So, it’s no secret to anyone that I play and love role-playing games. I’ve been playing D&D in some fashion or another for the past 24  years, starting with a game at lunch in the 5th grade. I still remember how terrible that game was. We only played once and it was a chaotic mess of pre-teen imagination and fantasized gore. That didn’t dissuade me from the game, rather, from that I saw potential for something so much better. With story, and better understanding of the mechanics, there could be something so much greater. It would be years, however, until I discovered that potential.

Read more on Finding the Path……

Skyrim

…but I’ve been busy.

So this past weekend, after several weeks of missed sessions due to chaotic schedules, health issues, and other unpredictable interruptions, we finally wrapped up the final storyline in my most recently run role playing game. The end of a game always feels kind of strange to me, with mixed feelings of accomplished satisfaction and confused disorientation. It doesn’t seem to matter whether I’m running the game or playing, whenever we get to the final climactic scene, it just always feels like I’m anticipating the next step.

Read more on The End of the Road……

As of late, with financial and time constraints, I haven’t been buying as many games as I used to. It’s not that I used to buy a ton, I’ve always been pretty conservative, but I’ve really learned to curb my impulse and unnecessary spending. I’ve also found, at least in recent years, that I am fairly immune to most conventional marketing. No matter how cool an ad makes something look, I find that I can pretty much ignore its call unless I have a genuine, vested interest in the product. To that effect, when I buy a new game, it’s usually with much research and a pre-order for a much anticipated release, or a late release buy after the price has started to slip. Yesterday, however, I saw the release of Forza Motorsport 4 on a passing Tweet and decided that I really needed a new driving game.

Read more on Impulse Overdrive……

I’m going to plainly state up front that I’ve never read any Lovecraft, nor do I have more than even a passing understanding of the entire Cthulhu mythos (I had to Google the spelling of Cthulhu, even). This has not, however, stopped me from developing an almost insatiable appetite for Cthulhu based board/card/dice games. I’ve got four in my game closet now, and every time another one pops up on my radar, my ears definitely prick up. Of course, even in the light of this obsession, there’s still one Cthulhu game that I can’t foster an appreciation or excitement for: Arkham Horror.

Read more on Your Head Will Collapse But There’s Nothing In It……

As some of you may have heard, Gordon and the Whale will be shutting down as of August 31st. My involvement with the plucky little movie site that could is an odd tale at best, but from what I understand, most everyone who worked for the site has a similar story of curious nature. So as the site winds itself down into the annals of internet history, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on my involvement therein.

Read more on I Sure Will Miss That Little Boy and His Marine Mammal……

So, it was over a year ago that I began to be interested in the game Small World, on the impersonal recommendation of such internet celebrity as Wil Wheaton. And while I was convinced that I would almost definitely enjoy the game, I was shy on cash, and – as always – shy on players, so I was hesitant to make the investment. As it turned out, before I had the funds to buy the full game, a version was released for the iPad for (at the time) only $5. To me, that’s an agreeable preview, and according to all reviews, it was an exact port of the original. And then came GenCon.

Read more on A Small World Review, Long Overdue……

So, this post is a day late, and if I ever received any money from my single Google Ad over there, it would be a dollar short. Nevertheless, here is my weekly update.

Read more on Planes, Trains, and Swimming Pools……

I am not one to choose favorites, whims and moods are far too fickle to pick one thing above all others for all time. But, were I to be forced to pick a favorite pass time, gaming would be in the top three choices. I game often and avidly, I dedicate more time and effort to it that nearly anything else (and probably more than I really should). A part of this obsession may be my deep seated desire to be a writer, but without the dedication to the craft, I’ve never really gotten anywhere with it. You see, writing is something I would much like to do, if not as a profession, than as an artist. The problem is, I don’t have the dedication to myself, or writing in general to maintain it – though this blog is an attempt to make that change.

Read more on Beyond the Black Gate……

In my recollection, it was about two months ago in the sleepy town of Denton that we first became aware of the fact that Gogol Bordello was to depart from a faraway land and return to the nation of their birth, the United States. Such an return as this was deserving of a most excellent party, and they kindly decided to share it with all the peoples of this country. As a part of this celebration, they would not only bring around vodka and marinated herring, but also they would bring an nearly illegal amount of gypsy punk!

Read more on It Was Unequivocally Designed To Make Your Body Rock……