Around the Table Q1 2022

Q1 2022 6 Technology Resolutions It’s not too late to make them

Meet GAMA’s New Board Members GAMA EXPO

Yes, Retailers, It is Well Worth the Trip

Finding the right art for the game.

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&

I

t’s the dawn of the Stone Age and the land is full of opportunities to explore. From the awardwinning designer of CARCASSONNE comes a new and exciting challenge: Fire & Stone. Players will each lead a tribe of early humans across a prehistoric Earth, searching for food, building shelter, and increasing their skills so they can survive to the next age. Many unexpected discoveries await as the tribes spread from continent to continent, but through cunning and careful planning a new era of humanity can be reached. With each game presenting new challenges with its random setup and varied cards and tiles, who will lead their tribe to victory?

12+

90-120

1-4

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AROUND THE

®

Q1 2022

A Publication by the Game Manufacturers Association

BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT Stephan Brissaud Director - Publisher Membership Group

GAMA STAFF

VICE-PRESIDENT Andrew Chesney Chip Theory Games TREASURER Gary Alaka Gap Closer Games SECRETARY Julie Ahern Greenbrier Games

John Stacy

Chris Materni

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

DEPUTY DIRECTOR

Paul McGraw EVENTS MANAGER

john.stacy@gama.org

chris.materni@gama.org

paul.mcgraw@gama.org

Gregoire Boisbelaud

Adam Ziegler

Cynthia Tuck

TECHNOLOGY AND CREATIVE MANAGER

EVENTS COORDINATOR

adam.ziegler@gama.org

cynthia.tuck@gama.org

DISTRIBUTOR DIVISION CHAIR Sito Sanchez Peachstate Hobby Distribution DIRECTOR - WHOLESALE MEMBERSHIP GROUP Beau Heath Southern Hobby Distribution GAMA RETAIL DIVISION CHAIR Jennifer Ward Crazy Squirrel Games & Toys GAMA RETAIL DIVISION VICE-CHAIR Kylie Prymus Games Unlimited DIRECTOR - CREATOR MEMBERSHIP GROUP Grace Collins Snowbright Studio DIRECTOR - MEDIA & EVENTS MEMBERSHIP GROUP Monica Rasso Meeples At Sea DIRECTOR - MANUFACTURERS MEMBERSHIP GROUP Eric Price Japanime Games DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE Jeff Pinsker EMERITUS BOARD MEMBER Will Niebling

COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR greg.boisbelaud@gama.org

THE GAME MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION 258 East Campus View Blvd Columbus, OH 43235 Phone: 614-255-4500 Fax: 614-255-4499 www.gama.org • media@gama.org

PUBLISHED BY Around the Table © 2022 The Game Manufacturers Association Fahy-Williams Publishing 171 Reed Street, Geneva, NY 14456 P 800-344-0559 F 315-789-4263 To advertise, contact Amy Colburn at 315-789-6431 or email amy@fwpi.com.

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The Right Art for the Game

by Sean Jacquemain

W

hat is the first thing about a game on a shelf that grabs your attention?

Board games are the result of many elements coming together to create a whole. Mechanisms contribute to the actual gameplay, theme helps with the immersion, but perhaps no element is more important to initially sucking you in than the art. Finding the right art, and more specifically, the right artist for a game is critical to creating the game experience you’re after and often getting people interested in playing in the first place.

At KTBG, we’ve partnered with many artists on several occasions. Working with the same talented people ensures that our goals as a publisher will match their artistic vision for the game. Frequent projects together mean we create a bit of a shorthand language. Artists know what we’re looking for and it’s a lot easier for them to produce it.

Providing art direction and overall vision to every KTBG game is Josh Cappel, the Artistic Director of the company. Cappel is the driving force behind the art and graphic design. He works with every artist we partner with, providing feedback and helping them get every element right!

One of our latest return collaborators

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was Shawna J.C. Tenney. Tenney created a swarm of cute creepy crawlers for Bugs on Rugs. Although it was a small game, we knew her style would be perfect for Creature Comforts.

“It’s great to work with a team that I have worked with in the past, because I know what to expect. I have been especially blessed to work with the Kids Table Board Gaming Team, as they are fun to work with, professional and organized,” said Tenney.

It was important that the animal denizens of Maple Valley were full of personality and that the comforts, dens, and the board exuded that specific ‘cozy’ feeling we were going for. We really felt that Tenney knocked it out of the park on this one. There are so many fun elements to enjoy about Creature Comforts, but from the box cover, to the cards, and home boards, the art really tells the story we were going for.

“I really love the game board,” said Tenney. “There were so many fun little details to imagine, and the whole thing really reminded me of being at my favorite mountain summer camp in my childhood.”

KTBG is looking forward to future partnerships

with Tenney. We can’t wait to see the new worlds she’ll create next.

Another frequent collaborator is Apolline Etienne. KTBG has commissioned Etienne for an amazing four titles! Those include Haunt the House, where she created a spooky mansion and filled it with a cast of ghost hunters and phantoms, Wreck Raiders, an undersea adventure with a number of adorable sea creatures, and Fossilis, where Etienne illustrated some of the giant dinosaurs of the past. With each project, Etienne brought her own whimsical personality to the work. Her latest game with KTBG is Power Plants.

She was tasked with creating a number of new magical species of plants and several different types of worker sprites to tend the fields.

Gamers will always value different elements in the titles they consume. As the industry grows and board games appeal to an ever-growing audience, the art chosen for a game has never been more important. Your game is competing with countless other options.

There is no better way to make it stand out and convey what your game is about, than with striking, beautiful, and appropriate art. At KTBG, art is one of the essential elements that make our games complete. kidstablebg.com

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Q1 2022 Adverstories

Features

14

6 Technology Resolutions

36 48

It’s not too late to make

Tips and tricks to help retail stores sell games, written by the following companies Ares Games SRL

44

Meet GAMAs New Board Members

CrowD Games

42

Representing creators, media and events, and manufacturers

Czech Games Edition

18

Dolphin Hat Games

58

Elf Creek Games

20

ENHANCE Gaming

10

Floodgate Games

24

Indie Game Studios

50

Inside Up Games

32

Japanime Games

46

GAMA EXPO Yes, Retailers, It is Well Worth the Trip

Departments

KTBG/Burnt Island Games

6 8

5

GAMA Board and Staff

Legend Story Studios

9

Letter from the Executive Director

Lucky Duck Games

62

9

Contributors

Magpie Games

30

Pegasus North America

12

Perplext, LLC

40

11

Letter from the President

11

Letter from the GRD Chairperson

13, 31, 52, 54

New Products

56

GAMA News

SafeHaven Games

16

60

Index of Advertisers

Steve Jackson Games

26

Upper Deck

34

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Flesh and Blood is a Game For Collectors and Connoisseurs

by Legend Story

“O

ur mission is to bring people together in the flesh and blood through the common language of playing great games.”

Flesh and Blood is created by Legend Story Studios, an independent studio based in Auckland, New Zealand. Created for gamers, by gamers, Flesh and Blood spent seven years in development before its worldwide debut in October 2019, with the release of the first booster set, Welcome to Rathe.

Flesh and Blood is designed to reward good decisions, not good luck.

It seeks to challenge the fundamental laws of TCG card evaluation and deck building philosophies, while being highly interactive, with action beginning from the very first turn. The game is built around a unique resource system, underpinning an innovative combat dynamic which has been rigorously tested by competitive TCG fanatics over many years.

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programs return to the fundamentals of tournament play. It all starts with weekly in-store local play, progressing to regional level tournaments, national level championships, and ultimately the international Pro Tour and World Championship. Booster draft and sealed deck feature as a significant part of official play programs, in addition to Classic Constructed and the fun, fast, fifty-two card Blitz formats.

Flesh and Blood is also a game made for collectors and connoisseurs of fine things, with particular attention given to crafting collectability.

In a world of ever-changing technology, the importance of local communities has never been more relevant. We believe local game stores around the world serve a vital role for society, providing a welcoming environment for people to come together to play great games, forge new friendships, and build communities.

Trading Card Games are an

incredible medium for bringing people together as a community. They are a powerful force that transcends age, race, religion, gender and even spoken language. They serve as a “common language” to bring people together.

We believe that in a world of innovative technologies, the need for local communities will never go out of date.

We’re passionate about supporting local game stores as the heart of TCG communities. Official Flesh and Blood stockists are able to use GEM, our easyto-use web browser software to run official events and promote their store through our event and store locators on fabtcg.com. Official GEM stores receive monthly Armory Kits free-of-charge containing prize cards, playmats, and marketing materials; everything a store needs to run great weekly events and build a thriving Flesh and Blood in their store!

Flesh and Blood is distributed in the USA by PHD and Southern Hobby. fabtcg.com

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FROM THE executive director

Dear friends,

T

his issue of Around the Table marks the start of our third year of publication, which is simply amazing to me. When I became executive director in late 2018, I had a goal to create a new publication to pull the various segments of the industry together. We have made some good strides towards this objective over the past eight issues, but as with most things we have room to improve to be inclusive of the various voices in the industry that may have been overlooked in the past.

To the end we pledge to you that in 2022 we will seek out content that is relevant to all six membership groups that comprise our association: creators, media & event organizers, manufacturers, publishers, retailers, and wholesale. Specifically, we are looking for contributors who would like to share about topics or segments of the industry that are relevant to you, our members.

We want to know about interesting developments or innovations at your company, how you are reaching out to new audiences to

grow the hobby games market. In short, we want to hear from you with story ideas or news you would like to share. Please reach out to us at media@gama.org and let us know how you we can make this publication relevant to the entire industry.

Lastly, we are gearing up for GAMA EXPO 2022 which we will be held March 14-18 at the Peppermill Resort & Casino in Reno.

The show will be hybrid with most of the programming taking place in person with additional content streamed the follow week, March 23-24 on our GAMA Networking Hub. Sign up for our weekly newsletter for updates on the show and all the programming we offer by sending an email to media@gama.org.

Until next time be safe and be happy!

John Stacy, Executive Director

CONTRIBUTORS Thank you to the following industry professionals for contributing their time and expertise to Around the Table! Please enjoy their articles throughout this issue. If you would like to contribute to future issues of Around the Table by suggesting a topic or writing your own article, please email media@gama.org.

Andrew Long is a longtime journalist specializing in data analysis and visualization.

He taught web and data journalism at Arizona State University where he helped to build the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting.

In 2017, he founded the Arizona Game Fair, which has quickly grown to become one of the West’s premier tabletop events.

Dawn Studebaker spent 14 years in the retail space with eight of them in the game industry.

She is a longtime advocate of shopping local and promoting community-based retail enrichment. With her broad knowledge of marketing combined with a strong portfolio of experience in social media, she finds joy in helping her peers improve and strengthen their marketing footprint.

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Your Adventure Begins with With thousands of 5-star reviews across their line of RPG bags, cases, gaming enhancements, and accessories, ENHANCE Tabletop Gaming products are established fan-favorites that are guaranteed to be critical hits in your stores. ENHANCE® offers practical and innovative solutions to make gaming more enjoyable for tabletop RPG gamers, board game enthusiasts, and trading card collectors. The premier tabletop gear brand is enjoying enthusiastic growth in their loyal fanbase, so this is an excellent opportunity to take a look into the backstory and unique features of their expanding line of specialized gaming gear and accessories.

Before ENHANCE brought the Adventurer’s Bag to market, DMs and players in need of a bag that could “carry it all” had to make do with generic travel cases. This solvable and unnecessary half measure inspired ENHANCE to approach the challenge with a clear mission: deliver on what their team’s own passionate RPG players wish for in the perfect RPG travel bag. By creating designs that their team loved, they became innovators in a space that demanded such innovation, and showcased how thousands of hours spent playing RPGs can be justly warranted—if not, are critical—to the “insider’s perspective” that makes ENHANCE a success with RPG players around the globe.

Word-of-mouth will bring DMs and players to your stores, as they too will want to gear up with the only bag to be featured in TechnoBuffalo’s Best Dungeons and Dragons Accessories list for 2021: “If you’re going to play at someone else’s house or you’re going to a gaming convention, you’ll want to keep your scrolls and potions organized…the Adventurer’s Bag will carry all…and anything else you might need to slay any

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dragon...”

To earn such praise, ENHANCE devoted exceptional attention to detail in how their bags and gaming accessories are manufactured. Elemental to the brand is for each product to embody a level of craftmanship that not only delivers on rigorous durability expectations, but also appeals to players as investments that directly add value to their RPG adventures and characters. From spacious and customizable loot compartments, dedicated character inventory and accessory pockets, quest-ready premium textiles and materials, innovative gameplay enhancements, and their emblematic ancient bronze metal accents that fall in theme with fantasy RPG games… all offer everything needed to bring your characters to life during every journey through the ages.

With invigorated passion, ENHANCE has spent the last few years expanding its popular line of tabletop gear to further cement the brand as the elite maker of quality RPG bags and accessories. Their growing catalog, all of which is backed by an industry-leading 3 Year Warranty, specializes in catering to players of tabletop RPGs, trading card games, board games & puzzles, and miniature figure war games. With each new product, their team forges their dream gear into this realm and gets to see a passionate community of players equally fall in love with the design. ENHANCE aims to provide accessories that enlighten gamers, elevate their game, and facilitate excellence across all genres.

By ENHANCE Gaming

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FROM THE president

FROM THE grd chairperson

Dear GAMA Members,

Hello GAMA members from all parts of the industry!

W

F

e are starting yet another year under the COVID-19 pandemic, and the show must go on.

2021 was a challenging year for everybody at many levels, but it was also the year of a dramatic evolution of GAMA as the game industry association.

I am very proud of how GAMA is shaping itself as a place where every single actor of the industry is represented.

Each membership group representative is working actively in helping create value for their constituency and helping the staff design tailored programs and offers for each of the six groups. If you have suggestions or questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your representative. We are all eager to help.

As I am writing these lines, GAMA Expo is still a go, but we are monitoring the evolution of the pandemic and following the CDC recommendations closely, adapting as needed.

I am looking forward to seeing all of you in Reno this March.

I hope you will enjoy the content of this edition of Around The Table and join me in welcoming Andrew Long as our new content coordinator.

Be excellent to each other, Stephan Brissaud President of the Board of Directors

or me, GAMA has been an organization that offered me a chance to learn more about how to be better at my business (retail) while learning more about how all aspects of the industry works. And that’s an area where we continue to grow and strive to offer more and new opportunities both at Expo and Origins Trade Day as well as throughout the year.

While many of us love getting together under one roof for Expo or Trade Day, the world hasn’t really made that possible for everyone the last couple of years. But don’t let that stop you from learning more to grow your business.

For all of us there is at least one monthly live webinar that’s promoted through email or the Facebook GAMA Member Group page (facebook.com/groups/MyGAMA).

Plus, home office does their best to archive those on the website (gama.org/page/webinars).

For retailers, we’ve also got the GAMA Retailer Education Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/551350839546750), where conversations have ranged from merchandising your store to learning how to use a vinyl cutter.

After Expo, the Build Better Sales program will make a come back. It highlights a publisher who will teach, via video, your retail team how to sell their best or newest games. In addition, sign up early to participate and there’s often free copies of the games that will be highlighted. It’s an incredible way to learn more about the publisher and their games and boost sales across the tiers.

And then there’s Around the Table, the magazine you’re reading right now. Not only can you learn more about the games showcased in the quarterly publication, there are also articles for all members of industry. Articles have included information about how to build and support an inclusive community to what designers and publishers consider when developing, designing, and publishing their games. It’s a chance to take peeks into all aspects of what makes our industry work as well as how we’re an essential part to humans having fun all around the world.

I encourage you to not only make use of all of these opportunities, but to also lend a voice – and even a hand – in leading GAMA. We’re always looking for new voices, for people eager to help make this industry for all involved. Offer to lead a webinar.

Join a committee. Join in the monthly open board meetings. Your idea may be the next one to lead us all to success.

Jennifer M. Ward Retail Membership Group Chairperson

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The Dawn of

by Beth Erikson Marketing Manager Pegasus Spiele North America

T

Humanity

he sun rises slowly to dawn on a new day full of opportunities for early humanity. The bushes are full of fruits to be gathered, animals roam in the forest, and new lands are waiting to be discovered. It’s time to explore!

Travel back in time to the Stone Age in Fire & Stone, a brand-new game from Klaus-Jürgen Wrede, the award-winning designer of Carcassonne. This approachable exploration game is another great family-friendly title to add to game night.

A land of opportunity awaits the tribe willing to venture out and explore! As hunters and gatherers, you’ll gradually move outward from the African cradle of humanity, discovering new lands and establishing settlements. As you explore, you’ll learn new skills and be faced with unexpected events, but careful and strategic planning will help your tribe expand and push forward to a new era for humanity.

The game begins with the discovery tiles being placed face down on the board across the map. With random selection each time, every game will develop differently as you explore. Starting from Africa, tribes can venture out, working their way through Africa and Europe, into Asia and India and eventually into the Americas. As you send your scout forward, the facedown

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discovery tiles will be flipped up, revealing forests filled with animals to hunt, vegetation to gather, fire to tame, or perfect locations for building huts.

Discovering a location suitable for a hut is vital to win. Each hut you own at the end of the game will score a victory point.

Once a location has a hut it becomes a settlement, meaning anyone can build additional huts there, but it will cost them! The more huts, the higher the cost to build there.

Besides the randomization of discovery tiles in each game, there will also be a mysterious cave location. With 24 different cave options, each game will present a new experience since only one is put out. A cave card could allow players to exchange food at a market, create fire with a thunderbolt from a storm, or become a source of inspiration to allow players to buy inventions.

Each player will have their own tribe mat. As you discover tiles with fruit, nuts, and other resources, you can collect these tiles and place them on your tribe mat, filling up the spaces on your gathering stores track. Once you cover the card icon at the top spot on your mat you can gain 1 invention card or 1 victory point card. Inventions give a permanent effect that affects your ability for obtaining more food in different ways, increasing movement, building huts easier, and storing food. While victory points are important for the end game, inventions are essential to compete with other tribes.

Carefully manage your resources and take advantage of the discoveries you make to lead your tribe to victory in Fire & Stone!

Pegasus-web.com

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Return to the mysterious island of Arnak with the Expedition Leader expansion from Czech Games Edition! Give your expedition an edge by choosing one of six unique, asymmetrical leader characters, each equipped with different abilities and skills; and starting decks that offer different strategies and styles of play for you to explore. justin@czechgames.com

Crime Zoom from Lucky Duck is a game of mystery and deduction. Lay out the crime scene illustration, decide what you want to investigate, and then flip that card to take a closer look. The scrap of paper that caught your eye might be a clue! Follow this lead to another card in the deck, or keep exploring the crime scene? The choice is yours! MSRP $14.99. retailers@luckyduckgames.com

Birds of Prey from Ad Astra is the ultimate game of air combat maneuvers. With a full aerodynamic flight model, Birds of Prey rewards flying like actual fighter pilots; managing energy and drag to line up that gun or missile shot. Endorsed by actual military dogfighting instructors, there’s nothing else like it. design@adastragames.com

In Vivid Memories from Floodgate, you’ll take turns collecting fragments of childhood memories, weaving a tapestry of colored threads in your mind. There many various methods to score points. If you’re looking for the next step-up in complexity and challenge, compared to Sagrada, Azul, or similar games, Vivid Memories is for you!

Contact your distributor for more information on this or any other titles from Floodgate Games

After half-a-year of daylight, we must now prepare for the dark season.

The roads will be treacherous but they will still need to be braved by a select few in order to keep our cities thriving.

In Merchants of the Dark Road from Elf Creek Games, 1 to 4 players assume the role of these brave few merchants that travel the dangerous paths between cities. While the job is perilous, fame and fortune await! patrick@elfcreekgames.com

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It’s Not Too Late to Make These

Technology R

by Andrew Long

T

he beginning of the year brings many resolutions.

What should we cut back on, or what should we start doing? Business resolutions are a great way to improve your growth and happiness. While we are just a month into the New Year, it’s never too late to add a few resolutions we may have overlooked. Here are some often overlooked technology habits you may want to add to your list in 2022.

Resolve to optimize website speed

No matter where you fall in the tabletop industry, one of the best things you can do this year and every year is to optimize the speed and performance of your website.

Old, slow websites are going to start to cost your business if they aren’t already. People are more likely to convert, do the things you want them to – purchase, register, download – if it is easy and quick for them to do so.

Beyond conversion, website speed is a measure that Google is now taking into consideration when ranking pages. Slow sites will be pushed further from consumer views. This includes the mobile version of your site.

If your website isn’t optimized for mobile, start there.

Consumers today are more likely to visit you from a mobile phone.

Resolve to provide accessibility in everything you do

If you haven’t performed an accessibility audit, now

is the time. Accessible systems allow you to connect to more people and will give a much better life experience for others. The best place to start on this is your website.

Simple things like adding “alt” descriptions to images will allow visually impaired people to read and understand images. Publishers have gotten better at understanding color in games; these ideas also translate to website colors.

If this feels daunting, find a consultant that can do an assessment and make recommendations.

Resolve to reengage your mailing list

Newsletters are often started with the best intentions, but often fall by the side as other priorities come up. Don’t make this mistake. Email marketing is a great way to reach your audience directly. And now is a great time to re-engage your mailing list as we build toward the end of the year.

The first step to restart your mailing list is to understand what your goals are. Why are you contacting them – sales? Brand loyalty? Engagement? Understanding your goals will make it easier to create content and messages to help you reach them, especially if you turn those goals into something that is measurable: “Our goal is to increase online sales by 10 percent,” or “We would like to get 10 new Twitter follows a month.”

Once you have measurable goals, commit to a frequency you or your team can handle. Once a month is a good place to start.

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y Resolutions Now for the hard part: create content your customers will value. Think about why you open and read emails.

If you continually give value, your list will be a success in 2022.

Resolve to create an actual online strategy

Businesses often do online things at the spur of moment without having an actual strategy attached to them. Get that Twitter account now!

Resolve this year to attach a strategy to all the things you do online. “Why do we need a Twitter account?”

“What are we going to accomplish by having an account?”

“What is our Twitter strategy?” An even more important question is, “How does that Twitter account fit into the rest of our online strategy? Can the Twitter account help us reach our goal of growing e-commerce sales?”

Resolve to think about digital security

Businesses create and use all sorts of data. Most of that information isn’t particularly interesting to anyone, especially hackers, but some is. This is the year to resolve to take a closer look at how you protect the data you collect.

Much of how to go about this will depend on the size of your business and the systems you use. Everyone in your company should understand malware, viruses, and phishing. Train them to keep your networks updated and safe. Encourage using strong passwords and tools

such as 2-factor authentication, which requires additional information from a mobile phone to sign into an account.

If you are taking payments, be sure you work with banks and vendors to make sure you are using the latest security protocols. Restrict access to both online accounts and physical data. And make sure you are regularly backing up critical files.

Digital security is a growing responsibility of every company. Any effort this year will help you for years to come.

Resolve to think about how technology can make you more productive Take a moment this month to think about how technology can help with productivity. Automation is a powerful tool that can help you be more productive by allowing you to focus on other things. The key to this is identifying the processes that are taking up most of your time. Make a list of all the things you and your team do manually to see if there is a way to automate them.

Can game part replacement requests be automated with a form and emails? Can you automatically schedule meetings to that show? Can common questions be answered by a chat bot? Some of these may take more technical savvy than others but start with the easy ones and work your way up.

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Prepare to Take to the Skies Q2 with

bound by level and class, and skills will grow through use in the field and training between adventures. As players gain renown through their heroic deeds and completed contracts, they also will learn new techniques and grow in a multitude of ways, creating a character that plays and feels unique.

by Jacob Hampton, Lead Designer

Why should you carry Freelancer?

The Freelancer Core Book is over 300 full-color pages of rich lore, beautiful artwork, and a wealth of options for players to play the way they want to. Not only that, but this one book contains everything needed to go on the grand adventures that await the Freelancers.

Character Creation? Bestiary? GM Guide?

Everything is included in one hardcover book, making Freelancer a stand-alone, complete purchase at an MSRP of $45.

In addition, we have several campaign modules on the way, the first of which – The Vanishing Airship – is designed with new players and store demos in mind.

Freelancer: Skies Over Tolindia is coming to game stores everywhere early Q2, 2022. For more information or to order, please contact us at moseley. safehaven.games@gmail.com or visit safehaven-games.com.

ISBN: 979-8-9850717-0-2

Freelancer: Skies Over Tolindia F

reelancer: Skies Over Tolindia is an industrial fantasy tabletop roleplaying game of intrigue and strength of will.

Designed by Jacob Hampton and Brian Moseley, Freelancer is an original system built from the ground up to create an immersive and challenging experience for players to dive into.

Players will take on the role of Freelancers – knights of Tolindia who fight against espionage, corruption, and unknown monstrous forces. Tolindia is a diverse and proud nation that has recently passed into the Parliamentary Era only to find their new liberty in danger from without and within. Greedy neighbors eye the nation with interest, waiting for the right time to strike and seize the wealth of Tolindia for their own. From their mobile airship bases, Freelancers are sent around the nation to root out corruption, uncover foreign plots, and prevent the outbreak of violence by any means.

To keep the nation from falling into chaos, the Freelancers will have to pay for peace with their sweat and blood.

of contracts that see them adventuring around the nation, investigating crime scenes, engaging in tense shootouts with criminals, and navigating vicious high society gatherings. Players will work together in three-to-four-hour sessions using a brand-new system that rewards tactical thinking and cooperation. As they complete their goals, players actions have a definite impact on the world, shifting the balance of power among various factions.

Freelancer: Skies Over Tolindia uses mechanics designed to fit the tense and dangerous nation of Tolindia. A d10 dice pool system based heavily on a character’s skills allows players to make tactical decisions and work creatively to exploit their valuable abilities and maximize their chances of success. Characters are not

Robust mechanics for a variety of conflicts and characters With livestreaming and actual play podcasts on the rise, RPGs are reaching a broader audience – including Freelancer, which was livestreamed in March 2021 at Jasper’s Game Day. Freelancer offers a fresh twist on the standard “band of adventurers” setup many are familiar with. As official Knights of Tolindia, players will choose from a number

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safehaven-games.com

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Coming Early Q2 from SafeHaven Games

moseley.safehaven.games@gmail.com

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A Return Trip to

Arnak

by Justin Sweigart, CGE Retail Support Specialist, Czech Games Edition

A

s you are reading this, everyone is no doubt hard at work preparing for GAMA Expo! It’s been a long couple of years, hasn’t it? I’m sure we’re all thrilled and excited to finally get to see each other in person again and discuss a lot of what is going to be coming up this year.

By now, you all should be recovering from (what I hope is) a strong, successful holiday season and pressing into a great Q2 of 2022. Also, you should have received the long-awaited expansion to Lost Ruins of Arnak, titled Expedition Leaders!

We normally wouldn’t put quite as much focus and discussion into an expansion, but this one is kind of special.

Lost Ruins of Arnak is one of our most popular CGE titles, and we hope it’s done extremely well for all of you, too! The success of the game and the excitement you all helped generate with us has made this one of our most successful games to date. Doing an expansion and continuing to support the base game long-term was a no-brainer.

Instead of heaping praise upon ourselves for how well the game has done,

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what I would like to do today is discuss ways to help you continue to sell this title and keep its momentum going for all of us well into the future.

To me, one of the coolest things about the expansion is the addition of asymmetrical player characters, each with their own abilities. Some characters are easier to play (like the Captain), while others are more difficult to play (like the Mystic), so it creates many different ways to play.

Hopefully, by the time a customer is looking to buy the expansion, they already either have the base game or are familiar with it, and you won’t have to explain the basic mechanics of the game to them.

Instead, it will give you time to focus on the particulars of the expansion and how it adds so much to the core Arnak experience.

In addition to the asymmetrical players, there are 18 new items, 12 new artifacts, 12 new sites, and five new guardians to mix into the base game. Perhaps my favorite new element though, and the highlight you can share with your customers, is the new

research tracks (the Monkey and the Lizard temples). All of these elements, combined with the inherent flexibility of play styles in the base game, creates an almost limitless amount of combinations that you can play with, making it difficult to have the same playing experience each time you play.

Highlighting these differences may help convince the customer to go ahead and pick up the expansion, knowing that they won’t be disappointed. The increased variability of game play may also be the best selling point to someone you may be trying to sell both the base and expansion to.

I hope this helps guide you and your staff a bit in terms of how to sell and promote this great expansion to your customers. As always, if there is any more information or help we can provide, please let us know!

Now, I am going to spend these two coins, hire a pilot and fly out of here … until next time, my retailer friends.

For more information, email justin@czechgames.com

czechgames.com

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Return to Arnak!

Intrepid expedition leaders bring their unique skills to the island.

What will they find among the ruins?

2 new temples to explore

18 handy items, 12 mysterious artifacts

6 leaders, each with unique abilities and starting cards

new assistants, guardians, archaeological sites, and more!

1–4 30/ 12+ SKU:CGE00063 Link: www.cge.as/ar2i

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Too Many Lutes

by Caleb Wilson

M

erchants of the Dark Road is a new tactical strategy game from Elf Creek Games. Manage your dice to move around the “Ringway” – the rondel at the heart of the game.

Buy low, sell high, store your inventory, and don’t forget to pay attention to your opponents. In this pick-up-and-deliver game, you can join another player’s delivery and score when it’s not even your turn!

Someone woke me in the office built of cargo boxes at the back of my cousin’s stable. It was Ugo, my assistant.

“Boss, get up! Thorpe’s planning a trip to Windglass. Care to join him?”

“I wasn’t sleeping. I was doing some accounts.”

“Where’s the account book?”

“I was doing the sums in my head.”

My assistant already knew where the account book was.

More entries were in Ugo’s neat lettering than in my scrawl. I rolled off the pile of goods I’d been using as a cot. Something twanged.

“Windglass? Maybe I’ll head to Farglen instead and impress the bards. When do we decide?”

“Right now, boss.”

Hand-lantern light shone into the cluttered stable. Thorpe had sent a runner to get my answer right away.

“How many in the caravan so far?” More wagons meant that the danger, broadly shared, would cut less deeply, but the later we committed, the less say we’d have over any decisions that the trip required.

“None yet; Thorpe’s come to you first.”

“Oh? Impressed by my fame, no doubt!”

“No doubt,” said Ugo, raising some doubt.

“What about the route?”

Known roads were safer, thanks to Queen Lumi’s lanterns along the way, while a more dangerous shortcut would require Thorpe to bring his own lights. If he discovered a shortcut, 20 AROUND THE table • Q1 2022

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they’d sing his praises in distant towns. Unproven shortcuts might be more valuable, or more costly, for everyone else in the caravan, but with enough lanterns, you could always change your fate.

“A shortcut,” said Ugo. “Tell the runner we’re in!” I said. Sometimes my spontaneity annoys Ugo. The cargo barely fit into the wagon, but Ugo is a wizard of arrangement: tomes pressed their covers to potions wedged in beside a glittering staff jammed in over the three lutes I’d just bought at the Grand Bazaar.

“Is this ... possibly too many lutes, boss?”

“They were on sale!”

The caravan rumbled into the darkness, my wagon near its head just behind Thorpe’s. In a snow-choked forest glade, we stumbled upon a grave. With Thorpe busy mapping the way onward, I discovered a weathered lute left graveside as an offering. Ugo was right: four lutes are definitely too many, so I swapped the old lute for one of my new ones from the bazaar.

The bards of Farglen wrote a tune in my honor for bringing them that old lute: turns out it was built by Master Stravarios, a genuine treasure, while my cheap bazaar lutes were all the work of apprentices. But don’t worry; I’ll still sell those extras later for profit at the Ringway Inn. elfcreekgames.com

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We Can Have

Nice Things!

by Ian Birdsall, Marketing Manager, Floodgate

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e’ve all had the experiences of moving in with someone and finding out that our styles don’t mesh.

No blacklight posters in the living room?

Been there. The figurine collection receiving death-stares? Daily! The notso-subtle “It would be a shame if this was lost in a fire.” aimed at your favorite chair?

Yup. What if this all-too-familiar situation wasn’t stressful, but instead it was… fun?

Coming this spring from Floodgate Games, Décorum: a game of passive aggressive cohabitation! Décorum is a cooperative game where 2 to 4 players work together to decorate a house.

The tricky part is figuring out how to achieve your own secret objectives while compromising with the other players who are each attempting to satisfy their own home décor goals.

Décorum is played in a series of scenarios. In each scenario, the players’ home will start with certain decorations,

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accouterments, and paint colors in each room of the house. Whether the scenario puts the players in the roles of new roommates, a couple with different aesthetics, or a family with many different points of view, the goal is the same: decorate the home so everyone is happy. Will you figure out how to compromise and still get what your personal objectives call for, or is it time to move out? There’s always a solution, even if it doesn’t feel that way.

On your turn, you’ll make a single change to the house: add, remove, or swap out an item in a room, and of course, repaint the walls. The items, wall hangings, lamps, and curios (which you might know better as knick-knacks, tchotchkes, or bric-a-brac), and each

have a color and a style: modern, antique, retro, or unusual.

The changes you make work toward meeting your secret conditions, such as “There must not be any retro objects in the living room” or “each side of the house must contain two lamps, while hopefully working out for your partners.

After making your change, the other players can make a comment. However, iit being a passive-aggressive game, they can never share exactly how they feel.

Sticking to statements like “I love it!”, “I hate it!”, or “I’m fine with it.” (of course, never sharing why they feel that way), these hints are all you have to go on to find a compromise. By paying attention to each player’s actions and reactions to your decorating choices you’ll begin to get an idea of what your housemates’ objectives are, hopefully leading to a harmonious household.

Designed by Charlie Mackin, Harry Mackin, and Drew Tenenbaum, and featuring a bright, modern-classic art style by Michael Mateyko / Komboh Creative, Décorum plays 2 to 4 players over 30 unique scenarios, providing plenty of cooperative puzzles to solve together! Followed up with a mobile app for an infinite stream of new scenarios, Décorum is sure to outlast that hideous wallpaper in your kitchen.

Décorum moves into your favorite local game store in March 2022. Contact your distributor or Rich Gain (rich@ floodgategames.com) for any sales questions.

floodgategames.com

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décorum A game of passive aggressive cohabitation.

game by charlie mackin, harry mackin, drew tenenbaum

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visual design by komboh creative / michael mateyko

2/9/22 11:51 AM

Munchkin Tails is all about Puns and Fun

by Steve Jackson, President of Steve Jackson Games

S

ometimes a game shoots straight out of the designer’s brain and into print.

Sometimes they take a while. Munchkin Tails was one that took a while. It first made it onto the to-do list in 2015, but it wasn’t released until 2020! If we’d known how well it would sell, we would have worked faster!

This was the last solo design from the late and great Andrew Hackard. We miss him terribly, but he gave himself a great sendoff with Tails. It’s been very successful…the games we will be shipping in March 2022 are the third printing.

This particular Munchkin title plays to the “anthropomorphic animal” genre. Go ahead and say it – furries! The character classes are the same, but the races are dogs, foxes, mice, and ponies.

As is our evil habit, we’ve come up with every appropriate animal joke and pun we could – Andrew was a master punster! – and turned them all into cards. Very silly cards, with equally silly drawings.

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become our go-to lady when we need cute with a capital K. Gamers will enjoy these cards even before they read them, because, as you expect from Munchkin, every card is a cartoon!

Tails uses the standard Munchkin backs and character classes, so you can tell customers that it’s especially easy to combine with base Munchkin. You’ll just have elves, dwarves, halflings…dogs, mice, ponies, and foxes! Our example character in the rules is an eighth level ouse wizard with a pet license, a rolled-up newspaper, and the itty-bitty, very sharp sword.

Other especially evil cards in the set include rabid, the cone of defiance, the grim animal control enforcer, mark your territory, and the unspeakable grisly bear. No, we have no shame at all! Not to mention rhesus pieces, skunk spray, puppy love potion, and (yes, we really did this) the paws button.

And of course, the half-breed card is still in there. So, you might wind up half-mouse, half-halfling – which kind of

makes sense. Or halfdwarf, half-fox, which is just weird. But that’s what your customers expect from us, and we enjoy

delivering!

Munchkin Tails has done well enough that we released a holiday supplement, Tails of the Season. Like most of our holiday-themed games, it goes off-line around the end of January and then becomes available again in October, so it’ll be fresh for your buyers next Christmastime!

Give a copy of Munchkin Tails to your local Munchkin experts and let them run a demo or two. Just like the original game, this one sells itself on sight. Enjoy the jokes, enjoy the art, and enjoy the Munchkin play. That’s what it’s all about!

Only now you can be a pony.

Munchkin Tails has been briefly out of print but will be shipping to distributors and stores again in March.

Add it to your Munchkin shelf and watch the fun!

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Now Available!

Based on the Root: A Game of Woodland Might & Right board game and officially licensed from Leder Games, Root: The RPG brings the tales of the Woodland to your gaming table!

Fully illustrated with more of the iconic art from the Root board game!

Root art and logo © 2022 Leder Games. All Rights Reserved.

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Play as vagabonds fighting for money, justice, and freedom!

Players 3-6

Time 2-4 hrs

Rating Everyone

ed.

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Magpie Games Unveils a New RPG and More

by Magpie Games

A New TTRPG Brings the World of Root to Life We at Magpie Games are excited to announce the release of Root: The RPG. The game launched on Kickstarter in 2019 and closed the campaign with over $600,000 pledged! Now, after two pandemic-filled years, Root: The RPG’s street date has arrived on February 9, 2022! Alongside the core book, we released the Travelers & Outsiders supplement, engraved faction dice, two decks of cards, and a pack with a GM screen and two customized notepads. We were thrilled and humbled by the response we saw to the preorders released in December, but this game’s journey has only just begun!

Fight For Money, Justice, and Freedom The Marquise de Cat leads her armies to victory over many of the clearings, but the Eyrie Dynasties rise again to oppose her. Meanwhile, the mice, rabbits, and foxes of the Woodland do not sit idly by—the Woodland Alliance, a homegrown rebellion, has emerged, promising to free the Woodland from any oppressors.

In Root: The RPG, players take on the role of world’s most adorable vagabonds, adventuring from clearing to clearing, taking on quests, and tipping the scales as the factions battle for control of the Woodland. These scoundrels and heroes might bring resources to a clearing under siege from the Eyrie Dynasty, destabilize the Marquise de Cat’s political hold, or steal some treasure for rebels from the Woodland Alliance. Be they bat, possum, or sparrow, adventure waits behind every tree so long as they dare to seek it out.

A Tale Tail of Two Games!

In 2017 Leder Games enchanted board gamers far and wide with their Kickstarter for Root: A Woodland Game of Might and Right, raising over $600,000 over the course of the campaign! The board game featured asymmetrical play, a power-struggle between Woodland factions and Kyle Ferrin’s excellent and distinctive art.

In the time since its release, the Root board game has won the Golden Geek Board Game of the Year award, grown with three expansions, and moved into other formats including a video game and, of course, Root: The Tabletop Roleplaying Game!

Root: The RPG seeks to capture the atmosphere of the original board game while bringing the Woodland to life with Powered by the Apocalypse mechanics covering everything from building faction-level reputations to creating customized equipment for use in dynamic action scenes. Whether players love games with interpersonal drama or they’re spoiling for a fight, Root: The RPG has something for everyone at any gaming table. The core book and the supplemental materials feature brand new art from the talented Kyle Ferrin, further building out the world of Root!

We’re so excited to be welcoming an audience into the Woodland and we hope it finds a way onto your shelves this year! The Root board game inspired such a rich and vivid world and we’re honored to bring it to life.

Root art and logo © 2017 Leder Games. All Rights Reserved.

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magpiegames.com

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With Carnegie from Pegasus North America, players travel back to a time of steel and philanthropy.

This interactive actionmanagement game challenges players to grow companies through strategic investments in real estate, industry, and transportation. True success comes from more than just wealth, though! Donations to health and human welfare causes will help you rise to the top. pegasusna.com/products/boardgames/12961/carnegie

Bring out the awesome art on your cards with Dragon Shield Matte Dual Sleeves from Arcane Tinmen. Duals feature a colorful back and a pitch-black interior, giving an elegant backdrop to your black bordered cards. They’re currently available in both standard and Japanese size in five vibrant colors: Lagoon, Eucalyptus, Snow, Lightning and Orchid. dragonshield.com/dual

Unmatched is the critically acclaimed, best-selling game of tactical combat between unlikely combatants.

Battle of Legends, Volume 2 from Restoration Games brings in four new heroes (Achilles, Bloody Mary, Yennenga, and Sun Wukong) and new battle map. Mix it up with any other Unmatched set. restorationgames.com retailers@restorationgames.com

In Block and Key from InsideUp Games, one to four players place 3D clay Blocks in a raised play area, attempting to complete Key cards – which can only be claimed from their “2D” perspective. Players may either draw Blocks or place a Block to complete a Key card. Quick to learn, but skill comes from mastering Block placement in the shared space. info@insideupgames.com for details!

In Freelancer from Safe Haven Games, players take to the skies as knights of Tolindia, a diverse industrial nation full of opportunity and danger. Prepare to tackle complex political issues, investigate crimes, and fight to protect the people. moseley.safehaven.games@gmail.com

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BLOCK and KEY

By Conor McGoey, Publisher & Developer, Inside up Games

A

temple, long forgotten by time, hides mysteries whose keys may be unblocked. Some, fear what lies ahead. We, however, cannot wait for a chance to try our hand, nay, our head, on these ancient grounds.

It was quickly discovered that by placing blocks according to the hieroglyphs on the temple walls, they would lock in, allowing us to check their designs against the keys we found earlier.

And when matched to our unique vantage point, the mysterious keys would reveal their value and unlock new keys to dig deeper.

Could the ancient symbols covering the pillars be hinting at when our quest will end? Could the hieroglyphs etched into the temple floor be of some use to the group? Or to the lone explorer?

There’s only one way to find out.

In Block and Key, one-to-four players place 3D clay blocks in a centralized raised playing area, with the goal of completing their own request (key) cards. The challenge of fulfilling these keys is unique as each player is limited to their own “2D” perspective.

Each turn players may either draw three new blocks from the excavation site (lower level), or place one block onto the communal temple floor (upper level).

After placing a block, they check to see if any request cards have been fulfilled, and if so, they earn the points listed and draw new keys from either altar (medium or hard draw stacks).

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The first player to complete the number of request cards, as required by the player count, ends the game. Scores will be tallied, and one player named the victor.

Block and Key was designed for simplicity of play, but depth of strategy. With only two options on your turn, players of all ages can quickly learn the rules – but true skill comes from mastering Block placement in the shared play space.

Every literal angle of Block and Key and its presentation was produced to be as eye-catching and as engaging as possible. From the heavy clay blocks, to the color vision deficiency-friendly pallet, to linen and spot UV finish on the box, support columns and cards, Block and Key guarantees to turn heads and draw players in.

With the help of the included support columns players will be using the game box itself to create the two-tiered play structure known as the ruins. And these ruins are not just for show – the purpose of the raised platform is to bring the game more comfortably to “eye-level” for players, as they are constantly checking their vantage point against their key cards.

Every perspective was thought of, leading to printing on the inside of the box top, and the back side of the support columns, so that from every angle the Ruins and the game maintain table presence and player engagement. To this end, the game rules, reminders and end-game triggers were recreated as “hieroglyphs” that adorn the box sides and columns, helping to instruct all players and reduce the need to check the rulebook.

After three years of sourcing, development and testing to ensure a beautiful, high-quality and durable product was created, Inside Up Games is pleased to announce that Block and Key is ready for your enjoyment.

Contact us directly at Info@ InsideUpGames.com for more details or reach out to your favourite game store or distribution partner!

insideupgames.com

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The Future of Mutants Lies in your Hands with Legendary®: Messiah Complex Deluxe Edition from Upper Deck Entertainment

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he devastating mutant decimation has come to pass, and few X-men remain.

The enemies of the X-men continue to restlessly pursue those remaining. But at last, there’s Hope. A mutant birth has been detected and the race is on to find her. Will the desperate X-Men and their special sidekicks stay a step ahead of Lady Deathstrike and her Reavers? Join in the race to find a very special child who represents hope for mutants in this new deluxe 200-card edition of Legendary. Play with new schemes and a wealth of content with this deluxe expansion that captures the tension of the popular Marvel Comics crossover event.

“This wasn’t a teenage manifestation… this was a mutant birth.”

- Emma Frost

On the verge of extinction and battered by villains, will you be able to defy the odds and save mutantkind?

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MEET

Grace Collins

Director Creators Membership Group grace.collins@gama.org

H

GAMA’s New

Board Members GAMA added new board members to represent creators, media and events, and manufacturers.

We asked them a few questions about their background and

Collins

their goals for GAMA.

ello my cozy friends! My name is Grace Collins, and I run Snowbright Studio over here in Cleveland, Ohio. We are a game studio with a purpose that has published digital and tabletop games designed for education and social impact.

Our latest game, Teatime Adventures, is a nonviolent cozy mystery tabletop role-playing game filled with recipes, gardening advice, and tea pairings for every adventure.

Snowbright also works with a wide variety of clients providing services that range from art and design to lessonplan creation, policy advising, and DEI consulting. Whatever we are working on, we are just thrilled to help support others in making the world a better place.

Prior to Snowbright, I worked primarily at the intersection of education, policy, and games. I have taught game design and computer science at the middle school, high school, and university levels. I previously led educational game development at the Smithsonian Institution, and later led policy on games and education for the federal government when I served at the U.S. Department of Education. I am happy to have been able to return to Ohio after those days in D.C. Some of my favorite things to do here in the Buckeye State include exploring our parks, catastrophically failing at painting minis, baking, and, of course, attending Origins!

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Tell us about your first job in the tabletop industry.

The first time that I used tabletop games on the job was when I was teaching university computer science courses. Board games were a great way to introduce core

design and programming concepts to my students.

What prompted you to run for the GAMA board?

Creating tabletop games is the dream for so many people, but there are real barriers to finding a healthy and happy life in the industry. I believe that we need to work together to continue to improve our field and to show the world just how special hobby and tabletop games are.

What do you hope to accomplish at GAMA this year?

For the Creators Membership Group, we are creating new guidelines and roles so that members can become more directly involved in how GAMA is run. Our goal for this year is to build the core structure that will allow our new membership group to grow, better serve existing members, and welcome in new members.

What challenges and/or opportunities do you see for the membership you are representing?

Creators are the foundation for games. They create the art, the writing, the translations, the models, and so much more. Through GAMA, I hope that we can improve recognition of what creators contribute to the field and help improve working conditions for creators industry wide, particularly those who are working independently.

What’s your best advice for someone entering the industry?

Connect! Find a mentor or two, attend events virtually and in-person when you can, play games, and find your community here. Hobby and tabletop gaming is at its best when we build the community together.

What games have delighted you recently?

I have to give a shout-out to the wonderful creators, players, and GMs over at TeaTRPG. They have been producing top notch live-streamed tabletop roleplaying games all year in a wild variety of systems, settings, and themes. It’s always a surprise to see what’s coming up next! (continued on page 38)

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MEET

GAMA’s New Board Members

Eric Price

Director Manufacturers Membership Group eric.price@gama.org

E

ric Price has been involved in the game industry since 1993, and has worked in all facets of the industry. From retail to distribution, from publishing to manufacturing, he has a thorough knowledge and understanding of games and what it takes to make them.

Eric was the founder and owner of Cardhaus Games and Global Games Distribution, and has been the President of Japanime Games for the last 10 years. He also works as the Industry Liaison for Meijia Games Factory, helping members of the industry with their production needs and questions.

Eric normally travels to China and Japan twice a year, to stay connected with production with the factory, and he often brings other GAMA members along to learn more about production. He has learned much in his 28 years in the game industry, and enjoys mentoring people as they are learning more about how best to create their games and bring them to life.

Tell us about your first job in the tabletop industry.

I owned a comic book store in Seattle and when Magic released in 1993, we totally changed directions with the store. Over the course of the next year, we filtered out comics as we brought in more tables for playing Magic events. In 1996 we became Cardhaus Games, and started selling games on the internet, and eventually started selling all kinds of games online.

What prompted you to run for the GAMA board?

I have been a part of the game industry for most of my life, and a member of GAMA for the last 20 years. I want to give back to the community that has given so much to me. I am incredibly excited to see all of the changes that GAMA has undergone over the last few years, and with the advent of the new divisions being created within GAMA, I’m proud to offer my help and support to the production group.

Price

(continued from page 36)

Eric

What do you hope to accomplish at GAMA this year?

Not only do I want to help with representation of the production division, I would also like to make myself available to help publishers with education and insight for the best options for producing their projects. I pledge to help educate GAMA members with the best production practices, and I would like to implement a standardized knowledge center to help teach new and established game publishers the best way to bring their creative projects to reality.

What challenges and/or opportunities do you see for the membership you are representing?

The largest challenge to manufacturing/production right now is partially supply chains of manufacturing materials, although that is not nearly as much of a problem as it was a year ago. But still, we are seeing a huge increase in cost and delays of freight shipments.

What’s your best advice for someone entering the industry?

Network, learn from your peers and find people with experience to help mentor you. The game industry is very sharing and helpful. Join GAMA if you haven’t already!

What games have delighted you recently?

Over the holidays we played Bristol 1350, a game about the plague, from Façade games several times. How fitting!

We also played Sagrada and Middara.

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BET ON IT! Bring the excitement of the race track to your next game night!

by Jennifer Handy, Vice President, Perplext

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ong Shot: The Dice Game started in development more than five years ago when Perplext sought to bring back some of the favorite aspects of the now out-of-print original board game Long Shot (Z-Man games, 2009) and add some exciting new twists.

In the original Long Shot, designer Chris Handy set out to make a familyfriendly racing game built around a single horse race with 10 horses. He captured the nature of a real horse race, with betting and cheering on horses, in a short amount of playing time. With Long Shot: The Dice Game, Chris and the team at Perplext developed a light strategy game for up to 8 players that provides interesting strategic choices and just enough luck that results in emotional outbursts of excitement.

The theme is intriguing to the casual gamer who approaches the game with a built-in understanding of the game’s goal, while the mechanics and embedded strategy wet the hobbyists palate for a party strategy game that accommodates a full game-night’s players. Wes Tomlin of Never Bored Gaming states it best: “From solo gaming, to a double date night, to a party, Long Shot: The Dice Game does a fantastic job keeping everyone at the table active and engaged in the game!”

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The original game lent intriguing possibilities, and as “roll & write” style gameplay was becoming popular, it became clear to Chris and the Perplext team that the style was a great direction in which to take a new version of the game.

And so, Long Shot: The Dice Game took off out of the gate, and with help from the team at Brieger Creative, Perplext finished the game with compelling results. It delivers a modern, racing experience that “gives you the thrill of betting on actual horses, but throws in enough ways for you to manipulate the odds that it doesn’t feel like a complete gamble” (Jonathan Estis, Roll for Crit). And so the team’s intuition came to fruition when Brody Sheard from Meeple Mountain said, “Long Shot: The Dice Game will be one of the games

mentioned when you hear someone say roll and write!”

It will also be one of the games retailers get asked about from new and existing patrons as participation and support for the wildly successful KickStarter campaign ripples in the market. And as a result of the campaign, Perplext also added several additional horse card sets and components, giving the game even more compelling reasons for gamers to revisit the title regularly.

Some exciting features of Long Shot: The Dice Game: • A short playing time of 25 minutes!

• Clever “Roll & Write & Erase” gameplay!

• Actions and betting while the race is on!

• Multiple horse card sets, making each race exciting and unique!

• Accommodating eight players and including a solo mode!

• Small, portable box!

• Full-color wooden horse tokens!

Perplext’s line of “Roland Wright” breaks new ground and expands the possibilities of the “roll & write” genre with each new title. Long Shot: The Dice Game is certainly no exception!

Long Shot: The Dice Game is available April 2022.

perplext.com

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(continued from page 38)

Monica Rasso

Director Media & Events Membership Group monica.rasso@gama.org

C

urrently located in Columbia, South Carolina, Monica owns Tabletop Enterprises, LLC, (GameConHQ.com) which houses all of her gaming endeavors including: Meeples at Sea (a board gaming cruise company), TantrumCon, Proto ATL, and Game & Party Con. She also owns and manages scrapbooking retreats through her company, Super Scrappers.

Monica holds a BSBA degree in finance from the University of West Florida. Her professional career outside of the gaming world has been in financial compliance, audit and investigations. She’s moved every three years of her life, living in many states including: New York, Texas, Florida, Illinois, Utah, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, and Germany (and she speaks a little German, landing her fun jobs working at Essen Spiel).

Monica has two sons, ages 13 and 16, and has raised them properly in a gaming household! She plays semiweekly with her online Call of Cthulhu group and runs a local board game group through Meetup.com called “Soda City Gamers.” She prefers challenging, competitive games with worker placement or Euro aspects. She has dabbled in game design, but has found her place very happily in creating fun events that promote synergy and connection between gamers, designers, publishers, and store owners. She believes gaming events are magical. They bring people together and create smiles.

Tell us about your first job in the tabletop industry?

For many years, my experience in the tabletop industry was through volunteer work. I began volunteering in the board game library at the Dice Tower convention in Orlando, at its first convention about 12 years ago. From there, my interest in gaming events grew quickly, and a friend of mine paid me to be his general manager at Nexus Game Fair in Milwaukee. I then met the Tantrum House group at MegaMooseCon in South Carolina, and proposed that we create a convention together.

We started a business called TantrumCon. I had also been working as the “Cruise Director” for CrusieCon. A few years later ... I now own Meeples at Sea and CrusieCon board game cruises!

What prompted you to run for the GAMA board?

I didn’t think there was a place for me as an Events Manager at GAMA. I felt it was retail and publisher centered. With the announcement of the reorganization of membership groups, I was super excited about the change! I was confident that this would be a great opportunity for us event managers to share resources, ideas and network, and I knew I wanted to be a part of this.

With the combined groups of Media and Events, I was confident

Rasso

MEET GAMA’s New Board Members

Monica

that I could start some resources rolling for my media friends until we could elect a media representative to partner with me in March 2022.

What do you hope to accomplish at GAMA this year?

I’d like to communicate my vision for the Events members, and be open to listening to the needs of our Media members. I plan to utilize many of the resources that GAMA has built, and those that we, as a group, are planning to create. Spacial Chat (already in place) will be a great way to network. Town-hall meetings will be useful in gathering members and ideas. Surveys will be needed, and a monthly email to GAMA members in the Media & Events group is absolutely on my radar.

What challenges and/or opportunities do you see for the membership you are representing?

My group is made up of smart, creative people who are very important to the industry. However 90 percent of us are doing this secondary to a full-time job elsewhere. So, one barrier for my group is the cost of a $300 voting membership. Some media personalities make little to no profit when considering the cost of websites, equipment, travel and expenses. Many have described their work as a “labor of love.” For the Events members, we can be very regional-minded, with many running only one event in their spare time. I want potential members to know that we are aware of all of this and have some temporary solutions to the financial barrier. People may consider a Communicating Membership for just $100: https://www.gama.org/ page/communicating What’s your best advice for someone entering the industry?

Know that you have support. There are so many helpful, kind, smart people in this industry. Being a member of a group like GAMA can help provide networking opportunities and support.

What games have delighted you recently?

The Moonshell and Vivid Kickstarter games just arrived at my house this week. I’m excited to try them both! I’ve been playing a few of my favorite games such as Spartacus, Blood Rage, and Cyclades recently.

Star Trek Ascendency and Calico hit the table this month also!

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Videos are the Key TO SUCCESSFUL KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGNS

by Maxim Istomin, CEO, CrowD Games

H

i, my name is Max, I am a board game publisher and video producer, one of the founders of CrowD Games. In this article I would like to share with you how we used creative videos to market our latest Kickstarter project – City of the Great Machine.

Anyone who ever ran a Kickstarter project realizes how important the introductory video is. We live in the age of visualization. Fewer and fewer people read text, instead opting out in favor of viewing video/audio content. This is why a good video presentation of your board game is critical for a Kickstarter project.

At a time when the average human attention span (8 seconds) is less than that of a goldfish (9 seconds), you must grab and keep your visitor’s attention the moment they land on your project’s page.

How can you accomplish it?

Please have a look at the video trailer for the City of the Great Machine. To make this video we did not need a prototype of the game because we had all the artwork.

On its basis we created 3D models of all game components. We animated card illustrations to bring forward the atmosphere of the game and then showed the simplified game mechanics using these 3D component models. As a result, the video was seen by more than 2000 viewers on Youtube.

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This is not the end of our story. Another important video that you should have in your project is game unboxing. The more creative and fun your unboxing is, the more people are likely to see it. To film an eye-catching unboxing, you need a good prototype, which should be as close to the final version of the game as possible.

The second ingredient for a successful unboxing video is a creative filming crew.

Check out this atmospheric unboxing made by our team. The goal was to make the viewer feel a part of the steampunk game world. This unboxing video received more than 3,500 views and even hit the BGG Video Hotness.

After the unboxing, we decided to take it a step further and made short video clips for each update in the project for the opening of all major stretch goals. We tried to thematically unite those clips with parts of the introductory video and the unboxing.

In his blog, Jamie Stegmaier noted our idea and shared his thoughts on it. “I really love this entire approach to stretch goals. Honestly, as a backer, I rarely pay attention to stretch goals anymore, but if more projects made the reveals as exciting as City of the Great Machine, I would tune in for those updates.”

So what about the result of our campaign?

More than 2,300 backers, which is not bad for a new publisher. In my opinion, video content played an important role in this success.

It is a general understanding that highquality videos cost too much. That is a path for big corporations with huge budgets who go through marketing agencies. But a good video does not have to be expensive. We offer top-quality video production at an affordable price for small publishers such as ourselves.

Please check out our website to learn more about what we offer.

Finally at the end of the project we had the final clip, which you can also watch:

crowdgames.us

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Ares Games

Helpful Information and

Free Demo Games to Support Retailers

by Jim Long, Manager, Ares Games LLC

W

ar of the Ring, Wings of Glory, Sword & Sorcery, Last Friday, This War of Mine… when Ares Games travels to conventions across the country to support our games, we often hear, “I didn’t know you published or distributed this game!” We often joke that Ares Games is the biggest game company you’ve never heard of. As an Italian company it might not be unusual to think of us as a European-based company, even if, in fact, we have offices on both sides of the Atlantic.

You may have not seen a lot of advertising from us until now.

However, we have a full-time team focused on providing our retail customers support for our board games, card games, miniature lines, and role-playing games.

Central to our support is our retailer-focused newsletter. This is an opt-in process, and we are committed to sending no more than two e-mails each month. Short and sweet, the newsletter focuses on new products releasing in the immediate future (no later than the following month). It provides retailers with a synopsis of our newest releases, as well as the links to gather more information as needed.

In addition, 10 to 12 times per year with our Ares Games newsletter, we encourage retailers to request free demo games to create in-store events, increase customer traffic, and introduce our recent (or classic!) games to your customers. It’s simple to do: just click the button in the newsletter and let us know you want the free demo game. What could be easier?

Not only does Ares Games provide free demo copies of our own games, it is also the We publisher of the English edition of games by Ludus Magnus (Black Rose Wars, Dungeonology) and Pendragon Game Studios (Last Friday, Diabolik – Heists & Investigations, Last Aurora). It’s also the North America distributor of games published by several European publishers: Galakta (This War of Mine, Waste Knights), PHALANX (Rocketmen), Nuts!

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Publishing (Mini Rogue), Hexy Studio (Star Scrappers), Quality Games and Acheron Books (Lex Arcana, Brancalonia RPGs), and others. We can offer demo copies of the games from these other fine companies as well!

Ares Games also provides monthly product sheets with information regarding upcoming releases and reprints. It’s all the information you need to know to work with distributors on your product orders. Between the product sheet and retailers’ newsletter, you have two great sources of information on products to support your store.

Last, but by no means least, is the growing list of Retailer Spotlight Videos on Ares Games YouTube channel. These videos dive a bit deeper into the specifics of the covered game with information on price, play time, release date, and other topics.

The videos also outline selling points and compare our games with similar titles, so you can easily target them to the appropriate customers.

On top of the newsletters and videos that are specially targeted to retailers, additional resources are available to learn more about the games and find ways to promote them on our website, aresgames.eu. There are complete rulebooks for download, preview articles, designers’ notes and so on.

And of course, it is always possible to meet the friendly Ares Games LLC staff at the major trade and customer shows – GAMA Trade Show (where we are proud to include our content in the Retailer boxes and give them away at our booth), the open houses of major distributors, GenCon, Origins, PAX Unplugged … If you attend one of these shows, come and meet us in person!

With all these different communication channels, helpful information is always at hand. To receive our newsletters and request support for events in your store, contact Olivia Long at events@ aresgames.eu. Let us help provide the content, and free games, you need to increase your sales!

aresgames.eu

2/9/22 11:52 AM

HERO PACKS

CORE SETS

CAMPAIGN SETS

ACCESSORIES

© 2016, 2022 Gremlin Project/Ares Games Srl. Sword & Sorcery ® is a registered trademark of Simone Romano. All rights reserved.

OUR BEST–SELLING DUNGEON CRAWLER IS BACK WITH A NEW SAGA

DISCOVER THE ANCIENT CHRONICLES RANGE TODAY

Visit our Website

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Subscribe to our Newsletter

2/9/22 11:52 AM

TOKYO SIDEKICK Brings Japan to You

by Sam Nolton, Japanime Games Marketing & Communications Manager

T

okyo Sidekick, a new board game from Japanime Games, launches in March 2022! Inspired by a hybrid of western superhero action and anime tropes – reminiscent of One Punch Man or My Hero Academia – Tokyo Sidekick is one of the company’s most ambitious projects to date and features deckbuilder card game elements combined with a more traditional board game format to make something truly unique. After a successful Kickstarter in 2020, it’s finally ready for release!

“Bringing Japan to You” is Japanime Games’ mission, and Tokyo Sidekick lets you explore the wards of Tokyo from Shibuya to Ebisu, Aoyama to Osaki – beautifully presented in an aerial view map displaying the entire city lit up at night. This overhead view of Japan’s capital city, including iconic landmarks such as Tokyo Tower and the Tokyo Skytree, is lit in neon, representing an emergency response map that dictates when and where crises can occur.

Each ward plays an important role in the game – with heroes and villains deploying in specific wards, and various incidents that arise in these wards over the course of the game which need to be tackled and resolved in order to perform heroic deeds and reduce the city’s crisis level!

The game gradually gets harder as crisis after crisis arises in Tokyo: villains wreak havoc and then – if enough of them have been defeated and sent to Adachi Asylum – supervillains start to take over, and then…even more powerful villains called nemeses!

Tokyo Sidekick is a truly challenging experience and you definitely won’t beat it on your first playthrough – but that’s part of the charm.

Tokyo Sidekick features over 40 superheroes, sidekicks, villains, supervillains, and nemeses, giving players the pick of the litter in which characters they want to play, which villains they encounter, and more – the game is truly replayable, a unique and extensive board game experience like nothing you’ve seen before!

Each hero focuses on one aspect of the deck – speed, power, or concentration, and gets bonuses when performing actions or attacks. Speed heroes get a bonus when playing speed cards, Power heroes get a bonus to playing power cards, etc. Every time a Hero moves to resolve an Incident on the map, 46 AROUND THE table • Q1 2022

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that Incident requires a certain type of action in order to resolve it and remove it.

These actions are accomplished by playing cards from your hand, so for instance if you’re trying to resolve the overturned oil tanker – a crisis which crops up in Meguro Ward, it requires two speed actions to resolve – if you have two speed cards in your hand, or if you have a speed type hero who can give bonus speed actions, you can take care of the incident immediately! As you resolve more incidents, fight villains, and face threats over the course of the game, you’ll spend experience to level up your abilities, add new cards to your deck, and purchase equipment cards to outfit your dynamic duo of hero and sidekick so they can grow stronger, faster, and more skilled.

If you let incidents linger too long without being resolved, however, Tokyo gets one step closer to destruction, and the crisis meter on the board advances every turn based on how many active incidents there are, how many villains are running amok, and other factors. It becomes a race against time for your hero and sidekick, as well as any other players, to prioritize, coordinate, and effectively fight back to save the city – in fact, this challenging aspect of the game ensures you probably won’t beat it the first time through!

Tokyo Sidekick is highly replayable – every time you set up the game, things progress differently – new crises to resolve, new villains to defeat, new synergies between heroes and sidekicks to discover (many heroes even have a specific, canonical Sidekick they’re partnered with – which gives a special bonus!), you’ll always encounter new ways to play and new gameplay strategies to test out. It becomes a true test of your board gaming prowess to plan your strategy, pick which characters suit your playstyle best, and prioritize your challenges – whether that be fighting the nearest Villain or tackling the toughest crisis – in order to win!

Tokyo Sidekick will be released in March 2022 and retails for $64.95 – players can also look forward to upcoming Acrylic Standees, Scenario Packs and other expansions to take the gameplay experience even further. Look for Tokyo Sidekick at GAMA Expo and more upcoming 2022 conventions and events!

japanimegames.com

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A GAM

Yes, Retailers, It is Well Worth the Trip

, baker Stude n vision w a ail Di t

by D e R A , GAM Chair

I

ndustry trade shows are often subject to the age-old question of, “Is it worth it for me to go?” I remember pondering this question before my first GAMA Expo (then called GAMA Trade Show) in Las Vegas.

This question had me second-guessing myself time and time again before my first trip. I felt that finding resources and new product information was so easy to obtain on the internet even back then, and I had a hard time convincing myself it would be worth the $2,000 in expenses. Let’s not forget the biggest challenge was the will to leave my store for an entire week.

It’s important to note that the first two years I was thinking about going, I talked myself right out of it. So in my third year of contemplation, I booked my flight without refund options, so I couldn’t back out.

Fast forward to the first day of the tradeshow. There I sat overwhelmed with all the information from retailers who had been doing this for years. The amount of information I was receiving was unbelievable. I couldn’t keep up. Every seminar had me analyzing the processes at our store. Sure, some validated that what we were doing was awesome, but some had me looking at new processes.

The amount of information from peers in an educational space willing to share their trade secrets was not only appreciated but impressive. The thing about peer education is the opportunity to learn how others are doing things and challenge

yourself to question if your way is the best.

You can then assess the information and decide what would work for you.

I will be the first to say that not all information will work for your particular store. You will have to decide what is appropriate, but the practice of challenging yourself to you look deep at the way your store operates is invaluable. It’s like sitting through stages of a S.W.O.T. analysis exercise live at the show. If you are anything like me, it is invigorating.

I learned how my peers manage and motivate staff, handle in-store programming, create community programs, cultivate inclusive communities, handle competition and so much more.

There was a plethora of information and that had me immediately recharged to make my store better. All of this excitement and it was just day one!

Day two started and I was so excited to get into the seminars. I found myself a bit more relaxed and used to the rhythm of the show. I found time to chat with other retailers at meals, ask questions about their thoughts on the seminar and started diving into stage one of networking. This was the peer networking aspect of the show. I suggest you learn from me and challenge yourself to be open to networking day one.

Networking and talking to other retailers can be intimidating. A lot of us suffer from imposter syndrome. We think everyone is doing it better than we can do

it. I want to implore you to get away from that mindset. You will not regret it.

Next, we did some premiere presentations from sponsored publishers.

This was fascinating to me. They ran down the list of new and upcoming games from their catalog and retailers excitedly jotted down notes to take back to their stores and share with staff and customers when allowed.

Now keep in mind this was before the social media surge. Back then, I was an abnormal store with a very active social media presence and was, a few years later, teaching retailers why it was important to have social media.

In a lot of seminars the publishers identify that a catalog rundown is best suited with some marketing techniques and is often way more than a look at what

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is upcoming. Which is a positive growth. Then you can jot down what you think looks amazing and try those games out at the various game nights.

Oh yeah, I said game nights. Nothing, and I repeat nothing can be as useful is a quick demo of a new game to help a retailer decide how and where that fits into their store. But my best advice is don’t be afraid to ask a publisher for a few-turn demo versus a full play-through. You are there to see as much as you can.

Publishers will be okay with this; they are there for you.

And the last thing that I didn’t think was that big of deal was the dealer hall. I attend GenCon and Origins every year, but this was so different. Trade shows allow me an opportunity business, place orders, see things I have not noticed or didn’t know existed.

This is a retailer’s paradise.

Take the time to really scour the exhibit hall for new and unique products. I am not suggesting you skip over the big guys – they will have amazing show specials for you. Take advantage of them. But the vendor hall gives you a close-up look at some smaller companies you may not have heard of.

Product lines are discovered, and games like Wing it by Flying

Leap games can claim success from a good showing at GAMA Expo. A group of my friends and colleagues kept taking people to Molly Zeff, creator of the game, to place order after order … until, I believe, we sold her out.

Without the trade show, I wouldn’t have found amazing new dice lines from Metallic Dice Games, Foam Brain Games and Dice Hard. I ordered so much cool stuff from all of them; stuff I had never heard of or seen before.

Maybe you want to expand to offer more miniature games, more board games, collectible card games or toys. The expo allows you to look deeper into so many vendors and services in one place.

I have never regretted going and I will constantly encourage every retailer to, at the very least, attend every other year if you cannot swing yearly.

I am happy to help anyone find their footing and feel more comfortable this year at the tradeshow. You can email me at dstudebaker@gama.org if you have questions or need a colleague to help guide you. But what I do know, without a shadow of a doubt, is that it is worth every penny you will spend – tenfold.

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With War on the Horizon,

What will be the Legacy of Gravehold?

by Ryan Schoon

L

egacy of Gravehold, the follow-up to the hit game Aeon’s End Legacy that raised over a half-million dollars on Kickstarter, is coming to retail stores!

The original Aeon’s End Legacy introduced many new players to the Aeon’s End world by serving as a great starting point. Set after the events of the original, Legacy of Gravehold carries on the tradition of Aeon’s End Legacy with an all-new narrative, in which a fresh cast of characters explores exciting unfamiliar locations in a conflicted world. The world of Aeon’s End has changed. Internal and external conflicts rage, mage turns against mage, civil war threatens the land, and the Nameless stalk the world.

Legacy of Gravehold offers a narrative deeper than has ever been seen before, with branching paths and a campaign story that changes based on decisions made by the players.

Characters grow and evolve over time, gain experience in battle, and earn

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enhancement stickers that increase their abilities. But the Nemeses the players have to face are also growing stronger. To take on the challenges that await them at the end of the game, players will have to make clever use of their enhancements in an everchanging market.

With more than twice as many mages to choose from and Nemeses to battle as the original, Legacy of Gravehold is the most extensive Aeon’s End experience yet – and as always, they can be mixed and matched with the ones you already own!

Everything you’ve experienced in this world has led to this moment.

Customize your character to your own style of play. Forge new relationships, interact with old friends and former enemies, and control the way the final battles play out in the epic conclusion to the story of Aeon’s End. All this and more awaits within Legacy of Gravehold.

Release: March 9th, 2022

indieboardsandcards.com

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In the world of In Too Deep from KTBG/Burnt Island, you must stop the evil Syndicate from controlling New Dawn City. Hook into the minds of criminals and spend actions around the map collecting evidence and intel. Just don’t lose yourself in the process. In Too Deep is a strategic, sci-fi puzzle for one to five agents. burntislandgames.com/in-too-deep Based on the Root: A Game of Woodland Might & Right board game and officially licensed by Leder Games, Magpie Games’ Root: The RPG brings the tales of the Woodland to your RPG table! You play vagabonds, outcasts from the normal society, fighting for money, justice, and freedom. magpiegames.com Within the bustling grounds of the Everfest carnival, all fashion of performers, peddlers, and frolicking fun is to be found. Will you find fun, fame, or good fortune in the carnival slot of your Everfest booster pack, or perhaps take center stage and become the star of the show? fabtcg.com The Sherlock Files: Marvelous Mysteries from Indie Game Studios features three new cases to solve. Players follow the clues and piece together the evidence to solve a highspeed homicide, the mysterious death of a Victorian lawyer, and the authenticity of a famous masterpiece. Each is a complete standalone game that does not require any other Sherlock Files games to play. Release: March 23, 2022. MSRP 24.99

Ultimate Werewolf Extreme from Bezier Games is the best new version of this classic social deduction title.

With new intricate artwork, a new card symbology system for moderators, a free accompanying (but not mandatory) app, and more – this edition will take your Werewolf game to the next level!

indieboardsandcards.com

beziergames.com Winter Queen from CrowD Games is an abstract family game. Players take on the roles of sorcerers, creating magical ornaments from crystals. With each turn, they either place a new crystal onto the board or use already placed crystals to score VPs. Solo mode available in MiniExpansion Set, MSRP: $39. crowdgames.us

MORE NEW PRODUCTS on page 54 52 AROUND THE table • Q1 2022

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A brawl is surely brewing... $49.99 12+

1-4

Learn more at TheOp.games/Cuphead

20 Min.

The Op and USAOPOLY are trademarks of USAopoly, Inc. ©2021 USAopoly, Inc. All Rights Reserved. © 2021 StudioMDHR Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved. Cuphead™ and StudioMDHR™ are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of StudioMDHR Entertainment Inc. throughout the world.

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Experience the rich history of World War I (without the trench foot!) with Quartermaster General: 1914 from Ares Games.

Enjoyable by newcomers and “veterans” of board-war games alike, this card-driven game for two to five players pits the Central Powers against the Entente Powers, recreating the military, economy, and politics of the time. aresgames.eu

Tokyo Sidekick from Japanime Games is an expansive board game experience combining anime and superhero action into one colossal package! Japanime Games’ biggest project to date is jam-packed with heroes, villains, sidekicks and more, with over 40 characters and hundreds of cards.

It’s infinitely replayable!

Push your luck as the action unfolds in Longshot from Perplext, a tense race of eight horses. Players buy horses, place bets, influence race movement, and utilize special abilities.

The dice determine which horses move and the actions available for each turn, so be ready to adapt your plans. The player who makes the most money wins.

japanimegames.com/pages/sidekick

chris@perplext.com

Munchkin Babies from Steve Jackson Games delivers sweet, adorable, baby adventurers … who are just as good at backstabbing and loot-grabbing as their elders from Munchkin. Grab their treasure and crawl your way to Level 10!

This is a stand-alone core game with 168 (newborn) cards great for the whole family. retailers@sjgames.com Get your adventuring party together and explore the realms with the ENHANCE RPG Adventurer’s Bag. It was specifically designed to help DMs and players of any tabletop RPG take everything they need to their next session. From dice, minis, books, maps, and snacks, the ENHANCE RPG Adventurer’s Bag can carry it all. enhancegaming.com 54 AROUND THE table • Q1 2022

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GAMA

news

Co-Sponsored by Asmodee North America

W

e hope that you will join us March 14-18th for the 2022 GAMA EXPO held at the Peppermill Resort and Casino in Reno, Nevada. We wanted to share some highlights you can look forward to at GAMA EXPO 2022.

• Welcome Kickoff session on Monday March 14, meet the board of directors and learn about what GAMA has been up to since we last met at EXPO 2020.

• Retailer Cocktail Reception with Power Retailer Awards Presentation.

• More than 100 hours of Peer-to-Peer educational seminars Learn from your fellow industry professionals!

• Two days of Exhibit Hall with more than 160 publishers, distributors and industry service providers.

• Four Game Nights to demo and learn about the latest games and products • Premier Presentations from two dozen publishers and distributors • Retailer Appreciation Box with dozens of games and product samples for qualifying retail stores.

GAMA Board Election

In March of 2022 we will be holding elections to fill six seats on our board of directors. Under the new bylaws adopted in July 2021, the board will be comprised of twelve directors elected from the six voting membership groups: creators, media & event organizers, manufacturers, publishers, retailers, and wholesale.

Each membership group will have two representatives on board, elected to two-year terms. As part of a transition plan six directors were elected fall of 2021, with the remaining six to be elected in March 2022. Over the next few weeks, we will release information on how these elections will be conducted for each voting membership group. Look at our website or social media platforms for details.

• • • • • • •

TCGplayer Seller Appreciation Night PSI Game Night Wise Wizard Tournament Asmodee Tournament Press First Look Room to showcase your hot new game Diversity & Inclusion Reception And networking with hundreds of fellow industry professionals

As a reminder, each member company of GAMA received two free badges for GAMA EXPO as part of their membership.

Additional badges are only $100 each. For more information on becoming a member of GAMA or to register for the trade show, please visit our website at https://www.gama.org/page/gamaexpo. If you have any questions about the show, please email us at registration@gama.org

Monthly Member Networking Is Back

Join fellow members on the first Thursday of each month at 1pm pacific and 4pm eastern, for a member networking session. Come meet other tabletop industry peers and grow your professional network. Upcoming dates: February 3rd, March 3rd and April 7th. All sessions will be held online at https://gamanetworking.spatial.chat.

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Get Involved

T

he best way to help grow the programs and services GAMA offers the tabletop games industry is to join one of our committees or workgroups.

These member led initiatives offer great opportunity to network with other industry professionals to grow the industry as well as expand those playing and purchasing your games and products.

To join any of these projects or groups, please send an email to the GAMA office at ed@gama.org and we will connect you with the chair of each committee.

Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design Chair: John Rogers, Arcane Wonders Hall of Fame Curator: Mike Elliott (HOF inductee 2017) Purpose: The Origins Award & Hall of Fame were created to recognize outstanding work in the tabletop game industry and are presented by the AAGAD during the Origins Game Fair.

Advocacy Committee Chair: Stephan Brissaud, President GAMA Purpose: Helps direct association government relations, advocacy, and lobbying efforts to support the hobby games industry. Potential issues the committee is tasked with include tariffs, customs, product import/export, product labeling laws, Intellectual Property Rights, counterfeit product sales, etc.

Diversity & Inclusion Committee Chair: Mark Truman, Magpie Games Purpose: Investigates how best to reach out to underrepresented communities within the game industry and to create pathways of success within the organization. The committee is comprised of three teams: • Pathways - oversees the Horizons Fellows and other mentoring/ accessibility programs • Education - coordinates D&I related educational programs and resources for members

• Accountability – works with GAMA leadership to advise on ways to make the organization live up to its vision of “A game on every table, a table for everyone.”

Educational Advisory Committee Chair: Julie Ahern, Greenbrier Games Purpose: Work with GAMA staff to identify educational topics and opportunities to create a robust training program to assist retail stores, distributors, publishers, media & events, manufacturers, and designers in effectively operating in the hobby games industry.

Environmental Sustainability Workgroup Chair: Eric Price, Japanime Games Purpose: To propose recommendations on how to reduce the environmental impact of the industry by looking at production, packaging, shipping, and other factors. The workgroup will conduct a focus group at GAMA EXPO 2022 as well as bring together the various elements of the industry with the goal of having a report for the membership by the end of 2022.

GAMA Member Services Workgroup Chair: Chris Materni, GAMA Deputy Director Purpose: The workgroup will review current and potential programs and services offered by the association with the goal to increase the value proposition offered members. They will solicit ideas on programs and service from the new membership groups established by the 2021 Bylaws revisions.

Market Expansion Committee Chair: Bree Goldman, Lucky Duck Games Purpose: To research the most effective and efficient marketing and outreach methods to promote the play of tabletop games and increase the number of people who regularly play games.

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Creating Family Fun Game Nights One Game at a Time

By Jenna Schroeder Content Writer for Dolphin Hat Games

D

olphin Hat Games creates fun, fast, action-packed card games that fly off the shelves! Perfectly packed for portable parties, camping trips and stocking stuffers, our attractively designed games pack a lot of punch. By focusing on easy setup, fast game play, and silly antics, we make games that are approachable and family friendly. The instructions are easy to understand, making the games enjoyable for all ages. We pride ourselves in removing obstacles to game play because we believe, simply, that fun is for everyone!

Our games are affordable (with an MSRP of around $9.99 each), making them appealing to a large array of consumers.

Our mission is to be catalysts of memory-making by creating innovative products designed to be enjoyed with loved ones and friends. Our unique game designs pull teens away from

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screens and back to the table-top game experience.

Nothing could be better than several rounds of our staple crowd pleaser, Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza. We’ve found a way to cater to all walks of life with this wildly popular game. There are no small pieces, and it comes in a compact, sturdy storage box (like all Dolphin Hat Games), so it is easily transported just about anywhere. Players race their friends in this hand-slapping, laugh-inducing and action-packed social card game. There are no complicated strategies and the fast-paced nature of the game elicits loud belly laughs. Parents love to give this game as a birthday gift, and teens love to play it at parties with their friends.

It is a hit with youth groups and school leaders. Twentysomething hipsters bring our games to the bar, and working professionals

take them on lunch breaks. Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza has a standalone expansion pack called Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza – On the Flip Side, which introduces a crazy reversed twist! Stock your shelves quick, because this game and its expansion pack, go fast! We’ve also added holiday themes to the classic Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza. Every season, Santa Cookie Elf Candy Snowman sells quickly, as well as the Halloween version, in which the characters are dressed in their favorite Halloween costumes!

Dolphin Hat Games has a portfolio of other witty games, such as Steal the Bacon – another hot ticket item. Players vie for slabs of bacon to accompany their scrumptious stacks of pancakes. However, be on the lookout for Awful Waffle and Clap Clap Flapjack. If they show up, all the bacon breaks loose!

Gimme That! is our freshest yet. This hilarious group game has a blistering fast roll that causes antics for all ages and will be available in Q2.

Join us as we strive to bring people together. We’d love to partner with stores who are interested in eliminating the stress and complications of bringing families together for game night, one game at a time. Take a look and you’ll see, our games are Fast, Fun and Friendly, the Dolphin Hat Way!

dolphinhat.com

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INDEX OF advertisers

From Sabres to Raptors!

Available NOW! Sells to Your Aviation Enthusiast Audience The Only Jet Combat Game Endorsed by Robert L. Shaw, author of “Fighter Combat: Tactics & Maneuver”

Company........................... website

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Ad Astra Games............................ adastragames.com ...............................................................60 Arcane Tinmen ApS..................... arcanetinmen.com ...............................................................61 Arcane Wonders........................... arcanewonders.com ............................................................37 Ares Games SRL........................... aresgames.eu ....................................... 44.............................45 Bezier Games............................... beziergames.com .................................................................55 CrowD Games............................... crowdgames.us .................................... 42.............................43 Czech Games Edition.................. czechgames.com.................................. 18.............................19 Dolphin Hat Games..................... dolphinhat.com ................................... 58.............................59 Elf Creek Games........................... elfcreekgames.com ............................. 20....................... 21-23 ENHANCE Gaming....................... enhancegaming.com .......................... 10............................... 3 Floodgate Games........................ floodgategames.com .......................... 24.............................25 Indie Game Studios..................... indieboardsandcards.com ................ 50.............................51 Inside Up Games......................... insideupgames.com ........................... 32.............................33 Japanime Games........................ japanimegames.com .......................... 46.............................47 KTBG/Burnt Island Games........ kidstablebg.com .................................... 6.............................FC Legend Story Studios................. fabtcg.com .............................................. 8............................IFC Lucky Duck Games...................... luckyduckgames.com ......................... 62........................... IBC Magpie Games............................. magpiegames.com ............................. 30....................... 28-29 Pegasus North America.............. pegasus-web.com ............................... 12............................... 4 Perplext, LLC................................. perplext.com ........................................ 40............................ BC Restoration Games LLC.............. restorationgames.com ........................................................57 SafeHaven Games....................... safehaven-games.com ....................... 16.............................17 Steve Jackson Games................. sjgames.com ........................................ 26.............................27 Upper Deck................................... upperdeck.com .................................... 34.............................35 USAopoly Inc................................ usaopoly.com ..................................................................39, 53

To advertise, contact Amy Colburn at 315-789-6431 or amy@fwpi.com www.adastragames.com Available through Distribution or Direct

Issue

AROUND THE

®

A Publication by the Game Manufacturers Association

Q2 Q3 Q4

Deadline

April 15 July 15 September 30

Mailing Date

May 20 August 19 November 4

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BLACK INTERIOR

COLORFUL BACK

BEAUTIFUL BLACK FRAME FOR YOUR CARDS

AVAILABLE IN FIVE BRIGHT COLORS

FULLY OPAQUE

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SAFE PLAY WITH DOUBLE-FACED CARDS

STANDARD OR JAPANESE? THERE IS A DUAL FOR YOU!

AT-15005 | Standard AT-15105 | Japanese

AT-15041 | Standard AT-15141 | Japanese

AT-15047 | Standard AT-15147 | Japanese

AT-15048 | Standard AT-15148 | Japanese

AT-15049 | Standard AT-15149 | Japanese

Snow

Orchid

Lightning

Lagoon

Eucalyptus

Available from GTS Distribution WWW.DRAGONSHIELD.COM/DUAL

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Kids Chronicles: Quest for the Moon Stones Brings Hit Franchise to a New Audience

By Bree Goldman, Marketing Manager for Lucky Duck Games

O

nce upon a time there were two kingdoms: they were neighbors, and yet… they couldn’t be more different. For years, there was only one wizard guiding both kingdoms. With so many troubles to solve, the wizard has become weary. This is why today, he calls upon you, his new apprentices! Help him solve the mysteries of the land and experience unforgettable encounters. Embark on a journey to discover the Moon Stones and work together to become the greatest wizards this world has ever known!

Kids Chronicles: Quest for the Moon Stones is a cooperative family game of mystery and investigation from David Cicurel, designer of the hit franchise Chronicles of Crime. Like Chronicles of Crime, Kids Chronicles is supported by a sophisticated digital app which allows players to scan locations, characters, and items in order to interact with them.

Kids Chronicles: Quest for the Moon Stones and Yummy Yummy Monster Tummy were the first two games in the new Lucky Duck Kids line from Lucky Duck Games, which launched in Q4 2021.

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enable them to become his apprentices! Kids will love exploring the 360° locations on the double-sided board, meeting all sorts of unusual characters and trying to solve their problems.

Much like its big brother Chronicles of Crime, the story and characters form the core of each Kids Chronicles quest. Players as young as age seven can explore locations and solve problems for characters from the Summer Kingdom and the Winter Empire.

Players can use the app to scan characters and interact with them.

Characters might talk about their part of the story, or they might offer their help in return for a favor. Every character is different!

Each location offers a 360-degree scene to explore, giving kids the chance to interact with the environment every time they move around the board.

Their actions can change which characters and items appear in each 360-degree scene, so they might return to a location that they visited earlier to discover that things have changed since the last time they were there!

Easy to Learn, Easy to Play The digital hybrid nature of Kids Chronicles makes it easy to pick up and start playing. Just download and install the app, then jump straight into the tutorial scenario – no need to read a rulebook. The tutorial teaches new players how to interact with the board, cards, and app, while also introducing key characters such as Merlin and Nils the Moon Cat. This short scenario is a perfect introduction to the game and also works as a fantastic in-store or convention demo.

Lucky Duck Games Retail Partners receive a free interactive display that shows off Kids Chronicles and other Lucky Duck titles with QR codes to show customers examples of the app. Ask your preferred distributor for more details!

Kids Chronicles: Quest for the Moon Stones is a cooperative family game for one-tofour players. It will appeal to kids who enjoy exploration and investigation games, and parents looking to share a Chronicles of Crime-like experience with their kids in a family-friendly setting.

luckyduckgames.com

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