Just added Z-Ward and Z-Ward-X to the online store, as well as the skully patch (available for a limited time only!).

Happy New Year and see you at PAX-EAST April (and possibly at MAGfest in January).

- Jared

GeekNights had me in the studio to talk about, among other things, Z-Ward, Danish roleplaying, Lacuna 2, conventions, Action Castle and movies.

The lovely and talented Jen of Jennisodes wanted to interview me for some reason.

Listen to it here!

If you’re new to the Parsely games series from Memento Mori Theatricks, here’s a great way to get started! I’m offering two of the most popular games together for $10 and throwing in a little extra for your treat bag—the high school-themed Blackboard Jungle. Parsely games are perfect for parties, classrooms and even haunted hayrides. Spooky Manor takes the players inside a mysterious mansion and offers several different endings. Pumpkin Town is a kid-friendly exploration game set in a land of witches, ghosts and giant squids. Order now to get them in time for Halloween!

The French edition includes :

• A new, blue cover design that makes it something of a collector’s item
• Brand new artwork commissioned especially for the French edition, and more pictures than the original

The publishers are also offering some exclusive goodies:

• Your name into the book (until october 10th only)
• Lacuna badges
• An A3-sized poster
• A large vinyl banner
• Your photo in the book (as a Mystery Agent)

Cool, I hope I get some of these!

Rob and Daryl were kind enough to interview me on the Beard Swarm! Podcast. Check it out!

Unlock the Mystery. The Mystery is the Key.

Lacuna Part II: The Case Files is an upcoming sourcebook for Lacuna Part I. The Creation of the Mystery and the Girl from Blue City. This is to be an 84 page digest-sized softcover and PDF. Both versions will feature:

• Descriptions of Blue City’s network of tram stations, from Abbatoir to Zytglocke
• Subject names and profiles, from Arn to Žižek
• Individual map tiles of the City so that Blue City’s layout is ever-changing
• New information on Special Agent Miner
• Special offers for various levels of pledges on Kickstarter

The project is already underway. No release date is set but I’m hoping to have it done by the end of 2011. Stay tuned to the website or the MMT Facebook group for more info as I have it!

Dirty Secrets of Game Design – SEM1120296
Learn five dirty secrets that the game industry doesn’t want you to know. Use them to make your games better. Designers Luke and Jared share their jaded, sometimes humorous view, of the world of game design. Jared will do this entire seminar in a character voice!
Thu 4pm – 1 Hr – Marriott Indiana C

Game Design Is Mind Control – SEM1120297
Games compel people to make irrational decisions that they would not otherwise undertake. Come and watch Luke and Jared make fools of themselves as they try to prove this point. We promise; we will control your minds!
Fri 2pm – 1 Hr – Marriott Indiana B

Action Castle – SEM1120298
Relive the days of yore when the command line was king! GO WEST and LIGHT LAMP in a live-action text adventure with a few hundred of your closest friends.
Fri 3pm – 1 Hr – Marriott Indiana E

InSpectres The Movie: Behind the Scenes – FLM1127763
We will be talking about the process of making InSpectres and showing a short sneak peak from the film. Yes, it’s real.
Fri 6pm – 1 Hr – Westin Capitol III

Return to Action Castle – SEM1120299
Return to a land of action, a land of castles, RETURN TO…ACTION CASTLE! Many years have passed since a new king was crowned…find out what happens next in this massively multiplayer live action text adventure game!
Sat 2PM – 1 Hr – Marriott Indiana E

Heading off to Hartford tomorrow with Luke to attend Connecticon, an anime con we’ve attended for the past few years. We’ll be doing panels with the Front Row Crew guys Rym and Scott for Geek Nights, and I’ll throw down with some Parsely.

Three RPGs and two board games vie for hobby gaming’s most exclusive trophy

The committee of the Diana Jones Award is happy to announce the shortlist for its 2011 award. Boiled down from a longlist of 22 nominees, this year the list contains five candidates that in the opinion of the committee exemplify the very best that hobby-gaming has produced in the last twelve months. In alphabetical order, they are:

• Catacombs, a board game from Sands of Time Games, by Ryan Amos, Marc Kelsy, and Aron West
• The Dresden Files Roleplaying Game from Evil Hat Productions, by Leonard Balsera, Jim Butcher, Genevieve Cogman, Rob Donaghue, Fred Hicks, Kenneth Hite, Ryan Macklin, Chad Underkoffler, and Clark Valentine
• Escape from the Aliens in Outer Space, a board game from Santa Ragione and Cranio Creations, by Mario Porpora, Pietro Righi Riva, Luca Francesco Rossi, and Nicolò Tedeschi
• Fiasco, a roleplaying game from Bully Pulpit Games, by Jason Morningstar
• Freemarket, a roleplaying game from Sorencrane MRCZ, by Luke Crane and Jared Sorensen

The winner of the 2011 Award will be announced on Wednesday 3rd August, at the annual Diana Jones Award and Freelancer Party in Indianapolis, the unofficial start of the Gen Con Indy convention.