Events & Play Wednesday - ENnies, Nexus, & Felicia Day @ Comic-Con

Over on ennie-awards.com, it's time to vote for your picks to win the awards this year here.

Also, on the Game Centric TV YouTube channel, they have a video of the goings on at Nexus Game Fair last month.  Enjoy!

Finally, on the Geek & Sundry YouTube channel, learn about "Felicia Day and Geek & Sundry at Comic-Con 2015!"  Delightful!

Events & Play Wednesday on CreativeMountainGames.com 

News of Conventions and Gamedays as well as pictures

from those I have attended and games I have played.

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Throwback Thursday - 1974 Arnold Hendrick Review of (O)D&D

Over on EN World, some time back, a review by Arnold Hendrick of the original Dungeons & Dragons box set was posted here.  Enjoy!

Throwback Thursday on CreativeMountainGames.com 

A look back at early tabletop hobby gaming

 or gaming-adjacent topics of the past.

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Media News Monday - ENnies Awards Winners

The winners of the ENnies Awards were announced Friday night at Gen Con Indy 2014.  Congrats to all of them, all who were nominated, and everyone who participated!  See more here.

Media News Monday on CreativeMountainGames.com 

News for Movies, Television, and more
of gamer-relevant Media.

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ENnies Awards Submissions

If you haven't looked in a while, you'll be amazed at the huge number of products submitted this year for the ENnies Awards.  See more here!

EN World's NEXT Adventure Contest

EN World is running a D&D Next adventure contest with maps officially sanctioned by WotC.  Read more here!

EN World Paid Work Postings Forum Live

EN World has begun a new Paid Work Postings forum "if you're looking to hire or be hired. Paid RPG freelance work only; no volunteer or payment 'in exposure' allowed."  Be sure to read the guidelines before posting.  See more here!

ENnies Award Winners Announced

Over on the ENnies Awards website, they've announced the winners for 2013.  Congrats to everyone involved.  See more here!

Ex-WotC Employees

Russell "Morrus" Morrisey of EN World has created a wiki page on his website to keep track of former WotC employees and their current projects.  See more here!

2013 ENnie Awards Nominees

Congrats to all of the 2013 ENnie Awards Nominees which you can see here!

The 15 Best D&D Modules Of All Time

Morrus of EN World ran a poll and put together a results video for "The 15 Best D&D Modules Of All Time." Enjoy!

EN World Chicago Gameday 35 Sign-Up Thread LIVE!

If you are unaware, please make note that the EN World Chicago Gameday 35 Signup thread is now live!  Lots of cool games are in the offing and there are plenty of seats left for the gameday which takes place on Saturday, July 13th.  See more here!

ENnies Awards - Important Dates

Are you going to Gen Con or just want to keep track of how the ENnies Awards are playing out this year?  Well, there are some important dates to keep in mind and you can find them on the ENnies website here (click the "Important Dates" tab)!  But in a nutshell -

July 7th: Those who wish to take up the mantle of “2014 ENnies Judge” can nominate themselves for the position

July 14th: Nominees announced to the public

July 14th: Open nominations for Fan’s Choice for Best Publisher

July 16th: Last day to nominate yourself as a judge

July 19th: Last day to nominate a Publisher

July 22nd – July 31st: Voting for products/publisher and 2014 Judges

August 16th: Ceremony at Gen Con in the Grand Hall of Union Station; cocktail reception begins at 6:30pm and ceremony starts at 8pm

Chicago Gameday 34

There are still some seats for the EN World Chicago Gameday 34, into our twelfth year doing this with three per year at wonderful Games Plus in Mount Prospect, IL.  It all happens tomorrow, Saturday, March 23rd, 2013.  If you are in the area, be sure to stop in for the fun!  See more here!

Rebuilding EN World

As many of you know, EN World was hit by some hackers over the holidays and the site was devastated.  They saved the database but are scrambling to make the site whole again.  To that end, they have begun a campaign to Rebuild the website and even have a Kickstarter with just two weeks to go.  See more here and here!

EN World Returns

Congrats to those working tirelessly behind the scenes to bring EN World back from a devastating attack on the website.  See the new front page here!

EN World's The Perturbed Dragon

EN World's YouTube channel has a new teaser trailer for thier upcoming The Perturbed Dragon series which purportedly will have a few laughs over the many gamer foibles we all share from the point of view of a band of animated adventurers.  Enjoy!

EN World Chicago Gameday 30 - The Aftermath

Great fun was had at the 30th EN World Chicago Gameday!  I ran two slots.  I ran a basic version of Surcoat the Medieval Fantasy Combat Miniatures Game in slot one and Griffins & Grottos the Medieval Fantasy Wargame and Roleplaying Systems in slot two.
I also was able to wrangle some prize support including print copies of LURCH! The Zombie Chess Game which I had produced especially for the occasion.  I have some additional print copies that I should make available on eBay for those who might like them.

Here are some photos of the turnout . . .

Lurch! The Zombie Chess Game - In Print for Chicago EN World Gameday 30

I just got the printed copies of Lurch! The Zombie Chess Game back from the printers in plenty of time for the Chicago EN World Gameday 30 and they look quite nice.

Chasing the Dragon and Not Finding Happiness

A recent thread on EN World begun by Bullgrit of Total Bullgrit Blog fame took up the discussion of what happens when a group of adventurers defeats a dragon but somehow doesn't find their treasure.  In the thread I recount one such event in a game I ran . . .

In a scenario I ran for a one-shot (therefore missing the treasure had no long term campaign implications), the adventurers fought and defeated a Steam Dragon (a sort of modified Mist Dragon) in his cavernous lair on a rocky coast. Despite the treasure being within reach, just beyond some steam geysers that were active enough to obscure the hoard from sight, it was not found. In the quick postmortem after the game I almost didn't have the heart to tell them what they missed, but I did since I knew some were wondering why there was seemingly little reward for their struggles.

Products of their Time

As I read over past incarnations of various roleplaying games, right back to the very earliest examples, I am struck by the fact that they were very much products of their time. I do not envy the position of the progenitors of tabletop roleplaying games as they struggled to define then what so many of us play and enjoy today. I can see how the rules were shaped from earlier tabletop wargaming rules and I have to wonder if those originators had any idea just how much mileage was in those gaming vehicles and their future incarnations. While many of the early tabletop RPGs are no longer available in print or even electronic formats, many have taken new forms or been closely emulated by fans of those original rule systems. EN World has recently compiled a list of many retro game offerings.  Even if you don't wish to step back in time and play those games, it's nice to know they are there.