First, a confession. I should have written this blog two weeks ago. After nearly three months of not-so-patient waiting, I received the first big shipment of books on December 11th, and the proceeded to do nothing about it.
That's not entirely acturate, but it feels like it. I've read all of two books of the 40+ that I received, and waited more than two weeks to mention it here.
My appologies. I'll pull the traditional holidays excuse, you know, because I can. Visiting in-laws, birthdays, christmas, graduation, it's been a busy month, but I'm down to business now.
So, what's happening at this point? Well, as of now I have almost everything that the other judges have. A couple little things seem to have gotten lot in the transition between one judge and anotherm, but not much, and I'll just replace those myself.
In the mean time I've just finished Emily Care Boss's Under my Skin, a game about playing through the uncomfortable issues that come up when people's romantic relationships get intertwined and messy. It's very well written, and very non-traditional, even far more so that her other game I've have some experience with, Breaking the Ice.
To be honest I'm going to have to let this one soke in a bit. I literaly just finished reading it before starting this post, and it's totally different than the other games I have experience with. I've played a lot of different games, even LARPs, and this is a different stage than what I've done before. There's a discussion in the book on using it to explore your own emotions and relationships, and it definately feels like that's exactly the kind of thing that would strengthen the experience. It's a touchy subject, and it's probably not for me, but it is very well done. It feels more like a well-guided roleplaying experience than a traditional roleplaying game.
On the other end of the spectrum I've also been reading Dark Heresy. It's the most complete system I've received thus far, so it'll be the first that I settle in to playtest. I received the core book, Inquisitor's Handbook, and the Purge the Unclean campaign book, so last night we put our Saturday game on hold to make characters, and we're going to play through the adventures in Purge the Unclean. I'm going to withold comment for right now, but I will say that I'm excited. The peritextual elements, the pictures, the font, the borders, all draw you in and really put you in the mood. Last time I was a judge Warhammer Fantasy hit me in much the same way, and I ended up filling out my collection even after the judging period was over, just for my own use. I'm interested to see if the 40k version can grab me as well.
So, I guess that's it for now. I'll check back in like I did last time, a couple times a week or so, now that I'm actually getting stuff done. Because of the earlier elections I'm still three months ahead od where I was at this point last time, so I'm going to take my time and really enjoy the books this time until more stuff starts pouring in.
As always, feel free to ask if you have questions or comments.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
The first arrival
So, it's been a month and the books that were already submitted to the other judges still haven't made their way to me yet, but I do have some good news.
Wraith Recon from Mongoose Publishing showed up at my door yesterday.
This is pretty exciting for a number of reasons. First of course is the fact that it's my first product this year. Fifty other products have been submitted, but I'm still waiting for Zach to get those to me. This one however I have in my hot little hands. Something about birds in a bush vs. birds in a hand seems appropriate here...
Second is that the book itself represents a new generation of products. There's no secret that third party support of DnD 4.0 has been pretty sparse. Compared to the simultaneous release, and nearly immediate deluge, of products that came out with 3.0, 4.0 has been a lot of hurry up and wait. Wraith Recon however was certainly among the first products announced for the new system, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how much it has been, or can, be tweaked. Mongoose has always been good about putting their own spin on existing games.
Maybe most importantly, I think this is Mongoose's first year participating in the ENnies, and that's always very cool. Nothing helps to make the awards better like competition, and I love to see someone who puts out the sheer variety of products that Mongoose produces throw their hat in the ring.
I can't wait to read it.
Wraith Recon from Mongoose Publishing showed up at my door yesterday.
This is pretty exciting for a number of reasons. First of course is the fact that it's my first product this year. Fifty other products have been submitted, but I'm still waiting for Zach to get those to me. This one however I have in my hot little hands. Something about birds in a bush vs. birds in a hand seems appropriate here...
Second is that the book itself represents a new generation of products. There's no secret that third party support of DnD 4.0 has been pretty sparse. Compared to the simultaneous release, and nearly immediate deluge, of products that came out with 3.0, 4.0 has been a lot of hurry up and wait. Wraith Recon however was certainly among the first products announced for the new system, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how much it has been, or can, be tweaked. Mongoose has always been good about putting their own spin on existing games.
Maybe most importantly, I think this is Mongoose's first year participating in the ENnies, and that's always very cool. Nothing helps to make the awards better like competition, and I love to see someone who puts out the sheer variety of products that Mongoose produces throw their hat in the ring.
I can't wait to read it.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Almost exactly a year
It's been almost exactly a year since I posted here.
Not that it has anything to do with anything, but I've been staring at the blank title space for like 10 minutes trying to decide what to write and how to do it, and I figured anything that got me typing was a good thing. It seems to have worked.
Yippy, my superpower "Can't stop typing, even when it's for the best" finally paid off.
Yeah, I'm beginning to think I'm the king of soapbox posts that are too long for anyone to read or take seriously.
Ok, enough procrastinating.
So, I'm posting here because I'm now an ENnies judge again. Yeah, it's about a month after they were announced and I wasn't one of them. I was, however the first alternate, so here I am.
Now, if you want to feel like a heel, accept a position that someone you like has just vacated. I don't regret the decision I made, and I'm glad for the opportunity, but it feels pretty weird. Every time someone says something nice to me or about me I feel a little guilty, like I don't really belong.
So, here I am. I'm doing it because I wanted to, because it is something that has the chance to benefit the community and the hobby I love, and because a lot of really great people believed that I do belong here enough to give me the votes to be the alternate. I really hope it doesn't come off as disrespectful to Zach, because his experience was not my experience, and though I don't know him well I really like what I know of him.
That said, I guess I'm back in the saddle, and I hope people can support my decision to do it. For my part I'll be back here doing just what I did before, speaking my mind, answering questions, and listening to what advice you have to offer.
In the mean time though I don't have a huge ammount to add right now. Obviously I have no products yet. I was just given the official word today. I do however have a list of what has been entered so far, and it looks like it's going to be an amazing year. Interestingly enough I only own two of the products on the list already which both delights and amazes me.
I'll post more when I actually have something worth saying, but for now I just wanted to open up the shop again.
Not that it has anything to do with anything, but I've been staring at the blank title space for like 10 minutes trying to decide what to write and how to do it, and I figured anything that got me typing was a good thing. It seems to have worked.
Yippy, my superpower "Can't stop typing, even when it's for the best" finally paid off.
Yeah, I'm beginning to think I'm the king of soapbox posts that are too long for anyone to read or take seriously.
Ok, enough procrastinating.
So, I'm posting here because I'm now an ENnies judge again. Yeah, it's about a month after they were announced and I wasn't one of them. I was, however the first alternate, so here I am.
Now, if you want to feel like a heel, accept a position that someone you like has just vacated. I don't regret the decision I made, and I'm glad for the opportunity, but it feels pretty weird. Every time someone says something nice to me or about me I feel a little guilty, like I don't really belong.
So, here I am. I'm doing it because I wanted to, because it is something that has the chance to benefit the community and the hobby I love, and because a lot of really great people believed that I do belong here enough to give me the votes to be the alternate. I really hope it doesn't come off as disrespectful to Zach, because his experience was not my experience, and though I don't know him well I really like what I know of him.
That said, I guess I'm back in the saddle, and I hope people can support my decision to do it. For my part I'll be back here doing just what I did before, speaking my mind, answering questions, and listening to what advice you have to offer.
In the mean time though I don't have a huge ammount to add right now. Obviously I have no products yet. I was just given the official word today. I do however have a list of what has been entered so far, and it looks like it's going to be an amazing year. Interestingly enough I only own two of the products on the list already which both delights and amazes me.
I'll post more when I actually have something worth saying, but for now I just wanted to open up the shop again.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Final post: Pimping my new blog.
Okay, this is it for me here before I turn it over to the new caretakers.
I would have stopped already, but it occurred to me that some of the readers here might be interested in following my ongoing blogs, and I haven't posted links or taken the time to pimp them yet.
In my judgment is my gaming blog, where I'll post reviews, talk about design, and generally focus on my gaming life.
Life's Journey is just my personal blog, and not gaming related at all, but if anyone is interested that's where I'll talk a little bit about all the things that are important to me, my family, my work, and my faith.
Thanks to everyone who stuck it out with me for so long, and I hope some of you make the move with me. Good luck the the new crop of judges, and I really hope you take me up on my offer here.
Jeramy Ware
I would have stopped already, but it occurred to me that some of the readers here might be interested in following my ongoing blogs, and I haven't posted links or taken the time to pimp them yet.
In my judgment is my gaming blog, where I'll post reviews, talk about design, and generally focus on my gaming life.
Life's Journey is just my personal blog, and not gaming related at all, but if anyone is interested that's where I'll talk a little bit about all the things that are important to me, my family, my work, and my faith.
Thanks to everyone who stuck it out with me for so long, and I hope some of you make the move with me. Good luck the the new crop of judges, and I really hope you take me up on my offer here.
Jeramy Ware
Changing of the guard
I changed the look and title of the blog today to reflect the change of contributors. I'll go ahead and reissue my invitation to the new judges, and hopefully you'll be seeing new content soon.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
GenCon report, and moving forward.
So, it's been a week since I've gotten home from GenCon, which probably makes this the latest report on the internet, but I honestly just kind of took the last week off. Not from work, mind you. I went to work the day I got back, and have been working since then to make up for the time I took off, but from games. With the exception of learning how to play the WoW card game I got as swag, I haven't opened a game book, taken a note, or typed a word on the campaigns I'm supposed to be working on. I basically took last week to decompress a bit and hang out with my wife and kids before school made our lives crazy again.
Anywho, I guess I had better start with talking a little bit about the awards. The ceremony was awesome, and best of all I got to spend a bit of time hanging out with all of the great people that I got to know on line over the last few months. There weren't a whole lot of surprises among the winners, though I sincerely wish that a few of the outstanding small press titles had gotten a bit more recognition. I really thought there would be at least a few more medals going out to them.
And then of course there were the announcements for the judge elections.
Since that night I''ve heard a huge number of people come out to tell me they were sorry that I didn't get elected, and how shocked they were. I appreciate that a lot, but it wasn't entirely unexpected. I was far more shocked that Jeff Ranger (who had been a judge in every previous year) didn't get elected. My election the first time was a fluke, and the result of a whole lot of hard campaigning, drawing from groups that most other judges simply didn't have access to. I hit local gatherings and nearly every gamer in central Texas looking for votes while the others campaigned among the people who could already be counted on to vote online. This meant that I got a nice little surge of votes, but it also meant that they went away as soon as I wasn't around to remind them to get online and vote for me. While everyone else was online, campaigning and answering questions like they should have been, I was on vacation with my family. I knew I was taking a chance with the election when I made the choice, and I don't really regret it.
This isn't, however, bad news. For the judging panel we got five qualified and excited people who came straight home with piles of books and got right to work. I think they're going to do a fantastic job, and I can't wait to sit back and see what they come up with. As far as what that will mean where this blog is concerned, well I have even better news. At least three of the judges told me that they are interested in blogging like I did, and together I know they'll do a far better job than I ever did alone. I have offered to give them this blog site, since it would be a bit disingenuous of me to keep using the enniejudge address, and hopefully they'll take me up on that. Even if they maintain separate blogs, a combined blog here might make for interesting reading. Liz also asked me to consider writing a guest column on occasion, which would be extremely cool, though I have no idea what I would talk about.
As for me, I accepted a staff position doing outreach for the Ennie Awards, and I'll be moving my private blog onto another feed just as soon as I figure out whether or not there is any way to transfer over all the stuff I've already written. I'll leave my entries here as well, but I wanted to archive them on my own site if possible. Beyond Ennies stuff, I'm thinking about starting a pet project. Dan Repperger told me that he believes that everything happens for a reason, and that he was able to speak far more for podcasting by presenting the award than he ever could have in a simple acceptance speech. That got me thinking, and though I personally feel the same way, I don't usually have many opportunities to apply that to gaming. Here perhaps I do. I have two RPGs that I have all but complete, that I never bothered to do anything with because I never had any desire to try and get them published. As a judge I never could have anyways.
Having met a lot of great publishers and writers at GenCon however, I begin to understand why people might want to put their stuff our there, even if they know it'll never make them a real living. So I think I may give it a shot as well. I'm going to take this year to try and get together at least an ashcan edition, and hope that the Ashcan Front has room for one more. I really loved what they were doing there, and it would be incredibly awesome to have the chance to be a part of that.
Anywho, enough of that. Let's talk about GenCon.
Maybe it's just been too long, or maybe I'm just older, but it sure seemed like GenCon was bigger and much more of a presence than it was in Milwaukee ten years ago. You couldn't swing a boffer weapon without smacking a gamer ("2 magic!"), and you couldn't walk down the street without meeting someone cool.
That's good, because I turns out that I am the worst GenCon planner ever. I went to the con signed up to run two unofficial games, and to play in one more. Beyond that, all I had to do was two shifts at the Ennies booth. That's it. Silly me, I thought I'd just find a few games when I got there.
I did, however, run Hollow Earth Expedition, and the players there made it the most fun I've ever had in a con game, and probably the best time I've had with any game in a really long time. I cannot express enough how much I love that game, and as glad as I am that it got a silver for Best Cover, I'm pretty saddened that it wasn't honored beyond that at the Ennies. It helps of course, that the people who make it are so completely awesome. Not only did they set aside a special copy of the limited edition Secrets of the Surface World supplement for me (number 10!), they gave me a copy of the GM screen for running the game at the con, even though mine wasn't an official game, and loaned me a ton of the extremely cool new style chips to use.
I also played in a game of Traveller20 run by Psion from the ENWorld forums. There I made the unfortunate choice of playing the pilot, and I basically spent the entire game sitting on the ship hoping to make myself useful. I'm sure I was a ton of fun for the poor other players who kept trying to encourage me to leave the ship, but the paranoid GM in me was sure that the moment we left the ship unoccupied it was going to take off without us. Yeah, it's tough switch from GM to player. If you guys are reading this, sorry if I was a stick in the mud.
Finally I managed to worm my way into Chris Hussey's Skies of Glass demo (the game written by the guys over at Fear the Boot). The game itself is still in early stages of development, but it looks really cool, and that demo adventure is the best written con game I've ever seen. It's really tough to write a game for a bunch of strangers. Doubly so for a group different enough to touch on all the features of a game, and that game was perfect. Everyone at that table had something to do, and we were all engaged the entire time. I can't heap enough praise that direction. Even if my best friend did betray me to the law and get me executed...
That's really it for my gaming experiences. Like I said, I just didn't plan well at all. I was really hoping to do some stuff that I never get to at home, play some board games, demo a few story games, and play in a LARP. Ever since I read the excellent new version of the Cthulu LARPthat was entered in the Ennies I've been dying to give it a try. Anywho, I never really got the chance. That's not entirely true. I did get to do a cool demo of Breaking the Ice, which was a huge amount of fun, but I was desperate to try out Dogs in the Vineyard and Prime Time Adventures, and I'm bummed that I never made that happen. Especially after hearing the latest Sons of Kryos talk about the great Star Wars game they played with PTA.
In spite of my terrible planning I did get to meet some extremely cool people. Wednesday night the guys from Fear the Boot took me out for a great dinner, and not only gave me a Baron von Badass mug, but introduced me to a new beer to fill it with. I also got to hang out with Jeff and Judd from the Sons of Kryos, though I never did meet Storn; Paul Tevis, who also introduced me to Ken Hite (sorry, Kenneth Hite in print); Jeff, Melissa, and the Exile Crew; Lenny and Fred from Evil Hat; all three of the All Games Considered crew, Jared Sorenson; Luke Crane; all the ENnies folks (Denise, Russ, Rich, Liz, Kennon, Michael, Gertie, Jeff, Stuart, Kevin...); the list goes on and on, but now I'm just listing people, so I'm going to stop while I'm ahead. Sorry if I missed anyone. I had such a great time at GenCon, and it was all because of the people I met.
So, I guess that's really all I did. I missed the Judges' Party Thursday night, so I don't have all the great stories everyone else does. I skipped it at first to run my HEX game, intending to show up late, but then promptly forgot about the party by the time the game ended at midnight, and went up to my room to sleep after my 20 hour drive earlier in the day. Other than that I spent all of my time in the dealers' room. You'd think that I'd have managed, in all that time, to get everything that I wanted, but I didn't. I don't have my stuff with me, but let me see if I can remember the list:
What's really notable is what I didn't get, mostly because I'm an idiot. In retrospect I'm angry with myself for skipping the new Battletech boxed set. I was already so far over budget I couldn't justify buying a starter set since I already had all of the regular books, but man I wish I had a copy. A similar thing happened with GURPS Supers, where I got money concious and started thinking about the likelihood that I would be playing a Supers game any time soon. Somehow I also missed three of the games that I specifically went into the dealer's hall to buy. Reign, Prime Time Adventures, and Dread were right at the very top of my too buy list, and I have no idea how I missed them. I went to the Forge booth to pick them up, got distracted when my inner fanboi took over and I went around getting my books signed, and managed to walk away without thinking about it. I didn't notice that I managed to leave without them until I packed up my suitcase Sunday night.
All in all however it was certainly the best four days in gaming. I can't begin to describe what a great time I had and how much fun it was meeting everyone. Next year I'll plan better, and I'll do all of my shopping Thursday in case I miss anything. Other than that, I have no regrets.
Thanks to everyone who made GenCon, and this blog, such a blast. Especially to all of those who voted for me or vouched for me when I was running for judge. I got a lot of love this year, and win or lose it meant the world to me.
Anywho, I guess I had better start with talking a little bit about the awards. The ceremony was awesome, and best of all I got to spend a bit of time hanging out with all of the great people that I got to know on line over the last few months. There weren't a whole lot of surprises among the winners, though I sincerely wish that a few of the outstanding small press titles had gotten a bit more recognition. I really thought there would be at least a few more medals going out to them.
And then of course there were the announcements for the judge elections.
Since that night I''ve heard a huge number of people come out to tell me they were sorry that I didn't get elected, and how shocked they were. I appreciate that a lot, but it wasn't entirely unexpected. I was far more shocked that Jeff Ranger (who had been a judge in every previous year) didn't get elected. My election the first time was a fluke, and the result of a whole lot of hard campaigning, drawing from groups that most other judges simply didn't have access to. I hit local gatherings and nearly every gamer in central Texas looking for votes while the others campaigned among the people who could already be counted on to vote online. This meant that I got a nice little surge of votes, but it also meant that they went away as soon as I wasn't around to remind them to get online and vote for me. While everyone else was online, campaigning and answering questions like they should have been, I was on vacation with my family. I knew I was taking a chance with the election when I made the choice, and I don't really regret it.
This isn't, however, bad news. For the judging panel we got five qualified and excited people who came straight home with piles of books and got right to work. I think they're going to do a fantastic job, and I can't wait to sit back and see what they come up with. As far as what that will mean where this blog is concerned, well I have even better news. At least three of the judges told me that they are interested in blogging like I did, and together I know they'll do a far better job than I ever did alone. I have offered to give them this blog site, since it would be a bit disingenuous of me to keep using the enniejudge address, and hopefully they'll take me up on that. Even if they maintain separate blogs, a combined blog here might make for interesting reading. Liz also asked me to consider writing a guest column on occasion, which would be extremely cool, though I have no idea what I would talk about.
As for me, I accepted a staff position doing outreach for the Ennie Awards, and I'll be moving my private blog onto another feed just as soon as I figure out whether or not there is any way to transfer over all the stuff I've already written. I'll leave my entries here as well, but I wanted to archive them on my own site if possible. Beyond Ennies stuff, I'm thinking about starting a pet project. Dan Repperger told me that he believes that everything happens for a reason, and that he was able to speak far more for podcasting by presenting the award than he ever could have in a simple acceptance speech. That got me thinking, and though I personally feel the same way, I don't usually have many opportunities to apply that to gaming. Here perhaps I do. I have two RPGs that I have all but complete, that I never bothered to do anything with because I never had any desire to try and get them published. As a judge I never could have anyways.
Having met a lot of great publishers and writers at GenCon however, I begin to understand why people might want to put their stuff our there, even if they know it'll never make them a real living. So I think I may give it a shot as well. I'm going to take this year to try and get together at least an ashcan edition, and hope that the Ashcan Front has room for one more. I really loved what they were doing there, and it would be incredibly awesome to have the chance to be a part of that.
Anywho, enough of that. Let's talk about GenCon.
Maybe it's just been too long, or maybe I'm just older, but it sure seemed like GenCon was bigger and much more of a presence than it was in Milwaukee ten years ago. You couldn't swing a boffer weapon without smacking a gamer ("2 magic!"), and you couldn't walk down the street without meeting someone cool.
That's good, because I turns out that I am the worst GenCon planner ever. I went to the con signed up to run two unofficial games, and to play in one more. Beyond that, all I had to do was two shifts at the Ennies booth. That's it. Silly me, I thought I'd just find a few games when I got there.
I did, however, run Hollow Earth Expedition, and the players there made it the most fun I've ever had in a con game, and probably the best time I've had with any game in a really long time. I cannot express enough how much I love that game, and as glad as I am that it got a silver for Best Cover, I'm pretty saddened that it wasn't honored beyond that at the Ennies. It helps of course, that the people who make it are so completely awesome. Not only did they set aside a special copy of the limited edition Secrets of the Surface World supplement for me (number 10!), they gave me a copy of the GM screen for running the game at the con, even though mine wasn't an official game, and loaned me a ton of the extremely cool new style chips to use.
I also played in a game of Traveller20 run by Psion from the ENWorld forums. There I made the unfortunate choice of playing the pilot, and I basically spent the entire game sitting on the ship hoping to make myself useful. I'm sure I was a ton of fun for the poor other players who kept trying to encourage me to leave the ship, but the paranoid GM in me was sure that the moment we left the ship unoccupied it was going to take off without us. Yeah, it's tough switch from GM to player. If you guys are reading this, sorry if I was a stick in the mud.
Finally I managed to worm my way into Chris Hussey's Skies of Glass demo (the game written by the guys over at Fear the Boot). The game itself is still in early stages of development, but it looks really cool, and that demo adventure is the best written con game I've ever seen. It's really tough to write a game for a bunch of strangers. Doubly so for a group different enough to touch on all the features of a game, and that game was perfect. Everyone at that table had something to do, and we were all engaged the entire time. I can't heap enough praise that direction. Even if my best friend did betray me to the law and get me executed...
That's really it for my gaming experiences. Like I said, I just didn't plan well at all. I was really hoping to do some stuff that I never get to at home, play some board games, demo a few story games, and play in a LARP. Ever since I read the excellent new version of the Cthulu LARPthat was entered in the Ennies I've been dying to give it a try. Anywho, I never really got the chance. That's not entirely true. I did get to do a cool demo of Breaking the Ice, which was a huge amount of fun, but I was desperate to try out Dogs in the Vineyard and Prime Time Adventures, and I'm bummed that I never made that happen. Especially after hearing the latest Sons of Kryos talk about the great Star Wars game they played with PTA.
In spite of my terrible planning I did get to meet some extremely cool people. Wednesday night the guys from Fear the Boot took me out for a great dinner, and not only gave me a Baron von Badass mug, but introduced me to a new beer to fill it with. I also got to hang out with Jeff and Judd from the Sons of Kryos, though I never did meet Storn; Paul Tevis, who also introduced me to Ken Hite (sorry, Kenneth Hite in print); Jeff, Melissa, and the Exile Crew; Lenny and Fred from Evil Hat; all three of the All Games Considered crew, Jared Sorenson; Luke Crane; all the ENnies folks (Denise, Russ, Rich, Liz, Kennon, Michael, Gertie, Jeff, Stuart, Kevin...); the list goes on and on, but now I'm just listing people, so I'm going to stop while I'm ahead. Sorry if I missed anyone. I had such a great time at GenCon, and it was all because of the people I met.
So, I guess that's really all I did. I missed the Judges' Party Thursday night, so I don't have all the great stories everyone else does. I skipped it at first to run my HEX game, intending to show up late, but then promptly forgot about the party by the time the game ended at midnight, and went up to my room to sleep after my 20 hour drive earlier in the day. Other than that I spent all of my time in the dealers' room. You'd think that I'd have managed, in all that time, to get everything that I wanted, but I didn't. I don't have my stuff with me, but let me see if I can remember the list:
- Play Dirty, by John Wick (Dude, if you stumble across this, you're my hero. Just throwing that out there.)
- The Blossoms are Falling, by Luke Crane
- Jihad, by Luke Crane
- Cold City Companion, by Malcolm Craig (Who also gave me a second, signed copy, to give away at my game day next month.)
- Monte Cook's World of Darkness
- Hollow Earth Expedition: Secrets of the Surface World
- Hollow Earth Expedition: Player's Kit (A cool little bag with Ubiquity dice and Style Chips.)
- Hollow Earth Expedition: Game Master's Screen
- Aces and Eights
- Classic Battletech TechManual
- Classic Battletech Technical Readout 3050
- Shadowrun: Augmentation
- Dogs in the Vineyard
- GURPS: Martial Arts
- Blackmoor: Clock and Steam (Which was given to me for review by the guys at Zeitgeist.)
- and the guys at Eden sold me Forsaken Rites, Cryptozoology, and Atlantis Rising for Conspiracy X for $5 a piece on Sunday :)
What's really notable is what I didn't get, mostly because I'm an idiot. In retrospect I'm angry with myself for skipping the new Battletech boxed set. I was already so far over budget I couldn't justify buying a starter set since I already had all of the regular books, but man I wish I had a copy. A similar thing happened with GURPS Supers, where I got money concious and started thinking about the likelihood that I would be playing a Supers game any time soon. Somehow I also missed three of the games that I specifically went into the dealer's hall to buy. Reign, Prime Time Adventures, and Dread were right at the very top of my too buy list, and I have no idea how I missed them. I went to the Forge booth to pick them up, got distracted when my inner fanboi took over and I went around getting my books signed, and managed to walk away without thinking about it. I didn't notice that I managed to leave without them until I packed up my suitcase Sunday night.
All in all however it was certainly the best four days in gaming. I can't begin to describe what a great time I had and how much fun it was meeting everyone. Next year I'll plan better, and I'll do all of my shopping Thursday in case I miss anything. Other than that, I have no regrets.
Thanks to everyone who made GenCon, and this blog, such a blast. Especially to all of those who voted for me or vouched for me when I was running for judge. I got a lot of love this year, and win or lose it meant the world to me.
Friday, August 17, 2007
THE AWARDS!
Okay, I know I haven't logged on, but wireless coverage in Indianapolis is spottier than I expected.
I also promised to live-blog the awards, but due to limited internet access that didn't happen either.
So, here at least are the winners, congrats all, and thank you for your support of the ENnies and myself in particular.
Best Fan Site, presented by Russell Morrissey:
Silver: Planewalker
Gold: Dragonlance Nexus
Best PodCast, presented by Dan Repperger of Fear the Boot:
Silver: Yog Radio
Gold: Have Games, Will Travel
Best Cover Art, presented by Kevin Kulp:
Silver: Hollow Earth Expedition, by Exile Games Studio
Gold: Five Fingers, Port of Deceit, by Privateer Press
Best Interior Art:
Silver: Qin, by 7th Circle
Gold: Mutants and Masterminds, Ultimate Power by Green Ronin Publishing
Best Cartography:
Silver: WFRP GM Toolkit, by Black Industries
Gold: Ptolus, City by the Spire, by Malhavoc Press
Best Production Values:
Silver: Mutants and Masterminds, Ultimate Power, by Green Ronin Publishing
Gold: Ptolus, City by the Spire, by Malhavoc Press
Best Writing:
Silver: WFRP Children of the Horned Rat, by Black Industries
Gold: Five Fingers, Port of Deceit, by Privateer Press
Best Rules:
Silver: Spirit of the Century, by Evil Hat
Gold: Mutants and Masterminds, Ultimate Power, by Green Ronin
Best Adventure:
Silver: Mutants and Masterminds, Time of Vengeance, by Green Ronin Publishing
Gold: WFRP: Lure of the Liche Lord, by Black Industries
Best Setting, presented by Kieth Baker:
Silver: Five Fingers, Port of Deceit, by Privateer Press
Gold: Ptolus, City by the Spire, by Malhavoc Press
Best Supplement, presented by Kevin Kulp:
Silver: Mutants and Masterminds, Ultimate Power, by Green Ronin Publishing
Gold: WFRP Companion, by Black Industries
2008 ENnies Judge Election, announced by Richard Miller:
Kathryn -Gertie- Barden (Xath)
Elizabeth Bauman (Queen_Dopplepopolis)
Chris Gath (Crothian)
Zachary Houghton (Zachary The First)
Kevin Kulp (Piratecat)
Best Aid or Accessory, presented by Kevin Kulp:
Silver: GameMastery Combat Pad, by Open Mind Games/Paizo Publishing
Gold: Deck of Many Things, by Green Ronin Publishing
Best Miniature Product:
Silver: EZ Dungeons, by Fat Dragon Games
Gold: Game Mastery: Flip-mat Tavern, by Paizo Publishing
Best Regalia:
Silver: Liber Chaotica, by Black Industries
Gold: Order of the Stick, No Cure for the Paladin Blues, by Giant in the Playground
Best Free Product:
Silver: Classic Battletech Free Package, by Catalyst Games
Gold: Savage Tide Player's Guide, by Paizo Publishing
Best Electronic Book:
Silver: Magical Medieval Society: European Warfare, by Expeditious Retreat Press
Gold: Classic Battletech Free Package, by Catalyst Games
Best d20/OGL Product, presented by Rodney Thompson of Wizards of the Coast:
Silver: Five Fingers, Port of Deceit, by Privateer Press
Gold: Mutants and Masterminds, Ultimate Power, by Green Ronin Publishing
Best Game, presented by Rob Boyle of Catalyst Games:
Silver: Qin, by 7th Circle
Gold: Scion, Hero, by White Wolf
Product of the Year, presented by Peter Adkinson:
Silver: WFRP, Children of the Horned Rat, by Black Industries
Gold: Ptolus, City by the Spire, by Malhavoc Press
Fan's Choice, Best Publisher:
Silver: Green Ronin
Gold: Wizards of the Coast
I also promised to live-blog the awards, but due to limited internet access that didn't happen either.
So, here at least are the winners, congrats all, and thank you for your support of the ENnies and myself in particular.
Best Fan Site, presented by Russell Morrissey:
Silver: Planewalker
Gold: Dragonlance Nexus
Best PodCast, presented by Dan Repperger of Fear the Boot:
Silver: Yog Radio
Gold: Have Games, Will Travel
Best Cover Art, presented by Kevin Kulp:
Silver: Hollow Earth Expedition, by Exile Games Studio
Gold: Five Fingers, Port of Deceit, by Privateer Press
Best Interior Art:
Silver: Qin, by 7th Circle
Gold: Mutants and Masterminds, Ultimate Power by Green Ronin Publishing
Best Cartography:
Silver: WFRP GM Toolkit, by Black Industries
Gold: Ptolus, City by the Spire, by Malhavoc Press
Best Production Values:
Silver: Mutants and Masterminds, Ultimate Power, by Green Ronin Publishing
Gold: Ptolus, City by the Spire, by Malhavoc Press
Best Writing:
Silver: WFRP Children of the Horned Rat, by Black Industries
Gold: Five Fingers, Port of Deceit, by Privateer Press
Best Rules:
Silver: Spirit of the Century, by Evil Hat
Gold: Mutants and Masterminds, Ultimate Power, by Green Ronin
Best Adventure:
Silver: Mutants and Masterminds, Time of Vengeance, by Green Ronin Publishing
Gold: WFRP: Lure of the Liche Lord, by Black Industries
Best Setting, presented by Kieth Baker:
Silver: Five Fingers, Port of Deceit, by Privateer Press
Gold: Ptolus, City by the Spire, by Malhavoc Press
Best Supplement, presented by Kevin Kulp:
Silver: Mutants and Masterminds, Ultimate Power, by Green Ronin Publishing
Gold: WFRP Companion, by Black Industries
2008 ENnies Judge Election, announced by Richard Miller:
Kathryn -Gertie- Barden (Xath)
Elizabeth Bauman (Queen_Dopplepopolis)
Chris Gath (Crothian)
Zachary Houghton (Zachary The First)
Kevin Kulp (Piratecat)
Best Aid or Accessory, presented by Kevin Kulp:
Silver: GameMastery Combat Pad, by Open Mind Games/Paizo Publishing
Gold: Deck of Many Things, by Green Ronin Publishing
Best Miniature Product:
Silver: EZ Dungeons, by Fat Dragon Games
Gold: Game Mastery: Flip-mat Tavern, by Paizo Publishing
Best Regalia:
Silver: Liber Chaotica, by Black Industries
Gold: Order of the Stick, No Cure for the Paladin Blues, by Giant in the Playground
Best Free Product:
Silver: Classic Battletech Free Package, by Catalyst Games
Gold: Savage Tide Player's Guide, by Paizo Publishing
Best Electronic Book:
Silver: Magical Medieval Society: European Warfare, by Expeditious Retreat Press
Gold: Classic Battletech Free Package, by Catalyst Games
Best d20/OGL Product, presented by Rodney Thompson of Wizards of the Coast:
Silver: Five Fingers, Port of Deceit, by Privateer Press
Gold: Mutants and Masterminds, Ultimate Power, by Green Ronin Publishing
Best Game, presented by Rob Boyle of Catalyst Games:
Silver: Qin, by 7th Circle
Gold: Scion, Hero, by White Wolf
Product of the Year, presented by Peter Adkinson:
Silver: WFRP, Children of the Horned Rat, by Black Industries
Gold: Ptolus, City by the Spire, by Malhavoc Press
Fan's Choice, Best Publisher:
Silver: Green Ronin
Gold: Wizards of the Coast
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Next time, on a very special episode of In My Judgment:
I thought I'd go ahead and make a quick post about what's going on from my end. Since I'm leaving for GenCon Tuesday tomorrow's blog will be my last until Friday, when I will live-blog the awards ceremony, complete with pictures and winners as they are announced.
Tomorrow's blog will be a look back at my impressions of the products that were entered last year as a whole. It will likely be very long, and I've already started working on it a little bit.
After that, and the blog from the ceremony of course, what happens will largely depend on the outcome of the judge elections. When I get back from GenCon next Tuesday I will be starting my spotlight series, where I will go through products a couple at a time giving brief impressions. Whether or not those products are the ones I got this year or a sneak peak at what I'll be judging next year will have to wait and see if I get elected again.
If I'm not a judge I'll likely wrap up this blog once I finish highlighting my favorite products. If I am elected I'll shift my focus to the awards for next year. With any luck I'll bring a few entries home with me to start reviewing right away.
Tomorrow's blog will be a look back at my impressions of the products that were entered last year as a whole. It will likely be very long, and I've already started working on it a little bit.
After that, and the blog from the ceremony of course, what happens will largely depend on the outcome of the judge elections. When I get back from GenCon next Tuesday I will be starting my spotlight series, where I will go through products a couple at a time giving brief impressions. Whether or not those products are the ones I got this year or a sneak peak at what I'll be judging next year will have to wait and see if I get elected again.
If I'm not a judge I'll likely wrap up this blog once I finish highlighting my favorite products. If I am elected I'll shift my focus to the awards for next year. With any luck I'll bring a few entries home with me to start reviewing right away.
48 hours
Well, it's almost here. In just about 48 hours I'm headed to GenCon for the first time in a decade, and being the procrastinator that I am, I have yet to even begin packing.
I can't even begin to describe how excited I am. This year is going to be fantastic, and I'm really looking to meeting everyone.
Over at ENnies HQ things are in full swing. They just got the table layout a couple days ago, so the event organizers are finally able to get to work on seating arrangements and the like, not to mention packing up the booth stuff and all the other work that goes into throwing an event for hundreds of people.
Meanwhile, I of course am sitting on my hands. I feel pretty useless right now since my job at this point is mostly to show up and look pretty, and those who know me realized I'm going to fail at least half of that. Meanwhile I sit back and watch everyone else put a ton of time and effort into putting the presentation together and making sure that everything is done and ready to go.
Personally I can't wait. The location, the Indiana Roof Ballroom is amazing , and just around the corner from the convention center, which is very nice, especially since I won't have access to a cap in Indiana.
Anywho, I guess that's about it for now. Judge voting ends today, so if you haven't, please get out and vote. If you have, wish me luck.
I can't even begin to describe how excited I am. This year is going to be fantastic, and I'm really looking to meeting everyone.
Over at ENnies HQ things are in full swing. They just got the table layout a couple days ago, so the event organizers are finally able to get to work on seating arrangements and the like, not to mention packing up the booth stuff and all the other work that goes into throwing an event for hundreds of people.
Meanwhile, I of course am sitting on my hands. I feel pretty useless right now since my job at this point is mostly to show up and look pretty, and those who know me realized I'm going to fail at least half of that. Meanwhile I sit back and watch everyone else put a ton of time and effort into putting the presentation together and making sure that everything is done and ready to go.
Personally I can't wait. The location, the Indiana Roof Ballroom is amazing , and just around the corner from the convention center, which is very nice, especially since I won't have access to a cap in Indiana.
Anywho, I guess that's about it for now. Judge voting ends today, so if you haven't, please get out and vote. If you have, wish me luck.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
I am humbled
So, I'll admit that I have a Google alert looking for stuff about me and my blog. Yeah, it's vain, but I like to see what kind of job I'm doing, and I refuse to believe everyone is as positive as the guys are around here to my face.
Apparently I'm wrong. There has been an absolutely fantastic amount of support out there , and I don't even begin to know what to say. Thanks to everyone who took a moment to pass some good vibes my way. It really means a lot to me. I've gotten about a dozen hate e-mails and a couple of nasty IMs over the last couple days from people who are a bit upset about one of the decisions that was made (I'd really rather not go into it here if you don't mind), but every site that came up on my alert was not just supportive, but completely flattering.
I really appreciate it. I'm not sure if everyone came up on the alert yet, but let me at least thank Zachary (who commented here and on a number of message boards); Kevin Kulp, who gave me an amazing endorsement on his blog; Fred Hicks, who endorsed me on his blog and over at RPGnet, Christopher Richeson, who has been awesome on his blog and far more message boars than I myself frequent; Justin Jacobson, who took the time to drop me a complement over at Story Games; and everyone over on the Exile Games site.
You guys made my day.
I'm sure I missed some, and if I did, I'm sorry. You have my sincerest thanks.
Edit: I really need to add the guys at Fear the Boot to this. Despite great adversity they have been far better to me than I deserve.
Apparently I'm wrong. There has been an absolutely fantastic amount of support out there , and I don't even begin to know what to say. Thanks to everyone who took a moment to pass some good vibes my way. It really means a lot to me. I've gotten about a dozen hate e-mails and a couple of nasty IMs over the last couple days from people who are a bit upset about one of the decisions that was made (I'd really rather not go into it here if you don't mind), but every site that came up on my alert was not just supportive, but completely flattering.
I really appreciate it. I'm not sure if everyone came up on the alert yet, but let me at least thank Zachary (who commented here and on a number of message boards); Kevin Kulp, who gave me an amazing endorsement on his blog; Fred Hicks, who endorsed me on his blog and over at RPGnet, Christopher Richeson, who has been awesome on his blog and far more message boars than I myself frequent; Justin Jacobson, who took the time to drop me a complement over at Story Games; and everyone over on the Exile Games site.
You guys made my day.
I'm sure I missed some, and if I did, I'm sorry. You have my sincerest thanks.
Edit: I really need to add the guys at Fear the Boot to this. Despite great adversity they have been far better to me than I deserve.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)