Throwback Thursday - Zero-Dumb Game

There's been a rash of discussion lately (it happens periodically) on the D&D legacy and I thought I would give my own perspective.  I grew up in Northern IL and started wargaming in the early 1970s, adding D&D to the gaming mix when it was first published in 1974.  The wargamers I knew and who taught me in those early days were often the guys from the local military bases who also made trips to Lake Geneva for the early Gen Cons and other wargaming.  I didn't make it to a Gen Con until 1975.  The folks I played with back in those days were always aware of Dave Arneson's contributions to D&D, as well as the the whole MN contingent, especially Dave Megarry whose Dungeon! boardgame gave so many of us many hours of fun gameplay.  His game was a sort of shorthand for how to start designing dungeons for a homebrew and also helpful when trying to explain to non-gamers how D&D worked!

What I like to think of as The Fertile Crescent of RPGs

As near as I can tell, for me as an outsider (non-TSR, non-Industry-person) who gamed in the early days, it wasn't until the advent of the Internet when some reprobates started the pissing contests.  That Dave Arneson had moved on from TSR was known by me and my friends but none of the details really from either "side."  The recent articles on that site beginning with K are manufacturing more of the same false animosity that some early Internet trolls were fashioning out of ignorance and a need for attention.

The author of the Gygax legacy "hatchet piece" and the more recent TSR "rift" piece came to Lake Geneva and tried to interview a number of people prior to the first article and most wouldn't speak with her.  It's my understanding Gary's widow was unaware this author seemingly had an agenda.  When that writer contacted me (she contacted lots of locals who were formerly in TSR or who are in the current gaming scene), I told her to feel free to come by the game store (figuring she would anyway and I'd rather be aware she was there) but told her I wasn't interested in being recorded or interviewed, though I was happy to talk to her, since she said she was a gamer.  It was very clear from the start she was asking leading questions and looking to find quotes and sound bites to further a predetermined narrative.  She hung out around twenty minutes or so and our conversation led me to believe her gaming background was with console and video games rather than tabletop games, though she had a smattering of TTRPG knowledge.  I was not looking forward to the article given my experience talking to the author.  The second "rift" article just confirmed what we already knew from the first piece.

As far as I am concerned, the appreciation of the early games and their progenitors is not a zero sum game.  There's plenty of credit to go around and there are plenty of reasons to celebrate everyone.  Dave Megarry is a big part of Gary Con as I am sure Dave Arneson could or would be if he was still with us.  Heck, I love the idea of a Arnecon in MN in late September or early October (his b-day being Oct 1st).  Of course, in the meantime, running stuff by Dave Arneson and paying tribute to him during Gary Con isn't going to ruin anyone's day either.  It's all good.

Throwback Thursday on CreativeMountainGames.com 

A look back at early tabletop hobby gaming

 or gaming-adjacent topics of the past.

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Throwback Thursday - Wisconsin Museums

Museums are a great way to spend time learning and having fun on your own, with family, and with friends.  I've been checking into the various museums in Wisconsin to find some places to visit when I get a bit of time to do so.  I was nigh overwhelmed by the number of them listed on Wikipedia here.

Also, on tripadvisor.com, they have a more manageable list here.

Finally, on travelwisconsin.com, they have a more eclectic list here.

Throwback Thursday on CreativeMountainGames.com 

A look back at early tabletop hobby gaming

 or gaming-adjacent topics of the past.

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Throwback Thursday - Gygax & The Grand Old Game

Over on theoldpinkeye.com.br, Dante SS gives "A Tribute to Gygax" here.

Also, on visitlakegeneva.com, they share "A Grand Tale – The History of Grand Geneva Resort & Spa" here.

Finally, on Jon Peterson's YouTube channel early this month, he treated us to a long lost pilot for a D&D Radio Show.  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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Throwback Thursday - Film Quirks

Over on atlasobscura.com, they tell us "How the 1985 Fantasy Film 'Legend' Ended Up With Two Soundtracks" here.

Also, on mentalfloss.com, they explain "How Chuck Jones Animated the Mongoose in 'Rikki-Tikki-Tavi'" here.

Finally, on bristolbadfilmclub.co.uk, they describe "War Eagles: The greatest Ray Harryhausen film never made" here.

Throwback Thursday on CreativeMountainGames.com 

A look back at early tabletop hobby gaming

 or gaming-adjacent topics of the past.

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Tech Tuesday - Physics

Three from Science Alert this week with the first being "Physicists just sent 'twisted light' 143 kilometres to set a new world record" here.

Also, have a look at "This is what the Standard Model of Physics actually looks like" here.

Finally, check out "Engineer finds a huge physics discovery in da Vinci's 'irrelevant scribbles'" here.

Tech Tuesday on CreativeMountainGames.com 

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Throwback Thursday - TV Guides

Three from 2 Warps to Neptune this week with the first being "TV Guide Article on the The Hobbit TV Movie (1977)" here.

Also, have a look at "TV Guide Ads for TV Movies: Mazes and Monsters (1982)" here.

Finally, check out "Dr. Joyce Brothers (1927 – 2013): Psychologist, Media Personality, Defender of Dungeons & Dragons" here.

Throwback Thursday on CreativeMountainGames.com 

A look back at early tabletop hobby gaming

 or gaming-adjacent topics of the past.

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Throwback Thursday - NASA & Apollo

NASA's Apollo program lasted from 1961 through 1975 with flights as early as 1961 and as late as 1972.  It encompassed 17 moon missions and may be the most storied time in the history of American space travel.  Read more of that time from the NASA website here.

Also, on space.com, check out "NASA's 17 Apollo Moon Missions in Pictures" here.

Finally, from qz.com and the Dean Koska YouTube channel, "The code that took America to the moon was just published to GitHub, and it’s like a 1960s time capsule."  have a look at that article here then watch the program in action!

Throwback Thursday on CreativeMountainGames.com 

A look back at early tabletop hobby gaming

 or gaming-adjacent topics of the past.

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Throwback Thursday - Toys

Over on startribune.com, they tell us that the "Toy exhibit at Minnesota History Center isn't just child's play."  Learn more here.

Also, on burlingamepezmuseum.com, check out the "Banned Toy Museum" here.

Finally, on the British Pathé YouTube channel, they have a wonderful old video on "Toy Soldiers (1949)."  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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RPG Media Monday - 1215, 1066, & 1000

A few books to check out on Amazon that might help GMs with atmosphere in their (early) Medieval Fantasy tabletop RPGs.  First up, check out "1215: The Year of Magna Carta Paperback" by Danny Danziger and John Gillingham here.

Also, have a look at "1066: The Year of the Conquest" by David Howarth here.

Finally, check out "The Year 1000: What Life Was Like at the Turn of the First Millennium" by Robert Lacey and Danny Danziger here.

RPG Media Monday on CreativeMountainGames.com 

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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.

Throwback Thursday on CreativeMountainGames.com 

A look back at early tabletop hobby gaming

 or gaming-adjacent topics of the past.

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RPG Media Monday - Inklings

When I brought up Tolkien Reading Day on Friday, my buddy T.R. Knight (see his blog here) tweeted that he was "just starting to read 'The Fellowship: The Literary Lives of the Inklings'" and shared a goodreads.com review link here so I looked into the book a bit further.  I had heard of the Inklings and knew Tolkien and Lewis were members but not much more than that.  It certainly looks like an interesting book that tabletoppers of many stripes would find enjoyable.

Of the other two Inklings mentioned on the cover of The Fellowship, Owen Barfield might be the better known because his daughter Lucy figured so prominently in the writing if C.S. Lewis.  Lewis named one of his main characters after her and dedicated The Lion Witch and the Wardrobe to her:

My Dear Lucy, 

I wrote this story for you, but when I began it I had not realized that girls grow quicker than books. As a result you are already too old for fairy tales, and by the time it is printed and bound you will be older still. But some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again. You can then take it down from some upper shelf, dust it, and tell me what you think of it. I shall probably be too deaf to hear, and too old to understand a word you say but I shall still be, 

your affectionate Godfather,

C. S. Lewis.

Even more information can be had on Owen Barfield at barfieldsociety.org here.

However, more germane to tabletop gamers might be the work of Charles Williams.  Like that of Tolkien and Lewis, he wrote some of his material in the fantasy genre.  I haven't read anything by him but now that I am becoming more familiar, I plan to rectify that in the future.  Some say Descent into Hell (1937) is his best work but after reading some summaries, I think I will start with his earlier Many Dimensions (1930) or maybe The Place of the Lion (1931).  I'm going to dig around for some more information and reviews before I decide so if you know anything, let me know in a spoiler-free manner, please.  Thanks!

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Tech Tuesday - STEM Women

Three from Science Alert this week with the first being "These 6 women were written out of tech history (Meet America's first computer programmers)" here.

Also, discover "An 11-year-old girl from Britain just achieved the highest possible IQ score" here.

Finally, "For every sexist email this student gets, she adds a woman scientist to Wikipedia" here.

Tech Tuesday on CreativeMountainGames.com 

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Throwback Thursday - Robotics

A recent article on Atlas Obscura got me thinking about the History of Robotics.  The article, titled "Text-To-Speech in 1846 Involved a Talking Robotic Head With Ringlets," invited us to "Meet the Euphonia, a machine that boasted the ability to replicate human speech."  It went on to discuss an invention of Joseph Faber from the middle of the 1800s that must have seemed as a bizarre leap of technology but which actually had its roots in ancient times.  Read more of it here.

I was aware that some rudimentary forms of robotics date back to ancient times but the above article had me digging for more robotics history on Wikipedia here and also discovering a useful PDF from robotshop.com here laying out the timeline for the history of robotics.

Finally, on the IFR website, home of the International Federation of Robotics, they also share a modern history of the field that begins in the 1950s and comes forward from there.  See more of that here.

Throwback Thursday on CreativeMountainGames.com 

A look back at early tabletop hobby gaming

 or gaming-adjacent topics of the past.

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RPG Media Monday - Icelandic Sagas

Over on medievalists.net, they give us "The Names of Islands in the Old Norse Faereyinga Saga and Orkeyinga Saga" here.

Also, on medievalists.net, they discuss "The literary significance of clothing in the Icelandic family sagas" here.

Finally, on sagadb.org, they share "Index of the Sagas" here.

RPG Media Monday on CreativeMountainGames.com 

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Sunday Funnies - Historically Funny & More

Over on theonion.com, "Historians Admit To Inventing Ancient Greeks" here.

Also, on medievalists.net, they give us "Medieval Jokes" here.

Finally, on the John Boecker YouTube channel, a video features a "News Guy Speaking Way Over My Head."  Enjoy!

Sunday Funnies on CreativeMountainGames.com

Humor, often gaming-related,
to start the week with a chuckle.

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Throwback Thursday - Paris, the Louvre, & Van Gogh

Over on messynessychic.com, they share "The Paris Time Capsule Apartment" here.

Also, on medievalists.net, they suggest "10 Creepy Things to See at the Louvre That Are Better Than the Mona Lisa" here.

Finally, on petapixel.com, they tell us "Vincent Van Gogh Found in a Photo from 1887" here.

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 - Golden Globes

Some surprises, some as expected, but kudos to all the winners of Golden Globes last night.  Just to point out a few things I've seen or mean to make a point of seeing, that others who are also gamers should probably check out if they get the chance.  The full list of winners can be had here on IMDb.com.  Congrats to Wolf Hall (2015), winner of Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television, which I enjoyed tremendously and recommend to anyone who is a gamer, but especially for an RPGer.  Lots of intrigue and real history, liberally dramatized, in this series.  If you're a GM, you'll have a thousand ideas before it is done.

I've yet to see either American Horror Story or Mr. Robot but Lady Gaga won Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television then Best Television Series - Drama went to Mr. Robot.  I've every intention of binge watching American Horror Story someday and with the fifth season ending this week, I've now got over 50 continuous hours of it to look forward to viewing.  Mr. Robot looks intriguing but might be hitting a bit below my demographic.  We shall see.

I will note that I was pulling for Penny Dreadful star Eva Green to win, as well as Alicia Vikander for Ex Machina.  I was glad to see Matt Damon win Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy for The Martian and for the film to win for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy (who put it in that category?!) and also happy for Best Original Score - Motion Picture to go to Ennio Morricone (born in 1928!) for The Hateful Eight.  I can't be the only one who was very surprised that Fargo wasn't nominated in a lot more categories and didn't take anything home.  That series has been outstanding from stem to stern since it first came on.  And where was Mr. Holmes?  Whither The Blacklist?  Why so little love for Game of Thrones?  Of course, Mad Max: Fury Road didn't win anything, though I wish it had, but look what it was up against.  Finally, I'm also very much looking forward to seeing The Revenant which took home top honors for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama as well as Best Motion Picture - Drama.

Media News Monday on CreativeMountainGames.com 

News for Movies, Television, and more
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Throwback Thursday - Spacewalks, Spacesuits, & Flight Plans

Over on space.io9.com, they tell us about "50 Years Ago, The First Spacewalk Nearly Ended In Tragedy."  Learn more here.

Also, on popularmechanics.com, they show off "13 of the Strangest Spacesuits NASA Ever Imagined" here.

Finally, on smithsonianmag.com, they discuss "How NASA's Flight Plan Described the Apollo 11 Moon Landing" here.

Throwback Thursday on CreativeMountainGames.com 

A look back at early tabletop hobby gaming

 or gaming-adjacent topics of the past.

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