Though some sites posted news of this prematurely, it is now confirmed: Dave Arneson, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, passed away today after a long battle with cancer. Arneson was the creator of Blackmoor, a game of medieval miniatures exploring creature-filled dungeons, which had profound influence on the original D&D
Category: Industry
Wizards pulls PDFs, sues eight for copyright infringement
It was an eventful Monday for Wizards of the Coast. First, the company discontinued all sales of its products in PDF form, through sites such as DriveThruRPG and Paizo.com. The same day that WotC took its digital product marbles and went home, the company filed suit against eight defendants, in
Catalyst drops 'Classic' from Battletech for 25th Anniversary
Just to make sure no one gets confused, Catalyst Game Labs, which has steadily worked on the ShadowRun and Classic BattleTech game lines for the last few years, is dropping the “Classic” designation and just going with BattleTech, as it should be. This is part of Catalyst’s celebration of the
GAMA Trade Show 2009 looming ever closer
As most of you know, the GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association) Trade Show in Las Vegas is just around the corner. During April 14- 17, game manufacturers, retailers, distributors, suppliers and independent professionals, all related to the non-electronic gaming industry will meet up in Sin City to discuss and promote new
Gen Con deadlines looming
If you’re on the fence about heading to Gen Con this year, there are a couple of upcoming deadlines to keep in mind. Event Submission – a big deadline for exhibitors – ends this Friday, March 20th, and Event Registration will begin (and rapidly fill, undoubtedly) on April 19th. Now
Guilty plea in $1.5 million Decipher embezzlement suit
A few years ago, Decipher was one of the major game publishers in the industry, giving Wizards of the Coast a run for its money. Time went on, and several factors, including the company’s loss of the Star Wars CCG license back in 2002 led to Decipher being a much
Audio Report – Lists and holidays
As we continue to get caught up, the OgreCave podcast crew presents the long lost (well, long delayed, at least) end-of-2008 episode of the OgreCave Audio Report. Steve returns to tell us how the season treated him as a retailer, and how gift guides can have a big impact. Then
Paizo releases Pathfinder Compatibility License
Hear that? It’s the call to battle between editions of Dungeons & Dragons, and Paizo Publishing has sounded the horn. Late yesterday, Paizo released a pair of licenses: the Pathfinder Compatibility License and the Paizo Community Use Policy. As the press release states, and as you probably guessed, the Pathfinder
Audio Report: Autumn madness
As it was held hostage for a time by real life woes and computer wackiness, we’re pleased to finally present this recently arrived refugee episode of the OgreCave Audio Report. Held over from just before the Christmas season, this episode hit right after the WizKids implosion, which Mike and I
RPG publishing guide released by Mongoose
Prolific RPG publisher Mongoose Publishing is the latest company to release a guide to success in the game industry. Called I am Mongoose, and so can you! the book is designed to teach you “to create your own roleplaying games, what to do once you have a book ready to
Dungeon Twister headed for Xbox 360
Another Asmodée game is migrating to consoles. Hot on the heels of Jungle Speed hitting the Wii, now it looks like a version of Dungeon Twister is in the works for Xbox 360, with other consoles to follow. According to a news post on the Asmodée website, French videogame company
Scrye magazine shutting down
Collectible card and miniatures players might be interested to know that Scrye magazine, the self-proclaimed “Guide to Collectible Games”, will end its lengthy run with its April 2009 issue. Started in 1993 at the height of the Magic: The Gathering craze, Scrye was mainly known for its CCG price guides,
The Spoils gets new owner
Back in May 2008, Tenacious Games, publisher of The Spoils TCG, announced the company would cease operations. Now, eight months later, fans of the extravagantly-promoted game – first launched in 2006 – have new hope in the form of a new owner. According to a Spoils website news post, the
Mattel buys Blokus publisher, acquires Whack-A-Mole
Since we’ve just recently posted our review of Blokus, it seems like quite a coincidence to hear news on the game. As of last Friday, toy and game company Mattel has purchased Sekkoia, publisher of the Blokus line of games, for an undisclosed amount. This continues Mattel’s cherry-picking pattern, as
Another offer made to acquire Gen Con
LivingDice has the story, and as we suspected, more wild maneuvering is going on around ownership of Gen Con. As Gen Con LLC continues toward having its reorganization plan approved and creditors reassurred, the same Gen Con Acquisition Group that seemed to be has made another, larger offer. To ensure