Sunday Funnies - Mama's Parlor Games

A recent resurgence of Carol Burnett appreciate had me remembering those skits on her 1970s variety show where she, Vicki Lawrence, Harvey Korman, and the others developed that wonderful, dysfunctional family *AND* often played boardgames as part of the skits.  I looked up the ones I could recall, to Share them here, with the first being their attempt at a game of Monopoly here.

Also, on The Carol Burnett Show Official YouTube channel, watch as they try to get through a game of Sorry!  Enjoy!

Finally, on the Geoffrey Hettel YouTube channel, Password is also tackled.  Crazy!

Sunday Funnies on CreativeMountainGames.com

Humor, often gaming-related,
to start the week with a chuckle.

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Saturday Crowdfunding Roundup - Cast Metal Dice, Card Caddy, & Fleet Commander

Three from Kickstarter this week with the first being "Cast Metal Gaming Dice" by Trayser Metal Works here.

Also, have a look at "The Card Caddy: 2x & 3x Deckers w/ snap-on accessories" by Chris Nichols here.

Finally, check out "Fleet Commander - Genesis" by Capsicum Games here.

Saturday Crowdfunding Roundup on CreativeMountainGames.com 

Keeping an eye on those Kickstarter & IndieGoGo
projects plus other crowdfunding efforts.

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The Friday Grab Bag - Self-Publishing

Over on writeaboutdragons.com, we're given "5 Sites You Need to See If You Want to Self Publish" here.

Also, on molly-greene.com, she discusses "6 Self-Publishing Missteps You Should Avoid" here.

Finally, on theartorder.com, they explain "How to Commission Art" here.

The Friday Grab Bag on CreativeMountainGames.com 

Essentially, a clearinghouse for topics not covered

elsewhere or needing a particular focus.

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Throwback Thursday - DeLorean, Sci-Fi, & Star Wars

Over on wtkr.com, they tell us "DeLorean going back into production for the first time in over 30 years" here.

Also, on io9.gizmodo.com, they gave us "A Chart that Reveals How Science Fiction Futures Changed Over Time" here.

Finally, on ebay.com, an auction from December was listed as "Star Wars The Ultimate Action Figure Collection Lot 1,950 Loose Figs From Book."  It ended with a high bid of $11.5K here.

Throwback Thursday on CreativeMountainGames.com 

A look back at early tabletop hobby gaming

 or gaming-adjacent topics of the past.

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Events & Play Wednesday - Cons & Gamedays for February

Locally, one of the main events on my radar in February is Second Sunday which falls on February 14th.  It's a gameday at the Lake Geneva Games store.  They are located at 918 S Wells St, Lake Geneva, WI 53147 and their phone number is (262) 885-1515.  The event runs from Noon until 9 pm and is mostly about pickup boardgames though planning particular games privately or on Facebook is certainly encouraged.  Sign up for this event and discuss it further on Facebook here.  If you note the change in name, this is because "First" Sunday would have conflicted with the Superbowl, Gary Con, and the Gaming Hoopla in February, March, and April.  We'll get back to it being First Sunday in May, in all likelihood.  In the meantime, let's get some gaming in.

There will also be a Burlington Gameday scheduled for February on the third Saturday, the 20th, with details at the Burlington UCC Game Day group on Facebook here.  It will be held in Burlington, WI at the Plymouth UCC space, taking place from approximately 11 am to 5 pm.  All are welcome!  The third Sunday this month features A Gathering of Gamers on Sunday, February 21st, set up by the South Lakes Area Gamers here.  The event takes place at the Pizza Ranch in Elkhorn, WI, and requires a $12 fee for the all you can eat pizza and fried chicken buffet (salad bar, soft-serve ice cream machine, etc.) plus unlimited soft drinks and coffee from 11 am to 8 pm.

There is still time to get involved in Winter War 43, to be held this weekend, January 29-31, 2016, at the Hawthorn Suites in Champaign, IL.  Winter War is one of the longest running game conventions in the country.  The flyer for Winter War can be downloaded from here.  To get an idea of the scope and type of events that will take place, you can check out last year's program here.  Current event listings are here.

Farther from my locale . . .

The good folks at casualgamerevolution.com have put together the listings for Tabletop Gaming Conventions 2016 here.  They have 35 listed for February and even more in March and April.  Over 300 for the year so far.  I imagine that list will continue to attract new listings as organizers find out about it.

You can also find a whole list of gaming events all around the country and beyond on Warhorn.net here.  Some of the events include:

Jan 27 Wasatch Front Pathfinder Society Demolition Games, UT

Jan 27-31 Conception 2016 Christchurch, DOR, GB

Jan 29-31 GHD Game Retreat Hudson, OH

Jan 29-31 Secret Mission Con Atlanta, GA

Jan 29-31 Winter War 43 Champaign, IL

Jan 30 Aid Another: Winter 2016 Philadelphia, PA

Feb 6 FlintCon 2016 Flint, MI

Feb 6 QC PFS Illinois! Rock Island, IL

Feb 12-14 Golaricon 2016 Indianapolis, IN

Feb 12-14 RadCon Pasco, WA

Feb 12-14 Rapier Con Jacksonville, FL

Feb 12-15 DunDraCon 40  Ramon, CA

Feb 12-15 Orccon 2016 Los Angeles, CA

Feb 13-14 Swampcon 2016 Gainesville, FL

Feb 18-21 Cayden's Crawl 3: One More Round Jacksonville, FL

Feb 18-21 Dreamation 2016 Morristown, NJ

Feb 18-21 TotalCon 2016 Mansfield, MA

Feb 19-21 Con Nooga 2016 Chattanooga, TN

Feb 19-21 Owlcon 2016 GM Mustering Houston, TX

Feb 20 Tijujana RPG Fest 2016 Tijuana, BCN, MX

Feb 26-28 Condor 2016 San Diego, CA

Feb 26-28 Gamicon 25 Iowa City, IA

Feb 26-28 PurpleBunnyCon Nashville, TN

Feb 27 Chicago Gameday 43 Mount Prospect, IL

Feb 27 Dragon's Refuge Lodge Con Bourbonnais, IL

Some of this information (and more can be had) is from the excellent lists on upcomingcons.com/gaming-conventions, GameConventionCentral.com, HMGS (the Historical Miniatures Gaming Society), and  as well as many, many gamers on Facebook and Google Plus, to whom I am grateful for the help in this compilation.  Thanks so much and have a great game!

Events & Play Wednesday on CreativeMountainGames.com 

News of Conventions and Gamedays as well as pictures

from those I have attended and games I have played.

Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

Tech Tuesday - Marvin Minsky has Passed

We lost Marvin Minsky this week, a pioneer in the field of Artificial Intelligence.  Here's a few links providing more information about this incredible individual and his contributions. Over on nytimes.com, here is an article about his passing.

Also, on technologyreview.com, an article from last October shares how "Marvin Minsky Reflects on a Life in AI" here.

Finally, on the 2045 Initiative YouTube channel, a video titled "Dr. Marvin Minsky — Immortal minds are a matter of time."  Enjoy!

Tech Tuesday on CreativeMountainGames.com 

News focused on Technology
as it might interest gamers.

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Media News Monday - Justice League, Doctor Who, & Jessica Jones

Three from io9.gizmodo.com, with the first being "Our First Look at the Justice League Is Here, and It's Damn Rad" here.

Also, "Steven Moffat Finally Confirms The Doctor Can And Should Be A Woman" here.

Finally, "Rejoice! We're Getting Season 2 of Jessica Jones!"  Find out more here.

Media News Monday on CreativeMountainGames.com 

News for Movies, Television, and more
of gamer-relevant Media.

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Sunday Funnies - More Star Wars Funnies

Over on washingtonpost.com, they share a video on "How Ken Burns would tell the story of 'Star Wars'" here.

Also, on the Shahan Reviews YouTube channel, watch as "Obi-Wan Remembers The Truth."  Enjoy!

Finally, on the Jose Anaya YouTube channel, we imagine "It's Always Sunny in Tatooine."  Perfection!

Sunday Funnies on CreativeMountainGames.com

Humor, often gaming-related,
to start the week with a chuckle.

Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

Saturday Crowdfunding Roundup - Atlantis, Alterkine, & Tiny Epic Western

Three from Kickstarter this week with the first being "Guards of Atlantis: Tabletop MOBA" by Wolff Designa here.

Also, have a look at "Alterkine: Planetary Survey RPG Pathfinder" by Jeff Becker here.

Finally, check out "Tiny Epic Western" by Gamelyn Games here.

Saturday Crowdfunding Roundup on CreativeMountainGames.com 

Keeping an eye on those Kickstarter & IndieGoGo
projects plus other crowdfunding efforts.

Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

The Friday Grab Bag - Teaching D&D to Youngsters

For over 40 years I've played all editions including Pathfinder (yes, it might as well be an edition), and often break out the books for previous editions for several Old School conventions each year in southern Wisconsin.  I recently ran a one year long 1E AD&D campaign, as well.  NO edition is the best.  Period.  Everyone has a personal bias.  I kinda like 1E more than others but that doesn't mean it is the best or doesn't have flaws.  I designed lots of material and sold it during the 3.XE period which has its own foibles.  All that said . . .

If you're going to teach some youngsters D&D, get the 5E Starter Set for less than $20 and print out the FREE 5E Basic Rules PDF from online.  When I ran a 5E game when 5E first came out, I did this as well.  I also printed out an extra copy of the spells section and had those bound separately for players.  The Starter Set has pre-generated characters and the 5E Basic Rules have character generation rules if you want to get more involved.  The Starter Set comes with a mini-campaign/adventure that you could be using for six months or more depending on how much you might like to add to it from the Basic Rules of your own design.

Unless you have continued to play the older edition yourself all these many years AND have a big pile of books from that older edition including multiple copies of the PHB AND unless you have an ongoing group of dedicated players who already play that edition locally to you, it makes no sense to me to invest your kid(s) and others in something for which you have a vaguely nostalgic feeling.  The current edition is 5E and it's good too.  If the people you're teaching find they love the game, there will be plenty of players they can find and others who currently play the game all over the place, online and off.  They'll be able to find new material for their games, should they start up their own, and plenty of people with whom they can share the love of the edition THEY'LL grow up playing.  If they enjoy the Basic game, there are also larger investments that can be made in D&D 5E with more player options and depth of play.

I know some folks still play the accordion and others still take tap dancing lessons every year but, even though I regularly break out my own metaphorical velocipede, I wouldn't teach youngsters to ride it when there are new bicycles available at every store and other kids riding dirt bikes all over the place.  On the other hand, if you want to teach a youngster how to play a roleplaying game and D&D holds no appeal for you, there are hundreds of RPGs available for free, cheap, and more.  But I'll have to address that situation in a future blog post!  In the meantime, you can pick up some tips on running your own game by checking out a series of blogs I did on My 5E Starter Set Quest here.

The Friday Grab Bag on CreativeMountainGames.com 

Essentially, a clearinghouse for topics not covered
elsewhere or needing a particular focus.

Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

Throwback Thursday - Dungeons & Dragons

Over on slate.com, Michael Witwer explains "The Gygax Effect" here.

Also, on dmdavid.com, he tells us of "When megadungeons ruled Dungeons & Dragons" here.

Finally, on the RetroBlasting YouTube channel, a video uploaded last month gives us a "Dungeons & Dragons Classic Cartoon Review - Part 1: "Uni" Vision."  Enjoy!

Throwback Thursday on CreativeMountainGames.com 

A look back at early tabletop hobby gaming

 or gaming-adjacent topics of the past.

Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

Events & Play Wednesday - Lake Geneva Gaming, December to January

Lots of gaming in and around Lake Geneva and Southern Wisconsin.  Here are some pictures taken at the various events, many of them at Lake Geneva Games (Facebook page here)!  Check out more pictures on my Facebook album here and a Google Photos album here.

Events & Play Wednesday on CreativeMountainGames.com 

News of Conventions and Gamedays as well as pictures

from those I have attended and games I have played.

Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

Tech Tuesday - Sabrina Gonzalez Pasterski

Over on nextshark.com, they feature Sabrina Gonzalez Pasterski who is doing great things in science and engineering.  Read more here.

Also, on physicsgirl.com, you can find out more about and follow her many accomplishments here.

Finally, on the PhysicsGirl YouTube channel, check out some of the videos Sabrina has made over the years here including the first one where she began building an airplane for her father.

Tech Tuesday on CreativeMountainGames.com 

News focused on Technology
as it might interest gamers.

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Media News Monday - The (NEW) X-Files

We're now less than a week away from the premiere of the NEW X-Files series starring, of course, Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully and David Duchovny as Fox Mulder as well as featuring returning stars like Mitch Pileggi as Walter Skinner and William B. Davis as the Smoking Man, and newcomer to the franchise Joel McHale as Tad O'Malley.  If you're a fan, like me, you already know about most of the details but perhaps you've missed a few.  Allow me to share here a couple of useful videos to help get ready for the new show as well as a new trailer just released over the weekend.  Firs, over on The X-Files YouTube channel, have a look at "THE X-FILES: RE-OPENED" from the end of last year.  Enjoy!

Also, Anderson and Duchovny made an appearance this last week on Jimmy Kimmel Live for both an interview and to do a short comedy sketch.  Here are both of those . . .

Finally, on The X-Files YouTube channel, that new trailer.  Believe!

Media News Monday on CreativeMountainGames.com 

News for Movies, Television, and more
of gamer-relevant Media.

Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

Sunday Funnies - D&D Funnies

Over on dndui.com, some DM's notes are shared here.

Also, on vanellopecruz's imgur.com page, we're told "My friend came into our weekly session with a new cleric. When I asked him to heal me, he handed me this" here.

Finally, on kotaku.com and the Rizichard Rizorty YouTube channel, there's a video on how a "D&D Player Falls Asleep, Dungeon Master Tries Everything To Wake Him Up" here.  Enjoy!

Sunday Funnies on CreativeMountainGames.com

Humor, often gaming-related,
to start the week with a chuckle.

Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

Saturday Crowdfunding Roundup - 5E Adventure, Edible Dice, & Game Success

Over on kickstarter.com, check out "Curse of the White Mine -A 5E adventure" by Lloyd Metcalf here.

Also, on kickstarter.com, have a look at "Swirled Chocolate and Gummy Dice" by Lunar Wolf Treats here.

Finally, on siliconangle.com, they tell us "Tabletop games raised twice as much as video games on Kickstarter in 2015" here.

Saturday Crowdfunding Roundup on CreativeMountainGames.com 

Keeping an eye on those Kickstarter & IndieGoGo
projects plus other crowdfunding efforts.

Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

The Friday Grab Bag - D&D News

Over on dnd.wizards.com, we learned this week that Wizards of the Coast now has options for publishers and authors to get in on the action for 5th edition D&D design here.

Also, on wpn.wizards.com, we were told there will also be "Changes to D&D Organized Play" here.

Finally, on Merric's Musings, he steps up and gives us his "Quick thoughts on the Dungeon Masters Guild" here.

The Friday Grab Bag on CreativeMountainGames.com 

Essentially, a clearinghouse for topics not covered

elsewhere or needing a particular focus.

Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!