Daily Illuminator Archive for March 2020

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March 1, 2020:
The Illuminatus! trilogy is being adapted for television by Hivemind, who also produce Witcher and The Expanse. You can read more about it in this Deadline article . . . read article

March 2, 2020:
We were recently handed our January sales data, giving us an idea of how everything is performing both in distribution as well as through our online store, Warehouse 23. To give you a look at what was popular in January, here is our Top Ten sellers (by quantity) for the first month of 2020. Munchkin Deluxe Dice Dragon Dice Bag Dice Bag: Lich Dice Bag: Skeletons Munchkin Zombies: Grave Mistakes Munchkin Cthulhu: Sanity Check Munchkin 2 - Unnatural Axe Dungeon Survival Pack: Kitten Adventurers Munchkin 5 - De-Ranged Munchkin 3 - Clerical Errors Missing from the Top Ten that should have been there? . . . read article

March 3, 2020:
I'm going to be playtesting a couple of 30-card Munchkin expansions every Tuesday night in March at Tribe Comics & Games, for those of you in Austin or who can get here on a Tuesday. Playtests start at 7:00 and the first one is tonight! . . . read article

March 4, 2020:
At your favorite local game store today (use our handy store finder to locate one near you) are the latest new releases from Steve Jackson Games.  Le Boomb! – This fast-playing dice game includes everything you need to play, in a compact package. We've updated this classic game with a new plastic bomb (complete with wick and screw-on connector so the bomb doesn't fall open in your backpack) and a newly tooled six-sided die . . . read article

March 5, 2020:
It may still be winter, but spring is just around the corner, and with the warm weather, theme parks are going to be hopping. The smell of funnel cakes and nachos waft in the air beside ferris wheels and roller coasters, ready to delight . . . until you're overcome with dizziness, get whiplash, and lose your lunch . . . read article

March 6, 2020:
The latest issue of Hexagram, our zine in support of The Fantasy Trip, closed successfully on Kickstarter last month. Now it is preorder time . . . read article

March 7, 2020:
I have a very soft spot in my heart for Monsters! Monsters! - it was the first game project that I got paid to work on. This was back in 1976 . . . read article

March 8, 2020:
Steve Jackson Games is sponsoring the Children's RPG Area at UK Games Expo (UKGE) in Birmingham this May!    The area includes games of storytelling, teamwork, and adventure for 7-12 year olds. This year we're helping by bringing The Fantasy Trip experience to a whole new group of players! . . . read article

March 9, 2020:
Last month, we released our new Meeple d6 Dice Set in four different colors – so you can find sets of black, green, blue, and red dice with meeples in place of the pips at your favorite local game store right now! Coming up in a few weeks are two more colors – yellow and white – pushing the total number of available packs to six . . . read article

March 10, 2020:
The newest big expansion for The Fantasy Trip is shipping to Kickstarter backers – many in the U.S. already have their rewards! – and we've opened preorders for the boxed set as part of the Hexagram #4 BackerKit preorder campaign.  Steve has written an overview of Decks of Destiny, outlining everything that was created thanks to the support of the Kickstarter backers last year. It's a lot of great support for the game and a giant toolbox of stuff for GMs who want to craft their own adventures and campaigns . . . read article

March 11, 2020:
GURPS High-Tech is famous for the gargantuan gaming insight it gives into all things technological. Now, one aspect of that supplement is augmented with new, updated, and expanded material . . . read article

March 12, 2020:
With international shipping rates constantly climbing, we are looking for better ways to offer our games to those outside of the United States. Not all releases work as distribution titles in today's market, and we're struggling to find a reliable – and reasonably-priced – way for those who live in other nations to get your hands on our games . . . read article

March 13, 2020:
In the best Munchkin fights, the levels bounce up and down like monkeys on pogo sticks, but that can make it hard to keep track of how soon you'll crush your opponents. With the Kill-O-Meter, you'll never have to stop and recount again! . . . read article

March 14, 2020:
There's a new moon in the sky. No, not the phase, the actual count of Earth's moons has doubled in the last three years . . . read article

March 15, 2020:
We post to the Daily Illuminator every day, and have for over two decades . . . but we know you can't always make a visit to sjgames.com a part of your routine. Fortunately, in today's world, there are other ways to keep in touch with us and stay up-to-date on our latest projects . . . read article

March 16, 2020:
(This letter just went out to our members.) Clearly it's become impossible to do FnordCon as planned . . . read article

March 17, 2020:
If you find yourself working from home and all alone this week, you may be in search of entertainment that's outside of the realm of videos and computer games . . . read article

March 18, 2020:
Riccardo Scaringi interviewed me for his new site at www.ilgiocointavolo.it. You can see the interview right here . . . read article

March 19, 2020:
I hope you're staying home through the next few weeks. Here's something to make that a bit easier. Melee was the second game I ever wrote . . . read article

March 20, 2020:
Things are a mess, and it will be a while before they get better. Here's what we're doing . . . read article

March 21, 2020:
If you find yourself at home with a friend or loved one, then you may be on the hunt for some excellent two-player games. There is a near-endless number of two-player games in the world, but here we offer a list of some of our own that work perfectly when it's just you and one other player. Castellan . . . read article

March 22, 2020:
I'm back, just in time to let you know a bit about our new spring and summer releases. I know you're all spending more time at home than usual; I hope some of it is being spent playing games – whether solitaire or with your family . . . read article

March 23, 2020:
I'm not sure that I can cope with a Leap Day and an Anti-Leap Hour coming so close to each other. My biorhythms are all out of whack, y'all. (Edit: I wrote that a couple of weeks ago. I have LOTS of other things on my mind now . . .) While I get myself sorted out, let's look at the latest news from the magical realm of Munchkin! Munchkin: Critical Role If you've been preoccupied lately (and I'm right there with you, friend), you may have missed the notice that our talented pals at The OP announced that they're working on the ultimate marriage of self-centered aggrandizement, ludicrous jokes, and "roleplaying" . . . with Munchkin . . . read article

March 24, 2020:
If you haven't yet played The Fantasy Trip (Steve's first RPG design, which we brought back last year), then the BackerKit preorder campaign for Hexagram #4 is a great time to join in the fun . . . read article

March 25, 2020:
Our GURPS On Demand program has brought dozens of classic GURPS books back into print through the magic of print-on-demand technology. Using the Amazon POD services, we've uploaded books from Alternate Earths to Warriors, making sure that our back catalog is available to you . . . almost everywhere in the world!  Wherever Amazon offers print-on-demand books, you can get these books without paying high after-market prices or – for those outside of the United States – excessive postage costs.  We plan to add more titles to the program, hopefully reaching a day when everything (excluding licensed releases or titles where contracts restrict us) is published through the POD service . . . read article

March 26, 2020:
With the growing isolation and quarantining around the country, we thought it would be a good time for our friends and fans to go on an adventure. To that end, we've made some of our favorite The Fantasy Trip content available for free in PDF form. Melee, the first boxed game for The Fantasy Trip, teaches all the basics of combat, and is a perfect start to your campaign . . . read article

March 27, 2020:
This is a VERY rough set of rules. If you have suggestions or other comments, we'd love to hear them! . . . read article

March 28, 2020:
For those currently on the hunt for solitaire games, you'll be happy to know that the Project Aon website has several adventure gamebooks online, all approved for public sharing by the creator!  What are the Lone Wolf gamebooks? Wikipedia says it best: Lone Wolf is a series of 30 gamebooks, created by Joe Dever and initially illustrated (books 1-8) by Gary Chalk . . . read article

March 29, 2020:
The nice thing about the end of the world is that everyone has their own idea of what it will look like. (There are other nice things, like the elimination of everyone who has ever done something to annoy you, but that'll do for a start.) [Editorial note: I originally wrote this Illuminator in December . . . read article

March 30, 2020:
Critters" take note – Munchkin: Critical Role announced for 2020! Our partner in crime licensing, The OP, has announced a new Munchkin mash-up for 2020: Munchkin: Critical Role! . . . read article

March 31, 2020:
If you're looking to entertain a younger child during these tough times, we have another tool for your arsenal: free solitaire rules for the Gelatinous game! To play, all you need are 13 six-sided dice (all of the same size), a scrap of paper, a pencil, and this free PDF.  What is Gelatinous? . . . read article

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