When the concept of Run For Your Life, Candyman! (Smirk & Dagger Games, 2005 – Curt Covert) was explained to me, I just started to laugh. During my first game of it everyone was laughing pretty much the entire time. It’s not like Candyman is a great game. In fact, it’s not even a good…
Game Design: What comes first, theme or mechanics? Part 1
I’ve been designing games for a long time, I don’t have many published but I have designed a lot.One question I often get is, “what do you do first, pick a theme or design a mechanic?” I hope to use this article to answer that question.Theme vs. mechanics is one of those “chicken and the…
Gaming the Digg: Friends
As many of you may already know, a while back Digg introduced a great “friends” system that allowed you to track what your friends Dugg/submitted. This was designed to help you find good stories from good submitters. It was great, then it got changed.I have been reading the blogs of various big name Diggers and…
Google Search + AdSense = ????
As many of you probably already know, Google has recently allowed AdSense members to create custom Google search pages and get a cut of any ads clicked on those search results. As an AdSense member I see this as a good way to increase revenue but… I have to wonder if this will only lead…
HowTo: Gaming the Digg
Most people who use Digg know about the continual algorthym upgrades. These changes are made to prevent the “gaming” of Digg. i.e. They are meant to prevent people from using Digg as a personal advertising scheme. There still are a few very easy things you can do to “game” the system.A) The Steve Colbert SystemThis…
5 Signs You’ve ‘Made It’ As A Blogger
Many people blog just because while others blog to gain a following. Either way, there is a certain point when you come to discover you’ve gone from being the only person reading your blog to having a real audience.5) Within four hours of posting a blog entry you find other bloggers are talking about the…
Game Review: Drive
Every once in a while, my wife and I play a two player game that instantly grabs us, one we want to play continuously and often. Lost Cities was the first such game, and over the years, a few have followed. The latest in this rare group is Drive (SimplyFun, 2005 – Michael Schacht). I…
Game Review: Crazy Mixed Up Zoo
I’m always on the lookout for games to play with my young children, while avoiding the dross that is so readily available in mass-market stores. Fortunately, there are piles of excellent games for children, but many times they are smaller, unnoticeable affairs. The Crazy Mixed Up Zoo Game (SimplyFun, 2006 – Peter Sarrett & Michael…
Three Games for Halloween
Halloween is Tonight! These Three games are my top picks for gaming on Halloween.I present this list in alphabetical order so as not to give any one game more weight than another.Arkham HorrorIn the past couple years, I was introduced by some friends to the Cthulhu mythos, which for the uninitiated, is a literary universe…
The Baddest Halloween Costume in Town!
My good friend Paul, who blogs here as DaDrainer, won a Halloween costume contest. See the pics inside to find out why.Look at the cute couple, ready for a night on the town! I’ve known Paul for many years and he is a wizard when it comes to special effects makeup.Paul has done some truly…
SimplyFun: Plext
As soon as I saw Plext (SimplyFun, 2005 – Alvin Madden) and read the rules, I knew that my wife would enjoy it. Word games are fascinating to us as a couple, and ones that allow players to work with a set of letters, rather than be constrained by using solely the letters given with…
SimplyFun: Simply Catan
When I first heard about Simply Catan (SimplyFun Games, 2006 – Klaus Teuber), I had a hard time imagining how Settlers of Catan could get any simpler. Then I realized that I was a person who enjoyed Cities and Knights of Catan, + Seafarers + Fisherman + whatever latest flavor of the month was, and…