CAR-PGa NEWSLETTER
Vol. 26, No. 6
An international network of researchers into all
aspects of role-playing games
June 2017
David Millians, Editor
Paideia School, 1509 Ponce de Leon Avenue,
Atlanta, Georgia 30307 USA
POINTS REFORM
Please,
be sure to read and consider the additional document, Points Reform. Our
chairman is exploring the issues in one of CAR-PGa’s fundamental institutions.
ARTICLES
Book Review: When the Devil Dares Your Kids
by Ted Skirvin
I've
been collecting books relevant to our cause from thrift stores for quite some
time. This is one of them. The full title of the book is When the Devil
Dares Your Kids: Protecting Your Children from Satanism, Witchcraft and the
Occult. It was published in 1991 by Servant Publications. The authors are
Bob Passantino and Gretchen Passantino.
The
book is fairly broad in scope. It references Satanism and witchcraft in regard
to popular music, movies and TV shows, comic books, and role-playing games. The
book does not dwell much on RPGs. It is mostly devoted to making claims about
the other things listed above. There is one mention in the middle of the book
about the Sean Sellers case, and the claim is made that to him they were not
just games but represented some kind of spiritual power. The last chapter of
the book is a list of questions and the answers of the authors. In this list is
the only other mention of RPGs. Here is the relevant passage:
Q: Are fantasy
role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons demonic?
A: There are dozens of
fantasy role-playing board and video games, and some are more overtly
occult than others. Those who become so absorbed in the game that they confuse
reality and fantasy or who have serious enough personal problems that the game
becomes better than real life can be harmed by their involvement. There is no
objective evidence that the game by itself causes anyone to commit suicide,
occult crime, or to become a Satanist. However, it can be one of many signs or
vulnerabilities for someone headed for crisis. The intentions of the players,
the worldviews developed for the characters, and the values the players possess
are much more important indicators of occult trouble than the game itself. We
must also be careful not to reject all value in using the imagination, storytelling
and fiction.
Those
two instances are the only mentions of RPGs in the book. The book does talk
about demons and demonic influence as real phenomena, but unlike many books of
this type, it tends to use gentler language and sometimes offers somewhat more
sensible viewpoints about occult influence.
NEW MATERIAL
FROM
HAWKE ROBINSON
D’Anastasio,
Cecillia (2017 May 1) Therapists Are Using Dungeons & Dragons to Get Kids
to Open Up. kotaku.com/therapists-are-using-dungeons-dragons-to-get-kids-to-1794806159. How various
professionals are using games in their work.
Robinson,
Hawke (2017 May 5) Wheelchair Friendly RPG Trailer Tour #3 My 5-7, 2017. www.rpgresearch.com/blog/tour-3. Map of route.
Robinson,
Hawke (2017 May 29) Summer 2017 Schedule. www.rpgresearch.com/blog/summer-2017-schedule. May through September.
FROM
JOHN BOARDMAN
Parker,
Laura (2017 April 13) Catch a Player’s Eye Through the Wallet. The New York
Times, B9. YouTube’s new streaming feature Super Chat.
CONVENTIONS
New listings this month were provided by Paul Cardwell
and Lou Zocchi, others are urged to submit information. If you attend a
convention, be sure and check the conventions table and let us have a copy of
the fliers (or at very least the when, what, where, and contact information)
for upcoming conventions available there. CAR-PGa is international, so this
includes anywhere in the world.
Dates, precise venue, contacts' URLs or phone numbers,
and other information, where missing from this list, would be particularly
appreciated.
"[LARP]" means only LARP events as many RPG
cons include at least some LARP, as likewise applies to the mention of specific
game systems. The same bracketed information applies as well to game systems
when the con will have only those games present.
In an attempt to get more face-to-face meetings of the
membership, we list who will be going to what convention, if they will tell us.
Get this type of information in at least two months before the convention
itself, so we can run it at least once. Support your local cons by helping in
the staff. It is a good way to promote RPG and you generally get in free for
the brief time spent helping.
A review of any attended convention afterwards for the
Newsletter would be appreciated too. These reviews should include demographic
data such as attendance, percentage male/female, white/ethnic minorities (or
what- ever is the majority/white/others), games in addition to tabletop RPG,
and more subjective matters such as unusual events, quality of games and
dealers' room, encouragement of new gamers, and whatever seems worth reporting.
We need to work to restore CAR-PGa's reputation as the media's go-to on gamer
demographics, especially since the media are still citing a study that cut off
all those over 35, at a time when that was the median age of gamers. (It is
closer to 40 now.), which indicates we also need to work on recruiting younger
players, although some increase in college age players at conventions has been
noted.
Conventions are currently being compiled by archivist
Paul Cardwell, 1127 Cedar, Bonham, TX 75418 or plcardwell@gmail.com, so send them there.
June 2017
1-4: North Texas RPG Con, DFW Airport Marriott South,
4151 Centreport Blvd, Fort Worth, TX; ntrpgcon.com
1-4: Wizard World Comic Con Philadelphia, Philadelphia
Convention Center, Philadelphia, PA; wizardworld.com
2-4: Niagara Falls Comic Con, Scotia Bank Convention
Centre, 6815 Stanley Ave, Niagara Falls, ON;
9-11: Southern-Fried Gameroom Expo, Renaissance
Atlanta Waverly Convention Center, 2450 Galleria Pkwy, Atlanta, GA;
16-18: AwesomeCon, Washington Convention Center, 801
Mount Vernon Place NW, Washington, DC; awesome-con.com
16-18: Bad Nauheim Spielt, Badehäusern, Bad Nauheim;
Pegasus.de
16-18: U-Con (DortCon), Fritz-Henßler-Haus, Geschwister-Scholl-Straße
23-27: Dortmund (Mitte); dortmund-in-2017.com
23-24: Boarder City Game Convention, Adventures in
Learning, 7230 Gateway Blvd. E; El Paso, TX; boardercitygameconvention.com
26-July 2: PrezCon, Doubletree Charlottesville, 990
Hilton Heights Rd, Charlottesville, VA; prezcon.com
30-July 2: Denver Comic Con, Colorado Convention
Center, 700 14th St, Denver, CO; denvercomiccon.com
30-July 2: Milwaukee Summer Revel, Sheraton
Brookfield, 375 S. Moorland Rd, Brookfield, WI; coldironconventions.com
July 2017
12-16: Historicon, Fredericksburg Expo, 2371 Carl D.
Silver Pkwy, Fredericksburg, VA; historicon.org [wargaming]
18-20: Flying Buffalo's T&T Con, Holiday Inn Express,
3131 N. Scottsdale Rd, Scottsdale, AZ; flyingbuffalo.com
20-23: Ambercon, Embassy Suites Minneapolis Airport,
7901 34th Ave. S, Bloomington, MI; ambercon.com [Amber diceless only]
21-23: Fan World, Niagra Falls Conference Center,
Niagara Falls, NY and Crowne Plaza, Niagara Falls, ON; fanworld.us
23-25: Boarder City Game Convention, Adventures in
Learning, 7230 Gateway Blvd. E, El Paso, TX; bordercitygameconvention.com
August 2017
4-6: Ohio Comic Con, Greater Columbus Convention
Center, 500 N High St, Columbus, OH; wizardworld.com/home-ohio
16: Akua Con, Universal Lazer Family Fun Center, 15
1st St NW, Watertown, SD;
17-20: NecronomiCon, Providence Biltmore, Providence,
RI; necronimicon-providence.con.com [Lovecraft]
18-20: Geekfest, Mayborn Space Theater, Central Texas
College, Killeen, TX; starsatnight.org/geekfest
18-20: Starfleet International Conference, Crowne
Plaza New Orleans Airport, New Orleans, LA; ic2017.org
19-20: Pensacola Comic Con, Pensacola Interstate
Conference Bldg, 6655 Mobile Hwy, Pensacola, FL; pensacolaparacon.com
24-27: Wizard World Comic Con Chicago, Stevens
Convention Center, 5555 N. River Rd, Chicago, IL; wizardworld.com
25-27: Bubonicon, Albuquerque Marriott Uptown, 2101
Louisiana Blvd NE (at I-40), Albuquerque, NM; bubonicon.com
25-27: Couleecon, La Crosse Center, La Crosse, WI;
Couleecon.com
September 2017
1-4: Dragoncon, Hyatt Regency, 265 Peachtree St. NE,
Atlanta, GA; dragoncon.org; David Millians will be in attendance, running games
of Runequest Glorantha in Non-Campaign Games.
1-4: Pacificon, Santa Clara Marriott, 2700 Mission
College Blvd, Santa Clara, CA; pacificongameexpo.com
1-4: PAX West, Washington State Convention Center, 800
Convention Place, Seattle, WA; penny-arcade.com
1-4: TCEP, Hampton Inn Washington/Dulles Airport,
22700 Holiday Park Dr, Sterling, VA; barkingmad.org
8-10: Wizard World Nashville, TN Music City Center,
Nashville, TN; wizardworld.com/comiccon/nashville
23-24: Monster-Con, Wonderland of the Americas mall,
4522 Fredericksburg Rd, San Antonio, TX; monstercon.com
28-October 1: Hurricon, International Palms Resort,
Orlando, FL; hmgs-south.com [miniature wargaming]
29-October 1: Monsterama, Marriott Alpharetta, GA 400
& Windward Pkwy, Atlanta GA; monsteramacon.com
©
Copyright 2017 by the Committee for the Advancement of Role-Playing Games
(CAR-PGa), ISSN 1071 7129. The CAR-PGa Newsletter is a monthly publication. For
more information contact David Millians, Editor, Paideia School, 1509 Ponce de
Leon Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia 30307 USA, phone (404) 808-1070, fax (404)
377-3491, e-mail millians.david@paideiaschool.org. Back issues are
available. Contributions of material from the membership are urged, and the
byline is responsible for content. Deadline is the last weekday of the month,
email preferred. Permission is granted to copy anything in the Newsletter,
provided we get a credit line in the publication copying it, and it doesn't
have someone else's copyright on it. Information, including details on joining
CAR-PGa, can be obtained on the Internet at car-pga.org.
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