Bonus Footage Extravaganza

I've been fighting with myself for a week now to get the next all-nighter in, and last night it finally happened. I made some changes to the main film, small changes, but in each case I felt like it made the sequence better... even though the film is now at 1 hour 35 minutes. I'm not worrying about that for the moment, though.

I added quite a bit to the Games in Education segment, it's quite the featurette now, because it turned out a lot of people had a lot to say on that subject.

And of course the Kickstarter rages on. I'm really pushing myself as hard as I can to finish this thing SOON, because all the other elements are starting to surface. Packaging, distribution, screenings at cons... all extremely exciting and fun stuff to work through, but I will feel much better about focusing on it when there's a finished film here.

I don't want to jinx things, but I have some pretty awesome bonus segments. Just sayin'...

Going Cardboard on Kickstarter

It's been quite a week, I must say. I finally launched the Kickstarter campaign for Going Cardboard. This happened last Wednesday morning, which also happened to be my birthday. :)

For 15 nail-biting minutes, nothing happened. And then you board gamers did what you board gamers do - support our cause in spades! And within just over 24 hours, the project was fully funded, and it's... Still. GOING.

I am humbled, and deeply appreciative of all the support. I can't express thanks enough, and what was already an exciting time is now just surreal. This is a week I'll never forget. Mind you, life wasn't kind enough to pause during this. I had to take my car into the shop the first day, take the cat to the vet the second day, and then right into PAX East weekend. Holy action, batman!

There's still quite a lot to do, but now I will be sharing it with you as it happens, in greater detail than before.

So, thank you. I just don't know what else to say.

Dungeon Twister: The Experience

There's a lot of crossing over that board games do into the realm of electronic gaming. There's Catan on the Microsoft Surface, of course, and the big 3 gateway games (Catan, Carcassonne, and Ticket to Ride) on consoles like the XBox.

Well there's another game that's made the crossover; Christophe Boelinger's Dungeon Twister. Peep this teaser promo for the game's debut on XBox and PS3:



There's a really cool and unusual story behind the making of this video, and you will hear that tale in Going Cardboard.

Spielbox

I just finished watching what will more or less be the test screening version of Going Cardboard, and I have to say, it's almost done!

And while still basking in the glow of that feeling, I checked today's mail to discover my issues of Spielbox had just arrived!



They even sent a nice little tote bag. Spielbox, it's love at first sight! :) Those of you living outside Europe who have wanted a board gaming magazine, FYI, Spielbox appears to be now publishing in German AND in English (oooh, what a fun way to learn German if you're so inclined). Sure, it'll cost you, but it looks like a mighty fine board gaming magazine to me.



You can find out more on their website.

Unity Games 17

Today I spent the day at the Hilton hotel in Woburn, MA playing board games amongst hundreds of like-minded and friendly individuals. This was where it all began for me, two years ago, as Unity 2009 marked the first big filming event for my documentary. It was neat in a way to be so close to the finish line, and to be able to return to this event and reflect on everything that's happened in those two years.



And to play games! That's something I haven't done a whole lot of since I started filming. I actually had the camcorder in my shoulder bag (just in case!), but it never came out, and I'm fine with that. Within 5 minutes of walking through the door, I was learning a new game, Sneaks & Snitches. When that was done, I got up to stroll around the room and get a look at things, and just barely made it to the back before I found myself learning 7 Wonders. And that's how the day went. Like pub-hopping, but with no hangover.



You know, in this whirlwind of filming, chronicling, and planning, I'd forgotten how much fun board games are to PLAY. Every game I played today was for the first time and I played for 7 hours straight. I didn't want to leave, either. :)



Today reminded me why I started this project in the first place, and now I'm ready to tackle editing again with renewed enthusiasm. HUZZAH!

BGG Auction for the Vasels

One of our board gaming brethren, and a positive force to the board gaming cause, Tom Vasel (host of The Dice Tower) has suffered the loss of his infant son, Jack Vasel. I met Tom at Essen briefly, and have worked with him since (he is a part of the documentary), and my heart hurts for him right now.

You can get all the details in the Wired.com article, but the Board Game Geek community is holding a board game auction to help with medical expenses.

Please take a moment to check it out. This is someone who's given a lot to the community, and this is the kind of community that gives back.

The Latest

As in 2 AM. Which is when I turned off the computer last night. I call it a semi all-nighter. My good friends from the KLF don't consider it an all-nighter unless it goes to the 3 AM Eternal.



Since making the first-pass 2 hour rough cut, I've been hunting for more visual assets, as well as taking footage of various games from my own collection to support the narrative. I also filmed a Catan gameplay session the other night.

Last night, the primary goal was to integrate that play session, which I did. I integrated some cutaways, too, and before I knew it, it was 2 AM.