I started playing Dungeons and Dragons in the late 70's with my Dad as the Dungeon Master and myself, brother and sisters as the players. Now and then a friend would be over and join in the game. But, it was a lot more complicated to join in than a game of cards or Monopoly or any other board game. So, usually having people join in wasn't so great. By the time we explained the game and set up new characters for them, it would be about time for them to go home to their own family.

By the early 80's my Dad was no longer playing and I was the Dungeon Master. I loved drawing and creating maps. I'd never admit it to my brother and sisters but I did rearrange the original map as they wandered along through it. How can you not give in to the temptation to move things around when the players seem to blunder along and miss the best stuff you had put there for them to find? Not all of it was bad. Most of it they could have survived.

I never knew Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) was supposed to be for boys. It never occurred to me that being a female Dungeon Master was unusual. It was a lot of fun. I was glad when I could take over from my Dad. He was far too strict about following all the rules. We never seemed to get the game off the ground while he was in charge. I was less rule abiding. We skipped several steps from the player guide but we all got into the game. Not just the game play but really enjoying the adventure and using our imagination.

These Days...

In writing about women playing Dungeons and Dragons I've found that we don't really stand out so much as we once would have. Women are mixing in like any other game player. There aren't many resources geared to women playing D&D because that kind of exclusivity just isn't important any more. Except, it is still nice to be a girl and feel different from the other grunting, sword carrying, usually taller and less curvier players.

I wonder if women playing D&D dress up for it in costumes. It would be fun but could bring out more of the differences between players rather than keeping the spirit of the game and just having a lot of fun as part of a group of adventurers risking life and limb at the whim of the Dungeon Master.

Essential Dungeons and Dragons Game Play and Resources

• Wizards of the Coast

• Dragon*Con

• What D&D Character Am I?

• Live-action women's Dungeons and Dragons show - Boing Boing

Dungeons and Dragons for the Women Gamers

• Dungeons and Dragons | Pinterest
• Girls and D&D | Dungeon Bastard
• The 10 Hottest Ladies of Dungeons & Dragons - Topless Robot
• Dungeon Divas: Dice, Women, & Dungeons and Dragons Miniatures
• People them with Monsters: Familial D&D Adventures with the Girls
• Guttersnipe: Girls Do Play D&D | Fantasy Magazine
• Girls in Geekdom: Dispelling the Myth | Ask the Dungeon Master
• Introducing D&D to Girly Girls | GeekDad | Wired.com

Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set

I miss the old red box. A cosmetic thing but still... it was such a great shade of red. But, it is great to have an update to the starter set. I wouldn't pass it up

The Gilmore Girls was a television series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel and enough characters to fill a small town. Of course, the town, Stars Hollow, was part of the show as well as the fictional location where Rory grew up and Lorelai went from spoiled rich 16 year old girl with a baby to owner of The Dragonfly Inn with her best friend, Sookie, as a partner.

Rumours about a Gilmore Girls Movie or New Series

Since the show ended there have been rumours about it coming back. So far nothing concrete and the original producers and actors are not saying anything for sure. I would love to see a Gilmore Girls Christmas special. It could tie up loose ends about whatever happened to Lorelai and Rory....?

Did you love, like or never watch it all that much?

Since the show ended I have heard people criticizing it. Some say Lorelai was an awful Mother, prying into everything, not setting a great example and so on. But, I think, that was what the Gilmore Girls was really about: making mistakes, getting things wrong but overall keeping on track and standing by your family, friends and the values you hold especially close. Gilmore Girls wasn't about a perfect Mother and daughter relationship. It wasn't meant to be an icon for single Mothers or small business women or girls growing up. It was about learning from your mistakes and not being afraid to take chances and be who you really are.

Lorelai and Emily

I especially like every scene with Lorelai and Emily, her Mother. They had such a hard relationship, each wanting to be closer and yet neither of them willing to give enough ground to find that middle ground. The actresses (Lauren Graham and Kelly Bishop) made these scenes my favourites during all seven seasons.

Women ran the show. Women were the central characters but the men in their lives were important too. Lorelai dated a few but kept coming back to Christopher (Rory's Father) and Luke (who owned the famous Luke's Diner). Did you ever wish Lorelai had married Max, from season one and stuck with him? I still think he would have been the best match for her, but it just didn't get written that way. Lorelai also had a rocky relationship with her Father. I was happy to see the final episode end with him telling her she had done a good job with Rory and deserved to be congratulated.

Which character was your favourite?

There were so many characters in that town: Sookie and Jackson (Melissa McCarthy and Jackson Douglas) were so much fun to watch as they began dating and then all the years of being married and having children. They created their own show every time they had a scene together.

I liked Dean best of all Rory's boyfriends. Of the town's people Babette, Miss Patty and Gypsy (the car repair woman) stand out for me. Do you remember Babette's little house and her tall husband, Maury?

Then, how can anyone forget Paris Geller? Starting out by considering Rory her competition for excelling at school and going to Harvard. Paris and Rory became unlikely friends. Lane was Rory's best friend but I'm sure Rory was the best friend Paris ever had. If ever the Gilmore Girls gets a come back or a Christmas special, Paris (Liza Weil) must be there.

Gilmore Girls Wiki (Great fan site and knowledge base about the show).

25 other little known facts about the Gilmore Girls (from Thought Catalog).

Missing the Gilmore Girls?

I haven't seen the show come up on Netflix so far. But, I've only been with Netflix since the start of this year. If you need a Gilmore Girl hour or two the best you can do is get the DVDs or take a look at the other options, like the music from the show (see below).

Fan Moments for the Gilmore Girls

Do you remember the last scene, from the last episode of the last season... sitting in Luke's Diner, ordering coffee and breakfast. The camera pulls away as Lorelai and Rory continue to talk. Just the way the pilot episode ended, only they were talking about boys instead of Rory travelling.

Do you remember watching Family? I was just a couple of years younger than the actress who played "Buddy" on the show. Most nights the TV was claimed by someone else so I would only get to see the show sometimes. I liked it. I still see photos from the show and remember what life was like in the 70's as a kid.

A Simple Show about the Lawrence Family

The show was about the Lawrence family: two parents and three children. Buddy, the youngest daughter, always seemed to be on the verge of growing up. I don't remember ever asking awkward questions that way but I did look a lot like that. Same hair style and clothes. Then there was the older brother (the only brother). He always seemed troubled to me but I liked him. Nancy, the older sister didn't have much time for her brother and sister or her parents. She had her own first child and was a single Mother in those days when divorce and being a single Mother were still unusual.

Why Isn't a Stay at Home Mother Enough?

I like the look of the actress who played the Mother in the family. She didn't look like my own Mother (my Mother was younger by at least ten years) but she looked like a TV Mom. She dressed the way I thought a TV Mom should too. You could get away with calling her frumpy, but that's on the mean side. She was a stay at home Mom and she looked after her children, her husband and made her house a home for everyone. At some point the producers must have thought they had to make being a Mom at home seem unattractive and undesirable. I remember her playing the Mom as someone who was taken for granted and ignored and later she want back to school. I don't think it's right in our culture the way women are thought less of if they are Mothers who stay home to work on raising a family and keeping a house. Why isn't that enough?

Anyway, the Father on the show was a lawyer or some kind of professional. He always looked on the verge of a heart attack to me. I don't know why. He was a fairly standard TV Dad, off to work each day and then home in time for Fatherly advice.

Buddy's Mysterious, Quiet Brother

The show was more about Buddy's brother for me. He was mysterious and quiet and yet a good brother. I still like guys like that. Funny, but I had all but forgotten the show. Thinking about it again it is that brother (who's name I could not remember without looking it up online) I can remember watching to see what he was up to and what was the trouble he seemed to never quite talk about.

You can't yet get all the seasons of the Family TV show on DVD. I guess they are waiting to see if there is enough demand for more than the first two. So, if you want more order them and hope for the best. I could not find Family recorded on YouTube. I guess it was a simple show, not something flashing a lot of skin and violence as most of them do these days.

Which family focused TV show did you best like from the 1970's?

• Family
• The Brady Bunch
• Eight is Enough
• The Courtship of Eddie's Father
• Family Affair
• One Day at a Time
• The Partridge Family

Tribez is a colourful, friendly looking city building game you can play as a mobile application or on Facebook. The game starts with an overgrown area which you build up into a village. As it grows you build houses, get more people and get to hatch dragon/ dinosaur eggs which become the guardians of your village. They run around over roads and grassy areas but always seem to know just where the next torch carrying savage will show up. The torch guys are bigger than your people and they will light your buildings on fire.

The game evolves with you buying more territory, completing quests and getting access to better buildings, resources and services. It's a simple, little game where you are the world ruler you always wanted to be. Tribez is world domination for people too polite to actually go out there and ransack and pillage.

I Play Tribez on Facebook

On Facebook the game has been simple to play, start up and keep playing. I did not have to pay for anything, unlike some games on Facebook which become impossible to make any progress in unless you pay for upgrades and extras. I did pay for extra credits because I am enjoying the game and I like to support game developers so they are encouraged to keep working on new games and new ideas for existing games.

With Tribez I am the City Planner I always wanted to be

For both Tribes games I love playing with the layout of my village, town or city. I think I spend more time moving everything around and rearranging them all than I do actually collecting money from the houses and making sure all my little people are busy at work. I set them pulling weeds, chopping misguided trees that grow in all the wrong places and removing all those stumps and run out of food. Then they don't want to get back to work and I have to let them grow more food again (or harvest some bushes and trees).

Tribez Wiki

Tribez does give pop ups and nags while you are playing. But, what Facebook game doesn't do that? I don't find them too much of a distraction.

One new feature of the game, which I paid for, is turning all the characters into women instead of bearded men running around pulling weeds, mining rock and tending the town bars. I like having women in the game. It would be nice if there were women and men, but the Amazon village is fun to play.

You can also pick up your characters and drop them into the game again. I just do it for fun sometimes. They never mind but it makes me laugh. In some other life I was probably a petty tyrant.

Tribez Castles is New

This past week I discovered a new version of Tribez. This one has castles. It isn't so different in game play and overall the city building is still the main thing. However, in this game the combats require more of your participation. One downside of the new game is a lack of space to build everything. I am managing to work it out but I would prefer to have a town layout with more open areas.

I Was Addicted to Tetris on my Home and Office Computer

Maybe you never played Tetris, the original game from the USSR, created by Alexey Pajitnov and released on June 6th, 1984. Tetris was a simple game.

You match different shaped tiles as they came down. Each time you built a level across those tiles would disappear. You needed to keep your tiles building a solid shape as the new tiles continued to drop down. No one ever won a game of Tetris because the game just kept going until you lost. But, the key with Tetris was how long you could keep up the juggling act. How many levels could you get through before your unmatched tiles became too high to allow you to twist and turn and fit in the new tiles coming down.

Tetris began attracting new versions pretty quickly. You could play several free online games long before there were websites like Yahoo!Games, Facebook on Kongregate. Tetris came before any of those by several years.

You Can't Stop at Just One Level

Once you begin a game of Tetris (after you have some practice and get to know your way around) you will find it hard to actually stop playing. The game is simple and yet not at all easy. It can be frustrating as well as addictive. I have had to stop playing Tetris to answer the phone when I was working at an office. I lost that game, not because I wasn't doing well but I just couldn't stick with it. I may have had my highest score ever that day... if it weren't for the phone, having a job, rent to pay and all of that stuff.