G is for Gorgon - #atozchallenge

Today's post is about the Gorgon.  Specifically I am talking about Medusa, the gorgon from the 1981 film Clash of the Titans.  I love a good monster.  When I was little I remember watching Clash of the Titans on our VCR.  The scene with the gorgon was one of the coolest scenes I had ever watched.  Ray Harryhausen was a master of special effects, and his monsters had a realness and creepiness to them that today's CGI cannot mimic.

The battle between Perseus and the gorgon fueled many of the D&D adventures that I had in my head as a young child.  If you have never seen the movie, go watch it now.  If you have, then here is the scene for you to enjoy.

F is for Friendly Local Game Store - #atozchallenge

Today's post is about my Friendly Local Game Store (FLGS), Excalibur Comics, Cards, and Games in Shreveport, Louisiana.  It is important to support your local store.  I support mine every month, usually by buying a stack of comics.  The store is clean, the workers are courteous, and if they don't have what I am looking for they can usually order it for me.  I love going into a game store and browsing the shelves.  I love being able to actually touch a product, and to find unique and obscure items that have been hiding between books.  I found the monster guide to the Usagi Yojimbo rpg at Excalibur.  If you are ever in Shreveport, stop by and grab a comic or game.  They also put out a show on comics.  Enjoy!

E is for Education and Gaming - #atozchallenge

Today's post is on Education, and using games for teaching and in the classroom.  I have used games many times in a classroom setting because I believe that they are a great way for students to use cognitive skills and higher order thinking while learning material in a fun way.  I've taught chess to elementary students and refereed games of werewolf for high school students.  I have used liar's dice, Apples to Apples, Battleship, and poker in the classroom.  I believe any educator should look at using games in the classroom.  They are not perfect, and large class sizes, lack of maturity and social skills, and poor understanding of rules can impede the use of games.  However, games can be fun and having people doing something fun and interactive is one of the best ways to get people to learn.

A blog that you should check out on this topic is PAXsims.  They are, in their own words, "devoted to peace, conflict, humanitarian, and development simulations and serious games for education, training, and policy analysis."  PAXsims discusses the use of simulation and wargames as training tools at the college and professional level.  I enjoy reading their posts and hope to make use of their material in my classes soon.

D is for Diplomacy - #atozchallenge

Today's post is about my favorite board game, Diplomacy.  Diplomacy is a game where seven players represent the major powers of Europe before the First World War.  Each player starts out with 3 units which are a mixture of fleets and armies.  The goal of the game is to capture 18 supply centers on the board.  The gameplay is simple.  Every turn you issue orders to your units.  An army or fleet can move into another area.  If an opposing unit is in that area or is also moving into that area, then the units bounce and do not move.  You need to have other units support your unit in sufficient strength so that they can dislodge opposing units.

I like to explain movement in Diplomacy this way; imagine that you are playing a game of chess.  In order to capture a piece, you have to convince another piece on the board to help you make the capture.  This leads to the brilliant mechanic of Diplomacy.  Before players write down their orders, there is a 15 minute discussion period.  Players are allowed to talk to other players, make deals, etc.  When the discussion period is over, then everyone writes down their orders.  You may write down any order, regardless of what deals you made or what you said.  Sure, you can lie and backstab, but that will definitely have consequences.  Also, the game is set up so that you will need other people's help in order to capture territories.

Diplomacy is a masterpiece of a game.  It is the only game that I have played were I have felt like a statesmen, general, and spy all at once.  I do have two critiques of the game.  It does require a large number of players who are committed to the game.  Also, it has player elimination and it is very possible to get knocked out of a game that will last another 4 hours.  Fortunately, Diplomacy has a long history of postal play which mitigates these problems.  Today, Diplomacy can be played online.  In fact, I have yet to play a face-to-face game of Diplomacy.  If you are intrigued you should try a game.  I leave you with a few websites where you can play Diplomacy online for free.

gamesbyemail.com - Gamesbyemail has a Diplomacy clone called Politics.  This is a turn-based program, where everyone submits moves and after a certain amount of time the game progresses to the next turn.  A bonus feature is that you can run games with fewer than 7 players.

www.playdiplomacy.com - Playdiplomacy has a nice interface.  You can play a few games of regulary Diplomacy with a free account.  If you get a membership you can play live games, variants, and multiple games at a time.

webdiplomacy.net - Webdiplomacy is a site I used once.  It worked well and is free

With some more research you can find many other sites that offer the game.  I recommend playing it at least once in your lifetime.

C is for Call of Cthulhu - #atozchallenge

Today's post is about Call of Cthulhu, the role-playing game.  I am a particular fan of the 6th edition and I actually use it as the standard for rating a game a "10".  Call of Cthulhu is a self-contained rules set.  The core book contains all the rules needed for play.  There is character creation, combat, magic, a bestiary, four adventures, and rules for running the game in three different time periods (1890's, 1920's, and the "modern" era or 1990's).  The system is fairly simple.  The horror setting of the game allows for character death and the sanity rules are one of the most influential mechanics of rpg history.  I love how skills advance when characters fail at using them.

Call of Cthulhu is not a perfect.  There are skills that are rarely used.  Parts of the game are too dependent on chance.  The combat rules are a little loose.  However, in terms of value for page count I think it is the best rpg that I own.  There is a new edition out and I feel no need to own it, even though it sounds like they have made some good improvements on the system.  I will probably be the cranky grognard who will only run 6th edition until the end of days.

B is for Battletech - #atozchallenge

My post for today is about Battletech.  Battletech is a wargame about gigantic fighting robots.  I must confess that I have only played one game of Battletech, although I played a lot of the old Mechwarrior computer game on my 386 pc.  When I was younger I bought the Citytech game, back when they used cardboard stand-ups for game pieces.  I was intrigued by all of the robots loaded down with laser guns and missile launchers.  I have always loved robots and the idea of giant robot combat in a game is winner for me.  During my one game of Battletech my mech received a critical hit and exploded.  Good times.

You can download a free quickstart for Battletech here.

You can download a free quickstart for the Battletech role playing game here.

You can download a free intro to the Battletech universe here.

The Battletech Introductory Box Set, a great place to start!

A is for Adventure - #atozchallenge

My first post for the April A to Z Blog Challenge will be about Adventure modules.  When I was younger I used to look through my brother's stack of AD&D modules while daydreaming about the adventures contained within those maps and boxed text.   I have always liked to collect rpg rulebooks.  I assumed that I could make up my own adventures to run.  Once I started GMing regularly I realized the benefit of the pre-written adventure module.    The rpg adventure module is a great asset for the GM.

As a busy adult, my gaming and prep time is a limited resource.  Having a document that is ready for play leaves me with more time for running games.  Even if an adventure module isn't perfect for my group there is always some idea, trap, monster, or plot that I can use.

I will close with one of my favorite rpg adventure modules, Tales of the Scarecrow by James Raggi.  This is a very short adventure that is written in a totally different paradigm from other rpg adventures.  I ran it in my Pathfinder game and we had a great time.  If you want to mess with your players then try this.  It is not for everyone, but I think that everyone can get a good idea from it.