Steve Jackson's Blog, page 65

February 6, 2024: Math Is Hard (And The Answer Is Seven)

I did a deep dive recently into the topic of shuffling, and I came up with one inescapable conclusion: statistics does not make for light reading. Seemingly every college-acquired math fact dribbled out of my brain sometime in the past few decades.

But, hey, I have a few conclusions I can share, and I think they'll make a fun few articles.

So, if you start researching the topic of card shuffling, two facts come readily to light:

• Conventional wisdom is that, for a standard 52-card deck, "seven is enough." That is, everyone seems to agree that seven standard riffle shuffles is enough adequately randomize a deck of cards.

• Everyone refers to this wisdom in the same breath as "Trailing the Dovetail Shuffle to Its Lair," an article by Dave Bayer and Persi Diaconis, from a 1992 issue of The Annals of Applied Probability.

However, if that article actually specifies that somewhere, I haven't been able to find it. I suspect that it's a logical thing one can deduce by studying the paper and being smart with math – which means I've got two strikes against me.

Still, I think I've found an analysis of the math behind it on . . . um . . . a discussion of an episode of the show Numb3rs. This article seems to do a decent level of explaining it such that my puny brain can almost wrap around it.

All of this is preamble to say that "seven is enough." I usually mentally internalize that as "eight is enough," because I find the act of shuffling a deck therapeutic so an extra shuffle won't kill me, and my brain loves remembering Dick Van Patten-related trivia.

I'll have more to say in a future installment, but I wanted to leave you with something useful for now: namely, the integer seven. You're welcome.

– Steven Marsh

Warehouse 23 News: The City Never Sleeps Because Of All The Action

There are a million stories in the city, and they're all exciting! GURPS Action 9: The City shows how you can add GURPS City Stats to your GURPS Action campaigns. It also features six sample cities to use with your own action-packed adventures. Download it today from Warehouse 23!

February 5, 2024: Six Degrees Of Star Wars Explores The Force Of Connection

Sam Marchiony is a film fan on a mission – to figure out just how influential Star Wars was, is, and will be. To that end, Sam has created a podcast called Six Degrees of Star Wars , which takes a look at the actors, directors, and other people involved in the creation of one of the most famous franchises in movie history. During our interview, we discussed the impact this space opera has had on fans, as well as just how interconnected Hollywood truly is.

1) What inspired you to start your podcast? Are you a Star Wars fan, or someone who is newer to the franchise?

I have been a Star Wars fan for about 8 years. As my family's resident film and TV buff, I have often had to explain to them where they know actors from. Star Wars was one of the most frequent movie franchises I could be sure everyone in the family would know. What pushed me over the edge into starting the podcast proper was Thor: Love And Thunder promotional stills and trailers coming out in 2022. Everywhere I looked, the recurring comment surrounding Natalie Portman's return as Jane Foster/The Mighty Thor was some variation of "Padmé got RIPPED." This actress has had a long and storied career with a good amount of critical acclaim and accolades, but her role in Star Wars is still definitive, proving the podcast's eventual logline: this franchise surrounds us, binds us, and penetrates us in the landscape of cinema. 

2) What are some of the more surprising connections you've found between the Star Wars franchise and other film properties?

I don't want to spoil some of the movies we have upcoming, partially because we leave that up to a roll of the dice — excuse me, Chance Cube — and partially because the catalog of episodes we've done is pretty small. (We went on hiatus in solidarity with SAG-AFTRA during the strike since Star Wars was considered struck work.) So, I'll go with Park Chan-wook's The Handmaiden, which shares a cinematographer, Chung Chung-hoon, with the Obi-Wan Kenobi series. It's an instance where the two works are so starkly different that it wouldn't seem like a logical fit, but range isn't something that is limited to actors. I like being reminded of that.

3) Who has been your favorite guest so far, and why?

I love all my guests, but I have to spotlight three people who have been exceptional, not just as guests, but also as contributors:Bryan Harris came up with this setup called the Star Wars Degree Checker Inator that let us cut down on the amount of IMDB scrolling we had to do to find connection points. When Bryan has been on as a guest, he often brings a perspective that feels very refreshingly different and introspective when running against some of the more eccentric brains, my own included.Jasmine Garcia, who was a guest on my very first episode, is someone with whom our rapport is so strong. I'm shocked we're not a Force Dyad with how easily we can fall into step with each other. And when Six Degrees of Star Wars was on hiatus, we joked that I was living in the walls of In Each Retelling , given how frequently I guested. Now that Six Degrees of Star Wars is back, we've made it official that we're sibling podcasts.And finally, there's Shamila Karunakaran. Bryan made the Inator, but Shamila is one of its most frequent users, and further sorts a lot of the suggestions we get by theme, genre, and country of origin, and she co-runs the Six Degrees of Star Wars Tumblr account, having cultivated the majority of our tag system and queue. She's also one of my favorite guests to have on because she always has some piece of meaningful scholarship or interview related to our subject prepped and ready.4) What's the most interesting thing you've learned during the course of putting this podcast together?

I knew fairly early on that I couldn't adhere to the normal "six degrees" structure that most people know, because it became obvious very quickly that so many people work on Star Wars that the degrees would be whittled down to two: people who'd done Star Wars and people who had done things with a Star Wars person. 

So the degree system turned into how Star Wars-y a person or a project was: Degree 0 is up at the top as "actual" Star Wars. Degree 1 consists of projects George Lucas himself or Lucasfilm had a hand in. Degree 2 is where the leads of the trilogies, anthology films, and TV shows live. Degree 3 features those who have been in more than 1 Star Wars project. Degree 4 is for one-time appearances. Degree 5 is populated by everyone who had a hand in making the film who wasn't George Lucas. And Degree 6 houses everyone connected to Degrees 1-5 in the way most people think about degrees of connection. 

What's been interesting to see is that because Degree 5 covers so much ground, it keeps snatching up titles that I thought were Degree 6s. It's been an eye-opening reminder of just how many people play a part in creating the stories that drive these beloved franchises.

Six Degrees of Star Wars is available on numerous podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Buzzsprout, and Podbay.

– Katie Duffy

Warehouse 23 News: The City Never Sleeps Because Of All The Action

There are a million stories in the city, and they're all exciting! GURPS Action 9: The City shows how you can add GURPS City Stats to your GURPS Action campaigns. It also features six sample cities to use with your own action-packed adventures. Download it today from Warehouse 23!

February 4, 2024: Pondering The Nature Of Flextangles

I have a lot of ideas. Many of them are half-baked, so I keep them around, hoping the extra cooking time will prove beneficial. Sometimes that works; other times, I just end up with a boatload of still-half-baked ideas (often manifesting as perpetually open tabs).

One idea I've had open in a tab for the better part of 2023 (and, obviously, now going into 2024) is using a flextangle at the gaming table. "What's a flextangle," you might ask, "and how do I use it in gaming?"

The first question is fairly easy to answer. A flextangle is a papercraft item where you have a donut-like angular "tube" that rotates on itself, presenting four images. Hmm . . . having typed that, I realize "easy to answer" may have been a stretch. Anyway, a video is worth a thousand words, so check out YouTube for a bunch of examples.

"Okay! So, how do I use them at the gaming table?" Yeahhhh . . . that's why this has been half-baked and unwritten for so many months. The fact remains that while they're cool, I haven't come up with a killer use for them.

I did have fun with one over the Christmas holiday, when one present had a flextangle tucked in there that led to the second part of the present; manipulating the flextangle provided the four-word message: "CHECK NEAR COLOR PRINTER." The gift recipient dutifully checked near the color printer for another present that was concealed in the area.

The challenge in figuring out what to do with it is that it's not really a puzzle, per se; once you have the flextangle to manipulate, it reveals its secrets quickly and easily.

So how can it be used as a game aid? I considered having it as (say) a "Player Turn" token (perhaps with four player names or numbers), or a step counter for a game with four phases. But no specific games are coming to mind.

Which brings me to . . . now. Without any brilliant suggestion, the best I can offer is to use it as a cool prop. Maybe it presents a four-word sentence in a dramatic way for an RPG session, like my Christmas offering. Maybe it has four mystic runes that denote a hero's current power. It might be useful in a GM-less storytelling game to remember whose turn it is to make the final decision for the round. Like I said, I don't have a great idea here – but maybe you do.

I can offer this website from JanMalch that lets you upload images and generate the printable flextangle template. And one of the aforementioned YouTube videos should show you how to fold what you print.

If you do manage to come up with a brilliant gaming use for your very own flextangle, please share it with me and/or the world (say, on the forums). Regardless, I am now freed from the flextangle's torment and can close these tabs on my browser!

– Steven Marsh

Warehouse 23 News: The City Never Sleeps Because Of All The Action

There are a million stories in the city, and they're all exciting! GURPS Action 9: The City shows how you can add GURPS City Stats to your GURPS Action campaigns. It also features six sample cities to use with your own action-packed adventures. Download it today from Warehouse 23!

February 3, 2024: He Didn't See His Shadow!

Once a year comes a special day. A day of anticipation. A day of excitement. A day of hope. And that day is Groundhog Day. On February 2nd, thousands and thousands of zealous fans flock to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, in hopes of catching a glimpse of the famous Punxsutawney Phil. Legend says that, should Phil see his shadow upon emerging from his hideout at Gobbler's Knob, there will be an additional six weeks of chilly winter weather. This fluffy and lovable groundhog can also predict an early spring – but only if he doesn't see his shadow. Rejoice, dear readers, for Phil did NOT see his shadow this year! It's time to get ready for spring! For more on this fun and silly tradition, check out the hysterical and totally believable movie Groundhog Day featuring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell. Then watch it again. 

– Michelle Richardson

Warehouse 23 News: The City Never Sleeps Because Of All The Action

There are a million stories in the city, and they're all exciting! GURPS Action 9: The City shows how you can add GURPS City Stats to your GURPS Action campaigns. It also features six sample cities to use with your own action-packed adventures. Download it today from Warehouse 23!

February 2, 2024: Sweet Savings For Sweethearts

Celebrate the most lovely day of the year – February 14th – with our Valentine's Day Sale! These sweet deals are a perfect 14% off and a wonderful way to surprise that special person in your life.  Begin with the Munchkin Bundle of Love , featuring lots of expansion cards which can be added to any Munchkin base game. There are also five adorable valentine cards in Munchkin Valentines  (with envelopes1) so you can send them to your favorite people. The Candy Heart d6 Dice can be stored in the Munchkin Dice Bag: Chibithulhu . Finally, play your Munchkin game on the cute Munchkin Playmat: The Flower of Love, which includes a special in-game bonus. What a perfect gift! The Munchkin Family-Sized Bundle of Love comes with dozens of cute cards including Munchkin Princesses , Munchkin Knights , and a full game: Munchkin Babies . Expand with Munchkin Babies 2  –  Stork Naked ,   and roll two swirly pink 25mm Munchkin Jumbo d6 . This bundle also includes Munchkin Valentines to hand out or mail! Our exciting bundles aren't the only way to save big during this sale – a few special individual items will also be offered at 14% off, including  The Rose Labyrinth  (in both hard copy and PDF formats) and the Munchkin Valentine's Monster Box . Pair the Unicorn Dice with Munchkin Unicorns and the adorable Munchkin Dice Bag: Unicorns .  We also have a huge selection of fantastic two-player games for anyone looking to duel with their sweetheart or dear loved one. Munchkin titles for two include Munchkin Wonderland , Munchkin Farkle , and Munchkin Panic . The Proteus Pocket Box plays on a standard chess board, but is nothing like you've ever played before! Deadly Doodles and Deadly Doodles 2 are super-cute path-drawing games set in a dangerous dungeon. These are just a few of the great items on sale for 14% off – check out more on Warehouse 23. But hurry! These special deals only last for a short time!

– Michelle Richardson

Warehouse 23 News: The City Never Sleeps Because Of All The Action

There are a million stories in the city, and they're all exciting! GURPS Action 9: The City shows how you can add GURPS City Stats to your GURPS Action campaigns. It also features six sample cities to use with your own action-packed adventures. Download it today from Warehouse 23!

February 1, 2024: Pocket Bard

Background music for roleplaying can do a ton to make a session feel more immersive. But sessions can often change quickly, and it's hard to juggle different tracks to make a seamless and dynamic experience for your table, especially when you're also trying to run a game. Enter Pocket Bard! 

Pocket Bard provides an environment-based soundtrack; each area comes equipped with a variety of ambient sounds and one-shot effects, as well as three different musical states! When you switch from Explore to Combat, the music seamlessly transitions. And when you hit Victory, the triumphant swell automatically transitions right back into the Explore music. And the Intensity slider doesn't just make the music louder – it makes it more lively and complex, starting with a simple, ambient track and adding additional instruments, rhythms, and melodies. This thing really does feel like you're scoring your own movie in real time.

@pocketbardapp Unleashing the app magic at @PAX Unplugged with Chase! 🧙‍♂️📲✨ Elevate your gaming ambience with us! #paxunplugged2023 #paxunplugged #dndcommunity #pocketbard #dm #gm #dungeonsanddragons #ttrpg #dndtiktok #tabletopgames #gamemaster #soundscapes ♬ original sound - Pocket Bard

One of the coolest bits of attention to detail in this thing is that the sound of the weather effects changes depending on location. In the village, you can hear raindrops hitting rooftops, but the sound dampens as you move into the forest. And in a dungeon, the rain and thunder get all echoey and distant. You can hear that in action in a video on their TikTok page.

All users get access to the entire Fantasy Essentials pack as well as Seafaring and Sci-Fi preview packs. A premium monthly subscription is $6.99 and includes the more in-depth Sci-Fi Essentials pack, with promises of more content coming soon! As an added benefit, all of the music in the app is original and it's approved for royalty-free use in streamed games.

The team behind Pocket Bard is absolutely delightful; I met Alex at PAX Unplugged in 2022, and since then it's been really great to see this app just get cooler and cooler. Their next step is a desktop application, hopefully coming real soon. In the meantime, download it for iPhone or Android and try it out in your next game!

– Irene Zielinski

Warehouse 23 News: The City Never Sleeps Because Of All The Action

There are a million stories in the city, and they're all exciting! GURPS Action 9: The City shows how you can add GURPS City Stats to your GURPS Action campaigns. It also features six sample cities to use with your own action-packed adventures. Download it today from Warehouse 23!

January 31, 2024: A Plan Of Attack For Snacks

I saw a tip somewhere on the Internet that may be useful to someone out there: If you like having messy snacks at the game table, consider using chopsticks. I believe the original tip was in regard to cheese puffs, but we've used it for popcorn, strawberries, and other goodies. They keep your fingers from getting cheesy/oily/red/wet without needing to fiddle with a napkin that might not get everything off, and this also ensures that your hands remain clean for card-grabbing fun.

Any food item that's relatively light and able to be grabbed makes a good candidate for chopsticks. For folks concerned about portion control, I've found that chopsticks slow us down from eating too much too quickly; when you're eating popcorn kernel by kernel, it lasts a while.

– Steven Marsh

Warehouse 23 News: The City Never Sleeps Because Of All The Action

There are a million stories in the city, and they're all exciting! GURPS Action 9: The City shows how you can add GURPS City Stats to your GURPS Action campaigns. It also features six sample cities to use with your own action-packed adventures. Download it today from Warehouse 23!

January 30, 2024: Friendly Local Game Store Report: Sweets And Geeks

What happens when you turn a former hardware and lumber store into a place dedicated to candy, games, and pop culture ephemera? You get Sweets & Geeks, a Northeast Ohio game store writ very, very large. Whether you're looking for snacks and candy, Tradeable Card Game booster packs, a high-rolling set of polyhedral dice, or the perfect party game, Sweets & Geeks is likely to have exactly what you need. The first thing most people see when entering this store is its extensive candy section. The offerings are truly impressive – there are novelty mints, holiday-themed candy, taffy, gummy candy, chocolate, and more. The store also has a wide assortment of international candy and snacks, which makes it perfect for those times when my husband is homesick for Cadbury. Soda fans will be pleased to know they aren't left out, either! From old-fashioned root beer to dill pickle flavored soda, you'll find something that suits your tastes. My husband and I tend to spend most of our time in the tabletop roleplaying section of Sweets & Geeks, which is located near the back. The store's miniatures section is second to none, with an entire wall (and some shelves!) dedicated to unpainted minis of player characters, monsters, even vehicles. Dice sets and loose dice are available for purchase, the latter being displayed in a large treasure chest. While the TTRPG section of the store is impressive, board games are given their fair due as well. Sweets & Geeks has board games for all ages, tastes, and skill levels. There always seems to be an eclectic mix on display here, with everything from classic titles to the latest releases. (I'm pleased to report that Munchkin is well-represented.) The store offers demo nights and open-play nights, as well as a board game rental program. The last major section of the store is also the newest. After an expansion in 2022, Sweets & Geeks now boasts a large TCG section, expanded candy options, and Fizzy's Cafe, a place where patrons can order boba (bubble) tea, ice cream, milkshakes, and instant ramen. While I'm not a TCG player myself, I'm always impressed by how knowledgeable the staff is about various cards, games, and expansions. This section of the store also houses some of their more unique dice sets. A gaming room near the end of the TCG counter hosts tournaments, events, and game nights. While I've done my best to describe everything I love about this place, I think this video tour gives you a much better idea as to the scope of the store and what makes it so much fun to explore. If you're ever in Northeast Ohio, you owe it to yourself to check it out! Sweets & Geeks is located at 342 E Smith Road in Medina, Ohio. 

– Katie Duffy

Warehouse 23 News: The City Never Sleeps Because Of All The Action

There are a million stories in the city, and they're all exciting! GURPS Action 9: The City shows how you can add GURPS City Stats to your GURPS Action campaigns. It also features six sample cities to use with your own action-packed adventures. Download it today from Warehouse 23!

January 29, 2024: Keeping Track Of Chits And Bits Redux

I previously pontificated a bit about one of our go-to solutions for keeping track of tiny pieces at the gaming table. (For those who don't want to click the link, it's 300 words about silicone cupcake-baking cups). But, like Yoda, I also hinted at another possibility. And it is both incredibly specific yet remarkably general.

The Costco stores in the area frequently offer three-tube packages of Annie's Organic Cinnamon Rolls. The sweets are in the sort of cardboard tube where – when I pop the seam – I feel the same pressure as someone trying to cut the red wire in a movie "nuclear countdown" scene. Inside the tube are five yummy unbaked cinnamon rolls, a squeeze packet of icing . . . and, protecting the packet, a rigid white plastic cup.

That cup is pretty much perfect for us for a variety of chits and pieces – especially dice, small cubes, and larger cardboard bits. If you buy a three-pack of rolls, you get three cups. Buy a pack every few months, and you have enough cups to outfit pretty much any game you'd want in no time.

It is at this point where I offer a disclaimer that I can only vouch specifically for the Costco three-pack because I haven't bought them in any other sizes or or at other venues. However, I'd be surprised if other places did not offer something similar.

The specifics of this advice are obvious: Buy this one brand. But the general advice – keep an eye out for containers you can repurpose – is quite general.

So, as you use up items, think about the possibilities before recycling the packaging, especially if it's something you buy regularly. (Bonus points, for me, at least, if the container is marking-free or has easy-to-remove stickers or the like.) Maybe that plastic box can be cleaned and turned into a "free" card holder. Maybe you have a surplus of pill bottles that can be washed and used as token storage to keep in your game boxes.

If you have any great ideas of your own, I'd love to hear about 'em on the forums!

– Steven Marsh

Warehouse 23 News: The City Never Sleeps Because Of All The Action

There are a million stories in the city, and they're all exciting! GURPS Action 9: The City shows how you can add GURPS City Stats to your GURPS Action campaigns. It also features six sample cities to use with your own action-packed adventures. Download it today from Warehouse 23!

January 28, 2024: May Announcements: Express And Pony Excess

It's cold, snowy, and gray right now, but the delights of spring will be upon us soon enough. At Steve Jackson Games, we're already excited for the month of May – and not just because it'll bring us out of the deep freeze. We have two fantastic new releases that we're excited to tell you about right now! The first is Express , a classic from Mayfair Games that we are proud to bring back into print. In this delightful card game, you'll build your own trains, disrupt your rivals' trains, and watch out for wrecks! Designed by Darwin Bromley, this new edition has been updated by Steve Jackson and the Train Gamers Association. Steve himself is especially pleased to be able to bring Express to veterans and new fans alike.  



 Our second new release is Munchkin: Pony Excess , a punny, 56-card expansion that will bring a herd of hilarious new cards to your Munchkin experience. (It's a veritable stampede of jokes, if you will.) This new collection includes a range of new equine monsters, curses, and Items, not to mention new Steeds. Will you end up with a Lucky Horseshoe, become the Centaur of Attention, or face off against the Rocking Horse? You'll just have to play to find out. 

– Katie Duffy

 

Warehouse 23 News: The City Never Sleeps Because Of All The Action

There are a million stories in the city, and they're all exciting! GURPS Action 9: The City shows how you can add GURPS City Stats to your GURPS Action campaigns. It also features six sample cities to use with your own action-packed adventures. Download it today from Warehouse 23!