Pyramid (magazine)

Pyramid was a gaming magazine, publishing articles primarily on role-playing games, but including board games, card games, and other sorts of games. It began life in 1993 as a print publication of Steve Jackson Games for its first 30 issues, though it has been published on the Internet since March 1998. Print issues were bimonthly; the first online version published new articles each week; the second online version is monthly. Pyramid is headquartered in Austin, Texas.[1] It replaced Steve Jackson Games' previous magazine Roleplayer.

Pyramid
CategoriesGaming
PublisherSteve Jackson Games
Year founded1993
Final issueDecember 2018
CountryUnited States
Based inAustin, Texas
LanguageEnglish

Pyramid features general gaming articles by freelance authors, as well as Designer's Notes by Steve Jackson Games product developers, industry news, cartoons, and gaming product reviews. Although articles tend to concentrate on Steve Jackson Games products such as GURPS, it has published articles on other games such as d20 System, Talisman, Nobilis, Hero System, and has featured various comic strips and single-panel cartoons (currently Murphy's Rules). Steve Jackson Games also briefly published another online magazine, d20 Weekly for several months using a very similar model to that of Pyramid. However, the venture was not a success, and was eventually folded into a slightly expanded Pyramid.

The online subscription system used for Pyramid also granted access to subscriber forums, a dedicated chat server, and occasional pre-publication playtest material for Steve Jackson Games and other companies' products. In 2008 this was changed: Pyramid is available as a PDF download from e23 (online service), and the subscriber forums have been discontinued. Access to playtest material is contingent on participation in an actual playtest.

In late 2018, it was announced on the Pyramid page of the Steven Jackson Games website that "we are closing down Pyramid magazine later this year. The December 2018 issue will be the final issue of the magazine, and effective immediately, we are no longer accepting subscriptions."[2]

Publication history

Shannon Appelcline noted that Roleplayer magazine ceased publication with issue #30 in 1993, "but only so that Steve Jackson Games could start a new magazine. Pyramid debuted in May 1993. It was an ironic return to the generalist magazine industry—though it also promised to incorporate the SJG material that had once been printed in Autoduel Quarterly and Roleplayer." Appelcline noted that the magazine covered its own games including Car Wars, but covered GURPS so strongly that "SJG always had problems selling Pyramid as a non-house organ. Contrariwise Car Wars quickly faded away. The new magazine also looked quite nice, with glossy pages and some full color pages—luxuries that Space Gamer had enjoyed only briefly. It soon became entirely color, as SJG's star continued to rise over the next few years." Appelcline concluded that Steve Jackson Games began "having concerns over the profitability of publishing a generalist magazine. They finished up Pyramid's print run with #30 (March/April 1998), and then did something unprecedented: they began publishing 'volume two' of Pyramid as an online, weekly, subscription-based magazine and were able to successfully do so for 10 years."[3]:46–48 He also noted that as the company was moving to PDF technology, Steve Jackson Games ended the HTML second volume of Pyramid and reinvented it in 2008 as a PDF-only third volume of Pyramid.[3]:54–55

Editors

Awards
  • 2001: Origins Award Best Professional Game Magazine of 2000[4]
  • 2004: Origins Award Gamer's Choice: Best Electronic Product of 2003[5]
  • 2005: Origins Award Best Non Fiction Publication of 2004[6]

List of issues

Volume 1
the printed version, retroactively referred to as Pyramid Classic:
  • 01: May–June 1993[7]
  • 30: March 1998, same cover art as GURPS Wizards[8]

Volume 2

There are 1877 samples of articles released in it.[9]

Issues:

  • 001: April 1998
  • 558: November 2008

Articles:

  • 1: A Minor Emergency[10]
  • 7: Electronic Gaming News[11]
  • 8: Warehouse 23[12]
  • 91: Autoduel Japan[13]
  • 1002: Suppressed Transmission published 13 August 1999[14]
  • 2630: When Good LARPers Go Bad published 1 March 2002[15]

Volume 3
  • 01: Tools of the Trade - Wizards, November 2008[16]
  • 02: Looks Like a Job for . . . Superheroes, December 2008[17]
  • 03: Venturing Into the Badlands - Post Apocalypse, January 2009[18][19]
  • 04: Magic on the Battlefield, February 2009[20]
  • 05: Horror & Spies, March 2009
  • 06: Space Colony Alpha, April 2009[21][22]
  • 07: Urban Fantasy, May 2009
  • 08: Cliffhangers, June 2009
  • 09: Space Opera, July 2009[23][24]
  • 10: Crime and Grime, August 2009
  • 11: Cinematic Locations, September 2009
  • 12: Tech and Toys, October 2009[25][26]
  • 13: Thaumatology, November 2009[27][28]
  • 14: Martial Arts December 2009
  • 15: Transhuman Space, January 2010[29][30]
  • 16: Historical Exploration, February 2010
  • 17: Modern Exploration, March 2010
  • 18: Space Exploration, April 2010[31][32]
  • 19: Tools of the Trade: Clerics, May 2010
  • 20: Infinite Worlds, June 2010
  • 21: Cyberpunk, July 2010[33][34]
  • 22: Banestorm, August 2010
  • 23: Action Adventures, September 2010
  • 24: Bio-Tech, October 2010[35][36]
  • 25: Epic Magic, November 2010
  • 26, Underwater Adventures, December 2010
  • 27: Monsters in Space, January 2011[37][38]
  • 28: Thaumatology II, February 2011
  • 29: Psionics, March 2011
  • 30: Spaceships, April 2011[39][40]
  • 31: Monster Hunters, May 2011
  • 32: Fears of Days Past, June 2011
  • 33: Low-Tech, July 2011
  • 34: Alternate GURPS, August 2011
  • 35: Aliens, September 2011[41][42]
  • 36: Dungeon Fantasy, October 2011
  • 37: Tech and Toys II, November 2011[43][44]
  • 38: The Power of Myth, December 2011
  • 39: Steampunk, January 2012
  • 40: Vehicles, February 2012[45][46]
  • 41: Fantasy World Building, March 2012
  • 42: Noir, April 2012
  • 43: Thaumatology III, May 2012
  • 44: Alternate GURPS II, June 2012
  • 45: Monsters, July 2012
  • 46: Weird Science, August 2012[47][48]
  • 47: The Rogue's Life, September 2012
  • 48: Secret Magic, October 2012
  • 49: World-Hopping, November 2012[49][50]
  • 50: Dungeon Fantasy II, December 2012
  • 51: Tech and Toys III, January 2013[51][52]
  • 52: Low-Tech II, February 2012
  • 53: Action, March 2012
  • 54: Social Engineering, April 2013[53][54]
  • 55: Military Sci-Fi, May 2013[55][56]
  • 56: Prehistory, June 2013
  • 57: Gunplay, July 2013
  • 58: Urban Fantasy II, August 2013
  • 59: Conspiracies, September 2013
  • 60: Dungeon Fantasy III, October 2013
  • 61: Way of the Warrior, November 2013
  • 62: Transhuman Space II, December 2013[57][58]
  • 63: Infinite Worlds II, January 2014
  • 64: Pirates and Swashbucklers, February 2014
  • 65: Alternate GURPS III, March 2014[59][60]
  • 66: The Laws of Magic, April 2014[61][62]
  • 67: Tools of the Trade: Villains, May 2014
  • 68: Natural Magic, June 2014
  • 69: Psionics II, July 2014
  • 70: Fourth Edition Festival, August 2014
  • 71: Spaceships II, September 2014[63][64]
  • 72: Alternate Dungeons, October 2014
  • 73: Monster Hunters II, November 2014
  • 74: Wild West, December 2014
  • 75: Hero's Jackpot, January 2015[65][66]
  • 76: Dungeon Fantasy IV, February 2014
  • 77: Combat, March 2015[67][68]
  • 78: Unleash Your Soul, April 2014
  • 79: Space Atlas, May 2015[69][70]
  • 80: Fantasy Threats, June 2015
  • 81: Horrific Creations, July 2015
  • 82: Magical Creations, August 2015
  • 83: Alternate GURPS IV, September 2015
  • 84: Perspectives, October 2015[71][72]
  • 85: Cutting Edge, November 2015[73][74]
  • 86: Organizations, December 2015[75]
  • 87: Low-Tech III, January 2016[76]
  • 88: The End Is Nigh, February 2016[77][78]
  • 89: Alternate Dungeons II, March 2016
  • 90: After the End, April 2016
  • 91: Thaumatology IV, May 2016
  • 92: Zombies, June 2016

References
  1. "Pyramid Writer's Guidelines". SJ Games. June 18, 2010. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
  2. http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/
  3. Shannon Appelcline (2014). Designers & Dragons: The '80s. Evil Hat Productions. ISBN 978-1-61317-081-6.
  4. https://web.archive.org/web/20121216052521/http://www.gama.org/OriginsAwards/OriginsAwardsWinnersThe2000s/The2000OriginsAwards/tabid/3245/Default.aspx
  5. Origins Award Winners for 2003 and Hall of Fame Inductees Archived October 18, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  6. 2004 Origins Awards Archived July 18, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  7. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG30-8801
  8. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/pyramid-classic-number-30
  9. "second volume of Pyramid".
  10. "A Minor Emergency: A GURPS Black Ops Adventure by Gene Seabolt". Pyramid #28. Archived from the original on July 27, 2013.
  11. "Electronic Gaming News". Pyramid #28. Archived from the original on June 28, 2004.
  12. "The Cursed Sword of Hsima: by Steven W. Disbrow". Pyramid #28. Archived from the original on June 28, 2004.
  13. Mike Montesa. "Autoduel Japan". Pyramid #30. Archived from the original on June 28, 2004.
  14. Hite, Kenneth (August 13, 1999). "Suppressed Transmission: Crisis on Alternate Earths". Archived from the original on April 24, 2013.
  15. Pinto, KT (March 1, 2002). "When Good LARPers Go Bad". Archived from the original on October 17, 2007.
  16. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-2601
  17. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-2602
  18. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-2603
  19. http://www.warehouse23.com/media/SJG37-2603_preview.pdf
  20. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-2604
  21. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-2606
  22. http://www.warehouse23.com/media/SJG37-2606_preview.pdf
  23. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-2609
  24. http://www.warehouse23.com/media/SJG37-2609_preview.pdf
  25. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-2612
  26. http://www.warehouse23.com/media/SJG37-2612_preview.pdf
  27. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/pyramid-number-3-slash-13-thaumatology
  28. http://www.warehouse23.com/media/SJG37-2613_preview.pdf
  29. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-2615
  30. http://www.warehouse23.com/media/SJG37-2615_preview.pdf
  31. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-2618
  32. http://www.warehouse23.com/media/SJG37-2618_preview.pdf
  33. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-2621
  34. http://www.warehouse23.com/media/SJG37-2621_preview.pdf
  35. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-2624
  36. http://www.warehouse23.com/media/SJG37-2624_preview.pdf
  37. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-2627
  38. http://www.warehouse23.com/media/SJG37-2627_preview.pdf
  39. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-2630
  40. http://www.warehouse23.com/media/SJG37-2630_preview.pdf
  41. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-2635
  42. http://www.warehouse23.com/media/SJG37-2635_preview.pdf
  43. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-2637
  44. http://www.warehouse23.com/media/SJG37-2637_preview.pdf
  45. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-2640
  46. http://www.warehouse23.com/media/SJG37-2640_preview.pdf
  47. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-2646
  48. http://www.warehouse23.com/media/SJG37-2646_preview.pdf
  49. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-2649
  50. http://www.warehouse23.com/media/SJG37-2649_preview.pdf
  51. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-2651
  52. http://www.warehouse23.com/media/SJG37-2651_preview.pdf
  53. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/pyramid-number-3-slash-54-social-engineering
  54. http://www.warehouse23.com/media/SJG37-2654_preview.pdf
  55. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-2655
  56. http://www.warehouse23.com/media/SJG37-2655_preview.pdf
  57. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-2662
  58. http://www.warehouse23.com/media/SJG37-2662_preview.pdf
  59. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-2665
  60. http://www.warehouse23.com/media/SJG37-2665_preview.pdf
  61. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/pyramid-number-3-slash-66-the-laws-of-magic
  62. http://www.warehouse23.com/media/SJG37-2666_preview.pdf
  63. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-2671
  64. http://www.warehouse23.com/media/SJG37-2671_preview.pdf
  65. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-2675
  66. http://www.warehouse23.com/media/SJG37-2675_preview.pdf
  67. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-2677
  68. http://www.warehouse23.com/media/SJG37-2677_preview.pdf
  69. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-2679
  70. http://www.warehouse23.com/media/SJG37-2679_preview.pdf
  71. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-2684
  72. http://www.warehouse23.com/media/SJG37-2684_preview.pdf
  73. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-2685
  74. http://www.warehouse23.com/media/SJG37-2685_preview.pdf
  75. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-2686
  76. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-2687
  77. http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-2688
  78. http://www.warehouse23.com/media/SJG37-2688_preview.pdf
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