Daily Illuminator Archive for January 2010

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January 1, 2010:
Hope your hangover isn't too bad. Hope this year is better than the movie . . . read article

January 2, 2010:
You've played the Flash demo. You've seen the dice cup . . . read article

January 3, 2010:
You may have noticed the new navigation bar on our pages. No, not on this one -- we like the pyramid motif for the front-most pages . . . read article

January 4, 2010:
It's hard to believe that 2009 is already over, but the flipping of the 10s digit on my new calendar verifies otherwise. So while I wait for a music compilation to tell me what great music I missed in the Aughts (do they still make CDs?), I thought I'd take a look at everything neat, new, and digital that came out from Steve Jackson Games via e23 in the past year . . . read article

January 5, 2010:
With all the other unboxing videos we've done, you may be wondering if we're trying to capture all our games on video. Yes, yes we are . . . read article

January 6, 2010:
Normally, any upcoming release related to Cthulhu would get a significant portion of the Daily Illuminator spotlight. But between the holidays, the two nifty dice games (Zombie Dice and Cthulhu Dice), and the unboxing videos -- not to mention the general weirdness we report on to serve the mysterious purposes of the Secret Masters -- poor little Chez Cthulhu has been feeling a little ignored . . . read article

January 7, 2010:
Ken Hite and illustrated by Andy Hopp, is a really wicked mashup of H.P. Lovecraft's "The Shadow over Innsmouth" and Where The Wild Things Are . . . read article

January 8, 2010:
Think you know games? To ring in the new year, Steelhead Studio had their usual party, but with an unusual party game; indeed, their game was all about everyone else's games . . . read article

January 9, 2010:
Seems a bit ironic. "Chez Cthulhu" is, roughly, "Cthulhu's home." And as every Lovecraftian scholar knows, Cthulhu is currently slumbering in R'lyeh, deep beneath the Pacific Ocean. Which is just where the boatload of Chez Cthulhu is sailing over, on its merry way to North America . . . read article

January 10, 2010:
We sent early copies of Nanuk out to several of our elite volunteer squads, to show off this highly social game. Here's what a few of them had to say. "Every time I've demoed this game, it's been well-received, and almost always results in a loud, active bunch of players . . . read article

January 11, 2010:
As you've likely noticed by now, we're back from our little break at the end of last year. Computers are on, phones are ringing, printers are a-printin' . . . read article

January 12, 2010:
Hello from Hong Kong! Ross and I have been here for a few days now, and we're not quite as lost as we were on that first day . . . even if we do keep finding ourselves completely turned around and confused . . . read article

January 13, 2010:
Another day in Hong Kong and another series of adventures . . . but even though Ross and I set sail on a ferry, and spotted a cool-looking junk, we didn't see any pirates. We did see a lot of pirate activity, though, with the constant assault of street vendors offering to sell us "copy" watches and "copy" handbags . . . read article

January 14, 2010:
Last night, after the show, Ross and I set off in search of Capstone, a boardgame cafe hidden somewhere in the winding streets and alleys of Hong Kong's Causeway Bay district. Fortunately, Ross and I now understand that an "F" in an address means floor -- and we've learned that the buildings that don't look at all like a shopping center usually house the best shops and restaurants -- so actually locating the cafe was easier than we expected . . . read article

January 15, 2010:
Last night, after Ross and I spent the day separately -- I hit the last day of the Hong Kong Toy Fair, while Ross took a much-needed break and enjoyed the city -- we wandered back into the streets of Hong Kong to find dinner. After taking the ferry from Wan Chai to Kowloon -- $2.50 HKD, which equals $0.32 in U.S. currency -- we found a shopping mall with a food court . . . read article

January 16, 2010:
The earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12 has caused massive devastation; since it's a trending topic on Twitter and all over the 24-hour news networks, you don't need to us to tell you about that. Nor is it surprising that the various charitable organizations around the world have sprung into action to help out . . . read article

January 17, 2010:
Last month I requested proposals to Android-ize the iPhone Munchkin Level Counter. I got a lot of "Yay! . . . read article

January 18, 2010:
The guys in our Production Department have a reputation for the unusual. Yes, even compared to the REST of us . . . read article

January 19, 2010:
GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 9: Summoners! It's hip! . . . read article

January 20, 2010:
A couple of Revolution! reviews popped up on our radar recently, both in the new-fangled form of this here Web 2.0. The Spiel, a podcast devoted to -- wait for it -- games, talked about our big red box at length in Episode #89 . . . read article

January 21, 2010:
(Yes, "loosing" -- "to let loose; release." I know exactly where they are.) A late addition to Cthulhu Dice was the glass beads you'll be using to track your sanity . . . read article

January 22, 2010:
Human consciousness, soul transference . . . these might seem like confusing subjects, but that's only because you haven't been to Earthscape yet. At that point, they become utterly baffling . . . read article

January 23, 2010:
No, that's not an unfortunate typo. That's an unfortunate PUN . . . read article

January 24, 2010:
The AbleGamers Foundation is an advocate for gamers with disabilities. They estimate that 1 out of every 5 gamers is disabled in some way, and they'd like to see publishers pay more attention to accessibility . . . read article

January 25, 2010:
I don't know if you've noticed, but it's the future now. Go ahead, look at a calendar . . . read article

January 26, 2010:
Scott Maykrantz's GURPS Plant Magic expands the Plant college with 40 new spells. Use them to arm a druid, ranger, woodland elf, creepy gardener, spellcasting tree-man, or even a predatory witch in an enchanted forest . . . read article

January 27, 2010:
One of the variant dice we'll be producing for Cthulhu Dice is "glow-in-the-dark." No, we're not yet talking about how you can get one. No, we're not discussing price, or how many will be available, or any details . . . read article

January 28, 2010:
National Geographic celebrated 50 years of exploration of our solar system with a nifty infographic. The illustration shows, in graceful spirals and curves, just how few of the hundreds of scientific instruments we've launched have actually looked at anything other than our closest planetary neighbors . . . read article

January 29, 2010:
In the game design world, many words are spent on the topic of creating your first design. That's where, the assumption goes, the magic happens -- the flashes of inspiration and madness that coalesce into a blend of mechanics and theme . . . read article

January 30, 2010:
Below and to the right of each Illuminator, starting with this one, you'll now see a sharing widget. You know what to do . . . read article

January 31, 2010:
Actually, when I say "part," I mean "printing." And when I say "two," I mean "second." And I guess those words should switch places, too. But "Two Part" wouldn't make any sense, would it? . . . read article

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