Metal Cthulhu Dice

This is just way cool. Slightly larger than the current plastic Cthulhu die and solid steel.  Expected to arrive in July 2012, priced at $14.95

Lotus Guardian Robbed

The Lotus Guardian, a store in Owensboro Ky that deals extensively in Magic singles, had a break in last night and has put up a $5000 reward for the head of the person who did it.  No one injured in the robbery it appears. Given the size of the reward offered, I'd bet 1) whoever did it was quite familiar with the store and 2) significantly more than $5000 in merchandise was stolen.

Random Thoughts on the GAMA Trade Show

Before closing the books on this year’s GAMA Trade show, I wanted to touch on a few more topics and things that caught my interest, in no particular order.

1)       Organization.  Aside from the very first day, when early arrives didn’t realize the show checkin was at a different location in the Bally’s from previous years, the show was very well organized.  Kudos to GAMA ED John Ward and the rest of the GAMA staff and volunteers.  I heard no complaints from retail attendees about lost registrations and people moved through lines pretty quickly.

2)      Donkey.  Once again, the Donkey game (which I have yet to try) attracted a loud and raucous crowd in both the exhibit hall and evening gaming with players climbing on top of the game table at one point.  There always looked like a full table of players, but it was hard to tell how many of them were staffing the booth and how many were show attendees.  For all the enthusiasm shown for the game both this year and 2011, I have never had anyone come into the store asking for it and do not recall any of my distributors soliciting it.  As a side note, I see the manufacturer (Cleveland Kids) has signed up to participate in Wal-mart’s get on our shelves program.

3)      Programming.  Once again, going to blocks of manufacturer programming appears to have worked as every slot of their programming I attended had a full house.  Unfortunately, it did relegate a lot of the programming provided by the GAMA Retail Division to the evenings and later in the week, when a lot of attendees had already left. Still, most had standing room only, especially Dave Wallace’s seminars on employee maintenance filled many seats and Lynn Potyen’s education certification program.

New Reaper

Check out these new Reaper figures:

Dark Heaven Legends Fantasy Miniatures
	IMAGE NOT AVAILABLE
REM03609 Hell Hound $ 8.49 SRP 25mm Heroic Scale Fantasy Miniatures Integral Bases Unpainted metal models that may require assembly	REM03610 Achilles, Mythical Hero $ 9.79 SRP 25mm Heroic Scale Fantasy Miniatures Integral Bases Unpainted metal models that may require assembly

Savage Worlds Miniatures
REM59025 Female Huckster $ 5.99 SRP 25mm Heroic Scale Fantasy Miniatures Tabbed figures on plastic slotted bases Unpainted metal models that may require assembly	REM59021 Bone Fiend $ 6.99 SRP 25mm Heroic Scale Fantasy Miniatures Tabbed figures on plastic slotted bases Unpainted metal models that may require assembly

Pathfinder Miniatures
REM60106 Pathfinder Explorer $ 7.29 SRP Miniatures are supplied unpainted and assembly may be required.	REM60109 Styrian Kindler $ 6.79 SRP Miniatures are supplied unpainted and assembly may be required.

P-65 Heavy Metal Miniatures
REM65143 Griffon $ 18.49 SRP 25mm Heroic Scale Multi-Genre Miniatures Integral bases Unpainted lead-alloy metal models that may require assembly	REM65144 Silver Dragon $ 24.49 SRP 25mm Heroic Scale Multi-Genre Miniatures Integral bases Unpainted lead-alloy metal models that may require assembly

May Pathfinder

Schedule for May Release!

PZO3023 Buff Deck $ 10.99 SRP SDI Track your hero’s bonuses and important status effects with the GameMastery Buff Deck! This beautifully designed accessory speeds up play and cuts down on rulebook consultation during battles by laying out your character’s relevant bonuses in an easy-to-add format. From spells like bless, haste, and prayer to class features like a bard’s inspire courage, the Buff Deck puts all the details at your fingertips, leaving you to concentrate on smiting your enemies!	PZO9245 PFCS: Giants Revisited $ 19.99 SRP SDI This sourcebook explores the societies, ecologies, mythologies, and secrets of ten of the most memorable races of giant-kind, including hill giants, stone giants, frost giants, fire giants, cloud giants, storm giants, rune giants, marsh giants, taiga giants, and Cyclopes. Each chapter includes full statistics for a sample leader or jarl as well as new rules like feats, spells, and magical items crafted not just by these towering monsters, but by those who seek to fight against them. by Jason Nelson, Brian R. James, Ryan Costello, Ray Vallese, Russ Taylor, and Jesse Benner
PZO9056 PFA: Raiders of the Fever Sea $ 19.99 SRP SDI Chapter 2: "Raiders of the Fever Sea" by Greg A. Vaughan Now masters of their own ship, the adventurers can become pirates in their own right, but they must first rename and refit their stolen ship. But to be considered equals by the pirates of the Shackles, they have to prove themselves worthy of the name. When they discover a treasure map tattooed on a defeated pirate rival, the adventurers go in search of buried treasure. If found, they’ll have enough plunder to return to the Shackles as true Free Captains! A Pathfinder Roleplaying Game adventure for 4th-level characters, this volume continues the Skull & Shackles Adventure Path. This volume of Pathfinder Adventure Path also reveals details on Torag, god of the forge, as well as a gazetteer of locations and menaces that lurk beneath the waves of Golarion’s vast and varied oceans. New monsters from the depths of the sea and exotic islands also fill the Pathfinder Bestiary, while Robin D. Laws (author of the Pathfinder Tales novel The Worldwound Gambit) continues his tale of pirates and lost treasures in the Pathfinder’s Journal.	PZO9536 PF Module: No Response from Deepmar $ 13.99 SRP SDI A dungeon and wilderness exploration adventure for 8th-level characters The island penal mining colony of Deepmar off the north coast of Cheliax has provided the infernal House of Thrune with a steady supply of valuable crystals for decades, but now all contact with the island has ceased. Sent to the isolated island to investigate, the heroes must explore the eerily abandoned mining colony and the surrounding island to discover what sinister threat has silenced the settlement and interrupted the steady flow of minerals from the colony’s mines. Can the heroes discover the truth behind the disappearance of the island’s inhabitants and get the rich resources of Deepmar flowing to the mainland again, or will they too vanish, never to be heard from again?
PZO8508 PF Tales: City of the Fallen Sky $ 9.99 SRP SDI, SOO Once a student of alchemy with the dark scholars of the Technic League, Alaeron fled their arcane order when his conscience got the better of him, taking with him a few strange devices of unknown function. Now in hiding in a distant city, he’s happy to use his skills creating minor potions and wonders—at least until the back-alley rescue of an adventurer named Jaya lands him in trouble with a powerful crime lord. In order to keep their heads, Alaeron and Jaya must travel across wide seas and steaming jungles in search of a wrecked flying city and the magical artifacts that can buy their freedom. Yet the Technic League hasn’t forgotten Alaeron’s betrayal, and an assassin armed with alien weaponry is hot on their trail...	SQW30045 Flip-Mat: Town Square $ 12.99 SRP SDI Fend off invasion or throw a festival upon this sweeping tactical map depicting the central square of a fantasy town! Designed specifically for use with the opening encounter of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game’s Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path but suitable for any urban engagement, this durable accessory sets a central scene for any tabletop fantasy campaign! This portable, affordable map measures 24" x 30" unfolded, and 8" x 10" folded. Its coated surface can handle any dry erase, wet erase, or even permanent marker. Usable by experienced GMs and novices alike, GameMastery Flip-Mats fit perfectly into any Game Master’s arsenal! On tabletops across the world, the Flip-Mat Revolution is changing the way players run their fantasy roleplaying games! Why take the time to sketch out ugly scenery on a smudgy plastic mat when dynamic encounters and easy clean-up is just a Flip away?

Oz Fluxx and Looney Labs

Got in a demo copy of the new Oz Fluxx game from Looney Labs today. it is at the counter if you want to take a look at it.  It plays the same as any other Fluxx game, though all the cards are Oz specific and some of the rules cards draw directly from the stories, such as the Magic Shoes rule (when this rule is in play, you make click your heels together three times to draw another card) and the Green Spectacles card (draw another card if you have glasses or green clothing).  The game also features Surprise cards, which I was not familiar with. The Surprise card allows you to play in reaction to another person's action, generally canceling the card just played.

Looney Labs is working on a slew of other Fluxx games as well.  One I didn't get to play but saw demoed extensively was Gambling Fluxx.  Looney is also relaunching Treehouse, but this time in a green fabric bag, similar in style to that which Ice Dice is packaged in (By the way,  Kristen Looney of Looney Labs tells me their Pink Treehouse game is sold out. We do have a few copies left in stock so if you want one, now you know).

Pirates of the Spanish Main

At this year's GAMA Trade Show, Wizkids announced a makeover of their Pirates of the Spanish Main collectible ship game.  However, much as they did with Mage Knight last year, they are keeping the name but changing the game significantly. From what they told us at the show, this version will not have the cool minature pirate ships but will instead be a card game.  No indication as to how play works but, from what I saw, it looks as if each ship will have its own deck and you will be able to customize your own ship by mixing and matching cards from various decks.

No indication as to release date but I'd bet on later this year as the game apparently has been in development for some time.  Probably a GENCON or Origins release.

GW Still Cagey

Got a few moments with one of the sales representatives of Games Workshops to ask about upcoming releases.  According to him, the US sales team doesn't get the information on new releases until about a month ahead of time.  This means that the release information we have posted in the store (by the Games Workshop rack) is the same information that the US GW staff has. It's pretty hard to believe that a company the size of Games Workshop (Sales around $15 million per year) would not let their sales staff know what the heck is coming out this year and when it will release.

On a related note, also asked about this year's 'Ard Boyz and was told they had no word on this either.  No idea if there will be an 'Ard Boyz tournament, when it would start or what it would include. All I was told was that GW has some sort of event planned for this year, but no idea what form

Tentacle Bento

Got a look at a new game from Soda Pop Miniatures titled Tentacle Bento.  It's an anime themed trick taking card game with more than a touch of hentai to it.  Each player is a monster tasked with capturing Japanese school girls, the more girls the better.  After the 4th event card in the deck turns up, the game ends and the player with the most girls wins.  The art and flavor text are all PG but the flavor text is suggestive enough that I'm rather uncertain about stocking it when it releases.  The game plays well and all the people who tried it out at the GAMA Trade Show liked it a lot, so it certainly has that in favor of it.

Scheduled for release later this summer, probably at Origins or GENCON.  Expected price point is $19.99.  If we bring it it, it would likely go behind the counter along with the Club card game. 

What Would You Ask?

Heading out to the GAMA Trade Show this week and will have the opportunity to speak to a lot of publishers and manufacturers.  What would you like me to ask them?  So far, I have questions about the next release for the One Ring RPG, when will the next edition of Warhammer 40,000 release and when will the next Fast Forces set for HeroClix arrive.  Post your questions in the comments and I'll ask them.

Camp Castle

The store is a firm believer that, in order to create the next generation of gamers, we need to introduce kids to tabletop gaming early. That is why we sponsor the Magic at Recess programs at Carbondale New School and Unity Point School, as well as our Saturday Kidz Magic program. 

Due to parent request, we are hosting another Camp Castle session next week over spring break (kids get spring break now?  We never did when I was a kid).  Magic will be played from 1-5 on MWF and Pathfinder from 1 to 5 on Tues-Thurs.  $10 per day or $30 for the entire week.  Brandon Hale will host the Magic sessions and John Thompson the Pathfinder ones.  You can find the Camp Castle registration form by clicking on the link on the store website.