Anyone who games with me knows I enjoy making laminated play aids almost as much as I enjoy gaming itself (it’s my…

Anyone who games with me knows I enjoy making laminated play aids almost as much as I enjoy gaming itself (it’s my…

Anyone who games with me knows I enjoy making laminated play aids almost as much as I enjoy gaming itself (it’s my version of painting minis). I was organizing them the other day and thought I’d take a pic. 

I just got this from FineMessGames.com the “hard” way: send $2 and a haiku about clones.  Here’s what I wrote:

I just got this from FineMessGames.com the “hard” way: send $2 and a haiku about clones.  Here’s what I wrote:

I just got this from FineMessGames.com the “hard” way: send $2 and a haiku about clones.  Here’s what I wrote:

The strangers wonder

“How do we tell ourselves apart?”

Why would we want to?

It’s Powered by the Apocalypse, and even being so simple it really looks good; a subtle and interesting variant to the wide-open AW.  It comes on a single card about 3.5×4″ that folds in half, and it’s a really nice card!

This has turned into another amazing week of gaming: Dungeon World – Oceans of Order & Chaos on Tuesday; Apoc World…

This has turned into another amazing week of gaming: Dungeon World – Oceans of Order & Chaos on Tuesday; Apoc World…

This has turned into another amazing week of gaming: Dungeon World – Oceans of Order & Chaos on Tuesday; Apoc World on Wednesday; Space City Con Risus Playtest (with MotW spillover) on Thursday; Fear Itself on Friday; and Sweet Agatha with my sister on Saturday. Love it!

I’m really beginning to think that I need to find some way of limiting the number of RSVPs for a game as we’re…

I’m really beginning to think that I need to find some way of limiting the number of RSVPs for a game as we’re…

I’m really beginning to think that I need to find some way of limiting the number of RSVPs for a game as we’re getting quite a few more players than the games are designed to handle (which don’t get me wrong is a good problem to have in my opinion – but the game and play experience do suffer from it).  Maybe use Warhorn as a ticketing system of some kind?  Find a bigger venue that will allow multiple games at the same time?  I’d love some feedback from the members on this.

Today’s game. So that that one guy isn’t the only one posting pictures of the group. DM not shown. 😬

Today’s game. So that that one guy isn’t the only one posting pictures of the group. DM not shown. 😬

Today’s game. So that that one guy isn’t the only one posting pictures of the group. DM not shown. 😬

Hey there folks, a member of yours suggested and invited me to your RPG group.

Hey there folks, a member of yours suggested and invited me to your RPG group.

Hey there folks, a member of yours suggested and invited me to your RPG group.  My girlfriend and I are looking to do both board games and pen and paper RPG’s as time permits.  I am experienced in 3.5E, Pathfinder, with a touch of White Wolf pen and paper.  My girlfriend(Ashley) loves board games and is very willing to learn pen and paper.  

I presently work nights during the week so Friday through Sunday nights or afternoons are most likely to be our game times of choice.   We hope to meet and game with many of you over time.  

edit: We both also play Warhammer Fantasy Battle if anyone is into that. Strictly hobby players, no power gaming here. 

Durance today was a rare misfire.

Durance today was a rare misfire.

Durance today was a rare misfire. The game flew off the rails almost immediately. We spent a fair amount time afterwards trying to figure out what happened. I have very conflicted feelings about the whole thing, and I’d like to share them.

So, right off the bat: Jason Morningstar  has written games that have been some of the most fun I’ve had in gaming. Fiasco and Shab al-Hiri Roach, for example, have created some truly dynamite experiences at the table over the last few years. And I was prepared to love Durance. 

But man oh man…this game is tough. First of all, we felt pretty bogged down by the large number of characters that have to be managed. Second, the flow of the story felt greatly impeded by the need to a) think of a good question to be the focus of every scene and b) to constantly reassess where the story was going. Overall, the whole experience felt clunky. 

I am ready to admit we were probably doing some things wrong. Our questions were probably not as drilled-down as they needed to be. I don’t think we really understood how the conflict resolution system worked (or, at least, we were trying to get it to do things it was not intended to do). There were so many moments where we were literally at an impasse at the end of a scene, with no mechanics to help get us out. With Fiasco, it’s so much more clear: you have one character in the spotlight who either will or will not succeed.

The part I’m conflicted about is this: is it worth trying to figure out? Daniel Lewis and Alexander Hay felt like the game might be  irredeemable; that even if we got things ironed out, would it be fun enough to justify the effort? Rob Ferguson  loves the game. He had played it before and had a blast with it. I think I’m somewhere in the middle. I have a lot of experience with story games, and so it frustrates me that Durance got the best of me. 

We universally agreed the setting and the set-up procedure are terrific. The book is beautiful. The whole package is very thoughtful in many ways. It’s the gameplay that is an open question at this point. 

I’m reading through Durance and getting a kick out of how attractive the book is. Which got me thinking…

I’m reading through Durance and getting a kick out of how attractive the book is. Which got me thinking…

I’m reading through Durance and getting a kick out of how attractive the book is. Which got me thinking…

What is my favorite RPG book in terms of aesthetics? Art, typefaces, ink & paper quality, and so forth.

And then I couldn’t name a single book, so I broke it up into three categories:

Quality of materials – Burning Wheel Gold

Art – Dungeon Crawl Classics

Design (typefaces, logos, layout) – A tie between Shab Al-Hiri Roach and Lacuna. 

Anyone care to share their picks?