Books (sorta): Klutz Building Cards - How to Build Castles

I have a strong sense of serendipity (it probably comes from my Dad). When, in the course of searching for something, I run across another item that looks like it would be perfect for some task, I usually snap it up. This willingness to snag incidental objects has netted me a fantastic CD case chess set, the best key chain multitool I've ever used, and a footbag or two. Last week, it also led me to buy a set of Klutz Building Cards for my D&D campaign.

I've had pretty good experiences with the Klutz series of books, so I knew the Building Cards (this particular one was titled "How to Build Castles") had to be decent. While the price is a bit steep ($12), you get enough cards to construct a fairly good size structure. They slide together easily enough, and it would make a fun toy for any grade schooler.

I bought them mostly because I wanted something slick to show off the third dimension in my D&D game. They didn't disappoint - the cards successfully stood in for an urban shanty town, a pile of ruins, a dank underground sewer and a submerged railway car fairly easily, as long as your group can use its imagination a bit. Best of all, they're actually to scale with standard D&D miniatures, which means your Lidda and Tordek minis can now climb towers and cross realistic bridges in exact, 5 ft. battle grid increments.

This isn't the only entry in the Building Cards line - they have a pirate ship-themed set, a spaceship set, and even a set that emulates the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. All of these are worth a look, for either an RPG player or a parent (not that those are mutually exclusive).