AGC 141 November 9th 2010 (Better Know A Game Company: Blackwyrm Games) (45:50)

With Mags, Carol, and Dave Mattingly. Mark is absent due to stuff. Upcoming content. Dave's Geek Cred. The history of Blackwyrm Games. Haymaker and Ez Hero, and the founding of Blackwyrm. Moving into fiction publishing. What they're working on now. Audio? A contest as well...


Download 64kbps mp3 (21.0 MB)


Show links
Blackwyrm Games and Publishing
Afterthoughts
Left in the Dark
Albrim's Curse
Gran's Secret
An Unforgiving Land
The Holler
Branwen's Garden
The Starcrossed
Trajan's Arch
Kazei 5
Pretty Hate Machines
Unkindness
Autographed Trajan's Arch Contest (Until November 30th)


Promos
Star Trek: Outpost
Yog Radio
DriveThruRPG

AGC News November 4th 2010 (9:40)

With Mags and Carol. Mark is out due to an unavoidable scheduling thing. GAMA has a new retailer division chair, and Wizards of the Coast has a new Marketing VP. WizKids relaunching Mage Knight! Exodus coming soon for Battlestar Galactica (with an aside about Caprica). Mirrodin Besieged coming in February.


Download 64kbps mp3 (4.45 MB)


Show links
Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA)
WizKids (Mage Knight)
Battlestar Galactica Exodus Expansion (Fantasy Flight Games)
Magic: The Gathering (Wizards of the Coast)

RPG Buffet 13 (Second Helping: FantasyCraft) (18:38)

Louis runs Crafty Games' FantasyCraft for the Buffet, with additional input from Mags, Steve, and John.


Download 64kbps mp3 (10.4 MB)


Show links
FantasyCraft (Crafty Games)

Games You May Never Have Heard Of 3 (Cosmic Encounter and Complete Disclosure) (12:22)

With Ben Balestra. Cosmic Encounter, the game that wouldn't die. Also, a word on games received free for review.


Download 64kbps mp3 (5.68 MB)


Show links
Cosmic Encounter (Wikipedia)
Cosmic Encounter (Fantasy Flight Games)


Promos
The Tome

RPG Buffet 12 (Year of D&D Part 7: D&D Third Edition Forgotten Realms) (22:43)

Kae brings the RPG Buffet to Third Edition with Forgotten Realms!


Kae's Chili Burgers
Lightly beat one egg.
Add 2 tbsps chili powder, 1 tsp hing or onion powder, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp cumin, a dash of red pepper, and a dash of salt.
Mix completely.
Add 3 lbs of ground beef.

Mix completely. Make into patties and grill! YUM!


Download 64kbps mp3 (10.4 MB)


Show links
Dungeons and Dragons 3rd Edition (Wikipedia)
Forgotten Realms (Wikipedia)


Promos
Brilliant Gameologists
The Escapistcast

AGC News October 21st 2010 (28:39)

With Mark and Mags. The Big White Wolf announcement. DriveThruRPG and Doctors Without Borders join forces to help victims of the Pakistan flooding. D&D4 and Pathfinder tied for hobby sales! What won't be at Spiel 2010. Games Workshop profits, and musing on their "One Man Store" concept. Palladium back on track. Paizo to release a snazzy new version of Save Doctor Lucky. Cryptozoic collecting cans in a WoW TCG tournament! Wings of War Revised Deluxe Set coming to Europe! Hasbro Earnings (and commentary on the movies). A new Reiner Knizia game! Mayfair co-sponsoring Origins Game Fair 2011. The IT Crowd game.


Download 64kbps mp3 (13.1 MB)


Show links
Doctors Without Borders Pakistan Flood Relief Bundle (DriveThruRPG)
Doctors Without Borders Pakistan Flood Relief (DriveThruComics)
Mouse Guard Boxed Set (David Petersen's Blog)
Save Doctor Lucky (Paizo Publishing)
Chase The Can (Cryptozoic)
The IT Crowd Series 1-4 (Amazon.co.uk)

AGC 140 October 12th 2010 (GenCon Interview Z!) (54:48)

More interviews from GenCon, after Mark presents a DriveThruRPG pick (and also describes how the Diaspora interview was lost). Mags talks to James Sutter from Paizo Publishing about things Pathfinder. Carol interviews James Auld from iTabletop about their virtual tabletop. Mags speaks to Brenda Holsknecht from Geek Chic! Carol talked to Matthew Grau, co-founder and Chief Experience Officer of Infrno, a new virtual tabletop that is system neutral, and community based. Mags speaks with Will Schoonover from Steve Jackson Games about Zombie Dice and Cthulhu Dice. Carol spoke with Tony Sisson and Ken, the gentlemen at Exim-Games booth at GenCon this year and found out about xPirate, the first integrated iPod/iPhone Touch board game / mobile application. Mags interviews the folks at Lego about their game line. Carol talks to Ben McFarland about Open Design, the patronage system, and new products.


Download 64kbps mp3 (25.1 MB)


Show links
Paizo Publishing (Pathfinder)
iTabletop
Geek Chic
Infrno
Steve Jackson Games (Zombie Dice, Cthulhu Dice)
Exim Games (xPirate)
Lego Games
Kobold Quarterly/Open Design


AGC's DriveThruRPG Picks for this episode!
Mark: Tunnels and Trolls (Fiery Dragon)


Promos
The Babylon Podcast

AGC News October 8th 2010 (19:05)

With Mark and Mags. AEG has a Legend of the Five Rings contest! Paizo bringing on coordinators for the Pathfinder Society! A new Marvel RPG! Powerchords is funded! Iron GM at NeonCon! International Gamer Awards for 2010! Small World expansions! Dungeons and Dragons ad on Hulu!


Download 64kbps mp3 (8.76 MB)


Show links
L5R Imperial Histories Contest (Alderac Entertainment Group)
Pathfinder Society (Paizo Publishing)
That Marvel Reference (Bleeding Cool)
Powerchords (Kickstarter)
Iron GM
NeonCon
Small World: Be Not Afraid (Days of Wonder)
Small World: Necromancer Island (Days of Wonder)
Dungeons and Dragons Hulu Ad (YouTube)

AGC Interview 10 (+5 Charisma) (28:54)

Mark, Mags and Carol welcome E from Geek's Dream Girl back to the show to talk about how her Origins and GenCon events went, and a new site for geek fitness support.


Download 64kbps mp3 (13.2 MB)


Show links
Geek's Dream Girl
+5 Charisma
Stupid Ranger
Critical Hits
Fiasco (Bully Pulpit Games)


Promos
DriveThruRPG (Affiliate Link)
Fringeworthy Podcast

AGC 139 October 1st 2010 (The LARP GMing Round Table) (1:00:26)

Mags, Steve and Carol are joined by Eli, Megan, and Other Steve to talk about the ins and outs of LARP GMing, from suitable player bases to combat and problem players.


Download 64kbps mp3 (27.6 MB)


Promos
DriveThruRPG Affiliate Link
Hotel Pacifica
The Great Debate

AGC Interview 9 (Don't Call It A GenCon) (27:14)

Mags talks Apocalypse World with Vincent Baker. Carol managed to get a few minutes with Margaret Weis at GenCon this year to talk a little bit about the properties that her company has produced and some of her new fiction. Mags discusses game design and Mispent Youth with Robert Bohl. Carol spoke with Robin D. Laws about "Hamlet's Hit Points" and other projects - plus the strange time warp that GenCon seems to produce. Also discussed are Mutant City Blues, and Skullduggery, which debuted at GenCon this year. He also has a few words of wisdom for the beginning GM.


Download 64kbps mp3 (12.4 MB)


Show links
Lumpley Games (Apocalypse World)
Margaret Weis Productions
Mispent Youth
GamePlayWright (Hamlet's Hit Points)
Pelgrane Press (Skullduggery)


Promos
DriveThruRPG (Affiliate Link)
Zero Fortitude

AGC News September 23rd 2010 (26:50)

With Mark, Carol, and Mags. The Indie RPG Awards (a little old news). The Deutscher Spiele Preis goes to Fresco! 2010 Windhammer Prize voting is open! Mike Mearls talks to the Escapist about the reception of Fourth Edition. Dolmun Creative to publish support for Bill Coffin's Septimus! Powerchords and Destiny6 Kickstarter projects (with a little commentary from Mags). Loren Wiseman needs your help with medical bills (Paypal to loren@sjgames.com)!


Download 64kbps mp3 (12.3 MB)


Show links
2009 Indie RPG Awards
2010 Windhammer Prize
Red Box Renaissance (The Escapist Magazine)
Dolmen Creative (Septimus support)
Powerchords (Kickstarter)
Arpeggio
Destiny6 (Kickstarter)
Loren Wiseman Editorial (Journal of the Travellers Aid Society)

AGC Interview 8 (Steve Kenson at GenCon) (19:56)

Carol talks to Steve Kenson, who wrote DC Adventures, about getting the DC license, and what went in to the DC Adventures line. Listen to the challenges of condensing 75 years of story and art into 4 books over 1 year. We discuss the upcoming Heroes and Villains books, as well as the fourth and final book detailing many of the settings you and your players can use.


Download 64kbps mp3 (9.14 MB)


Show links
DC Adventures (Green Ronin)
Mutants and Masterminds (Green Ronin)


Promos
DriveThruRPG (Affiliate Link)
The Wandering Geek

RPG Buffet 11 (Year of D&D Part 6: AD&D Second Edition Al-Qadim and Dark Sun) (26:32)

Starting to catch back up with the Year of D&D, moving on to Second Edition AD&D, and catching up on a missed session. Louis ran Al Qadim in May, and John ran Dark Sun in June.


Mags' Marinated Beef Kabobs
Take five lbs. of stew beef, cut into cubes. Apply 4 tablespoons of Patak's Original Spicy Ginger and Garlic Marinade (or about half the jar) to the beef, and mix together 'til the beef is covered. Dump beef into a Ziploc bag and marinate in the refrigerator at least an hour, preferably 24 hours.

On kabab sticks, alternate beef, tomato, onion, bell pepper, and mushroom. Grill 'til done. Serve with coucous!


Download 64kbps mp3 (12.1 MB)


Show links
Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition (Wikipedia)
Al-Qadim (Wikipedia)
Dark Sun (Wikipedia)
Sitar Restaurant in Louisville


Promos
Star Trek: Outpost
Brilliant Gameologists

AGC 138 September 14th 2010 (BWAHAHAHAHA!) (47:06)

With Mark Kinney, Carol, and Mags. Lots of reading to do! FantasyCraft in second printing! A nod to Brian Wood. Convention talk! Our first round of DriveThruRPG Picks Of The Fortnight! Getting into villains! Individual and group and places ("Some houses are just born bad"). Villains from the early days of D&D! Bargle Must Die! Paradise Lost. Redemption of villains. Keeping a good villain around. Media recommendations, from Infernal Affairs to the Thunderbolts!


Download 64kbps mp3 (21.5 MB)


Show links
Crafty Games (FantasyCraft)
YoreCon
ConGlomeration
Con on the Cob
Into The Dark


AGC's DriveThruRPG Picks for this episode!
Mark: Diaspora (VSCA Publishing)
Carol: Shaolin Squirrels: Nuts of Fury (HinterWelt Enterprises)
Mags: Gangster London Fiasco Playset (Bully Pulpit Games)


Promos
Story Schtick

DriveThruRPG Discount Code for September

Check out the following publishers over at DriveThruRPG this month, and use the code HotAugustGames2010 for 20% off of your purchase of their products, through October 5th, 2010!


Goodman Games
Inner City Games Designs
Mongoose
Palladium Books
Pinnacle Entertainment
Erisian Entertainment
Generic Universe Publishing
Holistic Design
Kallisti Press
LPJ Design
Palladium Books
Rogue Games, Inc
RPG Objects
Savage Mojo
Highmoon Games



And if you see anything you really like, be sure to tell us about it! We might make it one of our Picks of the Fortnight on an upcoming AGC episode!

AGC Feedback September 11th 2010 (14:38)

Recorded September 7th, 2010, with Mark, carol, and Mags. Forum issues. Upgrading our LibSyn (and maybe getting an iPhone app)? Virtual tabletops and Scenegrinder. Patches from the Quilt City OGRES (including one contributing to the Gygax Memorial Fund). Questions from the UK. Robert Dean returns to answer our questions. Was the Big Hairy DM captured by Martians? (Just a bit of fun, sorry, please call back!) Spoiler alert?


Download 64kbps mp3 (6.72 MB)


Show links
Ruthless Diastema Games
Scenegrinder
OGRES Patches (OGRES)
OGRES Patches (ALittleCrafty.com)
The Big Hairy Podcast (Big Hairy GM)


Promos
DriveThruRPG (Affiliate Link)
Geek Acres

AGC News September 9th 2010 (9:22)

With Mark, Carol, and Mags. A new order from the name stuff. Charles Roberts, Avalon Hill founder, passes away. 2010 Finnish Game of the Year winners (with big apologies from Mark). 2010 International Gamer Award nominees (with less need for apologies from Carol). Wrath of Ashardalon! In the blooper reel, we pull back the curtain on our pronunciation difficulties. (And sorry, Mark isn't going to try to put together the huge list of links for all these games. With the links to the Boardgame News pages, you can execute Google searches from there easily, though.)


Download 64kbps mp3 (4.31 MB)


Show links
Charles Roberts Obituary (Baltimore Sun)
Finnish Game of the Year Awards (Boardgame News)
Nominees for the 2010 International Gamers Awards (Boardgame News)
Wrath of Ashardalon (Wizards of the Coast)

AGC Interview 7 (Even More From GenCon) (28:01)

Mark, Carol, and Mags bring more interviews from GenCon 2010, including Mags talking to Drew Milosco(?) about the new Star Trek games from WizKids, Carol talked to Travis Parker from the Game Crafter, Mags talking Pathfinder with James Sutter from Paizo Publishing, and Mark chats with Rob Boyle and Brian Cross of Posthuman Studios about Eclipse Phase and other things.


Download 64kbps mp3 (12.8 MB)


Show links
WizKids
The Game Crafter
Paizo Publishing (Pathfinder)
Eclipse Phase (Posthuman Studios)
Mark's Guess At The Entry in Adam Jury's Blog Mentioned in the Posthuman Studios Interview. If I'm wrong, check out the blog anyway.
(And the actual blog post, thanks Adam!)


Promos
DriveThruRPG (Affiliate Link)

AGC Interview 6 (KublaCon: The Rossi Interviews) (26:54)

Listener Joe Rossi brings us coverage of the KublaCon convention from this past May in Burlingame, California. Interviewees include Paul Girardi (Z-Man Games), Robert Gifford (Geek Chic), Candace Moore (CCBE Clothiers), Ed Bryan (Troll and Toad), Patrick Stevens and Alicia Stevens (Numbskull Games), Aldo Ghiozzi (Impressions/Free RPG Day), Patrick Varney (PolyCon), Jeffrey Walker (Three Sages Games), Joshua Qualtieri (Zombiesmith.com), and Alise Barley (Struck). (With apologies from Mark for any misspellings above!)


Download 64kbps mp3 (12.3 MB)


Show links
KublaCon
Z-Man Games
Geek Chic
CCBE Clothiers
Troll and Toad
Numbskull Games
Free RPG Day
PolyCon
Three Sages Games
ZombieSmith.com
Artworld's page didn't seem to be working when I checked.


Promos
The Gutter Skypes

AGC 137 August 31st 2010 (Damn, That's a Big Interview Show) (1:10:16)

With Mark Kinney, Carol, and Mags. A word about what we're doing with this new DriveThruRPG affiliation and participation in their Podcast/Blog program. Carol talked to Eddy Webb, Ethan Skemp and Richard Thomas about White Wolf. The White Wolf release schedule is out through July of 2011. Serialized novels and expansion into even more electronic formats are forthcoming. Just what does their new business model mean for what is and can be published? What is the Grand Masquerade all about? Oh, and a little info about this little computer project... Then, Carol and Mark talk to Sean Patrick Fannon and Carinn Seabolt about DriveThruRPG, the Haiti bundle, writing, Shaintar news, Con on the Cob, electronic books, internet play, GenCon highlights, unofficial observations, and retrogaming.

Use the code DTRPGAugust2010BlogPCast at DriveThruRPG for a 20% discount on pdfs from the following publishers until September 10th:
A Terrible Idea
Aethereal Forge
Bailey Records
Crucifiction Games
Dream Pod 9
Fantasy Games Unlimited
Final Redoubt Press
Gold Rush Games
Goodman Games
Highmoon Games
Morbid Games
OtherWorld Creations
Palladium Books
Rogue Games
RPG Objects
Savage Mojo
Tricky Owlbear
Vigilance Press


Download 64kbps mp3 (32.1 MB)


Show links
White Wolf Game Studio
DriveThruRPG
Savage Mojo (was Talisman Studios)
Reality Blurs
Infrno
d-Infinity on Facebook


Promos
Podiobooks
The Plitone Revisionist (Podiobooks)
Paul S. Jenkins (The Plitone Revisionist)
Solid Symbols

AGC Feedback August 27th 2010 (16:23)

Recorded August 24th, 2010, with Mark, carol, and Mags. Mental images, lack of pics, and Mage. Technolich. "That's Not Canon!" More Gamma World coverage? Save or Die! A gift from the Computer King! Villains and hawtness. Gamer obsession. Hog calling, cheese rolling and... something. A little bit at the end.


Download 64kbps mp3 (7.52 MB)


Show links
Technolich
Gamer's Haven Podcast
Roll For Initiative Podcast
Save or Die! Podcast
Into The Dark


Promos
DriveThruRPG (Affiliate Link)
Wormwood: Revelation

AGC News August 26th 2010 (22:11)

With Mark, Carol, and Mags. Watch for lots of stuff coming down the feed! GenCon Indy crests 30,000! 2010 Deutscher Lernspielpreis winners! Atlantis wins Spiel der Spiele 2010! TSR1 Insidious, playing dangerous games with trademark law! Gamers for Humanity membership drive! News on Fantasy Flight's Arkham Horror minis! Yog Radio posts Continuum seminars (with an aside about boxed sets)! Gamer's Haven gives us the Hamlet's Hit Points panel from GenCon! The return of ConGlomeration, in nifty new digs!


Download 64kbps mp3 (10.1 MB)


Show links
GenCon
Creationary (Lego)
Wer War (Ravensburger)
Schollenhupfen (Oberschwäbische Magnetspiele/BoardGameGeek Link)
Donnerwetter (BoardGameGeek)
Atlantis (Mayfair Games)
Well, I Wonder How This Will Go Over - TSR1 Insidious (Underdark Gazette)
Gamers For Humanity Membership Drive
Familiar Faces Are Coming to Arkham (Fantasy Flight Games)
Arkham Horror Minis (Fantasy Flight Games)
Yog Radio
Gamer's Haven Special Edition (Hamlet's Hit Points)
ConGlomeration

AGC Interview 5 (A Mags' Eye View of GenCon 2010) (28:25)

Mark introduces a raft of interviews Mags did at GenCon. In order: Elizabeth Shoemaker-Sampat (Blowback), David Hill (Maschine Zeit) and Filamena Young (An Open Letter to the Gaming Industry), Chris Engle (Hamster Press), Graham Walmsley (Play Unsafe), and Thomas Grable (Gaming Paper).


Download 64kbps mp3 (13.0 MB)


Show links
Blowback (Two Scooters Press)
Maschine Zeit (Machine Age Productions)
A Letter to the Game Industry
Hamster Press
Play Unsafe (The Un-store)
Gaming Paper


Promos
DriveThruRPG (Affiliate Link)
The Game Master Show

AGC Interview 4 (Words from GenCon 2010) (22:33)

Mark and Mags bring you interviews from GenCon 2010. Mark talks to Ivan Van Norman with Outbreak: Undead. Mags talks to Kim Tollson of Queen Games. Mark talks to Luke Meyer about the upcoming Iron Tyrants. Mags talks Noel Meyer, artist and owner of the Steampunk wheelchair that Felicia Day tweeted about.


Download 64kbps mp3 (10.3 MB)


Show links
Outbreak: Undead
Queen Games
Iron Tyrants
The Podge Cast
Noel Meyer


Promos
Swing And A Miss

AGC 136 August 17th 2010 (GenCon Hangover Special) (1:22:31)

With Mark Kinney, Carol, Mags, and Steve. Thanks to our listeners for the Silver ENnie (and congrats again to Atomic Array)! Yeah, it's another GenCon retrospective, starting with a True Dungeon proposal. Playing Hellas, and Savage Saturday Night! Meetups, and how to say Tzimisce. A women in gaming panel Carol sat on. A serious situaion. Back from break, and going to tweets of questions and such, a discussion of headgear sparked by Mick Bradley. A look ahead at upcoming interviews. What we brought back, and a little commentary along the way. Stuff we saw. WizKids' upcoming Star Trek games. "That's not canon!" The meet-and-greet. Virtual Tabletops. Other shout outs. A few of our favorite things. The White Wolf booth. We suppose Mark can talk about this book he has coming out... What did we miss? And thanks to Sarah Robinson, without whom none of this would be possible...


Download 64kbps mp3 (37.7 MB)


Show links
Atomic Array
Wil Wheaton and True Dungeon Engagement stories (Trudger's Treatises)
Wil Wheaton At Gencon On Why He Is A Geek-Part 1 (YouTube)
The Bones (Gameplaywright)
Hellas (Khepera Publishing)
Pinnacle Entertainment Group (Savage Worlds)
RPG Circus
Roll For Initiative
Geek's Dream Girl
Apocalypse World (Lumpley Games)
Blowback (Two Scooters Press)
Maschine Zeit (Machine Age Productions)
Fat Dragon Games (Ultimate GM's Screen II)
Zombie Dice (Steve Jackson Games)
Ape Games (Duck Duck Safari, Duck Duck Go)
DC Adventures (Green Ronin)
Element (MindtwisterUSA)
Asmodee Editions (Dixit, Identik, Claustrophobia)
Hamster Press (Guilty Moneybags)
Tri Tac Games (Fringeworthy)
Play Unsafe (Lulu)
Mecha (Heroic Journey Publishing)
Lacuna Part I (Memento Mori Publishing)
Flying Buffalo (Tunnels and Trolls, Monsters! Monsters!)
Skulduggery (Pelgrane Press)
Triple Ace Games (All For One: Regime Diabloique)
Margaret Weis Productions (Smallville)
Arc Dream Publishing (Wild Talents, Monsters and Other Childing Things)
Hamlet's Hit Points (Gameplaywright)
RPGGirl Zine
WizKids
Gamers Haven Podcast
Troll in the Corner
Brilliant Gameologists
Infrno
Geek Chic
Exim-Games
The Great Luke Ski
Scrying Eye Games
Gaming Paper
Damsels of Dorkington
Gamer Chick
Rogue Games
Fistful of Comics (And Games)
The Podge Cast
Iron Tyrants
The ExtraOrdinagents! for Godsend Agenda (Khepera Publishing/Cubicle 7 Store)
FreeMarket
Eoris
Paizo Publishing
NeonCon



Promos
Podiobooks
V and A Shipping (Podiobooks)
V and A Shipping
RPGPodcasts.com
SIBCON XV
Amorphous Blobcast


DriveThruRPG


DriveThruRPG Affiliate Links
Hellas: Worlds of Sun and Stone
Maschine Zeit
DC Adventures Hero's Handbook
Mecha
Wild Talents
Wild Talents Essential Edition
Monsters and Other Childish Things
Monsters and Other Childish Things Pocket Edition

AGC Feedback August 14th 2010 (18:48)

Recorded August 10th, 2010, with Mark, carol, Mags, and Steve. A concern over differentiating commentators' opinions with the show opinion (in regards to Random Thoughts On Gaming and the Outlaw Press situation), and comments on the segment. Discussion of intellectual property issues. Aluminium! A miniatures podcast recommendation! Obsidian Portal. Parsec! The ENnies derail us toward the end.


Download 64kbps mp3 (8.63 MB)


Show links
Creative Commons
The Adventure of English (Amazon.com)
Meeples and Miniatures Podcast
Obsidian Portal
Parsec (Jolly Roger Games (RPGNow)
Escape (Doug's Blog)


Promos
The Tome

AGC News August 12th 2010 (26:40)

With Mark, Carol, Mags, and Steve. Board Game Geek wins the Diana Jones Award! ENnie results, and the side bet with the Gamer's Haven! Maria wins Portuguese Game of the Year! Bits and Mortar -- PDF support for brick and mortar stores! The 2010 Mind Sports Olympiad. Super Genius taking over Dungeon-a-Day! More Red Dragon Inn. Heavy Gear back to Dream Pod 9! Blood Bowl: Team Manager, and Lord of the Rings! Zombie Dice on the iPhone (and why the delay for Android). Dicebook -- an iPad PDF reader with a dice roller! What we did and didn't observe or otherwise find out at GenCon! Mags speculates on the abortive Mongoose announcement. Money raised for the Gygax Memorial Fund and the Pajama Program!


Download 64kbps mp3 (12.2 MB)


Show links
Board Game Geek
Diana Jones Awards
ENnie Awards
2010 ENnie Winners
Atomic Array
Maria (Histogame)
Bits-And-Mortar
Mind Sports Olympiad
Super Genius Games
Dungeon-A-Day
Red Dragon Inn (Slugfest Games)
Dream Pod 9 (Heavy Gear)
Blood Bowl: Team Manager (Fantasy Flight Games)
Lord of the Rings: The Card Game (Fantasy Flight Games)
Zombie Dice for iPhone (Steve Jackson Games)
Daily Illuminator: Apps For Android (Steve Jackson Games)
DiceBook (iPad App)
Bruce Baugh's Livejournal DiceBook Review
DiceBook thread (RPG.net)
Paizo Publishing
DC Adventures (Green Ronin)
Fiasco (Bully Pulpit Games)
The Grand Masquerade
Gen Con Indy Facebook Page
Gary Gygax Memorial Fund
Pajama Program
True Dungeon

AGC 135 August 3rd 2010 (History of Surviving GenCon) (58:47)

With Mark Kinney, Carol, and Mags. Welcoming Carol back. GenCon plans. Robert Dean's missives on historical miniatures gaming. His bona fides, and an overview of historical miniatures. HistoriCon report. Pookie makes his AGC debut with a review of Who Would Win! Surviving GenCon! Tips, tricks, and resources! Photos by Robert Dean.


Download 64kbps mp3 (26.9 MB)


Show links
Plastic Soldier Review
Indroduction to Battle Gaming (Board Game Geek)
HistoriCon
Cold Wars
Big Battles For Little Hands (Amazon.com)
The Pragmatic Defense of St Stephen (Sharp End of the Brush)
CW2010 1st Battle of St Stephen (Battle Game of the Month)
Charge! Or How To Play War Games (Board Game Geek)
Raid on St Michel (Cavalier Books)
Prince August
Little Wars (Gutenberg.org)
Skirmisher Publishing (Little Orc Wars)
A Timeline Of The Historical Miniatures Wargaming Hobby
Donald Featherston's War Games (Amazon.com)
Historical Miniatures Gaming Society
Commands and Colors: Ancients (GMT Games)
Battleground: Punic Wars (Your Move Games)
Osprey Publishing
Perry Miniatures
Wargames Factory
Warlord Games
The Miniatures Page
Schleich
Flames of War
Red Actions (The Perfect Captain)
All The Kings Men Toy Soldiers (Ken Cliffe's Company)
Who Would Win (Gorilla Games)
GenCon Community
Keeper of Ancient GenCon Lore (via Wayback Machine)
This Just In... From GenCon!



Promos
Wandering Geek Podcast
The Colony

AGC Feedback July 31st 2010 (28:27)

Recorded July 24th, 2010, with Mark, carol, and Mags. Keep us busy, or we'll bring back Glondar... Lots of Ebook feedback (something had to take over now that Doctor Who is finished for the season)! Swashbucklers of Mars. Uses of gaming fiction! Cooperative boardgames we missed! Regarding the possibility of actual play recordings from the RPG Buffet. A voicemail from Birmingham! RPG.net meetup at GenCon.


Download 64kbps mp3 (13.0 MB)


Show links
Sony PRS-600 CNet Review
Project Gutenberg
GameStorm
GameStorm on Twitter
Dropbox
Swashbucklers of Mars (RPG.Net Index)
Flying Frog Productions (A Touch of Evil, Last Night on Earth)


Promos
Podiobooks.com
The Pirates of Sufiro

AGC News July 29th 2010 (24:27)

With Mark, Carol, and Mags. GenCon Australia cancelled for 2010. 2010 Diana Jones Award Shortlist! The release of Lamentation of the Flame Princess' Weird Fantasy RPG! Precis Intermedia picks up Masterbook! A Kindle version of the Eclipse Phase Quickstart. Some media articles about gaming. Fantasy Flight Cthulhu LCG Domain Statue, and new Talisman stuff! Terra Incognita is online! Smallville out in PDF! Carey Grayson profiled by the Oregonian. Choose Your Own Adventure on the iPhone. Ryan Reynolds takes the Green Lantern Oath (yeah, I know, but hey, why not?).


Download 64kbps mp3 (11.2 MB)


Show links
Board Game Geek
Chaos In The Old World (Fantasy Flight Games)
Kagematsu (Cream Alien Games)
Montsegur 1244 (Thoughtful Games)
Weird Fantasy Role-Playing (Lamentation of the Flame Princess)
LOTFP Weird Fantasy Role-Playing RPG.net Thread
Precis Intermedia Acquires Masterbook (RPGBlog II)
Precis Intermedia
mechascorpio's Kindle and Mobipocket Eclipse Phase Quickstart
Why We Still Love Board Games (Financial Times)
Fantasy Flight Games beat downturn by sticking to core business
The Horror In The Clay (Fantasy Flight Games)
Talisman Sacred Pool Announcement (Fantasy Flight Games)
Terra Incognita Map Listing
Smallville RPG (Margaret Weis Productions/RPGNow)
Carey Grayson Profle (OregonLive.com)
Ryan Reynolds recites the Green Lantern oath

AGCExtra 38 July 26th 2010 (Random Thoughts On Gaming With Ben) (8:13)

With Ben Balestra. Ben comments on the Outlaw Press and Palladium/Trion situations.


Download 64kbps mp3 (3.79 MB)


Show links
Post quoting Trion countersuit (Palladium Megaverse Forums)

AGC 134 July 20th 2010 (It's Opposite Day) (45:47)

With Mark Kinney and Mags. Carol is still not present due to being married and stuff. Mark's piratical near-disaster. Yard sales and renfaires (and Mark's shocking musical tastes). Upending normal play dynamics. The cooperative boardgame. Mark fumbles the name of Shadows Over Camelot. Mark takes a look at Conflict Roleplaying. Stealing the "Danger Room" concept. Moving to interplayer conflict in RPGs with All Flesh Must Be Eaten. Cold City, The Mountain Witch, and Trust mechanics. Setting expectations for in-character tension. Houses of the Blooded and the "Friendly Game." Paranoia! Shab-Al-Hiri Roach. ENnie nominated again!


Download 64kbps mp3 (20.9 MB)


Show links
Pandemic (Z-Man Games)
Arkham Horror (Fantasy Flight Games)
Battlestar Galactica (Fantasy Flight Games)
Chill: Black Morn Manor (BoardGameGeek)
Shadows Over Camelot (Days of Wonder)
Mystery Of The Abbey (Days of Wonder)
Conflict Roleplaying (Conflict Games)
All Flesh Must Be Eaten (Eden Studios)
Cold City (Contested Ground Studio)
The Mountain Witch (TimFire Publishing/IPR)
Houses of the Blooded
Paranoia (Mongoose Publishing)
Shab-Al-Hiri Roach (Bully Pulpit Games)


ENNie Awards Ballot



Promos
On The Edge of Darkness
Fringeworthy
Fringeworthy Podcast

AGC Feedback July 17th 2010 (29:43)

Recorded July 13th, 2010, with Mark and Mags. Carol is still absent. Going back to some RPG Buffet cooking tips, Dresden, Ragnarok, and e-readers! Aluminium? Wushu Open for Swashbuckling? The badness of pirates, and reversals on the Empire. Racism (and notable lack thereof) in the pulps, and otherwise. PulpFest! More (Hollywood) Arabian options for swashbuckling! More QAGS supers (and other) discussion. Matt from Asshat Paladins gives us a list of more Swashbuckling games.


Download 64kbps mp3 (13.6 MB)


Show links
PanDigital Novel
Wushu Open
HistoriCon
The Case For The Empire (Weekly Standard)
A Different Point of View (Podiobooks)
PulpFest
Hex Games (QAGS, Qerth, Adventures of Sindbad, Spooky)
Asshat Paladins Blog
GURPS Scarlet Pimpernel (Steve Jackson Games)
GURPS Robin Hood (Steve Jackson Games)
Lace and Steel (GeekDo)
Swashbuckler (Jolly Roger Games)
Swashbuckler (Yaquinto/GeekDo)
SKull and Bones (Green Ronin)
Bloode Island XPG (Deep7)
Privateers and Gentlemen (Fantasy Games Unlimited)
Skull and Crossbones (FGU/GeekDo)
Run Out The Guns (ICE Webring)
Omnihedron Games (Beat To Quarters, Duty and Honor)
Poison'd (Lumpley Games)
Leverage (Margaret Weis Productions)


Promos
Zero Fortitude

AGC News July 15th 2010 -- The ENnies Special (34:07)

With Mark and Mags. Amtgard mixup at the Toronto G20 Summit. Rich Baker to appear on Jeopardy! The ENnie Award nominations! Mark and Mags' ENnies Predictions (and in some cases, how their intended votes differ from their predictions).


Download 64kbps mp3 (15.6 MB)


Show links
'Medieval Knight' Caught in G20 Sweep (The Star.com)
Amtgard
Condition Zebra, Gamma World, Jeopardy! (Rich Baker's Blog)
2010 ENnie Award Nominations

AGCExtra 37 July 13th 2010 (The E-Book Roundtable) (39:40)

With Mark Kinney, Eric Franklin, Mark from South Dakota, and Ben Balestra. Eric and the Marks talk about their respective devices (in particular, the Kindle 2, Kindle DX, and the iPad). Ben Balestra talks about the technologies involved. Back to the others with a discussion of how gaming PDFs behave on the various devices. Goodreader. A few rendering woes. How do they do at the table? Portability and priorities. Mark K's durability worries. From PDF to actual eBook formats. Where to from here? The future of PDF?


Download 64kbps mp3 (18.1 MB)


Show links
Amazon Kindle 2
Amazon Kindle DX
Apple iPad
Goodreader
Talking Game (Eric's Blog)


Promos
Wandering Geek Podcast

All Games Considered Nominated for 2010 Best Podcast ENnie!

We here at AGC are proud to announce we are once again nominated for the prestigious ENnie Award for Best Podcast this year! Sadly, not all of us will be there for the presentation, but we look forward to it once again this year (and Mark might actually be prepared to make a speech if he needs to...).

Our fellow nominees (whom we heartily encourage folks to go check out) are:
Atomic Array
NewbieDM.com MiniCast
Open Design
Power Source
And a hearty congratulations to the Honorable Mention as well, our friends over at the Gamer's Haven Podcast!

Congratulations everyone, and I particularly hope to see everyone at GenCon this year!

AGC 133 July 6th 2010 (You Killed My Father, Prepare To Die) (42:41)

With Mark Kinney and Mags. Carol is not present due to being married and stuff. Mark's going to a pirate party on the roof of a local museum (as well as evidently being newly single or something). Mulling on using the Power Of The Show for personal gain. Mark then grouses about the US' World Cup loss (trust us, we get to gaming soon...). The return of the forums (thanks to the Gamer's Haven Podcast)! Thanks for donations! Outlaw Press off Amazon. Convention talk (including the return next year of our local con)! Swashbuckling! What is swashbuckling? Swashbuckling vs "cinematic." Mechanics versus tropes. Crossing genres.


Download 64kbps mp3 (19.5 MB)


Show links
The Gamer's Haven/All Games Considered Forums
RPG.net Outlaw Press Thread
MichiCon 2010
KantCon
Play On Con
ConGlomeration
Swashbuckler (Wikipedia)
Pinnacle Entertainment Group (Savage Worlds of Solomon Kane, Pirates of the Spanish Main)
Flashing Blades (Fantasy Games Unlimited)
Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies (Evil Hat/Atomic Sock Monkey Press)
7th Sea (Wikipedia)
En Garde!
GURPS Swashbucklers (Steve Jackson Games)


Promos
Bear Swarm
Gamer's Haven Podcast

AGC Feedback July 3rd 2010 (15:54)

Recorded June 29th, 2010, with Mark and Mags. You all missed Mags' yard sale. The original D&D sets. Less-than-super supers. Reminders of Champions: New Millenium, and an aside about Qerth. Another customizable GM screen. HistoriCon! Response on Lords of Gossamer and Shadow. Hellas made goal as well! Gaming fiction recommendations. A reminder about the reviews!


Download 64kbps mp3 (7.30 MB)


Show links
Hex Games (QAGS, Qerth)
Customizable GM Screen (GeekDo)
Gaming Support Store
HistoriCon
Lords of Gossamer and Shadow (Rite Publishing)


Promos
Narrative Control

AGC News July 1st 2010 (29:26)

With Mark and Mags. Outlaw Press off Amazon. Catalyst gets an extension. Sandstorm Productions rises. Origins 2010 winners (and our mostly missed calls). A little discussion of the Origins Awards process. Dixit takes Spiel de Jahres! DOJ Inc. acqures majority holding in Indie Press Revolution! The return of Villains and Vigilantes! Silver Line Edition of Lord of the Rings? A new release of Ticket To Ride: Nordic Countries! Judge Dredd Minis Game playtest (and a free Traveller campaign)! Pete's Box -- A gaming end table? Tons of board game adaptations coming to the iPhone/iPad! Trask's GenCon Dealer's Directory. Z-Man Games celebrating ten years! We have new forums!


Download 64kbps mp3 (13.4 MB)


Show links
Outlaw Press RPG.Net Thread
Creamtrumpet's RPG.net post
Amazon Listing for Outlaw Press
Catalyst Game Labs Secures Licensce Extenion For Shadowrun and Battletech (Catalyst Game Labs)
Sandstorm Productions
Dixit (Board Game Geek)
Monkey House Games (Villains and Vigilantes)
Villains and Vigilantes (RPGNow)
Killer Party (Cocktail Games)
Lord of the Rings (Fantasy Flight Games)
Ticket To Ride Nordic coming back (Days of Wonder)
Judge Dredd Minatures Game Playtest (Mongoose Publishing)
Secrets of the Ancients (Mongoose Publishing)
Pete's Box (Prevideo Productions)
LivingDice GenCon Exhibiton Listing (LivingDice)
Z-Man Games
Gamer's Haven Podcast
Gamer's Haven/AGC Forum

RPG Buffet 10 (Year of D&D Part 5: AD&D First Edition Oriental Adventures) (11:49)

Guest GM Tony runs the group in an Oriental Adventures session in first edition AD&D!

Kae's Stir Fry Recipe.

Kae's allergic to soy sauce, due to its fermented state, and to onion products, so this recipe is geared to fit her needs. It's really quite good, but you can add in soy and onion as you see fit.

INGREDIENTS:
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 small package stew beef (1 lb or less), slices into small pieces
1 8 oz can stir fry vegetables
6 oz apple juice (here you can substitute 3 oz soy sauce and 3 oz apple juice mixed together)
1/8 to 1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 to 1/4 tsp black pepper
dash cayenne pepper (or to taste)

DIRECTIONS
In skillet, cook meat until mostly done. Add stir fry veggies. Cook on medium heat until completely warm.

Mix cornstarch, seasonings, & apple juice (or soy/juice combo) and add to skillet. Cook over high heat, stirring constantly, until milky appearance becomes shiny.

Serve over rice. Great as a side dish, or as the main meal.


Download 64kbps mp3 (5.44 MB)


Show links
Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (Wikipedia)
Oriental Adventures (Wikipedia)


Promos
Hotel Pacifica LARP
Yog Radio

AGC 132 June 22nd 2010 (A Murder of Gaming Fiction) (1:02:29)

With Mark Kinney, Carol, Mags, and P.G. Holyfield. How last episode happened. Thunder to stop the rambling. Murder at Avedon Hill. The ongoing Outlaw Press situation. A talk with P.G. Holyfield about his novel, Murder at Avedon Hill, its gaming roots, and a little about gaming fiction. Gaming fiction: threat or menace? Well, no, there are highlights, but plenty of pitfalls as well. What's good, or should be? Fiction about gaming.


Download 64kbps mp3 (28.6 MB)


Show links
HyperiCon
Daniel Falck's Blog Post on Outlaw Press
Outlaw Press Art Comparison PDF
Geek Related Outlaw Press posting
The Other Side Outlaw Press posting
Outlaw Press Tunnels and Trolls information (Geek Related)
RPG.net Outlaw Press Thread
TinEye Reverse Image Search
P.G. Holyfield (Murder at Avedon Hill)
Dead Robots Society Podcast
Zombie State: Diplomacy of the Dead (Zombie State Games)
Fantasy Grounds


Promos
Ninja vs Pirates
International Detective Dragons From Outer Space

AGC Feedback June 19th 2010 (28:50)

Recorded June 15th, 2010, with Mark, Carol, and Mags. The Quilt City OGREs chime in about QAGS Super Zeroes. A letter from Ireland. The forum question. Fringeworthy notes. Randomness in gaming. More Doctor Who talk. Talismania Revised! Masterplan! The usefulness of the Dresden Files RPG to model other urban fantasy settings. Dungeons and Dragons versions. Microlite20. Modular game screens and one-sheet notes.


Download 64kbps mp3 (13.2 MB)


Show links
Hex Games (QAGS)
Fringeworthy (Tri Tac Games)
Fringeworthy Podcast
The Curse of Fatal Death - Part 1
The Curse of Fatal Death - Part 2
The Doctor Visits England 2010
Talisman Island
Masterplan
Dresden Files RPG (Evil Hat)
RPG Buffet: A Year of Dungeons and Dragons
Microlite20


Promos
Podictionary

AGC News June 17th 2010 (25:10)

With Mark, Carol, and Mags. Palladium's lawsuit against Trion Worlds over Rift: Planes of Telara (and ongoing progress). Catalyst and Topps signing a new licensing deal any time now. D&D Encounters makes CNN coverage. WizKids and CBS bringing us TrekClix? Spiel de Jahres nominees. 2010 UK Games Expo recognition. An aside about the World Cup (and the vuvuzela). Dresden Files RPG release date moving forward? Mayfair Games seeking GenCon volunteers. Happy Birthday Robot! A reminder of the Hellas: Princes of the Universe Kickstart. Days of Wonder wants to give away an iPad to the winner of their 20 millionth online game. Catan app beta opening. Carcassonne makes it to the iPod Touch. Michael Tresca's The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games up for pre-order. Monsterpocalypse moving to the big screen?


Download 64kbps mp3 (11.5 MB)


Show links
Palladium Books v. Trion Worlds Rifts Trademark Dispute–The Court Ruled… (LivingDice)
Trion Worlds v. Palladium Books Trademark Counter-Suit (LivingDice)
Catalyst Game Labs License Extension Imminent
D&D Encounters (Wizards of the Coast)
Dungeons & Dragons tries to lure back players (CNN.com)
WizKids/CBS Star Trek game press release
UK Games Expo Awards
Mayfair Games
Happy Birthday Robot! (Kickstarter)
Hellas: Princes of the Universe (Kickstarter)
Days of Wonder iPad Contest Rules
Catan App Beta Application
Carcassonne (iTunes)
The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games (Amazon.com)
Monsterpocalypse (Privateer Press)

Mags-The-Axe School of GMing 1 (Organizing Your Notes) (43:28)

With Mags, Carol, and Mark. How to organize your notes. Bare minimum requirements. Bookmarking. What you might not need. Useful tools. Sheets and cards and campaign planners, oh my! Paper or plastic (or electrons, rather)? Why the players may want to keep notes as well.


Download 64kbps mp3 (19.9 MB)


Show links
Poehlein/McLimore's Adventure Outline
Poehlein/McLimore's Creature Record
Mutants and Masterminds Beginners Guide (Green Ronin Publishing)
Savage Worlds Combat Survival Guide (Pinnacle Entertainment Group)
Harnmaster Combat Tables (Columbia Games)
Unknown Armies Crib Sheets
PocketMod
GURPS Gamemaster Control Sheet (look under the category "Downloadable Forms, Record Sheets, Etc.")
Spycraft 2.0 Control Screen (Crafty Games/DriveThruRPG)
D&D 3.5 Reference Sheets
Initiative Cards (The Game Mechanics/RPGNow)
Mutants and Masterminds 2nd Edition Campaign Planner (Ronin Arts)
OneNote (Microsoft)
Google Docs
Tomboy
The Keep (NBOS Software)
iPhone Use Example 1 (Twitpic)
iPhone Use Example 2 (Twitpic)
RPG-Campaign.com
Ten Foot Wiki (Unclebear.com)


Promos
Into The Dark

Free RPG Day Interview

The following is an email interview from Chris Heim of All Games Considered with Aldo Ghiozzi of Impressions Advertising and Marketing, founder and lead organizer of Free RPG Day.

---

Chris: First off, thank you for the opportunity for myself and other gamers to find out a bit more about Free RPG Day and everything that's involved.

Chris: I guess the first thing that stands out to me is that Free RPG Day was created and sponsored through an advertising company. Can you tell us a little bit about Impressions Advertising & Marketing?

Aldo: Though the word "advertising" is in our company name, we first started as a general marketing agency for any type of company, but after 1 year it turned 99% into a sales, shipping and marketing company for game publishers. Most people just refer to us as "Impressions". Our hook for game publishers is to be very heavy marketing-focused. Most game companies make a game and hope for the best; we try to create program and promotions to get the word out to the distributors and retailers. In the end though, I always have to give Joseph Goodman from Goodman Games the most credit for FRD. I always enjoy telling the story when we sat down for lunch at an Indian restaurant and he said, "I want to start Free Adventure Module Day." I very quickly said, "That is a horrible name...why don't we just call it Free RPG Day?" Ta dah!

Chris: Certainly the idea of this event had been thought of long before it happened. What were the key factors in actually turning that idea into a reality and how long ago was that?

Aldo: The first Free RPG Day was 2007. And right after Joseph and I had the conversation above, I figured to just offer it to our clients...thus, Troll Lord Games joined in and then I thought to call other people I knew in the industry. RPGs are always a tough sales market so many companies who heard from me thought, "Wow, someone is doing something to help the RPG industry...yay."

Chris: Exactly how does the event work? Do stores simply contact you and receive free materials?

Aldo: Well, unfortunately, someone has to pay the shipping bill! The first thing is to get the publishers to commit to "X" amount of giveaways. That "X" translates into "Y" per kit (a box of the freebies). From there, we charge enough to the retailer to cover shipping, the custom boxes, some marketing (like this year we did a poster) and the extra labor hired for collating the freebies. This year the kit was $60 and contained nearly 90 freebies. And yes, all the store has to do is sign up on the site and pay the $60...which, hopefully they use the freebies and the event day as a way to generate extra revenues.

Chris: What are the numbers on Free RPG Day? How many companies and stores are involved? And how much product has been sent out to local game stores?

Aldo: We are just shy of 400 stores involved worldwide. We sold out of the 500 kits promised and made another 50 kits with leftovers for stores that still wanted to participate. This year we have 13 companies donating freebies and are giving away over 46,000 pieces for 2010 alone.

Chris: Is it possible for an individual to buy into the event if they don't have a local game store promoting it?

Aldo: Unfortunately, no. The key element to the event is that it is only for brick-and-mortar game retailers. Why? Because they are the backbone of the hobby. So many gamers buy discounted items on the internet (which is just fine; I do too), but I wanted the brick-and-mortar retailers to have something to...honestly...get gamers off their butts and into their FLGS. These stores are the ones that display all the product for folks to thumb through, have a place to hang out and become a central place to get involved with people with like interests.

Chris: On the subject of the companies themselves, are there any game publishers that you wish were participating that haven't for one reason or another?

Aldo: Obviously, I want everyone involved, but since the publishers are the ones spending the money to make these giveaways, we can wish for so many folks to be involved, but financially or time-wise it may not work for them. I don't want to call any out into the spotlight, but I do encourage the consumer to tell your favorite game publisher that you would demo or play their game on FRD if they did participate.

Chris: Have there been any surprise entries for Free RPG Day throughout the years?

Aldo: Surprise? Not sure how to define that. I definitely want to give a shout-out to Paizo as every year they spend the money on a full four color throughout giveaway and that is always a draw for consumers. For 2010, I would say a surprise participant and giveaway would be Alderac. This is their first year participating. They committed to a quickstart and adventure for their upcoming L5R 4th Edition RPG coming out this month, and not only did they put a great piece together, but it ended up being four color throughout AND they ended up sending us double what they promised. Very cool of them.

Chris: I've been told that smaller game publishers don't have the funds and supplies to contribute to Free RPG Day. Is there anything being worked out in order to have them able to contribute in the future?

Aldo: Last year we added a level called "Store Demo Copy" where it would be one giveaway in each kit. As you can see from the numbers above, that would be about 600 copies. I know that the dollars to print only 600 copies are small, but we still did not get many committing to this level. A couple of people suggested several small press publishers get together to share the cost of a giveaway...that did not turn out for one reason or another. I don't know why...I'm open to ideas, but I think that the store demo copy level is the lowest we can go.

Chris: Have you received any feedback from the game stores or game companies or even gamers?

Aldo: After 4 years? Oh yeah. Lots of feedback. Too much to list. I can tell you that the biggest complaint is from consumers saying they don't have a local retailer participating and the only response I have to them is the truth...it is not up to us, it is up to your local retailer as they are the ones needing to spend the $60.

Chris: Is there anything you or others can do to prevent stores from taking advantage of the event by charging or requiring a purchase in order to qualify for the free materials?

Aldo: On year one I wanted to make rules, but unfortunately, every store, region and country is different so to have something uniform would turn off too many retailers. I encourage the consumer to let us know if a store is charging for the giveaways or requiring a purchase because then I just call the store and 99% of the time they say, "OK, sure, we will give it away." I did have one store in year 2 that would not back down and told me they were charging $5 a piece because it cost them the money to participate and bring the kit into their country. I can't remember the store, but I'm guessing either a) they are not participating anymore, or b) they are not charging anymore. Maybe I am just weird, but it boggles my mind that stores want to charge for the giveaways. I'm told that it is used to control who they give it away to in case they get people only ever visiting their store for the freebies. I understand that, but on the flipside, if you use the material to encourage folks to play and/or run events in-store, you'll make your tiny $60 back in sales in no time.

Chris: And finally, what can people do to spread the word about Free RPG Day and get their local game stores to promote it?

Aldo: Well, we can only do so much. We do have a list of over 2,200 hobby game retailers worldwide, but stores opt-out of our mailing list all the time, so unless a consumer walks in to remind them, we do what we can. We have the site. We have the Facebook page (which has been great for helping things this year!). We go to our annual retailer trade show. We go to distributor open houses. I think we do pretty good for a little operation. Could it be better? Sure, but the RPG market is small and there is a cap on what the market will bear...and I think we're pretty close to that cap.

Chris: Thank you Aldo for a very informative look into not only Free RPG Day but also some of the marketing involved.

RPG Buffet 9 (Year of D&D Part 4: D&D Early Editions Overview) (30:26)

With Mags and Steve of the RPG Buffet. Mags and Steve discuss the various editions of Dungeons and Dragons published over the years.


Download 64kbps mp3 (13.9 MB)

AGC 131 June 8th 2010 (HyperiCon and Free RPG Day) (35:12)

With Mark Kinney and Chris Heim. Ventures at HyperiCon! Chris played Savage Worlds, was only there for Saturday, and Tabletop Armory is cool. The UStream show, and thanks to the Fringeworthy podcast for promoting it! The return of Gaming For Cheap Bastards, as Chris talks about Free RPG Day and the products on offer. Mark brings up a couple of other free things (including Talislanta and Septimus). A little last minute musing on Mark's HyperiCon panels. Future convention talk. Sean Patrick Fannon to be gaming guest at Con on the Cob! Some talk about cons and events we're not going to.


Download 64kbps mp3 (16.1 MB)


2010 RPG Podcast Listener Survey


Show links
HyperiCon
Tabletop Armory
Fringeworthy Podcast
Free RPG Day (June 19th 2010)
Free RPG Day on Facebook
Harn (Wikipedia)
Talislanta
Septimus (RPGNow)
Geek Media Expo
MTAC
Con on the Cob
Play On Con
Con Nooga


Promos
The Great Debate
Nerdbound

AGC Review 5 (Out of the Box: Backseat Drawing and Word On The Street) (13:39)

With Mark Kinney, Carol, and Mags. Mark gives an overview of Out of the Box Publishing's Backseat Drawing, then a full review of the Origins Award-nominated Word On The Street. (The web site linked below notes that the divider card referred to in the review was accidentally left out of the initial printing. I also can't explain how we all managed to put a second R in "funeral," aside from recording this late in the evening.)


Download 64kbps mp3 (6.27 MB)


Show links
Backseat Drawing (Out of the Box)
Word On The Street (Out of the Box)


Promos
Geek Acres

AGC 130 May 25th 2010 (Live For Five!) (1:18:51)

With Mark Kinney, Carol and Mags. Five years, not five episodes. Technical difficulties with UStream, or the local router, or something. A lot of Dresen Files is going down. Shopping. HyperiCon! Obituaries for Frank Franzetta and J. Eric Holmes (and Ronnie James Dio). Thanks for helping spread the word (and the Fringeworthy podcast, although unmentioned in the show, helped as well). Reviews: Mark talks about d20 Fringeworthy, and Carol looks at the Goodman Games Dragonborn book. As we move to the less structured part of the episode, Mags confuses Gordon Litefoot and George Thorogood. How AGC got started. LARP stuff. Changes in the industry through the years. AGC highlights (and lowlights) from Big Damn Review Shows to Shaken Not Stirred. Why Mags The Axe? An upcoming All Flesh Must Be Eaten game. Feedback! Giving away an autographed champaign cork to a lucky chatroom inhabitant for no reaily apparent reason. Live again for New Years? The longest "blooper reel" EVAR!


Download 64kbps mp3 (36.1 MB)


2010 RPG Podcast Listener Survey


Show links
Dresden Files RPG (Evil Hat Productions)
HyperiCon
The Gamer's Haven Podcast
Zero Fortitude
The Great Debate
Fringeworthy (Tri Tac Games)
Fringeworthy Podcast
Dragonborn (Goodman Games)
Traveller Article (Tor.com)
Paperkraft
Papercraft World
Canon Creative Park
Pepakura Designer (Tamasoft)
The Horror Game
Forbidden Island video review (BoardGameNews/YouTube)
Playing D&D With Porn Stars
I Hit It With My Axe (The Escapist)


Promos
KantCon
PodCulture

AGC News May 20th 2010 (25:41)

With Mark, Carol, and Mags. Live for Five, complete with Chat Room input! Catalyst Corrections. Mutants and Masterminds Third Edition! Hellas: Princes of the Universe ransom. Talislanta going up for free! GUMSHOE supplement licensing. Looney Labs goes Back To The Future! Two stores worth of Munchkin revisions and reprints! Reserve a pre-release Pirate Versus Pirate! Privateer Press brings Voltron to the table! First ever North American LARP summit at WyrdCon! Mensa Mind Game Awards. Games Workshop strikes again! GOLD: Night of the Zombie King!


Download 64kbps mp3 (11.7 MB)


Show links
Catalyst Update from April 21st
Mutants and Masterminds (Green Ronin)
Hellas: Princes of the Universe (Kickstarter)
Talislanta
GUMSHOE Supplement Licensing (Pelgrane Press)
Looney Labs Back To The Future Announcement
Space Hulk: Death Angel (Fantasy Flight Games)
Munchkin (Steve Jackson Games)
Revolution! The Palace (Steve Jackson Games)
Out of the Box Publishing (Pirate Versus Pirate)
Privateer Press Voltron: Defender of the Universe announcement
Monsterpocalypse (Privateer Press)
WyrdCon/North American LARP Summit
KublaCon
Mensa Mind Games
Games Workshop
GOLD: The Series Announcement: Night of the Zombie King

2010 Podcast Listener Survey (RPGPolls.com)

Live for Five!

Tomorrow is the big day (or today, if you're reading this on Tuesday...)

This is the place.

We'll crank up the works starting around 8pm Eastern time (or Midnight starting into the 19th, UTC, if I'm reading that right), start with some reviews, then settle down for a look back at the last five years, and maybe try getting some special guests in on the fun.

Hope to see you there!

AGC Interview 3 (E. From Geek's Dream Girl) (29:26)

Mark and Mags talk to E. of Geek's Dream Girl, discussing online dating profiles, the writing thereof, fixing up Keith Baker, some upcoming events at Origins and GenCon (with a deal for ladies who take part in E.'s "speed dating" event), and Great Dates in 50 States.


Download 64kbps mp3 (13.4 MB)


Show links
Geek's Dream Girl
Critial Hits
Freak Revolution
SynDCon
Geek Speed Dating at GenCon 2010 & More Reasons To Go To Indy
Geek Speed Dating at GenCon: How Will It Work?
Origins Events
GenCon Registration
Origins Game Fair


Promos
Murder At Avedon Hill (P.G. Holyfield)