Daily Illuminator Archive for January 2012

All Archives

January 1, 2012:
The Mayan calendar says the world ends this year. If ancient cultures could predict the end of the world thousands of years in advance, then forecasting a year of GURPS should be a piece of cake, right? . . . read article

January 2, 2012:
Last week I wrote about our new releases in 2011. Now it's time to take a look at what was reprinted throughout the year . . . read article

January 3, 2012:
The nice thing about taking the last two weeks of December off is we get the last two weeks of December off. The challenging thing is coming back in January and catching up on e-mail and phone calls and letters that have piled up . . . read article

January 4, 2012:
As the last of the holiday eggnog wears off, I realize that I should let you know about a few more goodies we released on e23 at the end of 2011. In addition to two new items (GURPS Low-Tech: Instant Armor and Pyramid #3/38: The Power of Myth), we also uploaded a few "reprint" items . . . read article

January 5, 2012:
Back in March, we started testing Munchkin sales in several Target stores. In September, we announced that the test was expanding to over 100 stores . . . read article

January 6, 2012:
Curious to know which Daily Illuminator was the most popular this past year? Me, too! . . . read article

January 7, 2012:
My goodness. The release of Munchkin Axe Cop hasn't destroyed the world, but it has thrown the warehouse into disarray . . . read article

January 8, 2012:
Richard Alf, one of the founders of Comic-Con, has died from pancreatic cancer at the age of 59. Starting as a very small convention in 1970, San Diego Comic-Con (and all its offshoots) has turned into one of the giants of the media world, drawing an estimated 125,000 fans each year to meet stars of TV, movies, and even comics . . . read article

January 9, 2012:
January is a time to reflect about all the new goodies you've received . . . as well as those you want. Give in to angelic contemplation or demonic greed, with In Nomine: Liber Reliquarum . . . read article

January 10, 2012:
When you open up the January 2012 issue of Game Trade Magazine you'll find two familiar faces! The cover story in GTM #143 features Munchkin 8 - Half Horse, Will Travel . . . read article

January 11, 2012:
Since it's still January, I'm going to take another look back at e23 in 2011. (We can do these year-end contemplations at least until Groundhog's Day, when Punxsutawney Phil decides whether we can get away with another six weeks of reflection.) . . . read article

January 12, 2012:
When you're a game publisher, convention season never really ends. Either you're preparing for conventions, you're at conventions, or you're recovering from conventions . . . read article

January 13, 2012:
Physicists at Cornell University have made what they are calling "holes in space-time," split-second events where objects are undetectable by a light beam. This article has more details about it . . . including the probabilIty that a cloaking device may, someday, be more than science fiction . . . read article

January 14, 2012:
Back in the Dark Ages of 2010, we did a special blue Munchkin Silver Piece as a promotional insert in GTM magazine. We made more than we needed, and put the extras in a very safe place where we would totally remember where they were later on . . . read article

January 15, 2012:
This April, we'll release a new Munchkin expansion for The Good, the Bad, and the Munchkin, a special Munchkin booster set, and the eagerly awaited sequel to Zombie Dice! Munchkin The Guild Munchkin'd! Munchkin is the classic card game of killing monsters and taking their stuff. The Guild is the hot Web series about a gaming group that puts the FUN in dysFUNctional. (Because otherwise it'd be "dysctional," and that's hard to say.) . . . read article

January 16, 2012:
You demanded, and we listened! Since it burst upon the scene four years ago, GURPS Dungeon Fantasy has been wildly popular in escorting adventurers back to its questing, killing, and looting roots . . . read article

January 17, 2012:
We will participate in Wednesday's SOPA blackout, joining Reddit, Wikipedia, and many other sites in protesting the really stupid bill currently before the House, as well as its companion, the "Protect IP Act," before the Senate. (I know that it would be nice of me to use phrasing like "Ill-advised and overly broad," but since I am not a politician, "stupid" it is, and "stupid" I'll call it.) . . . read article

January 18, 2012:
From 8am to 5pm CST today, Steve Jackson Games will be blacked out. We are joining Reddit, Wikipedia, and hundreds of other sites worldwide in protest of the SOPA/PIPA legislation being considered by Congress . . . read article

January 19, 2012:
We were poking the sales numbers on e23 the other day, and we saw something interesting. We've always known that freebies are popular among digital shoppers (the price is right!), but we noticed that every year there's a spike in downloads of Epic Munchkin just after Christmas, which continues into the new year . . . read article

January 20, 2012:
The ritual magic system from GURPS Monster Hunters 1: Champions has been so popular, we're making it into its own standalone GURPS supplement. In addition to greatly expanding and clarifying the system, GURPS Thaumatology: Ritual Path Magic will include a collection of sample rituals to help mages do the impossible . . . read article

January 21, 2012:
Looks like the good guys won this round. SOPA/PIPA, which its sponsors thought was a sure thing two weeks ago, is now on hold in both the House and the Senate . . . read article

January 22, 2012:
At New York Comic Con we announced the Munchkin Skullkickers booster, to appear in Summer 2012. To get you ready for the ultra-violence, our Munchkin Skullkickers web page has been updated with new information and a free introductory webcomic . . . read article

January 23, 2012:
Even more satisfying than the antique cogwork time machine you keep in your basement, the latest issue of everyone's favorite magazine for roleplayers -- Pyramid #3/39: Steampunk -- should sate your appetite for all things Victorian. It includes William H . . . read article

January 24, 2012:
Trophy Buck started shipping early November 2011. We haven't seen a lot of reviews for this brand new dice game yet, but this one caught my eye . . . read article

January 25, 2012:
If you've ever looked at our New Releases page (and if not, now's a good time to start!), you've seen that each game has a "shipped on" date. For items heading to game stores -- that is, anything that isn't an e23 release or a Warehouse 23 exclusive -- that is the day that the games started shipping from the PSI warehouse in Atlanta to distributors, who then send it on to your Friendly Local Game Store . . . read article

January 26, 2012:
The makers of Gorilla Glass, used in many touchscreen devices, debuted a thinner, more sensitive glass screen at CES recently. Lighter, more responsive smartphones? . . . read article

January 27, 2012:
When we made the packaging for the Munchkin Jolly Jumbo d6, we had a cute idea: "Let's hide a rule under the cards, and then it'll be a neat surprise for people when they open the package!" This was a brilliant idea except for two things: The backing cardboard was thicker than we expected. The glue holding the blister to the back was stronger -- WAY stronger -- than we expected . . . read article

January 28, 2012:
Let me take this opportunity to thank you for playing my game. Because of you, Revolution! has done so much better than I had ever dreamed -- except for that dream where I won the Spiel des Jahres, but I digress . . . read article

January 29, 2012:
Phil and I are at the Halloween Expo in Houston this weekend, ably assisting, and being assisted by, Paul Chapman (former SJ Games, now PSI), Justin De Witt (former SJ Games a couple of times, now Fireside Games), and Megan Hinterman, of PSI. You will, of course, recall that PSI is our fulfillment house; whether you buy Munchkin from Target or from Scary Eddy's Game Van, PSI helps to get them there . . . read article

January 30, 2012:
A trip to space has a lot in common with a visit underwater: Both are challenging environments that have wide-open areas where it's a bad idea to step outside for a smoke. GURPS Traveller Classic: Planetary Survey 5 - Tobibak -- just released on e23 -- combines two great tastes into one wet world. This guidebook for Tobibak has the titular planet's history (past and recent), a look at how it fits into the larger Traveller universe, a GURPS guide for those who live there or are just visiting, and a discussion of adventuring possibilities tied to the savage sea . . . read article

January 31, 2012:
Wow. It has been a wild ride over the last year-and-change . . . read article

TopDaily Illuminator Archives


Steve Jackson Games
Top of Page | Home