Thursday marked the release of Steve Jackson Games’ 2008 annual Report to the Stakeholders. In it Steve Jackson reports on the state of the company as well as product plans for the upcoming year. Of particular note is the continued dedication to the Munchkin card game line (including the addition of the Munchkin Quest board game) and the release of GURPS RPG core books in electronic download form through the e23 web store. Another interesting tidbit from the report… Steve claims the Daily Illuminator section of their website as the first internet blog.

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D&D Experience 2008 opened today in Arlington, Virginia. This year the convention for Dungeons & Dragons offered players a sneak peak and first opportunity to play the upcoming 4th Edition. Check out EnWorld for a roundup of on-site blogs and an interview with developers Scott Rouse and Andy Collins. Video from the opening presentation is available on YouTube. And a short rules primer and question and answer podcast are available on the Wizards of the Coast website.

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A couple of guys tried to break out of jail in Merced County, CA. They tried to conceal their escape using a fake vent with a Monopoly game box with melted dominoes for the black holes in the vent.

They were caught when they stuck their head out of the wall where the vent was supposed to be.

(source)

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RPGObjects has released the first two supplements in the Fantasci science fiction fantasy series for the Modern20 roleplaying system. Fantasci20 Character Guide is a handbook for creating characters and Fantasci20: Gazetteer of Aurianis is a free product introduction to the Fantasci setting.

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Wizards of the Coast announced today that it is bringing back the classic Avalon Hill boardgames Diplomacy and Acquire. Celebrating 50 years of Avalon Hill by staying true to the games’ original mechanics, WOTC will, however, be updating the boards, components, and packaging from their previous versions. First published in 1959 and set in Europe at the turn of the 20th century, Diplomacy is a game where the question is not if you will betray your fellow players, but when and how often. Acquire was designed by Sid Sackson and is about cutthroat corporate competition between real estate magnates.

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Las Vegas shooting Friday night over a dice game. (source)

And a scuffle in an Anchorage prison over a board game: Scrabble. The disagreement was over whether the word “Zestier” was a real word. (source)

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A student at Loyola College is said to have created a Chess board “in a space of only 0.25 cm”. I’m assuming that that means 2.5 mm by 2.5 mm, but it might mean 5 mm by 5 mm.

Either way, the previous record is 24 mm by 24 mm, but included the pieces.

(source)

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An early Chess puzzle book by Franciscan friar Luca Pacioli contains many beautiful illustrations which are now believed to have been drawn by Leonardo Da Vinci.

The book, De ludo scacchorum, is further evidence that Da Vinci may have played Chess.

(source)

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Video game publisher Majesco has released a version of Blokus for the Playstation Portable.  Blokus Portable: Steambot Championship combines the popular abstract’s gameplay with characters and visual elements from the Steambot Chronicles video game.  The electronic version of the game also promises online and local multiplayer modes.

The actual gameplay seems identical to the board game version, but at a retail price of $20, Blokus Portable: Steambot Championship offers an affordable and portable way for PSP-owning fans to play the game.

(Press Release)

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Venerable Strategy & Tactics Magazine, the wargame periodcal originally founded in 1966, now has a new website. Publisher Decision Games has also just shipped issue number 248. While found on many newsstands, subscriptions to Strategy & Tactics are also available with a game in every issue. The current issue’s game is “First Blood, Second Marne.”

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