I promised I’d get it set up, and I did.

Here’s the gallery of photos from our Read an RPG in Public contest.

There’s a couple of pics in there that weren’t eligible for the prize (Because was was taken by me, other by Ben Clark of Paper Money).

Enjoy!

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Foiled is an upcoming graphic novel from Jane Yolen, illustrated by Mike Cavallaro.

For its release, Macmillan is also publishing a board game (not a CCG!) themed on the book and based on the game … CandyLand. Actually, the game appears to play – and I say this without exaggeration – even less interestingly than does CandyLand. You can download the complete game from the publisher.

I’m more hopeful about the book.

(source)

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Here is the TED talk. Although her research is primarily with WoW and MMORPGs, applicability is general to all games. Epic win.

Jane. World Without Oil. Evoke.

Bonus: A TED video on the importance of play from 2008/9, in case you missed it:

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Shanya Almafeta!

That’s right. Shanya has won our awesome Read an RPG in Public prize pack!

We’d like to thank everyone who participated in our largest contest yet. We’d also like to thank all the companies that provided products to go into the prize pack.

Shanya, please let us know your information so we can get those prizes out to you!

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That’s right! Tonight ends our Read an RPG in Public Contest!

Last chance to get your entries in.  We won’t count anything after 11:59pm EST.  Just post a comment here, on our facebook page, or on twitter with a photo of you reading an RPG in public to enter!

We’ll be picking a winner by the 17th (Wednesday), and there’s a really great prize pack just waiting for the the winner!

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The team at Green Ronin was super-busy this weekend! Rather than break out all of their news into individual items, we’ll go ahead and list ‘em here:

• Family Games: The 100 Best is available for pre-order and even includes a free copy of Walk the Plank; this sequel to the very cool Hobby Games: The 100 Best covers all sorts of games for families to enjoy together, from RPGs to card games
• The Dragon Age: Game Master’s Kit is also available for pre-order, allowing you to pick up the physical book and the PDF for the same price; we covered Dragon Age a while back and don’t mind recommending it to fans of old-school roleplaying
• Speaking of Dragon Age…it’s sold out. They’re working on a second printing, but there’s no estimated time for it to be ready, so if you want a copy, you might want to act quickly…
• Chris Pramas (and one of my favorite RPG authors) and Nicole Lindroos of Green Ronin are on the most recent episode of 2d6 Feet in a Random Direction (the not-so-regular podcast from Chris Hanrahan of Endgame fame and Brian Isikoff)

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Sign on San Diego pimps a card game group. (source)

Boston.com pimps the designer of Anomia. (source)

Carleston City Paper pimps The Settlers of Catan and a local place to play it. (source)

A trade magazine for McDonald’s Canada pimps Monopoly, Werewolves of Millers Hollow, The Settlers of Catan, and other games. (source, via)

Chatham Daily News pimps family game night by instructing you to go through the games you already own and pick one, after which you try to get the kids on board. (source)

Destructoid pimps Brenda Brathwaite’s talk about her art game about the Holocaust, Train. (source)

Santa Ynez Valley News pimps Karen Palmer, designer of Let’s Save Our Earth. (source)

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Let’s talk about graphic design this week. How important is the actual look of a game and its pieces to you? If a game is solid, do you forgive it cheap components and shoddy art? If a game is just “OK”, but has an amazing look and high quality components, will you be more willing to play it again?

I’m a huge fan of a good looking game, but I’m usually willing to look at mechanics and play over how good something looks. That’s not to say that if a game looks like complete butt that I won’t even give it a second glance.

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The South by Southwest festival of music, film, and interactive technology starts this Friday in Austin, Texas. Also in Austin, Steve Jackson Games will welcome SXSW participants in an open house Saturday from 4-9 PM to talk about games, play games, or generally shoot-the-breeze. RSVPs are not required but would be appreciated.

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Dress up FireFox.

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