AMA (Tuesday noon, April 28): Mike Selinker, your 2015 ENnie Awards host, ex-D&D creative director, and creator of the RPG/card game hybrid Apocrypha

[Mike Selinker]

Hi there! I'm Mike Selinker, the host of the 2015 ENnie Awards at Gen Con. I'm a former creative director on 3rd Edition D&D and the creator of the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game for Paizo. I've also designed and/or developed a bunch more board games and RPGs, including Betrayal at House on the Hill and the Marvel Super Heroes Adventure Game. You can also check out my team's new Apocrypha Adventure Card Game, which is an RPG and a standalone card game in one box. It's on Kickstarter now.

In preparation for the ENnie Awards, I thought I'd see what's on people's minds. So if you're inclined, ask me some anythings! I'll start replying at noon Pacific/3 PM Eastern on Tuesday, April 28. See you then!

 

[mjandersen]

Hi, Mike! Are there any alcoholic beverages that you think pair particularly well with any of your games? If so, how deep into the bottle should we get for optimum gaming?

 

[MrsFickleGM]

Hi Mike - I used to run my work's newsletter, and here's some of the frequently asked questions I would propose during the interviews. Feel free to answer any and all that you like!

What's your educational background?
What would you consider to be your area of expertise?
What's the best part of your job?
What's your hobbies?
What's your favorite quote?
What's your missed calling?
If you ever wrote an autobiography, what would it be called?
What surprises people the most about you?

 

[geekyhostess]

Do you have any "guilty pleasure" games? Games that may not be critically acclaimed or well-liked, but that you can't get enough of?

 

[Benji]

Hey Mike, just want to thank you for your part in delivering the Marvel game to my door.It was my introduction to DM-ing supers games and I've never really looked back - I was addicted to it, I think I converted something like 800 marvel characters to the game for use as PC/NPCs and ended up statting characters as I read the comics, so my question really is: why do you think it didn't have a long run? There was only ever a few books and products and it seemed to dissappear after 3rd hit the shelves despite having much to do with it apart from distributor. What made them shelve it?

 

[in2trial]

Hey Mike! I just picked up your "Puzzle Craft" book yesterday and am very excited to get started on creating word puzzles. I have had an idea of wanting to create puzzles for a while, but not sure where to start, so I am looking forward to working my way through the book.

Questions for you:
What tools are best to have, to set up to create puzzles? (For Example - Computer with Excel, Notebook, Pens, etc.)
Besides Excel/Word, do you use any other programs to assist with the work?
I can see where Excel would be great to make a word search, but how do you create the answer key with the circling?
What are some of the most helpful websites you use to assist in creating the actual puzzle, assisting with word lists, etc.?
Do you carry a journal around to be able to write down puzzle ideas (types of puzzles, word list themes, starting to compile word lists)? How do you organize your journal?
Do you keep a log on the computer to assist on when a new puzzle was created, if/when it was used in a publication? Do you keep a separate file for each puzzle created?
Any general tips for someone wanting to start creating puzzles?

Thank you very much!

 

[ceakins1]

What was the most difficult part of leaving Wizards of the Coast?
Did you already have another job lined up at the time or had you simply gotten to the point where you needed to move on and there were no other choices?

 

[qwenlyn]

Hi and thanks for doing another ask me anything.

I'm currently backing the Apocrypha kickstarter and looking forward to the time flying by and it arriving.
I'm backing the Master's Edition and was wondering if there were any further enhancements or additions that were going to be added to that edition of the game to (a) encourage more backers to support at that level, and (b) to differentiate it from the regular edition so it feels like a true difference from what could be gotten at the Revelation Box level.

Congrats on the successful kickstarter and looking forward to it continuing to do well.

 

[Mike Selinker]

OK, let's light this candle. This seems like a great place to start.

Hi Mike - I used to run my work's newsletter, and here's some of the frequently asked questions I would propose during the interviews. Feel free to answer any and all that you like!
What's your educational background?

Garfield High School, Seattle WA
Northwestern University, Evanston IL
Unseen University, Ankh-Morpork DW

What would you consider to be your area of expertise?

Finding people who are better than me at everything to help me be better at everything.

What's the best part of your job?

There are some people who would not call what I do a "job." That's the best part.

What's your hobbies?

Poker, puzzlery, playing with my dog, other things that start with P.

What's your favorite quote?

"I did it 35 minutes ago."

What's your missed calling?

In middle school I was certain my two most likely careers were rock star and NBA player.

If you ever wrote an autobiography, what would it be called?

What do you mean "If"?

What surprises people the most about you?

By now, probably nothing.

 

[Mike Selinker]

Hi, Mike! Are there any alcoholic beverages that you think pair particularly well with any of your games? If so, how deep into the bottle should we get for optimum gaming?

I haven't really thought about it. But maybe:
The Pathfinder Adventure Card Game: http://www.webtender.com/db/drink/2462"]a Love Potion
Betrayal at House on the Hill: a Flaming Zombie
Lords of Vegas: http://www.webtender.com/db/drink/224"]a Casino
Unspeakable Words: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1146/96464/"]a Goose Island Cthulhu

And by now, probably very far.