Thank You!

According to Google Analytics, my readership is up about 40% this year when compared to last year. Last year was up 40% over the year before.

More of you are reading me, more of you are linking to me, and a few of you are even discussing me.

Either way, thank you. It's been a good year, and next year looks to be even better. With a bit of luck, I'll be at more conventions.

That said, here are my game-related New Year's Resolutions:

Play All Newly Acquired Boardgames Within A Month of Purchase - This is a re-run from 2009. With exceptions made for GenCon purchases, it went pretty well. There are a few games that got backburnered, but not many. In general, I've played more games this year than in prior years - and loved every minute of it.

Continue Tracking Games Played on BoardGameGeek - This year, I struck a good balance between obsessive attention to detail (there are people who track their scores and who they've played) and not tracking. This year, I've tracked every game played and where it was played. I plan to continue this.

Finish A Project - As I mentioned last week, I've got a lot of irons in my fires. This year, I plan to finish one.

Put Some Games In Storage - There are games that we just don't play. Usually because they're bad games, but sometimes because someone just doesn't like them. Or because they don't fit my group's demographics (I only get to play as many two-player games as I do because I make a specific effort to do so). Currently, my small apartment is filled with games. I need to make room for the living.

Continued My Weekly Update Schedule - I've been updating weekly with only a few hiccups here and there. I plan to continue because (as noted at the beginning), it's working for me.

I'm dropping my RPG one-shot resolution - I plan to do more one-shots last year, but I'm not letting them put the brake on my purchasing. Especially with the advent of the .pdf game book.

If you lack plans for New Year's Eve, we are still having our annual Game All Night gathering. We'd love to have some fresh faces with new games (and old classics).

Game Design and Next Year and Me

This year, I've had some interesting brushes with game design.

They are interesting enough to me that I've made a resolution for next year.

Next year, I am going to finish one of my game-related projects.

My solo play cards for Dungeon Twister are nearly done - I have playtesters looking at the first batch. I still need to come up with a few special abilities for some of the "classic" characters, but a lot of progress has been made.

I have two board games which are nearly ready. Both of them have rules, but I need to balance them and then ... playtest.

I also wrote a scenario for Claustrophobia, and I hope to have it looked at by someone official. If they don't want it, I'll probably throw it at BoardGameGeek.

I have a few RPG-related projects partially-completed, too. I'll probably end up using FUDGE, Cortex, or a hybrid of the two for at least one of them. One of them is being written with Cortex in mind.

My wife gave me the Amber Diceless RPG for Christmas. I can see why it became such a huge hit. It's still available in .pdf format (legally) if you poke around a bit.

My gaming next year: I have a Cthulhutech one-shot scheduled for January. Other than that, I'm wide open. Hopefully, we'll see some Dungeon Twister expansions this year.

Beyond that ... I don't know. My job allows me to accrue a maximum of 120 hours of vacation time per year, and it looks like I will be capping out in June. Perhaps I should find some conventions to attend earlier in the year - any suggestions?

I expect that next year, I will spend more money on RPG .pdf files than I have for the last few years. Once I get that Kindle DX I've been eying, my RPG purchases will explode. I should write about that sometime ...

One Step Forward, One Step Back

Sometimes, I grow hopeful that boardgaming is starting to gain more and more mainstream acceptance.

I see Ticket to Ride and Settlers of Catan on the XBox. I see Purple Pawn's regular "Game Pimping Roundups" which are lists of mainstream articles about hobby games. I see that my readership is up 40% over last year - mostly due to Google searches for specific games. This means that more people are using Google to look for some of these games.

Then I see articles like this. Purple Pawn linked to it on the 8th, and it's been picked up by several other hobby sites (including BGG) as well.

Purple Pawn summarized their reviews as follows:

•Loopit: Grade A. “Loopit is like Scrabble, only for people who don’t want to fight with their relatives over a word choice.”
•Clue: the Office: Grade A. “The weapons are all inside jokes for those who watch the show and kept us laughing.”
•WordQuest: Grade B. “Attractive, easy to learn and play.”
•Pandemic: Grade C. “Pandemic is too complicated. Just setting up the board took half an hour the first time, thanks to multiple sets of cards, cubes, tokens and pawns.”
•Pop the Pig: Grade D. “A few minutes of entertainment for smaller children.”
•Incan Gold: Grade F. “Our 16-year-old was writhing on the floor with frustration because after 25 minutes, we still couldn’t figure out how to start the game and play the first round.”
•Ticket to Ride: Grade F. “Unnecessarily complicated. There are no dice or “action” modes.”

When I read the summaries, I wanted so very badly to believe that the writers over at Purple Pawn were exaggerating. Sadly, they weren't. If anything, these summaries understate some of the original descriptions of the game.

I disagree with the vast majority of these grades. Well, on the games with which I am familiar. I don't know Loopit or Pop the Pig.

That said, however, the response from the gaming community has been exactly the sort of response that will keep us a niche hobby. Gamers have responded by attacking the writers, including attacks suggesting that the Goliath Games were rated highly because of writer bias. In fact, it has become the target of a great deal of "Nerd Rage." While some of the comments were genuinely calm and reasonable, many of them were not. And some of the calm posts contained subtle attacks.

Even people who I generally like and respect posted attacks on the reviewers. The most beautiful attack¹: "There's a reasonable chance that this is the most misinformed review of anything ever." The rest of the comment is fine - but the attacking opening sentence means that the original writers are unlikely to ever see it.

To grow the hobby, we need to be seen as a welcoming group. Eight pages of (mostly) attack comments and mockery do not make us seem very welcoming.


¹ There is a specific reason for this phrasing. If you don't get it, it's not aimed at you.

The Geekiest Refrigerator Around

In October, I won some Bohnanza magnets in this lottery. The actual lottery item is down, now, but you get the point.

The GG lotteries, BTW, are addictive. You take fake BGG-only money and turn it into games! If you win. There is a subscription thread here, if you want to keep track.

But that's beside the point.

I asked the member offering the magnets if he could do other games as well.

"Sure," he said, "Just give me an image I can work with."

So I scanned some DT tokens. Sixty of them, actually - the Base Set and 3/4 Player Expansion (including the square action markers). I sent him the link, and he set to work.

The magnets weren't free, but you can see some of the results above. I'm very happy with the results.

I now have the geekiest refrigerator you are ever likely to encounter:



Oh - before I forget - someone on BoardGameGeek posted this link, which shows Games Workshop's stock prices. They're down 20 (British Pounds, I assume) since they issued the BGG C&D. Or, more accurately, since the C&Ds they've issued over the last few weeks became such significant news across the gaming blogosphere.

Why I'll Still Play Games Workshop's Games

I'm sure a number of you have heard about the recent Cease & Desist letter Boardgamegeek.com received from Games Workshop.

A lot of users - myself included - are calling for a boycott of GW and their games. Yes, I said "Myself included." In fact, the discussion has already made me publicly angry, something that doesn't happen very often. So this post is the last word I'm going to have on this subject for now¹. Because I do stupid things when I lose my temper.

Here is the letter I sent GW:

To Whom It May Concern,

I am a Games Workshop customer, and have been for many years, now. I had a great run with my Warhammer Fantasy Battle Undead (later Vampire Counts) army, as well as my WH40k Squats army (for the short time it lasted). I have also run several local leagues for Blood Bowl, Necromunda, and Mordheim.

Recently, I have also enjoyed a number of GW-licensed products (including the Warhammer RPG, Chaos in the Old World Board Game, and the new Living Card Game) which were produced by Fantasy Flight Games.

I am not by any stretch your biggest customer, but I have been a reliable customer for well over twenty years, and have spent several thousand dollars over that period of time. I have also, by running leagues, encouraged a number of my friends to invest in GW products as well.

However, your recent actions towards fan-created materials on Boardgamegeek.com and other sites (see http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/48933 and http://www.geekdo.com/thread/467048) are troublesome. For the last several years, many of these (now removed) resources have been nearly critical in the running of my leagues. They’ve provided a wealth of non-official ideas, variants, scenarios, and so on.

It is beginning to seem as though you have lost sight of the fact that gaming is a niche industry that is driven by hobbyists and enthusiasts.

To that end, I am joining the rising number of voices who are participating in a boycott of your products (and those products based on GW-licensed products), and I will be encouraging my friends to do the same. I have no beef with Fantasy Flight Games, and will continue to purchase their (non-GW-licensed) product.

I will be watching BoardGameGeek (and other sites) for signs of a change or reversal in your policy. Should that change come, I will end my boycott.

Thank you for taking the time to read this,

Eric Franklin

So why do I say I'm going to continue playing their games? Simple: I sank a lot of money into them. There will be some changes, however:
I won't be buying any more GW product. This gives money to GW.
I won't play in GW stores. This serves as a "living advertisement" for GW. This gives money to GW.
I won't buy GW-licensed products. I was excited about the upcoming Blood Bowl game for the XBox 360, but I won't be purchasing it, now.
I won't be running any new leagues for Necromunda, Blood Bowl, Mordheim, Gorkamorka, or Battlefleet Gothic. Otherwise, one of my friends might spend money on GW product.

Are there GW games I still want to buy? Yes. But I'm not giving them any money until they learn not to attack their fans.

But I'll still play 'em. Because some of them are a lot of fun.

¹ It's worth noting: Mr. Nikitas (Luftwaffe Flak on BGG) was correct. I should not have called out the dollar amount he donated. It brought nothing to the argument and made me seem like I was trying to seem better than him. My wife asked me point-blank what I meant by it, and what I meant didn't require calling him out. For the record: I already sent him a private apology by e-mail.

D&D 4E: Where Did The Cursed Items Go?

As I think I've mentioned before: I like Dungeons and Dragons, 4th Edition. And yes, I am aware of its flaws. Well aware.

D&D has never had good XP guidelines for actual role-playing, so the fact that it isn't really present here, either, is not a surprise to me. D&D has always been about kicking down the door, killing the monster, and taking its treasure. If you take 4E as the latest iteration of the same formula, then some of its flaws are less important.

But 4E has one gap that is really starting to bother me: There are no cursed items. In fact, PC's can pretty much auto-recognize magical items with no need for special spells or the assist of a Bard (or Artificer). It's a bit annoying to me. I admit: part of that is because I used to play Bards. My party relied on me to tell them items were safe for use. Or, more accurately, my party relied on me to be able to point out actively hostile items as opposed to the dangerous-but-sometimes-useful items (like the Deck of Many Things - remember those?).

I know that flat-out cursed items don't fit into 4E. I've accepted that. But what about items which aren't ... necessarily good? For example: The Sword of Empires.

If you're a player, now would be a good time to stop reading. If you're a DM, please feel free to continue.

Using the Sword of Empires requires two things:
1) There is some sort of cyclic Empire in your campaign setting. Either it's risen and fallen multiple times through the centuries, or there are a variety of near-identical empires which keep showing up in the same region.
2) The culture is one where dead people are buried with their valuables. Since most Western cultures do this to a limited extent, this should not be a big problem.

Start with your PC's investigating some ruins of the Empire That Was. Maybe the town is having issues with undead (real or imagined), and blame it on the nearby ruins. Maybe the party is a roving band of treasure-seekers. Either way, they will eventually wind up in the Crypt.

As they approach the crypt, an image of a long-dead Wizard will appear to them and speak to them in the Old Tongue. Wizards will understand, Clerics will probably comprehend it. The message is basically, "This is the Burial Place of the Emperor, woe will befall you if you disturb his slumber." Being PC's, they'll assume that the Emperor is some sort of Undead Liche Lord, arisen after centuries of rest to reclaim his empire, and they'll probably burst into his burial chamber.

What they'll find there is an ancient corpse, outfitted in ceremonial armor with his sword clutched in his skeletal grip.  He is clearly dead (and does not appear to be Undead).  He is, in fact, the sword's current Wielder (see below).

If they’re like typical PC’s, they’ll loot the place. If they don’t, then you may need to prod them a bit – use the Sword’s “Take Me” power (below). It should grab at least one of your PC’s.

Now we need to differentiate between the sword's Wielder and its Bearer.  In short: The Wielder is the character who is attuned to the sword.  To become the Wielder, you need to kill the previous Wielder (which requires using the Sword).  The Bearer is simply the character who is carrying and/or using the sword.  It is possible to be both the Wielder and the Bearer simultaneously.

The Bearer may not even realize that there is a difference between being the sword's Wielder and being its Bearer.

So what does the sword do?

1)  The Sword's Bearer can treat it as though it were a Sword of Sharpness +3. In fact, that is what identification rolls will reveal it to me (without a critical success). It's a powerful item, and definately worth holding onto.  The DM can grant one or more Daily or Encounter powers, as well.  Ideally, the Sword's power set make it desirable to the PC, as its goal is to increase the power and health of the Wielder.

2)  The Sword's Wielder can only be killed by the Sword.  While the Wielder can be reduced to zero (and fewer) hit points, the Sword's Daily "Bring 'Em Back" power will always work to return them to one hit point.  The Sword's Wielder gains no special immunities, but they do lose all of their Healing Surges.  This means that they cannot be healed by most Cleric abilities.

3)  The Sword itself has powers that are controlled by ... the Sword itself.  I can't do HTML formating, so you don't get convenient charts for these.  I suggest that the GM roll an initiative number with no modifier for the Sword.

Heal Him Up
At-Will * Weapon
Immediate Reaction   Melee
Trigger: The Bearer attacks and does damage with the Sword.
Effect: The Wielder gains hit points equal to the damage dealt with the Sword by this attack.  This Power cannot be used if the Wielder has less than one hit point.

Restore Him
Encounter * Weapon
Standard Action   Melee
Effect:  If the Wielder has less than one hit point, return the Wielder to one hit point.  This Power can only be used after the second round of combat.

Take Me
Daily * Weapon, Charm
Standard Action   Close Burst 3
Target: Each creature in burst
Attack: +10 vs. Will
Hit: The Target must attempt to obtain the Sword for their side of the conflict. If an ally already has the Sword, then defending that ally becomes the top priority for the Target, even at the cost of their own lives.

Notice: None of these powers is necessarily evil or bad - the Sword is designed to support the health of its Wielder. The Take Me power should keep the Sword in the hands of the stronger faction, when there is a division.

If the PC's manage to resurrect a long-dead Emperor in this manner, it may not be a bad thing. It's not as though the Emperor will wake up with a pre-assembled Empire. They will have to start from scratch and work their way up. And not all Emperors are bad, either. For every Caligula, History has a Constantine.

Either way, it drops a few possible hooks into the campaign that can take years to develop - if they ever develop.

Claustrophobia

As I mentioned previously, Claustrophobia is set in the Hell Dorado universe. The rulebook mentions the connection once, and there are some minor references that fans of Hell Dorado will catch - but you don't need to know anything about Hell Dorado to enjoy Claustrophobia, as they are very different games.

The basic story behind Claustrophobia is that the city of New Jerusalem is under constant attack by demons, who are attacking from the catacombs below the city.

Enter the Redeemer:



Joined by a small force of convicts, the Redeemer has been entering the catacombs, and has had some small successes at beating back the Demonic menace.



So how does it play?

Surprisingly smoothly.

Step 1: Human Initiative.
The Human player rolls as many dice as he has Warriors. Each warrior is then assigned one of the dice.



In this image, the die is a '1', so the Condemned Blade for Hire uses the top line of his stats - Movement of 1, Combat of 3, Defense of 3. If the Blade had taken damage, there would be red tokens in the holes next to the stat lines. If you assign a die tied to a damaged stat line, the character is Exhausted - that is, Move 0, Combat 0, Defense 3.

Step 2: Human Action Phase
The Human player activates each Warrior in turn. The warriors will explore the maze and fight Demons during this phase.

Step 3: Demon Threat Phase
The Demon player rolls 3 dice, and assigns them to their control board.



Each space on the board does something different. Some of them allow the Demon player to draw cards, some give them Threat Points which are used to summon Demons, and some of them temporarily modify the stats and abilities of the Demons.

During their Threat Phase, they also spend their Threat Points to summon Demons.

Step 4: Demon Player's Action Phase
During this phase, the Demons move around the board and attack the humans.

Obviously, there's more to it than that. For example, many of the rooms cause special effects - some double the damage dealt in combat, some of them slow movement down. Each Human warrior has a different skill (or skills) in addition to their ever-changing stat line.

The game is scenario based - in the first scenario (for example), the goal is for the humans to find the exit and escape. If two Human warriors escape, the Humans win. If all of the Humans die, the Demons win. Any other result is a draw. Every time the Humans reveal a room (along the side with the d10), the d10 is increased and moved to an exit on the new room (or the nearest room if the new room is a dead end). When the die reaches ten, the next tile is the exit.

Each Scenario has a different reference card for the larger demon. Sure they could have used some of their Hell Dorado sculpts and included more minis - but they would have significantly increased the price and not actually added much to the game.

What does it look like in play?



In fact, I may not play this on a table very often - it's big. Very big. I have a large table, but not everyone will. So be prepared to play this on the floor.

The game is also expandable. The rulebook says to watch for new scenarios on their website. I suspect that new scenarios will have new demon reference cards.

If the game does well enough, I wouldn't be surprised to see expansions with more warriors (for both sides) and a variety of new scenarios.

I have a package waiting for me in my apartment complex's office. It contains Dungeon Twister: Prison and several other games. I'll probably get around to discussing them next week.

I've paused work on my solo cards until I get a few solo games under my belt. I want to make sure that my work plays similarly to the official version.