Oblique Strategies - Musical Fun with Brian and Peter

"The internet... if you're not learning a new thing every day then you're doing it wrong."

Brian Eno - Games Designer?
©Rolling Stone Magazine

Today's new thing (well new to me anyway) is that noted producer and all round musical genius Brian Eno is also a game designer.

In 1975, he and Berlin born British artist Peter Schmidt, released Oblique Strategies, a limited run of 500 boxed sets of 113 cards signed and personally given as gifts.   Each card contains an inspirational phrase, question or dilemas designed to focus artists on other ways of solving problems and avoiding creative block.

in the early 80s Eno went further, creating his "Games for Musicians" for the recording sessions of the David Bowie album Outside.  Some of the characters he came up with would not look out of place in a William Gibson novel and on it's release Rolling Stone's critical review aptly characterised it as having a "jury-rigged cybernoir narrative".

It occurred to me how fun it could be for a Neutral (or Chaotic) PC to be furnished with a deck of these cards and for their player to respond to the whims of each card.  A cartomantic verison of The Dice Man, you could even make this into a cursed magic item like the Deck of Many Things.

Thanks to Sword & Backpack for leading me to this little gem and thanks also to Gregory Taylor who hosts a fine Oblique Strategies resource page.

In case you were wondering how much you have to pay for a 1st edition signed copy, ebay has one listed for $4,999!!

The Eno shop will also flog you a brand new (unsigned) copy for the princley sum of £30.  For technocenti an e-version is available at

Sci-Fi Ship Morphs Part 2 - Guns, Guns, Guns

After last weeks effort I noticed that the SS Morpheus would get cut to ribbons in any sort of firefight.  What we need, as Clarence Bodiker would say, is "Guns, Guns, Guns".

Corner Tile Single Ball Turret

Edge Tile Single Ball Turret

Of course if you do get shot up you need a medical bay so the ships doctor can patch you up.

Edge Tile Med Bay

and in the event of your ship being boarded you need some basic corridors to run down.

UPDATE: Tiles have now been uploaded to DavesMapper.com.

Goodbye to all that

As a child growing up in the North of England in the 80s, it was hard not to have an opinion about Margaret Thatcher aka The Iron Lady.

Her funeral today marks the end of an era and demonstrates her ability to divide the nation as much in death as she did in life. 

Many words have been printed and broadcast about the issues surrounding protests (both physically and via iTunes) at her funeral in the last few days.  This had me thinking about using it as a situational plot in RPGs.

The Funeral of a Divisive Figure

The PCs are in a large town or city (doesn't have to be the Capital) in the day(s) preceding the funeral of a divisive figure.  The city officials (or family) have decided to mark the funeral with great pomp and circumstance and at significant cost during harsh times which has resulted in unrest amongst certain population groups.

• Protestors Plans - The inn in which the PCs are staying is also being used by a group of protestors planning their direct action.  The PCs overhear significant amounts of information which would be of use to local law enforcers tasked with keeping the peace.  PCs might also wish to give the protestors the benefit of their experience during the planning process, act as messengers to feed information to the public, or disinformation to law enforcers.
  
  
• Taking Sides - Depending on the role the divisive leader has played in the PCs lives, they may choose to abandon their party loyalties temporarily and join the ranks of the protestors and/or the law enforcers.  Warning, this may result in PCs being pitted against each other.
  
  
• Caught in the Crossfire - The inn in which the PCs are staying becomes the target of rioters attention and the inn keeper asks the patrons to defend his establishment.  For added peril, make one of the inn's guests relevant in some way to the deceased.
  
  
• Patron Escort - A chance encounter leads to the PCs being hired by a patron who needs escorting through one of the cities protesting hotspots.  The patron's identity may be unknown to the PCs but of relevence to the divisive leader and the protestors (ie: the deceased's heir or close relative, their right hand man, their biggest critic or opponent, their lawyer, the priest officiating at the funeral).  The patron's final destination could also be of relevance to the days events, feel free to have the PCs charge headlong into a state funeral pursued by a mob of angry protestors.
  
  
• Exit Stage Left - The PCs could stumble upon the truth that the divisive figure is in the process of attempting to stage their own public funeral to avoid past consequences.  The divisive figure turns patron, offering the PCs hansom reward if they can facilitate their safe egress from the city.  Equally useable if you prefer the figure to be loved by the people who form a lynch mob on learning about their idols deception.  Do the PCs handover the individual to the mob or aid their escape?

Enjoy...

International Tabletop Day 2013 - Orpington - Photos

Better late than never, here are some photos from the first International Tabletop Day held at the Temple URC in Orpington, Kent, England.

Renier Knizia's Formula Racing
(this game is far more fun than this photo!!)

Formula Motor Racing

Reiner Knizia's fast paced formula 1 card game was totally new to me, but it was laughably easy to pick up the rules.  Essentially each player tries to get one or more of their cars to the front of the pack by playing cards which either promote a car (and the one behind it) or demote or remove a car. 

This game is all about knowing when to make your bid for the for front and making sure you have the cards to do it.  

I fell instantly in love with it's simple yet fiendish mechanic and I will definitely be hunting down a copy in the future.  Currently out of print

Pandemic

R to L: Paul, Richard, Apo and Mark
play my shiny new copy of Pandemic

A couple of days before International Tabletop Day, I left my job on voluntary early release after 21 years.  My work colleagues kindly gave me a copy of Pandemic as a leaving gift, so  what better way to spend a Saturday afternoon than trying to rid the world of four deadly and highly infectious diseases. 

Jonas also brought his copy along including the "On the Brink" expansion.  Always fun and always fiendishly difficult we ended up playing four games without a single win.  Never mind there's always next time (unlike real life!!)

Robo Rally

R to L: Mike, Simon, Kai and Chris
getting their Robo Rally on

This classic game of robot programming chaos is a firm favourite with my regular friday group and it proved to be the same at Tabletop Day.

Not pictured but also played were;

Corsari -

A pirate themed suit collecting game which was far too abstract for me.

Metanauts
Paul's homebrew tabletop mecha fighting virtual reality arena game.  Like Battletech but with a unique theme which only Paul can explain.

Rto L: Carol, Jonas and Mel
playing Pandemic with added chocolates.

Microscope

The GM-less game of epic history timeline creation.  We ended up creating a Victorian sci-fi alternate future where the Americans were in league with Alien invaders held off by a British Chinese alliance.

King of Tokyo

A fun little Yahtzee style dice game of giant monsters battling over Tokyo.  Another instant hit, simple to learn but with lots of tactics, strategy and of course luck.

Thanks to everyone who turned up and made the event a success despite falling on the Easter weekend.  Hopefully next year's event will be bigger and better.  Play more Games!!

Getting Back on the Morphing Horse - Sci-Fi Ship Morphs - Part 1

It's been a while since I last posted some geomorphs (over 2 years!!), but I was spurred on by a recent visit to the Sci-Fi Ships category at Dave's Mapper.  I was surprised to find that only two artists have contributed, so here's my effort:

Curved Grey Walls (Plated Floor, Doors and Windows)

Corner Tiles (150x150px)

Curved Grey Plated
Doors

Curved Grey Plated
Windows Doors

Side Tiles (300x150px)

Curved Grey Plated - Windows No Doors

Curved Grey Plated - No Doors

Side View Edge Tiles (150x300px)

Curved Grey Plated
Doors

Curved Grey Plated
Windows No Doors

Standard Tiles (300x300px)

Curved Grey Plated - Doors

Curved Grey Plated

Feature Tiles (various)

Derived from basic tiles above, these last ones add a bit of colour and flavour. 

Warp Coils

3 Engines

Cargo Bay

Bridge

Completed Example

You should now have enough tiles (and variants) to put together a basic small ship like the USS Morpheus. Enjoy.