BUZZ AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE

2011 may be the rockiest ride that the hobby has been on in quite some time.

The hobby business appears to be back in full swing and growing everyday. New technology is opening up gaming in ways we would have not possible in the OSR.

The following are some (including some my own) of the posts that caught my eye. Often the blogosphere’s actions are thought of as frivolous and without merit. But the secret is this is the meta-game. The game inside the game, if you will.

I love gaming. I have my whole life. I was exposed to meta-gaming at a fairly young age in my adulthood, I watched as it drove some people mad and others learned from this ‘other’ that gaming represents.

So now I’ll quit teasing and get to the meat of the posts that I feel deserve a second (and maybe for some a first) look at the hobby in review.

First off is one of mine:

WHAT IS THE 'DICEMAN'?

The Diceman is a novel written by Luke Rhinehart about a psychiatrist who discovers a new form of therapy, dice therapy, by creating lists of 6 items and then rolling a d6 to see which he would do. The rules were simple:

(1)Never put anything on the list you are not willing to do.

(2)At least one item must involve some personal risk.

(3)Whatever you roll you do. Period.

The book fell into our hands quite by accident and spread like a virus. For a group accustomed to throwing dice several nights a week we found it perfectly normal to take it to the street.

I would recommend the book to anyone but with a warning. It can change your life forever. I never looked at the world quite the same way again and I have read a metric f*** ton of books. It is one of maybe 10 that had that effect.

Many took the concept too far. I found it to be a great way to relieve stress and handle everyday activities with not only ease but a fun and exciting nature as well. Wonder what to wear to work? List 6 and throw. What to do that night? List 6 and roll. I did it for everything. I kept journals of material I generated. What to eat...what album to play next...what book to read next.

And yes, I wrote a few danger lists but found it counter productive to the whole idea of the benefits I listed. Others however, well, let's just say they had other ideas.

(Original posted Saturday, August 28, 2010 @ http://addgrognard.blogspot.com/2010/08/what-is-diceman.html )