How Pokemon gets me thinking about numeracy
If you talk to me long enough, you will have heard me talk about numeracy – literacy for numbers, as it were. Numeracy is often something you learn while you are learning something else – math, more obviously. And while …
Making Choices – A Tip for D&D Players
You love playing Dungeons and Dragons, and the odds are good that everyone else at the table with you does as well. In the end, we all are just here to have fun, and that is something that is important …
What the Heck is a Living Card Game? (Four Years Later)
Exactly four years ago today, Barrister Brian wrote an article on Fantasy Flight Games’ series of expandable card games known as Living Card Games. Fittingly enough, Brian went on to work for Fantasy Flight shortly thereafter, so we can …
Malleable Spells—DM Tip
When we play Dungeons and Dragons, we are entering a fantastic mythical world where anything you can imagine can become a reality. Or, that is what it should be. Too often we limit the magic that the player characters have …
What is that strange face-shield/mask combo? The Badger Shield+
Good evening, everyone.
I get questions about the strange-looking face-shield/mask combo I’ve been wearing since March (often from teachers or those who have teachers in their life). A number of you reached out to me recently after seeing it when …
Online Play for RPGs
It’s been a long road so far, and even though an end is on the horizon, many of us are still at home, still being safe and socially distant as the pandemic still rages on. But, being stuck at home …
Inventory – DM Tip
The adventurers are delving into some deep caverns and the going is treacherous. The rogue says she is going to tie a rope to a stalagmite to climb down a large hole and scout ahead. You ask to see their …
What are Pool-Building Games, and Why are they So Engaging?
Good pool-building begins with a shovel. Dig a hole in the ground, buy a diving board, and fill the thing with water. Blammo, you’ve got a pool—
Just kidding. We’re here to talk about an entirely different type of pool. …
House Rules — DM Tip
Rules. Role playing games have rules. Here’s the thing you need to know about the rules: they are more of a rough guideline than something set in stone. If there is a rule you don’t like, ignore it. If there …
Art Cards Games
Blurring the lines between “strategy game” and “party game,” Dixit made a name for itself in 2008, which I believe laid some important groundwork for the board game industry. I believe that it began a movement which could be described …