Green Ronin Publishing

We've posted the PDF version of our Freeport Trilogy Five Year Anniversary Edition to our Green Ronin Online Store.

Freeport Trilogy Five Year Anniversary Edition PDF

Pirate's Guide to Freeport co-author Patrick O'Duffy has typed all the way from Australia to post a designer journal to our Freeport blog. Find out how he just can't say "no," and what Freeport means to him.

The Third Man

We've added some Freeport goodness to our Lucky 7 Sale in our Green Ronin Online Store. Newly on sale are:

The Freeport Trilogy Five Year Anniversary Edition (normally $27.95, now $17).
Crisis in Freeport (normally $16.95, now $7).
Freeport: The City of Adventure (normally $29.95, now $17).
Tales of Freeport (normally $18.95, now $7).

Essay Anthology to Feature All-Star Line Up

What are the best hobby games of the past 60 years? Green Ronin Publishing and award-winning author and editor James Lowder put the question to 100 of the industry's most influential and outspoken hobby game designers, authors, and publishers. Their answers will be revealed this August in Hobby Games: The 100 Best, a remarkable essay collection set to premiere at the 2007 Gen Con Game Fair.

One hundred different writers were asked to select a single hobby game and make a case for its place on the list. The only restrictions were the writers could not select a title they designed, or a game in which they have a financial stake. The problem for most of the authors was limiting their selection to a single game.

"The range of games the writers chose was terrific," noted editor James Lowder. "The essays cover some titles that are familiar to everyone, but many others that will be revelations. Even the most experienced game fan will come away from the book with new titles to seek out and fresh perspectives on old favorites. And if you haven't played many hobby games before, or only know about certain types of games, Hobby Games: The 100 Best will open up whole new worlds for you."

The list of games covered in the book will be a tightly kept secret until its release. Speculation will no doubt run rampant leading up to its Gen Con debut.

"This is a book we simply had to publish," said Green Ronin President Chris Pramas. "The lineup of essayists Jim recruited is impressive and both the authors and the games chosen cover our industry from its birth to the present day. If you are passionate about games, you will love this book."

Product Information
HOBBY GAMES: THE 100 BEST
Editor: James Lowder
Publisher: Green Ronin
Release Date: August 2007
ISBN: 1-932442-96-0/978-1-932442-96-0
Format: 400 pages, trade paperback
Cover Price: $24.95 US

In Hobby Games: The 100 Best, the top designers, authors, and publishers in the hobby games field write about the most enjoyable and cleverly designed games of the last fifty years. Their essays cover the gamut of the hobby market, from roleplaying games to collectible card games, miniatures games to wargames to board games, with titles both familiar and esoteric. These are the games that the designers themselves play, the ones that have inspired their most popular creations. Writers include such legendary designers as Gary Gygax (co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons), Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson (co-founders of Games Workshop), Richard Garfield (creator of Magic: The Gathering), and Larry Harris (creator of Axis and Allies); best-selling authors R. A. Salvatore, Tracy Hickman, Douglas Niles, and Ed Greenwood; computer industry notables Warren Spector (Deus Ex), Bruce Shelley (Age of Empires), Jack Emmert (City of Heroes), and Bruce Nesmith (Oblivion); as well as dozens of other prominent and award-winning creators, including Richard Berg, Monte Cook, Zeb Cook, Greg Costikyan, Bruno Faidutti, Jeff Grubb, Steve Jackson (US), Tom Jolly, Marc W. Miller, Alan R. Moon, Christian T. Petersen, Sandy Petersen, Mike Pondsmith, Ted Raicer, Greg Stafford, S. Craig Taylor, Martin Wallace, James M. Ward, Jordan Weisman, Stewart Wieck and Teeuwynn Woodruff. Hobby Games: The 100 Best will also feature a foreword by board game legend Reiner Knizia and an afterword by SPI founder and wargame legend James F. Dunnigan.

Editor James Lowder has authored several best-selling novels, including Prince of Lies and Knight of the Black Rose, and designed game material for a wide variety of publishers and magazines. He's helmed more than a dozen critically acclaimed anthologies, with subjects ranging from Arthurian Britain to zombies. He's been a finalist for the Stoker Award and International Horror Guild Award, and is a two-time Origins Award winner.

News has been trickling out here and there for a while now, but we are pleased to announce an upcoming release, Walk the Plank, the card game of piracy and ambition. This family-friendly, non-collectible card game features cool art by Ramsey Hong and simple rules that are quick to learn and fun to master.

Walk the Plank is great for 3 to 9 buccaneers, ages 8 and up. Each game takes just 5 to 10 minutes to play. The game includes 68 color playing cards and a rules sheet. Walk the Plank has an MSRP of just $14.95, and is scheduled for early summer, 2007.

We have posted a designer journal entry, for the game, wherein you may learn the secret origins of Walk the Plank.

Walk the Plank Designer Journal, Part One: Ancient History

It's still our 7th year, and you're still lucky. Freshly added to our Lucky 7 Sale are these great print books:

Thieves' World Player's Manual (Normally $34.95, now $17.00!)
Shadowspawn's Guide to Sanctuary (Normally $39.95, now $17.00!)
Bleeding Edge Adventures #1: Mansion of Shadows (Normally $11.50, now $7!)
Bleeding Edge Adventures #2: Beyond the Towers (Normally $11.50, now $7!)
Bleeding Edge Adventures #3: Dirge of the Damned (Normally $11.50, now $7!)
Bleeding Edge Adventures #4: A Dreadful Dawn (Normally $11.50, now $7!)

Today we posted "X Marks the Spot," a Freeport designer journal written by Andy Law, the amazing artist responsible for the cartography in our upcoming book The Pirate's Guide to Freeport. Andy has a lot to say about creating the maps in the book. To follow that up, we've also posted a preview of the Freeport city map. This is well worth checking out, if you're a fan of Freeport or just love amazing maps.

X Marks the Spot
Freeport: The City of Adventure Map Preview

True20 Wild West is now available in PDF format in our Green Ronin Online Store. Written by Charles Rice and produced by Ronin Arts, this is the definitive resource for Wild West roleplaying using the True20 rules. Saddle up, pardner!

True20 Wild West (PDF)

This year Green Ronin is celebrating our 7th anniversary! We couldn't have made it this far without you, so we're spreading the love with a Lucky 7 Sale, only in our Green Ronin Online Store. Every item included in the sale is discounted to a price ending in 7. Who's lucky? You are!

Shop the Lucky 7 Sale

The PDF of True20 Companion is now available in our Green Ronin Online Store. Get yours today!

True20 Companion PDF in our Green Ronin Online Store

Rob Schwalb has posted an entry to our Freeport Blog. In it he discusses the inner secrets of game design, as well as punching himself in the face.

Freeport Designer Journal: The Freeport Question

In Steve Kenson's second True20 Companion design journal on True20.com, he explains the optional role customization system from True20 Companion, and provides two example custom-designed roles, the Martial Artist and the Holy Warrior.

True20 Companion Design Journal #2

Robert J. "Dr. Evil" Schwalb has compiled an Errata & Clarifications PDF for True Sorcery, with the help of Peter Aronson. We present it to you now, for your downloading pleasure.

True Sorcery Errata & Clarifications

Steve Kenson has posted a design journal for our upcoming True20 Companion over on True20.com. In it he reveals what's in each chapter, along with how to use the book to get the most out of True20.

True20 Companion Design Journal #1