During this event, many of our members will stream on the Real Women of Gaming Twitch channel, passing the baton to each other as we try to help the kids!
If you want more updates and details regarding this event, check out the Facebook event here. You can also use the hashtag #BeSomeonesSuperhero on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay connected.
The nerd community is vast and full of amazing creators. With an immense amount of subject matter to draw from, these creators bring so many ideas to light. They are artists who use their passions to bring joy to others in many ways.
Nerdy Nummies was started by Rosanna Pansino on April 7, 2010. The channel was started on Youtube as a way to share recipes inspired by different interests that she has within nerd culture. Cakes from video games? She’s got it. Donuts from video games with special guests from other YouTube channels? She’s done that. Macaroons based on science fun? Yes, those have been done, as well. There has even been a video about partnering with American Girl dolls.
Yes, American Girl.
The company was impressed with the work that Pansino has done. By celebrating her love of the plethora of things within nerd culture, Pansino has inspired her viewers, who span all ages, to create. Her creations are beautiful and look complex. Pansino breaks down how to make them with her own brand of cheerful humor in a straightforward way. She also works to make sure that she has recipes that are good for viewers with options for different dietary needs.
Pansino didn’t start off looking to bake on YouTube, though. Her first dream was to be an actress. Pansino was guest starring in multiple shows and had started her YouTube channel. She found herself at a crossroads. She had to commit to one career or the other. Pansino choose YouTube, even though she knew it was a big gamble. She said that it took a while before she started to make money, but she pushed on with what she loved.
Pansino was taught how to bake by her grandmother. She now often works with her sister, the two of them using the lessons of their past to create nummy creations. Pansino is a gamer and now also an author. She has books available to help us nerds create tasty things to bring to parties. Thanks for teaching us how to look cool, Ro! She also works to showcase other’s creators talents on her channel through crossover videos.
What we can learn from Nerdy Nummies is to keep going. Pansino could have quit at any time, but she didn’t. Now she is inspiring bakers of all ages. She shows that it is okay to mess up and evolve in her videos. She also proves that being a nice nerd really can pay off.
If you want to learn how to make some really fun food that is inspired by nerdy things, check out Nerdy Nummies!
As I write this, I am sipping my coffee at nearly 7 am New Year’s Eve morning. Not a typical time for me to be awake, but today I find myself reflecting.
The end of a decade comes tonight. For half of that decade, I’ve been a mother. For almost a decade now, a wife. For over a decade, I’ve loved my husband and been loved by an incredible human who still amazes me. Near a decade, Vanri has been my best friend and so much more, my person. For decades Aiks has been my friend and guardian angel through some of the best and worst times. These are all blessings.
For most of the last decade, I have had the distinct pleasure of growing Real Women of Gaming. I saw us start as a Facebook page, evolve to YouTube, then streaming. Grow into charity events, conventions. I’ve watched us help others, with tears of pride in my eyes. I’ve had the pleasure of working with some of the most amazing humans on the planet. They are my family and I wish I could impart to you how truly stunning each one of them is. How truly honored I feel at calling each of them, my family. These brilliant, courageous, beautiful human beings.
In the nearly 7 years we’ve existed, I have learned so many lessons. Most about me, the rest about people in general. I’ve seen people come and go. I’ve made personal strides, gone on crusades (I’ll have my masquerade ball, damn it!), and made many, many mistakes. I’ve fallen, stood up only to be knocked back down, and I’ve had several hands help me stand again.
Tomorrow will be a new year, a new decade. Reflection is due at a time like this. Looking back at the years, we’ve worked, we’ve laughed and we’ve cried. It’s time to step forward into a new light. To take all the work that has been done by so many people and roll it forward. Not alone; never alone. To bask in the beauty not only of what we have accomplished, but also in what we have yet to achieve. And we will achieve it.
I’d like to say that we are stepping into 2020 ready to kick ass and take names, but that’s not happening. We are holding out our hands, pulling up a chair and inviting you to come to sit at our table. We are playing games without judgment or prejudice; we are enjoying all that these amazing masterpieces have to offer while accepting you, and us, for who we all truly are.
We are sending out our love and acceptance to all of you. You are all included at our table. We aim to show you the passion, sweat, and tears of some of the most wonderful creators on the planet. Epic human beings who’ve made these masterpieces in the little spare time they have while working full-time jobs and going to conventions on weekends for something they love. To show us their heart, sometimes wrapped in a box with game pieces and cards, massive tales of adventure and characters you’ll fall in love with.
So as we prepare to step into 2020, which will be the most incredible year, we offer our hand to you. We’ve done so much but I promise you, you haven’t seen anything yet.
Happy 2020. May all of your hits be a critical success.
With Love, Crymson Pleasure & Real Women of Gaming
Some pretty fantastic games have some not so sweet origins. Some games have been created because of some dark reasons. However dark the beginnings of these games though they still bring joy and distraction for the players.
Candy Land is one such game. It was released by Milton Bradley, now Hasbro Games, in 1949. The game was created by school teacher Eleanor Abbott. Abbott contracted polio, which is a disease that can cause paralysis by the infection affecting the spinal cord and brain. While recovering in the hospital Abbott was surrounded by children who couldn’t move, children would be out in a machine to help them breathe called “the iron lung” that totally encased them. Seeing how these children suffered she wanted to find a way to help them pass the time. Immobility was a big problem for these children. They were stuck for most of their time in the hospital, and children back home were confined indoors for fear of the spread of the disease. Mobility would be the main part of the game for Abbott.
Candy Land has always been a brightly colored board game. The game is also very easy to play as it doesn’t even require the player to read. It was perfect as a way for children to play who were stuck indoors or if they were having a quick break from their treatments. The player picks a brightly colored token to play and sets them on the star of the path through the board. All candy themed with certain perils that can turn players around or force them to be stuck for a turn. The player moves by picking up a card, with colored squares on it that indicate how far they can move. It is a fun game of chance.
Candy Land has been a popular game for children since 1949. It was a game that gave children without mobility a way to move. It has been a game to occupy children who are stuck inside. It is a game that multiple ages can play together. It has gone through some aesthetic changes throughout the years but it remains beloved.
I would highly recommend Candy Land. It was created to help children. It has been able to entertain children for generations.
In the hustle and bustle of PAX Unplugged 2019, we were able to sit down with Fawn of Ogopogo Gaming. We sent her a few questions to answer about her game, which is currently on Kickstarter! Video interview coming soon.
Q. Tell Us About Your Game
A. Crystal Chaos is a fast paced party game that takes 10-15 minutes to play. It’s all about finding and acquiring the Treasure card while your opponents sow chaos all around you. The game seems simple at first, but once players get used to the mechanics of moving cards and hands around and manipulating the draw deck, they realize how deep the strategy can really be.
Q. What Was Your Inspiration To Create the Game?
A. I was driving in my car one day and a wave of inspiration hit me. I wanted to make a game that would appeal to experienced gamers and beginners alike as well as children and adults. I used to play Old Maid with my grandmother and cousins, so I started to brainstorm ways it could get a major overhaul to meet my requirements. I went over all the options for rules and card mechanics in my head and pitched it to my business partner. We started play testing it and tweaking it to make it robust. In the end, it’s very much a collaboration that we are both happy with.
Q. When should we expect to see it? OR, if already released, how has the response been since release?
A. The target launch is late July or early August 2020. So far the response to customer demos has been overwhelmingly positive. Our kickstarter is live now and is 20% funded with 16 days remaining. We have a lot to go, but we are determined to see it launch.
Go check out Ogopogo Gaming’s Kickstarter for Crystal Chaos! Back it if you’re able to because it’s seriously an awesome game! Stay tuned for the video interview, where Crymson plays the game with Fawn!
At PAX Unplugged this year, we had the pleasure of meeting Bryan Staudt, the creator of a “no table needed” card game called Castle Siege. We asked him a few questions. Check out his answers below!
Q. Tell Us About Your Game.
A. Castle Siege is a “no table needed” pocket strategy game of castle building and destruction (2 players, ~10 minutes). It can be played without a table, perfect for standing in line, or waiting to be seated at a restaurant. Players build their castles in the spaces between fingers on their left hand, using catapults and siege trolls to attack the enemy’s castle, and using archers, boiling oil, and fireballs to defend their own!
Q. What was your inspiration to create the game?
A. I designed it for one of Button Shy’s 18-card challenges: Design a game with only 18 cards that can be played without a table. I thought, “If I can’t play cards onto a table, what if I play them into my own hand instead?” Using the spaces between fingers felt like constructing the tiers of a building, like a castle, and the rest of the design grew out of that.
Q. When should we expect to see it? OR, if already released, how has the response been since release?
A. Castle Siege is currently on a crowd sale through The Game Crafter, a print-on-demand website. List price is $15.99, but the sale starts at $13.99. For every 10 people who back the game, the price drops by almost 50 cents. When the sale ends on Sunday, December 15th, 2019, everyone gets the lowest achieved price! Check it out here.
Having started in 2017, PAX Unplugged is the first PAX convention to center entirely around tabletop gaming. This year, we have the privilege of being flies on the wall at the Philadelphia Convention Center (AKA press).
Lines for registration were long at the start of the day, according to some fellow con-goers. We arrived around noon, however, so we had no issues getting in and getting registered quickly.
Everyone was very helpful and knowledgeable from the second we walked in. Lena at registration welcomed us warmly to our first PAX Unplugged, let us know what the Enforcer uniform looked like should we need to find someone, and directed us on where to go.
The Philadelphia Convention Center is huge and can be difficult to navigate, which got a little overwhelming at times. Thankfully, the convention set up “World Maps” throughout the buildings to let you know where you are so you can get around easier.
We met several new people and saw some familiar faces. We had the pleasure of speaking with Tanya from I Need Diverse Games, Jeff from Tabletop Gaymers, and the wonderful folks at Take This, a charity devoted to mental health in gaming.
I was happy to make it to a couple of panels. The first was World Building for Lazy Dungeon Masters, which focused on different ways you could build a campaign without preparing every single detail before Session Zero. This included borrowing from existing stories and asking players for their input.
We also made it to the Girls’ Game Shelf live show, where they played a game called Were Word. This is like Werewolf and Mafia, but you have to guess a special word in order to save yourself from the werewolf. It was hilarious and looks like a lot of fun. This panel also included AnnaMaria, who is a former writer for Real Women of Gaming!
We had an action-packed first day at PAX Unplugged, and I honestly loved all of it! Now, on to day two!
