Dice Hate Me at the Bookstore: The Games Bible
I will happily admit that I’m pretty easy to shop for around the holidays. Any amusing trinket will usually bring me extraordinary glee, especially if it is shiny or has pretty pictures on it. However, when it comes to gifting me games or game-related paraphernalia, the gifter may often find themselves in dangerous territory since, well, I have a lot of stuff. Thus, consider my utter shock and surprise glee when my in-laws presented me with a gaming gift that was both new and incredibly thoughtful – The Games Bible. As I thumbed through the pages after the gift wrap had all been torn asunder, I also began to realize that this little gift... Read More
The Game Crafter – Personal Boardgame Production Made Possible
Gather around, youngsters, as I craft you a tale of days of legend. Many, many eons ago – about 30 years, give or take – if an adventurer wandered into a hobby establishment, they might find strange and wondrous treasures locked inside small, plastic bags or unmarked cardboard receptacles. As it turns out, these treasures were board and card games from small, independent publishers, often printed on inexpensive stock, heavy in theme and playability, and low on cost. These small rebels were fighting against the giant mainstays – the Parker Brothers and Milton Bradley – and generating a gaming renaissance that paved the way... Read More
Alien Frontiers: A New World for Game Publishing
One of the biggest challenges for boardgame creators is getting that great idea from their minds to inside the stores so it can be put on the table. Traditionally, options have been limited: shop the game concept around to various large publishers in the hope that they will provide funding or self-publish a very small print run in the hopes of raising enough to support another edition. Recently, however, fledgling designers and publishers have found another alternative online – crowdfunding. In this process, creators release their idea into the wilds of the internet, requesting backers for the project who donate anywhere from $5 to $1,000... Read More
