NBOS SCREEN MONKEY IS THE BEST! THE BEST!!! I love this program, and lately I have been using it just about every day with my D&D friend online. It really shines when you start customizing. Lately I have been designing my own miniatures and importing maps from 4th edition D&D that I scanned, sizing them, and cropping off the text in paintshop, then importing them into Screen Monkey. The customized miniatures and scanned maps make for really GREAT looking games! There are a lot of neat chat commands too. I can save text to a clipboard (00-99) ahead of time and then with the scrpting comand recall it instantly. Also there is a automatic initaitive roller that comes in handy. The "take hits/add hits" makes keeping up with hit points very easy and convenient. And you can customize the "comditions" to any game. I did mine for 4th edition D&D. The great thing about Screen Monkey is that I (me) am the only one that needs the program installed. There are a number of ways players (plural) can log on. I have found that copying the host address I.P. link to the clipboard, and then pasting it to the text area in a yahoo email and sending it works great for me since I have a yahoo account. But there are others ways to do it too. I love this program and have gotten sooooooo much enjoyment out of it. I would HIGHLY recomend it to anyone that want to do online gaming.

If I can get my access codes, I'll think it's great

Good program, even if limited a little and the community is quite inactive. For the price, mixed with skype, you can have great rpg trough the net at little price ! I do recommand it.

Great product, but requires a registration code that I am unable to find.

So far, this seems like a nice program, especially when paired w/FM7. The hard part is getting all my players to agree on a time to log in. It's a little hard for me to find all the right chat commands, but I'm really not used to on-line play.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Ease of use for both GM and players. Very fast over broadband. Gaming system neutral.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: I'd like to see the availability of "adventure bundles" similar to those available for Fantasy Grounds, mainly so I can see how it's done.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

This is our main mapping tool with a computer projector facing down from the ceiling. Could be better in many ways but it does the job till I find somthing better.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Ease of use.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Unlike others I've seen this does not have area of effect snap-to grids that can be pulled from a character.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

I purchased ScreenMonkey after visiting the booth at Gen Con and seeing what the program had to offer. While there are other platforms out there that will allow similar types of online gaming, SM has the advantages of being: A) Inexpensive: Once the GM gets it, all the players get to play for free! Though only the owner can run games. B) Easy to use: Quick and simple. Even after a few minutes of the Demo, it becomes ovious how easy and fun SM will be for online play C) Well supported: with the questions I did have after purchasing the game, I never waited more than one day before getting an answer back, often withing an hour or so of sending an email!

Overall, this is great for gamers who have drifted apart-physically- from their old game groups, GMs who want to try something with other groups, or gamers who just aren't geographically close enough to get together and play face to face.

With the addition of Fractal Mapper and Inspiration PAd, there are a lot of nice things that GMs can add to the game, like detailed online maps and detailed tables.

My one problem was getting the maps I imported to scale properly. It took some work to make the maps chow up so that the counters didnt appear to large or too small. A scaling function on the main toolbar would have helped.

Overall, I would recommend this to anyone who wants to play real RPGs (as opposed to MMORPGS) online.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Ease, cost, support. <br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Scaling maps took some time.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

ScreenMonkey is a piece of software designed to allow you to use traditional pen and paper RPGs online. There are a number of these packages about, some free and some commercial. ScreenMonkey is not tied to any particular system and you can (in theory at least) potentially use it with any RPG system.

ScreenMonkey has two main advantages over the competition. It?s 'keep it simple' approach and the fact that only the GM needs the software installed - players simply use their favourite web browser to connect to the game. This is a brilliant idea that really distinguishes it from the rest of the field and this feature, together with its general ease of setup and use are its main selling points, however...

The downside of this simple approach is that the package seriously lacks some features; especially for a piece of software that costs over $30. In fact it is also lacking some very basic utility and in places is 'clunky' enough to be a real headache for the GM - not unworkable or 'buggy', just clunky and clumsy in the way it does certain things. Some critical features (like stats) can't be modified despite it's claim to be extendable and to be honest it feels a little ?pre-alpha? in places.

There also doesn't seem to be a lot of development by nbos at the moment - although this may change now that FM 7.0 and AS 2.0 are finished. This is a real shame because at its core this is a wonderful piece of 'kit'. There is a small but dedicated band of users out there pretty much single handedly dragging this piece of software into the realms of true usability, but when a company doesn't seem to want to support or promote their own product you have to wonder...

You can certainly modify this package yourself to meet you own needs, but to do this you will need a good knowledge of VBScript and HTML. The online documentation is a little sparse though it does its job, but the more technical material assumes you have a good working knowledge of the above two disciplines - there is no beginners guide to modifying ScreenMonkey provided.

Ultimately I would suggest that you try the free 'lite' version before you buy. If it works for your specific needs then the full version is definitely worth getting. If not then don't expect much more in the way of features or utility from the commercial version of ScreenMonkey 1.5 - unless you have a good knowledge of VBScript and HTML.

With a little love and attention this can become a 'stonking' piece of software. Save your money and wait for version 2 (or 3) - I don't know if there will be a version 2 or 3, but if there is you may have a piece of software that both lives up to its true potential (and its price tag). I wouldn't want to see this become bloated or over developed, I like its K.I.S.S., cut-down approach, but it does need to be easier and better organised for GMs to use and modify.

<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Simple to use, easy to set up and if your needs are modest should work brilliantly, especially if your VB and HTML is good.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Undernourished, a little clunky and a bit pricey for something that is generally lacking some very basic features.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Disappointed<br>

Screen Monkey delivers. It's simple to use and the only person who needs the software is the host of the game. Players can use any browser. Some features require IE and I use IE, but it is NOT needed to make this program work. I like it. I use it. I recommend it if you want to have a map, players and chat in an online game.

Yes it IS usable with a two monitor set. If you want to use the GM screen feature to send a different view to the players at a table top game, make sure that your setup has the capability to send a DIFFERENT view than what YOU see to the second monitor. This is especially important to check if you are using a laptop. Many laptops have what is called CLONED output which means the second (external) monitor is a clone (the same view) of the laptop screen.

<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br><BR>[THIS REVIEW WAS EDITED]<BR>

This is a wonderful product! For what Screen Monkey accomplishes I'm suprised at how low the price is. I love it. Very easy to use.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Price for the product is terrific considering the features. Extremely easy to setup and use. Getting your PCs connected to the server is as easy as it could possibly be with no extra client software to install.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: not much<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

Screen Monkey fills an important niche in the gaming community. While the application is generic in its approach it does a good job for most gaming applications. However, there is so much more this program COULD be. Users have an extensive wishlist, of which many items overlap. It would be nice to see these commonly requested items be added. The problem appears to be that the author is one person who maintains several popular programs, and not all the programs get equal time.

Some of the common wishlist items:

Ability to type text on the map. The masking function needs a polygon (circle, square/rectangle) mode in addition to freehand. GM needs the ablity to add PCs along with NPCs. GM needs the ability to edit all PC and NPC info on the fly, not just select bits. GM needs the ability to setup different GM "persona" for different games they run (example: GM might be running a Red Dwarf game one night, and a D&D game the next. instead of having to edit the preferences each time, selecting a game/persona would add flexibility.) Coordinate grid numbering instead of in-grid numbering.<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: No user application to download, users only need a browser. The host application works well.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Grid numbering is too restrictive and often unreadable for the end user. Maps need scalability, not just for the grid, but for the map itself, such as the ability to zoom in and out. No ability to type text on the map. The masking function needs a polygon (circle, square/rectangle) mode in addition to freehand. GM needs the ablity to add PCs along with NPCs. GM needs the ability to edit all PC and NPC info on the fly, not just select bits. GM needs the ability to setup different GM "persona" for different games they run (example: GM might be running a Red Dwarf game one night, and a D&D game the next. instead of having to edit the preferences each time, selecting a game/persona would add flexibility.)<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

I was a little disappointed with the map features of ScreenMonkey in an otherwise excellent product. The integration with Fractal Mapper fixed those problems. The best feature is that only the GM needs to run specific software. Everyone else just runs their browser. (Though MS Internet Explorer and Firefox work best, I see no reason even IBrowse wouldn't work.)<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: Ease of use. Only the GM needs the software, excellent support.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Map features leave lots to be desired. though full integration with Fractal Mapper fixes this problem. <br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

Screenmonkey appears to be exactly what I've been looking for - a simple utility to allow me to run role-playing games over the internet, for my past players who've scattered across the country. I was looking for something that wouldn't involve my less tech-savvy friends having to install client programs, and I wanted something cheap.

The fact that I can also use this at the table, with my laptop and a spare monitor, to display a map or image for my players on the spare monitor, including the 'fog of war', is another great feature.

I like this program, and recommend it.

I bought this program after buying the Fractal Mapper 7.0 upgrade and enjoying it immensely. After a little fiddling with this program I tried it with a "test" session this weekend and it worked great! It was supposed to be a simple one combat test run and it turned into a full blown, on the fly, gaming session! I think that is the best praise I can give it. There is much depth to this program! It allows you to run an RPG from the program over the net, with very little hassle and with the GoblinAPI it could add a whole new dimension of customization. I was hesitant, at first, to spend $32 dollars on ScreenMonkey 1.0, but I bit the bullet and went for it. I found out the cost is worth it, ten-fold!

the trial version proved it to be a winner, although it would be good if the players got the same view as the GM, but the PC version of it, rather than having to open seperate windows for the map/chat/etc i will be moving our game to it.

new players wanted h t t p : / / Destined.to/DnD