We’ll be involved in running HLG Con in Atlantic City in October. Please buy tickets and come hang-out with us! Then learn about the Serious Game industry below. And now, for something completely different. A few months ago we were invited to participate in the Serious Play Conference as press. When we received this invitation […]
Category Archives: Social Contract
Five Hidden Benefits of LARP: Social Skills
Ask people why they LARP, and they usually answer roughly the same. The most common answer is their own form of “because it’s fun” or “because my friends do it” and both of those answers are great. Did you know there are actual benefits to LARPing in addition? Examining LARP shows there are many benefits […]
Actually, It’s About Ethics in Media Consumption
“ Anyone who has ever been part of a subculture knows the bright red sting of controversy. Sometimes the controversy is low stakes like the general fan rejection of Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition. Sometimes controversies go to the core of a community’s values like the ongoing controversy about whitewashing in Hollywood, and more specifically, […]
Dark, Deep, and Scary: Horror Games
“ What’s Wrong With Horror? Dark horror games often have tropes, concepts, and downright terrible elements that make them rife for abuse by the wrong people. At the same time, games that are willing to address and be open about addressing injustices in our world, through the horror lens, often have created the most inclusive […]
Game Mastering Through Stress
Here you are running an amazing series of sessions in your favorite role-playing game… and then work calls. Then you get an email from a project that isn’t going to get funded. Classes start, the laundry needs to be done, your kid decided throwing up is the best bedtime plan. STRESS happens, we all know […]
How Not To Be *That* Gamer: Five Easy Tips
Remember back in the mists of time when you were just learning to play a game, hunched over a table at your Friendly Local Game Store? Trying to absorb the reams of information your friend was pouring into your brain? When you didn’t know what a con save was, or a bluff check, or a […]
X-Card and Fade to Black Mechanics
*Trigger Warning: violence, and clowns Crack… slurp… slarhp… shoooweekk As I creeped down the hall, I couldn’t close my ears. The sounds surrounded me, like a bag thrown over my head. I had to step around the corner, I had to face this thing. Yet, the longer I waited the longer I felt like I […]
Is She Hot? The Question Female Gamers Dread
As a female bodied gamer, character creation can be difficult sometimes. No, I’m not talking about the sexist view that women are bad at math, or that complex rules are too hard. I am talking about the answer to the question that I feel most female gamers or female presenting gamers dread. This loaded six […]
Into the Vault: Torg: Roleplaying the Possibility Wars
From the Vault: Torg: Roleplaying the Possibility Wars This week we’ll be going off on a bit of a tangent. I will be highlighting one of my favorite RPG’s from “back in the day.” This idea struck me as I saw both Jack Benners Savage Worlds article and Jim’s Deadlands articles. With the multitude of […]
OFF LIMIT THEMES? SOCIAL CONTRACT – PART 5
Welcome back to the final installment of this series. If you have been reading each of these much thanks! The topic for this week would not be the last thing you discuss with your group , but will be discussed multiple times during this whole process. So, the topic I want to cover in the final […]