Tomfhaines

This weekend, the venerable animated series The Simpsons will air an episode done LEGO-style.

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Warehouse 13 has been a fan-favorite on the Syfy network for the last 5 seasons due to its warm heart, fun steam-punk/science fiction/historical magic sensibility, and the wonderful ensemble cast that totally pegs the idea of a family of misfits who, by the way, save the world on a regular basis. The show is coming to an end, perhaps a bit too soon, but that’s the way of TV. And so, as the last few episodes run over the next couple weeks, fans are saying their goodbyes to beloved characters.

Eddie McClintock is a TV veteran; one of those hard-working actors whom you’ve seen (and liked) almost everywhere, but who – until Warehouse 13 – had never had a hit. As Secret Service Agent Pete Lattimer, Eddie has brought a goofy charm to the show, creating a character viewers can’t help but love. Pete Lattimer is somewhere between your goofy-but-protective older brother, and a playful hound who wants to chase his tail, but will stick by your side through thick and thin. As part of Syfy’s PR campaign around the sunset of the series, I was lucky enough to have a phone call with Eddie, where we spoke at length about his career, about Warehouse 13 and his character, and about being a geeky dad.

This is a synthesis of our 70-minute conversation. We rambled quite a bit, so to pull together some coherent subjects, I’ve skipped around the chat, and crafted a more linear narrative. Because of the length of the call, I’m breaking the interview into parts, just so I can get segments up in a timely fashion. In the future, with Eddie’s permission and a bit of editing, I hope to put the audio of the conversation up on our podcast feed.

On how social media has impacted his life: Twitter certainly has changed things. I have Bill Shatner following me! I’ve met childhood heroes. There’s a guy named Rudy Sarzo, who was the bass player for Ozzy Osborne back in the day, he was part of Blizzard of Oz. Back when I was 12, I made a comic called Ozzy Osbean and the Blizzard of Oz, and all the guys in the band were jellybeans and superheroes. So one day I was checking my Twitter feed and there was a guy saying “Oh man, I love Warehouse 13; it’s my favorite show,” and I saw the name was Rudy Sarzo. I thought, it can’t possibly be the guy! And we’ve become friends. We actually went to the last Black Sabbath show here in LA together. It was so surreal, going to see Ozzy play with the guy I turned into a jelly bean and a superhero when I was 12. (You can follow Eddie on Twitter at @eddiemcclintock)

On Living the Dream: I’ve been a huge Jaws fan since I was a little kid. I have a big great white shark tattooed on my shoulder. I just got it before I went back to Toronto for season 5, and when I was down in Dallas for a con with Saul [Rubinek - who plays Artie, the boss on Warehouse] and Richard Dreyfuss was there. Oh my god! I was just so nervous to meet him. I ran up to him, and introduced myself, and I was like, “you know, I’m not a weird stalker fan.” And then I go, “hey, check out my giant tattoo of a shark.” And it degraded into me walking away feeling like a total tool. Hopefully I’ll get another chance to meet him.

I’m as big a geek as they come. Especially when I meet people, we call them mouth-breathers. They just come up to the table and stand there with their mouths open. And I am that guy! That’s why it’s okay for me to reference them, because I am a mouth-breather when it comes to meeting someone I admire. It happens all the time, like on the show. Chris Sarandon, Wes Craven, Jane Curtin, Bill Devane.

On Pete versus Eddie, and how much of Eddie has been included in Pete’s background: Jack Kenny is our executive producer, and he was a co-E.P. on my first ever series back in 1998, a sitcom on Fox [Holding the Baby]. We did 13 episodes and then got cancelled. I remember always liking him – he was always one of my favorites. I was doing this show on Lifetime, and my buddy says Jack Kenney is going to direct. I tell Jack one day during the production that my show, Warehouse 13 is getting picked up on Syfy. I connected him with the folks on the show, and a week later he calls me and tells me he’s my new boss. And so, I’ve known Jack forever, and before we started shooting he said, “who do you want Pete to be?” I told him I loved comic books, and I was a wrestler from Ohio. And I’d like him to be a former marine, to give props to folks who have sacrificed for our country. And the fact that he was 13 years sober, because I’m 13 year sober. So there’s not a lot of acting when I go to work. I’m a bit of a goof anyhow. My sense of humor tends to be pretty juvenile, so that’s okay. And I love that we made Pete a recovering alcoholic, because it gives him depth, and a chance to be goofy. But Jack didn’t do that just for me. He did that for everyone. It filled them out as characters.

On his love of comic books: growing up my titles were Werewolf by Night, Man-Thing, Spiderman, Incredible Hulk, Fantastic Four. Just like any adult does when they get older and get a few shekels, I collect the books I didn’t get to collect when I was a kid. So, every convention I go to, I buy comic books. Right now, I’m focusing on The Incredible Hulk. I’m just collecting up to the point where I quit collecting as a kid, around 1974 or so. I’ve got a bunch of Hulk. It’s not a huge collection yet, but I figure I have two sons, and I’ll give it to them when it’s time.

On what superhero he’d like to play: Well, since the Hulk has been taking already, I would say Deathlok; I always thought he was cool and wicked. I’d also say Man-Thing, but then I’d have to spend all that time in the suit.

[More to come!]

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Warehouse 13 has been a fan-favorite on the Syfy network for the last 5 seasons due to its warm heart, fun steam-punk/science fiction/historical magic sensibility, and the wonderful ensemble cast that totally pegs the idea of a family of misfits who, by the way, save the world on a regular basis. The show is coming to an end, perhaps a bit too soon, but that’s the way of TV. And so, as the last few episodes run over the next couple weeks, fans are saying their goodbyes to beloved characters.

Eddie McClintock is a TV veteran; one of those hard-working actors whom you’ve seen (and liked) almost everywhere, but who – until Warehouse 13 – had never had a hit. As Secret Service Agent Pete Lattimer, Eddie has brought a goofy charm to the show, creating a character viewers can’t help but love. Pete Lattimer is somewhere between your goofy-but-protective older brother, and a playful hound who wants to chase his tail, but will stick by your side through thick and thin.

As part of Syfy’s PR campaign around the sunset of the series, I was lucky enough to have a phone call with Eddie, where we spoke at length about his career, about Warehouse 13 and his character, and about being a geeky dad. This is a synthesis of the second half of our 70-minute conversation. We rambled quite a bit, so to pull together some coherent subjects, I’ve skipped around the chat, and crafted a more linear narrative.

On letting his kids watch his show: I’ve been doing the show five years now, and now they’re seven and eight. The first time I showed them, it was the episode when the thing had attached itself to Pete’s back, and they both started to cry because they thought I was in trouble. But I told them I’m right here, and it’s make-believe. And now, they understand it’s all make-believe, which is good and bad. My older son Jack says he wants to watch Child’s Play, watch Chucky, and I didn’t remember the language. I had to tell them, “okay, we don’t talk like that. If you’re going to stab, fine, just don’t talk like that while you’re stabbing.”

On what makes him happy: Music and film for me are memory triggers. I hear a song and it makes me think of my dad, or it makes me think of friends I have, or I’ve lost, or haven’t seen. Films are the same. I’m a pretty nostalgic guy. I use film and music for that, and it’s great because I’ve had this huge book of DVDs that I collected back when I started making a little money in my career. All the classic Universal horror films. And I hadn’t watched them for like 8-9 years because I had babies, but now that the boys are old enough, they’re really interested. Jack loves Abbott and Costello, and Godzilla, and King Kong. I think we’re going to watch Alien this weekend.

On school and getting into acting: I was a big jock. I wouldn’t have understood D&D. I can only operate with a six-sided die. Six years of college to get a degree. But as a kid, I’d always do impersonations. I always loved the Not Ready for Primetime Players; my parents would let me stay up to watch Saturday Night Live. I’d always use that to make my mom laugh. She was my biggest fan when I was growing up. I just became a jock because you grow up in Ohio, and that’s what you do. I wrestled in high school, and then I went down to Wright State to wrestle. And we’d go to a party, and I’d end up doing Andrew Dice Clay’s routine from back to front, I knew it all. And then I moved to LA to sell corporate insurance for my uncle. I knew I wanted to go to LA. My best friend at the time wanted to be a stand-up comedian. My uncle fired me after 7 months. I was not a good insurance salesman. And then I found my way into production. I became a production assistant. I swept up cigarette butts and got people coffee. And after a couple of years, someone said “you should try out, you should get into acting.” I got into acting classes, and it was the first thing besides sports I really threw myself into. I got sober, which was a big one. I was a jock/party-dog, but I decided to get sober and give this acting thing a try. If it didn’t work out, I’d have to go back to Ohio, but I didn’t want to be the prodigal son coming back with his tail between his legs. And acting class was a great place to meet chicks.

And when I got sober, all my “friends” disappeared, so all I had to do was to go to class, act, and watch other people act. I got a commercial agent, and quickly got two national adds. Two ads for Coors, where we were giants playing football, and bowling in the Rockies.

Finally I had money for gas, and to pay the rent. I wasn’t living the Hollywood lifestyle by any means, but I could support myself. Then I got my first speaking role on The Young and the Restless. My agent was in the dance department of his agency, so to get me in, he listed me as a “street mover,” whatever that is. He calls me, “I’ve got an audition for you on The Young and the Restless. There are lines, but you’re going to have to dance.” I was like, oh my god, no. He just said “go.” I went there, and all the guys were stretching and stuff. When it was my turn to dance, I just did the Spicoli from Fast Times. They were just like “where did you come from? We love you!” and they hired me.

From there, I got cast on Ned & Stacy with Debra Messing and Thomas Hayden Church. I did one episode with three other costars. And at one point, the show runner came in and said “listen, we have to give these guys some lines,” and one of the writers said “give it to him.” They gave me some lines, and I didn’t eff it up. And so, they called me back, and said “we want you to come back by yourself.” Four episodes later, the episode was named “All That Jazz,” and my character was named Jazz, and that was the springboard for me. I did sitcom after sitcom. I’ve done 10 pilots, and 9 of them have been sitcoms. Someone wrote “Eddie McClintock has done more pilots than a stewardess.” I always thought of myself as the most successful anonymous guy in Hollywood. Until Warehouse 13, I was a true journeyman, doing show after show. Every once in a while, I allow myself to feel a little bit of accomplishment in what I’ve been able to do.

On being a working actor and being a dad: Warehouse 13 was shot in Toronto in the dead of winter for five years. I took my family the first year, and after that my wife said “never again.” She’s from South Texas, and it was the first time she’d ever seen snow, and not just snow, but like 20-below wind chill, coming off the lake. I didn’t blame her. It was one of the reasons I moved out of Ohio. So it was really hard. The one year Syfy said you’re going to do 20 episodes, should have been the happiest day of my life, but I started having panic attacks because I started doing the math, and oh my god, I’m going to be gone for nine months. And as the #1 on the show, especially in Toronto, it’s not like I can finish on Friday and jump on a plane. So we lived on Skype. I’d get home from work, and I’d turn the Skype on. We wouldn’t necessarily sit in front of the computer, but we’d have it on and I could hear the sounds of the house. And every now and then I could yell “Jack, get down off there!” God bless my wife, she took care of the boys for five years by herself, mostly.

On if he’d want his kids to get into acting: I don’t know. It depends upon the parents. Fred Savage is a good example. Neil Patrick Harris is a good example. Their parents kept them grounded. If your parents are frank with you about your chances, and realistic, and don’t let you get too high in regards to your wins in the business. The kid from Walking Dead was there at the convention this weekend, and he has a line of adults around the block waiting for him to put pen to paper. And that has to zap your brain as a kid. I think the results of child stars have born out the results. If there’s someone there trying to keep it in prospective, maybe the kids have a chance. I’d like to see the boys do something to help the world, like be a doctor. But I’ve got to tell you, as an actor, you don’t realize. I had a US Marine come up to me down in Denver, and his legs were smashed. He was still on them, still walking, but they were really in bad shape. And he’s like “I did a tour of Afghanistan, and a tour of Iraq, and me and my squad mates would come back and watch Warehouse 13. And when I got my first purple heart, I was in the hospital for two years after because I couldn’t walk and I was in surgeries off and on for two years, and all I did was watch Warehouse 13. Buddy, you kept me alive.” And he gave me his purple heart. That was the strongest indicator for me in my career that I’ve chosen the right thing to do with my life, and maybe every once in a while I’m able to make a difference.

On interacting with the fans: A lot of the fans, the sci-fi fans, they refer to themselves as geeks. A lot of them are introverted, and I think there’s a lot of misfit toys feelings. And so, for the last year or so, I put my chair out in front of the table. I don’t put my chair behind the table. And when people come up, I give them hugs. Most of the time, it feels right. I give hugs, and some people just hold on, and it’s okay. If I’m able to give them something more. Especially if they’re giving me their money, buying a t-shirt, or a picture with a signature. And that’s fine for everyone else, if they don’t, but for me, I feel that if I’m going to take their money, being out front, hugging, and being in their face, is going to make me sleep better at night. I have people on my Twitter say they are so surprised that a “celebrity” can be so nice, but if it gives them a little something, that’s great. Positive energy is better than negative energy.

On what’s next: I’ve been playing a lot of Call of Duty online, getting my k/d ratio up. It’s been pilot season, which was a humbling experience after being the star of a show for five years; going back into mainstream television and hoping there was some cachet from leading a show, and finding out that no one cares. I did the season 6 finale of Castle. But summers are notoriously slow around here. I have a couple more conventions to do, and hopefully something will come up. That’s how it works. Today you’re singing the blues, and tomorrow you get a phone call and you’re the happiest man on earth.

***
I just have to say that this was one of the best “interviews” I’ve gotten to do. Eddie is just a great guy, who happens to have a great job and played a character that a lot of people fell in love with. But at home he’s a dad, and a bit of a goofball, who still seems a bit dumbstruck by the measure of celebrity that the world has doled out for him. And while he may have been a jock once, I think we can consider him a GeekDad now.

And I must suggest that everyone check out Eddie’s art at his website. We own one of the prints, and it’s awesome!

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2014-04-30 Rerun commentary: I use Microsoft Word quite a lot at work, sometimes for writing highly technical documents with lots of equations and figures. Some other people in my office complain a lot about Word, and how bad it is for this sort of thing, and how it is constantly crashing and losing work they have done, or how the formatting never does what they want.

I... have never really had much problem with it. I'm not sure if I use it differently, or if I've just been lucky.

vixyish:

solarbird:

xgenepositive:

mmmahogany:

#john barrowman is having none of your misogynist bullshit

i love that barrowman’s response also distances him from the contestant
"hahahaha women do laundry right john?  you with me, john?"
"don’t lump me in with you, you fucking martian”

This is what I’m talking about when I keep saying that men have to deny the endorsement. This guy wanted Barrowman’s tacit support or agreement for his sexism, as part of bonding through humour. John went nope.

Bolding mine.

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“Dad, can we play The Adventurers?”

This is a question I hear about once a week from my seven-year-old daughter. She is, of course, referring to The Adventurers: The Pyramid of Horus, a game she can’t seem to get enough of. Curiously, this question usually arrives right before bedtime, so we don’t get to play as much as she would like us to.

The basic idea of the game is simple. Enter the pyramid, race to grab as much treasure as you can while avoiding scorpions, cobras, crocodiles, and mummies, and then get out the front door with the most loot before the whole temple collapses around you.

Two to Six Players

The game requires a little set-up, but once that’s done, it’ll take about 30-45 minutes to play, depending on the number of players. It’s designed for two to six players, but we usually have three or four players, which makes for a nicely paced game.

Players can choose from eight different adventurers, a motley crew of international thrillseekers and rogues, none of whom would be out of place in an Indiana Jones film. Each has a special ability they can use once in the game.

The youngest player (my daughter especially likes that part) is given the Ankh Card and starts the game as the Dice Keeper, the player who gets the first moves of each round’s six phases and is responsible for rolling the dice as needed.

Adjust Wound and Load Level (WLL)

Everyone starts the game with a wound and load level of zero, but as the game progresses, players will earn cards that represent either treasure, equipment, or wounds — such as a crocodile bite, cobra bite, scorpion sting, a stone block falling from the ceiling, or the dreaded Mummy’s touch. The more cards you have, the higher your WLL, up to a maximum of 12. Because every card you carry counts against you, players can discard any treasure or equipment cards they no longer want at this phase of the game.

Determine the Number of Actions

As your WLL gets higher, you’ll start to earn fewer actions each round — and the fewer actions you get, the harder it is to move, search for treasure, or even escape the pyramid with your life. On the back of each player card there is a Game Aid for matching up your WLL with the number of actions you get.

Each round, the Dice Keeper rolls the five colored dice to establish how many base actions each player can take during their round. An action is moving a square (diagonal movement is not allowed), searching for treasure, picking a lock, or opening a sarcophagus. While everyone has the same number of base actions, their actual number of actions can vary depending on their WLL, and if they’ve been cursed by the spirits of any idols they’ve plundered (which is detailed below).

Speaking of plunder, the pyramid has four different areas to explore and unearth valuable treasures: the Cobra Nest, the Crocodile Pond, the Scorpion Pit, and the Mummies’ Corridor. The corridor can be especially lucrative, as it has a number of sarcophagi to open and five different idols to liberate, including the much sought-after Horus Idol. But carrying an idol comes with a curse … for each idol you carry, you can’t use the results from the “cursed die” indicated on the idol’s treasure card, which can further limit the number of actions you can take each round.

Of course, these areas aren’t named randomly — each represents a critter that can wound you as you search for treasure … you just never know what’s going to jump out at you when you turn over that rock.

In addition to treasure, players can also find beneficial items in the Cobra Nest, such as the first-aid kit (which removes any one wound — except a mummy’s touch), antidote vial (to cure cobra bites and scorpion stings), a crowbar to help open the idols, a bag to carry more treasure and, of course, the Udjat medallion that lets a player see into the future to avoid falling stone blocks (more on that in a moment).

If a player’s actions (finding treasure or items or getting wounded) causes their WLL to be greater than 12, they have to immediately discard any treasure or item cards of their choice to keep their WLL at the maximum of 12.

Mummies’ Round

It wouldn’t be an adventure into a pyramid without mummies, and this game has three: Initkaes, Sanakht, and Imhotep. Each round after all the players have moved, the Dice Keeper rolls again, this time for the mummies. The three mummies move in a regular pattern keeping to the Mummies’ Corridor, but the number of squares they move depends on the outcome of the roll.

If a player and a mummy share a square, the player is inflicted with the Mummy’s Touch, a wound that cannot be cured or discarded. Get too many of these, and the adventurer turns into a mummy. Their game ends, but they continue to roam the Mummies’ Corridor, acting as a mummy, for the rest of the game.

Stone Blocks

This is where the game gets interesting. After the mummies move, the Dice Keeper draws a numbered stone block (we use the lid of the game box and call it the rock pile) at random, then places that block on the matching numbered square on the game board. If any characters are on that square, they automatically move to an adjacent square of their choice to avoid being crushed and takes a block card to indicate they were wounded. However, if the adventurer is unable to move, they are flattened by the falling stone, ending their adventure.

In some special cases, such as when using the Rasputin character’s clairvoyance power or if the player has discovered the Udjat card during a search, that player can preview which stone block is about to fall and plan accordingly.

It is possible for the pyramid to become sealed by falling stone blocks with some or all of the players still inside.

Pass the Dice

After all actions have been taken, the mummies have moved, and the stone block has fallen, the Dice Keeper passes the Ankh Card and the dice and a new round begins.

Ending the Game

The game ends when all the players have either died, become trapped inside, or successfully escaped from the pyramid with a bag of loot.

Different parts of the the pyramid feature the treasure of different Egyptian deities. For example, the Crocodile Pond falls under the influence of Sobek, the Scorpion Pit is the realm of Hededet, and the different alcoves in the Mummies’ Corridor are ruled by Thoth, Anubis, and Horus.

Players are awarded a Variety Bonus for making it out with various treasures from the different gods, so the more varied your haul is, the higher your chances to win.

Strategies

During our many play sessions, I’ve seen a number of different strategies. One strategy, frequently employed by my youngest daughter, is to search for treasure every turn and completely avoid going for the higher-value idols. She’s won this way quite a few times, much to the frustration of her older sister.

Another strategy is to go right for the high-value idols in the Mummies’ Corridor. This requires careful timing to avoid the mummies in the inner chamber but can be quite lucrative if you get a few different idols and big ticket treasures. If you’re carrying more than one idol, though, escaping can be a challenge because of multiple curses.

But I’ve found that the most consistently effective strategy is to go after a single idol, plunder a few high-value items from the alcoves along the Mummies’ Corridor, and search for some incidentals on the way out.

Our family always enjoys playing this game, so you can bet we’ll be playing The Adventurers: The Pyramid of Horus on International TableTop Day .

So, what will you be playing?

All photos by the author, except where noted.

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When I reviewed Card Wars, the latest iOS game to spring to wonderful life from the delightfully demented world of Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time, some of you seemed equally interested in hearing my take on the real-world equivalent. This was, of course, all the prodding I needed to beg Cryptozoic Entertainment for a copy of their already hard-to-find Finn vs. Jake Collector’s Pack.

So, y’know, thanks for that that!

This physical version plays slightly different than its digital cousin. In the absence of a leveling system, values like players’ hit points and Action points are static: 25 and two, respectively. Similarly, this starter pack lacks a few of the more whimsical cards “captured” through gameplay in the virtual world like the famed Strawberry Butt. Still, with two full decks, eight landscape cards and ample damage counters included in the box – not to mention a transparent red plastic piece that can be used to uncover an exclusive card code for the iOS iteration (a la the classic Transformers Tech Specs) – there’s more than enough fun to be found inside.

While a little knowledge of the iOS game may help you quickly grasp the flow of Card Wars, it’s by no means a prerequisite. This trading card game is beautifully simple, and that makes it a nice choice for family gaming. To begin you simply choose your deck – Jake’s cards are themed for Cornfield environments, while Finn’s Pig and Cool Dog reside in the Blue Plains – position your Landscapes opposite those of your opponent and draw a five-card hand.

The turn sequence begins as a player draws a fresh card, uses his two Actions to play creatures, buildings or spells (each card has its Action cost clearly displayed) and chooses whether or not to Floop active cards. For those not in the know, this is a function that adds helpful buffs but prevents the creature(s) in question from attacking in the turn’s final phase. It’s easily Card Wars‘ attack mechanic that I like best.

As the object of the game is to directly exhaust an opponent’s HP, eliminating enemy creatures from adjacent lanes while preserving your own to soak up dealt damage is key. And while Flooped characters can’t attack on your turn, they can still retaliate during your enemy’s attack phase. This leads to some interesting tactics as you weigh the potential attack damage of a creature against the effects or its Flooped state.

There are a few additional rules, like the ability to cash in unused Actions to draw more cards, but if you can grok the simple flow of prepare -> attack -> reset you can be an effective Card Warrior. It’s Card Wars’ nicely streamlined gameplay that easily appeals to geeks of all ages, and, as the key to winning includes things like simple math, reading comprehension and creative reasoning, it’s not a stretch to say any given round is full of teachable moments for those who choose to play with their younger brood.

In the end the triumph of the Cool Guy (the winner) and the shame of the Dweeb (the loser) are the only motivations required to make Card Wars a compelling experience, and the ability to adjust a deck to your own play style adds another fine dimension. In fact, my only complaint is that Cryptozoic can’t seem to churn out product fast enough to satisfy the rabid Adventure Time fanbase. In addition to this Finn vs. Jake Collector’s Pack, there’s also a BMO vs. Lady Rainicorn set available, but, sadly, the For the Glory! booster packs won’t be available until later this month. In the meantime players will simply have to be content mining the fun and utter lunacy of these core decks, and thankfully there’s plenty of both to be found.

Review material provided by: Cryptozoic Entertainment

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You should know right up front: Pleasant Dreams features creepy dreamlike artwork, so if you’re easily spooked, you should just avoid this altogether. But if you like the idea of a card game about trying not to wake up screaming, then read on.

At a glance: Pleasant Dreams is a card game for 1 or 2 players, ages 13 and up, and plays in under 10 minutes. It’s currently raising funds on Kickstarter, with a $15 pledge level to get a copy of the game. For parents, the limiting factor isn’t the complexity of the game, but the creepiness factor of the artwork. If you’ve got kids who don’t mind horror then they could probably play it, but I’m sure my own kids would have trouble sleeping.

Components

The game consists of 25 Tarot-sized cards, with an additional 4 cards with the rules printed on them, and two glass beads for tracking “wakefulness.” Here’s the breakdown of the cards:

• 2 Wakefulness cards
• 2 Barrier cards
• 2 Premonition cards
• 9 Bear cards
• 6 Small Scare cards
• 4 Big Scare cards

The Kickstarter page hints at stretch goals as well, so it is possible there will be additional cards later. The artwork on the cards by Wayne Dorrington is a skillful blend of sweet and scary. It has the feel of vintage illustrations of toys at first glance, but with details that make you shudder upon closer inspection.

The tarot-size cards are nice for the game because they’re large and show off the artwork, but they also contribute to the eerie, ominous feeling of the game: as you flip cards, you’re finding out your fate.

How to Play

The full rules are available here as a PDF.

The goal of the game is to survive the night (the whole deck) without waking up in terror. If either player reaches “5″ on their Wakefulness card, then that player loses the game.

Each player starts with Wakefulness, The Premonition, and The Barrier. The rest of the cards are shuffled into a deck. You start with a glass marker on “1″ on the Wakefulness track. The Premonition card can be used once during the game to peek at the top three cards in the deck, and The Barrier can be used to prevent the effects of one card with either the “check” or “equal” icons.

The cards in the deck are double-sided. Those with an “equal” icon are the same on the front and the back. The Bear cards, which have a “flip” icon, have “Time for Bed” on one side, with three possibilities on the back. And the backs of the Bear cards have “check” icons on the back.

On your turn, you pick a number between one and five, indicating how many dream fragments you want to experience. You draw that many cards and place them next to the deck, and then experience them in reverse order (the last one drawn is the first one you experience). Some cards, marked with “-1,” decrease your wakefulness; others increase your wakefulness by one or two steps. If at any point your wakefulness reaches 5, then you wake up in terror and lose.

After you’ve encountered a Bear card with the “flip” icon, you have a choice: you may either discard it with the rest of the cards you’ve encountered (without looking at the back), or you may flip it over and return it to the deck. Flipping it over reduces your wakefulness by an additional point. Both players get to see which Bear is on the back, and then you get to secretly choose a location in the deck to place the flipped card (without looking at any of the other cards).

Cards with “equal” signs or “check” signs (the backs of the “flip” cards) are discarded after encountering them.

To win, you have to complete your turn, still be asleep, and have no cards left in the deck. So it’s possible for both players to lose because they both wake up before the deck runs out.

Solo play is similar to the two-player game, except that when you choose to flip a card, the flipped card must be placed roughly in the center of the deck each time.

Verdict

The gameplay of Pleasant Dreams isn’t too difficult, and probably kids much younger than 13 would be able to figure it out. However, if you’re a parent then you’d know whether your kids can handle creepy pictures like a mobile made with an eyeball, a dead rat, and a headless teddy bear. While there’s nothing explicitly scary while you play the game, everything sort of makes you shudder when you see it. (And if you don’t think a Jack in the Box is scary, then maybe you should go watch the winner of Studio 360′s Scary Short Film Fest…)

I tried playing Pleasant Dreams both solo and two-player, and it’s good for a quick game either way. The two-player version is fun because if you choose to flip a Bear card, both of you get to see if it’s good or bad, and then you can try to place it somewhere that will help you or harm the other player. In that case, it’s a matter of predicting how many cards your opponent might flip on their next turn. It turns out I’m really bad at this: when I got a good card, I placed it four cards in, thinking that the other player would only draw three—and they drew four. Then I got a bad card and placed it just below the top card … and the opponent only drew one, leaving that bad bear right on top for me.

The game reminds me only very slightly of Onirim, another small card game about escaping nightmares, although that one is quite a bit more involved and the art is more cheerful. But the overall sense of being lost in a dream world is still there in both games.

It’s not a game I’d play with my kids, and at 5-10 minutes per game it’s not going to be the event focus of a game night, but I think it’s a fun one to keep around for a quick filler game between things, or if you just want to give yourself some chills while you’re sitting out a game. I’m not generally a fan of horror myself, but I can see the appeal.

Pleasant Dreams probably won’t give most adults actual nightmares, but if you want to tempt fate, give it a shot. For more information and to back the game, visit the Kickstarter page.

Disclosure: GeekDad received a demo prototype for review purposes.

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The latest from Portland’s geek-folk sister act celebrates love. And also Mexican food.

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xombiedirge:

8-Bit Ghibli Series by Richard J. Evans

Kevin Wu made a straightforward interactive that lets you see IMDB television ratings over time, per episode and by season.

Graph TV is a visualization tool which graphs tv show ratings by episode. Each season is assigned a different color and linear regressions are calculated for each season as well as for the entire series. Each point on the graph displays the episode title, rating, and other data. The data points are clickable and will open its IMDb entry. The graphs are also exportable for offline use.

The chart above shows ratings for The Office, and as you can see, the trend lines are weak a lot of the time. Fitted curves would probably work better for the noise, but then you have a show like Mad Men. It seems to rise in goodness as a season progresses (at least for seasons 1, 2, 3, and 5).

See also Happy Days, where the shark-jumping episode isn't obvious (although the season probably is), Prison Break, where it seems obvious why it was cancelled, and The Daily Show and its steady rise.

griffstream:

- hellooooo Monday…

Share and Enjoy:

If there’s any animal that’s in desperate need of a good snuggle, it’s the poor misunderstood Blobfish — so named because it looks like, well, a blob.

In 2013, the blobfish exploded into Internet memedom when it was given the ignoble title of  “Ugliest Animal in the World” by the Ugly Animal Preservation Society.

Even though The Smithsonian quickly came to its defense and Michael Hearst featured the blobfish on an episode of Songs for Unusual Creatures, the damage was done.

So, yeah, the blobfish needs a hug. And now, thanks the delightfully pink and much-cuter-than-real-life Blobfish Plush from our good friends at ThinkGeek,  you can give it one.

ThinkGeek refers to the blobfish the Grumpy Cat of the Sea — who just so happens to have a plush likeness of her own.

Now the Plush Blobfish may not be to everyone’s liking, but that’s where the Blobfish Truffle comes in.

 

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Ape Lad posted a photo:

The Merchmakr compact screen printing system is a Kickstarter project that looks very interesting, mostly because of its unique approach to printing multiple colors, which they call “HotSwap.”

My first full-time job was as at a screen printing shop in 1978; I hand-cut color separations for athletic gear, team shirts and various other garments, as well as laying out embroidery designs for letterman jackets and motorcycle gang patches. I’ve worked off-and-on in screen printing throughout my career, designing t-shirts for a wide variety of clients. In 1985, I bought a single-color printer of my own and had a little sideline printing original designs for sale at local boutiques and the occasional flea market or swap meet. If the Merchmakr had existed then, I would have happily snapped it up instead of the cumbersome and crudely-made stand I ended up with (and still have, though I haven’t used it in a few years).

When I first saw the Merchmakr’s Kickstarter solicitation, I thought it looked interesting, but there were a few red flags in my mind, based on my previous experience. First is the idea of changing screens on the fly; registration (alignment to make sure the colors line up together as they should) is always tricky and usually involves several test prints to get it right. The idea of switching screens to print a shirt seemed impossible to me. Second was the mention of water-based inks. I prefer plastisol (a rubbery solvent-based ink that requires heating to 320 degrees in order to cure) because when I’ve tried water-based inks, they dry in the screen quickly, plugging the design and causing bad prints. I was certain that the time it takes to change screens would pretty much guarantee drying and plugging.

But rather than go with my initial suspicions, I emailed the Merchmakr folks (DIY Screen Printing Supplies) and asked them about it. Turns out my suspicions were valid, but they have taken pains to address them and solve those problems. The fact that this machine is a product from an actual screen printing supply company is very reassuring; they actually understand the needs of printers.

The solution to the registration issue is surprisingly simple and brilliant. Typically, the screens for a design are prepared with very little regard for registration, assuming that they will be adjusted on the press; most screen printing machines allow for a wide degree of adjustment in all directions, so it almost doesn’t matter how the artwork is put on the screens. Merchmakr takes the opposite approach; their screen frames include a registration tab that makes sure the frames are mounted in the same position, and they created an exposure unit that allows them to create the screens in place on the press. If the screens are properly installed on the press, the registration is already perfect because the screens were made that way from the start.

Ink drying in the screens is a common problem with the low-end “hobbyist” inks that are most commonly used by the amateur printer. The Matsui brand professional ink that comes with the Merchmakr has a longer drying time and doesn’t plug the screen. Also, the specially-designed clamp for the screens allows them to be changed and set in place very rapidly. Here’s a video demonstrating the process. As you can see, it’s simple enough that kids can do it.

One of the uses they suggest for the system is printing shirts on-site for bands or teams; under those circumstances, the process becomes a spectator event, and the customers are happy to stand and watch, so speed is not essential the way it would be in a production shop where hundreds of shirts need to go out every day.

Screen printing is one of the easiest and least expensive businesses to get into; the skills are mastered quickly, the equipment and supplies are not horrifically expensive, and it’s possible to get up and running with a simple single-color printer operating out of a garage or spare room. Several of the largest screen printers in the world started out with a simple setup like that.

The Merchmakr is an ideal system for the young entrepreneur or artist who wants to get into the screen printing industry on a budget. It’s not a production machine; trying to print hundreds of multicolor shirts at a time would be an exercise in madness (DIY sells those multi-color print stands too, if you want to outfit a pro shop), but for short runs of 2-3 color designs, it would be completely suitable, and as a single-color machine it’s very competitive. If you’re planning to print a dozen or so shirts a year, that (now discontinued) flimsy plastic Yudo machine would do, but the Merchmakr is a vastly superior machine, much more solidly constructed, for a price not much higher. If you want to do small quantities, printing a few dozen shirts at a time for your band, club, school or team, or short runs of any sort, then Merchmakr is the best deal I’ve seen in a long time. I could also see a high school art class using this system for projects.

If you have a kid who is interested in creating their own t-shirt (or tote bags, jackets, etc) for sale, you may want to get in on this Kickstarter campaign while you can. If I were still doing screen printing projects myself, I’d be jumping at it.

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ivorysorrows:

miyuli:

Finally, I can present you my little comic ‘Hearts for Sale’. These are the first 10 pages.
I’m very nervous about this since it’s my first self-published book. I hope you like the story. Following pages are coming soon!

Beautiful. Breathtaking. I am in love with the heartsmith

cah:

Yep.

Since 2008 Hungarian/German graphic designer David Szakaly has been churning out some of the most dizzying, hypnotic and wholly original gifs on the web under the name Davidope. His blend of twisting organic forms, flashes of black and white, and forays into pulsing technicolor shapes have inspired legions of others to experiment with the medium, many of whom have been featured here on Colossal. It’s hard to determine the scale of Szakaly’s influence online, but a simple Google image search for “animated gif” brings up dozens of his images that have been shared around Tumblr hundreds of thousands of times.

Szakaly began experimenting with the vector animation program Macromedia Flash back in 1999 where he used the software to create presentations, banners, and other creatives for clients. It was nearly a decade later when he decided to dedicate more time to experimenting with motion graphics and found that Tumblr was a great platform to share his quirky gifs. While he still works in the corporate world on other digital projects, he has also found commercial success making animations for clients around the world. Though it’s his personal work that really stands out. If or when gifs end up on gallery walls, it will be hard to deny Szakaly’s role in getting them there.

There’s not much more info that the topline news, save that Brad Bird is at least working on the The Incredibles story (though no word on if he’ll direct). I like the Cars movies well enough, but I LOVE The Incredibles, and am really happy we’re going to see them again.

[Disney/Pixar on Facebook]

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Ape Lad posted a photo:

Ape Lad posted a photo:

fieldnotesfromabroad:

policymic:

Reddit users freak everyone out with 2-sentence horror stories

Follow policymic

JEEEEZUS!!