MidSouthCon

Kristin and Andy will be the gaming guests of honor at MidSouthCon for the second time. They very much enjoyed the first time and plan to bring even more fun this time around! If you are planning to attend MidSouthCon, keep an eye on the schedule for planned events, panel discussions, and open gaming hours. The Looneys look forward to playing your favorite games with you, signing autographs, and showing off prototypes of upcoming games!

MidSouthCon is the longest-running annual fan-run multi-genre Science Fiction Convention in the Mid-South. It covers a diverse section of fannish culture that includes Science Fiction, Fantasy, Science, Comics, Horror, Education, Costuming, Anime, and Gaming. MidSouthCon has an average of 2200 attendees, including over 100 authors, editors, publishers, scientists, artists and other guests and panelists. It features more than 200 hours of programming, including panels, the annual Art and Charity Auctions, a Masquerade costume contest, and more. There are also hundreds of hours of gaming running non-stop throughout the weekend.

BookCon

Kristin, Andy, and Laurie will have a booth where they will be demonstrating our games, signing autographs, and selling our full line of products to book lovers throughout the land. We'd love to teach you how to play Fairy Tale Fluxx or Nanofictionary. Or maybe you'd like a hilarious round of Mad Libs: The Game or Adult Mad Libs: The Game. And you never know... we might just have a new literature-related prototype or two that you can peek at!

BookCon is the event where storytelling and pop culture collide. Experience the origin of the story in all its forms by interacting with the authors, publishers, celebrities and creators of content that influence everything we read, hear, and see. BookCon is an immersive experience that features interactive, forward thinking content including Q&As with the hottest talent, autographing sessions, storytelling podcasts, special screenings, literary quiz shows and so much more. BookCon is the ultimate celebration of books, where your favorite stories come to life.

Within BookCon is Unbound, which is where Looney Labs will be! UnBound is where you can buy your favorite bookish goods from an amazing assortment of creative vendors. You’ll find a wide range of gifts and other sidelines. From subscription boxes, socks, journals and readers, to games, puzzles, greeting cards, jewelry, toys and so much more, UnBound is your one-stop-shop, so get ready for more fun at BookCon!

GenCon

Andy, Kristin, Alison, and Laurie will be in their tiny little booth having huge amounts of fun! Stop by to see our latest prototypes, demo or buy a game, get a hug or autograph, grab a promo card, or challenge Andy to a game of Homeworlds for the medal!

Gen Con is known as "the best four days in gaming," and with good reason! With over 500 exhibitors and 19,000 events, it's no wonder that over 60,000 people flock to this event to play and see their friends! There's nothing quite like it... one of those bucket list kind of events for gamers.

A:  I have currently invented 34 games for the pyramids. I never would have imagined I could invent as many games for these pyramids as I have, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I end up inventing a whole bunch of others. I continue to be amazed at just how versatile these little pointy objects have proven to be… just when I think I’ve run out of ideas, another seems to pop into my head!

The challenge I’m currently most interested in solving is a bluffing game you could wager on: something equivalent to poker, with quick rounds that players could place bets upon. I’m trying to think of a good way to use pyramids as the basis for such a game, but this is tricky since the pyramids aren’t so good at randomizing and hiding information. Additional equipment of some sort will certainly be required; ideas I’m considering include screens you can hide some of your pyramids behind and a deck of cards depicting various combinations of pyramids which you might secretly be trying to match (akin to Twin Win but with more options). And again, as in poker, I’m seeking to design something with an endless series of quick rounds that players could not only bet on, but also choose to increase those bets or fold, depending on various factors.

Anyway, we’ll see if I ever manage to create something like that, but this week I found myself thinking about these challenges again when I read an article by my arch-colleague James Ernest, on the subject of designing bluffing games.

CCYDNE may have started out selling "cheap crap you don't need," but they have grown into a first-rate full-fledged Friendly Local Game Store. Featuring board games, card games, role-playing games, miniatures, CCGs, used books and games, and hobby supplies and accessories, you'll find everything you need to get your game on. And they also have a Gaming Basement where you can play with friends or grab some snacks and settle in. The owner has been playing games since the 1980s and her husband has played since the 1970s (he went to college with some of the people who helped shape D&D). With a full event schedule, you'll find something fun to do and some new friends in no time! (And did you see they've got Mad Libs: The Game in their image!)