A phrase that's probably most associated today with the Marvel What If…? animated series, the concept predates it by some time. Before the phrase even came up in comics (Marvel's original What If series started in 1977), the concept was over all sorts of media. Not necessarily in a What if "B" happened instead of "A", but certainly in a sense of “what if you took a vigilante detective series" (already a popular genre at the time) "and made it bat-themed ?” Often, the answers are very satisfying. They scratch some sort of brain itch we may not even be aware we had. You see it come up in comics, TV shows, movies, even our old favorite Choose Your Own Adventure  books, which are essentially founded on the question. One place where you typically don’t see it, oddly enough, is in our tabletop roleplaying games. So this week on Never Say Dice, let's explore the concept of “What If” sessions in tabletop gaming. - A Book(mark) It! A : In the original ...

The Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster. Is there another fictional (or even real-world) mixed drink as well-known to geeks and nerds everywhere? Like much of the larger Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy universe, it doesn’t make much of a direct appearance in the story itself, but establishes the character of the setting and the people who occupy it, especially given how early it appears in the story. The original 1978 radio play text ( unchanged in the 1981 television version ) is a great bit of writing, but it’s expanded upon greatly in the 1979 novel with the actual recipe for the “best drink in existence.” Each ingredient comes from a different planet, each with its own story or tradition, and, even though we never get to see any of these worlds (or their contribution to the Gargle Blaster), the sequence does a massive amount of worldbuilding and tone setting. And that’s one thing that’s interesting about cocktails - unlike most real food, they’re specialty preparations that stand out on ...

It seems ludicrous now, here in the era of climate grief , when the most powerful financial entities admit that the worst is inevitable and adjust their plans for plunder accordingly , but there was a time, not that long ago, when environmentalism was hip and, even more unbelievably, hopeful . Earth Day turns 55 this year, and it's hard to imagine world that's turned farther from its founding spirit than the one we occupy now. Sure, the Captain Planet era seems hokey and naive now, when we're aware of terms like "greenwashing" and carefully constructed messaging that shifted the onus of eco-consciousness from massively polluting corporations onto consumers and the general public. Cynical ad campaign or not, effective or not, it was still a message of awareness and caring. As we aim our society straight at the wall of climate catastrophe and allow techbros to drop ever more LLM bricks on the fossil fuel gas pedal, it's worth it to remember that, thirty year...

Last week, in the face of an evident (and still extant, if not as prominent) financial crisis, we talked about ways that you can keep getting new experiences with games you’ve already acquired. This time, we wanted to discuss ways that you can access totally new (to you) games without requiring the kind of investment it takes to be on the cutting edge of releases. While we all have those inner voices (that may or may not sound like our parents) telling us to just be happy with what we already have or that we have games at home, if we have any interest in the way the medium of games develops, we want to at least be aware of what’s new and catching people’s attention. So how do we get our hands on games we don’t own (yet) without handing over much loot? - B B : We’re all gamers here, we’re all used to representing concepts as numerical models and converting values within that model. If we’re trying to cut down on one form of currency (cold, hard cash), we need to make up for it in other ...

The way things are going, it looks like we’re headed straight into the third worldwide economic crisis in less than two decades… and the second since we started this blog. So while it seems likely that things will be very, very bad by the time you read this, even if catastrophe is somehow averted, it should be clear that we’re all living in a world that could melt down at any moment. Gaming, in both electronic and tabletop forms, may not be as expensive as some pastimes (particularly if we limit ourselves to… legal activities), but there’s still some degree of investment if you’re pursuing new and innovative experiences. As well there should be, corporate profits notwithstanding, artists and creators should be paid for their work. But, as COVID isolation reminded us, when you’re stuck with the Old Favorites, they well… get old pretty quick. Going into a future where we can assume we’ll all have less money to work with, how are we able to keep having novel gaming experiences and stay on...

Quick, can you name the most popular (in terms of units moved) games for the Atari 2600? The Nintendo Entertainment System? The Sega Genesis? The Super Nintendo? If you know your console history, you can name them without having to check any sales figures: Combat , Super Mario Bros. , Sonic the Hedgehog , and Super Mario World , respectively. This doesn't come from rote chart memorization, but simple logic: these were the initial games included when you bought a new system in North America, so every single household with the first round of one of these consoles also had a copy of these games. (Unless it got stepped on, the dog chewed on it, a younger household member decided the cartridge needed a bath, etc.) Okay, Sonic is a bit more complicated, since the Genesis originally shipped with comparatively lesser-known arcade port Altered Beast (although if you are familiar with the game, you probably immediately said "wiiise fwom your gwaaave" out loud upon reading the tit...

Some five years ago, when it seemed like the world was coming apart, two friends decided to create something together - a space where they could talk about the things they cared about, where they could share their thoughts and maybe a few people might even listen in. And this endeavor was inaugurated, naturally enough for 3/14, with a series of riffs on pie puns. We find ourselves in a similar situation today, with uncertainty, chaos, and cruelty swirling around us. But we’re still putting out this blog, and every year, we’re still putting out another round of terrible pie riffs. (Not about terrible pie, mind you - everyone knows there’s no such thing.) And this year is no different. As the world falls apart around you, take time for each other and make an effort to keep doing the things you care about. Even when it’s a bunch of pie jokes. -  B Save the Twin Pies Mall! For 80s movie-inspired games like Kids on Bikes or Tales from the Loop . The PCs come from a town centered around...

Look, I get it. I'm from the X-Files generation. I found the series at a perfect age: the cusp of adolescence, when you start to question the Narrative, and X-Files provided something different from  the honest utopian idealism of Star Trek or Doctor Who 's unfocused Bohemian wanderings through funhouse political allegory and theatrical grotesqueries of the British id. The X-Files was set in the shadows of here and now, dragging us with its protagonists into the cruel and hidden aspects of everything American society and its educational system had taught me to unquestioningly venerate - what restless, dissatisfied teenager wouldn't find themselves bewitched? There was vindication in Mulder and Scully revealing ulterior motives of the military, the government, corporations, and (especially in the earlier days) law enforcement - the adults really were lying! I didn't know it at the time, but I was living through the start of a conspiracy mania - driven to some degree b...

This was going to be some goofy-ass post about how US Presidents in games seem to get themselves kidnapped at a rate rivaling even the least secure princesses. There were going to be references to the semi-titular ninjas in Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja , who seem to consider the White House merely a single stop on a much larger crime spree. Perhaps I am not a Bad Enough Dude to stay the course there, but this President's Day finds me in a sufficient state of fear regarding the office and its holders that I am at a loss to tie the gravity of our situation with quips about never getting an opportunity to play T he President is Missing . (It came with a cassette tape, which seemed impossibly cool and cutting edge when I read about it.) The fact is, Presidents are scary - it's just that most of us haven't often been on the receiving end of the harm they can cause. But Barack Obama's legacy (just to name one) is very different depending on whether you're a financial exec...