While all you people were out drinking beer, eating BBQ, and setting off low-powered explosives, the Hex web knomes have been locked inside upgrading the web site software. The site looks about the same, but there have been several small changes and a few big ones.

• The biggest change is probably the new Wiki, which is a lot easier to use and navigate than the old one. If you want to contribute, you'll need to log into your account here at the Hex site and click the link.

• We've got a full-fledged calendar in the events section. We've moved the event from the old one over.

• We've got new gallery software, and we've actually got quite a few pieces of art and event photos uploaded.

• New FAQ software.

• The Knome forum is once again access restricted. We've given all the Knomes whose user names we recognized permissions. If you think you should have access to the Knome forums but don't see them when you log in, let us know.

• Some pages have been updated, a few things (like the character and monster databases, which are now part of the Wiki) have been eliminated, and everything should work better in general now.

There were, of course, a few issues that arose as part of the migration:

• Anyone who's registered since we migrated the user files (Thursday or Friday afternoon-ish) will have to re-register. Sorry for the inconvenience.

• Some profile information (including user avatars) weren't moved over. You'll want to click on the Profile link of the user menu to reset your picture and make sure all your other profile  information is the way you want it.

• A few forum posts went up after the migration. We've copied all the ones we could find over into the new forums.

We've tested everything and it all appears to be working, but with a site this large something usually gets missed. If you find any errors or have any problems, let us know.

Hex Games has just released Cops and Robbers: A Cinemechanix Guide for QAGS.

Nearly every kid in the world has played Cops & Robbers at some point. When we're young, crime stories are very basic and the line between good guys and bad guys is clearly defined. As we get older, the stories become more morally ambiguous. Because crime stories at their most basic are about the difference between Right and Wrong, the genre is rife with role-playing possibilities.

Cops and Robbers: A Cinemechanix Guide for QAGS provides GMs and players with extensive information about the crime fiction genre, including types of stories, common character archetypes, genre tropes, and QAGS mechanics for handling common situations like car chases, Mexican stand-offs, breaking and entering, and interrogation. This book is not intended to be a nut-and-bolts guide to criminal activity or police work, but a useful resource filled with possibilities for your game.

Cops and Robbers–as well as the QAGS rulebook, The Pytheas Club, American Artifacts, and more--can be purchased in PDF form at www.hexgames.com and at the finer PDF sales sites for just $4.99.

For those who would like to sample QAGS, the QAGS Qik Start Rules are available for download at www.hexgames.com, absolutely free.

Cops and Robbers is written by QAGS co-creator Steve Johnson, and illustrated by Leighton Connor and Joshua LH Burnett.

Play by your own rules. Have more fun!

Hex Games has just released American Artifacts, a collection of distinctly American magical items.

When you think of magical artifacts, you probably think of magic wands, or gold rings, or weapons--King Arthur's sword Excalibur, maybe, or the Ring of the Nibelung. Wands and rings and swords were all well and good for the Old World, but this is America, and a New World demands a new style of artifact. There are a few swords scattered across these fifty states, but you're more likely to find a magic gun, like Elvis's Golden Gun, or an enchanted locomotive, like Lincoln's Funeral Train.

American Artifacts includes entries for 20 magical artifacts suitable for use in a wide variety of games. Each entry includes a description of the artifact, background information, and game mechanics using the QAGS system. The artifacts range from the helpful, like the Gygaxian Dice, to the dangerous, like The Rug That Ties the Room Together.

American Artifacts can be purchased in PDF form at www.hexgames.com and at the finer PDF sales sites for just $1.99. You can also purchase the QAGS rulebook, The Pytheas Club, Waxman’s Warriors, and more at those same sites.

For those who would like to sample QAGS before they buy it, the QAGS Qik Start Rules are available for download at www.hexgames.com, absolutely free.

American Artifacts is 100% made in America. It is edited by Tennessee's own Carter Newton and moodily illustrated by Missouri's Jeffrey Johnson.

Discover national treasures. Have more fun!