Archive for May, 2007
Out of Character 024: Patent Pending
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Today’s show is full of announcements and news. We start by thanking you for your participation of our last survey and have introduced another if you would be so kind. |
Wizards of the Coast was awarded a patent for Constructible Strategy Game. This has at least raised our eyebrows. Doesn’t WizKids make a constructible strategy game?
| The first of the GAMA Retail Seminars have been released. They can be found now at pulpgamer.com and through your favorite podcast directories. We also talk about some of GAMA’s post trade show notes and some changes they will be making next year. |  |
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We responded to an article in a recent Knucklebones magazine entitled Enticing the Non-Gamers by Skip Maloney. Knucklebones is a great magazine for board game lovers. We have have been subscribers for a long time. They include reviews, puzzles, and fun articles like the one we discuss today. |
Coming conventions of note include Gen Con, Con Games, and Hyperion.
Today’s promo was for the Wandering Geek podcast by Curt the Camera Guy. The Wandering Geek is designed to help you get your geek on while your on the road.
GTS Seminar: Security and Scams
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Dave Wallace has been presenting at this show for years. His experience and knowledge really comes across in this presentation. He will discuss not just security, but how to teach security to your employees. |
This presentation was recorded at the GAMA Trade Show.
Kings Court 021: Age of Discovery
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Derek takes us on an Age of Discovery. Balance your fleet between the victory of oversea voyages and the trade contracts that will pay for them. This card game has some unique elements that brought us back to play several more games. |
| Age of Discovery Publisher: Mayfair Games, Phalanx Designed By: Alfred Victor Schultz Players: 2-4 Ages: 10+ Play Time: 45 minutes MSRP: $30.00 |
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Inside Track 020: Erik Mona of Paizo Publishing
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While at the GAMA trade show we spent some more time with the folks at Paizo Publishing. In this episode Derek interviews Erik Mona. It looks like Paizo will remain strong in the game with a list of impressive innovations. |
| Erik has been the Editor in Chief of Dragon Magazine for some time now and will now be moving on to to other projects. He is excited about Paizo’s future, and rightfully so. Listen for a long list of products that will be coming very soon. |  |
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The most attention during the discussion was given to of Pathfinder. This is a new monthly 96-page, perfect-bound, OGL-compatible full-color softcover Adventure Path book printed on high-quality paper for use with the world’s most popular roleplaying game. |
| The Critical Hit Deck was just released and was being shown off at the show. It is certainly a very fun and useful tool. If you are fortunate to have a local game store to support be sure to ask for it there, otherwise you can get it directly from Paizo. |  |
Out of Character 023: Sumo Smack
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We close out the week with some notes of the future. Next month, we will be at Con Games. In August, we are planning a live recording at Gen Con. We hope you will be there to participate. |
New to our list of games for review is Kragmortha. Be expecting to hear about it in a future review.
As we spoke about in an earlier interview with Klaus and Guido Teuber, Settlers of Catan has now made its way to Xbox Live Arcade. If you have trouble finding people to play with, this electronic version is a good alternative. More importantly, we hope it will generate some interest in the table-top version.
Brant Guillory has let us know that round two has begun at Gamesurvey.org. Please take some time to fill out the survey. This information is valuable to us so your help is appreciated.
Today’s promo was for Buffy Between the Lines and read by Mur Lafferty.
Kings Court 20: Treasures & Traps
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Collect treasure as quickly as you can before you opponents take it away from you! You will find elements of strategy and luck in this easy to learn card game. Use your dice to bring cards in and out of play and manage the odds with your hand. Listen as Derek tell us more. |
| Treasures & Traps Publisher: Studio 9 Designed By: C Aaron Kreader Players: 2-6 Ages: 10+ Play Time: 10-60 minutes MSRP: $12.95 |
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Inside Track 019: Aldo Ghiozzi and Free RPG Day
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While at the GAMA Trade Show, Derek ran into Aldo Ghiozzi, the owner of Impressions Advertising and Marketing. Impressions is responsible for GameBuyer Magazine, a resource for Retail Stores. They have now just launched Free RPG Day. We are really excited and can’t wait to visit our local retailer to get our hands on these goodies! |
| Free RPG Day is based off of the Free Comic Book Day model. Publishers provide product to you for free through participating retail stores. This has taken off to a huge start and will undoubtedly be much bigger next year. Listen to hear what publishers are participating. |  |
Kings Court 019: Alchemist
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Derek reviews Alchemist. It is a bard game of concocting potions. You represent your school at an alchemical contest, mixing potions and promoting your school’s favorite ingredient. This game does a great job of capturing the apprentice magician feel. |
| Alchemis Publisher: Mayfair Games Designed By: Carlo A. Rossi Players: 2-6 Ages: 10+ Play Time: 50 minutes MSRP: $35.00 |
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Out of Character 022: Crisis of Treachery
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In today’s show we get settled down into our routine and announce several coming interviews, some conventions we are soon attending, and recent news. Palladium is asking for help to recover from their crisis of treachery. We talk some about the cease in publication of Dragon and Dungeon magazines as well as the announcement that Margaret Weis Productions will no longer be licensed to carry on with DragonLance. |
| Throughout the course of feedback the topic of Nanofictionary comes up. We agreed this game deserved some attention. It is another by Looney Labs that just didn’t get enough mention in our prior shows. You have a small hand of cards, each with an element you must use to tell your nano-sized fiction. Teachers have also found great uses for this fun game. |  |
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The next convention we are excited to be a part of is Con Games in Phoenix, Arizona. It will be over June 14th – 17th. Make sure to stop by our booth and say hello. We are really eager to get into some games and see our friends that we usually only see in the convention circuit. It is said this is the event to go to. We can’t wait. |
| We have also started preparations for Gen Con, Indianapolis. We will be exhibiting of course but have also made plans to put together an entire track of panels, record a live show, and meet you at the Gen Con’s first podcasting meet and greet! It is going to be one of the greatest podcasting events we will ever be a part of. |  |
As we close the show we are distracted by Spiderman 3. Do not listen to the critics and go see the show. You will love it!
Inside Track 018: Joshua Frost of Paizo Publishing
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A lot of excitement is going on now at Paizo Publishing. We have learned about the cease of publication of Dungeon and Dragon magazines and their many new products to hit the shelves in the next few months. We will continue to hear more about these new products in coming episodes, but today we start with Stonehenge: An Anthology Board Game. |
| Stonehenge is in one box with one set of pieces but with five unique set of rules designed by five game designers. These include an Arthurian showdown by Richard Borg, a monumental fire sale by James Ernest, a druidic election by Bruno Faidutti, a magical convocation by Richard Garfield, and an alien chariot race by Mike Selinker. |  |
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We all mourn the loss of Dungeon and Dragon magazines, but Paizo will carry on with the same class they always have with the GameMastery products, the Titanic Games line, as well as the new pathfinder that we will hear more about soon. |