A Look at a kickstarter for Loka: The world of fantasy chess

I was recently checking out a kickstarter poject for the Loka chess game.  It looks pretty cool for the 50$ Bishop level you get a copy of the game and a couple of extra pieces. This wouldn't be very exciting on its own but should they reach their stretch goal an alternate set of pieces is added to the game.  Rather than having two sets of white and place pieces you end up with two entirely differently functioning sides.

The game seems to have rules beyond the standard chess board.  Allowing for you to play three queens or several pawns, or so says the kickstarter page.  I am guessing the armies will probably have their own rules as well.  The two mentioned are fire and earth, but as stated above earth only gets unlocked if they reach a stretch goal.

That is sort of a funny way to do the project as I wonder if they create an artificial speed bump for themselves.  They are at 45,000 of the 50,000 they need to hit that stretch goal so should make it in the time they have left.  But for me I feel my self less inclined to fund until after I see that goal met.  I wonder if they are creating a rollercoaster of funding.  When they finally hit that stretch goal having a bunch of folks jump in now that the pot has been sweetened.   I wonder if that is for the best?

And if anyone can answer this it would be great.  Can you alter stretch goals after a kickstarter has begun.  So say in the case of Loka , deciding their product is better with the fire and earth sets.  Could they just roll the stretch goal into the product offering?  basically allowing the kickstarter to eliminate the speed bump they created?  I am asking more for personal knowledge of how kickstarter works.

UPDATE:  It looks like the earth set is unlocked and they have set fairly easy stretch goals for an air set which will more than likely unlock.  There is some way to go for an Ice set but looks very reachable.  These make the hundred dollar pledge level very attractive.  I am not sure if you get to pick what you get on the 50$ pledge level.  There is another goal point for an upgraded board which should kick in for the 50$ level.  Looks like this kickstarter has hit its stride now and is giving a nice set of rewards. 

It does make me wonder can you add to your funding and go from one level to another?  Does Kickstarter keep track.  Here if I had kicked in 50 I would really consider kicking in another 50 for the 100 dollar level.

Here Comes the Supernatural Anaesthetist

I'm full of wise words
crumbling before I speak.
Needing to understand
but its simplicity.

I know and hate it!
Coming upon us more,
faster day by day.
faster than we feared!

Little pauses to long
worn out criminal ease
eyes beginning to see
thats what breaks me.

and the dark alone
granted as they flea

Scifi Story part 14

Bendix staggered on somewhat inattentive.  It was the fault of the analgesic patches that had been applied to the bruising about his chest.  Klein looked to Parc with concern. "Bendix is out, we should camp out until he recovers."  "I don't think we can, someone if following."  "What! who is it?" "The guide is watching over his shoulder too often he hears something, we can't." Parc whispered trying to now draw Naeliim's attention.

Though the wanderer heard he played that he did not.  Leading on with a few words of direction.  He was concerned after the quarrel with the pilot, something was wrong with that one.  Who would be following now?  His questions were many, he was only sure he would make following difficult. 

Naeliim turned the company down a dark hall and worked them through a pipe works.  Much of it was steam and sanitation, the smell was foul at times.  They worked their way at first to eventually a high balcony that over looked over a vast pool.  Mechanical controls appeared to open a series of portcullises that subdivided two sections of the book. From another platform across and elevated from their own came angry shouts.  Soon a cascade of hurled rocks joined the choir. Naeliim bid them to cover and launched a blot upwards with his sling.  Parc and Klein hid behind boxes but Bendix just stood.  He watched intent the drama above almost cocooned and encased motionless. The rage was slow to see at first, but grew like a furious bloom.  His eyes were panic and then his fist fell and and again, beat down upon his own leg like a drum.  The iron bar struck down rocks and debris from mid air, so missiles still struck Bendix but in his rage nothing was felt.

Table top gaming essentials

Woody at gucomics had a pretty funny post about monsters getting a +2 smart phone bonus in Dungeons and Dragons games.  It gave me a good laugh since this problem is plaguing my group.  Though with us it's harder as it's laptops which hold PDF's and character sheets and whatnot.   I am not a portable guy I never have been.  My video games are all home consoles I have never had a portable system and feel its important to whom I am.  Actually I think it goes farther than that going to something of a family trait, we Rickels are travelers.  The process of the sojourn is key to us, its like a curse befell our house and we became jenische.

But back to gaming.  I am ok with a phone ringing or being used to snap photos of things happening around the table.  It's when videos and streaming becomes the focus that the game grinds to a halt.  Being a dick I have come up with a solution that deals with the heart of the mater.  A Faraday cage.  No connection means no interest and in if its in a box there is not temptation until that box opens.

You can build something out of wood and mess like the picture above but there are several solutions.  An army surplus ammo can is fantastic.  A foil wrapped shoebox also works, I think even a heavily duct taped bag will do.  Cut the cord my friends physical books are way easier to use than PDFs you can flip through em.

Thoughts on 3d Printing and War Gaming Miniatures

http://www.3dfuture.com.au/

I wanted to call out an article from on 3d printing and the war gaming scene.   This is a good article and it echos something I heard time and again at the gaming convention.  "What is going to happen to war gaming when 3d Printing becomes mainstream?"  Seriously as a role playing guy I will totally go with the cheapest option to me and if that is scanning an pathfinder ogre, I purchased from ebay, and then printing as many as I need, I will do that.  Similarly if I was doing 40K I would print the hell out of any army I was playing.  My question to the industry is what happens when this becomes cost effective.

In looking at the picture this pretty obviously a copy but as printing and scanning improve you are going to see one for one copies coming out.  I am sure there will be some crack down both at Games Workshop events and at Friendly Local Gaming Stores.  Both of these will be losing out on sales and I don't see either of them opening play space to people whom evades sales.  Games Workshop will probably start miniatures inspections at their tournament events, with weighing and scratch tests of material. 

One odd thing for me is there are companies like Privateer Press that I don't really want to screw over, in this fashion but I would rather not have to put miniatures together, so this option continues to be appealing.  I am just not a crafter nor a painter; conversion modelling is right out for me.  Which gets me to a weird point say I was 99% actual product in my army and just did a 3d copy of a conversion that was not currently sold by Games Workshop, how is that wrong?  I lack the skills to do the conversion.

In thinking about the situation there is an easy solution for the folks at Games Workshop or your FLGS.  They need to be in the 3d printing business themselves.  Games Workshop have their own shops and could be in the best position to implement this.  They do the printing on site per order.  This cuts out all overhead related to shipping and a fair amount of storage as they would only be storing plastics that could be come any miniature rather than every miniature.  It also allows their whole back catalog to become instantly available to the customer while they wait and get a Cinnabon.  This solution would also work at the FLGS as well though they would have to cover more product lines and may need multiple 3D printing machines.

There is also the option of embracing change completely.  I have long thought, to the disagreement of my friends, that Games Workshop should put their rules completely online and charge monthly for access.  They could put up 3d printing versions of their miniatures and charge micro payment, well macro knowing GW, to download and print them.  I think a full monthly subscription allowing rights to a few minatures and micro payments for extras would probably benefit Games Workshop in the long run.  They could just say something like your account does not allow you to field this miniature at tournaments.  Making it so you are buying the right to play more than the miniature itself, wow that is totally fucked up!  The good thing there is they would be able to update rules via regular revision and not have broken rules sitting out there forever.  They would also be able to quickly get product out.  And for them no shipping or storage, becoming more kinko's than a game seller.

A plea for comments

You know if you folks want to comment that would be great.  Seriously , I am happy for any feedback.  If you want me to write more on a particular topic or less on another.  If you want to let me know I suck that is find.  If you from DDO and want to let me know how crappy I played Svegrund in Cabal for One last night I am cool with that.  If you are from World of Tanks and want to let me know I am a noob; I agree.  You can tell me I am a wuss for playing arti, its ok I just really suck at everything else.   I am really open to any feed back.  You need a topic let me know about your favorite Dungeons and Dragons character or the best concert you went to. 

My favorite character was a human paladin back in first edition of the AD&D game.  I inherited him from a guy named Rocky who was really not great at playing a pally.  He was named Thomas of Paladaria which seemed a bit goofy so I renamed him Thomas Strongheart after the Dungeons and Dragons action figure I had just got.  The campaign was really fun there was a war that we got to participate in and a who big quest with silly things constantly happening to us.  It would probably seem juvenile now but for being a kid it seemed great.  I got to use a sword of sharpness on a type 5 demon it was very mondo and fun. 

I have a couple of favorite concerts.  One was Dio opening up for Iron Maiden at the shoreline it was a few years ago but it was really fun.  Dio was fantastic really sort of stealing the show, he was just so awesomely Dio.  Seemed super happy to be there and genuinely loving each and everyone of his fans.  Maiden was great everyone knows they do fantastic shows.  The combination was perfect.  The other show was the first time I saw Testament.  It was in concord at some little bar, I want to say bourbon street or something like that.  It was a great intimate setting to see them and they were awesome, Testament are one of the most solid trash bands out there.  Really it should have always been the big 5 but Testament was a little slow to the punch not releasing a record in the seminal year of metal 1986.

A look at a Kickstarter for Laughing Moon: The Ragged Man Adventure

I wanted to take a look at a Kickstarter for something called Laughing Moon: The Ragged Man Adventure.  The product seems to have a nice look and feel for fantastic horror, with compelling art.    This is the project I like to see come up in kickstarter, as it does not appear yet another D20/Pathfinder setting.  While nothing is safe in the gaming world those products feel like they are playing it safe.  Going out on a limb and doing your own thing or reviving an old system really are the projects that I root for.

So I really encourage you to go take a look at The Ragged Man Adventure and think about funding it.  It's not going to be one of those systems that hurls a ton of pdf books at you for backing them at the basic level but you can get the adventure and core rule book in PDF for $20.  That doesn't sound too bad of a bargain to me.

The guy seems to have a few books already available on his website, so I think he has at least some sort of track record.  Also supporting the little guy with these small projects always feels good.  Now lets hope for a Dark Conspiracy Kickstarter.

Update:  This project has funded and is moving close to hitting its first stretch goal, which would make the twenty dollar purchase seem sort of cool.  I cant say about the game itself i haven't checked it out yet.  But I would guess it is somewhat narrativist.

Products I would kill for: Original New York Seltzer

http://imremembering.com/post/982892338/new-york-seltzer

Man I have a big time craving The Original New York Seltzer today.  You many not remember but this was the king of 80's soda culture.  Available at every frozen yogurt shop around.  It came in all sorts of flavors but raspberry and vanilla cream were the best.  I think you see something like grape and strawberry in the picture. 

It disappeared along with synth pop in the mid 90's with a small return to Big Lots as cast off one liter bottles.  The owner now has a wild animal casting business for hollywood, oddly enough.  I wish he would sell the recipe and let someone else have a go with the product.  I am ready to drive a couple of states over for a taste of this nectar of the gods.

Until this happens I am left trying to reinvent the taste with flavored dirk syrup and an old style soda gun.  It drives me crazy as I have no idea and just want the recipe up online.  Open source soda is the way to go.

Scifi story part 13

After an hour in the dark light their wandering was rewarded.  Industrial stations were often situated near places of treatment, this one included emergency chemical showers as Roche hoped.  He ordered Makaber to bath while he burned the outer layers of their clothing.  Roche felt odd in just a contagion suit having become accustomed to the stained white gown he wore like a tablard.  Makaber seemed to relish the increase ease of moment as he worked.

The grizzled man packed gunpowder and shrapnel into the scatter shot end of his fighting staff.  He had discharged the weapon in the battle that had taken most of his company.  Driving the deadly end into one mans gut and releasing the blunderbuss to tear at the innards with glass and screws. This was the prescribed weapon of the House viri, Makaber had laid down other weapons when he swore himself over.  Though every so often the old warrior wish for a ballistic or stout axe.

In this time Roche had found a line of the old pneumatic tube system.  The system carried lab samples to the central laboratory the House viri now inhabited.  There was no assurance the line still worked, but perhaps a message might just reach the intended hands. 

"Superiors, we travel following individuals whom have had unknown contact with the Lamia virus mutated along RNA UUGA.  A subject of the pilot haplotype was restrained in early onset of the virus.  These individuals encountered and culled the subject in mid stages of the infection.  Subjects appears to have exhibited increased levels of aggression, as data presents as common, and attacked the individuals.  At present was know we are following more than a single person but exact numbers are unknown.  Presence of virus is unconfirmed but contagion patterns suggest infection.  We continue onward.  Please augment numbers and fresh supply of combat expendables. Roche."

3D Doodler and gaming

Ok I am sure you have seen the video going around the internet for the 3D doodler.  All I have to say is wow amazing.  You look at it and think ok, wow cool for artists but what is the average Joe gamer going to do with it?

Well if a future version can give us a more control of the line thickness this will essentially allow us to model 3d objects on the fly.  Our Hex dry erase mat enters the third dimension!  Cover rules and line of sight rules instantly change with this thing.  The randomness of a bush giving you a miss percentage may need to turn into over watch and pinning cover rules.

Tactical Role Playing Games like Iron Kingdoms become instantly more attractive with this nifty little pen.  Who needs landscape pieces if you can just draw them.  Crap for something like Pathfinder who needs miniatures when you can just draw them?  With full scale 3d printing miniatures become obsolete if a 40K army is created from the push of a button.  But here if you need a one of giant or figure draw it up. 

I would like to know the strength of a completed structure using the pen, say making an army man.  would this thing fall apart or last some time.  Is there breakdown in the plastic?

A look at a Kickstarter for Interface Zero 2.0

I have recently been amazed by what is going on in the Kickstarter space for games.  Being friends with miniature gamers I most often hear stories of hundreds of minis for a fifty bucks or some other amazing deal.  If you look over on Jon Regal's DakkaDakka forums you will see tons of postings about board and miniatures Kickstarter projects.  I haven't been to interested figuring myself a dedicated Role playing game player, until now.

While attending a convention I stopped in on a seminar for running a kickstarter for table top RPG's.  One of the products that kept coming up was something called Fate Core by Evil Hat.  Apparently this was a project that shot through the roof and made well beyond their funding target.   There has been speculation that two factors helped contribute to the success of the game.  First off their goal levels provided a great value.  Even at a dollar you got a draft pdf of the game.  The second factor was stretch goals!  In Kickstarter projects you can offer stretch goals which are extra funding goals that usually provide extras to all or most backers.  In the case of Fate Core they seemed to have hit a critical mass where they were offering so many extras that even folks not interested in the core product were swayed just by the extra books they would receive.

Another project that seems similarly interesting is Interface Zero 2.0 a modern take on the cyberpunk genre that is run through Pinnacle's Savage Worlds system.  If you are like me you will have noticed many of your old 80's cyberpunk near future books seem a bit dated.  The technology of today is beginning to catch up to that described in those books.  This is a modern take with a dash of transhumanism.   The big thing that interests me is the number of extra material they are now offering with contribution.  They are offering pdf's of source material for all sorts of locations.  All the extras are really making the project appealing to me and perhaps you.  I mean 15 bucks for the digital fan boy edition is not a lot of cash for all the material they are giving you.

Sci Fi story part 12

The pair slowly worked their way forward, moving carefully along the catwalks.  The water flowing below wretched and foul, moved venial back to the sanitation works central to the ship. It was several hours of low light before the caught sight of something brighter.  An Emergency strobe marked the bulkhead of some sort of substation, this would take them out of the waterworks and return them to occupied areas of the Formorian.

Makaber was the first to enter, assuring the security of the substation.  Investigation proved several systems were tied to this branch of the ship.  Full hydro electrical control of twenty decks of the Formorian could be orchestrated from this location.  Evidence also suggested the persons they were following had passed this way.  Fresh rations were discarded here and there.  There was also signs of re purposing of electrical and water systems.

Roche made note of the half eating food, retaining samples for examination.  The rest burned for safety!  The pair soon pushed on hoping for a near buy emergency clinic.  Supplies would long have been looted but Roche felt chemical and biological cleaning was in order after this near contact.  He feared this was a strain of the lamia virus, resurfaced in more virulent form.

Gravel and Weathered

A ribbon of light runs
through tremulous clouds
that have turned
all birds eastward. 

And blue struggles
to be seen
against the heavy hearts
of the city folk.

Not the highrise
and concrete eternal
but the gravel
and ground of the weathered

low rise that wanders
between productive and decay

Dundracon and general Gaming Convention Tips

In an effort to help spur attendance in gaming conventions, particularly those local to the bay area, I have worked up a few notes to help new folks thinking of attending.  I am going to make my points concise and less long winded than I usually am.

1.  Don't do this spur of the moment planning will save you money and increase your enjoyment.

• The pricing works so that you pay less the earlier you sign up with online pre registration.  It much more expensive at the con.  A four day pass to Kublacon is 40$ through the website and 60$ at the door.
• Hotels offer convention rates that are much cheaper than standard rate.  
• You really want to stay at the hotel that is hosting the event.  Parking is a pain and being able to store you are games is a huge help.
• Bring your own snacks and drinks if you want to save.
• Make sure your washing is done ahead of time and you are ready to go when you like.
• Have cash on hand and don't have to pay ATM fees
• Charge your camera if you want to take pictures.
• Make sure you have all your games and supplies packed up and in the car when you want to go.  This is especially true if you want to play some rare game you own.  

2.  You can attend just one day, and perhaps should if you are new.  Smaller investment in time and money if you don't like it and you get the feel for it.

3.  Kids are welcome. 

• To increase interest in the hobby conventions have youth and teen game rooms
• Older teens have been playing in regular convention games forever so no worry there
• They even give you special parent rates at Kublacon pre registration.
• A note of caution to parents with dating aged daughter.  They will get a lot of attention at a convention and often from boys of semi inappropriate age.

4.  A quick google search of gaming convention will give you a few in your area.

• Anime and Sci Fi cons are similar but different, though probably offer gaming.  If you are just interested in gaming do your research.
• Many cons have links and forums on their site which may help you.

5.  A few events of interest in the San Francisco Bay area.

• April 5-7 Conquest SAC http://www.conquestsac.com The NEW Red Lion Woodlake Conference Center Hotel, Sacramento
• May 24-27 Kublacon www.kublacon.com  SF Airport/Burlingame Hyatt Regency, Burlingame
• Aug 30 -Sept 2 Pacificon http://www.pacificongameexpo.com/ Santa Clara Marriott Hotel
• Aug 30 -Sept 2 Celesticon http://www.celesticon.com/ Fremont Marriott, Fremont, CA

Scifi and non game specific Conventions

• May 24 - 27 Baycon http://www.baycon.org/2013/ Hyatt Santa Clara
• May 24 - 27 FanimeCon 2013 http://www.fanime.com/ San Jose Convention Center
• July 4 -7 Westercon http://www.westercon66.org/ Hilton Arden West Hotel Sacramento CA
• Nov 1 -3 Convolution http://con-volution.com/2013/ Hyatt Regency Burlingame SFO
• Jan 16 - 20 Further Confusion http://www.furtherconfusion.org/2013 San Jose Fairmont

Dundraccon Convention Review

So its been a long time for me both in posting and attending a gaming convention.  But I went to Dundracon over the weekend, well really just for Saturday.  I had a fun enough time though most of it was checking things out and attending seminars.  I wanted to do a little write up and show you folks that have perhaps never even considered attending a gaming convention what its all about.

So if you are completely lost here a gaming convention is a hobby convention that is open to the general public.  These are basically run by the fans for the fans.  Most of the games in the phones you will see are brought by the individuals that attend.  Most are purchased like any other game you would buy at a hobby shop, better bookseller or a gaming store in your area.  Some are modified versions of this purchased products.  Others are games completely of constructed parts that comply to a particular set of rules.  Finally other games are completely of the imagination of the folks that brought it.

What you are going to see here are a few shots of the larger table top games that were played at the convention. There is an Axis and Allies game that appears to be made up of several sets, but I am just conjecturing here as I have no idea what the new version of Axis and Allies entails.   Also there were a host of other games from Settlers of Catan, War Hammer 40K tournaments, Hundreds of Call of Cthulu games and many more.  The convention is structured so that traditional table top role playing games are held in separate rooms as they need to not be disturbed.   The live action version of the role playing which is annoying and fully of fucktards looking for attention is held off in a dark corner as to not annoy anyone.

The 40K folks seems to have a nice little tournament going, but it was hardly the even that I had seen years ago.  My friends used to play in crazy two day tournaments that had filled up more than just the single room.  Here the tournament seemed to be around 14 to 16 players and was over and gone in but a few hours.  Minis players are notoriously focused in there hobby and few will even set foot in the role playing game side of the hobby, so I really do not expect these guys just went off to do something else.  I know many of these dudes and they just seemed to disappear afterwards.  This was a bit of a shame and goes along with something I noticed everywhere in the convention.  There were a lot less people there than I remembered when I was actively going to conventions.  After reading through the list of events planned for the convention I saw that war machine was not represented which was a bit of a shock.  The dealers room was also half the size of it has been in other years.  Dundracon allows space for average gamers to sell old games in a ongoing format rather than the standard flee market.  The hours for selling were staggeringly few.  I was upset just as a person wanting to buy things.  I have to think this convention has seen better days.  I am not sure if there really will be a Dundracon to attend in future years.  Or at the very least it will be further decreasing in size unless some fresh ideas or new people are included into the staff.  Specifically in the miniatures realm these seemed true.

One aspect of this convention that is unique is the inclusion of the SCA and other groups that hey deem "Martial Arts".   The first set of pictures are a group that used foam wrapped weapons and may or may not be similar to the infamous ,"Lightning Bolt , Lightning Bolt, Lightning Bolt!" video that has been seen all over the internet for years.  They did not appear to be very concerned with authenticity as their equipment seemed to boarder on fantasy art rather than the historical attention the equipment the SCA requires.  I don't know if that stuff is for me.  I think if I was going to seriously pursue that sort of thing I would enroll at the Davenriche european martial arts school.  At lease folks do that in a closed environment and children would not point and shout things at me.  I get enough of that sort of thing on the street without strapping on armor to draw further attention to myself.

From the pictures I hope you can see the difference between the two groups.  The shots with the fellow in red and blue are showing the group that uses foam boffer weapons. Their shields are also light foam covered things and they even use foam topped arrows.  The SCA replied "Arrows would be a danger to the crowd if we used them".   That give something of an idea of the difference.  Their armor was legit chainmail as opposed to fantasy leather armor that would not effectively protect the crotch; an area I place of paramount importance.  There was also a difference in the fitness level of the two groups. That said many of the demonstrations of the SCA seem to indicate a style of combat that has grown idiosyncratic to the rules of the organization.  Some of the strikes appeared mere as though the person was only brushed with a weapon; and the combatant would drop to their knees.  I would have assumed the armor would have protected them.

This talk of arms and armor gets me too the next  aspect of the convention that was rather fun, the dealers room.  Any convention has a nice room filled with stores and companies selling their wares.  If you have been to a science fiction convention you will know they sell all sorts of crap from books to capes and jewelry.  Books and movies are often for sale along with comics and all sorts of random crap.  Traditionally this has not been the case with gaming conventions but you are seeing more of this sort of thing.  Some fits while other things seem out of place.  I picked up a kit to make a chain mail dice bag, that sort of thing seems fine but certain figures and other types of stuff just seems weird.  I am not trying to discourage of say it doesn't belong, I just question how well that sort of thing sells versus the fee the people pay for their convention space.  Perhaps it has value just in advertisement.

Here you can see some of the wide assortment of games and the massive Chessex stand that seems to be up at every convention. You can really buy any dice under the sun here.  They even have a giant bin of dice you can buy a scoop from either from a cup or a pitcher.  Years ago I was disappointed to find the companies themselves are not at these conventions.  While some do show up for Kublacon you are generally dealing with brink and mortar stores in the dealers rooms.  You will see current product and a few older things but game companies release things at Gencon and not these smaller local conventions.

I wanted to show a few of the cooler things that I saw at the convention that made me thing wow neat.  This was a flight game that had model airplanes attached to antennas with swiveling mounts.  The plans could display their banking and decent.  I don't have a clue about rules but it was rather neat to check out. Below is a similar game that had more terrain involved.  Both have the cotton ball clouds but this second seemed to have a hugely complicated set of controls for setting how they control their plane.  I believe one of these was called aerodrome if you are interested.  These harken back to the older days of gaming where you sent in a few bucks to a P.O Box and got a photocopied set of rules and you were expected to take care of the rest.  It looks like someone had real skill with a drill and wood burner hear.  I have often seen both of these at gamin conventions so if you attend any you should be able to drop in on a game.

The thing I was going to mention was the seminar that are available at these cons.  They have established a war college that teaches strategy.  There were several panels on the gaming hobby from Kickstarter to getting into the business.  There are many to help your running games.  One of the best was a panel discussion that included Steve Perrin and Ken Hite.  They were talking about building cites that were alive for your gaming group.  These guys were just fascinating.  One of the comments that came out was that for every person that goes to a convention there are ten other folks that are someone into gaming but not interested in attending or for some other reason doesn't.  They were saying that only a few folks in the hobby are interested enough to attend this sort of thing.  I wanted to invite you folks to come on down to a convention in your area.  I am sure you can find one with a simple internet search.  You are going to get to see some really interesting things that you would not otherwise get a chance to.  You will learn a lot and have a bit of fun. 

Gypsy / It

Yearn for some return to roots
and defy the ethics of the day.
Find the inner joys of youth
that resided before Eros and ego.
Wild foolish joys born aloft
when death hid over the mountains.
Greater errant hopes
that crystallize life into moments.
Resolve yourself to the prime
true loves universally mocked.
If nothing be nothing for awhile!
If someone shows you the way, worry.
Dwell on it, is it your love?
Then be free and wild in its pursuit.
Otherwise keep your eyes open
A velvet underground wants to use you.
Giving yourself over is no path,
or someone else's at best.
The trailblazer or electric razor
would be a name far better.

Near sleep

The grey grey blows through my mind,
passing through sticky  syrup sweet.
Leaving the lingering wisps of sugar
upon fingers and struggling eyes.

Spring and heliotropes are away,
hiding themselves in other vales.
But the breathed in blast of heat,
Gives us hope its not so long.

Spring engrave upon us your days,
with warms and wizen tomorrows.
That hold adventure close to vests
and reveal only when we look

De Profundis: A visit over breakfast

My Fellow Gentlemen

All dreamers awaken someday or fall headlong into the precipice of the world dreamed.  I wonder where it is I have strayed.  The day was most kind in its welcoming me, a light meal and warm nectar.  My skin warmed by the morning as it uncurled itself across the lands.  I in my chair and evening cap idle but for this reverie to the dawn. 

This simple moment of solitude would be short won, as I first aroused from the joyful moments by the swaying of the gate.  The gate of the steps was quick, seeming that of a woman.   Of this I was correct as Miss King appeared whilst I scraped butter across my bread.   The smile was diplomatic and determined that I was wrong on some account, but could easily be pointed back to the narrow way.

Here words were kind but protested how I had things vastly in error.  My alliance was a foolish one setting me astray.  While I had been correct on many points, I wronged the side working for light and goodness.  Mathers' himself feared the work they toiled at, as it would indeed weaken his position.  The selfish always stand to lose when some work for the great good of all.  Many of the points were applied with some logic and I was left to my breakfast with a gnawing pit with my stomach.  One food did little to calm.  Had I been wrong in all this?

Yours very Truly
J.L.Reichl

Sci Fi Story part 11

Makaber drove his weight into the door, finally swinging it freely open.  The smell of blood and refuse rushed to meet the pair, both wide eyed beneath goggled masks.  The re breathers aspirations muffled Roche's cries of , " NO, NO, No, no, what happened?  How is he out?" The other man walked inspected the body and began dumping a fine powder on the remains.  "Not just out, Dead." "Fuck! Dyper risked too many of us to get the sample, now its expired!"

"Expired? No, that is wrong.  Look at the throat and arm, defensive wound and killing blow."  Roche looked up at Makaber, "Your right, the lines to the counter measures are disabled.  That would indicate unprotected exposure to the virus.  Do you see any indication of their route, Makaber?"

Some minutes of searching turned up little but a few threads clinging to the bolt of a shut off valve. "They seem to have taken to the water heading up stream, you will want waders if we follow" 

Game Review: Apples to Apples

We gave something called apples to apples a try.  It is a car matching game were you try to come up with the best answer card that represents some description card.  There are several version of the games, some for kids others more adult.

The basic idea is you are dealt seven cards to choose from.  Then there is a player that is the judge who flips over a description card.  Each player puts in one card as their response to the card.  The judge then decides which is the best answer.  The winner gets to hold onto the description card.  The judge title rotates to the next person.  The game is won when one player has four description cards, ie won four hands.

The game seemed good for a mixed audience or party game.  I think it was a little light for our group of players who are used to a more involved or rules heavy game.  I think the subjective natures was lost on people at times who wanted to argue for the right answer, when sometimes the judge liked the fun answer or just sort of liked one answer over another .