Cerise Magazine

August 2007 Issue

Features

• From the Editors
• Craft Check: Custom Game Master's Screens
• Gaming in the Media: Much Ado about AO

Interviews

• Miriam Ruiz [Game developer]

Articles

• Gender & Live-Action Role Play: Introduction
  Author: Samara Hayley Steele

Samara kicks off her series looking at LARPing from a feminist perspective.

• Myth Busting: Gaming as Antisocial Behaviour
  Author: Andrea Rubenstein

Andrea takes down the myth that games are inherently antisocial events.

• Women will Love Stranglehold: A Hands-on at E3
  Author: Yvonna Lynn

Yvonna talks about her experiences playing Stranglehold at E3.

Gamer Stories

• Notes from the UnGamer
  by Jewel Faulkner
• 8 a.m. on Saturdays
  by Karen Healey
• I'm a Female Plant Shaman
  by Anna Holt

Reviews

• Jade Empire PC Special Edition
  by Cherie Thomason
• Retro Review: Prince of Persia
by Abby Wilson

Odds 'n Ends

• The Back Page

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With a wide variety of back-to-school supplies currently in stock in office supply stores, now is the perfect time to construct your own custom game master’s screen. These screens are very adaptable, and can be made suitable for any tabletop game where one or more players benefit from a space to organize papers and equipment out of the view of others (note: these screens make for a nice homemade gift, if you yourself cannot use one but play in game where another can. And everyone can use the goodwill of the person behind the screen, right?). And because this particular Craft Check project can be so easily customized, the skill of the crafter can dictate the demands of the craft – anyone can have fun with it, from those who have no artistic talents whatsoever on up.

Cost: very inexpensive. Supplies for this project can be purchased for under $10 US, or even under $5, with careful shopping.

Time: anywhere from twenty minutes to several hours, depending on the level of customization.

Skill level: this project is adaptable for any skill level.

Equipment: the basic equipment for this craft consists of two three-ring binders with clear cover pockets (bargain hunters should look for binders sold in packs of two), a few three-hole-punched pockets (I’ve used translucent plastic single pockets in this tutorial), binder clips, and four pieces of artwork about the size of standard printer paper (see below for some ideas about what to use). All of these supplies are available in a variety of colors, and you should be able to choose items that work together in a visually pleasing way.

While you’re shopping, you might also want to consider buying a pencil pouch designed for use with a three-ring binder, a small calculator, any pencils and novelty erasers that tickle your fancy and/or filler paper of any type used in your game (graph, lined or plain paper).

Get your supplies together, find a space to work, and in no time you’ll have your own customized game master’s screen!

Step 1: Insert artwork

Remove any stickers or tags on your binders, and then gently slide your pieces of artwork into the clear pockets on the fronts of the binders. For this tutorial, I’ve used print-outs of some character illustrations and comics drawn by my friend Matt Powell (of characters created by, variously, myself, myself in combination with Matt, and myself in combination with Jameson York).

Character illustrations are one good choice for a custom game master’s screen, but not by any means the only choice! In the past, I’ve also used maps of the campaign world, collages made from photocopied images from source books and print-outs with information of use to my players. Use your imagination – and any creative talents at your disposal – to come up with artwork that will compliment the design and use of your own screen. And remember that, as long as the color from the artwork doesn’t transfer to the plastic of the binder pocket, you can always change the artwork later.

Step 2: Pockets

Open the rings in your binders, and insert any pockets and/or pouches that you want to use.

Step 3: Clip it together

Stand your binders up and arrange them side-by-side so that two of their edges are just overlapping. Use a binder clip to hold them together.

Your screen is now assembled!

Step 4: Add stuff (optional!)

You may wish to stock your screen with a variety of supplies useful to a game master, including various kinds of paper, writing implements, a calculator, etc. Experiment with using binder clips to keep everything tidy (and to keep vital information in view) when the screen is in use.

Stocking the screen with supplies is a particularly nice touch if you are planning to give it as a gift.

Step 5: Putting it away

As lovely as your new screen doubtless is, there will come a time when you’ll want to get it off the table and put it away. Happily, these screens are designed to break down easily into a small unit that will fit tidily in a backpack or on a bookshelf. Simply remove the binder clip that holds the screen together, placing it somewhere on the edge of the screen, and then nest the two binders together, as shown in the following images.

The screen – and its contents, if they are not too bulky – can thus be easily stored between uses.

Enjoy your custom screen!