Author Archives: Daniel Zuccarelli
2012 Holiday Geek Gift Guide – Odds & Ends
We’re sadly at the end of our 2012 Holiday Gift Guides! We really hope that you’ve been enjoying them and have been sharing them with your friends and family. After going over Books, Board & card games, Sound & Vision and gifts for the geeky parents out there, we have a nice “catch-all” heading for those little chotchkies you see here and there. So, here’s our Odds & Ends suggestions for that special gift that should make the holiday awesome for the geek in your life.
2012 Holiday Geek Gift Guide – For the Geek Parent
Shopping for geeks at the holidays is hard. Luckily we’re here to help! When you buy for the geek parent, let’s be honest: you’re really buying for the little geek(s) in his or her life. So here’s a list of gifts for the geek parents for their little geeks.
Thanks for looking and don’t forget to check out our previous gift guides: Books, Sound & Vision, Board & Card Games!
2012 – Holiday Geek Gift Guide – Board & Card Games
Shopping for geeks at the holidays is hard, luckily we’re here to help! Alot of people think board games live and die with Monopoly and Clue, and that’s a real shame. There’s a whole plethora of fantastic games out there just waiting to be played, wonderfully crafted and ones that appeal to any age group and interest. Below is a list of our favorite games from 2012.
Whether the geek on your list is a Sci-Fi fan or a Fantasy nut, likes role playing or just rolling dice, there’s something on this list that they’d love to see under the tree!
2012 Holiday Geek Gift Guide – Sound & Vision
Shopping for geeks at the holidays is hard, luckily we’re here to help! As nerds ourselves we know that when there’s something in stores that we want, we tend to just buy it then and there. So gauging what we could want under the tree is like trying to find oil just by throwing your shovel in the dirt.
We’re here to give you a bit of a roadmap, highlighting items that might’ve fallen just off the radar of the person on your shopping list. In part 2 one of our 2012 Holiday Geek Gift Guide we’re taking a look at the Music and Television centric gifts that would be welcome under any geek’s tree this holiday season. Enjoy!
2012 Holiday Geek Gift Guide – Books
Shopping for geeks at the holidays is hard, luckily we’re here to help! As nerds ourselves we know that when there’s something in stores that we want, we tend to just buy it then and there. So gauging what we could want under the tree is like trying to find oil just by throwing your shovel in the dirt.
We’re here to give you a bit of a road map, highlighting items that might’ve fallen just off the radar of the person on your shopping list. In part one of our 2012 Holiday Geek Gift Guide we’re taking a look at the books that would be welcome under any geek’s tree this holiday season. Enjoy!
Accusations, Alibis & Cover-Ups. Just another game of the murderous card game RUSE.
“Duchess, please, a moment! Won’t you please join us in the parlor? Now, you’re probably all wondering why I’ve called you here. It’s my duty to inform you that there’s been a MURDER (cue lightening crack)…. a murder most foul! What’s more one of you is the killer! Like it or not we’re going to sit here and brainstorm who’s guilty and why, and if they don’t have a viable alibi then I’ll have no problem taking them away!”
This is the scenario played out in Ruse: The Murder Mystery Card Game. Players take on the roles of different characters in a Victorian Steampunk setting, and then toss out accusations and offer up alibis to try and force someone else into a corner to admit their crime.
The Geekly, PGM’s Weekly Report of Cool Geek Things (10/18/12)
Hey everybody! Dan here and I’m taking over the reigns of theGeekly for the week. Don’t worry, while I’m sure I won’t do as good a job as Nicole typically does I promise to do my best to show off the coolest stuff I’ve seen this past week in the world of the nerds.
All set?
Ready?
Let’s go!
Imagination takes center stage in the card game Dixit
You find yourself staring at a hand of oversized cards covered edge to edge in strange yet beautiful artwork. It’s sort of otherworldly and the longer you stare into the cards the more you see. A tiny detail there, some interesting elements here. One of these cards is trying to tell you a story, but which one.. and what story? It’s the same story you’re going to tell the rest of the table, but it needs to be subtle… hazy. Describing a card won’t do, we need to filter it through our imagination first.
Welcome to the world of Dixit, where creativity is the path to victory.
Pixel Lincoln: The Deckbuilding Game Preview
I can’t figure out who managed to dig into my brain to piece together such seemingly disparate likes of mine, but somehow someone did it. Deck building card game, retro video games and Abraham Lincoln have been combined into some strange real world manifestation of the pleasure centers of my brain. I should probably be upset by the mental invasion, but I get to kill John Booth with a chicken cannon… so I’m not complaining.
Quarriors: Quarmageddon removes the cards and adds in dice to the deckbuilding genre
We’ve reviewed quite a few deck building games here on PGM but just in case you’ve never read any of those reviews (FOR SHAME) here’s the basic gist. Each player starts with the same basic, small, weak deck of cards. They then use those cards to purchase additional cards from a pool of potentials available to all players and add them to their deck. As time goes on the decks get stronger and stronger. They then use that deck to defeat their opponents. That’s super high level since every game is a bit different, but you get the idea. Quarriors has the same basic buy/add gameplay but chucks out the cards and replaces them with dice. Lots and lots of glorious dice.
Weekly Wallpapers: Game of Thrones
For the night is dark and full of terrors.
This isn’t a comprehensive gathering of all the Game of Thrones centric wallpapers on the net by any stretch, I just noticed I had more than a few sitting on my hard drive and figured I’d share them all with the rest of you!
Live out your Gangster fantasies with “Cash ‘n’ Guns”
There’s a gang of criminals fresh off a big heist and they’ve managed to get away and make it all the way back to the warehouse to split up their bounty. Well, you know how unwilling criminals can be to compromise. Words are said, guns are drawn, standoffs ensue. All in an effort to make off with the most loot!
Each player takes on the role of one of these comical criminals and is armed with a big foam gun and deck of cards representing bullet chambers in said gun. The goal of Cash ‘N’ Guns is to collect the most look over 8 rounds of play. Each round some of the money is laid in the center of the table at random. Each player then chooses one of the cards in his deck (some are bullets and some are blanks) and plays it face down on the table in front of them. Now the fun starts.
I torture myself with the Zelda cartoon on DVD so you don’t have to.
The Legend of Zelda: complete animated series is one of those DVD’s that appeals to the kid in you. It harkens back to a time where the name Nintendo was synonymous with the term video games. Companies knew these new fangled games were a hit with the kids, and set upon giving us product to consume based on it. It’s how I ended up with Nintendo Cereal System in my breakfast bowl and a Mario stuffed plush toy in my bedroom.
If you’re around my age (35) you might remember this being on tv. If you are as old as I am then you also know going in that no matter how great your memory may think it is, it’s really not.
What you probably don’t realize is just how horribly bad it is.
So, terribly, horribly bad.
It’s so bad you start to question everything you were into as a kid. If you’re able to misjudge something so badly, can you really trust your memory on any other topics?
Weekly Wallpaper: I’m tripping out here man!
This week’s wallpaper isn’t technically game or nerd related… but it looks really awesome. Sort of what I imagine a sweet acid trip to look like. Enjoy the ride.
This book Pac-Sucks…
There have been lots and lots of bad decisions made by the game industry over the years. FMV in video games, giving 50-cent his own game, the virtual boy, etc. But in the early days of gaming, when the first game characters were becoming famous icons in their own right, companies whored them out George Lucas style and put their likeness on anything and everything they could.
As a kid I had Space Invaders t-shirts, a Pac-man trash can, a Mario Bros. TV tray, and a Sonic the Hedgehog mini-pinball…. you get the idea.
Now, for some reason, as an adult I enjoy re-collecting all this crap. Don’t ask me why, I couldn’t give you an answer. Not a satisfactory answer for any rational person anyway.
World Book Night April 23rd 2012 looks to spead the love to reading far and wide
As the husband of a librarian it’s sometimes hard not to get caught up in the cause of spreading the joy of reading around to as many people as you can. It’s inspiring when I hear about her and her co-workers finding the perfect book for someone who’s not quite sure what they’re looking for or a kid who’s looking to challenge themselves.
Under our roof loving to read is a given, and there’s a passion for all things book related that naturally comes with the territory of her job. As an avid reader I’m totally on board with this.
So I was pretty excited when I heard about World Book Night, a social event intent on spreading the love of reading person to person in communities across the US, UK and Ireland.
Libraries, stores and community centers are going to be giving away free books to anyone that wants to share in the event. There’s a list of the books that will be available for free on their website, and I have to say it’s a SUPER impressive list. Ender’s Game, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, Hunger Games, Book Thief and more round out a fantastic pile of literature that is spread far and wide across the spectrum that there’s really something for everyone.
The event is Monday, April 23rd, 2012 (UNESCO’s World Book Day, anniversary of Cervantes’ death & Shakespeare’s birth and death).
I’m happy to say that our local comic/game/awesome shop All Things Fun! is participating, so we’ll definitely be heading out on Monday night to check it out. It sounds very similar to the theory behind Free Comic Book Day, which is an awesome event too by the way.
Check out their site to learn more about it and take part in your community! You can also find them on Twitter and Facebook as well.
Weekly Wallpapers: Star Wars Bounty Hunters
Yea, I know. This isn’t the first Star Wars edition of Weekly Wallpapers round these parts. Spoiler Alert: Probably won’t be the last either.
I just couldn’t pass up this great bounty hunters themed wallpaper though. IG-88 never gets his due!
As evidence for the excellent current state of point & click games, we present “Yesterday”
As a person that’s begun to tire of the same ol same ol when it comes to my video games it’s been an interesting year or two. I can feel myself turning my back on the big huge AAA titles in search of something different, more unique. I like games that take the medium in a new direction, or try something different. Games like Limbo, Bastion, Journey or To The Moon for example. So it’s with that sort of mentality that I can say I really appreciate games like Yesterday for existing.
Perpetual Geek Machine invades PAX East 2012
Sadly another PAX East has come and gone. But I know I’m not along with my fellow PGM’ers that this was our favorite show yet.
Alot of that probably has to do with the fact that we’ve gotten good and moving with the tide of the show, and we’ve learned some lessons on saving ourselves some headaches and time. For instance sleeping in and not waiting in the morning queue is definitely the way to go.
In addition to seeing lots of great panels, going to concerts, playing cool games and engaging in a TON of Cards Against Humanity we also managed to bring back some of the coolest parts of PAX for your guys. Here’s some of the cool shit we were involved with over the course of the show!
- Our huge photo gallery on our Facebook page, with lots of great cosplay and shots of all the action from the show!
- During the Future of Dungeons and Dragons panel I (Dan Zuccarelli) got up to ask a question about what the next version of the game holds. The whole panel is good but the question in question happens at 23:17.
- Chris Kohler from Wired hosts a panel called Retrogame Roadshow (think Antiques Roadshow) and during the panel I (again, Dan Zuccarelli) >took the stage to show off his copy of Custer’s Revenge to the delight of the crowd. Skip to the 30 minute mark to check it out!
- We didn’t shoot a ton of video, but what we did Kevin Alexander edited it down into an awesome video to give you a good vibe of what it was like walking the floor.
- Lastly, we conducted a bunch of impromptu interviews on the show floor, and collected them into a special episode of the podcast!
All in all we had a great time, and can’t wait to go next year.
Ep #00048 – Perpetual Geek Machine (PAX East 2012 Interview Episode)
PAX is a time for many things. For us it’s a great excuse to get together with friends that live far and wide and nerd out for a few days.
But this year we decided to hit the show with a little more structure, and do some good honest work for Perpetual Geek Machine while we were there. This podcast is just another salvo of PAX East 2012 coverage, and culls together all the interviews we conducted on the floor over the stretch of the convention.
We played a ton of games… like, a ton. We only cover a fraction of those in this show. So the interviews presented therein aren’t indicative of what we thought was cool at the show. And with that, enjoy this special podcast episode!
here’s the link to the Perpetual Geek Machine: Show #00048 file!