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You are here: Home / Archives for Newest Critical Hits / Columns

Departures / Some Playtesting Principles

November 24, 2006 by Dave

I just got my Wii flown in, and boy are my arms tired! No seriously, I’m sore. It’s probably due to going a bit nuts with Wii Sports Baseball, and having done a lot of lifting yesterday, but my right arm really does hurt. Still, so far, a lot of fun with the games. Apparently […]

Filed Under: Board, Card, and Miniature Games, Critical Threats, Video Games

Unused Nintendo Ad Campaign

November 22, 2006 by Bartoneus

 

Filed Under: The Architect DM

Finally, some IMPORTANT terminology!

November 17, 2006 by Dave

I’ve been reading and digging (as in enjoying, not the web-verb) Jonathan Degann’s Journal of Boardgame Design. It’s a while between articles, but I find them consistently thorough and enjoyable. For someone else looking at boardgames from an academic stance, it’s a place to go. This week, though, as a break from the design stuff […]

Filed Under: Critical Threats, Editorial

Around the Survivors a Perimeter Create!

November 15, 2006 by Bartoneus

While preparing for last week’s comic, I went to an obvious source for cartoon-yoda images, which was of course the fantastic Clone Wars cartoons.  Pictured to the right is a quick drawing I did from one of the images, just to get a feel for the style and see what I could learn from it.  […]

Filed Under: Movies, Music, The Architect DM, Video Games

Review: Oryx and Crake

November 12, 2006 by guest

Title: Oryx and Crake Author: Margaret Atwood Year of Publication: 2003 Genre: Science Fiction/Fiction Length: The paperback version has 443 pages. Rating: 4/5 – Worth paying full price. Review: Oryx and Crake is one of two novels that I have read by Margaret Atwood that are about a utopian future turned to dystopia, the other […]

Filed Under: Librarian's Tome, Reviews, Science Fiction & Fantasy Genre

Geekery Collision / Brainstorming from constraints

November 10, 2006 by Dave

Not much of a column this week. Between a fast-approaching finals season and various events at home, I’ve been pretty busy. One piece of news: two of my favorite things are colliding. Alan Moore is going to appear on The Simpsons. The episode is going to feature competition between Android’s Dungeon and a new, “cool” […]

Filed Under: Board, Card, and Miniature Games, Comics, Critical Threats

Lost Tales from the Dagobah System

November 8, 2006 by Bartoneus

I’ll begin this with an apology, I’ve had Star Wars stuck on the mind the last few days.  The worst part is that it stems from an incomprehensible desire to watch Revenge of the Sith again.  I really only ever saw it all the way through once, the first time in theaters, when a ooze […]

Filed Under: The Architect DM

Dripping with Theme or Drowning in Theme?

November 3, 2006 by Dave

Last week I talked about The Triangle of how to approach a game design. One of those points of the Triangle is “Theme.” But there are different ways of looking at what theme is, and if a game is well-themed or not. When people talk about theme, they’re generally talking about what is otherwise called […]

Filed Under: Board, Card, and Miniature Games, Critical Threats

Quite the Predicament

November 1, 2006 by Bartoneus

Obviously when you are playing a game like World of Warcraft, it is all consuming to the level that it begins to invade the other aspects of your life.  It was a joy, as I talk about back in that old post, to be playing with my (now wife) then girlfriend and hear her make […]

Filed Under: The Architect DM

Review: Wicked

October 29, 2006 by guest

Title: Wicked – The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West Author: Gregory Maguire Year of Publication: 1995 Genre: Fantasy/Fiction Length: 406 pages; small font, large book, not a quick read. Rating: 4/5 – Worth paying full price. Review: The Wizard of Oz is a classic story, whether you saw the film […]

Filed Under: Librarian's Tome, Reviews, Science Fiction & Fantasy Genre

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About the Author

  • Dave

    Dave "The Game" Chalker is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of Critical Hits. Since 2005, he has been bringing readers game news and advice, as well as editing nearly everything published here. He is the designer of the Origins Award-winning Get Bit!, a freelance designer and developer, son of a science fiction author, and a Master of Arts. He lives in MD with e and at least three dogs.

    Email: dave@critical-hits.com

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