I have no doubt that many roleplaying gamers have been strongly influenced by the fantasy and science fiction work of author Michael Moorcock. Apparently, he has no doubt about the fact either. In a recent Financial Times column, Mr. Moorcock wrote about a visit to a science fiction convention:

Now, such conventions are frequently supported by role-playing gamers. They play for hours, rolling dice and muttering as they perform mysterious strategies and move tiny figures in what HG Wells called “little wars”. Frequently, the participants dress as elaborately as the characters they represent. If so much of what I see strikes me as vaguely familiar it’s because, along with Tolkien, I’ve been a main influence on gaming ever since the publication in the late 1970s of the first Dungeons and Dragons rulebook, which contained my fantasy “pantheon” of characters, demons, deities, magical concepts, symbols and other stuff drawn from my stories.

OK. I prize my first edition, first printing copy of Deities & Demigods, but we all know that wasn’t the first rulebook, right? Good. Because I also love those Elric and Runestaff books. Now move along.

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Standard Quality

Showcase Quality

Yesterday I received my painted miniatures from PaintedFigs.com. For those who missed my previous article in this series (and why the heck did you miss it????), I set out to see how feasible it is to outsource my painting responsibilities for miniatures, while still maintaining a level of quality in what gets put on the table. On February 2nd, I made payment and began the wait.

As you can see (clicking on the images will give you a much higher resolution version), the paint jobs are definitely acceptable – below what I could have done, but they’re certainly presentable. There are a number of details that weren’t really handled to my satisfaction (not that I gave instruction on every detail, though I did give instructions on many details), but nothing that makes me grimace. The item that really catches my attention is the difference between the standard and showcase quality miniatures – if there is a difference, I can’t see it.

The overall bill ended up being about $68 for the five terminators, including the price of the miniatures themselves. Overall, the price seems well fair, though I certainly won’t choose showcase quality again. The quality itself is fine for line models and for most of the lower detailed models like most of t Games Workshop ranges, but I don’t think I would use this particular service for highly detailed models, particularly those done by Privateer Press. I’m pleased enough that I’m thinking of having a Blood Bowl team done by PaintedFigs, but that Khador army I’ve been thinking about starting will have to wait…

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Scott Alden of Board Game Geek has been featured in numerous prestigious publications lately, including the Economist, the WSJ, and the Tehran Daily Infidel.

The latest BGG article will be in none other than April’s issue of Playgirl Magazine. In a special feature in Playgirl’s entertainment section, Scott appears in numerous photographs and a full-length feature article covering the tabletop gaming scene, which is hot right now due to the current economic climate.

After covering the usual games, and some talk about BGG, the article then goes on to cover Scott’s leisurely and newly wealthy lifestyle from his cash cow of a game site.

Pictures show Scott lounging by the pool, getting a coconut oil massage from one of his many female gaming fans, and playing Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert in a rousing game of Chicken Cha Cha, followed by the classic game of Poisson D’Avril.

Sorry girls; bathing suit is all you get.

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