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GrimFinger's blog

Suspense & Decision magazine

Hi, to one and all!

A couple of months back, I started publishing a PDF magazine whose focus is turn-based gaming. My primary focus, personally, tends to be on PBM (play by mail) gaming, and the ancestral descendants, thereof.

However, technically, board games tend to be turned-based gaming experiences, also.

Anyway, I've used this site for a while, though my rate of frequency with using it varies, increasing at some times, and decreasing at other times.

Where Reluctant Pirates Bury Their Treasure

Tonight, I ended up over on the ReluctantPirateGames blog site, after finding it while not looking for it. After browsing it for a bit, I heartily recommend it.

My first encounter with it was a Terra Neo encounter. The "good news and the better news," the blog headline proclaimed (though worded a bit differently). To be honest, it was those big hex tile looking things that caught my eye. Yet, it was the blog, itself, that ultimately impressed me the most.

3D Printers meet Vending Machines

Can you say "hyper-local automated manufacturing facilities" three times, really fast?

http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/bulletin/dreambox-a-3d-printing-vending-...

Exploring Terrain Tile Possibilities

Yesterday, I had some time to myself (after getting the tire on my wife's car patched - it had a nail in it), since my son and one of his cousins had decided to spend the night before with their granny (my mama). So, since I couldn't spend the time with my son, I decided to do a little possibility exploring.

I ended up visiting a Miracle Hill thrift store, two comic book stores, a housing supply warehouse, and Lowe's.

Proxxon versus the Cake Dummies

I happened upon a blog posting by some guy who calls himself Waco Joe. He figured out a way to create terrain tiles for gaming by using cake dummies. The blog entry in question that caught my eye can be found at the following link:

http://joxash.org/blog/?m=201008

The tool that he used he called a Proxon foam cutter. However, I think that the actual item is technically called a Proxxon Hotwire Cutter Thermocut, and if I managed to track down the right beast, then here's a link to the actual product:

http://www.proxxontools.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=85&idcategory=0

Shapeways

A very interesting site, one with much board gaming potential.

http://www.shapeways.com/

3D Printer Technology

I ran across the following article, today, so it's not new "news," but since it deals with the possibility of Staples providing 3D printer services to the public in the future, this might greatly facilitate board game designers who operate on a budget.

http://www.3ders.org/articles/20121129-mcor-technologies-launches-3d-pri...

Alternative to Adobe Acrobat Reader

Especially for large PDF game related files, I have found the Foxit Reader to be good alternative to Adobe Acrobat reader, if you want something that is a little less of a memory hog.

It can be found at:

http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php

Clipart

If you are in need of clipart for your board game projects, then you might want to consider the Armorial Gold heraldry clipart collection(s). The website can be found at:

http://www.heraldryclipart.com/

Character Cards Tip

ExampleWizardCard1.png

One thing that I have found to be useful, when it comes to designing cards with characters on them for a quick mock-up version of a board game for in-house testing purposes, is Heromachine 2.

Because space is limited on something the size of typical playing cards (or even smaller, such as something printed on business card stock), I find that just using the upper torso, or even just a head shot, rather than the full body image produced by Heromachine 2, can help to give the card more visual impact. It's all in what one likes, of course.

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by Dr. Radut