The Actual Games on the Shelf

I thought for today's post I would take a look at my game shelf, absorb its glory, and then mope about at I think about all of the awesome games sitting there that I may never actually play. Ever. It's not for a lack of wanting either. When it comes to RPGs in particular, I am an absolute indiscriminate game-whore. If it doesn't involve misunderstood vampires (I have an intense burning hatred of things Vampire: the Masquerade, True Blood, and the lot -- it's not rational, and is unfounded, but I have it all the same) then I am down to play it. More than once too if its even remotely good. I do try to bust out a new one every now and again, but the lift required to get the group on board is just exhausting sometimes.

I'll start with the board games, and work my way through, adding notes on how often I've played, what I liked or didn't like about the game, and other thoughts. If you see one you want to know more about, leave a comment, and I'll dig deeper.

So now...the Games on the Shelf

On the Psychology of RPG Groups and Table Space

During one of the seminars I gave at GenCon this year, one of the attendees mentioned the response that the players in her group have to the sound of shaking dice. Namely that all side conversations would stop and everyone immediately queued in on what was about to happen, whether they knew what was going on or not. This led to a larger discussion on small group interactions and psychology in a tabletop roleplaying game group. There have been some requests that I discuss the topic again, from friends online who were not able to attended, so here is my attempt.

A disclaimer – I am not a psychologist. What follows is my own interpretation of behavior and group interaction based solely on my own experiences in gaming, the military, and professional work environments. (Post some comments if you disagree; I’d love to hear your own ideas.

This article is an adaptation of a lengthy post I made on G+ a few days ago. The Games on the Shelf is a better place to share and explore this topic.

GenCon 2008 - The Memories are Fading

Continuing my series of GenCon reviews, I reach back into the deep cobweb filled archives of my hippocampus and frontal cortex to bring you the memories of GenCon 2008. A whole four years ago, and with the impressions of the conventions fading between then and now, my recollection of the events that took place at that convention are hazy at best. The good news is, there were some things that happened there which are indelibly marked into my memory forever, so I can at least faithfully retell those stories, even if the bits in between are clouded and sparse.

GenCon 2007 - You never forget your first time

In 2007, a friend and I decided to go to GenCon. "Why not"?, we thought. We're grown men. Now seems like a great time to finally make good on all of those adolescent dreams of going to the great nerd fest in Wisconsin (Although it was now in Indianapolis). No one can stop us now - except maybe spouses - but they were sympathetic to our cause, and gave us the green light. There was only one problem with this plan. It was already June.