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Category: Gaming Collecting
Importance of Maps in Gaming Books
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Tips for Collecting Dragon Magazine and Dungeon Magazine
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25% Off Everything in Wonderworld Comics Amazon Store 7/30-8/13!!!
Announcing: The Wonderworld Comics Amazon Store Sale! 25% off everything in the Wonderworld Comics Amazon store from 7/30/2013-8/13/2013! Thousands of total products going on sale for two weeks via a special coupon code!
Click picture to be taken to the Wonderworld Comics Amazon store. The coupon code will appear on 7/30.
What is Going On?
Starting on Tuesday, 7/30/2013, every single item in the Wonderworld Comics Amazon store will be 25% off via coupon code. There are thousands of different products we have listed, and they will all be on sale – no exclusions. The sale will run until Tuesday 8/13/2013. The discount will not apply to required taxes or shipping.
This is Your Chance!
This is the best time to expand your collection – no matter what you collect. Now is the time to search the Wonderworld Comics Amazon store for that back issue you need to finish a run. Now is the time to check around in the Wonderworld Comics Amazon store for that toy you wish you still had from your childhood. Now is the time to increase the power of your deck with cards from past expansions you missed out on. The Wonderworld Comics Amazon Store Sale gives you the opportunity to purchase that rare figurine you have wanted on your mantle for months.
Start a Collection
Have you considered starting to collect a certain item, but prices have been a little out of your reach? Now is the time to take that first step. With the Wonderworld Comics Amazon Store Sale, you can start your collection and learn what joys collecting can bring.
Two Days to Plan
Click the button above to be taken to the Wonderworld Comics Amazon store. While there, search for the items you want and plan your attack. On Tuesday, the coupon code will appear for the Wonderworld Comics Amazon Store Sale. Order up your items early. Many of the rare items might be gone within the first few days (if not hours) of the Wonderworld Comics Amazon Store Sale. What are you waiting for? Get planning!
Musings of an Early Magic: The Gathering Player
After all these years, I find it interesting how Magic: The Gathering is still a popular game. I remember the early days of the game and have to laugh at what we used to do to play and how naïve the world was about the game and where it would go.
When I First Played
I remember being introduced to the game at Gen Con in 1993 when Magic: The Gathering was only being sold at a handful of locations across the country. I went to try it out in a small room along with other players. I would learn later that the black-bordered cards I was handed (Beta) would be worth money to collectors.
My First Thoughts
I remember thinking that the game was fun, but there would be no way that it would grow the way it did. I remember tapping lands during my second game of the day and thinking “gamers will play this during lulls in their Dungeons & Dragons game session.” I thought of it more as an aside game than something major which everyone would soon be playing.
Weeks Later
A few weeks later, the hobby shop near my college got their first shipment of the cards and those of us who had played Magic: The Gathering picked up some packs and helped our gaming friends at school learn how to play. Within a few days, we were all playing the card game and neglecting our traditional gaming sessions.
The Pricing
In the early days, something funky happened with distribution which made some cards more rare in certain areas. While Moxes were rare, many of us in Mid-Michigan were getting them more often than other rares. We even found that gamers in Ohio were not getting very many Lord of the Pit cards. We decided to make some money.
A few months after we all started playing, we went to a card show in Ohio where people were selling Magic: The Gathering cards. Lord of the Pit was going for about $50 which a Mox or Black Lotus was going for about $35-$40! I remember selling a dealer five Lord of the Pit cards for $160. He was happy because he knew he could make $90 off the deal by the end of the day. Too bad I didn’t drop all of that money on the Moxes he had for sale.
Protection
The short order for Legends, which was under-produced, made us realize that some cards could skyrocket in price overnight. Some of us who were fortunate enough to have purchased Legends packs decided it was time to figure out how to protect the cards we were playing with. We looked at sheets from card collecting books to get our answer. We cut up sheets of card sleeves to put our cards in. If we were not using decks with ultra-expensive cards, we would not use the sleeves. Simply pulling out a sleeved deck at the time made people shudder and prepare to lose. When dedicated card sleeves came out, we kicked ourselves for not getting a patent.
SuperGames
We sometimes tried to figure out various ways to play Magic: The Gathering to prevent ourselves from getting bored. I remember when we came up with the SuperGame (done as one screwy word). What you would do is pick one color and make a deck with at least 300 of that particular color. We would start the game with 200 hit points. Sometimes, these games would last until the next day as one of the rules was that you could sacrifice three cards in your hand (at any time) and reshuffle your graveyard into your deck.
Communication
There were not websites dedicated to Magic: The Gathering. There were message boards we could access from the school computers. It might take three minutes for a page to load, but we did not complain. We found checklists which people had posted along with tips for creating new decks. Printed checklists sometimes went for $5.00 at shows since not everyone had Internet access in 1993. The good ol’ days.
Dollar Box Finds: Knights of the Dinner Table
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Dragon*Con Boycott Officially Called Off – Developing
According to the Facebook page of the Dragon*Con boycott, the boycott has officially been called off. Dragon*Con has become a new company, Dragon*Con Inc. and has completely cut Ed Kramer out of the picture. The site is also reporting that Ed Kramer’s attorney has stated that he will sue Dragon*Con, so there is sure to be more to this story in the days and weeks to come.
Draon*Con – Ed Kramer
If you are unfamiliar with this story, I suggest reading Kelly’s take on Ed Kramer, Dragon*Con, and the Dragon*Con boycott. I will have more information as it becomes available.
Gaming, Toys, and Conventions Now Part of Collector’s Corner
You might have noticed that the Collector’s Corner section on WonderWorldComics.com has moved slightly. You also might have noticed that Collector’s Corner is now split into multiple sections. This is a website project I have been devising and working on over the last few days. Why did I do it?
New Collector’s Corner sections!
The New Collector’s Corner Sections
Instead of simply being one general area for Collector’s Corner, the category has been broken into four separate subcategories. The subcategories are Comic Book Collecting, Toy Collecting, Gaming Collecting, and Conventions. You will see an arrow next to the words “Collector’s Corner” in the top menu on the front page. Hovering over the tab will show the new sections. I have spent much of the day moving the old articles from Collector’s Corner into the appropriate subcategories.
Why Did Wonderworld Comics Do This?
Not only does Wonderworld Comics specialize in comic books, the company also specializes in collectible toys, collectible gaming (card and tabletop), and in many other areas as well. Since our store is so diversified, I felt it was time for the website to become more diversified as well.
No Worries
Don’t worry about the site being overrun with articles about everything other than comics. The main focus on the site will be on comics, comic book collecting, and comic book news. One of the new sections is labeled Conventions, but there have been convention articles since the beginning of content on this site. Those convention articles did not overwhelm, so don’t worry about toy and gaming articles taking over.
The Plans
I have some interesting ideas for the Gaming Collecting subcategory. I have been playing role-playing games for almost three decades and have been collecting gaming books for about 15 years. I have various types of gaming collecting articles lined up, even some which would interest people who have never gamed before.
The Toy Collecting section could be expansive, and might be one day. For now, I am going to keep the articles general, but will focus on some various lines of toys such as LEGO, GI Joe, Masters of the Universe, Transformers, and some of the other classics.
Now that all of the behind-the-scenes planning and implementing of these sections from the last few days is out of the way, I can get back to doing what I really love to do – delivering content which you will not find anywhere else.
Ed Kramer and the Dragon*Con Boycott: An Academic Look
[I asked Kelly to look into, and comment on, the situation with Ed Kramer, the allegations against him, and the proposed Dragon*Con boycott. As you might know, she is an academic. What you might not know is that one of her areas of specialty is rape culture. I believed she would see this situation differently than most writers I could assign the task to. Many of us have been to Dragon*Con, and this situation can set precedence for all types of conventions across the country. (Larry)]
Draon*Con – Ed Kramer
My primary research area is literature. My secondary research area is rape culture. This is why I’ve been approached to write an article regarding the recent boycott of Dragon*Con started by Nancy Collins, and to discuss the widespread implications of the discussion surrounding the boycott and the founder and co-owner of the Con, Ed Kramer. This article will include discussion on subjects such as child molestation, rape, and other emotionally triggering topics.
Let me start by saying that I’ve never been to Dragon*Con, and I’m only technically familiar with the Con tangentially; one of my favorite authors is a long-time attendant and has regularly encouraged her fans to be part of the parade and festivities every year. I’ve never really had the desire to travel to Atlanta for any reason, even for the Con, so I’ve never bothered to go, although I’m aware that it exists. It’s just never really been on my radar.
But I understand that Dragon*Con (that all Cons, really) provides a safe space for fans of the sci-fi/fantasy genre, a place where fans can truly be themselves and dress in cosplay and have a great time without risking the judgment, stares, or jeers. I fully support safe spaces and I always will.
However, it has recently come to my attention that Ed Kramer stands accused of multiple counts of child molestation, none of which he’s officially stood trial for, and that he continues to hold stock in Dragon*Con and continues to make money from the Con every year. That being said, Nancy Collins has recently led a growing group of people who have started a Facebook page promoting a boycott of Dragon*Con for the very reason that the continued income Kramer receives allows for him to continue to pay legal fees that allow for him to put off trial and sentencing indefinitely.
I could write pages detailing why Ed Kramer’s financial success is part of the issue and why the American justice system is also part of the issue. Both of these things are problems and both of them are very broad subjects. But what I want to focus on is the discussion revolving around Kramer and those who claim that he’s innocent and that Dragon*Con should not suffer a boycott.
Regardless of Ed Kramer’s guilt or innocence in these allegations, he has the right to a trial by jury. To survivors of sexual assault, he has the responsibility to accept trial by jury. If he’s truly innocent, what does he have to hide? The largest problem with the dialect of this case is that Dragon*Con supporters and Kramer supporters are calling the alleged victims liars, claiming that they’re out for attention, money, etc.
Stop. Stop right there. You should never, under any circumstance, naturally assume that a victim of sexual assault is lying. Do false accusations happen? Yes, but their occurrence is right around 0.6%. This makes them statistically null and void. False allegations in sexual assault happen so rarely, they don’t even make up one single percent of accusations. So the suggestion that the victims are lying is just a continued perpetuation of a culture where we protect rapists instead of protecting the victims whose lives they’ve effectively ruined.
When talking about rape and child molestation accusations, any time you cry out that “They must be lying for attention or for money!!”, you effectively silence the victim. I cannot stress enough the importance of keeping that thought to yourself. When you accuse victims of lying, you further the psychological torture they’re already attempting to endure, and you astronomically heighten the chance that they will start engaging in damaging behaviors (i.e. self-mutilation, compulsive behaviors, etc.) and even commit suicide.
Rape is an act of power, not pleasure. And when one person rapes another, they are doing so because they know that they have the power in that situation, and they know that their victim is weaker than they are, be it physically, mentally, or a combination of the two. When a child is raped, and then silenced because they must be “false allegations,” you have essentially taken any power that they had by reporting the assault and you’ve put them right back where they were before: in a position of subordination wherein they are fully aware they have no power, and wherein the only way out is through extreme measures.
I don’t care who is being accused of rape or molestation; that person must stand trial. And if that person is able to slither out of trial by a number of legal loopholes and thanks to his/her extensive bank account, that’s a big problem. If Ed Kramer is innocent, he has the right to seek restitution from his accusers. But that is one very large if. Remember: only 0.6% of allegations are false.
If Ed Kramer is guilty, he is guilty of far more than just molestation; he’s guilty of wringing what he wants out of the legal system, he’s guilty of a massive cover-up which he used his own fortune to do, and he’s guilty of lying to millions of people and ruining the lives of a handful of children who are now grown and will never be the same. But the only thing he can technically go to jail for is the molestation.
I can’t say I fully support a boycott of Dragon*Con. In an ideal world, the other stakeholders would be able to cut Kramer off from the funds and continue on with the Con as they have been. But considering the fact that kicking Ed Kramer out isn’t likely to happen, maybe a boycott is the only way to convince Ed Kramer that:
1.) We stand with the victims,
2.) We’re sick of his endless leaps through loopholes to avoid trial, and
3.) We don’t want our money going to his legal circus.
Regardless of your stance on the boycott, it’s glaringly obvious that something must be done about this situation. If you’re as outraged as I was to discover Ed Kramer’s past, there are a number of things you can do to let Dragon*Con know that you don’t want your money going into his pockets.
Write them a letter, call them out on Youtube, call them out on Facebook and Twitter and Tumblr. Get a group together to raise awareness of this situation and stand peacefully outside of Dragon*Con with signs letting the Con-goers know what the founder of their Con is being accused of, and let them know that their money is supporting him. Boycott if you want to. But the most important thing in this case is to raise awareness of the allegations against Kramer and to lend your support to the survivors. Let the survivors know that we believe them, and we stand with them. And let Ed Kramer know that, too.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please report the crime and get help.
