Articles written for The Lady Gamer
2006 2005

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November 2006: Nannon Review
August 2006: Gen Con 2006 Events 
May 2006: What the Customer Wants: Indexing
April 2006: Review: Ptolus: Monte Cook's City by the Spire
March 2006: Online Versions of Favorite Games
January 2006: Gaming New Year's Resolutions

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Nannon Review
    When I was a child and on an extended family campout, my Uncle Joe tried vainly to teach me Backgammon. I vaguely remember how to play, and I never fully grasped or appreciated this ancient game.
    Flash forward to Gen Con Indy 2006, just after I finished running a Blink tournament. A gentleman approached me because he was interested in the quick-play style of Blink, so I taught him how to play my absolute favorite game. After we were done, he pulled out a copy of Nannon - a game he invented. He took an Altoids tin, stuffed it with three dice, three red chips, three white chips, a small game board, and directions. Most of the labels and the board were made with Avery products and an online board game creation program. I thought the guy was a genius, and I greatly admired his entrepreneurial spirit. He taught me how to play Nannon, so named because it is a nano version of backgammon, in just a few minutes. 
    The setup is simple: The board is a little larger than three business cards lined up together. Each player has three chips and a matching six-sider die. The goal of the game is to move your three chips to your opponent's goal before your opponent does. To save time and complication, you only move one chip at a time, and no stacking is allowed. The bar in the middle of the board also is gone, which is good because I honestly cannot remember what its use was in the original game. A doubling cube is included, but is not necessary for game play, and again, I cannot recall the doubling cube's use in the original game.
    You still can hit an opponent's chip, sending it back to its starting space; and you can protect your chips by moving them next to each other on the board, thus blocking your opponent from hitting your chips. Game play is as fast and fun as any Cheapass game or Out of the Box Quick game.
    The creator has applied for a patent and is seeking someone to help him mass-produce and sell the game. For now, you can order a copy from the Nannon website, where you also can find an excellent computer demo of the game (PC only). Cost is only $9.99, but I cannot determine if that includes shipping. Mass quantities are available for a discount.
    I highly recommend this game because it is fast and easy to learn.  I think I'll go buy a copy for my Uncle Joe for the upcoming holidays or the next family campout.

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Gen Con 2006 Events

Event One:
Title – Dork Tower Board Game
Event Description – Now you can play John Kovalic's Dork Tower characters... as they play their characters... in a magical quest for the ultimate prize where no strategy is too low, no player too Munchkiny, and no rule is safe! Adventure through the land of Aurora, smiting monsters and growing in power, until you are strong enough to challenge the evil wizard in his tower. Slay him and you win... fail, and be cast from the heights... 
Event Type – Board Game
Event Run Format – Single Day
Preferred Day Slot: Thursday
Preferred Time Slot: 9:00 am 
Event Duration: 4 hours
Age Requirement – 13+
Experience Required – Newcomers (Maturity Preferred)
Game System: Dork Tower Board Game
Rules Edition: N/A
Difficulty Rating – Average
Materials Provided – Yes
Tournament – No
Table Length/Width - the usual in BGHQ
Number of Tables: 2
Minimum # Players (per session): 3
Maximum # Players (per session): 12
#Sessions: 1
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Event Two
Title: Blink Tournament
Event Description: Lightning fast game where two players race to be the first to play all of their cards. Using sharp eyes and fast hands, players quickly try to match the shape, count, or color on the cards. The first player out of cards wins the hand. Winner of most hands wins tournament. 
Event Type – Card Game (Room Requested – Board Game room)
Event Run Format – Single Day
Preferred Day Slot: Thursday Preferred Time Slot: 4:00 pm
Event Duration: 2 hours
Age Requirement – 6+
Experience Required – Young Players (rules are taught) 
Game System: Blink Rules Edition: N/A Difficulty Rating: Easy Materials Provided – Yes Tournament – Yes
Table Length/Width: the usual in BGHQ
Number of Tables: 2 
Minimum # Players (per session): 4
Maximum # Players (per session): 32
#Sessions: 1 
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Event Three
Title: Chez What?
Event Description: Chez What: Beer. Nookie. Roommates. Just another Friday night at Chez Fill in the Blank.. Spend money and time to accumulate Slack points. What other game gives you points for sleeping? Just look out for the car alarm. Drink, party, and sleep late as you pursue Slack points to win the game. Most or all Chez games will be available.
Event Type – Card Game (Room Requested – Board Game room)
Event Run Format – Single Day
Preferred Day Slot: Friday
Preferred Time Slot: 2:00 pm 
Event Duration: 4 hours
Age Requirement – 13+
Experience Required – Newcomers (Maturity Preferred)
Game System: Chez Games
Rules Edition: All available
Difficulty Rating: Average
Materials Provided – Yes
Tournament – No
Table Length/Width: the usual in BGHQ
Number of Tables: 2 
Minimum # Players (per session): 4
Maximum # Players (per session): 16
#Sessions: 1 
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Event Four
Title: Blink Tournament
Event Description: Lightning fast game where two players race to be the first to play all of their cards. Using sharp eyes and fast hands, players quickly try to match the shape, count, or color on the cards. The first player out of cards wins the hand. Winner of most hands wins tournament. 
Event Type – Card Game (Room Requested – Board Game room)
Event Run Format – Single Day
Preferred Day Slot: Friday
Preferred Time Slot: 8:00 pm
Event Duration: 2 hours
Age Requirement – 6+
Experience Required – Young Players (rules are taught) 
Game System: Blink
Rules Edition: N/A
Difficulty Rating: Easy
Materials Provided – Yes
Tournament – Yes
Table Length/Width: the usual in BGHQ
Number of Tables: 2 
Minimum # Players (per session): 4
Maximum # Players (per session): 32
#Sessions: 1 
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Event Five
Title: Igor Bar Contest
Event Description: Are your Igor Bars the best at Gen Con? Competitors must have a ticket and Igor Bars already made to compete. This is not a cooking lesson or demonstration. Not a cook? Come to eat and judge! Judges need no ticket. See the recipe at http://www.dorkstock.com/IgorBars.html.
Event Type – Other (Room Requested – Board Game room)
Event Run Format – Single Day
Preferred Day Slot: Saturday
Preferred Time Slot: 10:00 am
Event Duration: 1 hour
Age Requirement – 6+
Experience Required – Some Experience
Game System: Home Rules
Rules Edition: N/A
Difficulty Rating: Very Hard
Materials Provided – No
Tournament – No
Table Length/Width: the usual in BGHQ
Number of Tables: 2  Minimum
# Players (per session): 1
Maximum # Players (per session): 12
#Sessions: 1 
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Event Six
Title: Dork Tower Board Game
Event Description – Now you can play John Kovalic's Dork Tower characters... as they play their characters... in a magical quest for the ultimate prize where no strategy is too low, no player too Munchkiny, and no rule is safe! Adventure through the land of Aurora, smiting monsters and growing in power, until you are strong enough to challenge the evil wizard in his tower. Slay him and you win... fail, and be cast from the heights... 
Event Type – Board Game
Event Run Format – Single Day
Preferred Day Slot: Saturday
Preferred Time Slot: 1:00 pm 
Event Duration: 4 hours
Age Requirement – 13+
Experience Required – Newcomers (Maturity Preferred)
Game System: Dork Tower Board Game
Rules Edition: N/A
Difficulty Rating – Average
Materials Provided – Yes
Tournament – No
Table Length/Width - the usual in BGHQ
Number of Tables: 2 Minimum
# Players (per session): 3
Maximum # Players (per session): 12
#Sessions: 1 
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Event Seven
Title: Blink Tournament
Event Description: Lightning fast game where two players race to be the first to play all of their cards. Using sharp eyes and fast hands, players quickly try to match the shape, count, or color on the cards. The first player out of cards wins the hand. Winner of most hands wins tournament. 
Event Type – Card Game (Room Requested – Board Game room)
Event Run Format – Single Day
Preferred Day Slot: Thursday
Preferred Time Slot: 4:00 pm
Event Duration: 2 hours
Age Requirement – 6+
Experience Required – Young Players (rules are taught) 
Game System: Blink
Rules Edition: N/A
Difficulty Rating: Easy
Materials Provided – Yes
Tournament – Yes
Table Length/Width: the usual in BGHQ
Number of Tables: 2 
Minimum # Players (per session): 4
Maximum # Players (per session): 32
#Sessions: 1

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What the Customer Wants: Indexing
    After I wrote my first article for Games Quarterly Magazine ["What? An Index?", Issue #31, reprinted in The Lady Gamer, January 2005], a friend and fellow gamer sent me an e-mail, “Just to say, nice piece on indexing RPG books in Games Quarterly. Now do you think you could persuade [game company] to put indexes in their books...?”     I won’t tell you which gaming company it is, but what if it’s your company? My friend went on to write, “To be honest, until recently the last book I bought from them was [game name] from five years ago. That did not have an index. I have a copy of their recent RPG, but I do not expect it to have an index either. I will point that out in the review, but to what I believe will be little avail.”
    Can you really afford for your customers to wait five years between buying products? Will they even give you a second chance in this tight economy? Do not give consumers a reason not to buy your products. Give ‘em what they want: a usable index.
    Even if you cannot include the index in the printed book, you can include one on your website. I just wrote the index for Kobolds Ate My Baby, Super Deluxx Edition (9th Level Games and Dork Storm Press). The book is only 48 pages, so a paper index wasn’t a viable option. The online index not only utilized the most accurate final pagination of the book, but also didn’t interfere with the printing schedule.
    If you have the time in your production schedule, and the space in your product, I highly recommend including an index. Earlier in the year, I wrote the index for Monte Cook Presents: Iron Heroes (Malhavoc Press); and Jannica Thales, a reviewer at RPG.net, said, “Layout is good as is the index and table of contents.”  That’s the kind of review you want for your product because it will encourage gamers to buy.

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Review: Ptolus: Monte Cook's City by the Spire

    I will be upfront and tell you that I am the indexer for this book, so I do have an ulterior motive for this positive review, as well as access to a complete copy of this product that is due for publication in August 2006 (just in time for Gen Con). However, I also will tell you that I am very sincere in all my sentiments written in this article. I highly recommend this product and feel it to be worth the hefty price tag.
    Ptolus: Monte Cook's City by the Spire is a wealth of information that is designed as a resource and setting for Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) d20 campaigns, although Cook never seems to specify if Ptolus works better with version 3.0 or 3.5 [ETA:  Cook says 3.5]. Cook was on the design team for both of these versions of D&D as well as a writer for the core books of version 3.5; Ptolus was his playtest campaign setting.
    When Cook originally conceived of Ptolus as a book, he thought of adventures taking a company of characters from level 1 to 20, providing the Dungeon Master (DM) with everything needed to run the campaign throughout; and I mean everything: city maps, dungeon maps, people to meet (i.e. non-player characters (NPCs)), hotels, restaurants, hovels, homes, and stores. One even will find details of the lighthouse within the book and a map of a shipwreck amongst the adventures. Of the few complaints I have, one of them is that the book suffers from too much detail - although I understand the gamer who would say "no such thing." I think one might have a difficult time sifting through all 672 pages of the details to find one that is needed for a particular in-game situation, except that the book has a good appendix that specifies where one can find a particular locale or NPC. Throughout Ptolus the book, Cook also gives ideas for the DM to create one's own places, NPCs, and adventures.
    Although Cook included several pre-written adventures to run (see Chapter 33: Adventures), even better are the chapters on creating and running one's own campaigns. In Chapter 31: Campaign Advice and especially in Chapter 32: Urban Campaigns, Cook talks through writing one's own campaign adventures in a style that's easy for even this gamemaster wannabe to understand, as well as providing solid hints and tips that are useful not only in Ptolus, but in virtually any system - d20 or other. These chapters alone make the expense of this product worthwhile. In the margins throughout Ptolus the book, one will find comments labeled "DM Tips", "Info Checks", and especially "From My Campaign to Yours." A wealth of information on these topics, as well as pertinent data on topics covered within the body text, are found in the margins.
    The worst part about Ptolus is the price: $119.99 plus shipping and tax as applicable. However, one can pay in installments of $10 a month, and the suggestion is made for player characters (PCs) to pitch in to buy the book for a favorite DM. Pre-orders will have additional benefits of a signed and numbered copy of the book, copies of the Player's Guide to Ptolus for the PCs, and a print version of the adventure Night of Dissolution (which is on the CD-ROM that comes with every edition of the book).
    The best part about Ptolus is it's a solidly-written, information-packed, full-color resource that includes detailed maps with descriptions of contents in both lay and game terms for exposition as well as mechanics. A map poster, CD-ROM full of goodies, and an envelope full of handouts come with the book, too.
    Some of the details I found particularly fun include

For more information, including how to order, see the Ptolus website.

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Online Versions of Favorite Games
    Not all gamers are into multi-player online games such as City of Heroes or EverQuest. Some of us like older, simple board games; however, finding someone to play with can be tricky. Over the course of time, I've found a few websites that have online versions of some of my favorite games that are geared toward a solitary player.
    Mastermind (no longer available)
I was awful at Mastermind as a child, mainly because I was never one for logic puzzles. The nice thing about this online game is you can change options such as how many attempts you can guess, as well as whether or not duplicate colors can be used.
    This same site also has a lot of other games, including

    Rubik's Cube (demo no longer available)
    The nicest thing about this site is the button that says "solve puzzle."

    Perpetual Bubblewrap
    Warning:  sound effects, i.e. popping noises, are included.

    A good Mahjong Solitaire game:
    I have yet to win this game, but I only started playing.
    In future articles, I hope to bring more online games to your attention. Feel free to e-mail me if you're looking for a specific game.
 
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Gaming New Year's Resolutions

• I will bring my share of munchies or drinks to the game.
• I will pay for my portion of the pizza.
• I will not eat more than my portion of the pizza.
• I will not insist on ordering pineapple on one of the pizzas, and then not eat any of that pizza.
• I will refrain from shouting, "Look, a place to hide the bodies!" the next time my realtor shows me an interesting house.
• I will not put off homework to play a Massive Multiplayer Online Game.
• I will not play Neopets at work.
• I will not take delight in causing terror in mundanes by discussing the mass slaughter of people that occurred in game last night, while sitting in the pub.
• I will make friends with people, not just with my miniatures.
• I will not shriek in delight when I find a piece of packing foam at a store.
• I will not beg bewildered store employees for the price of said piece of packing foam.
• I will not tell the bewildered store employees, while begging for the price, on how it is the perfect piece of terrain for my next mega conquest miniatures game.
• I will bathe before each gaming session.
• I will not murder my party in its sleep.
• When the party is running away from a fight, I will wait until everyone is in front of me before dropping the caltrops.
• I will not roll dice to make every day decisions.
• I will not cheat at dice rolls.
• I will refrain from being overly pissy at a bad dice roll.
• I will not tell my GameMaster (GM) over the phone that I'm a terrorist, while riding on public transportation on the way to the game.
• I will not show up in a totally age-inappropriate costume and then berate a guy for ogling exposed areas.
• I will not withhold sex from the GM/boyfriend because he allowed one of the other players to steal/maim my elf fighter - again.
• I will not wear clothing to make the other players forget why they are gaming.
• I will stop threatening my coworkers with magic missiles and fireballs.
• I will tell people my real name and not my character's.
• I will not plan a gaming night on a holiday weekend and leave my spouse at the mercy of my out-of-town relatives.
• I will arrive on time for the game.
• I will not touch another player's dice.
• I will not get my fellow player characters killed.

Special thanks to the members of the following Yahoo! Groups for their contributions:
Army of Dorkness
Dr. Blink
Henchman's Local #246
PS238
Adult Dork Tower
Dork Losers

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