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For the sake of honesty, I must confess that I'm part of a small gaming company, so I take these things kind of personal. But Jeez! This years Con was HALF the size of the 98' con. The Wizards Castle was HUGE! You know why? To cover up the fact that there were *very* few small companies there. Those who came rocked, natch, but still. Part of that might have had something to do with the now outrageous prices charged by Andon Unlimited (Guess who owns them?), the company that organizes Gen Con and Origins. Atlas Games and Steve Jackson Games now share a booth because of the outrageous prices. These companies are middle sized fish in this particular pond! If they have to share a booth, what are small businesses supposed to do? So yeah, that's my opinion.

Wait a sec, photons have no mass! Therefore, they have no momentum!

BZZZT! And thank you for playing. Here's your lovely parting gift. Photons do have momentum,

p = E/c, or
p = hv/c

8) Fnordium

Here's the scoop on the Fnordium(tm) chip...

Then again, IO, formerly part of Steve Jackson Games knows all about abuse of the law.

Then again, IO, formerly part of Steve Jackson Games knows all about abuse of the law.

"Toon" seems to be in-print and supported, as shown by

http://www.sjgames.com/toon/

As it happens, Toon is still in print. This doesn't invalidate your general point, of course.

--

It's nice to see someone bringing up the important issue of abandonware. The game companies are way too anal about keeping a hold on their old games. Bravo to Id and Parallax for releasing old source code (Doom, Quake, Descent, etc).

I'd likely be in jail now. Hell, I'd be in jail even if it was implemented here at work. I went into grade 9, oh, 10 years ago I suppose. Boy was I picked on; 13 in grade 9, intelligent as hell (and therefore socially inept). It was bad enough in public school when I was yanked out of classes once a week and sent to Gifted classes in the next town over. What the teachers never seemed to realize was that by saying "You're intelligent and deserve extra attention" they were also saying to every other student "You're stupid, and not as worthy as he is of extra attention" and we all know what happens next. Anyway, back to HS. One day I went to the book store, the only one in town that carried D&D stuff, and picked up the brand shiney new Thief's Handbook. Brought it to school, as I'd picked it up on lunch, sat down in German class, and started reading it. Teach walked in, saw the "Theif's Handbook" in big gold letters, and freaked, big time. Never occured to me to think that it might look wierd to others. Anywho, lets look at this for me here at work. Often does my colleuge and I discuss the finer points of various martial arts, while standing in an office or hallway. We routinely go on Nerf hunts. I have a Soldier of Fortune box under my desk, THE ULTIMATE SNIPER training manual (which I got when I got Tribes) and Killer on my shelf beside all my comp security books, Oracle books, etc etc. We're trying to create an OSS tactical space combat sim, so we're constantly discussing tactics, weapon effects, that sort of thing. Yeah, I'd be in jail by now under anonymous reporting, most likely. Hell, under these laws, a couple of kids practicing Shakespere would probably look like dangerous, mentally disturbed people. "Pay me my due, or I shall take a pound of flesh from thee" indeed. It disturbs me that, as others have pointed out, the system tries to breed into some students (football and other sports players) exactly the same traits it tries to breed out of others (people who can't be bribed with a letter jacket) while claiming it's for the good of society. I think this needs to be on a school board by school board basis, if not school by school, and should only be implemented on a two-thirds majority vote by each parent, student, and employee at said school.

How can anyone prefer D&D based games to the beauty of GURPS and similar systems (Heroes, White Wolf, etc.) The concept of generating character statistics randomly (used by D&D and others), leads to huge gulfs in character abilities, and favours cheating over roleplaying.

I own and have played a lot of systems over the years, from Toon to Rolemaster, and I think that GURPS is the best sytem I've come across. The best thing about it is that a cut-down set of the basic rules is available from Steve Jackson Games as a free download in PDF.

Not only that, but there already are gaming systems that are generic and have rules for all types of games. GURPS is the best known, but other games like Rolemaster are also somewhat generic.

It looks to like all they're doing is trying to make D&D more GURPS-like.

By Congressional fiat, both USSS and FBI formally share jurisdiction over federal computer crimebusting activities.

7. We were raided by the FBI.
No we weren't. We were raided by the US Secret Service. The FBI had nothing to do with it. (In fact, when Bill Cook, the assistant US attorney named in our suit, was doing his "research," he talked to the FBI. They told him he didn't have a case. We have this from FBI sources!)

At the time of the Secret Service raids, the game resided entirely on the hard disks they confiscated. Indeed, it was their target. They told Jackson that, based on its author's background, they had reason to believe it was a "handbook on computer crime." It was therefore inappropriate for publication, 1st Amendment or no 1st Amendment.-- CRIME AND PUZZLEMENT by John Perry Barlow

Not "for good" -- I've got nearly $1,000 of Steve Jackson Games materials sitting next to me, all stuff published after 1993. And a subscription to Pyramid, an online magazine that inculdes a MOO and NNTP message boards. And there's Illuminati Online, one of Texas's largest ISPs, which was originally owned by SJ Games.

Anyway, you can buy copies of the Cyberpunk sourcebook here, on their online store.


Steven E. Ehrbar

Not "for good" -- I've got nearly $1,000 of Steve Jackson Games materials sitting next to me, all stuff published after 1993. And a subscription to Pyramid, an online magazine that inculdes a MOO and NNTP message boards. And there's Illuminati Online, one of Texas's largest ISPs, which was originally owned by SJ Games.

Anyway, you can buy copies of the Cyberpunk sourcebook here, on their online store.


Steven E. Ehrbar

they shut down a company for good for $50k

The company isn't shut down. They're still making new games, still turning out high-quality stuff.

Just vist http://www.sjgames.com/

fnord

FYI, Steve Jackson Games Incorporated is doing quite well, as far as I know. (I believe they're now the fourth or fifth highest-grossing game company in the U.S.) You can find their website here, and see for yourself. :) -Chris Anthony

The Secret Service aren't supposed to be involved in domestic investigations (except maybe of counterfeiting, forgery, et al), which would be right on the fringes of the Cyberpunk genre.

The U.S. Secret Service mission is "To protect the President and Vice-President, their immediate families, important presidential candidates, visiting heads of state, and other dignitaries. To enforce laws against counterfeiting currency, fraud, forgery, credit card fraud, computer fraud, and electronic transfer fraud."

So the Secret Services was very much withing its jurisdiction when they went after a few SJG employes on charges of "transport of property obtained by fraud" and "traffic of passwords or similar information through which a computer may be accessed without authorization" (as mentioned in the U.S.S. affidavit for the search warrant for SJG).

-Earthling

They've been releasing a steady stream of new material. While a few products had disappointing sales (e.g. INWO SubGenius was released just as the gaming distribution network melted down a few years ago, so that many gaming retailers went directly from "never heard of it" to "it's old news"), they've generally been doing well AFAIK.
/.

They've been releasing a steady stream of new material. While a few products had disappointing sales (e.g. INWO SubGenius was released just as the gaming distribution network melted down a few years ago, so that many gaming retailers went directly from "never heard of it" to "it's old news"), they've generally been doing well AFAIK.
/.

This is winning ? 5 times as much goes to lawyers as to the injured parties. Something in the US legal system needs to be changed to enable real people to combat big brother, be they the goverment or big company X.

All that aside, as I understand it, the feds have never stopped harrassing SJ Games, or at least have never stopped (in)conspicuous surveillance of them and Illuminati Online.

A personal note from Steve Jackson can also be found here.

The one bright spot in this whole affair was the creation of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. In mid-1990, Mitch Kapor, John Barlow and John Gilmore formed the EFF to address this and similar outrages. It's a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the Constitutional rights of computer users. (For more information, look at the EFF web site, or write them at 1550 Bryant Street, Suite 725, San Francisco, CA 94103-4832.) The EFF provided the financial backing that made it possible for SJ Games and four Illuminati users to file suit against the Secret Service. -- from the page linked above

It's been three months as I write this and, not only has nothing been returned to them, but, according to Steve Jackson, the Secret Service will no longer take his calls. He figures that, in the months since the raid, his little company has lost an estimated $125,000. With such a fiscal hemorrhage, he can't afford a lawyer to take after the Secret Service. Both the state and national offices of the ACLU told him to "run along" when he solicited their help. -- From Crime and Puzzlement by John Perry Barlow

This you dismiss as unimportant? Remember this is a very old case, and also remember that when someone beats the Federal government, it is a big deal, it means the courts sided with SJ Games against the SS. That the SS was in the wrong. Hopefully, it caused the SS, FBI and other organizations to act less obviously outside the law in future cases. (Though I'm not sure that's true.) At anyrate, it showed that you can beat the government when they break the law because of ignorence and incompetence related to computer equipment.

For those who didn't know about it, this from their own page:
" Hacker is the original computer crime card game. This game was written by Steve Jackson as a satirical comment
on the Secret Service raid and the hacker community. The hacker community liked it. There's been no visible
reaction from the Feds. Hacker won the Origins Award for Best Modern-Day Boardgame of 1992. "

More info, but it's sold out.

Here you go

I think the government had better be very, very, very, very, very careful about doing something like raiding 2600's offices, especially since they are a publishing company, and more especially in light of the results of the Secret Service raid on Steve Jackson Games. Also keep in mind that the EFF got its start defending SJG, and the MPAA and its friends will be in for a very long, bumpy ride.

Disguised Wall Clock Video Camera System
Disguised Smoke Detector Video Camera System

Now I'm not going to poke fun at their "hide it under a stamp" microphone. It's an item that has some legit as well as non legit uses, like most tools. The way they advertise it is questionable, but the item itself is useful.

However, they way they advertise their products strikes me as a deliberate attempt to attract people with less than honorable motives.

Unfortunately, a some point in time, a decision is made that a tool is dangerous enough that it's risks outweight it's benefits. What side of the line these tools are on is up to you to judge, and to lobby your lawmakers with. However, the way Ramsey electronics portrays some of their inventory no longer leaves a doubt in my mind on what side they take.

This sounds like the Steve Jackson Games raid all over again. Most likely Mr. Ramsey will have to sue to get his inventory back, and from the sound of things, most likely he'll win, but it will probably drag on for years in the courts.

I recommend he talk to Steve Jackson, try getting a contact from Steve Jacson Games' website.

You know, it's sad that a woman can spill coffee in her lap and get millions of dollars, but someone like this will be lucky to get their legal expenses covered.

Jon

Are you confusing this with Steve Jackson Games? They have a good summary of what happened.

I don't think that this story and that are related, though, except that they both involve goverment raids. This is the actual selling of electronics, and that was just an insanely clueless agent busting RPG.

I am not sure if you are *trying* to be funny or what. While the above examples were a little extreme offsite backups are important. "The FBI" has happened, just ask Steve Jackson and depending on your locale, Mother Nature can be a bitch. Generally though we just worry about fires.

Even the little guy can have trademarks, and frankly when it comes to incorporated businesses that have their own office space, you can't get much more of a little guy than Steve Jackson Games.

Along the lines of "how did you hear about it", was anyone else introduced to NS through Pyramid magazine? This Steve Jackson periodical printed the 1st chapter of Snow Crash in one of their issues. (I think. I swear that they did. Someone please confirm that I'm not insane.) It's (possibly) the reason I bought the book in the first place.

Details over at Steve Jackson Games in the December 6th, 1996 entry of the Illuminator. Perhaps one of the funniest AD&D references I've seen (the funniest being a column about old-time RPGs vs. the newer ones).


-S. Louie

Details over at Steve Jackson Games in the December 6th, 1996 entry of the Illuminator. Perhaps one of the funniest AD&D references I've seen (the funniest being a column about old-time RPGs vs. the newer ones).


-S. Louie

Steve Jackson did a discussion of upcoming projects and Q&A session at Shorecon last week -- in response to a question about Hacker, he said that those odd-shaped cardboard parts would push up the price. I gather that it's not categorically ruled out, but not particularly likely.
/.

Steve Jackson Games also publishes a rather nifty RPG called GURPS. You can download a free, completely playable 32-page version of GURPS (called GURPS Lite) at http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/lite. And I just so happen to have some support material for GURPS Lite on my own web page at http://home.austin.rr.com/darkbox/gu rpslit.htm. Happy gaming!

You're confusing INWO (the CCG version) with Illuminati (the 80s-vintage one-deck card game). Eliza was (and still is) an INWO card; Chinese Campaign Donors is a card in the new release of Deluxe Illuminati. It's an easy mistake to make, especially since some people play one-deck games using INWO cards.

You're right on the basic point, though -- there were some cards in the older edition of Deluxe Illuminati that were cut because they were too dated or just not that funny (e.g. "Iranian Moderates") in order to make room for contemporary jokes.

MIB 0137 Fnord

/.

You're confusing INWO (the CCG version) with Illuminati (the 80s-vintage one-deck card game). Eliza was (and still is) an INWO card; Chinese Campaign Donors is a card in the new release of Deluxe Illuminati. It's an easy mistake to make, especially since some people play one-deck games using INWO cards.

You're right on the basic point, though -- there were some cards in the older edition of Deluxe Illuminati that were cut because they were too dated or just not that funny (e.g. "Iranian Moderates") in order to make room for contemporary jokes.

MIB 0137 Fnord

/.

However, it wasn't long before everybody and his brother started publishing collectible card games, and Sturgeon's Law kicked in. While INWO is, in my possibly biased opinion, one of the better ones (for one thing, it had the advantage of building on a decade-old successful design), it got caught up in the CCG glut (especially the Assassins expansion, which came out just as the industry was licking its wounds from all the CCGs that crashed and burned).

The whole concept has come full circle, with "One Big Deck" rules for playing INWO without individual player decks and the INWO SubGenius expansion designed for one-deck play.

MIB 0137 Fnord

/.

However, it wasn't long before everybody and his brother started publishing collectible card games, and Sturgeon's Law kicked in. While INWO is, in my possibly biased opinion, one of the better ones (for one thing, it had the advantage of building on a decade-old successful design), it got caught up in the CCG glut (especially the Assassins expansion, which came out just as the industry was licking its wounds from all the CCGs that crashed and burned).

The whole concept has come full circle, with "One Big Deck" rules for playing INWO without individual player decks and the INWO SubGenius expansion designed for one-deck play.

MIB 0137 Fnord

/.

However, it wasn't long before everybody and his brother started publishing collectible card games, and Sturgeon's Law kicked in. While INWO is, in my possibly biased opinion, one of the better ones (for one thing, it had the advantage of building on a decade-old successful design), it got caught up in the CCG glut (especially the Assassins expansion, which came out just as the industry was licking its wounds from all the CCGs that crashed and burned).

The whole concept has come full circle, with "One Big Deck" rules for playing INWO without individual player decks and the INWO SubGenius expansion designed for one-deck play.

MIB 0137 Fnord

/.

Hacker was SJG's companion game to Illuminati. It was all about breaking into computer systems. The systems made up one huge "power structure" like in Illuminati, and you'd roll dice to get a presence on each system. You had to be able to trace a path from one of your systems to break into another, or else have a dialin. You started with a Plain Clone, but could move up to a Hackintosh or even an Amoeba.

Hmmm. Going to have to drag that out sometime.

(And, before someone decides to flame me, I know the difference between hacker and cracker.)

--

the Secret Service had unlawfully read, disclosed and erased the messages - despite their repeated denials that they had done any such thing.

[the judge's] opinion was quite critical of the Secret Service's behavior, before, during and after their raid, calling the affidavit and warrant preparation "simply sloppy and not carefully done."

Here's a nice excerpt from the complaint:

Although neither Steve Jackson nor SJG was a target of any criminal investigation, defendants caused a general search of the business premises of SJG and the wholesale seizure, retention, and conversion of computer hardware and software and all data and communications stored there.

Additionally, SJG was awarded approximately $50,000 for its losses. SJG's lawyers got $200,000. Who really won this case?

the Secret Service had unlawfully read, disclosed and erased the messages - despite their repeated denials that they had done any such thing.

[the judge's] opinion was quite critical of the Secret Service's behavior, before, during and after their raid, calling the affidavit and warrant preparation "simply sloppy and not carefully done."

Here's a nice excerpt from the complaint:

Although neither Steve Jackson nor SJG was a target of any criminal investigation, defendants caused a general search of the business premises of SJG and the wholesale seizure, retention, and conversion of computer hardware and software and all data and communications stored there.

Additionally, SJG was awarded approximately $50,000 for its losses. SJG's lawyers got $200,000. Who really won this case?

info at sjgames site

Car Wars *does* exist. I believe they even came out with a third edition a while ago. Existential blue crayon launchers, anyone? It's over at Steve Jackson Games

Steve Jackson Games has some information available on the GURPS Cyberpunk raid at their web site. This Secret Service raid was the first case taken on by the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

You really gotta wonder about the mainstream media's claims that they're more reliable than Slashdot (see the recent Slashdot discussion of the topic) when it comes to getting the facts straight.

Since 10-12-1994, SJ Games has had The Top Ten Media Errors About the SJ Games Raid available, and yet the NY Times managed to make both errors #4 and #5.

And you saw the correction here first, on Slashdot :-)

Oh yes, someone needs to make something like this for Steve Jackson Game's GURPS rules... any ruleset that is as effective for swords and magic as it is for cars, carbines, and laser rapiers get's my vote! I love that system... ok so I'm a teeny bit fanatical ;)

-mudge

Yes, they had their business seized for publishing "GURPS Cyberpunk", which was deemed to be a manual for terrorism. The fact that it was not made no difference to the SS officers that raided SJ's headquarters. After years of legal wrangling, the judge agreed that the SS was in the wrong, ordered SJ's computers and property returned (woo-hoo, a bunch of 286's) and ordered the government to pay $250,000 in damages. $200,000 went to SJ's lawyers. See here for details. Steve Jackson thought it would never happen to him, either.

This reminds me of the history timeline in CarWars by Steve Jackson Games (the company that got raided by the FBI a few years back).

Their timeline had a change from the two-party system, and listed a "Technocratic" party who believed in the advancement of education technology to better society.

I'm working from memory here, it's been a few years since I've found anyone who plays the game, much less read the rule book, but I would think that a political party would fit more into the ideals of geeks than would a union, where we could give our time and resources to 'em, and not just cash.