Last-Minute Gifts for the Gamer in Your Life

Searching for a great last-minute gift for the gamer in your life? Looking for a way to give to charity and get some great games at the same time? Well, if you are looking for a way to help others through gaming, there’s probably no better way than purchasing a Humble Bundle.

A Humble Bundle is a collection of games from either a single publisher or a group of publishers offered by Humble Bundle, Inc. in which a portion of each bundle purchased is donated to charity. Each of these bundles will contain a number of great games, including games from a wide assortment of well-known and independent publishers for a variety of different platforms, and each set of games is only offered for a limited amount of time. As a result, you never quite know what will be in the next bundle, but there’s no question that it will be something worth playing. Best of all, there is no set price on each bundle, so you can actually decide how much you want to pay and whether you want it all to go charity or you want to split it between the developers and the charity of your choice. In fact, most bundles will actually throw in some extra games if you pay more than the average or more than a set amount, so you can get more if you give more. For more information on the Humble Bundle, including which games and/or other software is currently available, please visit the Humble Bundle website.

Photo credit: portalgda via Visual Hunt / CC BY-NC-SA

Friday Fun: A Not So Scary Weekend

It’s Friday the 13th and many people are already crossing their fingers in the hope that nothing catastrophic will go wrong today. In fact, the more superstitious amongst us may be giving deep consideration to the dilemma of whether they should stay home and hide from the world in front of their TVs or carry a number of lucky charms to defend themselves from the chaos that may ensue on this “jinxed” day. However, if you’re one of the people that’s just looking for something to do after the day is over or you think the whole Friday the 13th thing is something to scare children and people that suffer from friggatriskaidekaphobia (the fear of Friday the 13th), there are a couple of events you should definitely check out this weekend.

First, if you love big musical events, Mix 104.1 is hosting MixFest this weekend at the DCR Memorial Hatch Shell in Boston. This music festival will feature four bands, including Gavin Deshaw, the Backstreet Boys, Of Monsters and Men, and the winner of Mix 104.1’s “15 Seconds of Fame” contest. The festival will also feature a special area just for kids so that you can listen to the music without your kids driving you crazy. Best of all, the whole event is absolutely free unless you really just have to have VIP seats in which case you’ll probably have to win them. For more information on this year’s MixFest, which begins Saturday at 4pm (gates open at 1pm), please visit the Mix 104.1 website.

Secondly, if you’re more interested in gaming than big musical events or your kids are demanding something they can play, you may want to check out the Boston Festival of Indie Games. This festival, which is hosted by MIT, features over 25 independent board games and over 65 independent video games that you can play, vote on, and, if you so choose, purchase. In fact, the festival will not only give you the opportunity to play a whole bunch of games for free but will also give you the opportunity to attend a concert for a $25 fee that features music from well-known video game groups, including Bastion’s Darren Korb, Control Group, DJ Cutman, deadbeatblast, and last but certainly not least, the Video Game Orchestra. For more information on the festival, which begins at 10pm on Saturday, please visit the Boston Festival of Indie Games website.