Fantasy Flight miniatures games are handing over management to Atomic Mass Games also owned by Asmodee. They had success last year with Marvel Crisis Protocol. This will include their Star Wars games, X-Wing, Armada and Legion. Fans seem to be happy with the move. Many modern boardgames are having new branded editions using Disney IPs, including Star Wars, Marvel and Disney Parks. Is this a good move to get more people into the hobby? Does this mean these modern games are considered classics? Or will this ruin the experience and players will feel they have outgrown them? Also, Disney has stopped paying royalties to Alan Dean Foster for his novelization and sequel novels for Star Wars and also the Alien franchise. What does this mean for copyright and the future of creatives writing for established IPs? #DisneyMustPay #atomicmassgames #starwars #alien

If you played Star Wars as a kid on the playground or with the almost endless number of Kenner toys, you probably wanted to try it on the tabletop as a role-playing game. What is the best way to do it? What system would you use? Of the licensed game out there from West End Games or Fantasy Flight Games and also the fan homebrews, which system would you choose? Are there better systems that have never been adapted? We try to cover the topic including what makes a game feel like Star Wars and how you explore the universe without the rules getting in the way. This discussion could equally apply to all games based on popular intellectual properties and how to make a successful translation to the tabletop. Session zero and understanding player expectations as well as what are the limitations of the setting are also covered.

So sharpen those lightsabers and swaddle those HVTs as we dive deep into playing Star Wars as a roleplaying game from three different perspectives.
#starwars #westendgames #pbta #fantasyflightgames

 

In our last (first?) episode of the year, we discuss some of the big stories in the geek and gaming world from 2014. While they may not be the same stories everyone else is talking about, they’re the ones that had the most impact in our little circle across the Pacific.

Prof. Harriet “Gears” Hamilton: “Was that London calling?”
Lord Nigel Hollingsworth III: “Yes. Something about engines not running and the city drowning.”
Hamilton: “That sounds dreadfully excessive.”
Hollingsworth: “What do you expect from Lady Annie Christian?”
Hamilton: “The anarchist? I say, she certainly doesn’t know what she wants.”
Hollingsworth: “But she knows how to get it.”
Hamilton: “Oh, how droll! Well, let’s assemble the League. It seems we have some thrashing to do.”
– Another reason why steampunk isn’t that punk.

In our first installment of our subcultures series, we discuss punk. Put your game to our Punk Test, a series of questions on what is punk.

I’m gonna pop some tags,
Only got twenty dollars in my pocket.
I – I – I’m leaving, looking to come ba-ack.
The book was fifty dollars.
Game  Shop” – Idlemore & Red Lewis

In this episode, we discuss what makes a good game store, based on some observations we made during some recent trips to North America, and what could entice people away from online  retailers.

Game stores in your area:

Toronto
401 Games

Ottawa
Fandom II
The Comic Book Shoppe

Los Angeles
The War House

Philadelphia
Atomic City Comics

Schaumburg
Gamer’s World

The D&D image discussed in the introduction.

When Hollywood runs out of Saturday morning cartoons to make into movies, we suggest a new source for shaky ideas: pen and paper roleplaying games. (Because, really, The Smurfs?)

In this episode, we discuss the few RPG movies out there, and then we pitch our own ideas for RPG movies.

In this episode, we discuss board games with our special guest, Kristos.

Kristos talks about making his wife cry, which is related to board games. Chris mentions nun rape, which isn’t related to board games. Lyal does sound effects, which, oddly, is related to board games. Wayne threatens to “get started” on Toys ‘R’ Us (again), which, while related to board games, would have been cut (again).

Find out which board game is the best on the market and which one is the worst. Kristos also shares his secret on how to make Monopoly even more boring.