I've been involved with role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons for a long time now. Sometimes I have to explain what playing D&D is like.

Well, last night, it was like this:

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Labor Day signifies a variety of milestones... the beginning of school, the end of summer, the retirement of your white deck shoes.

I spent my holiday weekend attempting a milestone of a different sort: Beating the final level of BLACK on hard difficulty.

BLACK is a video game that came out a couple years ago. I played it furiously when it was first released, but for the past year it's been gathering dust. Not because it's not fun to shoot terrorists, but because the final level is, as the kids say, effing impossible.

Will I break the game or will the game break me? Read on...

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I started to write this in chronological order, but frankly, all that detail gets a little tedious.

So here are some of the highlights from the rest of Gen Con.

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I promise, my post Gen Con recap is on its way. (There's the little matter of a certain comedy showcase that opens tonight.) But I couldn't leave the computer without bringing up this little comment Michael Goldfarb laid down on johnmccain.com. To quote:

"It may be typical of the pro-Obama Dungeons & Dragons crowd to disparage a fellow countryman's memory of war from the comfort of mom's basement, but most Americans have the humility and gratitude to respect and learn from the memories of men who suffered on behalf of others."

I've gamed with a lot of people. Just this past weekend I hung out with about 25,000 of them. Their political ideology runs ACROSS the board.

And none that I know demonstrates a lack of gratitude or humility any moreso than, say, an editor of The Weekly Standard.

So my advice to Michael Goldfarb: Don't dredge up the "jocks vs nerds" argument, sir.

As has been well documented: NERDS WIN.

-Tom, who usually keeps his mouth shut, but really.

Day One, like the rest of the convention, is all about the NASCRAG.

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I'm out in Indianapolis for that annual gathering of Dungeons & Dragons geeks, Gen Con. It's four days of fat guys in tight black t-shirts sweating under the weight of their overstuffed backpacks and arguing over the PROPER way to stat up Aragorn.

Twenty-five thousand geeks descend on the city. It's like the Indy 500, but with 12-sided dice.

My flight options dictated that I arrive early, so today I got to hang out with my buddy Erik who lives here in Indy.

Here's what we did:

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Gary Gygax passed away today, the chief creator of Dungeons & Dragons. The internet is full of tributes, along with some snarky commentary like "I guess he failed his saving throw" etc.

Strangely, I find most of those glib remarks disrespectful and unfunny, even though my stock-in-trade is being snarky and glib. For even though I only met him once in passing, Gary Gygax has had a huge impact on my life.

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People who don't actually play Dungeons & Dragons typically think one of two things:

1. It's a computer game. Or,
2. You dress up like a wizard, roll weird dice, and try to subvert mainstream society's judeo-christian values.

Only one of those things is true.

Here's what really happens at a Dungeons & Dragons game:

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If you're out shopping at your local gaming store (or happen to swing by a better news stand) pick up the latest issue of Dragon magazine.

It just might feature someone you know.

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The views keep rolling on Fear of Girls, Episode 2. If you haven't had a chance, be sure to digg it.

As a special treat this Friday, I've added some behind the scenes photos from the filming of Fear of Girls, Episode 2.

Check them out here!

-Tom, humbled to have played in the Ultimate Gaming Room.