The new Kindle DX: good for gaming?

[Jürgen Hubert]

I own a Kindle 1. So here is what I'd say for the new device:

It's probably not ideal for pure rules books - if you have some rulebook you refer to all the time and hand around the table, buy it in physical form.

However, this is ideal for supplements - especially setting books and other material you don't refer to all the time, but still want close at hand if you need to look something up.

I know how much my library of Exalted books weighs. I'd be glad to reduce it to the weight of this book. I will buy a large-scale ebook reader (Kindle DX or another model) as soon as I can afford to, and I will buy most of my future gaming books as PDFs.

I've always hated reading books on a computer - too much strain on the eye. But ebook readers like the Kindle are different.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Moved to computers forum

 

[Nightchilde-2]

If the Kindle DX can open up the DDI Compendium using its web browser, I might very well be looking to purchase this. Srsly.

I suspect that it will since it's not a flash-based app. As far as I can tell from reading through the DX manual, it shouldn't have a problem as the Compendium is a relatively simple site.

 

[tenkar]

Bit of a thread rez

(this is a cross post from my blog, which I've also posted on the Fantasy Grounds forums - hoping to have pics and more in depth this weekend)



Wow. I'm actually holding the Kindle DX. It is significantly larger then the kindle but about 1 1/2 inches shorter and 2 1/2 inches narrower then the Castles & Crusades leatherette Players Handbook. It's about as thick as the C&C Players Handbook without the case. With the standard black leather kindle case it is a bit thicker then the C&C Players Handbook but not by much.

First thing I did after plugging it into my PC to charge was to copy over the Labyrinth Lord and OSRIC PDFs. Both look very clear and very readable although the print is relatively small. However, if you turn the Kindle DX in a horizontal orientation, the DX recognizes the change and the PDF displays in landscape, making the print even more readable (it does split the page into top and bottom tho.)

I'm not sure how portable the DX is over all... as in will I use it to go to work with me on a daily basis or will it be used mostly for an at home, in the yard or on vacation method to read PDFs in their native format.

 

[Kender42]

Thanks for the update Erik - look forward to the pics. I'm thinking about one of these for my Shadowrun PDFs - much easier to carry than 5 books.

 

[tenkar]

Just have one pic up on my bog and it is far from the best (iPhones don't take great shots) quick notes: DDI - I had high expectations that Dragon and Dungeon would work well on the DX but they don't. The weird sizing of the pages doesn't display well on the DX.

(edit: by "not displaying well" what i mean is, when the kindle is held in landscape mode the DDI material is too long to fit on the screen, but to short to be handled in half pages. What you get is a page plus a bit that gets held over to the next screen refresh, which then has even less of a page beneath the bit that was carried over... crap, this is gonna require photos... heh... give me some time)

 

[tenkar]

I've started to review how different RPG PDFs read on the Kindle DX:

The first entry from the blog (and I still need to take some pictures)

I've dumped a bazzilion PDFs on my Kindle DX at this point. Ok, maybe closer to 2 dozen, but have a bazzilion on my hard drive that have yet to make the transition. So, how do they look so far? Here's my totally nonscientific opinions on a scale of 1 to 5.

Elric - Runequest/Mongoose Edition - While readable, the font is small (even horizontally)and and the background clutter isn't helpful. 2

OSRIC 2.0 - Clear, uncluttered pages. This is what a PDF should look like on the Kindle DX. I can read it without turning it horizontally. Could have been made for the DX. 5

HARP Lite - Clear pages with no distracting background behind the letters. Artwork in the margins converts well. This and its sibling Rolemaster are table intensive and they look perfect. 5

True20 Quick Start Rules - Clean and uncluttered. Font seems a bit smaller then others, but looks very nice when viewed horizontally. 4

Kobold Quarterly #8 - This PDF converts exceptionally well. I may no longer need to subscribe to both print and PDF anymore 5

Points of Light Campaign Setting - Goodman Games - I'm not sure if its the light watermark art behind each page or if the font is smaller or both, but it isnt as easy to read as it could be. Held horizontal it looks much nicer. 3


I'll add to this list later. Remember, I'm just rating these PDFs on their suitability to be read on the Kindle DX. I'm not rating their value or worth as gaming products. That being said OSRIC is an amazing value and available for the unheard of price of FREE! Kobold Quarterly is what Dragon was back in the day with modern typsetting, making it a valauble addition to any gamers library.

 

[tenkar]

I've got 2 more blog posts up with 7 more PDFs reviewed for Kindle DX usage. I think I'll be diving into some of the free RPGs that are floating around next.

I have found that extremely large PDFs are awkward to flip thru. I'm going to start bookmarking chapters and see if that helps.

No hyperlinking, but to be honest most PDFs I've looked at on my computer lacked that feature, so not having the ability in the Kindle DX is a shame, but not a noticable loss.