May 22, 2001

11:03 AM

Steve Jackson Games, the makers of such fine pen-and-paper RPGs as Gurps, has been running a blog since 1994. I've been reading it since 1996, and I just now realized: it was the first blog I've ever read. In addition to release information, they also post game industry news, personal stories, and even the Illuminated Site of the Week, all with intimacy and personality we've come to expect from blogs.
posted by tweebiscuit (11 comments total)

They've also been running one fine online magazine (The Pyramid) which publishes Kenneth Hite's fantastic Suppressed Transmissions. They are also the subject of a landmark online privacy case. All that and they make a good game.

Wow, geek check on me.
posted by mister scratch at 1:01 PM on May 22, 2001

Pardon me a moment while I weep real tears, here. I was this close to being their next webmaster, but they went with another applicant. Ahhh, well, so much for my geek bragging rights.
posted by webmutant at 1:23 PM on May 22, 2001

Illuminati looks like a cool game, the deluxe version not the CCG. I tried searching for fan sites but only the company site came up. Anyone have a link for the best fan site?

Is the game any fun?
posted by Brilliantcrank at 1:29 PM on May 22, 2001

gsxl, don't know of any fan sites, but I played the game a few times years back, and loved it.
posted by Doug at 1:33 PM on May 22, 2001

The CCG was as far as I can tell exactly like the original (and current, re-released) game, except it was... collectable. Same cards, same rules, etc. Basically, there's no reason to play INWO (the CCG) anymore -- just go straight for the original.
posted by tweebiscuit at 1:55 PM on May 22, 2001

SJG also runs the first (and for a long time the only) online magazine that I was actually willing to pay money for; you can check out parts of
Pyramid for free on the site, but if you're really into the creation of alternate universes to imagine doing fun stuff in, it's worth the price of subscription.

Back in the Day, I subscribed to The Space Gamer, SJG's hardcopy magazine. It was great, but it was eventually sold to a chain of less and less competent owners, and it eventually self-destructed. Then SJG started Pyramid as a print mag for awhile, and I subscribed to that. For some reason, it works pretty well on the Web also.
posted by davidchess at 2:02 PM on May 22, 2001

Definitely. SJG's Pyramid succeeds because a) they have a community that really desires and needs such information (as opposed to, say, Salon premium, which doesn't appear to offer anything that can't be found elsewhere -- who needs to pay for political commentary? b) They actually provide excellent content that is normally not provided for free. For example, high-quality game scenerios, NPCs, etc.
posted by tweebiscuit at 2:22 PM on May 22, 2001

Finally: a topic I can speak knowledgeably about!

Yes, Illuminati is a fine game, fine game, although you hafta have a fairly high geek quotient to really get into it. I played a lot of it back in college, and even took my copy with me in the Peace Corps where it got played in many a Bolivian tavern. I rarely play it these days though, because it takes so long to play (and doubly so when you are teaching new players). Plus it's the kind of game that tests the limits of friendshi, if you catch my drift.

[Self-linking alert] I actually have a brief review of the new version on my site. If you play a lot of games you should think about getting it; if, however, you rarely play games, you may want to give it a pass: it's not a pastime for casual players.

By the way, if you are checking out the SJ website, besure to visit The Basement, and hit "reload" often.
posted by Shadowkeeper at 2:23 PM on May 22, 2001

Shadowkeeper, thanks for the review. I am surprised that more people are not playing this online if it is so popular. I read on the SJGames web site that a game board had been made to keep track of peoples place in the game. Seems you could play with others via chat or email.
posted by Brilliantcrank at 3:08 PM on May 22, 2001

I bought the SubGenius cards for the Illuminati New World Order game, but never actually played. So I outgeek all of you. =P
posted by ZachsMind at 2:21 AM on May 25, 2001

Well I have a large and powerful set of On the Edge cards, including cards from various expansions, and I've never played a single game. So There! *8)

Is this a common geek behavior pattern? (I hope so...)
posted by davidchess at 8:34 AM on June 13, 2001