Imagine an Eye That Walks
The Walking Eye podcast have a special spooky edition in which they play some Dread for Halloween (or near Halloween).
Unfortunately, I’ve not had time to listen to the whole thing yet, but that shouldn’t stop you! Nothing should stop you! Nothing can! Go forth and find your destiny!
Speaking of Dread and Halloween, folks over at Gnome Stew have some tremendously nice things to say about Dread and the holiday.
I’m a little slow on the draw with these links, but it’s never too early to start planning for next Halloween.
In a Land Before Dread
NJ.com has an interview with Leslie Scott the inventor of Jenga. The interview might be of particular interest to aspiring independent game designers. Though I have to say this last bit stings:
Q. There are now new versions of the game, like the New York Yankees edition and the Xtreme edition. What are your thoughts on these?
A. I have to confess I’m more of a purist. Jenga worked from the outset because it’s a very simple idea. What people liked about it was there were only two rules: that you use only one hand, and that you put the bricks on top. I don’t personally think the game needs additions to it, but I can understand once you’ve got a path or brand name, that you might want to have extensions to that brand.
Clearly she’s never seen Dread.
You Can Dig a Thousand Holes, But It Takes a Body to Make a Grave
Want to see what Dread would look like if you replaced horror with time travel and Jenga with sudoku?
Over at Dig a Thousand Holes Publishing I’ve got several copies of my new game, Time & Temp: Unbound Edition for sale. It’s a game in which you play temp workers hire to travel through time and make sure history happened the way it happened. This time if you fail, it’s not just your characters who die, but all of reality goes with them, too.
Remember When I Mentioned Trial & Terror
Well, turns out that good judges over at the ENnies thought it might be worth an award.
And now you can vote for it, right here, in the Best Free Product Category.
That’s right, free product. Go ahead, download some yourself, over here, and while you’re at it, check out the other free project I’m involved with: MonkeyDome.
Some of my friends have products on the ballot as well. So if you’re at a lost as to what to vote for, you might want to check out the Summer Revolution.
Return of Dread
At long last Dread is back in stock. So if you’ve been patiently waiting to pick up a copy, here’s your chance.
A Cuppa Dread
In New York City and curious about Dread, but you don’t have the cash at the moment to pick up a copy (or, perhaps, can’t find it in the stores because it’s momentarily out-of-print)? How would you like to enjoy a few quality hours with the game book and your favorite hot beverage? Look no further than Café Game Exchange, and in particular the Dread page, where you can find just which coffee shops have a copy for your perusal.
Cops & Robbers, Hammer Film-Style
In other news, I recently participated in an experiment over at the Imagination Sweatshop in which we made an entire game, from concept to printing, in just under a week. The game is called Trial & Terror: Supernatural Victims Unit, a Law & Order-styled crime drama set in a world where humans and the monsters of classic movies cohabit in an very unease peace. It’s free,* so head on over there and check it out.
* Well, the PDF version is free. The print copy was free, too, but you had to have been at this past JiffyCon to receive one.
Trust & Betrayal
Cooperation between the players’ characters in Dread usually takes the form of the players divvying up the pulls, sharing the responsibility and the risk. And this works largely because it lets each individual player experience a little ease in their burden without tampering with the pacing of the game.
But recently, in Piratecat’s ever-growing ENworld thread on Dread, there was a request for a mechanic that helped to focus the game on trust between the characters, and this inspired the following optional rules.
Dread on the Air
Invasion of the podcasts here. In the past few months I’ve had the opportunity to chat it up with some prominent podcasters out there. For your enjoyment, I offer my Independent Insurgency interview with Rob Bohl. And the wonderful folks over at The Game Master Show were kind enough to record a Dread game (starting with the character creation at episode 36 and ending with the review session at episode 40) and then talk to me about it afterwards (episode 41).
Let the World Know What Scares You
The folks over at Flames Rising are having a contest in which you describe your favorite horror game. I know what mine is, but you should tell them about yours. There are even prizes involved.
