Here Goes Nothing

(Or, My mind finally spills out onto the 'Net)

Well, after putting off a journal of sorts for almost my entire life, I've finally decided to start one (Oooh, and a public one at that). Yay me!

Last night, or very early this morning (night and day gets blurred with my irregular sleep cycle), I was in a mad fit of 'net surfing. This time, I was particularly looking for a new board/card game of the non-abstract sort.

Here's three of the best sites offering various freebie games starting with one site I usually check for updates since new games are added there frequently:

1. Warpspawn Games
Most of the games require some assembly, of course (you've got to print all those cards yourself). Nice thematic card games covering lots of genres from real-world history, to fantasy, and science-fiction. I've only actually played one game: Power Up! which is a two-player game of super-powered martial arts action ala Dragonball Z.

2. DVORAK
While looking into the links at the Warpspawn site, I've stumbled onto the Dvorak Card Game site. It's actually a rules engine for card game design and the rules can even be summarized in 99 words (!). Technically, it's a nomic game (this means the rules change) meant to be played using blank cards. The site also archives several pre-made decks, most of which can be played as excellent stand-alones. Some noteworthy ones include the NetHack Deck (inspired by the classic, and free, NetHack CRPG), the Paranoia Deck (based on the hilarious RPG of the same name), Roman Politics (where players struggle with each other to become the next Caesar), and Comic Publishing (players are publishers of competing superhero comicbook series). I've already printed those four, and will try them out with the ol' gaming group this afternoon.

3. GHOULASH
"The Last Game On Earth" has website that looks really nice. Ghoulash is basically a two-player "survival horror"-esque game played in a manner similar to Battleships (which is one of my childhood faves, before I got into pen-and-paper RPGs), except that the players are post-apocalyptic survivors in world filled with ghouls. The rules fit onto a single page and various scenarios are available for download, each with their own additional rules. This game is definitely worth a try.

This ends my very first post to my very first blog!

Now, I must get some sleep. It's 7:25 a.m. here, on a Sunday...

Game on, folks!