Sam and I will be there... come on over for some gaming fun!

All the details after the jump...

Announcing the Waitangi Wellycon one day event this Saturday the 4th of Feb.

Doors open at 10am and admission will remain $5 per person or $15 per family.

Our weekend convention is later in the year over Queens Birthday, but to keep your interest over summer we are hosting a one day gaming day at the Hutt Bridge Club, 1 Park Ave, Lower Hutt.

As always the Wellycon library will be in attendance, chock full of games to fall back on if needed, but we encourage you to bring your latest and greatest titles to share with others. Part of the spirit of Wellycon is teaching, so I always maintain that if you bring one to teach and then target three others to play you are likely to walk away happy.

The Lower Hutt venue is well situated near the waterloo station and I believe the Valley flyer stops almost outside aswell, so if you need transport there are plenty of options. But there is plenty of free parking, on site and street side for cars. Some takeaways are available within walking distance, as is a dairy, but if you have transport then all of Lower Hutt central is open to you for food.

This years venue is a big step up on Thistle Hall (where we did the one dayer last year) for size and facilities, so please vote with your feet and join us for the Waitangi Wellycon. I could also do with a couple of people to help set up at about 9.30. Drop me a line if you can help.

Got a question, then geekmail or email me at wellycon@gmail.com.

New Kuranui College website

Along with all their real world upgrades, Kuranui were also keen to update their online presence; their website was starting to show its age.

We've given it a shiny new look, added extra content, and brought more clarity and appeal to the interface. Over the next few months I'm really looking forward to working closely with Kuranui staff, expanding the site and showing off all the facets of college's exciting developments!

Launch the Kuranui College website.

And that's why we love SoapNuts. They replace your washing machine powder, and you get clean clothes without chemicals.

SoapNuts are fruits that grow on trees. These fruits contain a natural substance called Saponin, which when dissolved in water, creates mild suds. Stick a few in the little cloth bag provided, and you've got a natural solution that's cheaper than powder.

My hacker tips: add a couple of nuts to the bag before each wash. Stick the bag in the bottom of a bucket and fill it with hot water... the heat seems to activate the nuts. Tip the resulting sudsy hot water and the bag into the top of your cold wash, and you're away. Every 20 washes or so, you'll empty the bag of the depleted nuts and start with about four new nuts. A kilo pack will last... for bloody ages!

I've also used them in the dishwasher, with roughly the same procedure: add two nuts, soak bag for a minute in a bowl of hot water, put bag in the cutlery holder and chuck the sudsy water into the washer... done deal!

I get my SoapNuts from the SoapNut Shop- fantastic local distributor with fast and very friendly service. They also ran a competition recently and I won a free bag, so naturally I think they're brilliant people!

But seriously: if you want to save money, reduce chemicals in your family's clothes, and reduce the amount of toxins heading into the water-ways, these things are the true deal.

The new owners, jewellery artist Richard Hassell and painter Janie Nott, have expanded on the fantastic range to include inspirational books and art products aimed at kids, which make for adorable gifts.

We headed down to help celebrate their success as they took on the business from long-time owner and art community supporter Vanessa, and then ran around taking pictures of both the fabulous, friendly staff and the glorious delights that abound within. What fun!

If you noodle over to the website, we're sure you'll find something to get your artistic juices flowing...

The article covers our recent exploits in boardgame development along with some our website adventures, and rounded out with a little bit of bio.

So if you're in the area having a coffee, keep an eye out for a copy because what more could anyone want than a piece of our astonishing fame? Carterton today, Clareville tomorrow, Masterton by 2027!

Another pic and the full text of the article follow the jump...

Game on' for creative couple

The melding of a couple's talents can often produce innovative results and lead to unexpected areas of business.

Between them, Rebekah Farr and Minty Hunter have skills in computer animation, fashion design, fine arts, web design, and film and television production, among others. The breadth of expertise could lead them down many paths, but what was unexpected was an area in which they have received international acclaim - board games.

"I was approached by a friend who had been designing board games and had some drawings for one that needed developing," Rebekah says."She knew I was a designer, so she asked if I could work on them. It was originally one job, but it's become much more than that."   The game was called The Amazing Moa Hunt. While Rebekah was producing the artwork, Minty became interested in how the game - and board games in general - could be developed.

The couple began a working relationship with New Zealand game developer IQ Ideas, which produces games that are distributed throughout the world. Working with IQ Ideas founder Andrew Baker, they have created 14 games so far, the latest being Five Men Standing, the official game of the Rugby World Cup.

It's clearly a business that stirs the couple's creative juices."Developing a game is fascinating work," Minty says. "Sometimes we change the original concept so more people can play, or we might make it more complex so the game is more interesting and lasts longer. A lot of thought has to go into it."

While they create board games, not all games have boards, cards and dice, like the classic Monopoly-type games. Some have blocks and some, like Five Men Standing, are played just with the game figures and scoring tokens.

Minty and Rebekah's company, Nectarine, not only creates the games (including online games), but also develops web sites and computer animation.
Minty, an Australian, studied film and television production in Melbourne. He has worked as a freelancer doing 5film and TV editing and animation, along with some production management.

Rebekah crossed the Tasman to complete a degree in fashion design, but ended up doing a post-graduate course in animation and interactive media. She and Minty set up Nectarine in Australia before bringing the business and their children to Carterton ''for the lifestyle". Rebekah is an accomplished artist, working in oil and acrylic to produce whimsical paintings.

Gareth Farr is one of New Zealand's most prolific and respected composers. His recent works include the Rugby World Cup 2011 theme,  the soundtrack to Vula, the NZ Ballet's "The Wedding", the music for the opening of Te Papa, composition for the 2000 Olympic games, and many more.

Farr’s music is particularly influenced by his extensive study of percussion, both Western and non-Western. Rhythmic elements of his compositions can be linked to the complex and exciting rhythms of Rarotongan log drum ensembles, Balinese gamelan and other percussion music of the Pacific Rim.

Gareth is a NZ Arts Laureate (2010), an Officer of the Order of New Zealand Merit (2006), and three-time Chapman Tripp Theatre Award winner.

I've been meaning to have a play with it, and when some new garment photos from Taylor Boutique arrived, it seemed the perfect opportunity. A few of the images are below- click on any of them to begin the slideshow. (After that, they'll begin playing or you can click to the left or right of the image, or use your arrow keys, to skip through them).

So far, the plugin seems the usual kind of easy-to-use, well-supported and solid code we've come to expect from Sayontan!

By the way, if you want to see the glorious gorgeousness of the entire range, head on over to the Taylor site...

Visit the Happy Sheep website.

To support Five Men Standing, the official game of Rugby World Cup 2011, we've put together a WordPress site. It features an animated "How to play" section, a blog, downloadable rules, competitions and more!

Visit the Five Men Standing website.

Do drop by and say hi- it's great meeting fellow gamers! And even if the astonishing prospect of meeting me in person somehow fails to inspire you, be assured that All Aboard is well worth a visit.

Owners Robyn and Graham are fantastic: knowledgeable, friendly and with a captivating passion for games. They're also great supporters of the local community, running the South Wairarapa Chess Tournament each year and having gaming afternoons and evenings amongst their many other activities.

So get your skates on, grab your wallet, purse or piggy bank, and come and down to see if you can beat me at Five Men Standing. There's a jelly baby in it for you if you do!