Ken Newquist 
What is the Geek Tree? It’s a Christmas tree with a speculative fiction theme. And what’s speculative fiction? Speaking broadly, it’s a genre comprised of science fiction, fantasy and horror, though in the case of the Geek Tree, it’s primarily sci-fi. The tree is re-built annually by Ken Newquist, Nuketown’s editor.
Easton, Pa. is a town of tradition, perhaps no more so than around Thanksgiving. On Turkey Day, Easton plays Phillipsburg, NJ. in one of the country’s longest running football games. It takes place at Lafayette College’s Fisher Field, which is a few blocks from my house in Easton’s College Hill district. The game started in 1905 … Read more
[… must … resist … Queen/Flash Gordon … reference…] The Flash Gordon RPG for Savage Worlds Kickstarter is live. Created by Pinnacle Entertainment Group, the Kickstarter includes the Flash Gordon RPG core rule book (192 page hardcover), the Kingdoms of Mongo campaign book (192 page hardcover), a 32-page adventure, a game master’s screen, new bennies, new dice, cool maps, and even a boxed set that … Read more
Captain America: The Winter Soldier tops two of my personal lists: best Marvel movie and best Marvel soundtrack. The movie works because it’s a tight, expertly crafted super-spy movie with a ton of heart and great action. The soundtrack works because it’s constantly carrying the listener forward while perfectly reinforcing the movie’s signature scenes. Since the movie came out it’s … Read more
I get distracted during game sessions. Like many gamers today, I can find it hard to resist the itch to check my phone, rationalizing it with something like “oh, I’ll just look up this one thing and be done with it”. It’s never one thing, and the itch never goes away. It’s even worse with … Read more
The redesigned Nuketown is here. After months of work — nearly a year if I’m honest — the latest iteration of the ol’thermonuclear burg is online. It features a host of new content, including: New episodes of the Nuketown Radio Active podcast. Game Day columns on topics like ending campaigns, Savage Worlds-powered Stargate, high level games in D&D, … Read more
We talked for years about running a Savage Worlds-powered Stargate adventure at a local convention. This weekend I finally did it: Stargate SG-13: Double Shot on Friday, Nov. 10 at MEPACon. For those who don’t recall, Stargate SG-1 was a staple of the SyFy Channel when it was still the Sci-Fi Channel … and before … Read more
The collaborative card game Sentinels of the Multiverse is a fantastic mashup of the comic book genre. It can also be fantastically complicated, something the digital version of the game deftly manages. The result is a fun, fast-moving game that riffs on the best ideas from Marvel, DC, and other publishers. Created by Handelabra Games … Read more
I’m running three events at MEPACon Fall 2017, which is being held November 10-12, 2017 in Scranton, Pa. The first two are powered by Savage Worlds: SG-13, which is a Stargate adventure and The Curse of the Moaning Mists, which is a Pirates of the Spanish Main adventure. Rounding things out is Light Everlasting, an introductory adventure for Hollow Earth Expedition. SG-13: … Read more
Another Nuke(m)Con is in the bag. Held September 29-October 1, the latest Nuke(m)Con continued a reinvigorated tradition that began in 2006. Family and work emergencies played havoc with attendance this year as a broken water heater, a sick baby, and a super-sized work project kept three players away from the table. A family birthday and … Read more