So about The Fantasy Trip

I got my Fantasy Trip Legacy box on Friday. Then the next day I got a email from SJ Games saying it shipped. Looks like they really got this Infinity thing nailed down tight.

So when I opened the box and removed the plastic the above is what I got. All I got to say that is one monster box. I also picked up pocket box version of Melee/Wizard. It thicker than the original but it also nice quality cardboard counters instead of the stiff paper version of the original. I think anybody who want Melee/Wizard for a wargame is going to be pleased with the pocket box version.

I then opened the box.

It nice how they made the inside box lid a function aide in it own right. It can be used as a drop table to generate a random dungeon.

Removing the cover sheet and the contents we get.

As for the packing, note they cleverly put two finger wholes in the The Fantasy Trip Mega Hex lid. This made it super easy to pull out from the bottom. 

As for the rest, you get the paper boxed set of Melee, Wizard, and Death Test. A very sturdy referee screen. A expanding file folder style organizer, two poster maps, In the Labyrinth main rulebook, reference book, and Tollenkar's Lair adventure.  Along with dice, a deck of pregens, and pads of character sheet (two sizes).

It was exciting to open this up and look at each item. Definitely felt like I got my money worth even though I didn't get the "Get it all" level.

The poster maps

The referee's screen along with the map and book for Tollenkar's Lair

The front of the referee's screen

The remaining leaves of the front of the referee's screen.

Finally some of the cards with pregenerated characters,

Overall I think this is a outstanding product for a RPG. Steve Jackson and his team did a great job with this. One of the best part going forward is there are multiple entry points for people to try out the system before deciding to buy into the line.

Wrapping it up.
Right now I am in the midst of preparing Wilderlands of the Magic Realm for publication. Once I get that done, I will setup some of the counters and megahexes and do a run through of the system.

SJ Games opens the door for The Fantasy Trip

In a very interesting bit of news, SJ Games announced they are going to instituted a limited publishing agreement where fans of TFT can publish on Warehouse 23 and earn royalties.

SJ Games is a pioneer in selling games and gaming PDFs on-line. At first through their e23 site and then later through their combined Warehouse 23 store. And both were open to other publishers and their games.

I had the opinion for a long time, that unlike other game companies their existing infrastructure allowed them open out their RPG and give them additional options than just throwing everything into the OGL or into the hands of another company. I am glad they are taking advantage of that for the The Fantasy Trip.

And hopefully if TFT goes well, GURPS is next. Expect a post breaking things down when the Limited Publishing Agreement is posted.

The Fantasy Trip Kickstarter is live

The Fantasy Trip, Melee, and Wizard are among the first games designed by Steve Jackson of Steve Jackson Games. They fairly rule lite using 3d6 (roll low) to resolve combat and magic. It is also one of the first line of games to straddle the line between RPGs and Wargames. Melee and Wizard are two standalone wargames. Melee focuses on a quick system to resolving melee fights between combatants. While Wizards focuses on magical duels with spells.

Into the Labyrinth combines and extends these wargames into a complete RPG known as the Fantasy Trip using Advanced Melee and Advanced Wizard to handle combat and magic along with additional rules like talents.

It was originally published by Metagaming but went out of print when the company went under in the early 1980s. US copyright laws allows authors after several decades (30+ years in this case) to recover copyright to their work. Steve Jackson took advantage of this provision to acquire the rights to the original rules of the Fantasy Trip along with the right to other parts of the line he wrote like Tollenkar's Lair, and the two Death Test solo adventures.

Now Steve Jackson Games has launched a kickstarter to get all three games including Tollenkar's Lair back in print.

Steve Jackson's 2013 Stakeholder Report

The 2013 stakeholder report is up over on the SJ Games website. Whether you are a fan of SJ Games products or not this offer a unique insight into the operations of a game company with commentary on the industry by one of the oldest of the old school game designers.