Smart Table Top

Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition (D&D) is a tabletop role playing game (TTRPG) with complicated mechanics and a seemingly overwhelming amount of information. D&D players are often looking for ways to more effectively track information and products that enhance their game experience. One such product is a custom miniature; players use these to track their character’s location and for the enjoyment of creating a physical representation of their imagination. Virtual Tabletops (VTT’s) were developed to make the entire experience digital. The digital nature of VTT’s make all of the game’s rules and mechanics accessible at the click of the mouse; however, it also alienates players from a physical connection to the game. The smart game board offers digital convenience while preserving the physical connection to the game. The game board wirelessly communicates with the pieces on the board to provide quick access to their specific rules and mechanics while also determining their location on the board. The board utilizes a digital display to swap between different game boards/maps. The smart game board saves time and simplifies the experience for players by displaying only the most relevant information and it enhances their experience by utilizing their custom miniatures. This makes the game more accessible to beginners, reduces risk of error for the game master and allows everyone to focus more on enjoying the game. This product could easily be adapted to accommodate any board game with pieces large enough to contain wireless communication technology. Future developments of this product could also include an automatic board setup feature if the piece has a known board layout such as chess, checkers, or monopoly

Democratic leaders and the democratic peace: The operational codes of Tony Blair and Bill Clinton

Do the beliefs of leaders make a significant difference in determining if democracies are peaceful and explaining why democracies (almost) never fight one another? Our comparisons of Prime Minister Tony Blair and President Bill Clinton reveal that both leaders view democracies as more friendly than nondemocracies, and they have significantly less cooperative beliefs toward the latter than toward the former, a difference that extends to the behavior of their respective governments during the Kosovo conflict. We also find that individual differences in the operational codes of the two leaders matter in the management of conflict with nondemocracies; the leaders exhibit opposite leadership styles and behavior associated with the domestic political culture of the two states. Overall, these results support the dyadic version of the democratic peace and suggest that the conflict behavior of democratic states depends upon the beliefs and calculations of their leaders in dealing with nondemocracies. © 2006 International Studies Association