Sign up for the Gnome Stew blog’s email list for a chance to win DriveThruRPG gift certificates and two RPG ebooks.

Select PDFs from Kenzer & Co. are on sale for 15-30% off.

For the next week everything at Noble Knight Games is at least 10% off. (Well maybe a little less than a week. I think they sent me the email yesterday.)

Scallywags from Gamewright will be debuting at Origins Game Fair in a beginner-level tournament. Prizes will include copies of the game before it’s available in stores.

Avalon Games’ e-book products will be half-off on May 21st.

Everything for sale on Chaosium’s website is 30% off through the 28th.

On Amazon, LEGO Ramses Return is available for only $3.11 and Qwirkle for $17.94.

Father Geek is giving away Dark Horse from Knight Works.

Thanks, Mail Carrier is giving away Classic Battleship Movie Edition and a KRE-O Battleship Combat Chopper set from Hasbro.

My Four Monkeys is giving away Distraction from ThinkFun.

• 0 Comments

Crowdfunding has become a major trend in the tabletop games industry. It’s allowed both startup and established game-makers to produce products that otherwise they could not have. And it’s given consumers a forum for voicing their opinions and voting with their dollars before resources are committed to manufacturing.

Discovering what projects are out there, however, has become an increasingly difficult process as the numbers have increased. Many of you, I know, looked forward to our weekly Kickstarter roundup, and some expressed disappointment when it recently lapsed. To be honest, maintaining it takes a lot of work. But we love the games!

So now we’re proud to announce the relaunch of our comprehensive list of all Kickstarter and Indiegogo game projects. We’re going to keep it on its own page (see up top where it says “Kickstarter“), to make it easier to access at any time. Check it out. I think you’ll like all the added features. You can now search the table, as well as sort by project name, dollars raised, percent funded, or closing date. You can even export the data or download a spreadsheet with more information.

If you like it, tell your friends.

• 4 Comments

With one week to go, Ogre Designer’s Edition has charged in the lead as the front runner for the prestigious award of the most successful boardgame kickstarter campaign ever. Currently sitting at $500,000 (to help our readers visualise this, 500k worth of 1 dollar bills would weigh just over half a ton) it shows no signs of stopping. To discuss the tremendous success of this classic game, Steve Jackson creator of Ogre, Car Wars and Munchkin has graciously taken a bit of time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions.

Currently almost $535K, but who’s counting? Oh, wait . . . a LOT of us are counting . . .

In a word, no. I knew we had strong support but I didn’t expect it to be so very deep. I would have been delighted to hit $200,000, which was why that was where we set the “two boards become four” stretch goal. When we blew past $400,000, I was just beyond bogglement.

Well, if I say so myself, it’s a good game. And its original release came during a period when a lot of people were just entering the hobby. They enjoyed it and played it over and over. And, from the mail I am getting, that’s why so many of them are ordering it now. It’s a good part of their memories from 20 or 30 years ago, and now they’d like to play it again, but with the type bigger so they can still read it . . .

We were going to do it anyway. We were going to print 3,000 copies, with a lot less stuff in the box, and we didn’t expect ever to do a supplement. Given the enthusiasm we are seeing, I expect we would have sold those 3,000 pretty quickly, been faced with requests to reprint, and not felt able to do it. So this is all around better.

We have already committed, based on hitting stretch goals, to a supplement, a number of extras, SOME kind of digital game, and a re-release of the miniatures. We all have to hang on and see what’s next.

I’d say to them “You’re wrong.” Maybe even “You’re very wrong!” There’s a very good article here: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/index.php/archives/2012/05/01/kickstarter-2/   that talks about this point. It wouldn’t surprise me to see some of the world’s top entertainment talent using Kickstarter soon.

I should also point out: If Kickstarter were to become a protected garden limited to small projects and unknown talent, we’d instantly see the emergence of a “Big Kickstarter” to meet the needs of higher-profile creators . . . and that “Big Kickstarter” would soon get all the viewers, and the hopeful beginners would move to the place with the bigger audience, and the original Kickstarter would wither. As it is, though, Kickstarter is very democratic. Every project gets the same amount of space to fill with its appeal. Supporters read that appeal and judge for themselves.

Now you have seen the success of Ogre’s reappearance via Kickstarter, what would you say to your fans that are very keen for a similar rerun of your other classic games like Car Wars?

I don’t think they will be disappointed  :)

• 0 Comments

Like an episode of Storage Wars, the game collection of Dave Arneson, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, was recently salvaged from an abandoned storage locker and is now being put up for auction. I’m flabbergasted!

According to an announcement by The Collector’s Trove, an online auction service for game designers, here’s what happened… The Collector’s Trove had spoken to Mr. Arneson prior to his death about selling his collection. Before the deal could be finalized, however, Mr. Arneson revealed that he would be leaving his collection to his heirs. Unfortunately, they seem to have been unwilling or unable to care for it. The collection was placed in a storage facility and when the rent was not paid, it was put up for auction, as is the practice in such businesses. (Keep in mind that the collection includes not only Mr. Arneson’s games, but also his game design notes and documents from his days in the industry.) The company that won the bid contacted The Dragon’s Trove, an online retailer with a history of dealing in collectible RPGs. The Dragon’s Trove then contacted The Collector’s Trove. The two agreed to partner and, after evaluating the materials, made an offer. The offer was accepted and 114 boxes with 10,000+ individual items were loaded in to a van to be driven from Minnesota to Nebraska.

Now The Collector’s Trove and The Dragon’s Trove are working together to

…preserve the intellectual property of the collection while trying to carry out Dave’s wishes to have a portion of its value go to his heirs. Through a combined effort of scanning, documentation, and auctions it is hoped that we may achieve both goals. In the process Dave’s fans and collectors alike will have the opportunity to support this effort and have a chance to own a piece of gaming history. Likewise, the gaming community may yet get a chance to see Dave’s unpublished game designs come to fruition.

The first eBay auctions of selected materials are scheduled to launch Sunday evening, May 6th. These will feature rare wargames, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Blackmoor, and Empire of the Petal Throne. Some of the items are autographed.

• 1 Comment

This paper model of a steam-powered tank is the second in the Cog Cruisers line from Mayhem in Paper.

• 0 Comments

Calling it the Community Wizard, Fantasy Flight Games has launched a new online tool that allows gamers to record their collection, connect with other gamers, find retailers, and register for events. Officially still in the beta testing phase, the tool is currently accessible by all registered users on FFG’s website. Unfortunately, Community Wizard is limited to FFG games. Nevertheless, I’m impressed with how easy it is to use, how focused it is on getting players in to more games, and how much support it offers to retailers and games clubs.

When searching for opportunities, Community Wizard users can specify the games that they’re interested in playing, as well as choose between finding other players, retailer-hosted events, conventions, or game clubs. Players can also propose events to take place at these locations, while the organizations themselves can use Community Wizard to schedule and publicize events, and even take reservations.

• 0 Comments

From Dark Sword Miniatures’ Visions in Fantasy line.

• 3 Comments

This week there are 57 active projects in the Weekly Roundup. Last week projects funded and 2 failed. The week funded close to $60,000. Not a bad week but definitely a slow down compared to some of the crazy weeks so far this year.

This next week appears to be heading for a steep decline as 7 projects are currently struggling to reach their funding goal and 6 projects already over their goal. Mostly RPG games are reaching their funding goals. This coming week will see Gunship wrap a very successful campaign.

My podcast, Funding the Dream, this coming week will have interviews with Max Temkin, co-creator of Cards Against Humanity which was a top game last year and now has been topping the charts on Amazon.

We also speak with Fred Hicks who discusses the Worst-Case Success Kickstarter project. Brian Fargo, CEO of InXile joins us to talk about us $1 million plus project and his initiative called Kicking it Forward. You can read more at www.kickingitforward.org.

Enjoy this weeks list.

All projects new to the list for this week are in bold.

Read the rest of this entry »

• 0 Comments

This week Kickstarter board game projects will pass the $1 million dollar mark for 2012. This represents half of all of last year. And if we look at the projects that have already passed their funding goal but are still active, there are 25 projects that add an additional $321,733. Giving us a total for the year of $1,245,713.

There is no sign that this is slowing down. If anything, the number of projects and backers will continue to climb as Kickstarter begins to enter into the mainstream. The media is beginning to sense the magnitude of the movement and will drive more awareness and more backers. The board game community will continue to benefit from this influx of interest.

My podcast, Funding the Dream, this past week interviewed Tracy Hickman, co-author of the Dragonlance series. In addition we discussed some of the impact taxes have on a successful Kickstarter project. I also cover my own experience launching a Kickstarter campaign. Be sure to tune in and get a feel for the other side of Kickstarter projects.

All projects new to the list for this week are in bold.

Read the rest of this entry »

• 8 Comments

For the mech combat enthusiast on a budget, Fat Dragon Games offers Lost Reich. The game uses paper miniatures and features a background story of escaped Nazis returning from an Antarctic fortress with new technology.

The base set includes eight different mech designs, as well as 3D terrain, status cubes, and equipment cards (all print-and-play, so for $10 they can be assembled as many times as desired). One additional unit, the Skorpion Ausf. II mech, is available as an expansion product.

• 1 Comment