Saturday, April 30, 2016

Saturday Crowdfunding Roundup - Pirates, Cavern Tavern, & Dresden

Three from Kickstarter this week with the first being "Blood and Plunder" by Firelock Games here.


Also, have a look at "Cavern Tavern" by Final Frontier Games here.


Finally, check out "The Dresden Files Cooperative Card Game" by Fred Hicks / Evil Hat Productions here.


Keeping an eye on those Kickstarter & IndieGoGo
projects plus other crowdfunding efforts.
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Friday, April 29, 2016

The Friday Grab Bag - Dice, Movies, & the Lucas Museum

Over on the newyorker.com website, they tell us of "The Dice You Never Knew You Needed" here.


Also, on nerdist.com, get the latest report on "15 Movies You Absolutely Need to See This Summer" from the Dam Cave here.


Finally, on empireofimagination.com, Michael Witwer updates on the situation in Chicago regarding the Lucas Museum here.


Essentially, a clearinghouse for topics not covered
elsewhere or needing a particular focus.
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Thursday, April 28, 2016

Throwback Thursday - Gygaxian PCs, Puns, & Play

Over on playingattheworld.blogspot.com, from a few years ago, Jon Peterson shared a look at "Character Sheets in 1975" here.


Also, greyhawkonline.com, if you haven't seen the list before, there's a wonderful collection of "Gygax's Anagrams, Puns, and Homages in the World of Greyhawk" here.


Finally, on the Retro Report YouTube channel, "Dungeons and Dragons co-creator Gary Gygax's son [Luke Gygax] explains what life was like in a household where D&D took center stage" and caused a "Moral Panic."  Enjoy!



A look back at early tabletop hobby gaming
 or gaming-adjacent topics of the past.
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Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Events & Play Wednesday - Upcoming Events for May 2016

Locally, make plans to go to First Sunday which falls on May 1st at the Lake Geneva Games store.  They are located at 918 S Wells St, Lake Geneva, WI 53147 and their phone number is (262) 885-1515.  The event runs from Noon until 9 pm and is mostly about pickup boardgames though planning particular games is certainly encouraged.  Sign up for this event and discuss it further on Facebook here.  There will also be a Burlington Gameday scheduled for the Fourth Saturday, May 23rd, with details at the Burlington UCC Game Day group on Facebook here.  It will be held in Burlington, WI at the Plymouth UCC space, taking place from approximately 11 am to 5 pm.  All are welcome!  The Third Sunday , May 17th, features A Gathering of Gamers set up by the South Lakes Area Gamers here.  The event 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.  Great deals and great gaming for all!


Don't forget that at the end of this month and beginning of May is Little Wars, the Midwest HMGS event of the year.  It runs from April 29 – May 1 at the Westin Hotel in Yorktown Center, Lombard, IL.  This is one of the top, if not THE top, event for wargaming in the Midwest every year.  More information can be had on their Facebook event page here and the HMGS website here.


Toward the end of May over the Memorial Day weekend, May 27th thru 30th, that's Friday thru Monday, you can visit the Nexus Game Fair at the Hyatt Regency in Milwaukee.  Every kind of gaming will see great representation at this convention so check them out.  Details can be found here.


News of Conventions and Gamedays as well as pictures
from those I have attended and games I have played.
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Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Tech Tuesday - Iron Thrones

Over on thinkgeek.com, they are out of stock of their "Game of Thrones 1/6 Scale Iron Throne Limited Edition Replica" here but bookmark the page and maybe you'll see them again.


Also, on thingiverse.com, they share files to print your own Iron Throne as small as 15mm or as big as your printer allows here.


Finally, on the papermodels93 YouTube channel, we can view a "Paper Model of the Iron Throne from 'Game of Thrones'" which you should be able to find through the Facebook page here.



News focused on Technology
as it might interest gamers.
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Monday, April 25, 2016

RPG Media Monday - House of Lies: Game Theory

On a recent episode of House of Lies (2012 - ) titled Game Theory, the second episode of the fifth season, Marty Kaan, who is played by Don Cheadle, joins in a D&D game while chasing a potential client.  Here are some shots from the episode that showed most of the gamer goodies they used for set dressing.  It seems to span quite a few years so one has to wonder if someone connected to the show has been gamign for a while and raided their own collection for the props.  How much of it can you name?  Do you have any of it yourself?  Can you identify the minis at the end?




News for Movies, Television, and more
of gamer-relevant Media.
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Sunday, April 24, 2016

Sunday Funnies - Star Wars Funnies

Over on lightersideoftheforce.com, there are a ton of funny bits about Star Wars stuff like the "Empire Strikes Back Periodic Table" here.


Also, on geeksofdoom.com, they shared "An Open Letter From A Death Star Architect About That Vulnerable Exhaust Port" here.


Finally, on the CollegeHumor YouTube channel, they share a video titled "All Star Wars Characters Have Stupid Names."  There's some strong language but Enjoy!



Humor, often gaming-related,
to start the week with a chuckle.
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Saturday, April 23, 2016

Saturday Crowdfunding Roundup - Wargame, RPG, & Minis

Three from Kickstarter this week with the first being "Warfighter - World War II" by Dan Verssen Games here.


Also, have a look at "Unknown Armies Third Edition Roleplaying Game" by Atlas Games here.


Finally, check out "Ral Partha's Chaos Wars Dwarf, Undead, Troglodyte Miniatures" by Iron Wind Metals Company here.


Keeping an eye on those Kickstarter & IndieGoGo
projects plus other crowdfunding efforts.
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Friday, April 22, 2016

The Friday Grab Bag - LGG, HMGS, & ITD?

Over on lakegenevagamesday.com, they've just got a few scheduled events but the Lake Geneva Games Day tomorrow is primarily about open board gaming, so come on out and play!


Also, on abc7chicago.com, they discuss how the Historical Miniatures Games Society want sot remind folks that Little Wars is taking place at the Westin Hotel in Lombard, IL, starting April 29th.  Find out more here.


Finally, on geekandsundry.com, they are singing the praises of April 30th being International Tabletop Day here.


Essentially, a clearinghouse for topics not covered
elsewhere or needing a particular focus.
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Thursday, April 21, 2016

Throwback Thursday - Photos & Film

Over on smithsonianmag.com, "These Eerie Civil War Photos Changed How the U.S. Saw Veterans" here.


Also, on mashable.com, they treated us to "Rare hand-colored photos of Japanese samurai in the late 1800s" here.


Finally, on the HuntleyFilmArchives YouTube channel, they shared a video on "Sorting Post on a Postal Train, 1920s - Film 919."  Enjoy!



A look back at early tabletop hobby gaming
 or gaming-adjacent topics of the past.
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Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Events & Play Wednesday - Lake Geneva Gaming, March & April

Lots of gaming in and around Lake Geneva and Southern Wisconsin.  Here are some pictures taken at the various events, many of them at Lake Geneva Games (Facebook page here)!  Photos from the Gaming Hoopla are available for Friday here and Saturday here.  Check out more pictures on my Facebook album here and a Google Photos album here.




News of Conventions and Gamedays as well as pictures
from those I have attended and games I have played.
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Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Tech Tuesday - Waves

Three from Science Alert this week on waves of various kinds including an article from a year ago on the "World’s first grid-connected wave power station switched on in Australia" here.


Also, a "Newly discovered type of sound wave allows for inhalable vaccines" here.


Finally, check out how "Rumours fly as physicists hint at the first ever observations of gravitational waves" here.


News focused on Technology
as it might interest gamers.
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Monday, April 18, 2016

RPG Media Monday - Beowulf, Reboots, & Russian Guardians

I'm not sure where I first heard about "Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands" but it caught my attention and now I want to find a way to catch up with it.  Sadly, in my local area, the station on which it aired is not one I can readily get.  It's a serialized telling of the age old story produced by a British production company and from clips I have seen, looks to be of decent quality.  Will they tell it just as everyone imagines they would?  Not a chance.  Not that the version most folks know is actual the same as the original nor that any translation has ever been perfectly faithful to its source material (I've read several, they all differ in some ways).  Nevertheless, I enjoy a good serialized period drama where swords are wielded, like Vikings, so I don't doubt I'd probably enjoy this too.  The IMdB page is linked above but also check out the wiki page for it here and the tv.esquire.com home page for it here.


Also, on io9.gizmodo.com, they suggested "10 Public Domain Characters That Are Overdue For A Reboot" here.  Looks to me like there'd be quite a bit of work to do to bring those properties up to snuff but I see some diamonds in the rough there, for sure.


Finally, on theverge.com, they brought to our attention "the trailer for a Russian superhero movie featuring a machine gun-wielding bear" here.  I definitely want to see this, subtitles and all!



News for Movies, Television, and more
of gamer-relevant Media.
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Sunday, April 17, 2016

Sunday Funnies - Insults, Shelf Fail, & Dorks

Friend of the blog and Gentleman Gamer, Timothy Connolly, informed us that over on insult.dream40.org, they shared "Shakespeare's Insult Generator" here.


Also, it took a bit of tracking down, and this probably isn't the original source but I found a place to which I can attribute the following comic showing a Shelf Fail here.


Finally, I'm not sure about the application process but you can blame and/or credit the Dorks of Yore (Facebook here and YouTube here) for the following interpretation of a classic D&D magic item.  Enjoy!


Humor, often gaming-related,
to start the week with a chuckle.
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Saturday, April 16, 2016

Saturday Crowdfunding Roundup - Tutorials, Dice, & Dwarf Bikers

Three from Kickstarter this week with the first being "Rahdo Runs Through... YEAR FIVE" by Richard Ham here.


Also, have a look at "Gloaming Forge Metal Gaming Dice" by Gloaming Forge here.


Finally, check out "Post Apocalyptic Dwarf Bikers" by Curtis Fell here.


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

Friday, April 15, 2016

The Friday Grab Bag - Wars, Treks, & Other Stars

Over on empireofimagination.com, Michael Witwer told us, "I’ve Got a Bad Feeling About This: Chicago’s Battle to Keep the Lucas Museum of Narrative Ar."  Read more here.


Also, on cinemablend.com, they reveal "The Revolutionary Way Star Trek Beyond Will Screen In Theaters This Summer" here.


Finally, on gamesradar.com, they take a more extensive view of the "Captain America: Civil War - full cast guide" here.


Essentially, a clearinghouse for topics not covered
elsewhere or needing a particular focus.
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Thursday, April 14, 2016

Throwback Thursday - Oakwood Sanitarium

Over on enworld.org, Michael Tresca's latest article details the connection between Oakwood(s) Sanitarium and Dungeons & Dragons here.


The EN World article includes many links to outside sources but some other information can be had at lakegenevanews.net here.


There is even a Facebook page devoted to the "Lake Geneva Sanitariums, Oakwood Springs, The Surgery, Lakeside and Lakeside Cottage" here.


A look back at early tabletop hobby gaming
 or gaming-adjacent topics of the past.
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