Steve Jackson's Blog, page 7

August 21, 2025: World Building For Novices

This text, written by author and game-world designer Jon R. Osborne, is exactly what the title promises: a medium dive into the art of creating a consistent and interesting fictional setting. I enjoyed reading it and can recommend it to the beginning, or even not-so-beginning, creator of worlds. It's equally useful whether you are writing fiction to be read or to be played.

It covers the fundamentals – physical settings, technology of various kinds, magic, law and culture, maps, and so on – in 18 economical chapters plus a useful checklist to make sure you have touched all the bases. This is not, and does not pretend to be, a master class. It's Worldbuilding 101, and a fine place to start your studies.

You might find it at a well-stocked game retailer, and I'm going to repeat my "Support your local store" mantra, but of course it is available on Amazon.

– Steve Jackson

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!

August 20, 2025: Covers I Love – Steve Jackson Edition

I have a lot of favorites, but my favorite favorite may very well be GURPS Time Travel . John Zeleznik outdid himself on this one, with a futuristic super-soldier facing down a cinematically oversized Triceratops. It doesn't hurt that the book completely delivers on the cover's promise. I got to work with the much-missed Mike Ford on this one. He was an enjoyable collaborator – heck, a fun collaborator – as well as a talented creator. I think of Mike whenever I see this scene.

Which, until I moved, was every day, because John sent me the original sketch and I had it framed on my office wall. I would take a picture and show you, if only I knew which box it was in . . . Argh. But it will show up someday, and it will once again have a place of honor and bring back great memories.

– Steve Jackson

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!

August 19, 2025: Fix The News

Tired of doomscrolling? Tired of being jerked around by terrifying clickbait headlines that don't actually name the place that is being flooded, burned to a crisp, invaded by Russians or ICE, or just bombed into the Stone Age? Tired of 2025 as the big media want you to see it?

Turns out there's a remedy. "Fix the News" calls itself "a weekly roundup of stories of progress." I would be very direct and call it "a collection of the good news that Fox and CNN aren't going to cover, because BAD news gets more clicks." Mike Pondsmith of R. Talsorian Games turned me on to Fix the News, and I've shared the info with a lot of people. But I haven't yet blogged about them, so here we are.

These people put your money where their mouth is, too. They give 30% of your subscription fee to charity.

You can find them, unsurprisingly, at fixthenews.com.

– Steve Jackson

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!

August 18, 2025: Questions Three: Michelle Richardson

The Marketing Department is – paradoxically – one of the most visible yet hidden parts of the great conspiracy that is Steve Jackson Games. You may encounter it near-daily (especially if you're a fan!), but – if the department is doing their job right – you don't notice it because you're too busy being informed and enticed by awesome news and products.

One of the key members of our Marketing Department since 2023 has been Michelle Richardson. Like most of us here, Michelle wears a lot of hats, but her current email signature lists "Marketing Manager and Events Coordinator," so that's the angle we went with as we embarked on this, our most-recent offering of Questions Three.

You work your magic on the social-media side of things. Is there anything neat or noteworthy you've noticed about Steve Jackson Games fans as a group when it comes to marketing efforts?

Contributing to the social media accounts for Steve Jackson Games has been a rewarding experience. It's always fun to announce new projects because everyone responds to them with such excitement. The folks who follow our pages are enthusiastic about engaging in answering a variety of questions we post and enjoy sharing their thoughts in the comments. Every like, share, and comment is important and valued. We try to cultivate a positive and welcoming space for all, and that isn't always the case on the Internet in general these days. Our whole team genuinely appreciates the online support of our fans.

You're also the "events coordinator." As a con-goer, I suspect that there's a lot more to running a smooth convention presence than I realize. Can you provide some insight into what it's like "behind the curtains"?

Oh yes, a ton of preparation and planning goes into the conventions we attend. I managed non-profit galas for a decade, but board-game conventions are a whole other world! There are a tremendous amount of moving pieces, including creating complex schedules for staff and helpers, hosting special events, arranging travel and lodging for everyone coming from all over the country, cultivating a perfect list of games to sell, and designing a visually appealing booth. There is very little room for error, and things are double and triple checked, always. Event management is certainly not a one-person job. We have a wonderful and incredibly helpful team that is willing to be part of the process beginning to end, and we all have a role to play, whether that's on the planning end in advance or at the events themselves.

While we do interact with our fans daily online, meeting them in person and having meaningful interactions is wonderful. Folks often share stories about their favorite GURPS campaign or that one time they snuck up to Level 10 and took the win in Munchkin . Some have been playing Ogre for decades, and some are trying Car Wars for the first time. The time spent with those we meet are special moments you don't get anywhere else.

Above all, the most important part of our presence is ensuring each and every person who stops by our booth or attends our events enjoys their time and walks away happy. And once a convention ends, we're already starting to think about how to make things even better next year!



If I recall correctly, Munchkin was one of your first "hobby" games – beyond mass-market games like Monopoly, Boggle, and the like – and became a favorite of yours. Has there been a Munchkin project that's been particularly fun to be involved with on the marketing side of things?

Munchkin was indeed my first hobby board game back in 2006, and it remains my favorite to this day. In April 2024, we crowdfunded Munchkin Big Box on BackerKit. Pledging began the moment the project went live, and it was exhilarating to watch the Backer Train grow and grow all day. The excitement was at a high for all of us. While I played only a very small part with the campaign, I'm grateful to have been involved. Honestly and without exaggerating, it was the best day of my career so far. There are times I stop and realize how truly incredible it is to have the opportunity to work with Steve and this team. The launch of Munchkin Big Box was one of those times.

With that, Michelle returned to the shadows, content to work behind the scenes to deliver news of the latest and greatest. If you happen to cross paths with a Facebook, Instagram, or Bluesky item you like from SJ Games, maybe mention to the unseen masterminds in those posts that you appreciated the Questions Three . . .

– Michelle Richardson, interviewed by 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!

August 17, 2025: Farewell To AOL Dial-Up: SCREEAAANK-GLONK Scroooom Yibbi-Yibbi-Yibbi-Yibbi . . .

Many news sites (such as Fortune) are reporting that AOL is discontinuing dial-up Internet access after 30 years, ending on September 30.

Like many who heard the news, I haven't thought about dial-up in years. And I never used AOL. Still, being reminded of that bygone era makes me nostalgic for when text ruled the Web. When editing the HTML era of Pyramid, I put considerable thought and effort trying to eke out a bit more efficiency in various images. I mean, 200kb for an image?! Who wants to wait for that?!

I can't say I miss dial-up itself . . . but I miss the promise of that janky digital utopia, with "Under Construction" animated GIFs, incredibly niche hand-coded websites, and pics that beam aboard your browser in blocky blotches, coming into focus as more data downloaded. Soon you'll have the full article . . . just another minute or so . . .

– 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!

August 16, 2025: The Cyborging Continues . . .

Sometimes living in the future has very personal benefits.

I've known for a little while that my hearing was going. Last week I started wearing hearing aids. Very, very worthwhile. 

I know some folks resist them because of their association with age, but (1) Hey, breaking news, I AM OLD. (2) What's more important, people - to tell yourself that you're still really a kid, or to understand what is being SAID to you?

So this is an unpaid but heartfelt recommendation. They may not have delivered on those shining metal bodies we were promised, but my squishy meat body can hear a lot better now.

– Steve Jackson

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!

August 15, 2025: Thoughts After Gen Con

After some time to recover from our recent Gen Con attendance, we had our post-convention wrap-up a few days ago. We had a good time swapping our experiences from the show. We can't share all our secrets, though we can reveal a few of the more-interesting tidbits as far as our booth presence was concerned.

• Folks like our games! This isn't surprising, of course, but it's always gratifying to see that you all love our games as much as we do. More to the point, a fair number of items we brought sold out over the best four days in gaming. I noted previously how Purrfect Potions and We Love Cats leapt off the shelves. Some others that sold out include Munchkin Warhammer Age of Sigmar and Munchkin Warm Fuzzies ; the pretty-dice Gelatinous set; the ever-classic Illuminati ; and the GURPS Basic Set: Characters hardcover.

• Folks really liked Munchkin Big Box! This was the first time we'd taken the crimson behemoth to sell to folks directly, so (as expected) there was a lot of interest in this amazing collection. We packed enough to satisfy everyone who wanted one, but it was pretty close! (If it was the best five days in gaming, I suspect we would've sold out completely.) It's no surprise that this one was a hit, so it was great to get it into people's hands . . . and perhaps more gratifying to hear from everyone who already had a copy from the successful BackerKit campaign.

• The future is cashless (at cons)? We only took cards this year, which greatly sped things up and led to a very small number of folks not getting what they wanted. ("Small number of folks" as in "two people," I think?) And it's safer for us, since we don't need to cart sacks of money to and from the hotel.

• We miss our friends at Possum Creek! Because we each had our own convention-hall spots before we all came together, the Steve Jackson Games and Possum Creek booths were a ways away from each other. Next year we'll do what we can to bring the teams closer together.

• It's still great to talk to fans. While obviously Gen Con is an ideal spot to show off new games, a lot of folks who stopped by the booth just loved to talk about their favorite Steve Jackson Games items in general: Ogre , The Fantasy Trip , GURPS , and more. Even though this year we primarily focused on items that had been released in the past year or so, it's still so heartwarming to know that there are folks who like talking about everything in our legacy.

In all, it was a great convention for us, and we look forward to being back in 2026!

– 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!

August 14, 2025: Playmat Storage Hack

Storing playmats is one of the most oft-bemoaned conundrums in our hobby. I have a solution that works well, at least for "standard"-sized (single-player) playmats that one would use for card games, and it's an off-the-shelf product you can buy for the ubiquitous IKEA Kallax board game shelf. Check this out:



The bottle organizer holds rolled-up playmats like little arcane scrolls, right alongside all your games. This setup has been getting compliments at game night, and the few people I mentioned it to at Gen Con had never heard of anyone doing it either, so I thought I'd share here! The only downside is that there's enough space that I am starting to feel like I need more playmats . . .

I also love my drawer inserts, which hold dice and decks of playing cards and any bagged or otherwise funky-shaped games that don't play nice on the regular shelves. Do you have unconventional storage solutions for any of your board gaming accessories? I'd love to hear about them on the forums!

– 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!

August 13, 2025: Plan A Trip To GURPS Hot Spots: Istanbul, 1453-1703 A.D.

What happens when one of the grandest cities on Earth becomes the center of an empire – again? The answers can be found within the pages of GURPS Hot Spots: Istanbul, 1453-1703 A.D. .

Following in the footsteps of GURPS Hot Spots: Istanbul, 1453-1703 A.D. and written by Matt Riggsby – master travel guide for much of the GURPS Hot Spots series – Hot Spots: Istanbul provides the insight and delight you need to make this breathtaking city come to life in this era: its history, power structures, and day-to-day details that makes the Hot Spots volumes so useful for gamers.

It also gives a plethora of possibilities for using Istanbul in your RPGs ( GURPS or otherwise!): character possibilities, details on making it a destination, suggestions on making it a setting, and even ways to crossover into some other types of campaigns.

Booking a breathtaking voyage is as easy as downloading a file, thanks to GURPS Hot Spots: Istanbul, 1453-1703 A.D. – only from Warehouse 23!

– 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!

August 12, 2025: I'd Like To Place A Custom Dice-Color Order, Please

According to an article on Scientific American , there's a technique that scientists have used to enable five test subjects to see a new super-saturated aquamarine color that's never been experienced by humans before.

I'm sure tabletop gamers can imagine the possibilities of having an elite group undergoing ultra-tech methods to see outside the bounds of human perception. Speaking personally, despite the fact I seem to have perfectly normal color version, I still have a problem matching dress socks . . .

– 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!