CanGeek's Fandom Friday!

Everyone remembers their first...

For me I was six years old, it was a cold winter day, we were snowed in so my Mom and Dad slept late that morning. I had woke up at my normal time, half expecting to be rushed off to school but when that didn't happen I turned on the television to watch the very first movie to air on Canada's new home movie network - First Choice!

And as I watched the adventure unfold in front of me, the heroic sacrifice a mentor was prepared to make for his student, the epic fight between good and evil, a new hope was born within me and my life long love of Star Wars was born.

As I type out this blog It's Friday June 1st, and on the CanGeek Community Page we're inviting our members to post about their personal favorite fandom, and from gaming to comics and movies I have a lot to talk about....but I suspect I will be posting about Star Wars more then anything else today.

If you've read some of my other blogs then you know I can be more then a little outspoken about the current state of a galaxy far, far away, I'm not a major supporter of what Disney has done to the Star Wars universe, however I'm grateful that this franchise still has some life left in it and we still have much to discuss.

Like many others fans, those who support the Star Wars franchise are both fiercely loyal and aggressively protective of this fandom. Like me there are many out their who find comfort in this series because it invokes memories of simpler times, memories of their childhood.

We aren't born as fans, we develop our fandom as we grow.

Everyone remembers their first game, their first film or television show, the first comic book that made them an instant fan of a specific superhero or publisher, that's what we're talking about today.

Please consider this an open invitation to join the CanGeek Games and Collectibles Fandom Friday on Facebook and share the passion you have for your fandom of choice with us.

Thanks for reading.

Shadowrun Returns, again!

If you follow us on one of the multiple social media feeds that CanGeek Games and Collectibles is active on then you've most likely heard me sing the praises of the Shadowrun franchise at least once or twice.

The simple truth is that as a teenager when our local gaming group got together it was usually to play Magic: The Gathering, Battletech or Shadowrun - those were fun times indeed.

The last tabletop game of Shadowrun I ever played involved me and my best friend, both playing Street Samurai, and our attempt to completely derail our Game-Master's one off adventure.  While the GM was attempting to tell his tale, the two of us were working against each other, hanging each other out to dry, and claiming wayward Katana's as trophies....that was the last game of Shadowrun we played, mainly because our GM refused to run any more games - although I'm not sure why.

Then a few years ago the wonderful people at Harebrained Schemes launched a Kickstarter for Shadowrun Returns, a turn based Role-Playing Game for the PC, Android and IOS that immediately rekindled my love for this Cyberpunk classic.  Based on the success of their first campaign, Harebrained Schemes would later release Shadowrun: Dragonfall and Shadowrun: Hong Kong, and in so doing would also relieve me of more nuyen - Once a runner, Always a runner!

While the software market was being well-tended to by Harebrained Schemes, the tabletop market was starting to show signs of life again as TOPPS, the company that currently owns many of the properties once owned by FASA, has been hard at work ensuring that these franchises continue through third party licences.

Recently Catalyst Game Labs, who has been involved any many of the current Shadowrun offerings, announced the Shadowrun: SPRAWL OPS board game on Kickstarter. 

In partnership with Lynnvander Studios, this competitive 3 to 4 player game will have players leading and developing their own team of runners as they seek their next big payout. Each mission completed allows players to enhance their runners as they prepare for their final mission - taking on one of the worlds largest mega-corps in order to secure victory.

Offering many backer options, including one which allows you to convert from a competitive to cooperative adventure, Shadowrun: SPRAWL OPS seems like it is destined to be both a hit for its developers and one more game I have to add to my ever-growing library.

Do you plan to support this game? Let us know in the comments below and remember to join the conversation on our Facebook Community Page.

As always, thanks for reading.