PinkFae Archive #28: How to GM Part 3: Designing Your Campaign (2nd of 2)

Last week's article was the first part of a two-part entry from the PinkFae Archives. So this week we will post the second half of that article. This finishes up Part 3 of the 'How to GM' series. It was originally posted on 5 August 2016.

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Last week, we began looking at the essentials of designing your campaign. It was a big topic, so I had to split it into two sections. Today's entry will finish what we started, as we look at the remaining three basic campaign arrangements. In case you've forgotten, last week we discussed the 'Episodic' and 'Set-Piece' design systems. Today, we will cover 'Branching,' 'Puzzle Piece,' and 'Enemy Timeline.'

PinkFae Archive #27: How to GM Part 3: Designing Your Campaign (1st of 2)

The first post of 2019; a new year, full of hope and promise, and we start off with a doozy. Today is another PinkFae Archive, but this one is a two-parter. So today, we'll have part one, and next week, we'll see part 2. This entry was first posted on 24 July 2016.

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Things are looking up for you; now you've chosen a game and have a group of players willing to play it. What do you do next? The first step, obviously, is to design the overall campaign. This sounds like a daunting task, so let's look at some advice and tips on how to do that in the most effective manner possible.

Please note that this section is going to cover a lot of material. I don't want to overwhelm you, though, so I'm going to break it up into two parts. We'll do part A today, and I'll finish with part B next week.

PinkFae Archive #26: Board Game Review: Kingsburg

This week we have another board game review, this one being an entry from the PinkFae Archives. This article is a review of the game Kingsburg, and it was originally published on 17 July 2016.

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There's a game called Kingsburg that I've played a few times with the local tabletop gaming club. It's been a while since I've been able to play, which is a shame, because I really enjoy this game. So I think the time has come to review it for all my fine readers out there! We start, as always, with our ratings.

Strategy: 4
Randomness: 3
Complexity: 3
Humour: None.
Attractiveness: Pretty
Average Length of Game Play: 90 minutes

Fighting with your Allies

As you may already know if you follow the Game Dork's Gaming Corner page on Facebook (and if you don't, you should! You get to see some cool stuff over there!), I have helped to organise a series of special community events with Loot & XP, in conjunction with the local chapter of PFLAG. Specifically, there was some interest expressed in getting together for some board games. PFLAG does great work, and I'm pleased to be part of what they do, but one night, it was put forward that there are seldom any social meetings in the group. When there is a PFLAG meeting, it's either to support people who are having issues, or to advocate for people who are being marginalised, or to educate people. Rarely do group members get together to socialise.

Well, I took those ideas, and I ran with them. I spoke to the PFLAG leadership, and I co-ordinated with the owners of Loot & XP, and we hosted what we called the 'Trans Friendly Game Night.' The idea was to provide a welcoming space for a fun activity in an inclusive environment. The first session took place this past May.

PinkFae Archive #25: How to GM Part 2: Finding Players

Today, we look at the second article from the 'How to GM' series that I wrote for PinkFae. This one discusses how to find players and form a gaming group. It was originally published on 10 July 2016.

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So you've found a game that you want to GM. You've looked at the systems, examined the genres, and decided which one was best for you. Now you have to complicate matters by adding extra people to the mix. You need to find some players to play in your game.

Today's entry will be an examination of the things to consider when selecting players. We'll look at fitting players to your game, fitting players to each other, choosing a group size, fitting players to you as GM, and (some might argue, most importantly) fitting everyone's schedule together.

Board Game Review: The Grimm Forest

There is a debate amongst enthusiasts in the board game community about the importance of the quality of components. Some people think that games with lots of well-crafted miniatures, like those from Scythe, are essential. Other players feel that a game is just as enjoyable with simple cardboard tokens as long as it doesn't affect gameplay.

I have stumbled across a game that puts that idea to the test. The game is called The Grimm Forest, and it is a delightful little game by Tim Eisner, published by Druid City.

The game is a very simple affair, thought it packs in a surprising amount of depth. But the real draw of this game is the miniatures. In addition to the player pieces (whimsical representations of the characters from the story of the Three Little Pigs), there are monster pieces (a dragon, some wolves—including one 'big bad wolf'—, a troll, and others), and a gorgeous lectern with an open book to serve as the first player token. The object of the game is be the first to build three houses (of wood, brick, or straw, as in the fairy tale), and the houses are also represented by absolutely beautiful plastic pieces.

PinkFae Archive #24: Divisive Behaviour in the Gaming Community

Today's article is another PinkFae archive. This article was originally published on 4 July 2018.

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I was thinking about the way that people exclude one another. Once upon a time, humans lived in a society in which inclusion was essential. Before the advent of agriculture, humans did not tolerate behaviour that benefited an individual over the tribe. After we started farming, though, ownership became important, and it changed everything. Now we live in a society that stresses individual good over group cohesion. The divisive nature of modern society has a far reaching impact; it even affects the gaming community. Today, I would like to discuss the nature of that division.