Awesome Animated Comic Cover

WPN coming soon

Don't worry soon you'll be able to play all your favorite Wizards Games as part of the Wizards Play Network. Special tourney's, limited edition loot, and so much more. Look for more updates as we role our our WPN program.

Magic Card Tournament

Got of deck of Magic Cards laying around. We're holding a tournament November 22nd Starting at 5 PM. Type II vintage rules apply and fun should be had all around.
Entrance Fee $10

Prizes
1st Place 2 Innistrad Event Decks
2nd Place 6 Booster Packs From Any Set Instock

Don't Know how to play Magic? We're teaching the game Thursday Afternoons from 5-7PM

Current RP Games

Tuesday Night: Dungeons and Dragons 4th Forgotten Realms Edition DM:Travis Starts as 7:30 PM
Thursday Night: Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 DM: Logan Starts as 7 PM
Friday Night: Pathfinder  GM: Heather Starts at 7 PM

Interested in Running a game? We have plenty of spots open for new games in the week.

Don't forget, we carry all your gaming needs, screens, mats, dice, and books. Need to order a special book? We can get it in for you.

Store News- Grand Opening

Board Game Review- Shadows Over Camelot

I was first introduced to Days of Wonder Games ten years ago with their game "A Fist Full of Dragon Stones." Since that first game I've been hooked on the fantastic board games they produce. "Shadows Over Camelot" is an older game having come out about five years ago before Days of Wonder's hit game "Ticket to Ride" became big. Unlike many board games "Shadows Over Camelot" is a co-operative game where the players work together to try and beat the board.  Each turn is divided in to two parts for the player. First they must choose a negative action, drawing and playing a negative card, adding a siege engine to the battle against Camelot, or loosing some of their Knights life energy. These negative effects are how the game plays against the players. 

For the second part of their turn the players preform positive actions. Moving to a quest, playing a positive card, or using one of their Knightly abilities. 

Each player takes on the role of one of the many knights of the Round Table. Arthur, Kay, Lancelot, Gwain, Percival, Palemedes, and others each have their own special Knightly powers which help the players through out the game. Each knight has a give amount of life to start out the game, 4 life points, and if a knight looses all the points they are out of the game. Cards and Items like the Holy Grail can restore Knights to life or give them more life. 

As the game progresses the questions of negative actions the players must preform bring raise the tension as quests like the Holy Grail, Lancelot's Armor, the Quest for Excalibur, the Battle with the Black Knight or the looming threat of Picts and Saxons draw the attention of the knights. Players are limited in which quest they can act on in a turn and this means that as negative cards are played they must decide where to best divide their resources. Winning quests bring the knights White Sword of Victory while loosing Quests give them Black swords of Defeat. When the number of White or Black Swords are totaled which ever number of swords is in the majority indicates if the Knights have one or lost. Players will find themselves captivated by the dramatic tension as quests near completion or defeat and they work together to Save Camelot. 

Like the story of "Le Mort D'Artur" there can be a traitor knight in the midst. The advanced rules allow for a traitor to play against the other players. Traitors are encouraged to do so covertly as uncovering the traitor knight allows the loyal knights to win the game. However accusing the wrong knight can damage Camelot and overly eager accusers will find the kingdom falling into ruins with every miss guessed accusation. 

Overall Shadows Over Camelot is a fun game where the players don't need to worry about the competition of winning against their other players or the sorrows of defeat. Players can learn teamwork and prioritization as they work together to win. Playing the help of parents the game can be played with some younger children. A great game for family and friends who want the fun of King Arthur's knights in their own living room.  

Off Center caries the game for $50 dollars. 

Magi the Gathering- Magic The Gathering Type 1 Tournament July 23rd

Off Center Games will be holding another Magic the Gathering Type One Tournament on July 23rd at Noon 

The Prize up for the Winner is a Sword of War and Peace from the New Phyrexia set. If we get over 8 players it will be a the Foil Sword of War and Peace.

Standard Vintage type II rules will apply. 

Store News- Magic The Gathering Type 1 Tourney

We'll be holding a Magic Tournament July 2nd staring at Noon at the Shop. Entry fee is $5 with a prizes scaled by the number of entrants. Get your decks in order and prepare for an afternoon of Epic Epicness.

For more information about Type 1 Rules visit the link below.

http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=judge/resources/sfrvintage

Opinion- Green Lantern: Above and Beyond Expectations

I worried upon hearing reviews of Green Lantern. Reviews indicated it was more about Ryan Reynolds’ abs. Right from the beginning the scope of the film began with an epic intro to the Green Lantern Corps an introduction that easily introduced first timers to the Green Lantern-verse while providing a strong base for more devoted fans.

Talking about CG in a film today has become trite and the graphics in the film were excellent. My wife commented that the artists seemed obsessed with highlighting the pores and veins of the various non-human Lanterns. I argue that when you make someone twenty feet tall you’d better be sure that they look good at that size. If I could complain the thing I really missed was Nebula. I really like Nebula in my space films and more of those birth places of stars would be great.

So Green Lantern surprised me by making a character that actually transitioned from being a jerk, which Hal Jordan always seemed to be, to being an actual hero. Following the established Character arch or hero journey explained in Joseph Campbell’s book “Hero with a Thousand Faces”, Jordan transforms from brash young pilot to a responsible and if still a little mouthy hero who shows that he has the power to save the world and the galaxy.  Batman, Superman, The X-men has very little change of characters the trials of the films rarely cause the hero to become a hero and instead they continue much the same. I admit I’m a little biased after watching Superman II and in the end Clark hypnotizes Louis and the whole world went back to normal. Perhaps this works in a world that is episodic, but in a real film?

Green Lantern leaves us with enough hooks for a follow up. The Yellow ring gets made, Sinestro still doesn’t like Hal, and trouble can still raise its ugly head.  I look forward to a sequel and think if you haven’t watched Green Lantern you’re in for a surprise.

Store News: We're Open Again

After a brief hiatus, as we've hurried to re-arrange, clean, and re-stock OffCenter Games will be open again Today from Noon until 7 PM

We look forward to seeing you and hope we can fulfill your entertainment and gaming needs.

Opinion: Will I miss Superman's Briefs?

In case you didn't know DC Comics will be relaunching it's entire line of Comic Books. Some 52 different lines will be revamped with modern updated story lines and more modern graphics. While fans of the Second Largest Comic Book seller fret over the changes, I welcome some of the changes. Superman for instance will loose his iconic tighty-reddies. Go will be the super speedo and instead it's replaced with....tights....Okay maybe I'm not okay with this. In fact based on the released cover to the left here it looks like they just forgot to ink in the briefs. I mean could it hurt so much to put a pair of pants on him or maybe even some shorts. The tendency to place heroes in tight fitting clothing often creates uncomfortable bulges, folds, and silhouettes. I had hoped that Supe would be wearing a little more sensible clothing but I think to much change would wreck the layman's view of our boy from Krypton. I mean it could end up like the other photo I included below. 

During the 90s DC Attempted to update Superman's look and it suffered massive flak from it's fans. However the dated look of Superman Keeps him out of the current popularity that other DC heroes have enjoyed. We'll see what happens with the new release and the new direction for Superman and His Super-pals.

Opinion: Batman Vs. Superman in the Movies

In recent years comic movies have come back big. This year alone the theaters are showing, Thor, X-Men, Green Lantern, Batman, Captain America, and Aquaman(Just kidding on that one). One thing that all of these movies will share in common is a gritty down to earth realism. Lots of mud, lots of mud, lots of shaky camera shots. This is not the era of the sparkling clean lines and bloodless battles.

However this is besides the point lets focus in on who is getting a movie this year and who is not. Batman will be getting a brand new movie while his counterpart and probably most identifiable super hero Superman is not. Though I hear one is in the works and possibly legal litigation over who owns the right to the Man of Steel might be holding it up but over all Superman is not the most popular of heros.

Sure he's super strong, can fly, and gets the girl but his small town folksy background and flimsy “secret identity” as a journalist tend to strip him of his potential level of awesomeness. Though the Smallville series has done a good job at telling the story of Superman this has not been translated to the screen. In the last movie we got a super squeaky clean Superman returning from his fortress of solitude right back into the 1980s movies he left from. Hey, I loved the 1980s superman films they were great, but I was 5 years old then and while I have fond memories the movies have not aged well. Partially is the different nature of comics then and now. Superman of the 1980s was a nostalgic look back at the golden age of comics that spawn Superman. That nostalgia played well as the economy boomed and parents took their kids to see a film that reminded them of their childhood. Thirty years later the economy, society, and nostalgia seem tarnished and the shining mirror of Superman only creates a more jarring separation between the world of Metropolis and real life. To most Superman is still a campy boyscout in tights flying through the air. (General Public perception the comics have moved on some and DC promises a modern re-release)

Batman however has changed gone is the Adam west campy puns and technicolor adventures. Gone to are the Batman movies of the late 80s which slowly evolved back to the campy style of of the original television series.(I shudder at the thought of Batman & Robin) The reboot of Batman created a darker grittier hero based more in the real world. Martial arts training with Himalayan ninjas, modern body armor, a tank for the bat-mobile were all part of a very popular revamp. Batman's villains also resembled modern villains of the real world. Shadow terrorist societies, maniacal psychiatrist using drugs to simulate “powers” all added to the popular revamp. The sequel also gave a fantastic movie experience by once again playing on our fears and using crime and terrorism as a plot for our Batman to resolve. Compared with the revamp of Superman where Lex Luthor makes a “Kryptonite Island” in the middle of the Atlantic, Batman was very connected to the real world. Tying into the popularity of Detective Shows and Crime Scene Investigation shows Batman became a pseudo-realistic hero movie.

So Superman becomes an idealistic nostalgic hero show while Batman becomes a hero fighting the same threats we see today. Thus Superman becomes out of touch while Batman stays close to modern concerns and fears. Thus the bad-boy wins out over the boyscout. So which will end up with more movies in the end the adaptable Batman will continue to dominate the Box office while Superman becomes his own Hollywood Kryptonite.

Image from here

Review: Wraith Recon

Judging this game by it's cover Wrath Recon is somewhat of a mystery. Only a small graphic on the back informs you that it is compatible with 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons. What it doesn't tell you is that Wraith Recon is a whole campaign setting combining the action of an army or special ops platoon with the high magical adventure of D&D.

What you won't find in this book:

There are no special classes, skills, or mechanics instead your given a rich and detailed campaign based around the Wraith Organization. Though the book presents a world to play in you could easily adapt Wraith Recon to any other gaming world. Special Purple Dragon Squads for Forgotten Realms, Aundairian Queens Guard Units for Eberon, even special Gondorian Hit Squads if you wanted.

What you will find:

Medieval Millitary Themed Gear, Special Magical Items, and lots of mission ideas. A ready resource for gamers looking to jump right into a campaign and one that gives the players a real reason to be adventuring together rather than the love of money, or some "quest" from a mad man in the corner.

If your looking for a way to spice up your 4th Edition or even Ideas for 3.5 or Patherfinder Wraith Recon is a suplement to any Sword and Sorcery Style Campaign.

We're opening!

Off Center Games, Comics, Books and More will be opening it's doors in the coming month. Looking for something fun to do or people to play we're here to fufill you needs. Look for updates and sales information and find out what's going on!
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