December 11, 2024: How About Not-Quite-Advent Calendars?

Our household is currently enjoying a few different Advent calendars, with daily treats from IKEA, cheeses and hot sauces from Aldi, and Professor Charlie's World Tour. And I've drooled over the various LEGO Advent sets in stores. For gamers, I know of companies who offer their own "dice set a day" Advent calendars.

As much fun as we're having with these, I'm curious: Why hasn't the idea caught on the rest of the year – even on a personal level?

I imagine this lack outside of December has to do with logistics, mass production, etc. But it could also be that no one's considered the possibility. Maybe I should put on my thinking cap and see if I can come up with a "month of amusement" for loved ones in my life, to keep a birthday or anniversary celebration going for 12-30 days. Hmmm . . .

-- Steven Marsh

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December 10, 2024: BGG.CON 2024 Post-Convention Report

I recently attended BGG.CON at the Hyatt Regency Reunion Tower in Dallas, and there were over 2,500 players present!

A few of our team members staffed a booth in the exhibit hall, and we featured demos of some of our newest/coolest releases, including Car Wars Orange/Purple, Pathfinder Revolution!, and Hack & Slash Deluxe.

This was 5-day con, and while the library did close at night, gaming was otherwise happening aoround the clock! There were scores of entertaining events to sign up for, including some from SJ Games' friend Nathaniel T. Nathaniel hosted a Car Wars tournament, along with several sessions of The Fantasy Trip, and I'm exccited to report that 13 whole new players were introduced to our games through his events!

One of my favorite features this year was a sensory room in which folks could relax in a quiet space with dim lighting, comfortable seating, coloring books, . . . [more]

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December 9, 2024: Aquatic Dinosaurs?

If you're anything like me, you've called Elasmosaurus or Mosasaurus a dinosaur only to be immediately excoriated by the nearest paleo nerd, quick to tell you why that's dead wrong.

You see, those are merely dinosaur-like reptiles (big ol' fossil guys with names ending in "saur"). There weren't any aquatic dinosaurs . . . at least, not contemporary with the dinosaurs we're thinking of.

But you know what'll leave your paleo pedant gobsmacked? Naming an aquatic dinosaur alive right now.

You see, the fact that modern birds are living dinosaurs means that penguins are also dinosaurs. Aquatic dinosaurs, QED.

-- Irene Zielinski

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December 8, 2024: The Joys Of The Non-Digital

A recent article notes that automaker Hyundai is planning to move back to physical buttons in cars, after customers seem to be rejecting touchscreen controls.

Speaking as someone who doesn't much care for tapping on a screen while I'm driving 70mph on the interstate (and owns a Hyundai!), I'm intrigued by this news. But I'm also interested in it as a continuum of the return to the analog world as a whole. As much as I love video and computer games, there's also something to the experience of shuffling a nice deck of physical cards, or moving real pieces around a board.

But don't try to play Munchkin Shadowrun while you're driving next to me on I-69; I'm likely trying to tune my radio.

-- Steven Marsh

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December 7, 2024: The Great Game Escape

World War II history has always fascinated me, as have tales of spycraft and subterfuge. That's why it's been so cool to learn how Monopoly was essential to the Allied war effort.

Yes, that Monopoly. It turns out that a game about acquiring property and getting rich was a great way to help soldiers escape from POW camps in Europe. The story starts with Christopher Clay Hutton, a man hired by the British Secret Service in 1939 and tasked with inventing devices that could help British soldiers escape from their German captors. While he came up with many ingenious devices, he had to innovate constantly. Things like false shoe heels and cloth maps sewed into uniforms were eventually discovered, but Hutton would soon find an unlikely means for transporting escape kits to soldiers.

It turns out that the Germans allowed charities to send boardgames to POWs, assuming that they would . . .

[more]

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Previous Illuminators • Steve's Appearance Schedule

A Deep One from Uranus replaces the young spark plug. December 11, 2024: How About Not-Quite-Advent Calendars? Our household is currently enjoying a few different Advent calendars, with daily treats from IKEA, cheeses and hot sauces from Aldi, and Professor Charlie's World Tour. And I've drooled over the various LEGO Advent sets in stores. For gamers, I know of companies who offer their own "dice set a day" Advent calendars. As much fun as we're having with these, I'm curious: Why hasn't the idea caught on the rest of the year – even on a personal level? I imagine this lack outside of December has to do with logistics, mass production, etc. But it could also be that no one's considered the possibility. Maybe I should put on my thinking cap and see if I can come up with a "month of amusement" for loved ones in my life, to keep a birthday or anniversary celebration going for 12-30 days. Hmmm . . . -- Steven Marsh Share this post! December 10, 2024: BGG.CON 2024 Post-Convention Report I recently attended BGG.CON at the Hyatt Regency Reunion Tower in Dallas, and there were over 2,500 players present! A few of our team members staffed a booth in the exhibit hall, and we featured demos of some of our newest/coolest releases, including Car Wars Orange/Purple, Pathfinder Revolution!, and Hack & Slash Deluxe. This was 5-day con, and while the library did close at night, gaming was otherwise happening aoround the clock! There were scores of entertaining events to sign up for, including some from SJ Games' friend Nathaniel T. Nathaniel hosted a Car Wars tournament, along with several sessions of The Fantasy Trip, and I'm exccited to report that 13 whole new players were introduced to our games through his events! One of my favorite features this year was a sensory room in which folks could relax in a quiet space with dim lighting, comfortable seating, coloring books, . . . [more] Share this post! December 9, 2024: Aquatic Dinosaurs? If you're anything like me, you've called Elasmosaurus or Mosasaurus a dinosaur only to be immediately excoriated by the nearest paleo nerd, quick to tell you why that's dead wrong. You see, those are merely dinosaur-like reptiles (big ol' fossil guys with names ending in "saur"). There weren't any aquatic dinosaurs . . . at least, not contemporary with the dinosaurs we're thinking of. But you know what'll leave your paleo pedant gobsmacked? Naming an aquatic dinosaur alive right now. You see, the fact that modern birds are living dinosaurs means that penguins are also dinosaurs. Aquatic dinosaurs, QED. -- Irene Zielinski Share this post! December 8, 2024: The Joys Of The Non-Digital A recent article notes that automaker Hyundai is planning to move back to physical buttons in cars, after customers seem to be rejecting touchscreen controls. Speaking as someone who doesn't much care for tapping on a screen while I'm driving 70mph on the interstate (and owns a Hyundai!), I'm intrigued by this news. But I'm also interested in it as a continuum of the return to the analog world as a whole. As much as I love video and computer games, there's also something to the experience of shuffling a nice deck of physical cards, or moving real pieces around a board. But don't try to play Munchkin Shadowrun while you're driving next to me on I-69; I'm likely trying to tune my radio. -- Steven Marsh Share this post! December 7, 2024: The Great Game Escape World War II history has always fascinated me, as have tales of spycraft and subterfuge. That's why it's been so cool to learn how Monopoly was essential to the Allied war effort. Yes, that Monopoly. It turns out that a game about acquiring property and getting rich was a great way to help soldiers escape from POW camps in Europe. The story starts with Christopher Clay Hutton, a man hired by the British Secret Service in 1939 and tasked with inventing devices that could help British soldiers escape from their German captors. While he came up with many ingenious devices, he had to innovate constantly. Things like false shoe heels and cloth maps sewed into uniforms were eventually discovered, but Hutton would soon find an unlikely means for transporting escape kits to soldiers. It turns out that the Germans allowed charities to send boardgames to POWs, assuming that they would . . . [more] Share this post! Previous Illuminators • Steve's Appearance Schedule		Latest Videos You are the 2035th artificial intelligence here today. (30235860 since August 1, 1995)