The patent allows for guests to participant in ‘long-form role play’ events in which they interact with performers that are employed by the park to engage the guest in the role-playing activities. The performers don’t even need to be humans either. They can be audio animatronics, for example, or something as simple as a video screen that triggers in response to the guest’s arrival.

All of this information — prompts to performers and responses by guests — are fed into an electronic device/system known as the planner, or game master. The planner then makes decisions on how the rest of the role playing session should play out based on how the guest responds to the game thus far.

Guard Up! Inc. just announced that we will be raising funds to license our youth program called “Wizards & Warriors”. This program is designed to engage kids and teens in live, story-based adventures where they play a character in an ongoing storyline. In these adventures, the kids (we call them “Heroes”) fight monsters with foam swords, win treasure and solve ancient mysteries. We also have a futuristic version that uses Nerf Blasters called “Zombie Blaster Adventures”. Both programs involve kids interacting with creatures and characters out of real life history, literature, and mythology.

Please consider supporting our Kickstarter Campaign:

www.kickstarter.com/projects/guardup/wizards-and-warriors-adventures

100% of your donation goes towards making our license a reality… which will help individuals and facilities across the globe offer this exciting program to children and teens who would benefit from the opportunity to experience an adventure where they are the hero… and make lifelong friends. Whatever amount of support you can provide is appreciated. And whatever help you can provide is made even larger if you do so within 24 hours of reading this. The campaigns with the most number of donations within the first days of going live have a higher chance of being listed as a “Popular” campaign on the Kickstarter main page. With your help, we can get there!

Thank you so much for your support. This is the start of an exciting journey for all of us at Guard Up and the young heroes we hope to reach!

We believe that gaming is a great way for parents to interact with their kids. It is a wonderful way to spend time together, to talk about things in the midst of the game, and the kids may even learn a lesson or two (Little Timmy! Why do you want to cast that booger-eating spell on that innocent bunny? Is that a nice thing to do?).

“Dungeons and Dragons gives you a chance to explore reacting to different situations,” Gravius says. “Something really satisfying about playing Dungeons and Dragons is being able to figure out a difficult puzzle or winning a really tough battle. It’s even more fun when you win with a group of people.”

Gravius brushes off the misconception that Dungeons and Dragons is a game strictly for male players. She insists that women can play the game too. In fact, both men and women participate in the Dungeons and Dragons game playing group at Illusive Comics & Games.

"Now as a former Dungeons & Dragons nerd, I can tell you that this is disturbing to me on a very deep, personal level. No fantasy, no mythical stories? What would I do with my multi-sided die and level 6 orc powers? And if you don't get the references it just means you probably played outdoors as a child and actually had friends."

When does it become appropriate in a conversation to inquire as to what the person you are talking to does with the bulk of his or her time? Ever? Or should the person simply disclose the information on their own time — although, if this were the case, you would probably be slightly more at risk for fraternizing with criminals and professional Dungeons and Dragons players more than you might feel comfortable with. Most will tend to excuse themselves from saying "I like to deal meth out of my mom's basement," or "I like to hustle knights in my mom's basement" when asked the question.

Meet Heikki Holmås, Norway's new minister of International Development. He's a former "D&D champ" (he won a tournament in 1989) and convention organizer, who has recently "leveled up" to his new position. And as you can imagine, he has a lot of positive things to say about the roleplaying hobby:

RPGs can be extremely relevant in putting people in situations they’re unfamiliar with. Save the Children have their refugee games. I have friends in Bergen who’ve run human rights-RPGs. But you have to be professional. You create real emotions when you play role playing games, real emotions that stick, he says.

...there’s no doubt that you can put Israelis into the situation of the Palestinians and vice versa in a way that fosters understanding and builds bridges. Those things are an important aspect of role playing games which makes it possible to use them politically to create change.

Learn about legends, monsters, scrolls, and weapons from the actual cultures and artifacts upon which Dungeons & Dragons-style games are based. Use your imagination to bring it all to life while playing an on-going campaign in a ROM-inspired D&D world. Create characters, build models, and try to stay on the Dungeon Master’s good side!

See, back in the ’80s, when the world was convinced Dungeons and Dragons was some sort of gateway drug to the occult, it fell to D&D pioneers to not only explain how RPGs weren’t evil, but how they could actually be good for you. Gary Gygax compared D&D to a chair once on 60 Minutes, and Tracy Hickman wrote a three-fold essay on RPG Ethics.

It's effectively a group of parents who have gaming kids or want their kids to get into gaming. It's there to offer support, advice and a place to simply hang out and share ideas.

It was the early 90s. The US attacked Iraq. Poland was a free country. The USSR collapsed. My cousin was in Germany playing Eye of the Beholder (Editor: Awesome game!). But I didn’t know what was up. I found some people in a nearby town running the local fantasy and science fiction community. They were a kind of rebels. Most of their older friends were just reading books and these young guys brought in this “RPG sickness” that was spreading very quickly.

Almost every week, Hoppens and his friends play the game, though they disguise it as Monopoly. The group also has a secret Facebook page for players under that same guise.

Hoppens said he was initially apprehensive to play the game, given the nerdy stigma people often associate with D&D. But he was eventually lured in after observing friends embark on fantasy-filled adventures.

The lawful good youths planned to play the game for 40 to 50 hours straight to raise money for the Leukemia Society of America. They planned on going door-to-door to get sponsors to pledge a set amount of money for each hour they played.

The boys got an almost full-page newspaper spread about their quest, including a picture of nine of them decked out in matching "The D&D Fellowship" T-shirts.

- BoingBoing recently posted a link to this epically awesome homemade D&D module that the author scanned and submitted to the Play Generated Document and Map Archive. It is awesomely epic in its epic awesomeness. I want to run it someday.

- The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette gives a bit of coverage to the 2012 Dungeons & Dragons Experience, with video! Check it out here

- Canadian artist Chris Millar attributes D&D as one of his creative influences. Interview is here

- What happens when ten sci-fi and fantasy authors get together to play D&D at Epic ConFusion? They munchkin it up, of course. Read all about it here.

- The Lodi News-Sentinel talks to the members of the Tokay High School D&D club, explains how the game is played, tells us about the benefits, and reassures us that it's not devil worship. Sure, we all knew that already, but give them credit for spreading the word. Full story is here

- Inspired by rumblings of a new D&D documentary released to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the game next year, the Independent Film Channel's website takes a look at five documentaries about roleplaying games, including Darkon, Uber Goober, The Dice Bag, The Dungeons & Dragons Experience, and Men of War. Read about it and watch clips from all of them here.

- The Great Falls Tribune examines the entertainment value and intellectual benefits of playing D&D - but you'll have do to some clicking to read it all. They've spanned the story over six pages. (I really wish some of these websites would invest in some longer internet paper so you wouldn't have to click so much.) Read it here.

- This story on Nerd Trek tells the tale of a legendary roll of the dice.

- And finally, the New York Times visits The Twenty Sided Store and takes a look at its denizens. Read the story here.

So how do you win?

People still play that game?

Geek.

Are those real dice? They look weird. That one looks like it has 50 sides.

Isn’t that the game that made all those people kill themselves?

So do you dress up and run around with swords and stuff?

Why can't you people play Monopoly or something normal like everyone else?

I bet you live in your mom's basement, don't you?

Don't you play that in steam tunnels and sewers?

Where's the board?

Nerd.

I have a second cousin on my mother’s side who got into those games and he started painting his room black and lighting candles and worshiping the devil so they took all of his books and dice away and burned them in a fire. He’s much better now.

So this has something to do with sex, right? Dungeons and role-playing and all that...

You don't think all that stuff is real, do you?

Why don't you just play World of Warcraft instead?

But wait - you’re a girl. I thought only guys played those games.

Are you a Satanist?

Maybe that's the way things work in your fantasy world, but here in the real world, things are different.

So let me guess - NONE of you guys have girlfriends. Am I right?

Why do you talk about all of that stuff like it really happened?

You actually enjoy making stuff up?

Is that on the XBox or Playstation? I think my friend has it.

So you are those guys who dress up like vampires and stuff?

So who’s winning?

Do you really have to memorize all of the rules in that giant book?

Is this what you have to do to cope with reality?

I thought Dungeons & Dragons was that stupid cartoon with those kids in the roller coaster. You mean it’s a game, too?

Aren’t you guys a little old for playing make-believe?

My pastor said that game is of the devil.

So it's like another version World of Warcraft?

Isn’t it hard to use your imagination?

What’s the point of playing a game where no one wins?

That sounds really gay.

So how do you get to become a Dungeon Master? Is that like earning a Black Belt or something?

I used to play D&D. Then I took an arrow to the knee.

Isn't that a game for antisocial losers?

Why don't you do something more constructive? (Often said by someone sitting and watching something on TV.)

What do you mean you have to think like a character?

If you don't keep score, what's the point?

Is that where you hit each other with foam swords and stuff?

We used to make fun of you nerds in high school.

So you have no concept of reality?

God, why don’t you people just grow up?

"To inspire game masters to run at least one new game each year, because trying new games broadens your horizons, challenges your skills as a GM, and can deepen your enjoyment of gaming as a hobby."

Once you've squeezed all the fun you can out of computer-driven fun this Christmas vacation week, consider kicking it with a bit of imagination at the Nashua Public Library. On Dec. 29 bring a friend to the library to discover RPG – Role Playing Game – Adventures.

Perfect for anyone who's ever turned a bed sheet into a superhero cape.

For ages 13 to 17.

This has me thinking about the different attitudes of the stores and the impact on RPG adoption. If only a very few stores even carry RPGs (they used to be at every hobby/comic/bookstore), then unless someone was already looking for RPGs, they would never have a chance to learn about them from just browsing in a store during the holidays and such (as I saw many doing, and overheard many saying they wanted to find a good game for their kids).

At the Minnesota Library Association, I created a new game called "Crossed Paths". I'm calling it an "improvisational storytelling activity" (but it's really an RPG - shh, don't tell them that until they've played it!)

It will play from 5 to as many people as you want, and will take about an hour to play the full game. It's a game to let people explore stories, books, comics, other games, TV shows, (you pick the setting) with each other.

Crossed Paths is a game that adjusts to many different settings and group sizes. Some of the possible uses are for:

· Libraries looking to create a more interactive version of a book discussion,
· Literature classes wanting to explore short stories, books, or other studied works,
· Churches seeking to encourage children or families to explore parables and tales,
· Communities wanting to explore any sort of folktales, legends, or other stories,
· Fans of a specific genre to further explore stories in that genre, or
· Groups wanting an ice-breaker where attendees can relive aspects of their favorite television shows or movies.

I've written up a facilitation guide with instructions, handouts, and bullets for slides and made it available under Creative Commons on my blog, Play Matters, at tinyurl.com/crossedpaths

So, I have a few big dreams for gaming (especially indie, but not exclusively) and education. These dreams are a large part of what gets me up in the morning. They may actually work in this order, but who knows.
1) Convention panels about how REAL games (not lame educational games) can be used for learning and in educational settings.
2) Professional Development Courses about how to use REAL (not lame educational games) in education.
3) A TeacherCon gaming convention both for gamer teachers and non-gamer teachers. All of the above can be showcased there along with great networking and fellowship.

But, we must dream and there is no way I can make this happen alone. I am especially terrible at planning and scheduling. I have never done a panel or lead serious prof. dev. before. But I WILL!

I think the first step is gathering interested forces.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HELP DREAM ABOUT THESE GOALS, PLEASE POST HERE TO BE ADDED TO MY "GAMES AND LEARNING DREAM TANK" CIRCLE. WE NEED TEACHERS, GAME DESIGNERS, AND ANYONE ELSE WHO FEELS THAT THIS IS A WORTHWHILE VENTURE AND WOULD LIKE TO HELP IN SOME WAY FITTING FOR HIM OR HER. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY NOT A CALL FOR DONATIONS OF ANY SORT. THIS IS A THINK TANK...A DREAMING TANK...A PASSION FORCE.

The context for these dream need not be confined to public school. This is about how our beloved hobby fosters learning, real learning.

You know how human nature is. If you join, others will join as well.

The OGRE Awards, most commonly known as The Oggies (after our mascot Oggie the Ogre), are a grouping of awards presented by O.G.R.E.s annually to leaders and members of the tabletop, card, live action, and party gaming industry for their products and services. Unlike other tabletop industry awards like the ENnies or Origin awards, the OGGIEs are not all limited to annual releases. Instead, they reflect the cherished games and people that members of O.G.R.E.s - around 3,000 across three countries - care for. The program began in 2010, and the first actual awards will be up for open voting beginning on September 1st, 2011.

With his legs extended and his back against the wall, Justin reads instruction books on different systems for hours at a time. In recent weeks he has been developing a Generic Universal Role Playing System (GURPS) campaign of “high fantasy with steam punk and sonic elements, as well as traditional magic and swords and sorcery.”

...

Living on the street, he does not have as much freedom as he used to, he says. But in GURPS he calls all the shot and makes all the rules; it’s a drug-free escape from a life where he can’t even choose his own bedtime to a world where he’s in charge of everything.