Rule of the Dice

I love bad action movies. Big explosions, loads of inconceivably impossible gunplay, one-liners galore...what's not to love? I also love free. Free as in beer. What do you get when you combine the two? Badass , the game of pure, unadulterated action. Designed by Jay Steven Anyong (of the blog Life and Times of a Philippine Gamer ), I first noticed this little game thanks to Michael Wolf and Stargazer Games. Michael did the editing and layout and if was willing to take the time for this game, so was I. And I'm glad I did! It's readily apparent that Anyong knows and loves his badass cinema and he does his best to fill the game with that special sort of style you can only get when the dust has lifted and the room is filled with dead bodies, shell casings, and flying doves. Not pictured: Shell casings, doves, or dead bodies. But it's awesome anyway. Overview... The basics behind the 2d6 system is a simple roll-over affair. Roll 2d6, get higher th

I've never just sat back and not participated in a game. I'm always either a player or, more likely, the gamemaster. It just wouldn't be fun to sit around while everyone else got in on the gaming, right? So why have I found myself spending a disturbing amount of time listening to live-play roleplaying podcasts of games I have literally no stake in? I have no idea. And yet I can't stop myself. Whenever I'm doodling up another map for the next game, or just jotting down some salient plot points for possible games, I find myself more and more turning to game session podcasts (my current favorites being those at www.gamershavenpodcast.com ) for background noise. What I can't figure out is why, exactly, listening to total strangers play their chosen games is entertaining to me. I mean, the majority of them are what you would expect; a lot of laughing, goofing around, the lovely sound of dice rolling, and some colorful profanity. Sounds not unfamiliar to anyone who ga