Subject E14 - The Final Session

It's not that the internet isn't the paradise of weird mails that will possibly make you rich, get you a PhD or the partner of your dreams, but Mr. Leonard Huntings' emails are my absolute favourite ones. They are always delightfully disturbing. Here's the latest one:

Dear friend...

I write this letter to you under a great deal of pressure. I have been hiding in the shadows, trying to tell to you the truth, but they found about it and now they are coming for me. The last recording that I recovered is now available and nothing was the same after it... Bertrand was the first and then came many others. Including myself...

You have to come to the Hanwell Mental Institute. I know this is happening to you as well...

This is the last you will hear from me...

-Lenny

The Adventure Lantern Lit Again

Most of the early dwellers of Gnome's Lair will remember what Adventure Lantern was all about, and should probably be already thrilled enough to cry with demented joy while searching for their collector's copy of King's Quest II. The rest of you luvs simply have to follow this very link and grab the first Adventure Lantern issue in what feels like ages. It might be small, but it has been put together by AL's esteemed editor without any help and is a most brilliant pilot for a new era. Oh, and I do believe you should all know that AL remains the only adventure gaming focused magazine, and that is has always been a freely downloadable PDF.

Maziacs: The Boardgame

First, there was Mazogs on the Sinclair ZX81. It was a dungeon crawler and it was great. Then, there was Maziacs for the ZX Spectrum. It was a dungeon crawler and it was great. Now, there is Maziacs: The Boardgame. It is a dungeon crawler and it is great. It also is absolutely free, provided of course you have a printer and some dice, and can be played with purely analog means.

The question though is whether Maziacs: The Boardgame, a boardgame based on a rather ancient and definitely simple CRPG, is worth your time, effort and paper. Well, I'm pretty sure it is. The rules are incredibly simple, smart, fun and versatile, and the game can be played both in its standard single-player mode and cooperatively. I'm actually pretty sure it could be run with a Game Master too. As for its aesthetics, simple as they are, they remain true to the original source and evoke a certain retro feel. Definitely worth a try. Download your PDF copies here.

Related @ Gnome's Lair:

• Play Brikwars!
• Proletariat: The Uprising
• An intro to RPGs
• It's Alive! The interview

Raze Magazine Issue One

First published in late 1990, Raze was an excellent and pretty much final multi-format magazine by Newsfield, that read like a slightly more console-centric, slightly more Japan-loving version of The Games Machine. Happily, and thanks to the Out-Of-Print-Archive, you can now download the original issue 1 of Raze for free. Simply follow this link and grab a high definition, top quality scan of the magazine, that has the blessing of Newsfield Publications and is as legal as they get. You'll need a cbr reader to enjoy the mag, mind, so I suggest you have a look at the equally freeware Comical.

Content-wise this first issue of Raze covers everything from the Atari Lynx and the Amiga, to the Sega Master System and Amstrad's hopeless GX4000. In its 100 pages the issue features an extensive Which Console? article and sports dozens of reviews, previews and news-bits about such all-time favourites as Shadow of the Beast II, Devil's Crash, Lemmings and James Pond. Oh, and after you've done reading it, there's this excellent Newsfield related interview with Roger Kean to read, enjoy and fuel your nostalgia.

Related @ Gnome's Lair:

• Electronic Gaming Monthly issue 1
• A ton of classic gaming magazines
• Retro Gamer eMag review
• Ten brilliant Amiga retro remakes

The Return of the S.K.U.N.K.Z.

Remember SKUNKZ the 80s-styled sidescrolling arcade shooter? Well, it's back in a vastly updated and slightly less infuriatingly difficult version. You can download it here and enjoy its freeware retro charms.

Game Sniped Filled with Ancient Toys

As most of you dearest readers of Gnome's Lair should already be aware of, I'm more than fond of retro games and old hardware. I even -allow me to remind you- run the Retro Treasures blog and regularly try to find the odd classic bargain over at eBay. So, uhm, I do hope you'll let me suggest an excellent retro gaming and collecting site. Oh, you do, lovely! Now head over to GameSniped and treat yourselves to an exotic variety of retro (and contemporary) rarities, oddities, and even bargains. Just like the one posted above.