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We’re back after a short holiday, and although things have been relatively quiet, the news has built up. Let’s dive in! We get a glimpse of the small but growing presence of RPGs at the Essen Spiel convention. There’s some talk about the past, present, and future of Intellectual Property and Licenses in RPGs. And…
Read More 7–27 October 2019: Essen, Licensed Games, Werewolf 5th Edition
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The news is certainly thorny this week, containing a smorgasbord of grim news, a cornucopia of ugh. For starters, Zak Smith is back in the news. Smith has been in the spotlight numerous times over various allegations of harassment, abuse, and assault. This week, his long-time collaborators have published a book defending him, and it’s…
Read More 23–29 September 2019: Ugh.
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We’re back after a little rest with a slightly-later-than-normal update! (Can I just say that I highly recommend holidays? — Amy) This week we’ve got a fair bit of early D&D history, with a focus on the game’s contentious authorship. Notably, an article from Kotaku argues that Dave Arneson was the real genius behind role-playing…
Read More 26 August—2 September 2019: Dave Arneson, Tariffs, Crunch
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As July limps to a close, we have survived a stupendous heatwave, and Gen Con is nearly here. The Q2 reports are arriving, starting with the biggest of all: Hasbro. Dungeons & Dragons continues to grow, but the star of the show is Wizards of the Coast’s other big property: Magic: The Gathering. Hasbro intends…
Read More 22–28 July 2019: Q2 Reports, Accessibility, D&D Beyond ElectionsThis week we see a host of announcements related to adaptations: RPGs being made into movies, movies being made into RPGs, RPGs into computer games, miniature-lines into RPGs, and so on. We get some reminiscences on Larry DiTillio’s work at Chaosium, and on the global reach of Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu. In addition, we have…
Read More 11–17 March 2019: Adapting RPGs, Remembering Larry DiTillio, Cthulhu in Australia and JapanThe Gygax Legacy and D&D History March 4th marked the 11th anniversary of the death of Dungeons & Dragons inventor, Gary Gygax. The date also coincidentally marks GM’s Day. Kotaku discusses Gail Gygax, Gary Gygax’s widow, and her battle to control the Intellectual Property left behind after Gary’s death in 2008. RPG historian, Shannon Appelcine…
Read More 4–10 March 2019: The Gygax Legacy, Critical Role breaks records, Pathfinder 2e Approaches