New Bonus Platters

Guess what. I’ve been working on new bonus platters. I’ve got a re-worked time of day platter with phases of the moon on the flip side. Also, random alignments with NPC reactions on the flip. Yes I know photos would be better. I will update the store soon to show better photos of all the discs, between producing new promo videos.

Diecon Retrospective

Diecon was everything a gamer could want. Tabletop wargaming for days and RPGs to match. Friendly bunch of people in attendance and running the thing. I saw naval engagements of sailing ships as well as ironclads, WWII skirmishes and larger battles. The RPG area continually emitted a cacophany of excitement and cheers — sometimes strange voices. If you go to cons for gaming, you couldn’t do much better than Diecon, whether you wanted to learn something new or play your favorites with a new bunch of people. And for vendors, it was awesome because our exhibit tables were right in the gaming area, so even during gaming sessions we felt like part of the con. Events like that make me want to keep at this alternative randomizer thing as long as it’s viable.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by to talk about the Rota Fortunae and to everyone who took the time to explain their original rpg, gaming accessory, or favorite campaigns. I’m gonna have to try Soul Shards before long.

Enthusiastic shout outs to some of my neighbors:

James the genius inventor of Hexacube dice has improved the functionality of our common polyhedrals in a really fun way, and every gamer owes it to themselves to check out what he’s done.

Deb at Blue Barrel Props has a really cool selection of cosplay prop weapons, miniatures, and other fandom novelties that surpass the usual fare.

Matt from dicegeeks.com offered an extraordinary array of random gaming tables and other original gaming accessories for all genres. The ones I bought will most likely be supplemented with more from his catalog.

And to the brilliant novelist in the booth next to me — whose name I may never recall — hearing about the worlds you’ve created and the characters you’ve endowed with life were such a nice way to pass time in the few lulls between passerby.

Overall, Diecon is a must for anyone who wants to game at a gaming convention, and I hope to exhibit again next year. Right now, I’m still catching up on the rush of online orders that came along in the days after the convention. Thanks everyone.

Diecon Dawn

Diecon starts today. This is my final scheduled con of the year, and it’s my first in Illinois. Based on everything I’ve learned at conventions over the last couple months, I’ve got high hopes for this one.

The Dice Cannon Mark II prototype is complete. It will debut at the con Saturday. I’ve also created a set of d20 number chits that I think are pretty cool. Both these items will be added to the online store pretty soon.

Have we got a video?

Yes, we’ve got a bloody video. Instructional video is up. Now hopefully everyone can see how it works and get a better sense for what it is. Nobody will ever mistake me for a videographer, but the video is not the point. The Rota Fortunae is the point, and it’s available. Aiming for Kickstarter in July. Until then, I’m working up a singular perfected design (so the current designs are definitely limited edition as of now) and some other special items for the Kickstarter. More video to come, hopefully (desperately hopefully) my video editing will improve with practice. Also, the dice cannon cometh.

The video is on the homepage and also on youtube, so there’s a youtube channel now. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxstdRzEB7EWbyKwcqRevFg.

Geekway After Action Report

It’s taken me a few days to muster the wherewithal to report on Geekway mostly due to the enormity of the con itself. It was exhausting and thrilling and eye-opening — Geekway to the West was flat out extraordinary.

How many thousands? Thousands of board gamers filtered through the tiny vending area. The populace of this con was really fun too — curious, inquisitive, insightful people. Board gamers are the best — even if they don’t wear as many ears and tails as the cosplayers of Visioncon. It was a pleasure to share the wheel with all these attendees and again, my fellow vendors were universally generous with advice and suggestions for product design as well as retail strategy. I am grateful for the Geekway experience and all the people I met. My neighbors at Foam Brain Games, the designer of Ghosts Betwixt whose name I can’t summon right now, and Roger from Ohio who created the Dungeon Crusades game — these were my immediate neighbors and I hope to run into them again at some future convention. The vending life might not be as disreputable as carnival barking, but it’s just as glamorous.

My only regret was that the vending life kept me from playing games. With envy I listened to tales of all-night gaming sessions, and how the attendees would rise early for more. It wasn’t until Sunday after 3 o’clock that I actually had a chance to try a game. My daughter and I selected “Root” from the Geekway library, mostly figured out how to play before giving up with fatigue. It wasn’t until yesterday that we were able to pick it up at the Miniature Market on Manchester to finish what we’d started. Love that game.

I’ve got one more con on my schedule for the summer, then I will shift into other marketing avenues. Maybe a few tweaks could help me into local retail or maybe a Kickstarter. We’ll see.

Visioncon April 29-May 1

Visioncon, what say I of thee?

The cosplay at this con was extraordinary in terms of quantity and quality. There were times that most of the people in my field of view were sporting at least a cape or some pointed ears, but I also saw a wide array of professional quality full get-ups. I wasn’t able to attend the contest, so don’t know how that went. I was, after all, attending my vendor booth the entire time.

Feedback from gamers was overwhelmingly positive, so thank you everyone for your kind words … and your purchases, of course. I put another bunch of wheels out into the community, and that in itself was gratifying. Still, the highlight of my con was meeting the vendors and attendees. A lot of reunions from Oz Con, including AJ, Shpoo, Larry from GeekyKool.com, Donnie of Banks, Bows, and Dragons, and Wolftrest. But also my booth neighbor Critical Spritz deserves a special shout out. Chris and friends gave my con an extra special scent and assured a steady crowd, because the scents at Critical Spritz have their own group of dedicated fans. Also a shoutout to the creators at Foretold — the game without a GM — can’t wait to read about how that works. Overall grateful for the people I met and the experience of showing the wheel to a vast new gathering of fandom. Your comments and suggestions for the new wheel designs and applications were literally inspiring. Hopefully I’ll see you all next year.

Oz Con Farewell

I wanted to post a sign-out from Oz Con. My son had an amazing time in his first 40k tournament. The vendor area was a fun place to be, but I missed attending events and gaming. Shout outs and thanks to CJ, Rich, Trevor, Nate, Keegan, Tyler, and all the rest of you wonderful people whose names I either didn’t get or plum forgot entirely. Your reviews of the wheel were priceless indeed. I could not have asked for a better venue for the world premiere of the Rota Fortunae. I’m already making improvements and modifications based on feedback, sales, and new inspirations, so if you got one, hang onto it because it’s destined to be a collector’s item. I hope to see you all next year.

Oz Con

I haven’t been to a gaming con in over 20 years, and never as a vendor — so this has been an almost entirely new experience, and one I’ve enjoyed immensely — especially hearing all the kind words people have shared about the Rota.

I’ve sold a big handful to attendees and got to meet a lot of the other vendors. I even got to buy a delicious-looking Slowpoke tail from Stray Sheep Crochet. The folks across the aisle from GeekyKool.com turn out to be cosplaying as track suit mafioso — not real — so that’s a relief. This convention has brought a steady parade of gamers, gawkers, cosplayers, and LARP warriors — all friendly enough to share their gaming stories and real life adventures — and sometimes buying a Rota to boot.

Thanks to the Oz Con organizers. If the rest of this weekend is anything like what I’ve seen so far — I will be booking more conventions.