In this update, I’ll talk about the funding of Steve Jackson Games’ Kickstarter re-launching the classic OSR RPG, The Fantasy Trip; let you know about a great sale on cardstock models by Dave Graffam; and update you on the status of my move, which is keeping me from posting more often!
The Fantasy Trip Reborn!
The Fantasy Trip Legacy Edition from Steve Jackson Games
If you follow PnPG on Twitter, you know I’ve been nattering folks about the closing of the Kickstarter for Steve Jackson’s classic OSR roleplaying game, The Fantasy Trip. Well, the Kickstarter closed this afternoon, and it reached its final goal, unlocking all possible stretch goals. I know from Bitly’s tracking that my tweets generated 25 direct clicks to the Kickstarter site in the last 24 hours, so I like to think I had some small part in helping raise the last $35,000 necessary to reach that final stretch goal, at $300,000. Thanks to everyone who helped make this project possible, including Steve, Phil Reed, Guy McLimore and the whole gang at SJ Games; all the TFT faithful who, like myself, fondly remember the game from the Metagaming editions starting in 1978; and all the PnPG followers who may have learned about the game or the Kickstarter through me. I am sooooo stoked about getting this game next spring!
For those unfamiliar with The Fantasy Trip, it was the first FRPG designed by Steve Jackson, designer of Ogre, Illuminati, and of course, Munchkin. The TFT rules were published between 1977 and 1980 by Metagaming, an Austin-based game company owned by Howard Thompson. After Metagaming ceased operations in 1983, Steve attempted to buy TFT back, but was never able to strike a deal with Thompson. Steve went on to design and publish GURPS through his own company, and TFT was out of print for more than three decades. Ownership of TFT recently reverted to Steve through 17 U.S. Code § 203, which returns copyright to authors 35 years after publication, making the re-release of the game finally possible.
Since this is a print-and-play blog, you may be asking why I’m writing about a physical, boxed game. Well, my excuse is that SJ Games is making The Fantasy Trip available in PDF form as well as in books and boxes, so you can print it and play it. But the real reason is that TFT was the first FRPG I ever played. As high school freshmen in 1978, my best friend and I were playing lots of board wargames from SPI and Avalon Hill. These games led us to the $3 microgames from Metagaming, including Melee, the tactical combat rules that would grow into TFT. We were playing Melee all night every weekend, creating connected scenarios with continuing characters, for months before we discovered the White Box version of D&D. So for me, TFT is the original old school RPG, and that is why I’m talking about it on my blog!
Massive sale on models from Dave Graffam Games
Dave Graffam’s South Gate printable model
Earlier this summer, I wrote a post about Dave Graffam’s amazing cardstock models, which are a huge part of my tabletop hobby. Well, a couple of days ago, Dave started another of his occasional sales, marking over 100 SF, fantasy, historical, and post-apocalypse model kits and game mats down to just $1 or $2. If you’ve never bought a printable model kit, this is a great opportunity to try them out—Dave’s are among the very best available. If you’re like me, and have dozens of Dave’s kits already, this sale is a great chance to pick up a few more! The sale is running on DriveThruRPG, RPGNow, and Wargame Vault, and ends September 1, 2018.
Movin’ On Up…Very Slowly…
As I’ve mentioned previously, the reason I’m not posting much this summer is that my wife and I are moving our family to a new home in a new school district. The new home is going to be a great improvement for us, but not surprisingly, I’ve been a bit optimistic in estimating how long the move would take. Various projects, some expected (restoring abused hardwood floors) and some not (rebuilding the chimney), have added both time and expense to the process. I’d hoped to be in the new place by mid-August, but now we’re more realistically looking at the beginning of September as the official start-sleeping-in-the-new-house date. It’s hard for me to write full-length posts right now (I’m typing this on a laptop on a stack of boxes in the basement), and impossible to do any new photography. Lately, I’ve been finding a few minutes here and there to post on Twitter, so check there for news and updates until we get settled in the new digs.
On the plus side, I recently picked up Camtasia, a pro-quality video editor and screen recorder. Once I’m in my new office, I’ll start learning to use Camtasia by creating video tutorials about creating and kitbashing print-and-play miniatures, terrain, and books. I’ll announce those tutorials here on the blog as they become available, and post them to YouTube. I’m really excited about this new way to share the hobby I love, and can’t wait to get started.
So the PnPG blog is still a thing, even though I’m on a sort of sabbatical from posting at the moment. Lots of great content to come this fall, including that much-delayed PnPG giveaway, so check back from time to time. Or follow me on Twitter, where I announce new posts and other news of interest to print and play gamers.
Until then, keep on printing and keep on playing!