with diversions that we can do with our seven-year-old son while walking (because, really, there's only so much conversation you can come up with if you engage in daily walks). One game that was a favorite of Nikki's family on long Michigan car trips was – appropriately enough – "The Trip Game."



In this game, one player starts with a premise and the first letter of the alphabet: "When I went on a trip to the store, I brought . . . an awfully angry antelope."



The next player continues, trying to remember previous installments: "When I went to the store, I brought an awfully angry antelope and a big blue baseball."



And so on: "When I went to the store, I brought an awfully angry antelope, a big blue baseball, and a charming caterpillar."



Each letter-phrase can be as many words as players find reasonable. Players continue trying to muddle through as best they can as the sentence gets longer and crazier. If playing with younger folks, consider dropping it to one word. (If playing with my son, be prepared for words like "czar," "pterodactyl," "knowledgable," and "gnome.")



For those determined to pick a "winner" or "loser," the loser might be the first person who can't remember everything, or perhaps the first person who forgets a certain number of times (say, three strikes?). However, we just play these walking games as a way to pass the time . . . and with the Trip Game, it's fun to see what crazy phrases we can come up with. Plus, as I've learned while getting trounced at Munchkin by our son, building memorization skills of what's come before is incredibly handy in board and card games . . .



– Steven Marsh



Warehouse 23 News: Put On Your Labcoat And Rubber Gloves!



Mad Scientist University is in open enrollment!



This storytelling party game by Atlas Games challenges aspiring supervillains to devise the most ingenious evil plots to take over the world!



What's your sinister scheme?



And don't forget the expansion MSU: Spring Break !

April 12, 2014: Crowdfunding Focus: Help Make TableTop Season 3 Happen!

Most of you are aware of the Geek & Sundry Web series TableTop , hosted and produced by Wil Wheaton. A few of you are aware that I was fortunate enough to be on an episode in Season 1 playing Chez Geek with Paul & Storm (and Wil, of course). I had a blast, and I'm proud to have been a small part of a show that has turned into a gateway through which thousands of new people are entering our hobby.



Geek & Sundry has launched an Indiegogo campaign to fund TableTop Season 3 – they're going independent! Rewards range from a Wil Wheaton high-five up to a visit to the season 3 set while they're filming.



TableTop has been a fantastic partner for SJ Games and the entire hobby game industry, and we're thrilled that they're planning to continue showing people how much fun games can be. If you have a few spare shiny gold rocks, you could do worse than to kick a couple of them TableTop's way.



And, as always: PLAY MORE GAMES!



– Andrew Hackard



(Since I first wrote this, the project has funded – half a million in just four days. Wow! Now they're going for stretch goals, to make Season 3 bigger and to create an RPG-based spinoff. Congratulations to Wil and the entire TableTop team! -AH)



Warehouse 23 News: The World At Your Feet!



Illuminati: Bavarian Fire Drill is a 110-card expansion for Illuminati .



This expansion introduces new terrifying Groups for you to control, as well as magical, technological, and just plain strange Artifacts to give you an appropriately unfair advantage over your rivals in the plot for world domination.



Available from Warehouse 23 .

April 11, 2014: ITTD: We Came, We Saw, We Gamed

Did you guys have fun on International TableTop Day? We sure did! The Steve Jackson Games staff participated in game events in a bunch of Austin establishments; you can see the pictures of our fun-having right here! 



If you didn't get a chance to go to ITTD this year, consider going next year. ITTD is a chance for you to act as an ambassador to get new blood into the hobby and share the games you love. The more people we bring into the gaming fold, the better it is for all of us; more gamers equals more gamers to play with, and the more people who are out there buying games, the more games get made! It's a win-win all around.



– Brian Engard



I spent three hours at the Emerald Tavern, here in Austin, teaching people to play Zombie Dice , Castellan , and Revolution! , including a couple of new Austin residents and two friends visiting from Houston. I also talked to a bunch of people about Munchkin (go figure!) and SJ Games in general. The shop was full from about 2:00 on, and everyone seemed to be having a great time. Erich and Marshall, the owners of the Emerald Tavern, said it was one of their best days since opening last fall. Success!



– Andrew Hackard



At one point, I had two little girls come with their mom to a Munchkin demo. One of them was still too young to read.  When presented with two sets of armor – one covered in slime, with a small bonus, and the other on fire, with a bigger bonus – the little girl grinned and chose the better armor.  It was the cutest thing!



– Max Clontz



After all the last minute crises that turned into a very successful International TableTop Day last year, we vowed to have a different experience this year. We focused on putting out calendar events in as many online locations as we could.  We did two local board game meetup groups, Facebook, Google+, our web page, and the ITTD website.  Interestingly enough, we got very different feedback from each source, and different level of RSVPs. It was a lot of work updating each of those calendars with the updates to the door prizes, pictures of cake, and confirming guests, but it was worth it.  In the end, we gave out over 120 raffle tickets, which is how we tracked attendance. Considering those numbers approach our normal Saturday Pre-Release for Magic The Gathering , we are VERY happy with the turnout.



We had several guests, including Steve Jackson, Scott Morris, and later in the day Justin and Anne-Marie DeWitt.  Steve taught some kids how to play Ogre , ran a playtest of the up and coming Mars Attacks – The Dice Game , took some lucky folks for a spin in the Tesla, and gave a talk on Kickstarter and game design, while Scott taught Mage Wars continuously and Justin and Anne-Marie signed copies of their games.



Everyone loved our drawings! With one of the premium kits, two of the smaller kits, and a great big box of goodies from Steve Jackson Games, everyone got something cool.



– Eric Dow



My time running demos at Dragon's Lair for TableTop Day was an outstanding success! Ogre  battles rocked the table all day while several rousing games of Chupacabra took place on the side. Many wonderful people learned to play Munchkin , which the store quickly sold out of!



A number of other game companies were in attendance, several of whom are just starting out. Anne-Marie and Justin De Witt of Fireside Games were on hand to teach Castle Panic! and Bears , and to run several rambunctious rounds of Munchkin Panic!



The turnout was great and I'd like to thank our Friendly Local Dragon's Lair for hosting!



– Devin Lewis



Warehouse 23 News: Take A Ride...



. . . on the Antartic Express with Ken Hite as he retells H.P. Lovecraft's "At the Mountains of Madness."



The book features full-color illustrations, and it is sure to be a hit with the newest generation of Lovecraft fans and their parents.



Also look for Where the Deep Ones Are and Cliffourd the Big Red God .



Available from Warehouse 23 .

April 10, 2014: Meet Our New Managing Editor

Remember Miranda, our fantastic and hard-working Prepress Editor? Well, all her fantasticness and hard work paid off in a big way! Miranda's recently received a well-deserved promotion to Managing Editor, which means she'll now be in charge of all things editorial here at Steve Jackson Games. We're all excited for her, and not just because she can now spend MORE of her time making us do better work.



Congrats, Miranda!



– Brian Engard



 



Warehouse 23 News: Have You Seen The Mark Of Cthulhu?



Now control . . . the marker of Cthulhu!



The Cthulhu Sherpa Case will turn any pen into a designer writing tool.



It's solid metal, purple, and carries the image of the Great Cthulhu.



Get your tentacles on one today!



Available exclusively from Warehouse 23 .