Sunday, May 30, 2010

White Wolf PDF

According to post #15 from this thread, White Wolf is moving towards a PDF model of product release and away from print copies. This model allows them to release products faster and cheaper to their customers. The downside, of course, is that you'll see less and less print product on the shelves of your friendly local game store. I know of at least two that are clearing out WW product from their shelves because they won't be able to get any of the new release in and WW hasn't set up any programs yet to allow PDF sales at the retail level.

From the consumer point of view, the PDF market is still relatively small compared to the print market and caters mostly to those people who are already fans of the game system. It doesn't create new fans, which creates a downward spiral of the game system. What typically happens is that current players of a game bring in new blood, so to speak, replacing older players when they drop out. New players typically get intersted through seeing a physical copy of the game in someone's possession and getting involved that way. PDFs don't allow that physical presence, cutting down on the number of new players in the game. It will be interesting to see how the World of Darkness is doing in a couple of years.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Mural Contest

We're putting a mural on the side of the building between the entrance doors and the street and we're asking for artwork for you. What we're looking for:

1. G rated artwork. This will be seen by 7000 people per day so huge demon princes are out.
2. Scalable. The space we're filling is about 8' x 12' so your work will need to expand to fit that area without losing recognizability.
3. Related to what we sell. Games and comics good, rock band symbols, not so much.
4. Does not have to be a completed piece. If you can just give us a sketch indicating your ideas, that would be great.
5. It can be B&W or color. The finished mural will be color but if you want to turn in a B&W piece, that's fine.

We'd like to have your sketch by June 19, either on paper here at the store or sent via email. We'll post them up in the store and let our customers vote. The one getting the best response by July 4 wins first (and only) prize of getting muralized (is that a word) on the wall.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Yu Gi Oh Update

Just got the following email from Konami. Apparently if you play in sanctioned tournaments, and are among the top 1000 players at the end of June, you will be snet a promotional item from the company.

Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. (KDE) would like to thank you for reporting your Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG tournament results and holding sanctioned events. As you know, this data is important to KDE and our programs, but it’s also important for your players! Players that rank in the Top 1,000 of our Global Ranking System between April 1st and June 30th will be getting an exclusive Yu-Gi-Oh! item at the end of the timeframe. The more they play, the higher their rankings will become! One of YOUR tournament players could be one of the Top 1,000 Duelists from around the world.

Friday, May 21, 2010

New Arkham Horror Expansion

Releasing later this summer, Dark Pacts is the upcoming The Lurker at the Threshold expansion for Arkham Horror. New powers are stirring in the town of Arkham; powers that seduce and feed off the unwary. Dark promises echo in the minds of those who are lonely or desperate to stave off insanity and bodily harm. But this promised power comes at a deadly price.


Dark Pacts are a new mechanic for Arkham Horror that come in three different flavors: Blood Pact, Soul Pact, and Bound Ally. Each appears to be purely beneficial to investigators, but they also have powerful detriments that build up over time. At the start of any turn, an investigator may take a Dark Pact card from the Herald and immediately gain its benefits. There is a terrible cost, however...

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Shoplifters

Well, hopefully we caught the couple that shoplifted the Dungeons & Dragons Gift set a couple of weeks ago. They were in here on Saturday, just before 6 p.m., selling some used DVDs. The guy kept asking about chess sets, then asked if I would stay open a few more miniatures while they went over to the shoe store to get a friend to look at the set. Needless to say, the gift set went with them, though I didn't notice it was gone until we got a call from Book World Monday that the same couple had been down there half an hour later selling a D&D gift set still in the shrink wrap. The clerk though it was strange since they had been in before selling stuff but this was the best quality item they'd ever brought in.

After he bought it, he noticed they had walked out with a season one Star Trek DVD set, which I assume they tried to sell someplace else. The police think they have identified them so we'll see what happens next.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Liveblogging the 40K 'Ard Boyz

The 2010 40K 'Ard Boyz tournament started at 11 a.m., later than I'd wanted but on the whole it worked out as two players ran late. A total of 10 ore in the back room whomping on each other. Updates as they are reported.

1:47 p.m.
After the first round, Eric is in first place with 18 points, Mike is in second with 17. Everyone else is hovering back around 11 points. Now we're on lunch break.

2:47 p.m.
Lunch completed, the second round just started.

4:03 p.m
Matches currently see-sawing back and forth, except for Nick and Chad, which is tilting towards Nick in a big way.

5:11 p.m.
Getting ready to start round 3. Currently, Lucian and Eric are neck and neck for first place, with sames a strong second and everyone else bunched up back in the pack.

6:54 p.m.

Eric and Mike are pretty much tied in their game. Nick is removing many of Larry's figures. James is beating up on Philip and while the number of figures on the board looks even, Lucian looks ready to unleash a world of hurt on Chad.

8:45 p.m.

This year's 'Ard Boyz wraps up with Mkie Kephart's Space Marines taking overall honors, followed by James Cox's Space Marines and Chad LaMontagne's Space Marines (again). Nick Hollowman's Tau Forces took fourth place, Eric Jacquot fielded Orks into 5th place. Lucian Kline's Space Wolves took 6th, Philip Gibbs took 7th with Chaos Space Marines and Larry Snodgrass finished up with his Black Templars. A good time was had by all and we hop to have a Warhammer Fantasy Battle 'Ard Boyz later this year.

That wraps the tournament up. Glad everyone had a good time.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Alex Ross Cover

This is cool. Noted comic artist Alex Ross will do the cover for the new DC Adventures RPG from Green Ronin.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

DC Heroes RPG

Green Ronin Publishing has just announced a DC Heroes role playing game based on their award winning Mutants and Masterminds system, which is in turn based on the also award winning Dungeons & Dragons 3.0 role playing system. No idea as to price yet.

I'm of two minds on this product. On the one hand, there have been a number of licensed super hero RPGs over the years, including 3 editions of set in the DC Universe from Mayfair games, based on logarithms, another DCU based one from West End Games that used their d6 system with some modifications and 2 editions of a Marvel licensed game from TSR, one percentage dice based and one card based. The Mayfair and the first TSR version each lasted roughly 5 years while the West End and second TSR ones only lasted about a year. Licensed RPGs featuring characters from the Big Two don't have a very good track record in the market.

On the other hand, the previous DC and Marvel games were system specific. A system was created for use with the particular universe, rather than adapting an already existing game system to the universe. Mutants & Masterminds has proved it has a dedicated base of support and already has one super heore universe under license, George R. R. Martin's Wild Cards. Adapting the DC Universe to the already existing M&M rules system may prove the way to go.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Blackest Night Pushed Back

WizKids announced that the new Blackest Night HeroClix starters release date has tentatively moved back to early June. Apparently sea freight from China was even slower than projected in the original schedule and the new expected release date is June 9.

Monday, May 3, 2010

New Releases

Here's a list of products that were new or restocked last week:

AEG3300 L5R RPG 4E
AEGMMA2010 MMA Extreme Fight Board Game
AMYST5106 Warpaints Starter Set: Black Spray Set
AMYST5107 Warpaints Starter Set: White Spray Set
APE0701 Duck! Duck! GO! Revised
BBG2000 Please Stand By
BLG00301 Pocket Yamslam
BLG00360 Sumoku
BLG00380 Golden Gate
BLG00400 Crazy Cheese Puzzle
BLG00410 Spot It!
BPN1002 Card Tower
BPN1012 The Colony
BPN1014 Hokkaido
BPN1015 Knights of Crylail
CSECB002 Cribbage: Bears
CSECB004 Cribbage: Packers
CSECB005 Cribbage: Raiders
CSECB007 Cribbage: Steelers
CSECB013 Cribbage: Packers/Bears Dueling
CSECB014 Cribbage: Badgers Hockey
CSECH001 Checkers: 49ers
CSECH002 Checkers: Bears
CSECH003 Checkers: Eagles
CSECH004 Checkers: Packers
CSECH005 Checkers: Raiders
CSECH006 Checkers: Saints
CSECH007 Checkers: Steelers
CSECH008 Checkers: Dodgers
CSECH009 Checkers: Red Sox
CSECH010 Checkers: SF Giants
CSECH011 Checkers: Yankees
CSECH012 Checkers: Wisconsin Badgers
CYT35305 CBT: Jihad Hot Spots: Terra
FFGBL12 Battelore: Horrific Horde Goblin Army Pa
FFGBW01 Battelore: Battles of Westeros
FFGCS2031 Anima Tactics: Arkham
FFGCS2032 Anima Tactics: Al D'jinn
FFGCS3030 Anima Tactics: Raziel Archetypum
FFGCT36 CoC: The Spoken Covenant
FFGDW01 Deathwatch
FFGGOT56 GoT: LCG: Return of the Others
FFGTH14 Tannhauser: Revised Rules of Play
FFGWHC09 WH: LCG: Invasion Burning of Dericksburg
FYF0401 Conquest of Planet Earth, The Space Alie
GAW64-45 40K: Ruins of Osgiliath
GAW89-17 WFB: River Trolls
GAW89-18 WFB: Orc Boar Boyz
GBD1002 Labyrinth Lord: Adv Ed. Companion
GF9BX03 A Bridge Too Far
GMT1004 Chariots of Fire
GMT1005 Stalin's War
GMT1006 Leapiing Lemmings
GMT1008 Normandy 44
GMT1009 Pensacola 1781
GMT1010 Germantown
HCG773 BS: Moonfairies
HCG774 BS: Moonfairies Blister
HSB02104 Rook
IWM20-492 BT: Blood Asp Prime RE
IWM20-493 BT: Bear Cub
IWM20-494 BT: Danai Support Vehicle
IWM20-495 BT: Galahad Mech - GLH-2D
IWM20-496 BT: Thunderbird TRB_D36 Aero-Fighter
IWM20-497 BT: M1 Moltke Main Battle Tank
K+C163 KODT #163
KOI88354 YGO: 2010 YU-GI-OH! 5D’S SD
KOI88397 YGO: 4Pkt: Crow and Black-Winged Dragon
KOI88402 YGO: Gold Series 3
LGNBLK001 Black Sleeves, 50 Count
LGNBLU002 Blue Sleeves, 50 Count
LGNGRN005 Green Sleeves, 50 Count
LGNMAT006 Matson Art Sleeve, 50 Count
LGNRED003 Red Sleeves, 50 Count
LGNWHI004 White Sleeves, 50 Count
MFG3131 Catan - Card Game
MFG3203 Catan Histories: Settlers of America Tra
MFG4120 Dust Dice & Dollars - Casino: Vegas
MGCKWE791 Elves Lord on Battledragon
MGCKWU701 Undead Death King's Cabal (4)
MGCPSU311 Undead Paint Set
MGCTBC111 Messenger Bag w/Troop Set
MNIGAIR001 Small Airplane Pawns (7)
MNIGCAR001 Automobile Pawns (9)
MNIGPAW001 Plastic Large Pawns (10)
MNIGPAW021 Plastic Pawns (11)
MNIGSUB001 Submarine Pawns (8)
MNIGTNK001 WWI Era Tanks (8)
MONBINBLU Monster Binder, Blue
MONBINGLD Monster Binder, Gold
MONBINGRN Monster Binder, Green
MONBINSIL Monster Binder, Silver
MUMKPW IGS: King Philips War
OMMMW324 Miniature Wargames #324
OMMMW325 Miniature Wargames #325
OMMMW326 Miniature Wargames #326
OMMMW327 Miniature Wargames #327
OMMMW328 Miniature Wargames #328
OSPACE094 Fiat CR.32 Aces of the Spanish Civil War
OSPCAM220 Operation Crusader '41:Rommel in Retreat
OSPCAM222 Salamis 480 BC: The Naval Campaign That
OSPCAM223 Operation Nordwind '45: Hitler's Last Of
OSPCMD003 George S. Patton
OSPCMD004 Julius Caesar
OSPDUE027 German Commerce Raider vs British Cruise
OSPDUE028 Mirage III vs MiG-21: Six Day War 1967
OSPELI181 WWII Battlefield Communications
OSPFOR096 Fortress of Rhodes 1309-1522, The
OSPGEN1627 Roman Army, The
OSPGEN2417 Fire, Ice & Fury: True Story of the Batt
OSPMAA458 Army of the Republic of Vietnam 1955-75
OSPMAA459 Varangian Guard 988-1453, The
OSPNVG167 German Battleships 1914-18 (2):
OSPRAID011 Pegasus Bridge-Benouville D-Day 1944
PFSSUB2009 The Cartographer's Annual v.III
PKU10356 PKM: HGSS Trainer Kit
PZO1116 Pathfinder RPG: Bestiary 2
PZO3014 Plot Twist Cards
PZO3015 Item Cards: Serpent's Skull
PZO3016 Condition Cards
PZO4027 Map Pack: Hellscapes
PZO4028 Map Packs: Shops
PZO4029 Map Packs: Ambush Sites
PZO8027 Template: Novel of the Archonate, A
PZO8028 Before They Were Giants: First Works
PZO8029 Sojan the Swordsman: Under Warrior Star
PZO8030 Battle the Dawn: Complete Hok the Mighty
PZO8501 Winter Witch
PZO8502 Prince of Wolves
PZO9034 PF34: Blood for Blood
PZO9036 PF36: Sound of a Thousand Screams
PZO9037 PF37: Souls for the Smuggler's Shiv
PZO9038 PF: Racing to Ruin
PZO9039 PF: City of Seven Spear, The
PZO9040 PF: Vault of Madness
PZO9041 PF: Thousand Fangs Below, The
PZO9222 PC: Heart fo the Jungle
PZO9223 PC: City of Strangers
PZO9224 PC: Kingmaker Poster Map Folio
PZO9225 PC: Book of the Damned Vol2: Lords of Ch
PZO9226 PC: World
PZO9227 PC: Misfit Monsters
PZO9228 PC: Inner Sea Poster Map Folio
PZO9229 PC: Lost Cities of Golarion
PZO9413 PC: Orcs of Golarion
PZO9414 PC: Inner Sea Primer
PZO9415 PC: Halflings of Golarion
PZO9525 PF Module: From Shroe to Sea
PZO9526 PF Module: Curse of the Riven Sky
PZO9527 PF Module: Witchwar Legacy, The
PZO9528 PF Module: Godsmouth Heresy, The
QWOJMIX01 Jar of Dice (d6, d10, d20)
QWOJMIX02 Jar of Dice (d4, d6, d8, d10, d20, d100)
RIO419 Carcassonne: Castles, Bridges & Bazaars
SJG4210 Munchkin Marked For Death
SKP1002 Muerte al Chupacabras!
SQW30033 Flip-Mat: Prison
SQW30034 Flip-Mat: Pirate Island
SQW30035 GameMastery Flip-Mat: Forest
SQW30036 GameMastery Flip-Mat: City Streets
TSL0412FREE Wealth of Nations Super Industry Promo
ULP81728 DP: Elmore Dragon Rider
ULP82502-p Portfolio: 4pkt - Exalted Dragon w/ foil
ULP82503-P Portfolio: 4pkt - Warlock w/ foil
ULP82504-P Portfolio: 4pkt - Spiral Dragon w/ foil
ULP82541 DP: MtG: M11 #1
ULP82542 DP: MtG: M11 #2
ULP82543 DB: MtG: M11
ULP82544 DB: Horiz Load: MtG: M11
ULP82545 Portfolio: 9pkt MtG: 2011
USOCA004000 Cranium: Disney Family
USOMN003000 Monopoly: Coca-Cola 125th Anniversary
USOMN051198 Monopoly: The Office
USOMN070000 Monopoly: John Wayne
USOMN072000 Monopoly: Dinosaur
USOMN075296 Monopoly: Hello Kitty
USOTP004261 Trivial Pursuit: Nightmare Before Xmas
USOYZ005191 Yahtzee: Super Mario
USOYZ075296 Yahtzee: Hello Kitty
WOC207590000 MtG: Magic 2011 BD
WOC207600000 MtG: Magic 2011 Intro Pack Dis
WOC207610000 MtG: Magic 2011 Fat Packs
WOC248410000 MtG: Archenemy
WOC250750000 MtG: Promo 1/2 Decks M10
WOC251520000 D&D Tiles: Deserts of Athas
WOC253830000 4E: Player's Handbook Races: Tieflings
WOC253840000 4E: Monster Manual 3
WOCAAMPROMO AAM: Demo Kit
WWP80108 EX 2E: Return of the Scarlet Empress
XRP6113 AA: White Dragon Run
ZMG4063 Onirim
ZMG4064 Magical Athlete
ZMG4065 Parade
ZMG7047 Road Kill Rally
ZMG7049 Martinique
ZMG7051 Duel of the Giants

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Break In

I got a call at home about 7 a.m. on May 1 from the Carbondale Police Department, letting me know that someone had forced in the door of the store. Arriving I found two police cars there, along with two officers. They entered the store with guns drawn and searched it to see if anyone was still there before letting me enter.

Someone had heaved a 25 pound (more or less) concrete block through the bottom of the front door, crawled through and done it again to the bottom of the inside door. I found the blok lying a good dozen feet inside the store, in front of the store TV. Bits of broken glass covered the carpet in the vestibule and for a good six to twelve feet inside the store. Whomever crawled through the inside door failed their reflex save as the police found blood on the glass and took a sample to send to the state forensics lab.

The thieves weren't very good at their job. Near as we can tell, the only things stolen were a Magic Sliver Deck, another doezne Magic decks and about a dozen Magic booster packs. All told, about $200. I guess they were animal lovers as they bypassed a collection can on the counter for the Humane Society with about $20 in it. They also aren't very good Magic thieves as none of the singles were touched, nor was the $100 From the Vault on the shelf near the Sliver deck. Joel half jokingly suggested, and I rather agree, though there's no way to know for sure, that the thieves sale the "Games" sign, thought video games would be easy to pawn or sell, got inside, looked around and said "What is all this stuff? Where are the games?". They had some friends who had talked about Magic, saw the name on some of the packages and grabbed them so the break-in wouldn't be a total waste of their time.

Tried calling the insurance agency but they don't work weekends . Called Glass Doctor to see about getting new glass for the doors, they wouldn't be able to get anything until Monday. Called Universal Glass. They came right over and we had the glass replaced by a bit after noon.

Near as we can tell, the break-in took place sometime between 3 a.m and 6:30 am, when SIUC Police spotted the broken door. Friday Night Magic wrapped up about 11 p.m. and there were heavy rainstorms off an on until about 3 a.m. but no water inside the vestibule, which should have been wet, given the amount of rain that night.