In the reveal of the PAX East 2012 Omegathon finale - Crokinole - the Canadian National Anthem was performed by Paul, Storm, and Jonathan Coulton.
Topics: pax, convention, conventions, panel, clip, canada, national anthem, omegathon finale
These may not be the top 40 board games ever designed, nor is it the top 40 influential or otherwise important games. If you aspire to really understand tabletop, or if you have visions of designing your own games, these are the 40 games that, if you play them, will give you the widest possible perspective on what it means to make a good game (and what "good" even means). Presented at MAGFest 2018 by the GeekNights crew as part of the MAGES track:...
Topics: magfest, panel, convention, conventions, board games, rpgs, top 40
20
20
Aug 1, 2020
08/20
by
Rym DeCoster
movies
eye 20
favorite 0
comment 0
Presented at many conventions since 2002, from Otakon to Anime Boston, GeekNights finally videoed their advice on how to run an anime club. Some things have changed over the years (you don't need LaserDisc player or VHS library anymore), but most things haven't (dealing with "that guy"). Here is the brutal, honest truth on what it takes to run an anime club.
Topics: Anime Boston, anime, convention, conventions, club, geeknights, governance, organization
Some game mechanics are common. Drafting cards. Rolling dice. Choosing actions. Worker placement. They are used in many games for a variety of reasons. But what about the weird ones? Ever play a game with a Rondel? Experience the glory of a "Promise Cube?" Wait until we talk about what can only be described as "Bohnanza Hand!" Join the GeekNights crew for a deep exploration of the rarely used (sometimes for a reason) mechanics of tabletop games. Presented by GeekNights at...
Topics: magfest, panel, convention, conventions, geeknights, game mechanics, video games, board games
How do I get into tabletop gaming? How do I talk about board games I like? How about the ones I hate? How do I find more I want to play? How do I avoid those that would waste my time? How do I preserve my hard earned dollars? Join this expert panel as they get into the details you need and want to know about board games – from how to talk like a board game enthusiast to criticize them and find a critic you like. Moderated by: Jon Bolding [Senior Tabletop Editor, The Escapist] Panelists: Luke...
Topics: pax, convention, conventions, panel, geeknights, tabletop, ttrpgs
Learn how to play one of board gaming’s all-time greats: Puerto Rico. Then, go deep with a tips and strategy session from Rym and Scott, hosts of the GeekNights podcast. Stick around to play a full game of Puerto Rico and see who can best put strategy into practice.
Topics: pax, convention, conventions, board games, geeknights, puerto rico, learn and play
Slides: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1K9NbXii062LWnV1YIhUx01MQ3ljTAAV0NB-50uIeHyI/edit The rules of a game literally define it. In videogames, they are intrinsic limitations. In tabletop, players must enforce them. In all games, players need to learn them. There are good and bad ways to teach a game. From awful tutorials to unparseable rulebooks, elegant demos to hour-long slogs, join us for a mechanical discussion of how game rules are (and should be) written, how players learn...
Topics: pax, convention, conventions, panel, geeknights, tabletop games, game design, rules, teaching
Luke Crane (Burning Wheel, Mouse Guard, Torchbearer), Sage LaTorra (Dungeon World) and Adam Koebel (Dungeon World) talk trash about boring ideas fantasy RPGs while waxing poetic about OSR and indie RPGs. Drawing on over a decade of experience publishing fantasy RPGs, they promise to offend sensibilities and enlighten the curious to worlds undreamed. Presented at PAX Prime 2013 in the Raven theatre.
Topics: pax, convention, conventions, panel, tabletop, rpgs, indie
Presented at PAX East 2013 on Saturday on the Tabletop Theatre, our 21st PAX panel/lecture, in "Mastering Game Mechanics" we take you through a variety of "game mechanics" and consider their use and purpose. From the PAX East Schedule: Despite the staggeringly vast variety of games out there in the world, they draw primarily from a core set of basic mechanics. Many games which at first seem very different share fundamental design patterns, subgames, and strategies. What is a...
Topics: pax, convention, conventions, geeknights, panel, game mechanics, tabletop games, video games, game...
Winning is good, and losing is bad. We strive to win, and this is the basis for most of the games we play. Challenges are binary: we either overcome them, advancing the story, or fail, and must try again. But, what if we were to toss this conventional wisdom aside? Do we really only have fun when we win? Have you ever had that moment in a game where epic and total failure was the most memorable part? What kinds of games would arise if we strove to make losing, instead of winning, the point?...
Topics: pax, convention, conventions, panel, game theory, game design, geeknights, lecture
Games can make their money many ways, but how do these models affect, intentionally or not, the design choices of the game makers themselves? What about the players? Do you play a game differently depending on how you paid for it? Free to play, pay once, subscription, or silly hats, what do these different models mean to games at their core? Only ten rupees; hopefully you won't have to pay the door repair charge. We (Rym and Scott of GeekNIghts: www.frontrowcrew.com) presented this first at PAX...
Topics: pax, convention, conventions, geeknights, monitization, game design
Gaming livestreams are some of the most popular television programs in the US. There are entire TV networks covering gaming that have existed for decades. Yet, many self-described gamers will eschew football and ice hockey as being somehow distinct from DOTA 2 and CounterStrike. We even like to use the term eSport to separate them from sports. Sports and eSports are fundamentally the same. American football is frighteningly like a distributed turn-based strategy game. Game Mechanics, Game...
Topics: pax, convention, conventions, panel, geeknights, sports, esports, game design
Scott form GeekNights ran a "trial version" of Action Castle during the main Gabe and Tycho QA at PAX East 2010.
Topics: pax, convention, conventions, clip, question, action castle, penny arcade, webcomic
D&D is a great way to get into tabletop role playing games, and for most of us, it was our first foray into that world. As classic and dear to us as it is, however, it has certain limitations. If all you have is a hammer, then suddenly everything starts to look like a nail. Role playing systems are no different. The system that handles a raucous dungeon crawl is probably not well tuned for a cyberpunk procedural or modern romantic comedy. Burning Wheel, Dogs in the Vineyard, Inspectres,...
Topics: pax, convention, conventions, geeknights, Dungeons and Dragons, tabletop rpgs, indie
Intro (0:00) - This is the introduction to that panel. MMORPGs are Anything But (1:13) - This is the first of these mini panels from the Wyvern Theatre. They argue that MMORPGs as we know them are not in fact anything like what their "genre" would lead us to believe. The Game Makes the Community (15:59) - This is the second of these mini panels from the Wyvern Theatre. They argue that the communities around particular games are not independent of their foci, but rather are actually...
Topics: pax, panel, convention, conventions, geeknights, mmorpgs, video games, community, dudebro, memes,...
PAX South 2016 Scared Yet: A Discussion of Horror in Games Jump scare! Kris Straub (Broodhollow, Candle Cove) and a panel of esteemed horror and video game enthusiasts hold an informal roundtable on where fear works best in gaming, and where it doesn't make the cut. Come for the frightening… stay for the enlightening! Nope, that was bad. Please delete that. PANELISTS: Kris Straub [Chainsawsuit], Alanah Pearce [Editor, IGN], Dabe Alan [Penny Arcade], Rym DeCoster [Producer, GeekNights], Alex...
Topics: pax, convention, conventions, panel, geeknights, horror, video games, game design
Rym and Scott of GeekNights (www.frontrowcrew.com) bring to you a montage of some of their highlights from PAX Prime 2011. Some games, some ponies, some panels: everything that could fit inside of the GeekNights theme song (credit as always to djpretzel (http://ocremix.org/artist/4279/djpretzel).
Topics: pax, convention, conventions, montage, geeknights
Some discussions, important as they may be, require not an entire hour for one to come to a satisfactory conclusion. Your PAX minutes are precious, so take this opportunity to get three panels for the price of one! We present for the approval and consideration of the audience three short subjects in gaming. (0:00) - "When the Game Plays the Player" explores rhythm games, such as Dance Dance Revolution, both from a historical and game design perspective. Dive deep into the sometimes...
Topics: pax, panel, convention, conventions, geeknights, mind control, ethics, video games, game design,...
These may not be the top 41 board games ever designed, nor are they the top 41 influential or otherwise important games. If you aspire to really understand tabletop, or if you have visions of designing your own games, these are the 41 games that, if you play them, will give you the widest possible perspective on what it means to make a good game (and what "good" even means). Join the GeekNights crew for an exploration of the boundaries of tabletop gaming. There are some gems in...
Topics: pax, convention, conventions, panel, tabletop games, rpgs
Rym and Scott of GeekNights (www.frontrowcrew.com) appeared on two panels at MagFest X - "Gamer Motivations" and "Money Making Games" - and also presented a lecture: "Beyond Dungeons & Dragons." In "Money Making Games," alongside Dr. Chris Hazard (who you likely know from Achron (http://www.achrongame.com/)), the many myriad issues around game design in the context of monetization, along with several tangents, are discussed. This was part of the...
Topics: magfest, convention, conventions, panel, geeknights, monitization, video games
Presented by GeekNights at PAX East 2018! These may not be the top 40 board games ever designed, nor is it the top 40 influential or otherwise important games. If you aspire to really understand tabletop, or if you have visions of designing your own games, these are the 40 games that, if you play them, will give you the widest possible perspective on what it means to make a good game (and what "good" even means). Join the GeekNights crew for an exploration of the boundaries of...
Topics: pax, convention, conventions, panel, geeknights, top 40, tabletop games, rpgs
These may not be the top 40 games ever designed, nor are they the top 40 influential or otherwise important games. If you aspire to really understand games, or if you have visions of designing your own, these are 40 games that, if you play them, will give you the widest possible perspective on what it means to make a good game (and what "good" even means). You can find the slides here: http://frontrowcrew.com/news/166/thank-you-pax-west-2019/ Presented by GeekNights at PAX West 2019,...
Topics: pax, panel, convention, conventions, geeknights, video games, board games, rpgs
GeekNights presented three lectures at PAX East 2011, among them "Game Mechanics and Mechanism Design." Here, Rym and Scott introduce the audience to the bare basics of Game Theory so as to be able to explain how important a field of study called "Mechanism Design" should be (but isn't) to gaming and game design. In short summary, "Mechanism Design" is the study of games from an interested perspective. That is to say, that the game designer has a vested interest in...
Topics: pax, convention, conventions, panel, geeknights, game mechanics, mechanism design, game design,...
Presented at the Penny Arcade Expo 2013 in Seattle (Wolfman Theatre). the eye of the beholder? Is one's miserable experience not simply subjective opinion? Is there such a thing as an objectively "bad" game? More importantly, however we define the term, do bad games serve a purpose? Much as how without evil, there can be no good, without the worst of gaming, how could we possibly recognize the best? It turns out that the problem is not in defining what makes a game "bad,"...
Topics: pax, convention, conventions, panel, geeknights, video games, game design
Ever wonder what it's like to walk through a PAX Expo Hall with Rym and Scott? In a lofty experiment, GeekNights livestreams from the Penny Arcade Expo Prime 2014. But, since they're no bandwidth in the expo hall, they actually just record it and upload it later. Let's Play the Expo Hall! This is an experiment. The audio is clipped. The camerawork is shoddy. Raw and mostly unedited (long conversations, fighting crowds, going to the bathroom redacted for obvious reasons), this is a good sense of...
Topics: pax, geeknights, convention, conventions, expo hall, walk around, vlog
Every year, Scott and I attend MAGFest not just to lecture, but also to sit as panelists alongside the rest of the MAGFest "Gaming Intellectuals" on various gaming topics. This one, from MAGFest 11 (2013), explores the very idea of ethics in videogames (and games in general). From the convention book: Video Game Ethics Is it truly ethical to design a game to be addictive, or is "addictiveness" simply a sign of good design? Do games change us in more ways than we might...
Topics: magfest, convention, conventions, mages, geeknights, ethics, video games
At ConnectiCon 2014, something magical happened. Pretend there's an old, cranky guy who doesn't know who has never seen or heard anything about Homestuck and needs it explained to him. Now remove the word pretend. Best explanation wins a prize. The Master of Ceremonies and eponymous Old Guy is none other than Constantine von Hoffman, regular performer at ConnectiCon.
Topics: connecticon, panel, convention, conventions, homestuck, web comic
Ragequit isn't the only form of quitting. People stop playing games for a huge range of reasons. They get bored, they get frustrated, they get distracted, they sometimes literally just forget. It seems simple, but it isn't. Quitting is an option that's there whether the game designer wants it or not, an intrinsic mechanic of all games, and it's a far deeper topic than you might expect. Presented by Rym DeCoster and Scott Rubin (GeekNights) at Magfest 2017 as part of the MAGES track.
Topics: magfest, panels, geeknights, convention, conventions, quitting, game design, video games, board...
You wouldn't judge a book by its cover, but anime is a whole different ball game. What if we reviewed anime SOLELY by their covers? Would these reviews be accurate? If so, why? Anime, moreso than other works in other media, seem truer to their marketing material, and it is our hypothesis that one truly can "review" anime to a great degree soley by their covers. We review all of the upcoming Spring 2016 Anime Season based solely on a single image and a paragraph of text. Presented at...
Topics: geeknights, panel, anime boston, convention, conventions, anime, reviews
As you know, GeekNights (www.frontrowcrew.com) was in force at MAGFest X with two panels, a lecture, copious amounts of alcohol, and four days of 24/7 gaming! We present for your consideration some highlights. Our coverage of MAGFest X: http://frontrowcrew.com/geeknights/20120112/magfest-x/ All footage taken by us with two very important exceptions! Special thanks to PAX Community DVD! (http://www.paxcommunitydvd.net/) Nobou Colossus Roaring: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBYjlggRLPE One Ups...
Topics: magfest, convention, geeknights, montage
You wouldn't judge a book by its cover, but anime is a whole different ball game. What if we reviewed anime SOLELY by their covers? Would these reviews be accurate? If so, why? Anime, moreso than other works in other media, seem "truer" to their marketing material, and it is our hypothesis that one truly can "review" anime to a great degree soley by their covers. https://www.animeboston.com/coninfo/schedule_panel/889 Rym and Scott are featured panelists every year at Anime...
Topics: anime boston, convention, conventions, geeknights, anime, reviews
Presented at PAX East 2013 on Saturday on the Tabletop Theatre, our 22nd PAX panel/lecture, we discuss a variety of game theory concepts and terms from the perspective of practical use as players of games. Being familiar with basic concepts like "cooperation" or "utility," coupled with an extended study of the "toy" games that actually exist as subgames within your games, you will be able to form more powerful heuristics for making good decisions. We touch...
Topics: pax, convention, conventions, panel, geeknight, game theory, tabletop games, video games, game...
Balancing games is deceptively difficult. Even worse, there are subtle reasons why even if a game is perfectly, mathematically, demonstrably balanced, players will likely have even LESS fun. From systems like Microsoft TrueSkill or ELO rankings to everyone complaining about how overpowered Hanzo is (he’s not), join GeekNights for an exploration of how and why (and sometimes why NOT) to balance games.
Topics: pax, convention, conventions, panel, geeknights, balance, game design, video games, board games
Panel presented at PAX East 2017 by GeekNights. Ostensibly, you play games to win. (Assuming we're talking about competitive games: you're not playing to "win" Dungeons & Dragons… are you?) But are really? Shouldn't you be winning a lot more often? Maybe you should try that cheap strategy you've heard about. Punch below the belt. Memorize the deck. Read the FAQ. What's the line between playing to win and cheating? Is "playing dirty" even really a thing? Come for the...
Topics: pax, convention, conventions, panel, geeknights, game design, winning, tabletop games, video games
PAX Prime 2012. I heard there was a wedding there. GeekNights was also there http://frontrowcrew.com/news/91/pax-prime-2012/). PAX was expanded. Good times were had. The song is a Hornpipe2 OverClocked Remix (http://www.ocremix.org/) Overdrive (http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00073/)
Topics: pax, convention, conventions, montage, geeknights
Presented by GeekNights at PAX Unplugged 2017. Go deep on the strategy of Carcassonne with a lecture from Rym and Scott, hosts of the GeekNights podcast. Then stick around for a special single-elimination Carcassonne tournament and put those tips to work. We begin by teaching the full rules of Carcassonne, with visual aides and examples. We then dive deep into the strategy of Carcassonne, teaching players not just now to play, but how to WIN. After the panel, the GeekNights crew ran a...
Topics: pax, convention, conventions, learn and play, geeknights, carcassonne
PAX East 2012 was the third PAX East in history. We (GeekNights) were there lecturing, hanging out, and most importantly: gaming! PAX East (and PAX Prime) are the highlights of our year every year. They're like no other cons! The song is a Chuck Dodgers OverClocked Remix (http://www.ocremix.org/) LaserDance (http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00132/)
Topics: pax, convention, conventions, geeknights, montage
Burning Apocalypse con (https://www.burningwheel.com/) showcased the triumphs of tabletop role playing game design from the minds of Luke Crane and Vincent Baker. Here, Rym and Scott of GeekNights (www.frontrowcrew.com) asked the question "How did you find Burning Wheel?", and the answers are herein. Thanks to The Al Holbrook Band for their song "Burning Wheel" - http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Al-Holbrook-Band/268856187844 We have some related GeekNights content for those...
Topics: burning apocalypse, convention, conventions, burning wheel, ttrpg, geeknights
Game design is a wide subject. The best approach to mastering it is to focus on the fundamentals, and what better place to do that than with Atari 2600 games? Join us for a deep game design analysis of classic competitive Atari games like Outlaw, and how their core concepts extend to modern games. When you can literally count the pixels with your eyes, and the code will fit in your calculator, the core principles of good (and bad) design become starkly apparent. PANELISTS: Brandon Rym DeCoster...
Topics: pax, convention, conventions, panel, geeknights, atari, game design, game development, video games
Panel presented at the Penny Arcade Expo 2014 on Monday at Noon in the Sandworm Theatre! It seems obvious that, when playing a game of skill, one attempts to win. Interestingly, this is often not the case, and even skilled gamers rarely analyze to any real depth the underlying mechanics and strategy of a given game. By deconstructing the games we play, you too can make them far less fun for yourself and beat the ever living hell out of your friends. We'll hit the theory pretty heavily, but also...
Topics: pax, convention, conventions, panel, geeknights, winning, stregities, game theory
In the 80s, we were told Dungeons & Dragons would make us all satanists. In the 90s, first person shooters and Mortal Kombat were supposed to make us all murderers. Games have joined the long and storied history of books, music, movies, and television being primed to destroy us all. Thankfully, most of the fears around how games might harm us have proven false, misleading, or downright ridiculous. So what’s left? Lootboxes? What is the REAL harm of games? And what can we do about it?
Topics: pax, convention, conventions, panel, geeknights, video games
Presented by GeekNights at PAX East 2014 on Friday at 1:00pm in the Badger Theatre. In gaming forums around the world, variations of the same thread forever grace the front page: "Looking for a Gaming Group." Games are ubiquitous, barriers to entry are ever-lower, and the Internet (never mind conventions like PAX) provide what should be a sea of gamers ready and willing to play games with us. So why all the trouble? Why, in 2013, is it still so hard to form a gaming group? Why won't...
Topics: pax, convention, conventions, panel, geeknights, LFG, gaming group, multiplayer, video games
Rym and Scott of GeekNights (www.frontrowcrew.com) appeared on two panels at MagFest X, and also performed this lecture: Beyond Dungeons & Dragons. Herein, they discuss the nature of role playing games, what their mechanics really mean, how they affect play, and why D&D is probably not the best system for the kinds of games you're trying to play. There is a huge catalog of "indie" tabletop RPGs just as there is for video games. Burning Wheel, Dogs in the Vineyard, Inspectres,...
Topics: magfest, convention, conventions, panel, geeknights, tabletop games, rpgs, indie
At PAX East 2012, Scott from GeekNights (www.frontrowcrew.com) asked Tycho to read us a story about a bear and his quest to find his missing hat. It was, shall we say, a moment.
Topics: pax, clip, convention, conventions, i want my hat back, children's book, reading
After having returned from being guests of MAGFest 9, we share our thoughts on the convention. It was a solid con with relatively few issues, and we would definitely consider returning if invited. We start with the bad parts of MAGFest, which basically boil down to a registration disaster and pervasive BO. Beyond that, WOOOARGH! Editor's Note: Special thanks to Rym DeCoster (Geeknights) for recording this back in the day. Originally made in 4 parts, did minor editing so that it all appears in...
Topics: magfest, convention, convnetions, geeknights, review, podcast
PAX East 2011 was the second PAX East in history, and the first in the BCEC, Boston's cavernous venue. If you don't know what to expect from a Penny Arcade Expo, let alone a PAX East, this highlights montage will tell all. It's quite a thing to see. PAX is like no other convention we attend, either as simply fans or as guest speakers.
Topics: pax, convention, montage, geeknights
Presented at the first PAX South in 2015, Rym and Scott lecture on the nature of what it means to be a "bad" game. We’ve all played “bad” games, but what truly makes a game “bad?” Is one’s miserable experience not simply subjective opinion? It turns out that the problem is not in defining what makes a game “bad,” but in what makes a game a “game.” Candyland teaches children colors and counting, but is terrible for a serious tournament. Dungeons & Dragons is...
Topics: pax, panel, convention, conventions, bad games, video games, game design, geeknights
Presented at PAX West 2017, this panel on rage quitting is about how gamers quit, why they quit, and what quitting really means in game design. The table gets flipped. The healer sits down in spawn and plays Rick Astley over the voice chat. The tournament ends in chaos. Friendships die. Why does the quitter rage so? This panel will explore the inglorious exits of gaming. Presented on Sunday at the Penny Arcade Expo by Rym and Scott of GeekNights!
Topics: pax, convention, conventions, panel, geeknights, quitting, video games, board games, game design
Due to a scheduling conflict, we were forced to choose between presenting at either Anime Boston or PAX on Friday in 2012. But fie on that! Shortly before the double-convention weekend, we recorded the Anime Boston presentation and sent the con a DVD! And people showed up to see it! We did make it to AB Saturday for two more events that were actually live at least! Here, we discuss in somewhat random order the ins and outs of running panels and workshops at conventions like PAX or Anime Boston,...
Topics: anime boston, convention, panel, geekngihts
We’ve all played the "30-60 minute" board game that seems to always take exactly four hours. Your definition of "a quick game" always seems to be far from what your friends think. But it doesn’t have to be this way! Join us for a lively discussion of what factors, from game design decisions to players’ interactions, cause games to take too long. We’ll then teach you, in detail, how to take your #@*$ turn! Presented by Rym DeCoster and Scott Rubin (GeekNights) at PAX...
Topics: pax, panel, convention, conventions, geeknights, board games, slow play
