James Wallis

In the cavern-like darkness of the arcade, the neon phosphor-glow of the screen beckons you close. Drawn to the dancing pixels like a moth to a flame, digging deep in your pocket you pull out a shiny coin and thumb it into the slot as the electronic siren sings the fanfare that marks your arrival. One hand on the joystick, the other splayed across the control buttons, your pulse begins to quicken. Ready Player One Press StartYou've barely begun but suddenly the discordant bleeps are trumpeting your failure as your 8-bit adventure comes to an abrupt end. At least in the world of the video arcade you get a second chance. But what is the true price you pay when you make a pact with the digital demon? There's always another coin, an extra life to be earned, a second chance...Isn't there?GAME OVERA dozen stories of creeping dread and savage horror inspired by the humble amusement arcade and the classic coin-ops of yesteryear. Twelve tales to chill your blood by twelve masters of the malevolent and the macabre.Just keep reminding yourself, it's only a game...Isn't it?

Writing in response to our current “constitutional crisis,” New York Times bestselling author and Christian activist Jim Wallis urges America to return to the tenets of Jesus once again as the means to save us from the polarizing bitterness and anger of our tribal nation.In Christ in Crisis Jim Wallis provides a path of spiritual healing and solidarity to help us heal the divide separating Americans today. Building on “Reclaiming Jesus”—the declaration he and other church leaders wrote in May 2018 to address America’s current crisis—Wallis argues that Christians have become disconnected from Jesus and need to revisit their spiritual foundations. By pointing to eight questions Jesus asked or is asked, Wallis provides a means to measure whether we are truly aligned with the moral and spiritual foundations of our Christian faith. “Christians have often remembered, re-discovered, and returned to their obedient discipleship of Jesus Christ—both personal and public—in times of trouble. It’s called coming home,” Wallis reminds us. While he addresses the dividing lines and dangers facing our nation, the religious and cultural commentator’s focus isn’t politics; it’s faith.As he has done throughout his career, Wallis offers comfort, empathy, and a practical roadmap. Christ in Crisis is a constructive field guide for all those involved in resistance and renewal initiatives in faith communities in the post-2016 political context.

The revolution in tabletop gaming revealed and reviewed, in this entertaining and informative look at over 40 years of award-winning games.The annual Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year) Awards are like the Oscars of the tabletop. Acclaimed British author and games expert James Wallis investigates the winners and losers of each year’s contest to track the incredible explosion in amazing new board games. From modern classics like CATAN, Ticket to Ride, and Dixit to once-lauded games that have now been forgotten (not to mention several popular hits that somehow missed a nomination), this is a comprehensive yet hugely readable study of the best board games ever made, penned by one of the most knowledgeable commentators on the hobby.

You wake in a shallow grave in the desert. It's night. You have no memory of how you got here, or who you are, or the location of your clothes. A scar of neon in the shape of a city squats on the horizon. There are answers there. And trouble.ALAS VEGAS is a dark journey through a bizarre and terrifying casino city where everything has a price. Caught in a war between the Rat Packers who run the place, the players must find allies, the truth and a way to escape. Memories are recovered, secrets are revealed, old debts are settled, and nothing is what it seems. The game lasts four sessions, structured like a miniseries, leading to a revelatory final showdown. It's Ocean's Eleven directed by David Lynch. It's Franz Kafka's Fear and Loathing. It's The Hangover meets The Prisoner. It's not like anything you've played before.PLUS THREE MORE FUGUE CAMPAIGNSALAS VEGAS runs on the Fugue game system, built to tell stories of characters with amnesia. It uses Tarot cards and rotating GMs to create unique, high-tension adventures, heavy on character and narrative. The book contains ideas, background, and game-running advice by some of the finest RPG designers alive, and three extra Fugue campaigns: Yet Already, frantic time-travel to save a chaotic, collapsing universe; Warlock Kings, paladins returned to life as generals of a dark army; and Remembering Cosmic Man, the strange histories of superheroes. Plus all the Fugue mechanics, of course.There's also a complete stand-alone story-game set in the blood-red heart of classic Vegas, Killing Bugsy Siegel by Kenneth Hite."The ultimate one-shot roleplaying game" - Reviews from R'yleh"Alas Vegas is a stunning self-contained game with a heck of a narrative punch" - Jason MicalAbout the Creators James Wallis, 'the godfather of indie game design', is the Origins Award-winning designer behind Once Upon a Time, The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen, and the 2017 reboot of Paranoia.Alas Vegas contains contributions from Richard Dansky. Matt Forbeck, Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan, Kenneth Hite, Laurent Devernay and Jerome Larre, Robin D. Laws, Johnstone Metzger, Mike Selinker, Sean Smith, John Scott Tynes and Allen Varney, and artwork by John Coulthart, Dennis Detwiller, John Kovalic and Niki Hunter.