Monthly Archives: February 2016


Boxed Culture: Gamers Teaching Gaming – Explain Your Self!

Gamers Teaching Gaming – Explain Your Self! Someone suggested the other day that I write an article about how to teach gaming. I was thinking about doing this for a bit but I was spurred to action with the confidence of another saying I was a fairly good teacher! I decided […]


Graphic Reviews: Beauty

Beauty Image Comics was kind enough to allow me to read a digital galley of this volume so I am pleased to review the series this week. For all that we might claim that “beauty is only skin deep,” we sure spend a lot of time pursuing it. Every age has […]


Digital Beard Stroking: Alien Worlds 1 – No Pain, No…Problem?

No Pain, No…Problem? Alien Worlds – Alternate Dimensions: A series of brief what-ifs meant to hold up a mirror against our own experiences and expectations by exploring alternatives built on different assumptions and presuppositions.   A common theme in many media is that of magical, supernatural or otherwise near-instant healing […]


Boxed Culture: Lovecraft, Gamification, and The Horrible Endless Void of Insanity

A colleague of mine loves H.P. Lovecraft even more than I do. He came across a YouTube video discussing the gamification of the Lovecraft/Cthulhu mythos. While the video is talking about video games we had an interesting discussion involving the board game world. That  is what I would like to discuss today […]


Graphic Reviews: Nimona

Nimona Given that I discussed one of the greatest anti-heroes ever written last week, this week seemed a good time to discuss that line between anti-hero and sympathetic villain. One of the aspects of anti-heroes that makes them interesting is that on a bad day, they’re really not that much […]


A Bard’s Eye View: 70,000 Tons of Metal Recap (Day One)

70,000 Tons of Recap Day One For normal folk, the new year begins on 1 January of every year but for me, it doesn’t start until after the 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise has completed its course.  I can officially say that we are now in the next season of […]


Boxed Culture: Restricting the Runs

A member of the LCG community here in Colorado indulged me with a conversation about the new Android: Netrunner card restriction lists. This list is titled NAPD Most Wanted List, appropriately thematic for the game it self. The cards on the list are those which Fantasy Flight Games has deemed improperly balanced […]


Graphic Reviews: Deadpool

Deadpool As I may have mentioned once or twice, I have long been a fan of the tortured superheroes (Batman being the obvious choice here) and the antiheroes. One of the very first comics that I ever picked up featured a Deadpool/Spiderman team-up and I instantly fell in love. With […]


A Bard’s Eye View: 70,000 Tons of Metal Preview (Part 2)

70,000 Tons of… Oh my God, Holy shit Part II Last week I looked at Bloodbath, Insomnium, Carach Angren, At the Gates, Tyr, Turisas, My Dying Bride, Delain, Belphegor, and Sodom.  This week I look at ten other bands that I am excited to see (and by now already have!) […]