Microgames, Monster Games, and Role Playing Games
I had my hopes up for this one. After all, With Folded Hands is a bona fide super-classic short story. Yeah, sure. Isaac Asimov was onto something when he took the Robot as Monster trend of the pulp era and then turned it on its head with his three laws of robotics. But Jack Williamson [ ]
I knew that this was one of Jack Williamson s most famous stories. I knew that it had been adapted into a novel-length treatment and that Williamson s peers had lavished it with undiluted praise. I knew that this was something I really ought to get around to reading sooner or later. What I didn t know was [ ]
This just about sums everything up: I means seriously, look at how much is packed in there! This is not just about Mike Mearls. This is about the fact that an entire generation of creators and games people were unable to convey to him the kind of imagination required to make this weird game actually [ ]
I know you thought no one was going to get you the Christmas Gaming Gift of your dreams, but here I am bringing you a totally playable first level Ley Line Walker for your post apocalyptic campaigning. And given how long it takes to figure out how to do anything with Rifts and dig through [ ]
It s Christmas and that means seasonal depression. All of those long vacations through your high school and college years where your best friends gathered together for epic game sessions that would rage on until three in the morning? They re all gone. It s normal. But it doesn t seem right. Something is missing. There is this persistent [ ]
I tried this one again with the following settings: Now, from my first pass at this I learned that you could not throw away your initial Scout units because the Aliens are sending tiny fleets at you early on and constantly. This turned out to be a key element of the appeal of this particular [ ]
Well, that was a nightmare. You can read the whole story just from the production sheet. Now, I had wanted to open with Boarding Ships and Military Academies, but I was terrified that the Alien Player in the Close Encounters solitaire game would be sending in Raider fleets. On turn three, I opened with a [ ]
I hate to say it, but the holidays means just one thing to me. Spending time with someone that will invest however long it takes to get your favorite games played again and again. I can t help it. All of those college breaks that turned into reunions with my best friends from high school just [ ]
It is a property of the DMG that it always seems to contain some offbeat rules element which alters your conception of the game when you finally take a moment to seriously contemplate it. Now, most people don t want to alter their conception of the game. And I guess that s fine. But some people want [ ]
The overworld of AD D is concerned with the contrast between wilderness and inhabited regions. If you do not get this right, you are botching something that is integral to how everything in the game is set up. So pay attention! Inhabited areas have patrols. Uninhabited areas have fortresses. THIS IS THE DIFFERENCE. Does that mean [ ]