This is RPG-ology #9: Three Doors, for August 2018. Probably over a decade ago now there was a big debate in the community of people who enjoy logic puzzles when Marilyn Vos Savant published her solution to one, and many disagreed with her. I was belatedly dragged into the argument by my father, who sent … [Read more…]
This is RPG-ology #8: The Illusion of Choice, for July 2018. Last time we talked a bit about the power of the referee, how it can be abused, and the principles that should prevent that abuse. This time our focus is on how to use that power in a way that will enhance the game … [Read more…]
This is RPG-ology #7: Playing Fair, for June 2018. I was corresponding, electronically, with someone I introduced to role playing games over the Internet, and since I introduced him to them, his first game and still his favorite is my game, Multiverser. Of course, as all players, he was expressing the opinion that I didn’t … [Read more…]
This is RPG-ology #6: Name Ideas Unlimited, for May 2018. If you’re going to run a game, if you’re going to write a book, if you’re going to tell a story, you quickly find that your characters need names. There are a lot of ways around this. Sometimes a character can exist with only a … [Read more…]
This is RPG-ology #5: Country Roads, for April 2018. Of course, role playing game referees almost always have maps, and many of us make most of our own maps. The fact is that you don’t really necessarily need maps, and we’ll probably eventually talk about running games without them, but for most of the kinds … [Read more…]
This is RPG-ology #4: The Big Game, for March 2018. I’m going to begin by apologizing to the Christian Gamers Guild President, Reverend Rodney Barnes. It seems we often find ourselves arguing opposite ends of a question. Years ago (maybe decades) we both participated in the Magic Symposium in The Way, the Truth, and the … [Read more…]
This is RPG-ology #3: History of Hit Points, for February 2018. Some time ago the Christian Gamers Guild republished the excellent article by Charles Franklin, Hitting Them Where It Hurts. Charles Franklin is the nom de plume of a marine who testifies as an expert witness on issues like that, and a long-time gamer. He … [Read more…]
This is RPG-ology #2: Socializing, for January 2018. Gamers have, or at least not so long ago had, an image of being socially inept. Many are thought to suffer from high-functioning autistism or Aspergerger Syndrome, to be highly intelligent but have difficulty identifying and expressing feelings, entering into relationships with other people. The “unwashed masses” … [Read more…]
This is RPG-ology #1: Near Redundancy, for December 2017. If it seems to you like I just launched a new article series two weeks ago, congratulate yourself on your astute observation: Faith in Play #1: Reintroduction just appeared. That series is in a real sense a continuation of the Faith and Gaming series of a … [Read more…]
Over the past eighteen months, our diligent and dedicated webmaster Bryan has been republishing much of the material generated by and for the Christian Gamers Guild over the previous two decades in a new web format which is thought to be more accessible and is certainly better looking. That has included material from our e-zine … [Read more…]