Geek Dad – Nuketown

An assortment of geeky presents under a Christmas tree.

Under the Geek Tree 2017

December 26, 2017 Ken Newquist Blog, Geek Dad

The rocketship-spangled skirt of the Geek Tree is once again covered in geeky Christmas and birthday presents.

A close-up of the original Xbox One console.

Setting up external hard drives for Xbox One and PlayStation 4

December 24, 2017 Ken Newquist Blog, Geek Dad, Tech Tips, Technology

At this point extra storage for game consoles may be almost as critical on Christmas morning as fully charged AA batteries. With modern games taking up a ridiculous amount of space on your typical console (I’m looking at you, Destiny 2)[…]

Three ornaments - Darth Vadar, the wizard Gandalf, and the starship Enterprise - appear on a Christmas tree.

Geek Tree 2017

December 16, 2017 Ken Newquist Blog, Geek Dad

The Geek Tree is back and its brighter and louder than ever. Expanded to a 9′ tall narrow tree in 2016, this year’s Geek Tree includes a new power 2017 ornaments from Hallmark as well as older 1990s-era ornaments that[…]

A close up shot of a starship ornament in an evergreen tree. Another starship, blurry in appearance, is in the background.

The Geek Tree

November 26, 2017 Ken Newquist Blog, Features, Geek Dad

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.

An assortment of vegetables and fruit including carrots, squash, oranges, and strawberries.

Researching Gamer Food Options

September 6, 2017 Ken Newquist Blog, Games, Geek Dad

As most gaming tables I’ve been at people arrive toting Mountain Dew, chips (usually Doritos) and maybe some kind of tip. The healthiest options I typically see are pretzels or a craft beer of some kind. My own gaming group[…]

A close up of the alien landscape of Betelgeuse, my new red bean bag chair.

Betelgeuse (or How I Found My Bean Bag Chair)

February 22, 2017 Ken Newquist Blog, Geek Dad

Several years ago, I talked about my search for a new bean bag chair but I never reported out when I found it: the Sumo Sulton. To re-cap: I was looking for an adult-sized bean bag chair that could accommodate[…]

A close up view of adventurers fighting goblins.

Game Day: Back to the Borderlands

September 11, 2016 Ken Newquist Game Columns, Game Day, Games, Geek Dad, Role-Playing Games

As I wrote last week, the Blackrazors and their children will be running through the venerable module B2: The Keep on the Borderlands as part of our D&D Kids campaign. We’re playing D&D 5th Edition, and are running a version[…]

A keep, with high walls and towers, stands against a vibrant red, yellow, and orange background.

Game Day: The Next Generation

September 4, 2016 Ken Newquist Game Columns, Game Day, Games, Geek Dad, Role-Playing Games

The next generation of Blackrazor Guilders have strapped on their fathers’ swords, sat down at the gaming table, and begun slinging dice. We have three kids (two boys, one girl) in the immediate group who want to play, and we[…]

A glimpse under the Geek Tree: The Sixth Gun, The Last Parsec, Out of the Abyss, Ticket to Ride: Europe: Tsuro, Misktatonic Horror

Under the Geek Tree: RPGs, Board Games, & Fallout 4

January 3, 2016 Ken Newquist Blog, Games, Geek Dad

Last year saw an array of family games invade the Geek Tree. This year it’s all about the RPGs.

The first two books to hit the Geek Tree’s space-and-rockets themed tree skirt were Savage Worlds books that I received for my birthday.

This close-up of the 2015 edition of the geek tree features IKEA star lights, the Borg Cube, and Luke Skywalker in his Bespin outfit.

Geek Tree 2015

December 31, 2015 Ken Newquist Blog, Geek Dad

The Geek Tree finally has an angel.

For years, the topper of the geek tree — my personal ode to speculative fiction in Christmas tree form — had a Santa Yoda at the tree topper. Yoda was great, and I’m sure he’ll return to his place of honor eventually, but this year I had a true angel … a Weeping Angel from ThinkGeek.