We took some time to do a little more renovation on our main page. As you see, we’ve removed almost all of the excess verbiage and made our front not much more than a big, fancy nav, with several essential link blocks designed to get you immediately to the essence of the game (what it’s about, how to buy it, how to try it, etc.)

We’ve always wanted our main page to be equivalent to the back of a game box, that vibrant, graphic, ultra-tease of a sales pitch that provides the basic details and compels you (if it’s effective) to buy the game. Our new front takes us even more in that direction.

We hope you like it. If you have suggestions, we hope you’ll let us know.

A group of youngsters play G. (Photo courtesy Dani Sanders of averagegirlplays.blogspot.com)

Joe and I know that people are ordering GHOULASH, we’ve just not seen too many people outside of our little corner of the Game-O-Sphere (OK, that’s a dumb word, I won’t use it again) playing it.

In other words, we would love to see photos of folks hard at play with our scenarios.

We don’t have much to offer in return; perhaps some GHOULASH pens or a Scenario Pack or two, but we’d be forever grateful.

And we’d like to post those photos here in the G News Blog, so if you send some, be sure you HAVE EVERYONE’S PERMISSION in the photo for its use on this site. (By submitting it to us, we assume that you already have obtained those permissions.)

E-mail them to mike (at) ghoulash.com, or let us know from which photo posting service we can snag them.

Thanks in advance.

A couple of quick notes about new items in the G Store:

First, we’ve just added the classic scenario “Moving Target” as one of the Scenario Singles. In this scenario, players battle their way, level-by-level, to the center (bulls-eye) of the target-like grid, searching for doors on each level. The grid has had some modifications from its original release; once again we’ve attempted to erase all the dead-ends found in the former version.

Second, we’re about to add two more Online Scenario Packs, grouping the six scenarios that were not included in Online Scenario Pack 1. Online Pack 2 will include “Door Jam,” “Maze 1″ and “Moving Target,” while Online Pack 3 will include “Now, Where Was I?” “Password” and “Pyramid Scheme.” Both packs will cost $2.95 each, so if you wait until those packs are posted, you’ll save some bucks from purchasing them separately.

(UPDATE: Those packs have, in fact, been added.)

(“A Taste of GHOULASH,” by the way, will only be available as a Scenario Single or in the pre-printed Scenario Pack 1; we don’t plan to add it to an Online Scenario Pack.)

And, as promised, as soon as we finish posting our “classic” G scenarios to the G Store, we’re going to begin adding never-before-released scenarios as Singles and in Online Scenario Packs. (Of course, knowing us, we might begin posting those new scenarios early; that’s how excited we are about them.)

Click here to get to the G Store.

If you’re a regular visitor to the G site (and, again, if you are, thank you very much), you might have noticed that we have done away with the Forums.

In a nutshell, the Forums were woefully underused, with contributions only once in every two or three blue moons. Also, we were getting tired of sifting through all the sign-up spam (I’m still not sure we understand why that occurred or what its purpose was).

Finally, because of all those pesky little web gremlins out there trying to find our forums (including all sorts of vicious robots and spiders and spies and whatnot), our site stats were seriously off-kilter. We know the elmination of the forums will drastically reduce our overall hits, but we’d rather have small, honest numbers than large, dishonest ones.

If GHOULASH manages to break out in the gaming and adventure-story world, as we hope, and G fandom swells to overwhelming numbers and there’s a call for a place where fans can discuss the game and the stories, perhaps the forums will be re-established.

In the meantime, G fans wanting to discuss the finer points of the game are invited to check out the forums on the game’s page at BoardGameGeek.com.

You’re always welcome to send us e-mails, either to Mike (at) ghoulash.com or Joe (at) ghoulash.com, or leave us comments at this blog.

Ghoo guns are blazing in the latest episode of the GHOULASH Webcomic, as the students band to take down the Ghoul that has suddenly appeared.

And speaking of Ghoo guns, here’s a little behind-the-scenes DVD commentary-type info about this particular episode: Driving down the road one day, Joe and I spent a hefty chunk of time debating the proper sound effect made by a Ghoo gun.

I was pushing for something along the lines of “PUMMM!” or “POOOM!”, approximating the sound of a very powerful paintball-type gun. (Joe and I always have envisioned the average Ghoo gun — and remember, in the G mythos there are dozens of different brands — as being a delivery system akin to a paintball gun, as opposed to, say, a mega Super Soaker.)

Joe didn’t care for my sounds; in fact, he was trying to get me to concentrate on my driving and not keep making so many “PUMMM!” and “POOOM!” noises. He suggested that we break down the mechanism of the average Ghoo gun. For Ghoo to be effective, it must enter the Ghoul’s body in liquid form, but to be able to pierce the Ghoul’s thick, gelatinous hide, it must retain a solid form temporarily. When originally brainstorming the concept, we considered having Ghoo come in quick-dissolving pellets, like paintballs. But we decided against it, because we both like the idea of big reservoirs of purple Ghoo sloshing around on the gun. So, we conceived the concept that the more popular and effective Ghoo guns would have a quick-freeze chamber, that would take a measured amount of Ghoo and quickly freeze it into a projectile, which would then be fired from the gun via some sort of compressed-air mechanism. As soon as the frozen Ghoo pierces the Ghoul’s hide, it melts, and the Ghoo does its work (if it’s been fired into a weak spot).

All this is by way of explaining that the sound of a Ghoo gun, as Joe suggested, is in two parts, the hum of the quick-freeze chamber and the “POOM!” of the blast mechanism.

After a few combinations (we quickly agreed on “ZZZ” as the freezing sound), we settled on “zzz-POOMF!” (Joe insisted on the final F.)

The sound of a Ghoul exploding was a little simpler. A Ghoul doesn’t explode in a fireball, like your average movie special-effects blast; rather, it pops, like a thick balloon. (If you’ve ever seen footage of those strong men who inflate hot-water bottles until they pop, you’ll get the idea.) There’s actually an outward rush of air as the Ghoul disintegrates into heaps of Ghoulash.

(Speaking of which, the Webcomic finally defines Ghoulash in terms of G mythology: It’s the solid leftovers from an exploded Ghoul.)

The saga of Ghouls in the School continues in Episode 9. In the meantime, click here to see Episode 8.

The action picks up in Episode 7 of the GHOULASH Webcomic, as a Ghoul invades the classroom where David Lake and Pamela Gray are giving their lecture to a packed house of students.

This episode illustrates an interesting facet of life in the World of Ghouls, otherwise known as our G mythology: While not everyone is fully educated, or even fully understands, what the Ghouls are or where they came from, they live their lives prepared for a Ghoul encounter.

The whole irony of Lake and Gray being in the classroom in the first place is that they’re preaching to a choir who should, by all accounts, already be well-versed in the concept of Malectoplasm and Ghouls. After all, as our G mythology begins, Ghouls already have been infesting the Earth for more than a decade. The students Lake and Gray are lecturing have not known a life without Ghouls. But then again, similar students today have not known a life without, say, a war in Iraq, but they probably don’t know the whys and wherefores of U.S. involvement there (not that anyone really does, but we’re not going to get into politics here).

Anyway, the school adventure roars on. Click here to read the latest episode.

We have just added the classic G scenario “Door Jam” to our lineup of Scenario Singles at the G Store.

Those who remember downloading it way back in the early days of the G site will recall that this was the first scenario to incorporate the concept of blocking doors during the placement phase. (In addition to placing the other obstacles, players block up to 12 entrances into the various buildings, leaving at least one entrance into each building open. The goal is to be the first to find a hidden talisman.) In fact, currently it’s the only scenario to use this obstacle.

Well, the scenario is available again, but this time with a few geographic changes. You see, the original grid placed the buildings (shaded areas) within a more-or-less solid exterior wall. This led to an abundance of dead-ends, corridors that force a player to immediately backtrack. In addition, there were several dead-ends within the buildings themselves. We’ve decided we don’t like dead-ends, because they provide the temptation to create what we call “hole dumps,” the tactic of grouping holes and/or debris and/or Ghouls along a single corridor or corner of a room or building as a major speed bump for the opponent.

(There’s nothing wrong with hole dumps per se, but depending on the scenario and the geography they can lead to death traps, groupings of obstacles that are almost guaranteed to leave a player with 15 or more wounds. And if you have a death trap, you have a broken scenario. So, we try to avoid giving players the opportunities whenever possible.)

So, we have modified the “Door Jam” grid to remove all existing dead-ends. Because of the blocking feature, however, players still can create their own dead-ends if they choose. (In some areas it will be unavoidable.) This fact is pointed out in the Deep Intel for the scenario. In this particular scenario, a hole dump can be a surefire clue to your opponent that the talisman lies ahead, so take care if you decide to set a hefty trap.

Currently “Door Jam” is available only as a Scenario Single, but soon will be added to one of our Online Scenario Packs.

Click here to purchase the revised version of “Door Jam.”

The first few episodes of the GHOULASH Webcomic were designed as a primer on the G mythology for those just joining us. (In other words, the lecture Lake and Gray have been giving the school kids on the background of Malectoplasm and Ghouls also is for our readers!)

But now that we’ve gotten most of the exposition out of the way, it’s time finally to get to the action, as we do in the most recent episode and, we hope, from here on out.

Click here to read the latest episode.

(And by the way, if you’re wondering when our favorite Ghoul Hunter, Cornealius, is going to show up, just be patient for a couple more episodes. He’ll be arriving soon, Ghoo guns blazing.)

You’ll notice that this episode also features an appearance by our 10 Myths About Ghouls and Malectoplasm flyer, which can be downloaded by clicking here.

Joe and I saw “The Incredible Hulk” upon its opening last weekend and were thrilled. We loved this new take on the Big Green Guy and can’t wait to add it to our list of multiple-viewing Marvel movies (we’ve now seen “Iron Man” three times in the theater).

Director Louis Leterrier keeps things moving at a brisk pace, even during the “down time” scenes, and there are plenty of Hulk-out moments, starting with a clever action sequence at the beginning in which the Hulk is only glimpsed in shadow and quick images.

Joe and I disagree about this, but I have to say that I still wasn’t 100-percent convinced by the CGI on Hulk. There’s still that Beowulf-like, wax-figure glassiness in the eyes that prevents me from investing in the reality of the character. (In fact, in some cases I think the CGI of the first movie version of “Hulk” five years ago was superior.) Still, the animation was superb and the climactic battle between Hulk and the Abomination was thrilling, even if it was the equivalent of watching two video game characters slam each other.

(And I know I would be in the minority on this — even a minority of one — but I would have preferred if the designers of the CG Hulk had provided more visual clues that he was a transformed Edward Norton. I’m not saying they should have just enlarged Norton’s head and made it green, but if they could have somehow maintained some of its proportion or shape — just some subtle things — that would have helped in the acceptance of the character.)

Anyway, “The Incredible Hulk” is a fine movie and we here at GHOULASH Central recommend it highly.

“Hulk SMASH!!!”

We’re slowly but steadily adding to the number of Scenario Singles we’re offering for download over at the G-Store. (And, as promised, we’ll be adding some original scenarios soon!)

When placing an order for PDF downloads, however, please note: Some of the Scenario Singles also are offered in Online Scenario Packs, which will save you some money.

For instance, the scenarios “Clone Alley,” “Ghoul & Plenty” and “Lucky Charms” can be purchased separately or in Online Scenario Pack 1. Buying them in the pack saves you $1.50.

Note that not all Singles will be offered in Packs, and some Packs will, for various reasons, include scenarios that won’t be offered as Singles. (Yes, it can get complicated; we just don’t want you accidentally buying two of the same scenario.)