9 minute read
GAMA News
Join GAMA for Origins Trade Day
on June 7th and 8th. We will have two days of
education with brand new, never-before-seen,
hands-on education seminars. Topics include
sublimation printing, 3D printing, vinyl cutting
for retail stores and more. We will bring back
two full game nights emphasizing demos that
support your purchasing decisions, and early
access to the vendor hall.
It’s official.
GAMA has elected the following new officers.
President – Kylie T Prymus
Vice President – Grace Collins
Secretary – Jennifer Ward
Treasurer – Stephan Brissaud
Special thanks to our outgoing officers for their service to GAMA and the industry: President Stephan Brissaud, Vice President Andrew Chesney, Secretary Julie Ahern and Treasurer Gary Alaka.
MEET
Rachael Blaske
GAMA has hired Rachael Blaske as marketing manager. In that role, she will lead the association’s communications team to promote and support GAMA’s programs and events, as well as help grow the tabletop marketplace through GAMA’s Market Expansion Committee efforts.
“We are excited to have Rachael as part of our team,” said GAMA Executive Director John Stacy. “She is uniquely qualified for the position having worked as a publisher, worked in sales and marketing, and as brand consultant. Her communication skills and passion for tabletop games will be of great benefit for our members and the industry.”
Blaske has 17 years of experience as a marketing and brand consultant in a variety of industries. In the board-game industry, she was director of sales for XYZ Game Labs, vice president of channel marketing for Wise Wizard Games, CEO of Five24Labs, and the volunteer vice president of the nonprofit Great Plains Gaming Project. She is also the co-host of the popular podcast, “Your Invited!”
“The last several years have been a journey to find my space in the boardgame industry. I am so happy to accept the challenge of GAMA’s marketing manager,” Blaske commented. “This opportunity will allow me to grow and learn as I dive into the behind-the-scenes of Origins Game Fair and GAMA EXPO, and further develop the communications that GAMA shares with its membership. I am ready for an epic ‘game’ of resource management. Let’s do this!”
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Congratulations
to the 2022 Power Retail Award Winners
They receive a complimentary one-year GAMA membership, a plaque for their business, and a small cash prize. GAMA and the Retail Division take great pride in honoring the best in retail innovation and creativity each year in a variety of different categories.
Retailer of the Year
Goblin Bros. Petaluma, California
Runners Up
Mox Boarding House in Portland, Oregon Main Street Fun and Games in Invermere, BC, Canada Zia Comics in Las Cruces, New Mexico
Outstanding Store Design
Game Train USA, Highlands Ranch, Colorado Runners Up
Modern Games in Bend, Oregon Goblin Bros Zia Comics
Retail Innovation In Games
Just Games in Rochester, New York Runners Up
Good Times Games Goblin Bros. Iron Buffalo Gaming in Amherst, New York
Outstanding Contribution to Games Industry (Retail)
Main Street Fun and Games
Runners Up
3 Gear Games/3 Gear Studios in Laurel, Maryland Good Times Games The GameBoard LLC in Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Nelson Brown, Wizards of the Coast
Standing With
GAMA supports the country of Ukraine.
“We are a small community, and as a community we are horrified at the violence that is happening, and are opposed to all acts of war,” said GAMA’s board, in a statement. There’s more:
“The goal of the non-profit trade organization dedicated to serving the hobby game industry is to strengthen and support fellow industry professionals and encourage the sharing of best practices and resources. While many of our industry professionals are making decisions that affect them financially, it is also important to acknowledge that this war reaches us personally, as well as professionally.
“To sum up how this war is affecting GAMA companies, Russian sanctions have caused our members to make some difficult business decisions. The choices over the next few months will become even more complex as we adjust to the ripple effects from the conflict. GAMA brought experts to the virtual table last week to discuss the potential implications to our industry. This panel includes an amazing grouping of individuals with first-hand knowledge. • Maxim Istomin of CrowD Games, a Russian-American publisher and distributor, and an attorney in both countries • Dr. Laszlo Korossy, adjunct professor of political science at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County • Alex Schmidt, director of sales, Stonemaier Games, a top 3 industry volume board-game producer with global distribution.
“Please take time to view the entire informative discussion at http://ow.ly/WGiT50IaRMS. GAMA plans to keep the discussion going and to support our members.”
GAMA member Lucky Duck Games, headquartered in Poland, has created a fundraiser. It is matching all funds donated to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) through this link (up to $12k):
https://fundraise-for-refugees.funraise.org/team/ lucky-duck-games?fbclid=IwAR0CDSExn4VjEBvx YJFTOYjkq7FCye1m6dRHSYYgiNP9jt-QTbCVcXotdcE
“Here is a link to other organizations that are raising funds to support the injured and displaced citizens. We encourage our member organizations to thoroughly research all organizations that they choose to support.
npr.org/2022/02/25/1082992947/ukraine-support-help
“Please let us know if your company is in need of assistance during this time. If the need is great, we would be glad to host a Spatial Chat in which business leaders in our community can connect with those in need to provide advice on making it through this crisis in your business. If you are personally struggling with the emotional aspects, leading to life-interrupting anxiety or depression, we strongly encourage you to get professional help through online counseling companies such as Better Help or Talk Space.”
Friendly Local Game Store Day
is a program to support publishers’ sales via the retail channel. Each month, we will be livestreaming interviews with local game store owners who will be sharing information about their store, offering tips and suggestions for other retailers as well spotlighting new games and encouraging viewers to shop their local game stores.
While this new monthly program is aimed for a consumer audience and will be promoted to Origins Game Fair’s attendees, it’s a great resource for retail members to learn from other stores around the world and see other game related content.
Next Stream - Saturday, July 31 - 2:00pm-3:00pm ET
releasing at Gen con 2022 Order yours now!
A GAME OF PUZZLING ADVENTURES FOR 1 - 4 PLAYERS
Draft keys and clay block from the lower excavation site. Strategically place the blocks on the upper temple floor. Claim key cards from your unique perspective to score points. Pull ahead of your fellow explorers with your secret engima card.
The cleverest adventurer will unlock the secrets of block and key!
MSRP $50 USD
How About the Games?
GAMA Expo did a great job integrating the media for the first time with a couple of opportunities for publishers to interact directly with the content creator community.
First, there was a “first look” room to allow content creators the chance to preview games that were hitting shelves later this year. These games included Tenpenny Parks, from Thunderworks Games; Block and Key, from Inside Up Games; Long Shot: The Dice Game, and a Batman game from Steve Jackson Games, which is being given the Munchkin treatment. Wednesday featured my favorite moments of chaos during GAMA Expo: a media “speed networking” event that had more
Steve Jackson’s Munchin Presents Batman, from Steve Jackson Games
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Tenpenny Parks, from Thunderworks Games
media than publishers. We were taken to a large suite with about 15 games on display. Publishers made a 5-minute pitch for each game followed by content creators giving publishers an overview of that media member’s outlet.
It was a blast, and a great chance to work on the elevator pitch for how we talk about Meeple Mountain to the publishers who didn’t know us. We also got to see a few games that at least I was less familiar with: Distilled, from Paverson Games; Batman: Everybody Lies, a game based on the mechanics of the Detective series from Portal Games; Bigfoot: Roll & Smash, from XYZ Game Labs; plus, a game we just reviewed, Creature Comforts, from KTBG.
Will We Go Back?
For the media, I don’t think there is a better way to connect with publishers like GAMA Expo. The mix of people on hand: the wide variety of publishers, from first-timers up through the biggest players in the industry, such as Asmodee, Games Workshop, CGE, Ultra Pro, WizKids and Funko, all make attending next year’s GAMA Expo a no-brainer.
The atmosphere is also one that is ripe for networking and relationship building. GAMA did a great job of creating a schedule that pushed people into spending time with other people. There was a game night every night, hosted in the largest ballroom (bar service and snacks didn’t hurt!) and evening receptions on 3 of the expo nights.
I think some of the best things about being a contributor in this industry are on display at events like GAMA Expo. Spending time with other people, in person, was fantastic. Laughing about games and the business of gaming was amazing. Spending time with so many interesting creatives is always a joy and talking shop with other experts brings the entire experience home.
It was a treat, and one that I know I was privileged to attend. I am looking forward to future GAMA trade shows.
