In Twilight Creations’ board game Innsmouth Escape, one player takes on the role of the human trying to free her friends and flee from the accursed town infested with frog-like worshipers of Cthulhu, while the rest play the nefarious Deep Ones themselves, intent on keeping their dark secret away from the prying eyes of outsiders.

The board is a simple six-by-six grid. Some of the squares are marked with symbols indicating places to rescue human captives, obtain equipment and have encounters (all for the human player) and to spawn Deep Ones, summon a Shoggoth (more on that later) and draw cards for the Deep One player(s).

Just in time for Halloween, we have come up with a special treat for all you horror authors and storytellers out there. We’ve put our heads together and came up with a random horror plot generator for you to have fun with.

What does it do? Randomizes horror plots, silly! Right now, we have well over 1,000 words and phrases that we’ve put into our bubbling cauldron to come up with some interesting horror plot ideas.

Director Ruben Fleischer’s Zombieland is not a horror movie. It’s not even a horror-comedy. It’s really a fairly straight forward comedy-comedy, the back drop of which involves zombies. And as such it works pretty well, just not as well as its components suggest it should.

The world has been overrun by zombies and a most unlikely survivor nicknamed Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) is heading east across the country toward home hoping to find others, his family in particular. As fate would have it, he crosses paths with Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), another survivor heading east and Columbus’ polar opposite in just about every way. Soon the two of them run into a bad girl nicknamed Wichita (Emma Stone) and her twelve year old sister Little Rock (Abigail Breslin). These girls were conning men out of their money before zombies became an issue and have since parlayed their game into a post apocalyptic art of survival as they head west.

Madison Games Day 2 is all about the spookier side of gaming. Gamers in and around the Madison, Wisconsin area have a chance to meet new people and play new games. In addition to all the other great games, there will be horror-themed games and events.

We invite everyone in the area (or willing to make the trek) to come and play some games! There will be indie and mainstream roleplaying games, card games, and board games. If you have something you’d like to play, bring it!

Visit MadisonGamesDay.wordpress.com for all the latest information.

Castle Panic is a unique, cooperative strategy game for 1 to 6 players ages 10 and up.

Players must work together to defend their castle, in the center of the board, from monsters that attack out of the forest, at the edges of the board. Players trade cards, hit and slay monsters, and plan strategies together to keep their castle towers intact. The players either win or lose together, but only the player with the most victory points is declared the Master Slayer.

Players must balance the survival of the group with their own desire to win.

Castle Panic is available now at Amazon.com.

Want to write for games?

Think your art is ready for professional publication?

Not sure how to get your foot in the door?

Freelance writer/editor/game creator Jess Hartley shares her secrets for using conventions as an entry into the game industry.

This was originally a series of articles presented on Jess’ website to offer her experiences and advice to potential freelancers looking to make the best use of their time during the summer 2009 convention season.

Recently revised and updated with expanded information, Jess Hartley’s Conventions for the Aspiring Game Professional is available now for only $1.99.

Get it today at the Flames Rising RPGNow Shop.

Hello, horror fans. As the ghost of Halloween past, I feel it is my duty to remind you that the past is sometimes more enticing than the present.

This time last year, FlamesRising.com offered you a series of treats that came in a variety of flavors.

Throughout October, several horror authors and game designers lent a hand (and even a finger or two) to record their tales describing a broad range of monsters — including ghosts not unlike myself.

Calling all zombie lovers! Crackle.com is getting into the spirit of Halloween by offering free films, previews of ZOMBIELAND and an original comedy series entitled WOKE UP DEAD starring Jon Heder (NAPOLEON DYNAMITE).

The folks over at Crackle.com are really excited to show their love for the shambling, brain-eating undead. In the first half of October, they’ll be offering zombie films for fans to legally watch on the web for free.

This is an APB to horror movie buffs within range of Madison, WI. The Madison Horror Film Fest invades Market Square Cinema at 6604 Odana Rd in Madison WI this weekend and yours truly will be there.

The fest kicks off at noon on Saturday, Oct. 3^rd and goes through Sunday night. You can expect an onslaught of indie horror shorts, features, vendors and guests including Debbie Rochon, and Bill Rebane. Highlights will include a screening of Re-Animator followed by a Q&A with director Stuart Gordon and a “Women in Horror” presentation hosted by Elske McCain and Scarlet Salem. Check back next week for my full recap of Saturday’s events and if you see me at the fest feel free to say hi.

In the meantime, check out this short Q&A with Fest director Rich Peterson:

The Pirate King is the second novel of the Transitions series by R.A. Salvatore. The hardcover edition was released in the US on July 2009.

“Captain Deudermont has sailed to the pirate city of Luskan on a mission–a mission to once and for all defeat the true power behind the corrupt city: a wicked lich and his cabal of evil wizards from the Host Tower of the Arcane. But the Host Tower has some tricks up its sleeve, as do the pirate captains who would like to see both sides fail.”

As many know, the Forgotten Realms is changing. With the advent of Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition the FR timeline is being advanced approximately 100 years. The various “Drizzt Novels” so far have been set earlier in the timeline (corresponding with 2nd Edition AD&D and D&D 3r/ 3.5 Editions). The “Transitions Series” is an attempt to reconcile the two converging timelines, bridging the gap between the setting we all know (and love) and the new setting which has MANY stark differences.