I’m currently backing 4 active Kickstarter campaigns. I’m sharing them to spread the word:

Board Games

• Detective: City of Angels – All players are detectives except one player, who is working against them. It’s not a hidden role game, though. From what I can tell, the players go around trying to solve a case, and the antagonist player has some control over whether witnesses lie or tell the truth. In general I like solving mysteries, and I’m curious about the idea of the player antagonist role.
  (Already funded. Only 34 hours left in the campaign!)
• Coma Ward – A horror-themed game in which the players are amnesiacs who come to their senses in a hospital. The game seems to have a lot in common with Betrayal at House on the Hill, so your feelings about that game may govern how you feel about this one. There’s enough here to intrigue me, particularly since I am always looking for good horror-themed games.
  (Already funded. Only 22 hours left in the campaign!)

Music

• Sidecar Astronauts – A side project of Storm DiCostanzo (from Paul and Storm). He started this project as an outlet for his non-comedic musical leanings. What I’ve heard so far sounds good to me!
  (Halfway to its funding goal — needs another $10k. 10 days left in the campaign)

Religion

• Church of the SubGenius: A Documentary – “You’ll PAY to know what you REALLY think!” A documentary about J.R. “Bob” Dobbs and the Church of the SubGenius, a parody religion with which I became fascinated in my rebellious teenage years. Even now I still think it’s a brilliantly funny idea, and I’d love to see a documentary about it (whether it turns out to be sincere or parodical itself). “Eternal salvation or triple your money back!”
  (More than halfway to its funding goal — needs another $80k. 6 days left in the campaign)

If any of the above interest you and you’d like to follow me on Kickstarter, you may do so here.

While I have you here…

If you’re into nerdy stuff (board games, nerdy music, sci-fi/fantasy, books, podcasts, science, math, role-playing games, computer games, video games, etc), then you owe it to yourself to check out the JoCo Cruise. It’s like nerd heaven, but on a cruise ship. Trust me, you’ll like it. Johnna and I have gone the past 3 years and are booked to go next year as well.

And if you’re into board games specifically, you should trek to Essen, Germany in October for the annual Spiel. It’s the world’s largest board game convention, and you cannot believe it until you experience it. Your days are filled wandering the exhibition halls, demoing board games, and your nights are filled playing board games with new friends in the lobbies of hotels. It’s also a great excuse for a trip to Europe. Johnna and I have gone to this 4 years in a row now. The convention runs Thursday through Sunday. We usually arrive in Europe the Saturday before, visit other places until Wednesday, then travel to Essen, and spend the remainder of our trip there. That way our vacation is split between a more traditional vacation and board game madness. :) Oh, and I should probably mention that not speaking German is no impediment. At the convention, everyone speaks English as the de facto common language, since people are there from all over the world. And elsewhere in Germany, we have found that most people speak English quite well. When that was not the case, we’ve been able to get by using Google translate and charades.

If you have any questions about any of the above things, feel free to contact me!