Geek Fight is one of the spunkiest card games around, pitting various prototypical – and a few atypical – geeks against each other in tabletop card game fashion. Started back in 2008, Geek Fight literally puts the power of geeks in the hands of geeks. Hey, it’s geeks playing geeks against geeks. It’s mega meta.

Diving Dragon has launched a Kickstarter campaign, hoping to reach $10,000 by 2:31 p.m. (EST), March 7, 2012. Those who pledge can pick from a bunch of $8 incentives including the new sets of cards which, as the site describes, include “a currently nameless set based on anime culture, and a set based on a couple of awesome metal bands.” Pledge quite a bit higher now and you can get your likeness on card ($50) or even a custom promo card ($200). They also mention a dream goal of $12,500. If they hit that mark, every pledge will receive a special mini set and, if they get their dream goal of $20k, Diving Dragon owner Kalan Vazquez will get a Diving Dragon Games tattoo.

Some of the crazy cards in the previous sets include “Geek Rage,” “Angry Video Game Nerd” and the “Geek Fight Display Box.” Cheeky and playable, it’s not your typical collectible card game as they don’t force certain cards to be rare, making each set complete much like a standard deck of playing cards.

You can also go to the company’s site and get some Beta packs for $1 or the “The Final Battle: Angry Video Game Nerd vs. Nostalgic Critic” set for $7 but then you’d not be getting the cred that goes along with crowd funding. And that’s worth at last a buck.

Purchase [Geek Fight @ Kickstarter] Site [Diving Dragon Games]

The latest expansion, Dark Ascension, was released February 3, 2012 and adds more monsters and figures to the vampire and werewolf infested milieu of Innistrad. The set add another 158 cards to the mix, including the usual premium cards.

The primary new idea of this cycle is the double face. Double face cards are printed with game information on both sides, generally using the ‘back’ side when the front is destroyed. I particularly like double face creatures such as the one pictured. Creatures are extremely fragile in M:TG, and getting an extra use out of them really makes them more satisfying to use.

A player can only use double face cards if he plays with opaque sleeves, another big change from the early days of M:TG. I remember playing with moxes and a Black Lotus, cards worth many hundreds of dollars today and not using sleeves. Nowadays everybody uses sleeves, even though the printings are so large that so-called “rare” cards aren’t nearly as difficult to get.

Another big change from the pre-internet days is now WoTC releases full spoilers, complete with artwork, so check out the second link to see everything in the set–sure beats having to talk to everyone buying cards just to figure out what a set might have.

Read [wizards] Also Read [wizards]

Just like in the old days, the Dungeon Master’s guide is a bit more expensive at $45 (it was $15 when it was released in 1979), with the others at $35 (original price was $12).

This is really a suprising move. WoTC enraged many longtime fans when they banned sales of PDFs of many of their old products a few years ago, presumably so that their “old” rules for D&D wouldn’t interfere with the new. Online piracy being what it is, this didn’t really hurt gamers that wanted the old stuff, so it was just horrible public relations.

The books will only be released at local game and hobby shops in North America, which is a bit of a shame, as a portion of the proceeds will go to the Gygax Memorial Fund. I’ve already donated but I’ll be donating again when I buy at least one of these books (my own Guide is well worn from 30 years of fun).

The best of the lot is the Dungeon Master’s Guide, which is chock full of great ideas from Gary Gygax himself on how to run and play a fantasy role playing game. The Player’s Handbook is more of a historical curiosity–whole player classes are described in a page or so, a big difference from the most recent D&D rules, where a class description might take up 30 pages or more. The Monster Manual is probably the least useful, and was only really noted for its “not so good” cover artwork (pictured, and yes, that really is supposed to be a flying red dragon). The reprints will have different covers.

An unusual fact about these books is that the Monster Manual was released more than a year ahead of the others, because Gygax thought that having monsters to fight was what players needed the most (over having character classes, no less, or even rules for combat).

Read [Wizards] Also Read [The RPG Site]

Video games are a fun way to de-stress after a tough day on the job. Compared to what our troops fighting overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan deal with, most of us don’t know what a stressful day at work is. Front Towards Gamer’s Operation Supply Drop collects games for the brave men and women fighting real world evil dictators on foreign soil. Operation Supply Drop’s latest endeavor, a care package code named Dragon Punch, was a rousing success. It was the biggest care package yet for the organization, 93 pounds of gaming goodness that cost nearly $200 just to ship. There were eight controllers, two Guitar Hero compatible controllers, two game consoles and a whopping 70 games.

US Postal Service scales top out at 70 pounds but a veterinarian’s office stepped in to help weigh the care package. In addition to individual donations, publishers including Activision, EA and Warner Bros. chipped in. The care package includes recent hits such as NCAA Football 12, Halo: Reach and Plants vs. Zombies. It also contained downloadable codes for arcade games including Orcs Must Die and Castle Crashers. There was clothing in the package as well, ranging from L.A. Noire T-shirts to Robot Entertainment baseball caps. The lucky recipients of this mega package were a Blackhawk support team currently stationed in Afghanistan.

Front Toward Gamer was founded by a former Army Ranger, hence his passion for helping deliver care packages to the troops. They do regular efforts for our men and women in uniform. Operation Supply Drop is already working on the next care package, codenamed Scorpion Tail in honor of Warner Bros, who chipped in with donations of the new Mortal Kombat and FEAR 3.

If you would like to donate some of your games or peripherals, here’s the address:

You can also donate with Paypal through a link on their site.

Site [Front Toward Gamer] Also Read [Game Politics]

These games are generally victims of their own success. The miniatures sold for around $2.50 apiece in random packs, a price which quickly exhausts the wallets of serious players and collectors who need hundreds of figures to be competitive or have a decent collection. Those few who can afford to pay are still stuck with the problem with finding the storage space and I have quite a few friends with, quite literally, more miniatures than they can carry (“No comment” on my own status in this regard).

A great solution to these problems is HeroClix Online, which follows all the rules of HeroClix, while keeping prices low and removing the worries over storage. You still need to pay to play but the cost to begin ($2) and buy boosters ($1) is in most everyone’s price range. What keeps a collectible miniatures game fresh and fun is the endless addition of new miniatures and HeroClix Online has a big advantage for the next six years. All they have to do is match the expansions of the tabletop game. The first expansion for the virtual game, Inifinity Challenge, follows the tabletop expansion of the same name and is loaded with classic Marvel characters and teams like Spider-Man and Fantastic 4.

If you were ever one of the many kids who couldn’t decide if Batman could really beat Superman, this is as good a game as any for finding out and it’s a heck of a lot cheaper than comic books these days.

Product Page [HeroClix Online]

Arcades used to be a staple of every shopping mall, every other strip mall and even a few standalone places to kill some quarters. There are still a few such places sprinkled around but they’re pale shadows of what arcades used to be. even Disney’s Penny Arcade has but a few games of yesteryear.

Nowadays arcades are small and mostly filled with ‘gambling’ games where you win coupons to trade for plastic junk or try to pick up heavy objects with cranes that have the grasping strength of overcooked spaghetti. To even get a hint of what the old arcades were like, you pretty much have to go to a videogame museum.

There’s no need to grieve for the loss of such electronic glory, as modern consoles and PCs can easily match the graphics and speed of the old arcades. If, like me, you miss the look, feel and ease of play of the old machines and are one of the many folks that don’t have the space or $3000 (or much more) for a full size arcade machine, then perhaps this gentleman on YouTube can help:

While the heart of the matter is he’s modified a Game Boy Advance (GBA) and stuck it inside a mini-mockup of an old arcade cabinet, the cabinet changes things from yet another console game to an extremely cool and nigh irresistible toy that would look nice even on a professional’s desk.

While the booth is custom for Space Invaders, the fact that it’s a GBA inside means it’s a simple matter to change cartridges if you’re – somehow! – bored with playing Space Invaders. This is a labor of love on his part and it’s clear he’s happy to provide detailed instructions for how you can do it at home, or he’ll build to order if you’re willing to pay.

I wonder if someone out there is willing to acquire 20 or so different mini-cabinets, just to set up a scale model arcade. All that would be missing are some G.I. Joe and Ken dolls as customers (Barbie would never be caught dead in such a place!).

If you’re more into the old games than the cabinets they came in, check out the MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) site, which have software that will run literally thousands of those old arcade games on your PC.

Read [http://www.technologytell.com/gaming/73316/konamis-bobblehead-pros-allows-baseball-players-to-get-swelled-head/ Much of the fun of being a baseball fan is collecting memorabilia. Fans track down baseball cards of their players' best seasons, soda cans that commemorate their accomplishments and of course, bobblehead dolls. Bobblehead dolls are a longtime staple for collectors, and the focal point of a cute new baseball game from Konami. Upcoming Xbox Live Arcade gameMLB Bobblehead Pros features all 30 teams represented in large headed form. This baseball experience includes the likeness of all 30 Major League stadiums, a full 162 game season and online play. This game is slated for a June 2011 release, with a DLC pack, MLB Bobblehead Stars, coming in July to celebrate the All-Star Game. ]]> Much of the fun of being a baseball fan is collecting memorabilia. Fans track down baseball cards of their players’ best seasons, soda cans that commemorate their accomplishments and, of course, bobblehead dolls.

Bobbleheads are a longtime staple for collectors and the focal point of a cute new baseball game from Konami. Upcoming Xbox Live Arcade gameMLB Bobblehead Pros features all 30 teams represented in large headed form. This baseball experience includes the likeness of all 30 Major League stadiums, a full 162 game season and online play. This game is slated for a June 2011 release, with DLC pack,MLB Bobblehead Stars coming in July 2011 to celebrate the All-Star Game.

Later in 2011, Konami promises MLB Bobblehead Battle DLC including some batting challenges for your superstars. The gameplay appears to be based on Konami’s Power Pros baseball games. Some of those have been released in the United States, but Power Pros is more popular in Japan. There the games are known as Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū. The player models in Power Pros are super cute and don’t have legs. They’re not unlike bobblehead dolls to begin with. Marketing the Power Pros as bobblehead dolls is a good promotional move that could gain the games a new legion of American fans.

Although the player models scream arcade controls, Power Pros is traditionally known for a very sim-like experience. That seems to be the case with Bobblehead Pros. A 162-game season option appeals to the hardcore baseball fan. Also, players display their real life batting, fielding and pitching tendencies, Combining the collectible aspects of hunting down bobbleheads with addictive sim gameplay could make MLB Bobblehead Pros a winner.

Read [Operation Sports] Also Read [Team Xbox]

A nice walkthrough of the Videogame Museum at E3 2011.

Paizo Publishing is offering very limited, signed copies of the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook and Pathfinder RPG Bestiary for their Pathfinder game, as well as Wayne Reynold’s original painting of Nakayama Hayato.

Hayoto is a samurai, one of the new classes that will appear in Ultimate Combat when it comes out August 2011. The new rulebook will also have more combat rules for Pathfinder. All funds raised from the auction will go to the Red Cross, which in turn will use the money to help survivors of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake.

Limited edition rulebooks, especially those signed by the authors, often make good investments. A limited edition Dungeons and Dragons boxed set signed by Gary Gygax sells for $400 at Troll and Toad, for example. Likewise, famous fantasy artwork is pricey stuff and the sky’s the limit for the value of that kind of thing. Here, check out some Magic: The Gathering artwork for nearly $200,000. Although I think that’s a bit much to ask.

If you have some money to spend, this is a rare opportunity to donate money to a good cause in a way that might even be a good investment. The books are currently going for less than $400 at Paizo Publishing’s eBay shop and the artwork for less than $1,000. I could definitely see those prices going higher before the auctions end on April 7, 2011.

Read [Paizo] Product Page [Paizo Publishing on eBay]

Well, if you’ve been missing Saren after thwarting his plans in the Mass Effect, you can witness his return to the series. No, it isn’t the next Mass Effect game. He’s showing up in the next issue of the comic book series Mass Effect: Evolution.

Evolution details humanity’s first trips throughout the Milky Way and the ensuing war that emerges from it. Yeah, I know. It’s the First Contact Wars in the series back story. It also happens to be a plot point for the back story of the tie-in novel Mass Effect: Revelation that shows Saren before he goes rogue. This comic apparently also ties the story into the history of the “Illusive Man” and the Cerberus group.

As Mass Effect: Evolution is the far history, we’ll be able to see Saren well before he started getting corrupted by his anger and ill will towards all different species of life that are not his own. It might actually be a bit weird to see. After all, we saw him teetering between good and evil in Mass Effect: Revelation. We also saw him as completely evil in Mass Effect. Even though it would be weird to see him as still largely good and looking out for more than just himself, it had to have happened sometime.

We’ll be able to see Saren return to the series when Dark Horse Comics releases Mass Effect: Evolution #2 on February 16, 2011.

Read [IGN]