Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Events & Play Wednesday - Upcoming Conventions, Gamedays. and Misc Gaming, January & Onward

First, locally, to Southern Wisconsin . . .

Lake Geneva Games is hosting a gameday this last Saturday, January 3rd in celebration of the New Year.  You can donate five dollars to the kitty if you want to partake of the pizza and snacks, soda machine on premises, or bring your own feast from the many restaurants right down the street.  check out more information on the Lake Geneva Games Facebook page here and the events page here.


Bruce Heard will be running a role-playing game session introducing The World of Calidar on Wednesday, January 14th, at the Burlington (WI) Public Library, from 6:30 pm to 9 pm.  More information can be found here.


Midwinter Gaming Convention is happening in Milwaukee January 15th to 18th at Hilton Milwaukee City Center (509 W Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53203).  It's the Fifteenth Anniversary of this event and they have quite a line up of guests and games.  See more here.


Be sure to make your plans for January 15th, the "Thor'd Thors'day" of January, since it is the monthly Game Like a Viking Day!  It's a chance, no matter where you are, to break out your Viking-themed tabletop games and have at it.  See more of this ongoing monthly day of fun on the Facebook page here.


The third Saturday and Sunday of January, and indeed almost every month, includes the Burlington Gameday on Saturday, January 17th which sets up events through the Burlington UCC Game Day group on Facebook here and A Gathering of Gamers on Sunday, January 18th, set up by the South Lakes Area Gamers here.  The former is in Burlington, WI at the Plymouth UCC space and is free taking place from approximately 11 am to 5 pm.  The latter takes place at the Pizza Ranch in Elkhorn, WI, and requires a $12 fee for the all you can eat pizza and fried chicken buffet (salad bar, soft-serve ice cream machine, etc.) plus unlimited soft drinks and coffee from 11 am to 8 pm.


Spreading a wider net . . .

Ikkicon takes place in Austin, TX, January 2nd thru 4th.  Check it out here.  The Prairie Game eXpo IV happens at the Core Ritchie Community Centre (in Regina) on Saturday, January 17th.  More info found here.  Don't forget the Winter Game Fest in Reisterstown, MD, happening January 23rd to 25th.  Find out more here.  Bak-Anime will be in Bakersfield, CA, on January 24th and 25th.  Learn more here.  The Southwest A&G Expo in San Antonio, TX, promises to be a good time from January 30th to February 1st.  See more here.  There's some gaming at Animation On Display in San Fancisco, CA, January 31st and February 1st.  Details are here.

Coming up in near months, New England's Largest Game Convention, Total Confusion, runs February 19th to 22nd, 2015.  More info can be found here.


Later, February 27th thru March 1st, check out the information here on the Fire & Ice game convention.  It's also their 15th anniversary.


Online Registration will open Jan. 10 and run through Feb. 13 for Cold Wars which takes place March 5th thru 8th.  This year's theme is Civil War 1865 commemorating "150 Years" since that conflict began.  This is easily one of the top events held by the Historical Miniatures Gaming Society in the US, so if you want to get some wargaming in, head to the  Lancaster Host Resort & Conference Center in Lancaster, PA  Get more information here.


Some of this information is from the excellent lists on upcomingcons.com/gaming-conventionsGameConventionCentral.comHMGS (the Historical Miniatures Gaming Society), and  as well as many, many gamers on Facebook and Google Plus, to whom I am grateful for the help in this compilation.  Thanks so much and have a great game!

News of Conventions and Gamedays as well as pictures
from those I have attended and games I have played.
Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Tech Tuesday - LotR Litter Box, Warhammer Nerf Gun, & Geeky Winter Hats

Over on Board Panda they recently featured a "Lord of the Rings Litter Box and Sauron Scratching Post for Cats" here.


Also, thisiswhyimbroke.com showed off a Warhammer Nerf Gun here.


Finally, back on Bored Panda, they've got an open list of geeky winter hats with about 100 entries here.

News focused on Technology
as it might interest gamers.
Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

Monday, December 29, 2014

Media News Monday - Retro Star Trek TNG, Mad Max: Fury Road, & Westworld (and More!)

About a year ago, poster deadfraggle added some images to the Imgur website of Star Trek: The Next Generation lead characters in Star Trek (The Original Series) garb.  See more here.


Also, over on the Warner Bros. Pictures YouTube channel there is a teaser trailer from earlier this month for Mad Max: Fury Road.  Enjoy.



Finally, The Nerdist recently posted an article titled "Let's Freak Out About this 2015 Footage for Game of Thrones, Westworld, and VEEP."  Check it out here.



News for Movies, Television, and more
of gamer-relevant Media.
Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

Sunday, December 28, 2014

Sunday Funnies - Gummy Snake, Zombie Intrustion, & Vampire Mockumentary

Over on neatorama.com, they present a "Seven-foot-long Gummy Snake" here.


Also, Team Unicorn has a video I hadn't seen before titled "A Very Zombie Holiday (Instructional video)."  Enjoy.



Finally, on the Film Festivals and Indie Films YouTube channel, watch "What We Do in the Shadows Opening Scene (2014) - Vampire Mocumentary" a preview of an upcoming humorous take on shared-house reality television.  Enjoy.



Humor, often gaming-related,
to start the week with a chuckle.
Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Saturday Crowdfunding Roundup - Krampus Beer Stein, Shotguns & Sorcery RPG, & The Folio

While you're still in the holiday spirit, check out the Krampus Beer Stein Kickstarter project by Munktiki here.


Also, the Shotguns & Sorcery RPG Kickstarter project by Outland Entertainment is doing quite well so get in there before it finishes here.


Finally, the The Folio 1E Module Relaunch! project by Scott Taylor is coming along but nearing conclusion here.  Our friend Scott recently lost two of his grandparents and I worry his time to promote this in the final week will be necessarily focused elsewhere.  However, the project itself is truly well along to completion, so I know this will happen and quite quickly once funded, particularly for those choosing the electronic/PDF option.  Of course, the printing will take a bit of time but Scott knows his stuff in that realm, so even that won't be long down the pike.  It's been a tough holiday for Scott and his family, so let's see if we can put this one over the top this week.  Again, have a look here, please.


Keeping an eye on those Kickstarter & IndieGoGo
projects plus other crowdfunding efforts.
Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

Friday, December 26, 2014

The Friday Grab Bag - Lloyd Metcalf, SimonTodd, & the RPG Creators Relief Fund

There are some fine independent artists working in the RPG field these days and one of the many bright spots is Lloyd Metcalf.  Learn about his background and check out his artwork here.


Another artist that also bears mentioning is Simon Todd.  He's got an Etsy store with some wonderful pieces you can check out here.


In their own words, "The Roleplaying Game Creators Relief Fund (RCRF) is a charitable organization founded to provide financial assistance to tabletop roleplaying game creators suffering hardship due to medical emergencies, natural disasters, and other catastrophic situations."  You can join in the support here.


And The Tome Show recently did a show featuring "Hal Greenberg, Steven Long, and Rachel Ventura, who are all on the board of RPG Creator's Relief Fund. They discuss this new charity which sells RPG bundles and uses the money to support freelance game designers and artists who have suffered a sudden tragedy. This podcast was recorded on November 16, 2014."  Learn more here.


Essentially, a clearinghouse for topics not covered
elsewhere or needing a particular focus.
Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Throwback Thursday - Galaxy Sci-Fi Mag Covers Plus Hardrock, Coco & Joe

A Facebook Friend shared some Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine covers for the holidays from December 1951 and January 1956 that had a Christmas theme, so I extend the Sharing here to you now.



Also, almost 60 years ago, WGN in Chicago debuted an odd little bit of animation about "Three Little Dwarves" named Hardrock, Coco & Joe.  You can learn more about them here.



A look back at early tabletop hobby gaming
 or gaming-adjacent topics of the past.
Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Events & Play Wednesday - Lake Geneva Area Gaming, Late November through Late December

I thought things would slow down quite a bit for the Holidays but aside form the usual weekly boardgaming and regular D&D game, there were three mighty fine gamedays in the offing, one run by Kris Herzog at Greg's Catering in Franksville, WI, and two others held at Lake Geneva Games.  Author Ted Fauster was kind enough to supply some of his novels as prizes for each of these scheduled events!  I have some highlights below but pictures can be found on Facebook here and Google Plus here.




















News of Conventions and Gamedays as well as pictures
from those I have attended and games I have played.
Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Tech Tuesday - Star Wars Snowflakes, Gingerbread Borg Cube, & Pippenwycks Leatherworks

Head over to anthonyherreradesigns.com if you need some patterns for Star Wars Snowflakes to complete your decorations here.


Also, The Nerdist helps with how to make a Gingerbread Borg Cube here.


Finally, for some really neat leatherworks, like messenger bags with monster eyes, check out Pippenwycks Etsy store here.

News focused on Technology
as it might interest gamers.
Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!