Category: Geek Culture

  • 30Days of GMing, Day Five

    30 Days of Game Mastering continues! Stealing like an artist: what inspiration have you drawn from other games, books, movies, etc? It might be easier to list sources I haven’t used as inspiration. To the best of my knowledge I haven’t drawn on the Etruscans for anything, but I could be wrong. In seriousness, though,…

  • 30 Days of Gamemastering

    No, I’m not GMing every day for 30 days. That would be amazing, but no. Instead, I’m taking part in the 30 Days of Gamemastering Challenge over at Triple Crit. Every day I’ll answer the GMing question of the day, and I’ll try to keep my answers concise. Since I’m a day late to the…

  • Why Do I Let SyFy Continue to Hurt Me?

    I really wanted “Heroes of Cosplay” to be a good show. Cosplay is an area of fandom that has always fascinated and impressed me. I have a background in technical theatre, so good looking costumes and props will always catch my eye. I love the costumes that show up at Gen Con every year, and…

  • Card Hunter

    Largely because of Facebook I became a fan of browser based games. Something about there simplicity tapped into both my mildly obsessive-compulsive tendencies, and my love of the simple arcade games of my misspent youth. I try not to take on too many at once, however, because, well, obsessive-compulsive. If I have things to get…

  • The State of the Tabletop Industry, and Why It Really Doesn’t Matter

    Maybe it’s because fall is coming, and the threat of winter right behind; maybe it’s because the latest burst of game releases are behind us. But this is the time of year, it seems, when every game blogger and vlogger wants to speculate on that age-old (in this case, age-old would be defined as 39…

  • Extra Life (Support Team Knifeshoes!)

    You get a bonus post this week because I am doing a thing! I’ve long been a supporter of the Stollery Children’s Hospital here in Edmonton. They do amazing things for sick children, and they do these things regardless of the family’s ability to pay. Basically, they are Batman and Elminster and a doctor rolled…

  • When the Cupboard’s Bare

    It happens to every game master at one point or another. Game night is here, players are expecting a continuation of your Super Fun Time Awesome Campaign™ and you’ve got nothing. Maybe it’s been a particularly busy week at work, or you’ve been caught up in your studies. Heck, maybe it’s the “centipede’s dilemma”, and…

  • My Game Master Kit

    I’ve had a few folks ask me, here and at Gen Con, what I carry with me to GM. So I thought I’d give you a virtual tour of my GM kit. First thing to note, I don’t always carry this full kit with me to every session. What I take depends on the game…

  • Nerding Up the Weekend!

    I hope those of you not attending PAX and Dragon*Con are still finding a way to nerd up your weekend. Me? Tonight I’m getting together with some friends to read aloud William Shakespeare’s Star Wars, by Ian Doescher. If you haven’t read it yet, I urge you to get on it. It is just as…

  • Super Late Gen Con Wrap Up!

    I think the title says it all, really. Three and a half days home on a bus combined with multi-stage con crud equals me not posting about Gen Con until a week later. Since you’ve likely heard all the reviews already, I’m just going to hit my high (and low) points of the world’s biggest…