Modern Technology

Was down in Bowling Green KY over the weekend and found out that the cheapest is not always the best.  I have the Straight Talk cell phone program from Wal-mart, which Consumer Reports says is the cheapest program around. Unfortunately, Straight Talk does not appear to consider Bowling Green a large enough community to warrant cell phone coverage there, despite the fact that it is the third largest city in Ky, with a population over 58,000.

In this day and age, it is very surprising to find a nationwide company that doesn't cover the entire country.  My phone even worked in the heart of the Missouri Ozarks, but not in the heart of Bowling Green.

I will be changing cell phone plans as soon as possible.  Unfortunately, in today's society, staying in contact is much more important than saving a few extra dollars by staying with the Straight Talk program.

New SJG Releasing

Coming in April!

SJG131324

Zombie Dice 2 – Double Feature

$ 7.95 SRP

If you love zombies, you love zombie movies . . . and Zombie Dice! So here it is: Zombie Dice 2 -- Double Feature! Three new dice give you three new ways to play. For the Big Summer Action Movie, you've got the two Heroes: the Hunk and the Hottie. He's got a double-shotgun icon, but if you eat his brain, you score double. The Hottie has two shotguns and three feet icons, making her fast AND dangerous. For Santa Claus Meets the Zombies, you guessed it: Santa Claus is coming to town! He has three special gift icons -- a helmet, an energy drink, and a double brain! Or, of course, you could eat Santa's brain. It's a very merry undead Christmas! Finally, in The Direct-to-Video Sequel: Use all three new dice and watch Santa rescue the Heroes!

SJG1486

Good, Bad, Munchkin 2 – Beating a Dead Horse

$ 10.95 SRP

A Horse Is A Horse . . . A corpse, of course! The rowdiest crowd of munchkins ever to wreck a saloon is back for more in The Good, the Bad, and the Munchkin 2 -- Beating a Dead Horse! Fight new varmints like the Cattywampus or the Eyes of Texas! Ride new steeds like Ol' Plug and the One-Trick Pony! And if all else fails, call in the new Class . . . the Cavalry! This is an expansion for The Good, the Bad, and the Munchkin. It is not a stand-alone game.

SJG4230

Munchkin: The Guild

$ 5.95 SRP

Munchkin'd! Munchkin is the classic card game of killing monsters and taking their stuff. The Guild is the hot Web series about a gaming group that puts the FUN in dysFUNctional. (Because otherwise it'd be "dysctional," and that's hard to say.) Now they've come together in a glorious spew of AWESOME, with the new 15-card booster, Munchkin The Guild! Add Codex, Vork, Clara, Bladezz, Tink, and the mighty Zaboo to your adventures. You may meet some of their foes along the way . . . Munchkin The Guild is designed by Steve Jackson and illustrated by Len "Geek a Week" Peralta.

Thoughts on Osprey Books

One thing a customer going into almost any game store in the late 70s through the late 90s would find was a Osprey Books spinner rack. A round rack with the Osprey logo, it held about a gross of assorted Osprey Men at Arms and Campaign books and easily stood out among the assortment of motley racks the store had purchased secondhand or scavenged from other stores, basements or warehouses.  Retailers  often spent a good sized chunk of their annual profits to stock in the line of Osprey books for two reasons.  First, the line sold well.  Back before the advent of the Internet and the decline in historic miniatures as a staple item in most shops, Osprey Books were the most reliable source of uniform details and paint schemes for historic miniatures, as well as information on heraldry, armor and castle fortifications for the slew of fantasy role-players that sprung up with the advent of  Dungeons and Dragons.

Second,  the Osprey rack was often the only professional quality piece of promotional materials available to the typical gaming store.  A customer walking into a store in the mid 80s would typically see a rack from TSR for Dungeons & Dragons products, a wire rack on the wall holding Games Workshop miniatures and a Osprey spinner rack sitting out on the retail floor filled with Osprey books.

Kossi Software

Tried out the Kossi software for running Yu Gi Oh today.  Typically, Kossi runs on the cloud which makes it very easy to upload results but makes the system run very slowly if lots of people access it at the same time.  Konami has made available downloadable software to run tournaments, which runs a lot more quickly than the could based stuff does. The big problem is that it doesn't automatically upload when you end the tournament.  You have to save it to the hard drive, then send it to Konami's tournament organizers, adding an extra step to the process.

Yu Gi Oh Battle Packs

May 29^th Release Date!

KOI89022

YGO: Epic Dawn Battle Pack

After a Decade of Duels, enough Monsters, Spells, and Traps have finally been created to make the greatest Dueling test ever. Battle Pack: Epic Dawn is the first Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG booster set designed specifically for the ultimate challenge of your skills and abilities: sealed pack play. Sealed pack play is making brand new Decks just from those cards Duelist get in the packs, and start Dueling! After a Duelist is done playing, they are still left with the cards from their packs. So they can add some awesome cards for their regular Deck and collection, like Gem-Knight Pearl, Adreus, Keeper of Armageddon, Tour Guide From the Underworld, Fabled Raven, Doomcaliber Knight, Forbidden Lance, and Backup Warrior. With 220 cards in Battle Pack: Epic Dawn, no two Dueling experiences will ever be the same. The Battle Pack: Epic Dawn set contains 220 cards: 55 Rare Cards and 165 Common Cards (Plus, all 220 cards are also available as special, shiny cards)

Axe Cop Bookmark

For those of you who are fans of Axe Cop or Munchkin (or both) the next issue of GTM (that's number 145) has a Munchkin Axe Copy Random Axe of Kindness bookmark enclosed.

When Is a Launch Party Not A Launch Party?

When WOTC decides they are not going to call the event a Launch Party any more but still provide promo cards and promotional materials for it.

New Palladium Books

Always good to see new Palladium books. Coming in March.

PLB886

Rifts: WB Black Market

$ 20.95 SRP

On Rifts® Earth, the Black Market is the most prevalent trader in weapons, contraband and magic items outlawed by the Coalition. Explore the day to day business of the market along with its smuggling routes, practices, policies and nefarious products. Encounter the five major Black Market factions in North America and foreign groups like the Yakuza, Green Scarf Sect and the Underground Railroads of Atlantis and the Vampire Kingdoms. -New O.C.C.s like the Con Man, Coyote and Venture -Black Market services, products, practices and customers. -Criminal jobs like the Enforcer, Hit Man and Defense Attorney. -Major smuggling corridors and routes through Coalition territory. -Smuggling methods, both magical and conventional. -The Five Factions of North America and other Black Market groups. -More equipment from Bandito Arms and specialized smuggling gear. -Tables for creating Traveling Merchants, Caravans, Market Outlets, Market Towns, Clubs and Bars, Body-Chop-Shops and more! -Information on the Coalition prison system and border security. -Written by Matthew Clements and Taylor White, with additional material by Kevin Siembieda and Alex Marciniszyn. 160 pages

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PLB887

Rifts: WB Northern Gun One

$ 20.95 SRP

The largest independent manufacturer of weapons, robots and adventure gear in North America is Northern Gun™. Located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, they have been the premier outfitter of mercenaries and adventurers for decades, and are a major hub for hiring military contractors. With a whole new product line to offer their customers, the future looks bright for Northern Gun™. -The arms giant Northern Gun profiled for the first time! -The Kingdom of Ishpeming, a puppet-state propped up by NG. -Full 109 P.A. catalog of Northern Gun products! -New weapons, power armor, vehicles, robots and adventure gear. -The Ishpeming military, essentially a framework for hiring mercenaries and privateers. -The NG Bounty Board, the largest collection of bounties and mercenary contracts anywhere on Rifts® Earth. -Hover trains, supply ships and sales outlets. -Northern Gun’s relationship with the Coalition States, Triax Industries, the Black Market and others. -Written by Matthew Clements. -Interior Artwork by Nick Bradshaw, Chuck Walton and others. -160 pages

New Duel Deck

WOC488850000

MtG Duel Deck: Venser vs. Koth

$ 19.99 SRP

The Planeswalker Koth, from the metal plane of Mirrodin, sought help when his world darkened. He traveled to Dominaria to enlist allies and met fellow Planeswalker Venser. When Venser recognized the threat to Koth's world was none other than Phyrexia, he knew that the only hope for Mirrodin was to find its maker. But that would mean forsaking its people in the meantime. Koth would rather die than turn his back on his fellow Mirrans. But Venser all but knew they would die anyway if they failed to reach Karn, his former mentor and creator of Mirrodin. Two Planeswalkers, one goal, very different methods. Recreate the struggle to lead the way to Mirrodin’s salvation.

Arriving March 30th.  Limited Quantities.