Barnestorming- Introducing the Review Corner, XCOM in Review, Wario Land 3, Berserk, Brian Eno

TBH most of the reviews posted to this site by the main writers are either already on their blogs or are links to other sites, so I don't see how this changes. besides Barnes often adds a few extra bits of commentary or meta commentary on his reviews here so it doesn't bother me.

Secondly, I would suggest people that are actually interested in what these reviews say more than just the star rating and tagline are interested in the comments and debate. Its the forum here that matters. Thirdly, other people than these four can write (and do, Barneys 5 second = best) content for this site.



One advantage of these reviews is they appear to have a tight word count, which I appreciate.

Andy, there's a couple of things you might be mistaken about here: First, I'm not, nor ever have been a "staff writer" here. I repost my blogs here because nobody goes to my site anymore, and hasn't really since I imploded my BGG account. Second, the articles at MM are much, much different than the articles I post on my site, primarily because the reviews at MM are MY opinion alone, not the opinion of the Circus.

I'm writing for MM solely because I want more exposure for my site. I told Barnes that I didn't want to get paid for it, but he kind of pointed out that it's no different than review copies, and after much reflection, I have to agree. So, what I'm doing is that I'm going to create a "request a game to be reviewed" page, and I'm going to spend the proceeds to go out and buy it, play it, and then give the game away to my readers as I usually do. I think that allows me to remain a "non-profit" writer, so to speak, and it actually is a good thing for my site as it allows me to start reviewing more things that are requested, which allows me to provide better service to my readers.

And here's the new page announcing this new "program" for as long as I am not fired by Michael:
http://superflycircus.com/circus-rules-and-methods/miniature-market-reviews-and-request-a-review/

I'm not sure anyone remembers how the Circus works, but it's 100% unique in how I do it:
http://superflycircus.com/circus-rules-and-methods/

TL;DR: We take polls every time we play a game. We have to play it 3 times, and it has to be with at least 1 different person each play, more or less. Everyone gives me notes, and then I kind of compress the notes into the article. The articles I write are a hybrid of a bunch of people's opinions and sometimes I'm stuck writing positive things about games I don't really like because it polled well. Sometimes I have to skew negative on games I really, really love. So, it's not all me, where at Miniature Market, it's 100% certified Grade-F Pete.

Make any sense?

ThirstyMan wrote: Why go to FortressAT when you can just go to MM and read all these writers in the one place and not be distracted by the noise of FAT?

90% of Barnes reviews will still be on CrackedLCD and he'll still continue Barnestorming every single week. His material won't crossover and you won't be able to read his CrackedLCD work on the MM site.

I will continue to contribute here sporadically. One of my issues for my brief stint writing here has been kind of figuring out what I want my column to be. I could keep doing the commentary + review link like Barnes/Thrower do but that just feels a bit off when they're already doing that.

I don't know about Nate/Pete and their future. Nate had stepped away from FAT prior to the Review Corner. I don't see Pete abandoning his Superfly Circus reviews as his foul mouth can't quite run free on the Review Corner.

I don't see Pete abandoning his Superfly Circus reviews as his foul mouth can't quite run free on the Review Corner.

Hey, fuck you. COLORFUL mouth. COLORFUL.

I'm never going to stop the Circus, as long as I feel I have something to offer the hobby. It's always been there (first in Blogger form, now in SuperflyCircus.com form) and it shall always be there. I also have my Facebook Circus deal where I re-post my articles there. My articles are here. My articles get picked up by two different other organizations, one is G*M*S Magazine in the UK, the other is a game store that seems to be doing what MM does (I actually wrote them a cease-and-desist until they agreed to certain conditions such as not changing a single fucking word and providing proper attribution) called Roll For Crit.

Make no mistake, folks, everything I've done and will always do, I do for the hobby. I just dropped $600.00 on the website for 5 years, plus I spend 50$ a month getting games that I want to review (I still only get a very small amount of review copies, and then only from two publishers, and I almost never ask for them...they just appear). If someone requests a game get reviewed, I go out and buy it, then review it. I've given away something like 75 games since I started the blog, paid shipping on nearly all of them.

It's just how I do things, and that will never change. My hit rate is like 100 per day now at max (it WAS 6,000 per month back in the heyday), thanks to me stupidly blowing up the BGG account that had all my reviews. Because of the ban, I can't even repost them. Dumb ass move, that wasn't well thought out.

So, there ya have it. For me, the only thing that changes is that my wife doesn't ask about "COOLSTUFFINC" on the credit card invoice anymore, because I say, "Oh, that's Barnes Money, sweetie."

I find foul more complimentary. But if you want to homogenize your own style, sure - Colorful.

I only have two beefs with this whole thing:

1. I'd like to see some pictures in the reviews. A wall of text is fine here and there, but if every review is just text it's a little boring. I like how Pete does his reviews at SuperflyCircus with the box art and a supporting image or two. Not so much that it's all about the images or detracts from the reviews.
2. Why didn't this post of you pointing to the Miniature Market review show up in the FAT RSS feed?

Other than that, I like the idea and I'm happy to see folks who are taking the time to review games for us getting paid for their work.

My lowered involvement here would be happening with or without the Review Corner. I stepped away because of grad school, and that was going to happen either way.

When I was approached for this project, it offered a lot of compelling reasons to get back into reviewing. First of all, the exposure is a big deal. For me it really does feel like a move up to the big leagues, not from F:AT but from being a plain old blogger. My reach was always going to be limited if I left things the way they were. When I started classes I assumed (with some regret) it was a fun hobby I got to do that was now behind me. This is a big step forward for me personally and professionally.

Secondly, it requires less of me in terms of actual work , since I will be writing less each month.

Lastly, and perhaps the biggest reason, it pays me money. This is much more than just having a little bit of extra cash, although that part is really important. For me this is the first time in MONTHS that someone has looked at what I've done and said, yes, that is worth money. After months of failed job searches and acceptance of my role as a stay-at-home dad, I was presented with an opportunity to do something I love to do for money, while still allowing me to focus on school and be at home with my kids. I felt I would be stupid to NOT take it.

I, for one, am glad a couple of people took exception to the formation of "Murderers Row" over at MM.

Not because they are right, mind you. I mean Barnes, Pete, Charles T, and until recently San Il Defannso have all been MAJOR contributors to content on this site. Not just reviews, but also they HIGHLY participate in the threads/ discussions. And of course they have done that for free. So what if they get paid to write for another site? I bet if you figured what they are getting per hour for their reviews it's not a lucrative proposition. Hasn't Barnes been on No High scores for years now? You feel you own them?

Miniature Market does not step on F:AT's toes There is no discussion forum there and until there is one, there is absolutely nothing to worry about how it will affect F:AT. And thats why I am glad a few people bitched about it.... because that is part of what makes this site great is the DISCUSSION and variety of opinions on any topic. Barnes and his fellow review writers need that discussion as well. The reviews just sit on MM and lay there. As long as they are cross posted with links to them from here, those guys will be able to continue to get the feedback they crave.

If it's one thing I have learned about Barnes, it's that he likes to stir things up and he needs a reaction. He isn't going anywhere.

A little aside here, and sorry Michael for what I'm about to say as it's going to destroy your cred quite a bit:

I was in HotLanta two days ago for work. Michael and I have threatened to meet up for years, but it never worked out, but this time, we did. I had a trade show to do and luckily I had a co-worker there to cover the booth whilst I was away. I had planned on meeting up from 1-2PM, and then being on my way. So, I had planned on that because my co-worker had to drive back to the Carolinas and it wasn't a short trip, and he's an older gentleman, so I tried to make sure he wasn't going to get killed in traffic like I was going to have to be on my 8 hour journey home later that day. It's an important point that needs saying: I am almost obsessively punctual because I think people's time is valuable and I hate to make people wait on me.

Well, I ended up going to the wrong place (not my town) and the place was closed. BUT, I had arrived 15 minutes early and I had time to get to the right place, thanks to Mike guiding me in on the phone. He literally saw me powerslide around a city street corner because I didn't want to be late.

Anyhow, we decided this bakery place wouldn't fly so we tried to go to some other place. First it was this place that served tapioca snot in soup, but he couldn't find it. Then we went to this little French bistro, got some coffee, and I hadn't eaten since the previous afternoon, so I got a croissant too.

We talked, and talked, and talked. Now, I have a knack to be able to "figure out" someone in minutes, which is probably why I'm such a great salesman. Michael is a charismatic, interesting, highly intelligent, (and here's the part you might not have guessed...) earnest, conscientious, kind, down-to-earth, humble person. And he's actually REALLY funny.We were so enthralled in the conversation, which spanned from quantum mechanics, God, art and horseback archery, that I literally didn't realize that it was 3:15 by the time I looked at my watch. That NEVER happens. I NEVER lose track of time. I'm still kind of mystefied. My only regret is that I didn't take a selfie to prove that it actually happened.

I get back to the show, and my co-worker's long gone, the union guys are taking down the booth frames, and I'm literally the last one left there from the show. I took down my booth and ended up sitting on 285 and then 75 for an hour and a half, in traffic. And I was LUCKY that it was so light.

Just thought I'd share my experience.

Plot twist: it was Steve Avery in a Barnes suit.

In the MM Review Corner, will you ever have multiple reviewers reviewing the same game?

charlieturtle wrote: In the MM Review Corner, will you ever have multiple reviewers reviewing the same game?

Possibly. I think our goal initially is to cover a lot of different material so that everyone can find something that interests them.

I'd be completely for multiple reviews on the same title, especially if we can find a reviewer that likes the game and a reviewer that dislikes it.

Dating the articles (date written or published) might be a good idea.

SuperflyTNT wrote: Michael is a charismatic, interesting...

Calm down, Barnes is your editor for fifteen minutes and you are already kissing his ass? How is this gonna work out? A circle or human centipede style?

San Il Defanso wrote:
For me this is the first time in MONTHS that someone has looked at what I've done and said, yes, that is worth money.

I think this is a fairly big deal, not because the actual amounts of money, as it often isn't a fortune, but it's a tangible sign of real worth and that means a lot.