Paper miniatures have always been popular. They're light, inexpensive, and easy to use . . . but they're fragile. If you mess up while cutting them out, you're out of luck. And after the game is over, they're difficult to store safely. And what if you need two dozen of a single kind? And what if you want to game in a variety of scales?

Sparks are the ultimate paper miniatures: miniatures in the form of a TrueType font! You can make up your own "sheets," with any composition you want, in any scale you want, any time you want, using no software more complicated than WordPad! Burn them, mark them, spill Coke on them, throw them away when you're done, because you can always make more!

Because TrueType glyphs are vector-based images, Sparks are capable of retaining an astonishing level of detail; there's no jaggy mess when you need one in a weird size. Plus, Sparks have front and back-side images!

The possibilities are many: With colored paper (or a color printer) you can color-code hordes of thugs for easy identification in play . . . And they're fun to color themselves, with markers or pencils. Most "plain paper" printers can also print on light cardstock, for more durable Sparks. You can also use Sparks in a graphics program, using the art as the basis for your character illustration, or on player handouts. By re-scaling an Ogre, you can make a Giant! By re-scaling a robot, you can make mecha! Sparks includes full documentation to help you scale your paper miniatures exactly how you want them.

The Sparks Library

• Free-for-All: If you're new to Sparks, the most important set for you is Sparks: Free-for-All, an introduction to the world of Sparks. It's a free font in which every letter from A to Z is a different paper miniature waiting to be printed! Click Here for horror, modern, science-fiction and fantasy fun!
• Dan Smith Stockpile: The Dan Smith Sampler was our first set, and the world's first paper-miniature font. The little ten-Spark set was so popular we beefed it up, turning it into the magnificent Dan Smith Stockpile, a full set of 26 Sparks for a variety of genres! Click here!
• Yellow Jack & Rum: Hearty buccaneers, cutthroat sea dogs, and more are eager to buckle a swash or two in this Age of Sail adventure set. Evoke one of the greatest adventuring eras of all! If it's doubloons and pieces of eight you seek, Click Here!
• Cairo Moon: Gangsters, G-Men, ancient mummies and femmes fatale await in an oversized set of Sparks for pulp adventure in the 1920s and 30s! This Machine Age set features a bonus font with 19 figures beyond the basic alphabet set, as well as vehicle flats. If you like pulp, Click here!
• The Adventures of Darcy Dare: The men and woman of the Summers and Dare Detective Agency are more than they seem! They're Project Dare, saving the world from giant metal gorillas, goons in egyptian costume, and madmen bent on feeding the planet to demons from space! It's 21st-century pulp action with the cutest heroine ever to make Sparks fly! Plenty of extras, too! Click here!
• The Dungeoneers: Fantasy gamers rejoice! Sparks crawls down into the dungeons and up into the twisted streets of a lost medieval city with The Dungeoneers. From dragons, orcs and skeletons to a fun mix of sorcerers, warriors, werewolves and Cute Chicks with Fighting Sticks, this set is a dream come true: 26 miniatures and fourteen flats! Click here!
• Justice City: Mutant powers, capes, and spandex join forces against the powers of evil on the streets of Justice City! Fight alongside Beta Squad or the Union of Heroes against the likes of Deadline and Duke Erebus! Fly, zap, and kick your way to victory with the first superhero Sparks set, a full set with 20 flats and hidden extras! Click here!
• Legend of Winter Forest: Fantasy gamers rejoice some more! Sparks crawls out of the dungeons and into a vast, haunted wilderness with The Legend of Winter Forest. This lovely swords-and-sorcery set is extra-heavy on the foes, with nary a genuine good-guy in sight. Big trolls, surly centaurs, nasty brigands, dark knights of evil, and more, with twenty flats and a hidden extra Spark, too! Click here!
• Critters: Still want more fantasy? Us, too! The Critters set supplies 26 animals and monsters - furry things, scaly things, things with teeth, things with mandibles, real things and mythical things! There's no people in Critters - just things, and plenty of 'em! Click here!
• Monster Cinema: Whatever happened to my Transylvania Twist? It's now the mash. It's now the monster mash. Happy Halloween, all year long! An entirely groovy and altogether ooky "mini-set" of spooky favorites, plus extras! Click here!
• Macho Women with Guns: The Macho Women with Guns set is a two-font mega-set of 42 Sparks, at the same low price as a set of 26! This set is licensed for use with BTRC's hard-hitting action game of satire, gunfire and cheesecake. From the ancient evil of Bthulhu to the modern nuisance of paperwork (and the scantily-clad nuns you need to deal with them) this set has it all. Click here!
• Watch the Skies!: Science-fiction pulp adventure at it's finest in Watch the Skies! It's a complete set of 26 Sparks, with a science-fiction miniature for every letter of the alphabet. It also comes with blanks and seven flats, from fallen weapons to severed limbs! Fire up the rockets, take the safety off your blast-gun and Click here!

If you enjoy Sparks, you might love Flagstones and Hexpaper, too! If you like fonts in general, keep an eye on the Fontworks, and on the Free Stuff of the Moment page!