[Review] Palm Island and Sprawlopolis - Two Micro-Card Games That Fit In The Palm Of Your Hand

During my lengthy hiatus from posting here at The Savage AfterWorld, I've been doing quite a bit of board gaming. Because I'm usually on my own here at Casa Sniderman, I've discovered solo board games. Typically these games are spread out all over your gaming table with many figures, cards, counters, pawns, dice, and a sundry of other bits and pieces to lose or knock onto the floor. However during a Kickstarter shopping spree of the past two years, I discovered two solo games that consist of no more than 18 cards....each. These two games literally fit in the palm of your hand. First we'll take a trip to Palm Island, followed shortly by a visit to the thriving metropolis of Sprawlopolis.

Palm Island by Portal Dragon tasks you to develop and expand the resources of your tiny Island Kingdom. You do this by amassing resources and spending them to “level up” your island's temples, housing, markets, etc. As your island begins to thrive, you have access to more resources to further expand your domain. Did I mention the game is played solely in the palm of your hand?

The 17-card deck is shuffled, then each card in the deck is dealt with one at a time. To store a resource (fish, logs, and stone) for future use, you turn it 90 degrees to expose it. If you amass enough stored resources, you can then spend them to develop your island's buildings and temples by straightening them back up, paying the cost to upgrade. As your island grows stronger, you have access to better and more abundant resources. When you've gone through the deck 8 times, the game ends. Each developed card is worth a certain point value depending on how far you managed to upgrade it. I've oversimplified how to play for this review, but there is an amazing amount of depth and gameplay here. Plus, if you meet certain goals in play, you can add additional cards to the game, such a "Feat" card which gives you special abilities and bonuses. There are Villagers who can offer their help to your island paradise. The game can be played head-to-head, both cooperatively and competitively! And watch out for disasters such as hurricanes and volcanoes that could destroy your kingdom! The portability of this game allows you to play it anywhere you have a free hand, because you don't need a playing surface at all! Very highly recommended!

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Sprawlopolis by Button Shy Games challenges you to build a thriving city made up of industrial, residential, commercial, and city park blocks, while meeting certain predetermined construction goals. And your city will come together with only the 18 cards in the deck!

To begin a game of Sprawlopolis, you shuffle the cards, then pull three at random. On the back of each card is a unique construction goal that applies only to this game. For example, one goal might be "Morning Commute" which gives you a two-point scoring bonus for any roads that pass through both a residential and commercial block. Or "Go Green" which gives you a point for every park block, but penalizes you three points for every industrial block! Each goal card also has a target score number -- adding the three goal numbers together gives you your final Target Score which must be reached or exceeded to win. To play, you use each card in order in the deck from top to bottom. You can play a new card next to or overlapping any card in play, as long as it's always lengthwise oriented and not played corner-to-corner. Your placement determines whether you can meet the scoring conditions on the construction goals. After the last card is placed, you score points per the beginning goals. You finally score one point per block in your largest area of each zone type. If you reached or beat your target score, you win! The Kickstarted version I got also has a few bonus cards, such as Points of Interest (city beautification!), Construction Zones (under development!), and Wrecktar (monster attack!).

Both of these games prove you don't need expansive boards and fiddly bits to have a great game. These 17-18-card decks have given me a lot of gameplay is a very small footprint. Sniderman says, "Check them out!"

[CRYPTWORLD] "Burial Plots" Origins Of Horror Part 5: "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear"

As the Kickstarter for Goblinoid Games' CRYPTWORLD adventure compilation Burial Plots enters its last 24 hours, I thought it'd be fun to explain where each of these horrific scenarios came from. (These reflections will be full of spoilers for the adventures within, so if you plan to play in any of them, proceed with caution!) The fifth adventure I wrote, "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear," was a macabre Christmas gift to Cryptworld fans...

Like a lot of people, my two favorite holidays are Halloween and Christmas. And anything that can combine the two diametrically opposite seasons is very cool in my eyes. I especially love horror films that take place on Christmas. No, not "Nightmare Before Christmas" (though that happens to be a holiday favorite). I'm referring to such fare as Jack Frost, Santa Slays, Black Christmas, Silent Night Deadly Night, Krampus, etc. (And I have a special place in my heart for Tales From The Crypt's killer Santa in "…And All Through The House".) So a few years back, I decided to create my own "Scary Little Christmas" for readers of my blog.

For my bit of Merry Mayhem, I didn't want a killer Santa or snowman to terrorize the players. Instead, I decided to use a THING that doesn't get enough attention: the Puppet Master. During the holidays, homes are decorated with numerous figures and likenesses of Santa, snowmen, reindeer, gingerbread men, dolls, and nutcrackers. Now imagine if all of these toys came to life at the behest of an evil entity! (For added evilness, you could also animate the nativity set under the tree, but having the Three Wise Men attack the PCs is too horrible for my tastes!) Once I decided who the Puppet Master had been in life and why she was turning the holidays into a murder scene, the rest of the scenario fell nicely into place.

As we wrap up, please consider pledging for Burial Plots and discover the horrors lurking within!

[CRYPTWORLD] "Burial Plots" Origins Of Horror Part 4: "Death In The Dust"

As the Kickstarter for Goblinoid Games' CRYPTWORLD adventure compilation Burial Plots enters its final week, I thought it'd be fun to explain where each of these horrific scenarios came from. (These reflections will be full of spoilers for the adventures within, so if you plan to play in any of them, proceed with caution!) The fourth adventure I wrote, "Death in the Dust," was my effort to create a horror adventure taking place in one of my favorite settings -- The Old West...

The basic idea behind "Death in Dust" came years ago, when I decided that I wanted to run a western-themed CRYPTWORLD game at a convention. Other than the Wild West setting, I really didn't have much of an idea as to the plot. I considered having giant mutant tarantulas as the THINGs infesting the town of Weaver (get it?), but I had pretty much covered the "giant bugs" angle in some other scenarios. I also didn't know how I was going to "prompt" the players into visiting an Old West ghost town in the middle of the desert. What would be the reason? Thoroughly idea-less, I let the concept simmer.

As convention season neared, I revisited the ghost town of Weaver. But what if it wasn't a ghost town anymore? "What if," I thought, "the town had been revitalized as a tourist attraction?" Now I had my reason for the players to visit. Plus, I had inadvertently incorporated another favorite setting -- "the haunted amusement park." I then looked at the name of the camp: "The Weaver Sterling Silver Mine". It was the word "sterling" that jumped out at me. What if that wasn't an adjective, but rather another name? Perhaps a someone who co-founded the town? But if this were the case, why was the town now known as "Weaver"? What happened in the past to erase this person from the historical record? And what would this restless wronged spirit do to those who now celebrated the return of Weaver to its "former glory"?

For the answers, please consider pledging for Burial Plots and discover what other horrors lurk in Weaver, Arizona!

......weeeeeeeeeaaaavvvveeeeeerrrrrrrrrr.....

[CRYPTWORLD] "Burial Plots" Origins Of Horror Part 3: "Unquenchable"

As the Kickstarter for Goblinoid Games' CRYPTWORLD adventure compilation Burial Plots is underway, I thought it'd be fun to explain where each of these horrific scenarios came from. (These reflections will be full of spoilers for the adventures within, so if you plan to play in any of them, proceed with caution!) The third adventure I wrote, "Unquenchable," is a hex crawl where my own personal demons stalk the players in a setting where they instead hold all of the cards...

Many of my previous CRYPTWORLD adventures take place in a confined, claustrophobic space: an abandoned hospital, a jetliner in flight, the rotting farmhouse outside of town. So for my next adventure, I wanted to break out of that genre trope and have the setting be eerily "calming." So I created an outdoor hex crawl that takes place in the middle of the day. The sun's up and the players can see for miles. The players are both armed and in constant radio contact with the authorities. How could I take this setting -- where ALL of the advantages are in the hands of the PCs -- and twist it so they instead find themselves faced with a living nightmare? All you need is a good monster -- and lots of them.

They say "Write what you know," so I decided to dip into the well of Sniderman's Personal Fears. You see, spiders terrify me, as I have severe arachnophobia. Monster films featuring spiders -- no matter how low-budget and cheesy -- give me the willies. (In fact, I used this phobia earlier when I wrote "Tangled Threads" found in CRYPTWORLD's first supplement, Monsters Macabre.) So the Tarantulords were to make a comeback. But I wanted these to be even more horrific. More frightening. More dangerous. As I mulled a new hybrid of "werewolf spiders" or "zombie spiders," I chanced upon the concept of  "vampire spiders," and realized with a shudder that THOSE ACTUALLY EXIST.

 
And thus the protagonists of "Unquenchable" came to horrific life.

I don't want to spoil everything, so please consider pledging for Burial Plots and discover what other horrors are found in the woods!

[CRYPTWORLD] "Burial Plots" Origins Of Horror Part 2: "Condition Critical"

As the Kickstarter for Goblinoid Games' CRYPTWORLD adventure compilation "Burial Plots" is underway, I thought it'd be fun to explain where each of these horrific scenarios came from. (These reflections will be full of spoilers for the adventures within, so if you plan to play in any of them, proceed with caution!) The second adventure I wrote, "Condition Critical," features my favorite forgotten monster archetype…

Most horror RPGs (that are not Lovecraftian in nature) have several standard monsters the players have encountered -- those I call the Halloween Monsters: vampire, werewolf,  ghost, mummy, witch, zombie, etc. But my favorite "standard" monster is a 50's B-movie staple, one that defy classification...

--The Blob--

Not sure what is so appealing about the giant flesh-ingesting amoeba, but maybe its inability to be defined is what makes it such a great creature. It's a mobile pile of goo that just wants to eat. (And eat and eat and eat...) I was thrilled to see "Space Blob" listed as a new THING in CRYPTWORLD, so it was only natural that I bring this monster to pulsating, slime-coated, flesh-dissolving un-life in one of my adventures. At Ohio's Con on the Cob in 2013, "Condition Critical" was run as the first CRYPTWORLD game at a gaming convention.

For me, there's nothing creepier than a place that would otherwise be bustling that is mysteriously empty and abandoned -- especially if that location is typically clean and antiseptic, the exact opposite of the creaky run-down ramshakle house on the edge of town. So an abandoned hospital became the setting, and my blob -- Experiment TB-4 -- now runs amok within. Where did it come from? Well, that's a mystery you'll need to discover for yourself...

[CRYPTWORLD] "Burial Plots" Origins Of Horror Part 1: "Forget-Me-Not"

As the Kickstarter for Goblinoid Games' CRYPTWORLD adventure compilation "Burial Plots" is underway, I thought it'd be fun to explain where each of these horrific scenarios came from. (I'll endeavor to stay as "spoiler-free" as I can, but read with caution.) The first adventure, "Forget-Me-Not," began -- appropriately enough -- with a nightmare…

I had the dream back in 2012. It was startling enough to make me sit bolt-upright in bed when I woke. I didn't remember much about the situation or setting upon awakening, but one image was burned into my subconscious: a phantom with long blades for hands. The spirit approached me, a scowl on its face.

"Who am I?" it asked.

I could tell the question was not one of identity. The ghost knew who it had been in life. No, rather the spirit wanted to find out if *I* knew who it was. I had never seen its face before.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know you," I answered. The spirit grimaced and sneered. One of its bladed hands pointed accusingly at me.

"You did this to me," it hissed. "You should know who you've killed. again, WHO AM I?" It swung the blade at my head. I was in a panic.

"I don't know! I don't know who you are!" I pleaded. The spirit looked sad -- disappointed, really. Then with a shriek, it swung at my neck...

And I woke up.

-=-=-=-=-

Later that year, as I prepped to attend my first Gary Con, I wanted to run a series of old-school RPGs for the Dead Games Society. I scheduled games of Ghostbusters and Timemaster, but I also wanted to run a horror scenario. One of my favorite old-school RPGs was Pacesetter's "Chill" horror RPG. I remembered the image of angry wraith, and the adventure "Arbor Day" -- to later become renamed as "Forget-Me-Not" -- spilled forth. At the convention, the players encountered a scene literally from my nightmares, and I saw both horror and excitement in their eyes as the scenario unfolded.

And I knew more horrific adventures would follow...

[Cryptworld] "Burial Plots" Adventure Compilation Now On Kickstarter!

The Kickstarter for the new CRYPTWORLD adventure supplement "Burial Plots" is now underway! CRYPTWORLD is Pacesetter's game of horror investigation and survival, and "Burial Plots" places your players face-to-face with monstrous THINGS in five full-length scenarios:


Condition Critical
Dr. Howard Eastman has called a press conference at his remote research facility to announce a medical breakthrough that will “eradicate human illness and suffering forever.” But what if the cure proves to be worse than the disease?

Unquenchable
Three days ago, a group of hunters failed to return from their annual deer hunt near Akron, Ohio. Your team of expert trackers and investigators has been brought in to assist in the search. But there seems to be an undercurrent of unease amongst the police who whisper of a disturbing discovery they’ve made. Is there something sinister lurking in the forest?

Death in the Dust
In 1888, the silver-mining boomtown of Weaver, Arizona, was abandoned after a series of unexplained disasters, and the town was left to crumble in the desert sands. Today, the former ghost town has been revitalized as a historical attraction. Is history about to repeat itself?

Forget-Me-Not
Horrific axe murders recently committed in Oregon's Tillamook State Forest are identical to those committed by the legendary "Paul Bunyon Butcher" 40 years ago. However, the original killer – now elderly and feeble – remains behind bars. Has a copycat killer surfaced, or is this the work of something even more sinister?

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
The Christmas season is typically a time of peace on Earth and goodwill toward men. But one THING has decided to make this year's Yuletide visit to relatives a horrific holiday from Hell.

"Burial Plots" has a modest goal of $1500 to fund, but if $4000 is reached, a new CRYPTWORLD Crypt Master's screen will be designed and released! And those folks who have not yet picked up CRYPTWORLD, the core rules are available as an add-on, as well as the entire Pacesetter RPG line including TIMEMASTER, ROTWORLD, and MAJUS. (And if you want CRYPTWORLD'S first supplement, "Monsters Macabre," that's available too!)

During the funding period, I may revisit each of these five scenarios and give you a bit of background on how these horrors came to life. Stay tuned...

Untold: Adventures Await -- The Rory's Story Cube Adventure Game Now Kickstarting!

Hey gang, long time no see!

I've mentioned my love of Rory's Story Cubes in a previous blog post. These nifty little iconic dice are a fantastic imagination jogger, giving you a million ideas and inspirations all from a toss of these picturesque cubes. I've often thought that these would make a great basis for a simple RPG-like game system. Well, the folks at The Creativity Hub have been working on such a project for a while now and Untold: Adventures Await is the result. The game is now Kickstarting, in fact.

The customizable storytelling game is structured into "acts" or "scenes", with each act revealing more of the story as the game progresses. Each tale starts with a Danger that is established (the reason your character is involved in the story), followed by Intrigue (the plot twist), Confrontation (the PC swing into action), Revelation (the true motivations of the NPCs come to light), and Showdown (the final epic ending). The system may seem a bit structured, but that's to emulate the same structures found in television episodes and/or radio plays. Although the players get to choose the genre or "type" of story they wish to participate in, the adventure grows organically through the random tossing of the story cubes as well as the flowchart-like story board of Untold as the game is played.

I'm being a bit vague as to how the game works as I don't want to give away all of the secrets in this blog post. (Plus I have another story cube-related post coming after this one!) The Kickstarter page has a How To Play video posted that shows you how the game works, and a live playthrough was just held this evening. (A video should be posted in the next day or so.) Still not sure? How about if you download Untold's Print and Play set and give it a try? (Story Cubes not included so you gotta use your own.)

You can use any set of nine Story Cubes you want, and you can even mix them up from various sets to create even more variations of tales. I plan to use the Fright Set along with the Clues Set to play some investigative horror games later! It's just a shame that there isn't a set of Lovecraft/Cthulhu Story Cubes!

(Or is there? Stay tuned for my follow-up blog post!)

Cthulhu Insanity Dice Now On Kickstarter! Simplify Those Fear & Insanity Checks!

Ben Burns of Dark Cult Games just launched his Kickstarter for Cthulhu Insanity Dice. This set of two 10-sided dice are perfect for horror RPGs when the players fail a fear check or lose that last bit of remaining sanity. One dice has 10 different fear reactions: babbling incoherently, explosive rage, flee in panic, faint dead away, etc. The other dice has 10 phobias that could surface when the player takes enough mental damage. These dice are going to be an invaluable addition for any horror RPG player. And it's only $13 for a set! Check them out!

Adventures On The Ape Planet! "Apes Victorious" RPG Coming This Summer

This is a belated announcement on Goblinoid Games’ newest upcoming RPG, Apes Victorious, which will be coming out this summer! To make up for the delay in getting this posted, I’ve added a few tantalizing tidbits about the game at the end of this post!

In case you haven’t heard, Goblinoid Games’ Dan Proctor has written a new RPG that takes place on a planet where apes are the rulers and man is the beast!

ALERT! ALERT! PREMATURE LANDING!

You groggily come back to consciousness after a long cryosleep. Your ship’s warning system is telling you the ship has entered the atmosphere of a planet and is about to crash land under autopilot. Crawling to a seat, you buckle in, joining your fellow astronauts as you quickly check instrument readings.

Through the cockpit window you see a barren, desolate landscape flashing by. The ship skims a large lake before coming to a stop just off the pebble shore. The computer tells you there is a breathable atmosphere, and after gathering survival packs the crew exits the ship.

“Where are we?” you ask each other, as everyone wades to the shore seeing a wasteland with little vegetation.

“Which planet is this? We must have gone off course on our return from Alpha Centauri.”

Then there is the sound of hoof beats, adding to the disorientation. Hoof beats? Are we on Earth?

Around an embankment comes several riders bearing rifles. As they approach, the sun glares in your eyes and a shot fires, a companion to your left falls to the ground holding his stomach. A large rider stops in front of you, momentarily blocking the sun and providing a clear look at his face.

“An ape! We’re on a planet ruled by apes!”

Apes Victorious is a roleplaying game in which you take the role of an astronaut from the 1970’s who finds himself marooned on a future Earth ruled by intelligent apes. Players may also take the role of an ape, a degenerated human, or a psi-active underdweller. Fight to survive in this post-apocalyptic future ruled by four species of apes. Or play apes who hunt humans for sport. For a different kind of campaign, play highly intelligent but insane underdwellers who have advanced technology and powerful psi powers.

This book contains:

* A complete game
* A post-nuclear apocalyptic setting in which apes have become the dominant species
* Seven player classes
* Animals and creatures of the post-nuclear future
* Campaign advice
* A complete introductory adventure
* Conversion notes for compatible games including Labyrinth Lord, Mutant Future, and Starships & Spacemen 2e

By Daniel Proctor with additional material by  Leonard H. Kanterman and Tim Snider. Cover by Mark Allen, interior illustrations TBA.

-=-=-=-=-=-

And here are some of those tidbits I’ve mentioned:

* Want to stay up-to-date on developments of the game? There is a new Apes Victorious G+ group already up and running, created by Brutorz Bill of the Green Skeleton Gaming Guild. (It stands to reason, as he’s been running his Simian Saturday feature for a long time!) Stop by the group and watch for new announcements regarding the development of Apes Victorious.

* There will likely be a Kickstarter for Apes Victorious once the final pieces of the manuscript are complete and in place. The KS will be for funding of the interior art, so some evocative scenes are coming to the pages of AV!

* According to a post Dan made at the Apes Victorious G+ group, the game will be released as Open Game Content (OGC). Also, there will be a free trademark license available so third-parties can write and release their own offerings for adventures in The Simian World!

[Kickstarter] The Check Deck: A Twist On Checkers

 I love gamehacks and optional home rules folks think up for their favorite boardgames. (For example, tossing all taxes and penalties into the center of the Monopoly board, then hoping you're the first to land on Free Parking for that jackpot!) A new gamehack I stumbled across on Kickstarter is "The Check Deck" -- a deck of 34 rule-breaking cards for Checkers. Similar to Knightmare Chess, The Check Deck adds an element of randomness to the otherwise straightforward game of Checkers.

At the beginning of the match, each player is dealt 7 cards at random from The Check Deck. Play then proceeds normally, with the exception that -- instead of moving -- a player can instead play one of the cards in his hand and follow those instructions for his turn. He may be allowed to treat any piece as if it were a King for that turn, jumping and capturing as many opponent pieces as possible. He might play a card allowing him to move two pieces that turn instead. Or he may swap the position of one of his pieces with that of one of his opponents. Freezing a piece in place, or removing any piece from play could also happen.

The Check Deck already hit its minuscule goal of $100 with 27 days left to go. Only $12 gets you a deck shipped free anywhere in the U.S. with delivery in November in time for Christmas. (Apparently all that's needed is funds for printing, as a prototype deck is featured on the Kickstarter page.) I can't remember the last time I broke out my Checkers board, but this sounds like a nifty addition to try out and toss into the gamebox for future diversions. For $12? Sure, king me!

[Kickstarter] The Complete Oracle AD&D Fanzine Reprint From 1982-83

One of my favorite gaming archival organizations is the Play Generated Map & Document Archive (PlaGMaDA) which takes materials created by players and GMs and gives these handcrafted gaming treasures a home. (I even made a donation of my own to the archives.) Every so often, Tim Hutchinson of PlagMaDa will compile some of these materials into a new supplement for players, collectors, and gaming historians. His most recent Kickstarter was the amazing "Habitition of the Stone Giant Lord and Other Adventures From Our Shared Youth" that collected eight D&D modules written by players during the D&D heydays of the 70s and 80s.

Tim has launched a new Kickstarter for another amazing compilation -- this one collects all five issues of "The Oracle," a D&D fanzine from 1982-83 featuring new character classes, new adventures, new rules, as well as movie/game reviews and original fiction. This new compilation looks to be 200 pages and will be a limited-run hardbound book for collectors. Within 24 hours, the fundraising met its goal, and now Tim is adding new stretch goals to the project including more supplementary material and the only issue of The Augury -- a companion 'zine to The Oracle.

I love stuff like this. I love homemade gaming materials. I love 'zines. And a hardback collection of D&D gaming zines from the 80s? Count me in. If you have a similar tastes, you should absolutely help fund this slice of gaming's past -- a past you can bring to your table and play!

Nightmares Surfacing For Cryptworld's "Monsters Macabre" Supplement

A new update at the "Monsters Macabre" Kickstarter page confirms that artwork is starting to come in for Cryptworld's new supplement! Dan Proctor has posted some of Mark Allen's terrifying artwork for the book, which is on target for release next month. It's very exciting to see the newest book in the Pacesetter LTD line of games taking form. Those of you who submitted new THINGS for the book, and those of you who supported the Kickstarter, take a look at what creatures are crawling out from the shadows:

"Monsters Macabre": New Cryptworld Supplement Now On Kickstarter!

• You asked for new THINGS to torment your players with...
• You asked to play as THINGS in your games...
• You asked how to create your own THINGS...
• You asked for ways to calculate weapon-specific damage...
• You asked how to randomly create new monster hunting societies...
• You asked for new adventures for Cryptworld...

Here's our answer...

Monsters Macabre is the newest supplement for Pacesetter's new horror RPG, Cryptworld! Within the book are new THINGs, new rules, new options, and new adventures! The cover and interior text are finished; the only thing needed is interior artwork. This Kickstarter is to raise funds to illustrate the many THINGs within. All backers have immediate access to the draft copy of Monsters Macabre so you can use it in your Cryptworld games tonight! Help us fill the book with nightmares and terrors, and become a backer for Monsters Macabre!

Click here to go to the Monsters Macabre Kickstarter page!

[Kickstarter] Last Few Hours For Cartomancy, Playing-Card-Based RPG System

"What if the primary randomizer used in role-playing games had been based on playing cards rather than polyhedral dice?" That's the interesting thought experiment that launched the concept of Cartomancy, a new RPG now in its last 24 hours on Kickstarter.

Here's the (abridged) description straight from the Kickstarter page:

Cartomancy is a card-based roleplaying game. The conventions of card games—hand management, straights, kitties, trumps, window cards, widows and all the rest—form some of the most basic conventions of Cartomancy.  This means that it it plays differently than a dice-based game. A die can be rolled an infinite number of times, whereas a card can be played but once, making every action a sacrifice. When the cards are dealt at the beginning of a Cartomancy scene, all of the luck is in place and it is up to the players to see if their hands will win or lose. As cards are fundamentally different than dice, so is Cartomancy fundamentally different from other RPGs.

I'm a sucker for a clever game mechanic, and Cartomancy's description was different enough that I tossed in a dollar to give the playtest document a look. After reading a bit about the how the mechanics worked and watching the gameplay vid, I decided to support the campaign. The rules are positioned as a universal toolbox which allows you to use the Cartomancy mechanics for any genre you desire. However, three settings are planned for the initial roll out:

Four Kings: An adventure and setting that should feel comfortable to most fantasy game alumni.
Consoles & Cards: A solitaire or co-op JRPG-inspired setting.
Toytastrophey: A tactical war-game of battling kid’s toys.

As of this posting, the Kickstarter has 24 hours left. If this sounds interesting, I suggest you race over and check it out and -- perhaps -- toss a few bucks into the kitty!

Last Few Hours For Grimtooth's Ultimate Traps Collection -- All Stretch Goals Reached!

Like most DMs worth their salt, I had a copy of Grimtooth's Traps close at hand when I designed my deathtrap dungeons. Those mechanical menaces from the trap-designing troll were always inspirational, and I picked up a few of the other Grimtooth offerings over the years as well.

Now, in one fell swoop, you can own ALL SEVEN of Grimtooth's books wrapped up into one monstrous tome. Folks, there are now less than 40 hours to pledge your support to Grimtooth's Ultimate Traps Collection!

At $130,000, the Kickstarter blew past its final stretch goal, so this has become a trap-laden cornucopia of horrors! What's in here? Take a gander at this:

• The hardcover books (gold foil and leather bound versions only) will encompass all seven of Grimtooth's tomes: Grimtooth's Traps, Grimtooth's Traps Too, Grimtooth's Traps Fore, Grimtooth's Traps Ate, Grimtooth's Traps Lite, Grimtooth's Traps Bazaar, and Grimtooth's Dungeon of Doom! The softback books and hardback printed case contains the first five books listed. PDF only levels are also available that encompass all seven. So you can get the entire Grimtooth library in one big damn 600-page book!
• New material such as interviews with the original writers and artists, the submission process, and new traps never before seen!
• A color cover art gallery of all of the books as well as versions around the world!
• An index of all of the traps in the book so you can track down that ellusive player-killer in this massive tome.
• A Grimtooth boardgame will be tucked inside for those downtime between quests!
• Hardbacks will include printed endsheets, a satin bookmark sewn in, and a retro dustjacket of the original book cover!
• An art print of Grimtooth and a poster of Grimtina are in there too!
• Fat Dragon Games is providing Mechanical Traps PDFs from their E-Z Dungeons line!
• And finally, a new DCC RPG adventure featuring Grimtooth and his traps is being written and will be available as well! (Included in the PDF, but a print option is available for an extra $10!)

If you're a fan of the terrible troll (and who isn't?), you need to climb on board as the Kickstarter comes to a close. I'm in for the gold foil version myself, plus a little extra for the print module. And you can expect Goodman Games' usual first-rate production and fulfillment on this return of a classic series!

Far Out! Kickstarter For "Spirit Of 77" RPG Launched! Can You Dig It?

It's time to grab a can of Pabst or Schiltz, jump into your souped-up Firebird, and put the hammer down! A Kickstarter for Monkeyfun Studios' Spirit of 77 RPG is underway!

From the Kickstarter description:

Spirit of 77 is an over-the-top, pedal-to-the-metal, nitro-burning, action adventure role playing game about an alternate history 1977. Richard Nixon has made a deal with aliens, and is still in the White House; renegade rock gods from another galaxy have shared with us the power of Glam; kung-fu bad-asses wander the city streets righting wrongs, and everyone is trying to stick it to The Man.
Spirit of 77 is about recreating all the classic action and adventure TV shows, Movies, and Comic Books of the 1970s. It draws inspiration from movies like Shaft, Smokey and the Bandit, The Warriors, Barbarella, Rocky, and Enter the Dragon; TV shows like The Dukes of Hazard, The Bionic Man, The Rockford Files, and Charlies Angels; and music like James Brown, KISS, David Bowie, Jerry Reed, and Issac Hayes.

Spirit of 77 uses the Apocalypse World engine created by D. Vincent Baker, like a classic hot-rod we've made a number of modifications to amp up the horsepower. The basic mechanics consist of rolling two six sided dice adding a modifier and then narrating the success or failure.

Easy to pick up for novice role players, and with plenty of options for the experienced, the rules of Spirit of 77 are geared towards encouraging over-the-top, pedal-to-the-metal action. You know the type: leaping cars, swinging from rooftops, blowing up tanker trucks, and punching bigfoot right in his hairy face.

Although I'm not a huge fan of the AW engine, I gotta say that the setting and genre has got my mojo boilin' over. I've always wanted to run a Convoy/Smokey and the Bandit/BJ and the Bear 1970's trucker game, and this system could be that on-ramp! Still not convinced? How about a free demo to try out the system and setting?

Click here to download "Cruise Ship of the Damned"!

This looks like it'll be a big 10-4, good buddies. We gone.

How About Some Dungeons & Flagons? Drinking Quest Kickstarter Now In Its Final Hours

(Excuse the meme. Couldn't help myself.)

One of my favorite games to play during convention downtimes is Drinking Quest. The cleverly designed card-based RPG incorporates liquid libation into a humorous evening of questing and quaffing. So far, there have been three editions of the "Drunkards & Dragons" game, and now all three of these editions have been combined, updated, and expanded into a new boxed set with tons of extras!  "Drinking Quest: The Trilogy Edition" looks to expand upon the game, and the Kickstarter for this new edition is wrapping up a very successful fundraiser with about 40 hours left as this post goes live.

The Trilogy Edition of Drinking Quest introduces a host of improvements and additions to the game, including:

• All three original DQ editions in one package! (Each edition has 4 quests, so that's 12 different drinkin' adventures!)
• Bigger, full-color cards!
• A new system that uses more than just d6s!
• A fancy-shmancy box to hold it all!
• Plus, three stretch goals have been reached, adding THREE new Drinking Quest...quests!

For roughly $40 US ($44 CAN), you get the entire shebang listed above. And the next stretch goal will provide everyone with a new bottle opener featuring Chuglox, the drunken barbarian featured in the game.

At game conventions, there are three afterhours "beer and pretzels" games I always seek out just for the sheer brilliant fun they bring: Illuminati, Are You a Werewolf, and Drinking Quest. And this new edition will become part of my travelling pack. Look for me at a convention and we'll play (if you're of drinkin' age). And for those who would like their own "deluxe edition" of the world's best RPG-slash-drinking game, you now have a little less than two days to toss in and secure your own set.

[Review] The Habitition of the Stone Giant Lord and Other Adventures From Our Shared Youth

I have recently stepped into a time machine and popped up behind the DM screens of eight very creative DMs back in the 80s. And you can too...

I was a supporter of a recent successful Kickstarter campaign launched by Tim Hutchings of the Play Generated Map and Document Archive (PlaGMaDA). Tim has taken several donations to the Archive and -- with the permission of the original creators -- compiled and laid out eight D&D-style modules in a compilation tome titled "The Habitition of the Stone Giant Lord and Other Adventures From Our Shared Youth." And it is a thing of beauty to anyone who cobbled together their own D&D-style adventures Back In The Day using a loose-leaf binder, some graph paper, and maybe your family's Atari 800 printer (if you were lucky).

(click any photo for a bigger, better look at the details)

Each of the eight homemade, handwritten (or typewritten) modules in this 112-page volume were written by kids during the heyday of the 70s-80s D&D bubble. The titles within this collection include:

• The Habitition of the Stone Giant Lord
• Stone Death
• The Crack at Garn's Canyon
• The Ring of Gaxx
• The Golden Scepter of the Trollfens
• The Tomb of Areopagus the Cloaked and Japheth of the Mighty Staff
• The Lair of Turgon
• The Maze of Death

Rounding out the contents is an overview by Hutchings, and an Introduction by Jon Peterson, author of Playing at the World. Peterson's Introduction offers some fascinating investigational insight, as he examines each module, pointing out what the author was inspired by or how each adventure fits into the D&D cosmos timeline. Peterson's overview really gives you an idea of how each was written and the steps these young DMs took to fit their works into TSR's published worlds.

Now then, I will not be reviewing the textual content of this collection as, well, they're unpolished adventure modules written by kids back in the 80s. Spelling errors, unbalanced encounters, and hackneyed cliches abound, but that's part of the charm of this collection. The unbridled enthusiasm these budding game designers had for their work is seen in each word, each sketch, each attempt to emulate the format and feel of The Professional Game Writers.

The pages of each module was scanned in high resolution color, so you get a feel of the originals' production. You can see the notes written on ruled notebook paper, the pencil sketches on graph paper, the handmade construction paper covers, the yellowing tape holding the maps in place, the dot-matrix patterns left by the printer, and every crease, wrinkle, and erasure smudge found on the originals. Several of them created their own covers to look like those made by TSR, pretending they were Big Name Game Designers. And now, here in late 2013, those eight young game designers got their wish, and their adventures are printed, published, and being played by gamers throughout the world.

Thumbing through the book is like standing behind the DM screen beside the respective dungeonmasters as they ran their players through a dungeon of their own design. When the respective authors assembled these handmade adventures, most of them took pains to emulate the feel and look of the professional efforts with covers. For example, "Habitition" was numbered by the author as "Dungeon Module G22", meaning it is intended to fall within the original "Against the Giants" series of adventures, possibly between G2 and G3. (If you're running your players through the series, how about shoehorning this sidetrek in there to throw off anyone who's read up on the original classics?)

The book is a fascinating look at our gaming past. It will give most of you a satisfying recollection of your own Great Killer Dungeons from your youth. And, according to the back cover, "it's a relic of the past you can play." I suggest taking one of these adventures and running your players through it. I cannot think of a better legacy to those eight kids who originally put pencil to paper than to run their creations at your own table.

The Habitition of the Stone Giant Lord and Other Adventures From Our Shared Youth is now available for purchase at The Hutchingsonian Presents for $30 plus shipping.

Cartoon Action Hour Season 3 Released: Meet Snydorr, The Wasteland Wanderer!

One of my favorite RPGs of recent years is Cartoon Action Hour. As a fan of 80s retro-toons like Inhumanoids, GI Joe, Thundercats, and -- of course -- Thundarr the Barbarian, this RPG seems to "get it." I played with both Seasons 1 and 2 of the system, and was thrilled when I found out earlier this year that Spectrum Games had started a Kickstarter for an updated Season 3. I immediately jumped in as a higher-level backer. And today, Cartoon Action Hour Season 3 was released to the masses!

I'm thumbing through the new rules, and they once again nailed it. The character sheet is the back of an action figure box, for Pete's sake! I'll discuss the game at length later when I've had a chance to digest it all, but if you're a fan of retro-toons and have wanted to play in the worlds of Visionaries, The Masters of the Universe, Transformers, or M.A.S.K., you will want to check this out.

Oh, and about that "higher-level backer" reward I received? I was able to have myself drawn up for the rulebook and statted up as a character from an 80s retro-toon! And, of course, I chose a post-apocalyptic universe for my setting. So, here he is, straight from the cartoon world of "Wasteland 2010" (an upcoming post-apocalyptic CAH sourcebook): Meet Snydorr, The Wasteland Warrior!