Thursday, March 7, 2013

Gamasutra - News - Boy Scouts can now earn a Game Design merit badge

Gamasutra - News - Boy Scouts can now earn a Game Design merit badge
Boy Scouts can now earn a Game Design merit badge
Boy Scouts can now earn a Game Design merit badge

                  The Boy Scouts of America are ready to introduce a new merit badge encouraging children to learn the art of game design.

The new Game Design badge requires Scouts to design a game from scratch in their own design notebooks. Scouts "must demonstrate an initial concept, multiple design iterations based on initial testing, and feedback from blind testing." The game can then be prototyped and tested at Boy Scout functions, such as camp outings.

The new Game Design merit badge pamphlet will make its debut at the SXSW Gaming Expo in Austin on Friday.

Upcoming merit badges currently in the works include Programming and Animation.

Friday, March 1, 2013

Marketing Fellowship Winners Gen Con 2013

Gen Con Indy 2013: Roll for Initiative
Marketing Fellowship Winners and Important Reminders
March has arrived! With it, Gen Con is less than half a year away. August will be here before you know it! In today's newsletter, you will get to meet some exciting new exhibitors at Gen Con Indy 2013, our Marketing Fellowship award winners. There also are some important reminders for those wishing to participate in the 2013 show.

Volunteer Applications Coming Next Month
With the incredible growth in badge sales this year, Gen Con Indy 2013 is likely to be our biggest show yet. And we will need a lot of volunteer help to make sure everything runs smoothly! Gen Con volunteers are a terrific group that help make this show the best gaming experience in the world.

Volunteer Applications will arrive in late March, so keep your eyes open for upcoming newsletters on how to sign up to be a Page or Apprentice Volunteer for Indy 2013!


2013 Marketing Fellowship Winners Announced (Part One of Two)
Launched at Gen Con Indy 2010, Entrepreneurs' Avenue is a special area in the Exhibit Hall that supports businesses either making their Gen Con debut or independent, entrepreneurial companies showcasing new products. If you have never tried it, it is a great place to seek out fresh new ideas and welcome new faces to the show. As part of the Entrepreneurs' Avenue, Gen Con awards six Marketing Fellowships to the top applicants from Entrepreneurs' Avenue. Part of a competitive application process, these awards afford the selected companies the opportunity to gain better exposure for their businesses through on-site marketing and expanded space in the Exhibit Hall.

Please join the Gen Con team in congratulating the first three announced Gen Con Indy 2013 Marketing Fellowship recipients! Today, three award recipients will be announced; check out upcoming newsletters to hear about the next three!

This year's winners have prepared messaging regarding their selection to help introduce themselves below.

Fez-O-Rama



Fez-o-rama is thrilled and honored to be selected for a Marketing Fellowship as part of their Gen Con debut. Since 2005 Fez-o-rama has been creating high quality, hand-crafted embroidered velvet fezzes featuring original artwork that celebrates the best of the geek, gaming and exotica cultures. Each fez design is painstakingly engineered and themed according to the unfathomable whims of the Fezmonger, Jason Rodgers. Seriously, who bases a business on images of drunken monkeys, Great Old Gods, obsolete technology and gaming dice? And, have you seen their booth? Only an obsessive and deranged personality would make such a thing. On the other hand, this obsessive commitment to detail results in Fez-o-rama fezzes being much more than novelty hats - these fezzes are the chapeaus of Kings. If Kings wore fezzes instead of crowns. Which they don't. But if they did… well.

Stop by the Fez-o-rama booth this year and get yourself fitted for a fez! Guaranteed to give you a +10 Style bonus (Guarantee applies to Chaotic Neutral players... not actually a guarantee but it’s worth a shot) While you are there, witness the rare Fezmonger in his natural state: doodling on boxes for the enjoyment of others.

Fez-o-rama: Less brim, more whim!


G33k & Co.

One Geek, Two Geek, Me Geek, You Geek,
Part Geek, True Geek, Old Geek, New Geek!
This geek is a gaming star.
This geek likes to dress bizarre.
Say! What a lot of geeks there are!
The number of people proudly announcing, “I’m Geeky and I know it!” nowadays is fantastic. Even better, a great many of these geeks are taking on protégés or are having munchkins of their own that they can mold into adorkable little geeklings. G33k & Co. was created to support this passing of knowledge on to version 2.0. We've put together a fun and useful line of products meant to help usher in the newest generation of geeks while entertaining adults as well. Some of our favorites are: "Grow with me RPG’s" for kids 4-7 and 7-12, which pair well with our learning dice and "My First Dice Bags", ‘The SurReal Mother Geek’, a great first look at geekery, "My First Swag Bag" which allows little ones to carry around their own con loot, and “Kalijor”, our sci-fi/fantasy novel series and RPG for older audiences.
We’re a one-stop shop for all ages! Come on by the booth and see what we have for you! www.g33knco.com
Morland Studios

Morland Studios was founded in 2010 with the goal of producing quality display and gaming miniatures for painters, collectors, and gamers. Currently, we have three primary ranges that vary in size and include 32mm, 54mm, 54mm busts, 200mm busts and 1/6th scale figures. Our first sculptures were based on our own artwork and imagination that included busts and figures in 32mm and 54mm by well known sculptors. We added other figures to our home range from various international sculptors whose work inspired us. In the future we will expand our Morland Studio line with more of our own concepts. We are the only producers of officially licensed figures from the amazing artworks of US illustrator Howard David Johnson, producing the characters in 32mm, 54mm, 200mm busts and 1/6th scale. Mr. Johnson's characters offer elegance to the sculpted figure for collectors and painters alike.

The licensed figures from The Order of the Stick, based on the web-comic by Rich Burlew, injects a fun quality to our company. The award-winning comic is loved by millions and followed by fans world-wide. Our main goal is to recreate the 2-D characters into 3-D sculptures, keeping them as close to the original artwork as possible.
Event Submission to Close March 15

To date, Gen Con's enterprising event hosts have submitted more than 5000 events for Gen Con Indy 2013. The number of events grows each day, and will provide more gaming and entertainment opportunities for fans than ever before. On March 15, the event submission period closes and Gen Con makes no guarantees on the placement or promotion (including Program Book listings) for late events. While aspiring event hosts may continue to submit events after the March 15 Event Submission deadline, the events team encourages event hosts to get in your proposals prior to March 15.

Get Your Badge for Gen Con Indy 2013
Interested in attending Gen Con Indy 2013? The first step is to buy a badge, and now is a great time to do it! Badges are available for purchase at Pre-Reg prices. Once Pre-Registration closes at the end of June, badge prices will go up, so be sure to get yours before then. Remember, anyone interested in attending our show will need to purchase a badge. A badge will give you access to the Exhibit Hall, Art Show, seminars, and other free events happening in public areas. It will also allow you to purchase event tickets to participate in specific events.

If you have any trouble creating or accessing your account, please contact us at customerservice@gencon.com for assistance. More information on how to create an account and buy a badge can be found in our Attendee FAQ.

Smeagol Sings Mad World


Tuesday, February 26, 2013

10 Greatest Science Fiction Board Games of All Time

10 Greatest Science Fiction Board Games of All Time

10 Greatest Science Fiction Board Games of All Time

Board games are great way to prove your intellectual superiority to your friends. But aren't they even better when they involve a sprawling science fiction premise? It's no fun to wave fake money in your friend's faces at the end of Monopoly when what you could be doing is waving the most powerful starship. If you're going to bother conquering Earth as it is in Risk, why not conquer Earth as it will be in 2210? Clue is fun and all, but you could be solving a murder while also dealing with the conflict between your robot coding and your fascination with humans.
Here are 10 of the greatest board games with high-tech and futuristic premises.
10. U.S. Patent No. 1
Who doesn't want to play a game that combines the excitement of time travel with the fascinating world of patent law? In U.S. Patent No.1, players race to be the first to put together a time machine. Once that's built, you use the machine to get the first patent. Not the first patent on a time machine, but you travel back in time to the day the United States opened the patent office and you get the first ever patent. It's the only game on this list that ends with you winning by getting to be the first to fill out paperwork.
9. Risk 2210 A.D.
In 2002, Risk 2210 A.D. won the Origins Award for Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Board Game of 2001, and it's pretty easy to see why. The game combines the an already classic board game with a futuristic conceit. How often have you thought that what Risk was missing was the chance to occupy the moon? Or the sea? For added hilarity, you can conquer the Southern Anarchist Control Zone in Antarctica. The game adds complexity to the original Risk by adding commanders, who have access to decks with cards with special attacks and strategies. So if you've ever wanted to drop a nuclear bomb on Australia, get a Nuclear Commander and go for it.
10 Greatest Science Fiction Board Games of All Time 8. Pandemic
Pandemic, its second edition, and its expansion are interesting because players don't compete against each other, they work together to beat the game. The game starts with global extinction pending as four diseases threaten to wipe out different regions. Each player is randomly assigned a role, with different skills and strengths, and the players all have to work together to save the world.
7. Galaxy Trucker
In the future, not everyone can have a glamorous job. Some people have to haul materials for a sewage company. The game has three rounds, and each round has three stages: ship building, checking everyone's ships, and the actual race. A lot of the fun in Galaxy Trucker comes from your attachment to your newly built ship. First, you curse your friend if they get the component you want. Then you curse your own stupidity when you discover that you incorrectly attached a component, and it falls off. Then you curse when your ship gets hit by an asteroid. The purpose of the game is to have the most money at the end, but a lot of the time, you'll just be thinking about making to the end of the round, much less the game.
6. Cosmic Encounter
Cosmic Encounter falls into a pretty common category for science fiction board games: galactic conquest. Every player starts with a five-planet home system with the goal of occupying five bases in other systems. In each turn, they are dealt a card indicating which other system they have to attack. Players negotiate alliances and make deals to try to get to their goal. So far, pretty typical. What makes this game really stand out is that players get an "alien power," which is basically a special characteristic of their race that allows them to bend a critical game rule.
5. Android
Android is a cyberpunk noir game. The goal is to solve a murder, Clue-style. Or the goal is to figure out the conspiracy also taking place. Or the goal is to resolve your character's personal problems. Or a combination of the three. The winner is the player who has the most "Victory Points" at the end, which are determined by success in the categories above. So, for example, if another player is obsessed with solving the murder, you can focus on some other problem and still win. As for the cyberpunk elements, the game takes place in "New Angeles," which is pretty much future Los Angeles with a space elevator, and "Heinlein," a moon colony. It also allows a player to not only be a standard noir-ish characters (crooked cop, bounty hunter, P.I.) but also an android having trouble with his code or a psychic clone.
10 Greatest Science Fiction Board Games of All Time 4. Star Trek: Fleet Captains
This is a game that allows players to live out their fantasies of commanding a Federation fleet or a Klingon fleet. Each player starts out at opposite sides of a brand new, unexplored sector of space, and moves through it hoping to uncover planets with resources and not ones with hostile lifeforms. Eventually, of course, players will end up pitting the Enterprise against a Bird of Prey, but even that battle may not determine a winner.
10 Greatest Science Fiction Board Games of All Time 3. Roborally
Who doesn't want to play a game where the premise is that a bored supercomputer has decided to race a robot against those of other bored supercomputers? A lot of game play is based on the idea that, as a computer and a robot, the player isn't making up-to-the-minute decisions. Instead, at the start of each round, each player reveals five commands it has given to his robot. With those locked in, players could end up watching in horror as their robots collide and end up right in the path of the obstacles they were trying to avoid.
2. Twilight Imperium (3rd Edition)
Word of warning: this game is long. And complex. And long. However, if you and your friends stick it out, Twilight Imperium is a really satisfying galactic-conquest game. The game takes place in a galaxy suffering from a power vacuum, since the fall of the previous ruling race. Players each represent a race trying to take that throne. But the goals here are not just militaristic conquest ones, but can be diplomatic or trade related. Depending on the cards a player's dealt, he can be trying to get enough resources to upgrade his planet's technology, while another player is trying to get a certain law passed.
1. Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game
Anyone else remember playing Mafia when they were kids? A small number of players were "the Mafia," and each night they murdered someone, and during the day, everyone tried to figure out who they were and murder them right back? Well, Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game is like that on steroids. The humans are working together to solve crises and reach Kobol, and the undercover Cylons are trying to sabotage that. Of course, unlike Mafia, even if the humans find and airlock the Cylons, they just resurrect on a Basestar. Then, instead of sabotage, they just try to blow the fleet out of the sky. Humans win by making it to Kobol, while Cylons win by destroying the Galactica or getting the humans to run out of resources. In that respect, the ending of the game is much more logical than that of the show.
 

This LEGO Hogwarts

This LEGO Hogwarts includes everything from Snape's classroom to the Chamber of Secrets

This LEGO Hogwarts includes everything from Snape’s classroom to the Chamber of Secrets

Alice Finch's 400,000-brick LEGO Hogwarts would be impressive enough if she had built just the outside of the grand magical school. But inside, her Hogwarts is even more glorious, containing the rooms and passages Harry Potter traveled in his school days, from the Hogwarts kitchen to the Room of Requirement, creating the perfect sets for minifig Harry, Hermione, and the rest of the Hogwarts crew to reenact scenes from the books.
The Brothers Brick has an interview with Finch about her massive Hogwarts, which won both the Best in Show and People's Choice awards at BrickCon 2012. Finch spent 12 months assembling the campus, combining elements from the books and movies to create a complete structure inside and out. For her two sons, this Hogwarts is the ultimate playset; her older son, who has read the books, enjoys posing the tiny students and staff about the school. When her younger son is old enough to read the books, he will find he has yet another way to experience the magic of Hogwarts.
These are just a few of the multitudinous rooms and structures Finch constructed. I highly recommend heading over to her amazing 75-photo Flickr set to see all of the scenes she put together and all of the ghosts lurking in her own magical plastic world.
The Great Hall:
This LEGO Hogwarts includes everything from Snape's classroom to the Chamber of Secrets

Potions Class:
This LEGO Hogwarts includes everything from Snape's classroom to the Chamber of Secrets

Gryffindor Common Room:
This LEGO Hogwarts includes everything from Snape's classroom to the Chamber of Secrets

Slytherin Common Room
This LEGO Hogwarts includes everything from Snape's classroom to the Chamber of Secrets

The Chamber of Secrets:
This LEGO Hogwarts includes everything from Snape's classroom to the Chamber of Secrets
LEGO Hogwarts [Alice Finch] & Alice Finch builds massive LEGO Hogwarts from 400,000 bricks (Photos & Interview) [The Brothers Brick]