Naked Hobo

That would be Half Day Game Day.  Every now and again the good folks up in Oshkosh have a little day of game playin’ and general havin’ of fun.  It all takes place at the local comic shop, House of Heroes.  I don’t get to see my friends up in Oshkosh often enough, so I like having a good excuse to head up and enjoy their fine company. I got to play a few good games, some new ones even, Space Hulk, Family Business, Dominion.  I even took a few snapshots of the intense gaming action.  Brace yourselves, these pictures are not for the faint of heart.

Game days are a great thing, not just the ones in Oshkosh either.  Whether the game day takes place at your friends house, the local comic or game shop, or even a local con, it is a great way to play games and hang out with fellow enthusiasts.  If you have never had a game day experience, I would highly recommend it.  Now, I’m not gonna promise every game day will be as welcoming and friendly as the one in Oshkosh, but if you go in with an open mind and an eagerness to sling dice, shuffle cards, and just have some good old fun, odds are you will have a great time.  And, we need to keep bringing in new folks, we want game days to grow and to thrive.  I want them to happen as often as possible and everywhere that a table sits empty.  I can’t wait for my next game day.

Been doing a bit of reorganizing on the rpg front.  Hopefully I will have a fair chunk of the setting stuff done by the end of the year, then I can start putting things together in book form.  The rules still need a lot of work, I think I am gonna try my hand at some of it myself whenever I finish the setting stuff.  I really want to be able to get something setup and ready to print within a year, maybe sooner.  I am tired of going to cons and having nothing to sell or anything to even show people.  I need to buckle down and really crack the old writer’s whip.  Wish me luck.

So 4th edition Dungeons and Dragons had been out for few months now, and I have heard and read numerous reviews and people’s opinions.  I am not upgrading.  It has nothing to do with 4th edition being evil, or any nostalgia for older systems.  I remember buying the core books when 3rd edition came out because the group I played with at the time played it.  When 3.5 came out, I decided the same as I am now, no upgrade for me.  I didn’t care if they fixed things or not, everything that I felt was broken I had fixed myself.  I do have 3.5 now, but only because a friend gave me the core books.  See, the simple reason that I am not going to buy the 4th editions books is this, I don’t need them.  Even if I played D&D more often than I do I still wouldn’t buy the new books.  I have no need for them.  I have no problems with the books I have.  I will not belittle or begrudge those that do buy the new books.  I do not hold any hatred towards the company for releasing a new edition.  I know that they did it for a variety of reasons, though most obviously they did it for money.  That is a big reason why they still exist, they make money.  When they cease to make money, they will cease to be.  I have all I need right now to play D&D and have plenty of fun doing it.  I am sure that those that have embraced 4th edition enjoy it.  That is fine by me.  If I have friends that want to play 4th edition and want me to join in, sure, just don’t expect me to buy the books.  I have paid my dues when it comes to D&D.  I have forked over a lot of cash and I have a system I am happy with.  Perhaps if I had money falling out of my pockets I would invest in this, but as it is, I have so many other things I would rather have. The only problems I have with 4th edition is the two camps that arise every time something is revised or redone or rereleased.  On one side you have the old timers that refuse to upgrade because this new thing is a tool of evil and nothing more than a symbol of corporate greed and the company’s way of saying screw you to its older faithful customers.  On the other side is the come join us types.  If you aren’t playing 4th edition then you aren’t really playing D&D, you are playing some archaic thing that is past its prime.  I dislike both of these groups.  Life shouldn’t be so hard that we need to draw lines in the sand about a freakin’ game.  If you like the old boxed sets and that is what D&D is to you, fine, play it till the crayons wear of your dice.  If you love the new 4th edition, fine, enjoy.  I will play whatever version the guy running the game chooses, so long as they don’t make demands on my pocketbook.  Every player does not need a copy of the core books.  When I started we had one of each book and we shared them.  If I decide that some day I want to play in a sanctioned game, then I will expect to play 4th edition.  I can’t expect the company to produce numerous bersions of every product to fit all of their previous systems, that is not possible.  Besides, I can go online and easily find conversions to and from each edition.  It may take a little work, but hey, it is easier in my mind than forking out the 34.95 per book for a new edition.  If you want me I’ll be playing the Dark Tower boardgame.

Just played “Moneky Arena” for the first time.  The concept is simple enough as told by my coworker Joel.  Monkey Arena is a game of poo-flinging fun. In this game you will be playing as one of eight primate combatants, ranging from the meek and hard-to-hit Rhesus to the deadly, walking target that is the Gorilla. The point of the game is simple, be the last monkey standing. To accomplish this task you must use the correct balance of the cards in your hand for your monkey. Some monkeys will need to keep a closer eye on the healing items, such as the banana and pretzel, where as others can just attack away with a broom, a stick, a rake or a rock. Oh, I almost forgot, yes, you can fling poo. Just remember eight monkeys enter and only one monkey leaves the Monkey Arena.

Now, we only had three players, and I really think the game needs more, closer to the eight player max for it to be really fun.  As it was, the game progressed kinda slow at first as we plodded through the rules.  The cards were simple, sometimes too simple as we could not tell exactly how some cards worked.  I need to try it again with a larger group, though I can see a problem arising as the draw deck would need to be shuffled every three turns or so.