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Star
Trek Meets Monty Python
Where
Science, Art and Photography Intersect
"Looney Labs creates award-winning games that my kids
- and now all the kids on our block - are addicted to. Although
they have many other games, we get almost daily requests to play
Family Fluxx (the family-friendly version of the award-winning
and hugely popular Fluxx card game that's all about change) or
Aquarius, the game of matching elements. We couldn't be happier
about their newfound passion for card games that make them think.
For once, we're as excited to play as they are!"
-- Parents
Connect's "About Aquarius and Family Fluxx" page
Rash provides
another batch of links and commentary on a wide range of topics
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Starship Captains, Pirates,
& Monkeys (oh my) / Welcome Jenn! |
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 Question:
What do you call someone who's a big fan of Icehouse
games? Are they IceHeads? Pyramid-fans? Icehouse-oriented Looney
Game Technicians?
 We
have a new answer: Starship Captains. (I know it sounds
weird, but it works great once you get used to it.) Check out
the new
page I just posted on the subject!
And speaking of the pyramids, we're gradually working towards
relaunching the entire system, which begins with the discontinuation
of the current methodology. Next June we'll be debuting IceDice
as the first title in the new pyramid packaging style which we've
been slowly developing for a very long time now. Sorry, I can't
reveal any more yet about what that new packaging will look like...
we think we've got it all figured out, but since we've changed
our minds repeatedly about what "system 8" would be,
we don't want to go public with the details too early. Nevertheless,
IceDice will arrive in June, and that means we want to sell through
and be out of the old way of selling the system for awhile in
advance of that change. (Also, there are compliance issues with
the old packaging vs. new laws that drive this decision.) Thus,
as of November 1st, all versions of Treehouse are officially
out of print from Looney Labs. (Stores
that sell our games will still have them until they sell
through their existing stock.) Replacement
pyramids
will be available during the interrum, but only through our website.
Please check out the
new pyramid page at Looney Labs for more info.
In other production news, Pirate Fluxx is now in full swing
and we're on schedule for a release in February. Our awesome
contract artist Derek
Ring is now creating illustrations for us, and so far they
look awesome. Here's the first one he finished, along with the
official logo: It's the Monkey!
And speaking of new Fluxxes, I had some design breaktrhoughs
this week on Gambling Fluxx. Ever since we decided to put the
cork back in Drinking
Fluxx, we've been contemplating other options for products
to release through Fully-Baked-Ideas,
and Fluxx + Betting is a formula we keep coming back to. Anyway,
I finally figured out how to make it work, and we've been having
a lot of fun testing out my new prototype. We're talking about
a Fall 2011 release!
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 In other Looney
Labs news, things didn't work out with our sales manager
Chris
Marshall, so we've hired Jennifer Powers to take the position.
Jenn has actually been working for us for awhile now, but only
as a part-time contractor. Now she's an official Looney Labs
employee, and even though she's telecommuting from the west coast,
she's really feeling like part of the team thanks to our increased
use of video-conferencing technology. Welcome aboard Jenn!
As for everything else, things have been going very well indeed.
We've been having lots of fun and adventure since my
last update, including attending the Rally to Restore Sanity
and/or Fear, riding roller-coasters at King's Dominion, carving
pumpkins,
playing games the Renaissance Festival, climbing through trees
at the Sandy Spring Adventure Park, running around DC collecting
objects for a scavenger hunt, celebrating my birthday, and seeing
Back
to the Future on the big screen again (for the occasion of
its 25th anniversary).
Shown below are photos of a couple of the things I just mentioned;
on the right is a glimpse of the Sandy Spring Adventure Park,
and that group around the parking meter (which you will note
says "FAIL", since the challenge was to find a broken
parking meter) is our Scavenger Hunt team: Kathy Keefe, myself,
Bro Frane, and Alison. And while we didn't win the hunt, we did
score very well, and we had a blast doing so.
As for our other recent adventures, check out Pano
Gallery #2 for a bunch of really cool photos!
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The only recent bummer I can think of just now is the failure
of Prop
19, and even there I'm feeling good: 46%
voted yes, and the subject got an incredible amount of debate
and serious discussion. Considering how far we've come since
I first become a legalization advocate (when it was a fringe
issue that few were willing to even acknowledge) the closeness
of this defeat is a sure sign that we are winning in the long
run, and will eventually succeed in our goal.
 Anyway, thanks for reading, and have a great
Whenever!
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Given the lack of outcry of my musings from last time about discontinuing this
featurette, I've concluded that yes, Twitter
has made Thought
Residue obsolete. This therefore will be my final Residual
Thought. See you on the Twitter! |
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