collect it all – Techdirt (original) (raw)
Last Call To Get The CIA’s Training Card Game (Non Amazon Version)
from the last-call dept
Last chance to get your boxed copy of CIA: Collect It All!
Two months ago, we posted what seemed like a last call on selling out the remaining stock of our version of the CIA’s card training game (that we originally Kickstarted a few years ago). A few people complained that they didn’t want to buy via Amazon. The copies that were available there sold out in about a day (any copies still on Amazon are resellers), but we took our final batch, and rather than sending them to Amazon, decided to put them on Miniature Market, one of the best online stores for all things board game related, in order to give those who didn’t want to use Amazon an alternative.
This truly is our final batch of these games. The only ones we have left are our personal copies. So, if you want the boxed CIA game, go check it out on Miniature Market!
Filed Under: cia, collect it all, collection deck, games, public domain
Clearance Sale: Last Chance To Get Our Boxed Version Of The CIA’s Training Card Game
from the going-fast dept
Last chance to get your boxed copy of CIA: Collect It All!
If you’ve been around Techdirt for a while, you’ll probably recall that almost exactly four years ago, we launched our Kickstarter for CIA: Collect It All. This was our version of an internal CIA training card game, called “Collection Deck” that was partially released in response to a FOIA request. The release included heavily redacted cards. We redesigned the cards to make them much nicer, and then came up with our own scenarios and CIA methods to fill in the blanks where the redactions had been.
The Kickstarter was quite successful, with over 4,000 people supporting the project. Over the years since then, we’ve continued to sell the game in various places. We’re now down to just a few copies left of our original printing, and we don’t currently have plans to print any more. The remaining copies are for sale on Amazon at a steep discount as we try to clear out our last remaining copies. This may be your last chance to get a boxed copy of the game, so please check it out! Already got one? Get a backup copy! Or buy one for a friend. The underlying game is public domain and the other elements are released under a Creative Commons license, so you can still download the files to print and play if you’d like. However, having a professionally produced boxed version of the game is quite a different experience.
Get Your Copy Of CIA: Collect It All Before They’re All Gone!
Filed Under: cia, collect it all, collection deck, public domain, training game
CIA: Collect It All Card Game, Now Available On Amazon
from the surveillance-techniques dept
Get your copy of CIA: Collect It All on Amazon »
Some of you may remember that in 2018, we were able to take the (heavily redacted, but very much public domain) details of a CIA internal card game that was used to train analysts, and create our own version of it, which we crowdfunded on Kickstarter. After that was released successfully, we continued to sell remaining copies directly via our fulfillment partner. However, until last month, it was not available on Amazon — even as we heard from multiple people who expected it to be there. That’s finally been solved, and our game, CIA: Collect It All is now available on Amazon for those who’d like to get it that way.
For what it’s worth, they’ve actually been selling relatively quickly since being added to Amazon, and we’re not sure when we’ll get a chance to do another printing run, so if you want the game, you should consider ordering soon.
Separately, we’ve been hard at work on a follow up game, designed entirely by us, but on a related theme. Though, I can assure you that our new game will not have the CIA’s stamp of approval. Keep an eye out for that one, coming soon.
Get your copy of CIA: Collect It All on Amazon »
Filed Under: cia, cia analysts, collect it all, collection deck, public domain, training game
Sale Ends Tomorrow! Last Chance To Get CIA: Collect It All for 25% Off
from the collect-it-quick dept
Get 25% off your copy of CIA: Collect It All with the code STAYINSIDE until tomorrow night »
This weekend is your last chance to save on copies of CIA: Collect It All, our recreation of a real CIA analyst training game. Use the coupon code STAYINSIDE this weekend to get 25% off your purchase — the sale ends tomorrow night.
CIA: Collect It All is a game for two or more players with over 150 cards representing global crises that must be dealt with, intelligence techniques for addressing them, and the unexpected twists and turns that reality throws at an analyst’s best laid plans. It also comes with a set of variant rules that turn it into a storytelling game that generates tales of intrigue and spycraft.
Get 25% off your copy of CIA: Collect It All with the code STAYINSIDE until tomorrow night! »
Filed Under: cia, collect it all, deals, game, sale
German Constitutional Court Says Unjustified Surveillance Of Foreign Citizens Is Illegal
from the when-it's-up-to-domestic-courts-to-give-AF-about-non-citizens dept
The German government pretended to be bothered by the NSA’s spying when the Snowden leaks began, claiming surveillance of overseas allies was somehow a bit too much. It had nothing to say about its own spying, which was roughly aligned with the NSA’s “collect it all” attitude. This could be chalked up to “Five Eyes” envy, perhaps. The NSA works with four other countries to hoover up massive amounts of data directly from internet fire hoses located around the world, but Germany has never made the cut.
While the German PM made a lot of noise about being surveilled, Germany’s intelligence agencies continued to perform both domestic and foreign surveillance, resulting in legal challenges to the country’s surveillance programs. The German Constitution restricts domestic surveillance but doesn’t have nearly as much to say about subjecting foreigners to intrusive snooping. Foreigners are usually considered fair game — non-recipients of protections given to citizens of whatever country does the spying.
One legal challenge dead-ended when a German court decided a service provider couldn’t sue on behalf of its spied-upon users. But others continued, and there’s good news to report.
The German government must come up with a new law regulating its secret services, after the country’s highest court ruled that the current practice of monitoring telecommunications of foreign citizens at will violates constitutionally-enshrined press freedoms and the privacy of communications.
The ruling said that non-Germans were also protected by Germany’s constitutional rights, and that the current law lacked special protection for the work of lawyers and journalists. This applied both to the collection and processing of data as well as passing on that data to other intelligence agencies.
The recognition of the extension of domestic rights to foreign citizens is the end result of a lawsuit filed by journalists against the German government. The lawsuit alleged BND’s all-encompassing spying made targets out of everyone, including those normally protected by their own countries’ laws preventing the surveillance of protected speech.
The German government argued that foreigners are not protected by anything — not even the rights granted to them by their governments. The Constitutional Court disagreed, finding that allowing the BND (Germany’s NSA equivalent) cannot be allowed to unilaterally decide who could be targeted by its surveillance programs. Current “best practices” allow the BND to roll up on the nearest internet trunk to collect everything: communications routed through a Frankfurt interchange that handles data flowing from France, Russia, and the Middle East.
If the government wishes to continue hoovering up everything flowing through Frankfurt (and internet exchanges elsewhere in the country), it will need to to codify the process with some guardrails in place — guidelines that will hopefully include some respect for the rights of foreign citizens, including journalists, activists, and lawyers who generally cannot be targeted by their own countries.
Now, all everyone has to do is wait. The German government has until 2021 to amend the law. Presumably, the BND will do whatever it can to appeal this decision that extends domestic rights to foreigners. And it will likely delay any modifications as long as possible to allow for maximum snoopage. Bureaucratic delays aside, this ruling sends a message: the stuff that was considered just normal stuff for maximum national security is no longer acceptable. The judicial system in Germany is unwilling to sacrifice foreigners’ rights for the surveillance whims of an agency that hasn’t shown a compelling reason why it should have access to everything people from other countries talk about.
Filed Under: bnd, collect it all, foreign citizens, germany, surveillance
One Week Left To Get CIA: Collect It All For 25% Off
from the indoor-activities dept
Get 25% off your copy of CIA: Collect It All with the code STAYINSIDE until the end of May »
If you’re running out of things to keep you entertained at home (and who isn’t, at this point?) then don’t forget that CIA: Collect It All, our recreation of a real CIA analyst training game discovered via the Freedom Of Information Act, is on sale for 25% off with the coupon code STAYINSIDE. The sale lasts until the end of the month, so there’s just over a week left to get your copy!
CIA: Collect It All is a game for two or more players with over 150 cards representing global crises that must be dealt with, intelligence techniques for addressing them, and the unexpected twists and turns that reality throws at an analyst’s best laid plans. It also comes with a set of variant rules that turn it into a storytelling game that generates tales of intrigue and spycraft.
Get 25% off your copy of CIA: Collect It All with the code STAYINSIDE until the end of May! »
Filed Under: card game, cia, collect it all, sale
Play At Home: CIA: Collect It All Is Now 25% Off
from the collect-it-all dept
Get 25% off your copy of CIA: Collect It All with the code STAYINSIDE until the end of May »
With tons of folks stuck at home looking for things to do, we’ve decided to put our CIA: Collect It All card game back on sale. Use the code STAYINSIDE and get 25% from now through the end of May — and have something else to entertain yourselves with while staying inside. If you don’t recall, CIA: Collect It All is our recreation of a declassified card game that the CIA itself created to train analysts on how to gather information in order to respond to various crises around the globe. Unfortunately, we didn’t include a “global pandemic” crisis, but perhaps some of these other crises may get your attention instead (and we include some blank cards, so create your own global pandemic card…)
The game is a fun (or perhaps horrifying) deep dive into the many ways in which the CIA collects information from around the globe, and since we’re all stuck at home anyway, we might as well learn about what the CIA is doing to keep tabs on everyone and everything…
Get 25% off your copy of CIA: Collect It All with the code STAYINSIDE until the end of May! »
Filed Under: card game, cia, collect it all, sale
Sale Ends Tonight! Last Chance To Get CIA: Collect It All For 25% Off
from the cia-collect-it-all dept
Last chance to get 25% off CIA: Collect It All with the code HOLIDAY2019 »
This is it — today is the last day of our sale on CIA: Collect It All, our card game based on a real CIA training tool. Get your copy today for 25% off with the code HOLIDAY2019 — and with express shipping, you can even still get it in time for Christmas!
CIA: Collect It All includes 170 cards representing global crises, intelligence gathering techniques, and the unexpected circumstances and opposition that frustrate them. Plus, it contains rules for two separate games: the original CIA training game, and a storytelling variant that uses the cards for a more narrative roleplaying experience.
If you want to check it out first, or just print your own copy, the print-and-play version is now free on itch.io with the complete set of cards and rules formatted for easy home printing.
Get 25% off your copy of CIA: Collect It All with the code HOLIDAY2019 until December 17th »
Filed Under: cia, collect it all, holidays, sale
The CIA: Collect It All Sale Is Almost Over… Order Now And Get 25% Off!
from the ticking-clock dept
Get 25% off your copy of CIA: Collect It All with the code HOLIDAY2019 until December 17th »
There are only three days left in our very first sale on CIA: Collect It All, the real training game for CIA analysts that we reproduced and launched on Kickstarter last year. The sale runs through Tuesday, December 17th which is also the deadline to order with express shipping and still get it in time for Christmas. Use the promo code HOLIDAY2019 with your order to get 25% off »
CIA: Collect It All includes 170 cards representing global crises, intelligence gathering techniques, and the unexpected circumstances and opposition that frustrate them. Plus, it contains rules for two separate games: the original CIA training game, and a storytelling variant that uses the cards for a more narrative roleplaying experience.
If you want to check it out first, or just print your own copy, the print-and-play version is now free on itch.io with the complete set of cards and rules formatted for easy home printing.
Get 25% off your copy of CIA: Collect It All with the code HOLIDAY2019 until December 17th »
Filed Under: cia, collect it all, deals, game, sale
Last Chance To Get CIA: Collect It All For Christmas With Standard Shipping, And Save 25%
from the tick-tock dept
Get 25% off your copy of CIA: Collect It All with the code HOLIDAY2019 »
Our first ever sale on CIA: Collect It All, the real training game for CIA analysts that we reproduced and launched on Kickstarter last year, will be running for another week and change — but this weekend is your last chance to order it with standard shipping in the US and still get it in time for Christmas. Monday is the deadline, and then you have until December 17th to order with express shipping. Use the promo code HOLIDAY2019 with your order to get 25% off »
CIA: Collect It All includes 170 cards representing global crises, intelligence gathering techniques, and the unexpected circumstances and opposition that frustrate them. Plus, it contains rules for two separate games: the original CIA training game, and a storytelling variant that uses the cards for a more narrative roleplaying experience.
After our current stock runs out, we don’t know if or when the game will be coming back! So if you want to make sure you get your hands on a copy, order sooner rather than later. And if you want to check it out first, or just print your own copy, the print-and-play version is now free on itch.io with the complete set of cards and rules formatted for easy home printing.
Get 25% off your copy of CIA: Collect It All with the code HOLIDAY2019 »
Filed Under: cia, collect it all, deals, game, sale