The 2011 Dice Hate Me Holiday Gift Guide

The holidays are upon us and tis the season to be gaming! Friends and family will soon be gathered near, and what better way to celebrate than to grab your dice and pour some cocoa? Every year, I always make it a point to have a few games under the tree for others; not only do they make great and unique gifts, but after they’re unwrapped you get to play them. Bonus!  The blessing and curse of giving games as gifts is variety. There are a lot of games out there to choose from, and pairing the right box with the correct beloved can sometimes be trying. Worry not, dear readers – use the Dice Hate Me Holiday Game Guide to aid you... Read More

Kickstarter Preview: Kings of Air & Steam

From time to time, one geek-centric genre trend becomes fashionable; subsequently, the masses yearn and, thus, the creators provide – often in bulk. The latest genre du jour seems to be steampunk – that mixture of wild, cog-driven contraptions and Victorian sensibilities. Of this genre I am not only a fan, but a bit of a connoisseur; I spent many a youthful day glued to the TV watching James West foil the bad guys’ plans with the use of one of Artemus Gordon’s goofy gadgets long before anyone had ever coined the term steampunk. All you dear readers also know by now that I am a sucker for zeppelins, as well. And, so, it... Read More

MACE 2011 Convention Wrap-up

Greetings, dear readers, ’tis the season for gaming! No, not because of the impending holidays (although that’s wonderful, as well), but because it’s the time of the year when we can load up the party wagon and head west – an hour west to our local con, MACE, in High Point. Last year, only three of us made the trek. This year, however, we had a veritable gang of geeky gamers – seven of us in total. The resulting maelstrom of gaming and imbibing manly liquids left me with some fuzzy accounts, but I shall endeavor to do my best to summarize all the geeky goodness. And although there was no bear rape nor freezer incidents... Read More

They Built This City on Solid Gold – A Belfort Review

As Linus van Pelt once so aptly conveyed: “Happiness is a warm blanket.” There’s a lot of subtle, yet strong subtext in that sentiment; we humans often have a base desire to be wrapped tightly in comforting familiarity, and while so wrapped, have no wish to do much more than remain so, content and without need or care of the slipping of time. In certain gaming circles – and, indeed, in the Dice Hate Me household – that emotional conveyance could often be repurposed, with no loss of power or sentiment, to “happiness is a long Euro.” And, so, this is how the latest release from Tasty Minstrel Games –... Read More

The Art of War: An Interview with Geoff and Brian Engelstein

Dice Hate Me and Go Forth and Game have joined forces to bring you some of the best gaming interviews on the web! That’s right, from time to time here on Dice Hate Me, Tom Gurganus will contribute one of his comprehensive conversations. In this interview, Tom sits down for a detailed chat with Geoff and Brian Engelstein, makers of The Ares Project. Enjoy the interview and be sure to let us know if there are other designers, artists or gaming insiders that you would like to know more about! ________________________________________________ Tom: Ok, The Ares Project – It just hit stores and it’s getting good buzz on the internets.... Read More

A Sinfully-Delightful Masterpiece: The Road to Canterbury Review

“Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote, The droghte of March hath perced to the roote, and the peoeple dyd feast upon the lambs and slothes, and carp and anchovyes, and orangutans and breakfaest cyreals, and fruyt-bats…” – the General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales, paraphrased   Sometime in the late 14th Century, author, philosopher and alchemist Geoffrey Chaucer – having dutifully observed and soulfully absorbed the full folly and sin of mankind in his surroundings – decided to share his singular vision with a vast audience in the way he truly knew best: through sarcasm, lyrical satire and bawdy humor.... Read More

A Particularly Scottish View of Essen Spiel

Although Monkey238 and I were not able to attend the Big Show in Essen this year, we were lucky enough to have a few friends in which we could live – and game – vicariously. One of those friends was Ian L. Smith, of Glasgow, Scotland. Ian and I don’t always see eye-to-eye on games, but we are always equal in passion and respect. When Ian began recounting his tales from Essen on Twitter, I eagerly interjected and learned about a whole bevy of games I need to sink my teeth into. I prodded Ian to share his thoughts with all you, dear readers, and he eagerly agreed. By way of an introduction, let me explain that I and around 9 of... Read More

Kickstarter Quick-look: Super Showdown

Somewhere, deep in the heart of the city, a villain perfects his nefarious plan. His constant obsession: to rid the city of its pesky patron saint and to finally rule the weaklings that walk its streets. Meanwhile, high atop the tallest skyscraper, a hero watches, his razor keen senses attuned to the slightest stir of trouble. The hero knows that it won’t be long before the villain emerges from beneath the urban sprawl – and wherever evil rises, the hero will soon strike it down. The setting: the colorful city of Gold and Silver Age comics – the world of Super Showdown! Super Showdown is a card game that pits two players in... Read More

Things Man Was Not Meant To Roll – An Elder Sign Review

Like that poeticized beast whose time has come round again, so slouches another Arkham-based game toward your local retailer. Many gamers have asked just how often Fantasy Flight Games can dig into that cyclopean well of Mythos and mystery. Luckily for us Lovecraftian fiends, with Elder Sign the well has not yet been tapped. And yet, despite the gritty goodness that lurks within, from the moment I cracked the box I knew that the loss of sanity would be inevitable. For contained within this eldritch vessel lie dice – lots and lots of dice. Specialty dice, actually, with strange symbols etched into their glimmering surfaces; symbols that –... Read More

These Dice Are Driving Me Crazy! – A Guest Blog

As stated in the Dice Hate Me charter, bad dice karma isn’t just a clever name, it’s a way of life around these parts. It seems that wherever Dice Hate Me appears at conventions or gaming events, there are gamers who immediately identify with the sentiment set forth by the brand, and then there are a select few who laugh, but brush aside the mention of such foolishness. Well, I hate to say it to those latter folk, but – I told you so. Case in point, the following brilliant post about dice-rolling statistics by FrontRangeGamer from Front Range Gamers. Lest you think that this guy is just blowing about some hot air, he dabbles... Read More