Steve Jackson's Blog, page 428

February 28, 2014: Aaron Allston

Aaron Allston died of massive heart failure yesterday, while Guest of Honor at VisionCon. Aaron was a good man: a creator of things fantastic, yet personally straightforward, cheerful, and wry. His health went downhill while he was still relatively young, but he stayed as active as he could, and he died in the midst of the geekery that he loved and nurtured.



Aaron started off with SJ Games by doing whatever was needed; I think "Circulation Manager" was his first official title. He kept taking more responsibility and doing more neat stuff. Before too long, he was editor of The Space Gamer , and helmed it during some of its very finest days. He helped launch The Fantasy Gamer as a spinoff. He was a powerful force in the early days of Car Wars . He wrote (among many other things) the Harkwood supplement for GURPS and the Car Wars / Champions crossover Autoduel Champions . But he was wasted with a small indie game company, which is what we were at the time. He moved on to write some excellent D&D material for TSR. But when he finally found his level, it was as a bestselling novelist, creating a round dozen Star Wars novels. But I liked the things he wrote out of his own head. My own favorite is Galatea in 2-D , a stand-alone novel so obscure that (I now see) it doesn't even have a Wikipedia page. It was an unsubtle and hugely fun "geek gets superpowers, messes up badly, finds his feet at last and WINS" wish-fulfillment story. It would have made a great summer movie.



Aaron was also the best GM I've ever known. The Champions campaign he ran for the SJ Games staff was memorable. A couple of us didn't actually know the Champions system at all, but Aaron made it not matter, and we all had a fantastic time.



You can find a more eloquent eulogy of Aaron, with a far more complete discussion and appreciation of his career, courtesy of Allen Varney on Google+.



Although he lived in the Austin area, I had not seen him for years. The best I managed was to send the occasional "Say hi to Aaron!" via mutual friends. The lesson there, though you've heard it before: Don't miss a chance to hang out with the good people. They may not be around forever.



– Steve Jackson



Warehouse 23 News: Gear's To You



Your automobile can never have enough enough weapons! With Uncle Albert's 2039 Catalog Update , you'll have over 90 items available to outfit your ride or yourself. Download this classic today from Warehouse 23!

February 27, 2014: SJ Games At SXSW

Here in Austin we have a little show full of music, technology, and other fun stuff: South By Southwest. Maybe you've heard of it. Once a year it descends upon the city, along with thousands upon thousands of attendees, and takes over the entire area, replacing the usual Austin weirdness with a different kind of weirdness.



Well, this year we're going to have a booth at SXSW, where we'll run demos and sell games! The event is from March 7-9; our booth number is 231, so come on by and check it out. You may even get some of your new stuff signed!



– Brian Engard



Warehouse 23 News: Classic Black & White



You want the style of Classic Ogre, but you need something big enough to play on your new Ogre Designer's Edition maps.



We've got you covered with the Ogre Classic Counters .



Available exclusively at Warehouse 23 .

February 26, 2014: Thank You, Yotel!

My favorite hotel in the world, NYC's Yotel, launched an amazing New York Toy Fair trip for me when, on the first day of the visit, their staff sent me a tweet asking me to email them. It seems that the Yotel staff were aware of my love for their hotel and they wanted to meet me in person, so that evening I met Cari and Maysoon of the Yotel . . . and was instantly blown away by their friendliness, generosity, and knowledge of just what a toy geek I am.



Check my battlegrip.com post to see the cute little Yotel-branded toy car that Cari and Maysoon gave me, and then visit the Yotel website and marvel at the design of the hotel. Every single time I've been in NYC – that's three years now – I've stayed at the Yotel, and as long as they stay as fun and friendly as they've been I'll always check into the Yotel when I'm in NYC for fun or work.



Thank you, Cari and Maysoon, and I hope to see you guys again very soon! (And next time I'm visiting NYC I'll try to get Steve to join me so he can enjoy the Yotel.)



– Phil Reed



Warehouse 23 News: Get Medieval!



Europe, 13th century. Unfamiliar? Not to you! Download a copy of Ars Magica: The Medieval Handbook , an invaluable guide to Mythic Europe's society and culture. 'Tis available now, only from Warehouse 23!

February 25, 2014: International TableTop Day

April 5th, 2014 is International TableTop Day, and we are a sponsor for the event! We love the attention that ITTD brings to the hobby – not to mention the attention that it brings to local game stores, libraries, community centers, and other locations. We're proud to sponsor ITTD again this year!



Are you a player and want to find your Friendly Local Gaming Store? Check our store finder!



Are you a retailer and want to get demo support at your con? Contact MIB Control!



– Brian Engard



Warehouse 23 News: Full-Auto Action!



Do you need more action for your Cyberpunk 2020 game?



Look no further: Cyberpunk: Streetfighting has seven mini-adventures to give you that extra kick!



Available at Warehouse 23 .

February 24, 2014: The Golden Geek Awards 2014

BGG has announced the finalists for the Golden Geek Awards, and there's some great stuff in the list! BattleLore is a personal favorite of mine, and I've also had a lot of fun with XCOM: Enemy Unknown , Torchlight II , and Shadowrun Returns .



Another interesting thing to note is that the video game category has a few board games on it. In fact, all three of the mobile/handheld games mentioned are mobile adaptations of board games: Agricola , Lords of Waterdeep , and Ticket to Ride: Europe . More and more people are experiencing deep, strategic board games for the first time on their phones or tablets. It's a trend that we in the industry can't ignore, and one that ultimately helps us, I think.



I'd also like to point you toward the RPG category for a moment. As you may or may not be aware, Marketing Director Lenny Balsera and I are both writers and game designers for Evil Hat Productions, and we both worked on the Fate Core line of games. In each of the three categories in which a Fate game could be nominated, it was nominated. Game of the Year? Fate Core . Best Artwork and Presentation? Fate Core again. Best supplement? Fate Accelerated and the Fate System Toolkit . To see these games standing toe-to-toe with the likes of Numenera and Star Wars: Edge of the Empire is a tremendous honor for everyone involved with Evil Hat.



– Brian Engard



Warehouse 23 News: Send In The SWAT Team!



When things get really bad, you need more help than regular police forces can provide. With GURPS Classic: SWAT , you can send in the big guns wherever needed . . . or even be one of the big guns. Available as a tactical download from Warehouse 23.

February 23, 2014: Filaments Of Gas Connect The Universe

It's been theorized for a while, but scientists have recently used the Keck Telescope in Hawaii to actually see the web of gas that connects galaxies and stars, using the light of a quasar. UM-287, the quasar in question, was giving off so much light that the gas was actually visible. The discovery has – ahem – shed light on much about the structure of the universe and intergalactic gas.



Also, "Intergalactic Gas" is my Spacehog cover band.



– Brian Engard



Warehouse 23 News: Show Your Ogre Pride!



Whether you're for the North American Combine or you favor the Paneuropeans, we've got an Ogre Patch for you!



Available exclusively at Warehouse 23 .

February 22, 2014: Zombie Dice: We Have Them

There was a time when we didn't. Between the Tabletop episode and all the other nice things people were saying on the Internet about the game, we couldn't keep Zombie Dice in stock. Many of you weren't able to get the game when you wanted it, and that's largely because we underestimated demand.



Well, that's in the past. We've finally pulled out ahead of the rush of demand, and we have enough copies of Zombie Dice for anyone who doesn't have it yet to buy it. (Are we tempting fate by saying this? Stay tuned to find out!)



Zombie Dice 2: Double Feature is a different story. Or maybe the same story. We ran into the same problem there that we did with the original; you'd think we'd have learned our lesson, but apparently everyone wants Zombie Dice and its associated expansions. At any rate, Double Feature will be back in stock in May, at which point you can get your greedy, undead little hands on it.



We're hoping to avoid all this going out-of-print nonsense with Zombie Dice 3: School Bus . We all saw how popular Zombie Dice was. We're currently seeing how popular Double Feature is. Fool us twice, shame on us. We want to make sure anyone who wants School Bus can get it, and we're going to work hard to make sure that happens.



In the meantime, you can satisfy your need for sweet, sweet brains with things like score pads, brain cases, and Zombie Dice Deluxe , which has those things bundled into the game! There's also an app!



– Brian Engard



 



Warehouse 23 News: Heroes Of The World



When disaster strikes, drop from orbit to provide aid to any country that will accept your help. That's the hook for the heroes of Transhuman Space: Wings of the Rising Sun , the Japanese first-response team that's ready for any situation. Only available in the virtual cyber-realm of Warehouse 23.

February 21, 2014: Munchkin: $24.95 And Holding Firm!

Last year, we announced minor manufacturing changes to the rules and packaging for our Munchkin core games. These changes helped us reduce costs on all of the Munchkin core games – including the latest one, Munchkin Pathfinder , and several reprints – but we are continuing to fight against the terrible pain of rising shipping invoices, raw materials increases, and all the other "costs of doing business" that are part of the daily work of a game company. As we said last year, the last thing we want to do is increase the MSRP of our Munchkin core games . . . so we're attacking the problem from another direction.



Starting later this year, all of our Munchkin core games will begin shipping with a new custom six-sided die. It will look just like the 16mm d6 we've been using since 2010 in games like Munchkin Cthulhu , Munchkin Apocalypse , and in the +6 Bag 'o Munchkin d6 , but the new die is slightly smaller. By switching to a 14mm die, we can reduce our costs a tiny – tiny! – amount. When you manufacture hundreds of thousands of those dice in a year, however, those savings add up.



We do not plan to change the cards in any of the sets. With thousands of different Munchkin cards produced across dozens of games and expansions, we're not going to do anything that makes it difficult to shuffle newer cards in with older cards. By changing the size of the dice, we'll be able to hold the $24.95 price for at least another year.



– Phil Reed



Warehouse 23 News: Come To Al Amarja...



Where nightmares go to breed!



Better come prepared with the Over the Edge: Player's Survival Guide.



Available at Warehouse 23 .

February 20, 2014: You Need Loonacy!

At the Dallas Fall Toy Preview last year, Andrew Hackard and I had the chance to sit down with Kristin and Amber from Looney Labs to play several rounds of a new game design by Andrew Looney. At the time, the game was unnamed, but as this ICv2 post tells us all now, Loonacy: The Maniacal Matching Card Game is coming in March. The game is incredible, and at the Dallas show I think we played at least two dozen times . . . and in more than one sitting! 



How does Loonacy work?



Players start with seven cards each and then start slapping cards down as fast as possible, attempting to match icons on the cards in their hands to the icons on cards in play. There are no turns, just moments of hilarious madness as everyone's racing to empty their hands; the first player to play every single card from their hand wins. (That's usually not me, but only because Amber constantly cheats by being smarter and faster than I am. Hey, that's cheating in my book!)



The Loonacy name is a perfect fit, but while playing I came up with some alternatives that all describe what I tend to say as I lose:



Wait!


No, I'm . . . no . . . gah!!!


Stop! Stop! Stop!
There are more possible titles for the game, but I can't quite figure out how to spell the various groans, moans, and laughs that I spew as I throw down cards and . . . well, as I said, I lose. But I'm betting you will be way better at the game than I am. And regardless of how many times I lose I keep going back to play again (I was happily demoing Loonacy at the New York Toy Fair earlier this week) which, I feel, is the sign of an amazing game.



Congratulations to Andrew Looney and the entire Looney Labs team. I cannot wait to play Loonacy with all of you next month at the GAMA Trade Show . . . and I'm ready to buy my copy just as soon as it hits stores!



– Phil Reed



Warehouse 23 News: A Transhuman Treasury



Pyramid #3/62: Transhuman Space II has an assortment of awesome articles designed to get you started in the fantastic futuristic world of Transhuman Space like never before. Download it to your central AI via Warehouse 23!

February 19, 2014: Munchkin Goes Back To 2010!

You know how there's that ONE box deep in a closet somewhere that's you're afraid to open because you don't remember actually packing it in the first place, and it looks like it might have contained something organic at some point in the not-distant-enough past?



Yeah, that one. We opened it.



Turns out, among the goodies inside were a bunch of copies of the Exclusive Warehouse 23 Munchkin Booster 2010 that we'd set aside for some reason and never got around to using. These things have been going for stupid prices on eBay, but don't pay that, because they're back on Warehouse 23!



A couple of quick notes:



This booster had an unfortunate error on the Attic card contained within. We offered replacements, but we also fixed all the boosters we still had in stock – so these should have the correct card inside. However, if your card includes the clause, "Before you turn over a new Door card," that means we missed replacing yours, and you can send in for a replacement (details are on the product page linked above).


Don't forget about our Munchkin Booster Promo! You can use the insert from this set as one of the five UPCs needed to redeem the card . . . or order four more boosters at the same time and get the card automatically!
The only bad thing is, when we moved that ONE box, we found more boxes under and behind it, and a couple of those are oozing something . . . so we threw a tarp over them and put up a safety cone. We may get back to that corner of the warehouse . . . by 2016 or so.



– Andrew Hackard



Warehouse 23 News: Be Iconic!



Wear our Munchkin Icon Patch with pride.



The patch comes in two colors and has a rule to help you out in Munchkin .



Available only at Warehouse 23 !