Fight Back Against Treerazer’s Corrupting Forces in Spore War!
by Rue Dickey, Marketing and Media Specialist, Paizo
Pathfinder Adventure Path Spore War starts 2025 off on an explosive note as nations across the Inner Sea bubble on the edge of war. The elf queen of Kyonin calls adventurers to her aid as representatives to negotiate an alliance – but in the midst of negotiations, violence breaks out and threatens to tear the region apart. Fungal corruption is overtaking the forest as demons and twisted fey pour forth from cracks in the soil – Treerazer is coming to seek his vengeance.
This Adventure Path for 11th-20th level takes characters behind enemy lines to seek, find and sabotage Treerazer and the Tanglebriar army’s plans. The intelligence you gather and the plans you foil will directly impact how the war is faring on the front lines in Kyonin via a new point subsystem. James Jacobs, creative director for Pathfinder’s narrative team, describes the Adventure Path as a tense, intricate balance between combat, subterfuge, diplomacy and destruction. In addition to a full campaign worth
of adventure content, Spore War also contains backmatter articles to enrich the setting, characters and player experience. Each volume contains backmatter detailing new fungal, fey and demonic monsters to throw into this campaign – or any other Pathfinder Second Edition game! Plus, get detailed backstory information on key enemies and NPCs – including Treerazer himself –and a gazetteer of the region of Kyonin! Pathfinder Adventure Path: Spore War releases January, February and March 2025. Expand your selection of fungal frights and Tanglebriar terrors with the
Pathfinder Flip-Mat: Fungal Forest, also releasing in January 2025. Paizo Inc.’s partners at WizKids also offer a premium boxed miniature of Treerazer, available now!
Take up arms to prevent the demon lord Treerazer and his army from overrunning the forests of the Inner Sea –the fate of the world depends on it!
The Wall is a cooperative investigative series for 1 to 6 players who are detectives determined to work together and uncover the truth.
Each case is split into chapters, starting with photos of the crime scene. From there, players will gather vital evidence, choose which to analyze in more detail, and make tough choices before calling in key suspects for questioning.
During the interrogation, players will use the included decoder to reveal each response while keeping the rest of the answers hidden.
The Wall is perfect for everyone who loves a good mystery and is ready to challenge their investigative skills with three unique cases!
Q4 2024
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OFFICERS
PRESIDENT
Nicole Brady
SAHM Reviews
Director – Media & Events
VICE-PRESIDENT
Monica Rasso
Meeples at Sea
Director – Media & Events
TREASURER
Garima Sharma
Skybound Entertainment
Director – Publisher
SECRETARY
Anton Torres
Pegasus Spiele North America
Director – Publisher
DIRECTORS
John Coviello
Little Shop of Magic Director – Retail
Matt Fantastic
Forever Stoked Creative Director – Creative
Aldo Ghiozzi
Save vs. Death Ray
Director – Wholesale
Radek Gronus
FABRYKA KART
Director - Production/Manufacturing
Beau Heath
Arcane Tinman
Director – Wholesale
Jamie Mathy
Red Raccoon Games
Director – Retail
Will Niebling
Emeritus Director
Eric Price
Mejia Board Game Factory
Director – Production/Manufacturers
Drew Wehrle
Wehrlegig Games
Director – Creator
John Stacy EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR john.stacy@gama.org
Chris Materni DEPUTY DIRECTOR chris.materni@gama.org
Bryan Borgman MEMBER SERVICES MANAGER bryan.borgman@gama.org
Grace Willson MEMBER SERVICES COORDINATOR grace.willson@gama.org
Gregoire Boisbelaud
EVENTS COORDINATOR greg.boisbelaud@gama.org
Julie Yeager EXHIBITOR MANAGER julie.yeager@gama.org
Amy Lowe MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER amy.lowe@gama.org
Adam Ziegler
TECHNOLOGY AND CREATIVE MANAGER adam.ziegler@gama.org
Paul McGraw EVENTS MANAGER paul.mcgraw@gama.org
Chelsea Wood OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR chelsea.wood@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
Around the Table © 2024 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.
Mesos Stone Age Set Collection
by Austin Kennedy, Marketing Coordinator, Pegasus Spiele
Duringthe stone age of our distant past, tribes of hunter-gatherers wandered the earth and spent most of their time tracking down large animals for food … but a change was approaching. The Mesolithic is recognized as the period in our history when humankind introduced sophisticated tribal roles such as inventor, builder and shaman. Welcome to Mesos!
In Mesos, players are Mesolithic tribal leaders who must recruit new members that will most benefit the burgeoning tribe, construct specialized buildings that support your strategy and
prepare for the inevitable events your people will face in order to guide your tribe to victory.
A game of Mesos is played over 10 rounds. In a round, each player in turn will claim a position on the offer track by placing their totem pawn on the space of their choice. Then, following the order of pawns from left to right, each player will have an opportunity to collect one or more cards to add to their tribe.
characters, you will also face events from the draw deck. Events are revealed at the start of the round, but won’t take effect until the following round. This ensures everyone has one round to prepare, if possible.
The turn order is crucial because it determines when you will have the opportunity to choose your character and building cards from those still available. Place your totem furthest to the left if you want to have the first pick of all the displayed tribe cards, a wonderful guarantee if you see a card that you simply must have in your possession. The tradeoff is you will be restricted and may only be allowed to take a single card from the display.
However, if you place your totem to the right side of the offer, opting to make your selection later in the round, you might be able to take as many as three cards. Unfortunately, by the time you get to act, the cards you had your eyes on might been claimed by another player.
This simple decision keeps Mesos tense and exciting every single round.
In addition to an array of tribal
There are four different event types in the deck: sustenance, shamanic ritual, cave paintings and hunt. Some events will grant an advantage the more hunters you have recruited, while others provide opportunities to score points depending on cards you’ve collected up to that point in the game.
Finally, building cards can help you gather food, provide a special ability or score points at the end of the game. The tribal leader who can most effectively use the offer track to gather new tribal members and erect new buildings, while being prepared for every potential event, will score the most points and win the game.
With its unique card drafting system and gorgeous prehistoric art by Kerri Aitken, Mesos is an exciting set collection game with countless strategies to explore. How will you build your tribe?
Dear Friends,
Welcome to the Q4 2024 issue of Around the Table. It’s always great to see another issue of this magazine come together to learn what members are up to, what new products are coming out, and look at the latest industry trends.
It’s been a very busy few months since the last issue. Our team attended the Alliance Open House and SPIEL in Germany. Both were great opportunities to connect with members and others in the industry to put some great new projects into place for next year. We will have details on those initiatives later this fall as well as early Q1 2025.
However, we still have a number of other engagement opportunities between now and GAMA EXPO in February. If you are planning to attend at any of these conventions, we would be delighted to meet with you to talk about our upcoming programs and plans for 2025. You can reach me at john.stacy@gama.org, and I would be happy to connect you with the team members attending these various events:
• BBG Con (November 13-17, 2024)
• Designers Con (November 15-17, 2024)
• PAX Unplugged (December 6-8, 2024)
• Nuremberg Toy Fair (January 28 to February 1, 2025)
• GAMA EXPO (February 23-27, 2025)
A special note about PAX Unplugged, once again we will have a booth at the show (U4317) as well as co-hosting an industry networking event with 9th Level Games and Backerkit. The reception will be held Thursday December 5th. Details on the reception will be sent to members in early November.
Through our partnership with Spielwarenmesse, we will once again be offering GAMA members complimentary badges for the Nuremberg Toy Fair. So, if you were thinking about attending, your membership in our association provides you with free access to the show. We will have details to members in late November on how to reserve your badges for this trade event.
If you are not a part of the Facebook group or receiving our email newsletter, drop us a line and we will get you signed up. Have a great Q4 and holiday season, and we’ll see you at one of these industry events!
Be well and happy gaming!
John Stacy Executive Director Game Manufacturers Association
GAMA Members,
Whenmy daughters were little, I vividly remember introducing them to fudge. They turned up their noses, and I understood. It was different. Unfamiliar. And as fudge usually does, it looked dreadful. But we had a rule in our house that you don’t pass judgment without attempting to learn all the facts. That held true for people, for activities and, yes, for food. It wasn’t some fancy kind with extra bells and whistles. It was just good, basic fudge.
You’re probably asking yourself, “What the fudge does this have to do with gaming?” I’m so glad you asked! If you’re reading this (thanks, by the way), then you either work in the tabletop game industry in some capacity or you’re enough of an enthusiast to pick up an industry trade magazine and thumb through it. Chances are you have experienced a similar “That fudge is probably gross” reaction when trying to introduce someone to your favorite games. It’s discouraging, I know. I’ve been there many times – mostly with adults who offer up a host of excuses.
While GAMA can dedicate resources such as time, talent
and finances to improve the business side of things, it’s up to all of us to strengthen the future of the hobby by introducing it to new people. This time of year offers a multitude of opportunities to do so. It can come in the form of gifting games to friends and family or donating copies to charities for distribution. One of the best opportunities is to bring a game to a work or family gathering. Not only can it be an icebreaker, but it’s fun and a nice alternative to small talk. Games are like fudge; you just have to sample them!
It took some encouragement for our daughters to try the fudge, but they did, and it sold itself. If you are planning to use the holidays as an opportunity to indoctrinate new gamers, consider stepping away from games and brands you are affiliated with. Instead, like with fudge, find games they are most likely to enjoy, even if they aren’t the kind you usually buy. That first taste is always the most crucial.
You may be surprised by the results … and so might they. Wishing all of you a joyous holiday season filled with laughter and play.
Nicole Brady President GAMA Board of Directors
Your one-Stop DICE WHOLESALER
By Emanuel Zwick, Your Humble NPC
Friendly & Business Minded
As a one-stop shop, we have something for everyone by offering a large collection of dice and accessories. Our wholesale program provides excellent customer service for friendly local game stores (FLGS) and convention vendors. Everything we do is with our customers in mind and we strive to build long-lasting partnerships by listening to your needs.
Quick on the Draw
Our 14 years of shipping experience gives us confidence in our speed and accuracy. Let us know if you have a strict deadline and we’ll meet it with expedited shipping options. We offer 1 to 2 day order processing, a $200 order minimum, free shipping on orders over $1,000 and international shipping for our friends overseas.
The Royal Treatment
Put more profits in your pockets with up to 50% margins. We never inflate MSRPs because we know you can’t sell products at unrealistic prices. Online sellers are discouraged from undercutting our retail prices to protect the FLGS from unfair competition. We don’t attend retail-facing conventions, so you’ll never compete with your supplier. Our dedicated wholesale website makes the ordering process simple & efficient. Customer service is available via email or phone to ensure all your needs are catered to.
Choose Your Weapon
You decide which retail packaging best suits your store’s aesthetic. Create an unforgettable first impression with bottles, cubes, gift boxes, or clamshells. Customize your catalog with resin, sharp-edge, liquid-core, metal, gemstone, wood, and silicone dice. You’ll also have access to classics such as Chessex and Q-Workshop, and our King of Crits™ exclusive dice sets that you won’t find anywhere else. We look forward to being a supporting NPC on your retail adventure!
Unwrap the Fun! Explore Our Games
by Mikael Yang, Editorial Manager, Japanime Games
As the holiday season approaches, it’s the perfect time to discover gifts that bring joy to gamers of all kinds. Whether you’re shopping for anime enthusiasts, casual players or hardcore strategists, Japanime Games has something for everyone.
This year, we’ve curated a lineup of exciting titles that will add laughter, competition and adventure to any holiday gathering. Let’s explore games like Naruto Ninja Arena, Heroes of Fairy Tail, Bananya, Ramen! Ramen!, Sushi Boat and our brand-new Tanto Cuore: Memento Mori. The perfect surprises are waiting to be unwrapped.
For fans of fast-paced action, Naruto Ninja Arena is the ultimate choice. This exciting roll and clash game brings the world of Naruto to life, allowing players to embody their favorite ninja characters as they battle with ninjutsu, engage in teamwork and use strategic moves. The quick gameplay, combined with easy-tolearn rules, makes this game a thrilling choice for anime fans of all ages. Imagine the holiday fun as friends and family face off in intense ninja duels!
If you’re looking for a cooperative
adventure, Heroes of Fairy Tail will transport players to a magical world filled with dungeons, powerful foes and the beloved characters from the Fairy Tail anime. As players work together to build their deck and strengthen their guild, the spirit of teamwork shines through, making it a fantastic choice for holiday gatherings. The game’s stunning artwork and immersive gameplay create an unforgettable experience that will have everyone at the table feeling the magic of the season.
For something more light-hearted, Bananya delivers sweetness in every play. Based on the charming anime featuring banana-cat hybrids, this card game is full of whimsical fun and is perfect for younger players or family game nights. Plus, with the Bananya booster pack expansions, players can enjoy even more variety and replayability, making this a delightful gift that keeps on giving. Who will be the first to yell “Nya!” in this funfilled adorable game?
Food-themed games are also a fantastic way to celebrate the holiday season. Ramen! Ramen! puts players in the role of ramen chefs racing to serve up the best bowls of noodles before their opponents. Its fast, decision-making gameplay is perfect for any group
gathering during the holidays. Meanwhile, Sushi Boat offers a feast for the eyes as players compete to create the most mouth-watering sushi dishes. Both games bring the delicious magic of Japanese cuisine to life in a way that’s both fun and engaging for all ages.
For those seeking a deeper, more strategic experience, our latest release, Tanto Cuore: Memento Mori, offers a gothic twist on classic deck-building games. Players manage their household of maids while navigating a world filled with spirits and mystery. With a rich storyline and intriguing mechanics, Memento Mori brings a darker, more complex challenge to the table, making it an ideal gift for seasoned gamers looking for something new to dive into during the holidays. This season, give the gift of animethemed gaming with Japanime Games. Whether you’re seeking fast-paced action, cooperative adventures, light-hearted fun or strategic depth, our diverse lineup has something for everyone. Unwrap the fun and make this holiday season one to remember with games that will bring excitement, strategy and a little anime magic to your table!
Make this season extra special for your customers. Ask us about our special retailer holiday bundles by emailing sales@japanimegames.com.
Pensive from Cantrip Candles is an “adventure triptych” featuring an academiathemed module based on their most studious scents. It includes three 6 oz. candles and a downloadable PDF.
Landmarks from Floodgate is one of the hottest releases of 2024. An adventure word game where one player has the map and the rest are lost on an island in search of treasure. floodgate.games/ landmarks rich@floodgategames. com
Shadows of Brimstone: Gates of Valhalla/ Valley of the Serpent Kings Alt. Gender Hero Packs from Flying Frog Productions contain everything needed to add the Viking or Spanish Explorer Team Heroes (respectively) to your Shadows of Brimstone games. sarah@flyingfrog.net
Tanto Cuore: Memento Mori from Japanime Games brings a thrilling gothic twist to the beloved deckbuilding game! Hire maids, manage your haunted mansion, and outwit opponents while dodging curses. sales@japanimegames.com
All Game Terrain’s In-Store Clinic can teach customers how to use tabletop scenery products live in your store. Each kit contains a tutorial video link and materials to build three different environments for up to 10 people.
sales@allgameterrain.com
Boost your games with DreamTrace Tokens from Ghost Galaxy. These shiny marbled tokens are stackable and present a gorgeously satisfying option for trading card games, board games and more.
sales@ghostgalaxy.com
Kobolds Ate My Baby Orange Book from 9th Level Games marks the 25th anniversary of this cult classic with a new edition, new rules and the same dumb jokes! MSRP $24.99
9thlevel.com/pages/koboldsate-my-baby
With Snatch It from Czech Games Edition, experience the joyful weirdness of catching juicy flies for your froggies. Three to six players grab up bugs from the pond as fast as they can and gobble them up. czechgames.markettime.com
In Avatar: The Last Airbender - Aang's Destiny from USAOpoly, players take on the role of Aang and his allies as they make their way through the four nations and restore balance to the world. sales@usaopoly.com
Uncle Iroh’s Adventure Guide from Magpie Games expands the play material found in Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game with special GM tools, new NPC Legends, new playable character archetypes and a brand-new setting – Jasmine Island! magpiegames.com/pages/uiag
Enter the fray with Factions: Battlegrounds. A short two-to-four player skirmish fantasy combat board game that is all about player choice featuring cultures from around the world.
By Asger Granerud Co-Designer, Sidekick Games
Step into the heart of the lush rainforest with HUTAN, our next Generational Game that invites players to cultivate the most vibrant and thriving ecosystem - all brought to life with stunning illustrations by Vincent Dutrait. Named after the Indonesian word for "forest," HUTAN challenges you to plant colorful flowers, grow towering trees, and attract native wildlife, all while carefully drafting cards from a shared market. Each decision you make shapes the growth of your rainforest, creating a dynamic puzzle that evolves with every turn.
for Sidekick Games' 2025 release. With AQUA successfully completed and heading for global release, our focus shifted entirely to HUTAN and expansions for HEAT.
As with all of our Generational Games, HUTAN is a labor of love that underwent years of evolution. After a break during the pandemic, we revisited the game in mid-2022 as we prepared
Following AQUA's lead, we aimed for HUTAN to keep with our standards for premium quality. Dutrait's artwork is beautifully showcased, and all components are designed to feel substantial and satisfying. The meeples are large and fully illustrated, the flowers abundant, and the trees detailed. The quality box has a fully illustrated interior and a custom cardboard insert. We also
with 24 new scoring rules. The game also includes a full solo mode and an optional achievements system.
We’re thrilled to introduce HUTAN to the world, with over 25 territories sharing our excitement for its March 2025 release. Every aspect, from gameplay to component quality and pricing, has been carefully considered.
Whether you're a gamer or a nature enthusiast, HUTAN offers an immersive experience that brings the beauty and subtle complexity of the rainforest to your table. We truly believe HUTAN will become a staple in your home for years to come!
FROM THE TEAM THAT BROUGHT YOU
Step into a world of wonder and natural splendor with HUTAN!
HUTAN plays over 9 rounds - and all players will have two turns each round. On your turn, you take a flower card from the shared market pool and place the flowers into your rainforest. If you place a flower on top of a matching flower, you grow a tree. When an area is filled with trees, the last tree is replaced by an animal.
In HUTAN, all players have their own rainforest patch where they will plant sprouts and flowers that over time, will grow into towering trees. When a habitat is created, an iconic forest animal arrives.
At the end of the game, the player who grew the best rainforest will score the most points and win!
STRENGTH IN CULTURE
Factions: Battlegrounds is making the old new again
by Jason Crayton, Co-Creator and Art Director, Factions: Battlegrounds
Welcome to Graviterrus. This is a hot and dangerous world where survival must be earned, and each faction that lives there fights over culture, land and resources. The most powerful resource of all is MANA, a resource residing in the water that once gave life, but it has been turned into a weapon. There has been a recent shift in power. Lands that were never vulnerable are now, so now each faction is preparing to defend the old culture, reinvent the old culture or create the new culture.
Now choose your faction and lead it on this battleground. Choose your warriors, wizards and monsters as well as your strategy and terrain. During these dangerous times, your faction needs a war
knew if were going to make a fantasy strategy game, it needed to be something that added to the genre. This is a world that is both beautiful and dangerous. There is no multiverse and no time travel, just one continent where a battle for survival is a way of life. Choices matter in Graviterrus, and we really wanted to mirror that in the game play and make those choices count.
What makes this battleground unique?
general like you to lead them.
Recently picked up by GTS Distribution after being part of GAMA’s Horizon Fellowship, Factions: Battlegrounds is an easy to learn twoto-four player skirmish fantasy combat board game co-created by Peter Ferry and Jason Crayton. Factions: Battlegrounds mixes tile laying, resource management and real-time strategy. You will command factions influenced by cultures and mythologies from around the world while outwitting and eliminating your opponent’s units to score enough points for victory.
Factions: Battlegrounds is based on a childhood fantasy game that we made in our grade school lunchroom. The fantasy genre has been a part of our DNA for most of our lives. Now, founding this indie publishing company as adults, we
First, it starts with the board. You choose the tiles that you want to place down and build the battleground. There are advantages to how you can move, attack and generate resources on your territory, but not your opponents. Because there is no deck, you choose the right cards for the right moment. Second, you move your cards along the board like chess to outwit your opponents. Dice does not determine your success – you do. Third, the risk/reward scoring system keeps you in the game even if you’re down and the rank system keeps players engaged, because there are no full turns. Lastly, it’s the artwork. We wanted Factions: Battlegrounds to represent strength in culture. There are so many cultures with rich mythology and folklore around the world. We wanted to use that influence from the Coatl of Mexican folklore to the feral vampire known as the Asanbosam in Central Africa to make a unique game world. We wanted to pay homage to it and in the process make something old new again.
Old School Dice
A One-Stop Shop
by Randall Switlick, CEO, Old School Dice & Accessories
Old School Dice and Accessories is your one-stop shop for everything you need in the dice world. We have dice sets in many materials, single dice, dice trays, dice bags, dice towers and more!
But it’s not just about what we have, but how we do it. We put a very high effort into our customer service and deliver an experience like nobody else. We focus our energy on bringing the best experience to you as the owner, buyer or manager of your company. We are focused on the FLGS, and not going to your customers directly. Here are just some of the benefits of working with us.
The best customer service
We place customer service on the highest pedestal there is. If we get something wrong, we’re going to make it right and quickly. When you sign up to work with us, you’re going to be assigned your own account rep. Their whole goal is to help you make money and to handle any needs that may arise. We want to take care of you like a person, not just a transaction. Plus, our standard for shipping is to get 99 percent of orders shipped within 24 business hours.
Huge product catalog
We have developed a huge catalog to fit all of your dice needs! Just imagine not having to get your dice products from five different vendors. With more than 800 products, we have something in every category, at every price point, all available to you. We keep this robust catalog growing and release new products every month. You can see all of our products at oldschooldice.com.
Great discounts and promotions
You’ll find that we are not a discount dice company. We only develop the highest quality products. We do have our products priced appropriately to the industry and our wholesale discount rate is top-level. We also offer monthly promotions to get more savings, free products, and other ways to get more return for your investment.
FLGS focused
Nearly every part of our business is built to best enable the brick-and-mortar store to best sell our products. From packaging to product offerings, we want to make it super easy to display and sell our items. We will never undercut you and sell to your customers at a lower price from our website. We also go to great lengths to develop top notch packaging and product displays, with the goal of making our products easy to sell and show off.
All sizes matter
We want to work with everyone and we are equipped to do so. We’re happy working with multi-store customers and corporate businesses, but we’re also interested in working with newly opened and mom-and-pop stores. If you’re a large customer, we have tiered programs to increase your savings. If you’re a smaller customer, you’ll enjoy that we have no minimum order size or frequency. Plus, we have an industry low $100 threshold to earn free shipping!
We would love the opportunity to work with you, and show you why we are one of the fastest growing dice producers around. We invite you to visit our website, find us on Google or Facebook and send us a message! If you want to work with the best, look no further.
Tenfold Dungeon from Gale Force 9 lets you skip the prep and get straight into the action. The modular RPG terrain is designed to get you into the adventure – just unbox, clip and play.
tenfolddungeon.com
Altay - Dawn of Civilization from Ares Games is a deckbuilding strategic civilization game set in a mythic age. Two to four players lead an ancient society and face challenges brought by human settlers. aresgames.eu
More New Products on pages 14, 15, 37 and 48
HUTAN from USAOpoly is an immersive family game inspired by the Indonesian word for rainforest. Players have their own patch to plant sprouts and flowers – whoever grows the best rainforest will win.
sales@usaopoly.com
Restored from the 1983 classic, Crossbows & Catapults from Restoration Games brings re-engineered pieces for dynamic builds, precision firing and immersive play. Upgrade the castle-bashing with the Weapons Cache expansion!
retailers@restorationgames.com
Round Table Starter Sets from Nimue Innovation Studios feature two starter decks, four treasure packs and a premium turn-keeper, all packed in an elegant booklike case. Get everything you need to begin your adventure!
Get Ready for Fateforge Month
by Eveline Foubert, Marketing Manager, Mighty Boards
From November 15 to December 15,
Fateforge Month will light up the gaming community with a month-long series of exciting on- and offline events designed to engage players and show off the action-adventure campaign that is Fateforge: Chronicles of Kaan.
Fateforge launched and sold out at Gen Con in August, sold out again at Essen SPIEL in October and has been receiving rave reviews since.
“Fateforge: Chronicles of Kaan is not just another RPG-in-a-box,” reported Polygon. “It’s a standout title that deserves to be recognized among the best of the genre.”
Mighty Boards is now offering retailers an exclusive deal to boost sales!
What is Fateforge: Chronicles of Kaan?
Fateforge: Chronicles of Kaan is a cooperative, action-adventure campaign game for one to four players that respects your time without compromising on
depth. Designed for quick setup and easy pack-away, it still delivers the immersive experience you crave from RPGs and dungeon crawlers.
The game offers a branching story full of choices, dynamic combat that feels straight out of an action movie and map quests that let you explore Easafir, street by street. Play solo or with friends, completing one or two scenarios in under an hour, and pack away in just five minutes.
With more than 25 hours of adventure on your first playthrough and multiple endings, Fateforge is a game you’ll want to revisit. The companion app acts as your game master, adapting the story based on your successes and failures. Fail a mission? The game changes course, shaping new challenges and fights based on your decisions. Every choice you make shapes your unique adventure in the world of Fateforge, where every roll of the dice truly matters.
Join more than 70 retailers in Fateforge Month
Fateforge Month is the perfect
opportunity for retailers to showcase Fateforge and increase store traffic.
With our exclusive retailer promotion, order Fateforge copies now and get one free Boss Miniature Set with each case you order (base game or expansion Clash of the Immortals). These stunning, high-quality miniatures offer a great upsell opportunity in-store! This promotion is valid until November 30, so be sure to place your order soon!
Make your store a Fateforge hub. Want to position your store as a go-to destination for Fateforge players in your community? Organize in-store demo events or online activities to highlight Fateforge and engage customers. You can share your displays on social media, announce new Boss Miniature Sets, and run giveaways. Need help? Contact Eveline at eveline@mighty-boards.com for support or materials to make your events a success.
Place your order today by contacting your distributor or emailing sales@ mighty-boards.com. Let’s make this Fateforge Month unforgettable!
CANAre You Compliant with the
Do you ever get that feeling that you are drowning in your inbox, fighting your way through spam, offers to buy attendee lists or help to reserve a room at an upcoming convention? Or maybe it’s a stream of info about the latest and hottest game or product. We’ve all been there. It can be overwhelming at times.
But what if I told you there are actual rules about all those annoying emails? It’s called the CAN-SPAM Act. To help members better understand this important federal law, GAMA has created an industry report that breaks down all the details and helps you spot a violation, maybe even avoid a fine yourself.
When people think about this,
they just assume it’s only about all those mass emails we get. What may surprise you is that it’s broader than that. It covers any message with a commercial purpose – even a business-to-business communication.
It’s easy to not realize just how many messages have some kind of commercial intent behind them. Let’s say that you get an email and it’s confirming an online purchase, or maybe it’s updating you about your account. Under the act, these are what are called transactional or relationship messages. And while they can seem different from all those spammy marketing emails, this is where it gets tricky.
Even if someone already is a
customer of yours, it doesn’t mean you have a free pass to bombard them with marketing emails just because of your relationship. The act is very specific about what counts as a transactional email. For example, let’s say you get an email about a purchase you already agreed to, or maybe it’s giving you warranty information about a product you bought, or even just updates on your account. These types of communications are allowed under the act as they are all considered essential communication.
Violations of the CAN-SPAM can be quite punitive. Fines can be levied up to $51,744 per email. And those individual emails add up. Recently the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a fine of
more than $20 million against a marketing company that sends thousands of emails informing people that they had won a “free” cruise. Of course, it wasn’t free or even something the recipient had won. It was just a promo for a special rate for a trip. Twenty million dollars would pay for a lot of cruises.
This is a lesson that the FTC isn’t playing around with violations of the CAN-SPAM Act. It’s all about transparency. Make sure your subject lines are legit – no crazy claims, no misleading language. CAN-SPAM is all about being upfront. People deserve to know exactly who’s emailing them and what they’re getting into. It’s about trust and not tricking people into opening emails.
B elow are some key points from the GAMA resource paper to help you get started.
What is the CAN-SPAM Act?
The CAN-SPAM Act is a U.S. law that sets rules for commercial emails, gives recipients the right to opt out of receiving future emails and outlines penalties for violations. It applies to all commercial messages, including bulk emails, regardless of whether they are sent to businesses or consumers.
Does the CAN-SPAM Act apply to emails sent to businesses?
Yes, the CAN-SPAM Act applies to all commercial messages, regardless of the recipient. This means there’s no exemption for business-to-business emails.
What types of emails are exempt from the CAN-SPAM Act?
Emails considered “transactional or relationship” are exempt from most provisions of the Act. These include messages that:
• Facilitate, complete or confirm a commercial transaction the recipient agreed to.
when sending marketing emails. This includes providing a clear and conspicuous way for recipients to opt out of future messages.
What information must be included in a commercial email to comply with the CAN-SPAM Act?
To comply with the CAN-SPAM Act, your email must include:
• Accurate header information. This includes the “from,” “to” and routing information, which must accurately identify the sender.
• A clear and conspicuous identification that the message is an advertisement.
• Your valid physical postal address.
• A clear and conspicuous explanation of how the recipient can opt out of receiving future emails from you. This should include a return email address or another internet-based method.
How quickly must I honor an opt-out request?
You must honor a recipient’s opt-out request within 10 business days of receiving it. This must be done unconditionally, meaning you cannot charge a fee, require personal information beyond what’s needed to process the request or impose any other requirements.
Violations of the CAN-SPAM can be quite punitive. Fines can be levied up to $51,744 per email. And those individual emails add up.
• Provide warranty, recall, safety or security information about a purchased product or service.
• Deliver goods or services as part of an agreed-upon transaction.
• Provide information about an employment relationship or employee benefits.
It’s important to note that the Act views these categories narrowly.
My company sends marketing emails to customers who have opted into our rewards program. Do we still need to comply with the CAN-SPAM Act?
Yes, even if you have an existing business relationship with the recipient, you must still comply with the CAN-SPAM Act
What are the penalties for violating the CAN-SPAM Act?
Each separate email in violation of the CAN-SPAM Act is subject to penalties of up to $51,744. In addition to civil penalties, you may be required to pay redress to consumers. Criminal penalties, including imprisonment, are possible for fraudulent activities related to sending spam.
Can I hire another company to handle my email marketing and avoid being responsible for CAN-SPAM compliance?
No, the CAN-SPAM Act makes it clear that you cannot contract away your legal responsibility for compliance, even if you hire a third party to manage your email marketing. Both your company and the company sending the emails on your behalf can be held legally responsible for violations.
Where can I learn more about the CAN-SPAM ACT?
You can read the GAMA Industry report at bit.ly/CAN-SPAMAct
Or you can visit the FTC website at ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/can-spam-actcompliance-guide-business.
Express Your Game’s Style With DreamTrace Tokens
by Jeremy Culver, Marketing Coordinator, Ghost Galaxy
We all approach games from different perspectives. Some look for the thrill of exploration, some for the tale told through play and others look for competitiveness or camaraderie with friends at the table. Regardless of the perspective, we all look forward to the fun to be had when sitting down for a night of
gaming. Nothing hurts that fun more than pulling out the game of the night only to realize necessary game pieces are missing. DreamTrace tokens are the go-to option for these scenarios as well as those wanting to upgrade their board game experience. These tokens work for a variety of situations and games, such as trading card games, board games, miniatures games and more, helping the look and feel of those nights of fun. Each DreamTrace token pack comes with 40 disc shaped tokens that are smaller than a U.S. dime. This shape and size make them easy to place on any card or board to identify a game’s state. These tokens are also stackable which can help keep the board clear of clutter. We designed these game token pieces to have a slight divot in the top and bottom face of the token. This makes them easy to slide around when necessary or for tipping over to pick them up.
When your customers pick up a box of DreamTrace tokens, they won’t need to settle on color. DreamTrace tokens come in 20 different colors, with fun and
memorable names, allowing them to be used for a variety of situations. Need tokens for damage? Grab a box of Blood Red. Want to represent money? Grab some Deepvein Gold. Each color stands out from the rest and features marbled color swirls giving them a nice look across your games.
The minimal box design also means it won’t take up a lot of space to showcase these colors to your customers. Each color is packed in quantities of six and includes a convenient countertop paper display tray. The built-in tabs showcase the corresponding color for easy identification and makes them easy to hang on wall pegs. The entire 20-color range can be displayed in an area as small as 2 inches by 2 inches.
Don’t hesitate to offer your players this colorful product. Give your valued customers the opportunity to upgrade their games and their experience. Expand your gaming supplies category with a full range of high quality DreamTrace tokens. Contact your local distributor to place your order today!
The Rising Tide Armies
Join the Battle of All Time!
by Sophia Gambill, Marketing and Sales Coordinator, Renegade Game Studios
Rising Tide, Heroscape’s next story arc, was announced at the October 2024 Renegade Con. The first wave of releases is slated for February 2025. Let’s dive in and see what Rising Tide has in store for Heroscape fans!
Renegade’s February release schedule highlights three army expansions: Knight Primus Adelbern and Ordo Borealis; Sonlen and Halushia, Scion of the Wild; and Hellforge Mandukor.
The first army expansion, Heroscape: Rising Tide – Knight Primus Adelbern and Ordo Borealis, contains four new, highly detailed and fully assembled figures: one Knight Primus Adelbern figure and three Ordo Borealis figures. These bears bring new strategic options and a ton of power to Heroscape games. They’re particularly lethal when combined with Knight Irene and the Frostclaw Paladins from the Age of Annihilation Master Set!
The second army expansion release, Heroscape: Rising Tide – Sonlen and Halushia, Scion of the Wild, introduces the dynamic mystical duo Sonlen and
Halushia. These two figures bring with them an ancient power ready to unleash on your opponent. Both highly detailed figures come fully assembled.
The final army expansion, Heroscape: Rising Tide – Hellforge Mandukor, introduces a new, huge figure! Mandukor dominates the battlefield and devours anything in his path. He’s a formidable addition to any army. The Hellforge Mandukor figure is also fully assembled and highly detailed.
There will be standard and premium painted editions of these expansions. Premium painted sets are only available directly from retailers. renegadegamestudios.com. The standard edition is available from the Renegade Retailer Webstore and through distribution. Pre-order today!
Two new terrain expansions will also be available in February: Snow Fields of Valhalla and Swamps of Valhalla. The Snow Fields of Valhalla Terrain Expansion contains more than 120 hexes and two snow-covered evergreen trees. The snow and ice terrain tiles provide new twists to gameplay when added to the battlefield. Slippery ice and heavy snow add enhancement to replayability
and fun for players.
The Swamps of Valhalla also adds rules to gameplay when placed on the battlefield. Swamp water doesn’t end your movement and the underbrush can shield you and aid in your defense against ranged attacks! This set contains more than 120 hexes and two swamp underbrush pieces. Both expansions are fully compatible with all Heroscape master sets and expansions. Pre-order now!
Renegade also continues to support and grow the Heroscape Organized Play Program. The Heroscape Battle Network houses resources for players and stores alike. It is the ultimate resource for all things Heroscape Organized Play. Here you can sign up to register your events for players around the world to see, add your store to our Heroscape store finder, purchase OP kits and more. There will be another OP kit coming Spring 2025 with a special promo figure: Thyraxis Dragoon. This kit is there to help support organized play in your store and get players excited. Get involved with Heroscape Organized Play at playheroscape. renegadegamestudios.com.
Knight Primus Adelbern and Ordo Borealis Army Expansion
RGS02760 - $45 MSRP
Sonlen and Halushia, Scion of the Wild Army Expansion
RGS02763 - $45 MSRP
Heroscape: The Swamps of Valhalla Terrain Expansion
RGS02758 - $60 MSRP
The Snow Fields of Valhalla Terrain Expansion
RGS02759 - $60 MSRP
Hellforge Mandukor Army Expansion
RGS02765 - $25 MSRP
The City Hungers
by Valerie Osbourn, Director of Internal Resources, Magpie Games
Magpie Games is excited to announce the upcoming release of Urban Shadows! After raising nearly $400,000 from thousands of excited backers, this bold new edition of Magpie Games’ award-winning tabletop roleplaying game comes to retail stores in March 2025!
Urban Shadows is a political urban fantasy tabletop roleplaying game in which mortals and supernaturals alike vie for power in a modern-day city. Vampires, faeries, hunters, wizards and more clash in the shadows … or make backroom deals for their piece of the streets and skyscrapers. As the city hums and throbs with political unrest and magical
safe … and everything is always at stake.
Urban Shadows is based on the Powered by the Apocalypse system used by tabletop RPGs like Monster of the Week, Dungeon World and many of Magpie Games’ own titles like Root: The Roleplaying Game. The game uses the core framework of that system to provide a strong, simple way to create stories of political urban fantasy that features unique mechanics for city politics, fae magic and more. Players create a character using one of several archetypes, and then take action as the politics of the city’s circles – Mortalis, Night, Power and Wild – swirl around them, rolling two six-sided dice to resolve the outcomes of dangerous and difficult situations.
world: werewolves struggling to hold their territory, oracles desperate to avoid a looming future, demons scheming for a better tomorrow and more. While the mortal world remains ignorant of the struggles of the city’s supernatural denizens, these characters are caught in the middle of the conflicts and drama of the city’s past, present and future, seeking the power – political and magical – to protect those they love and fight for what they want.
The characters players create are protagonists who are attuned to the supernatural
But power has a cost. Urban Shadows features a dynamic corruption mechanic that tracks each character’s descent into darkness. When a player takes an innocent life, gives in to their monstrous nature or crosses a line they shouldn’t cross to get what they want, they mark corruption. As each character grows more corrupt, they unlock new and potent powers, allowing them to easily get what they want – at the cost of further corruption. Eventually, they must make a choice: will they fall to the darkness or find some way to save their soul in a city that offers nothing but temptation?
In addition to the core book, Magpie Games is also releasing an Urban Shadows GM screen with stunning full color art and useful reference tables to make running the game easy, as well as a dice set featuring 10 six-sided dice emblazoned with the sigils of the different circles. Both will be available in retail stores at the same time as the Urban Shadows core book.
The city hungers. Will you sate its gnawing desires? Or will your enemies make you the feast?
The Cat’s Meow set from King of Crits includes 11 dice with feline motifs and a ceramic poker chip to collect. Browse our catalog of exclusive themed dice and stay tuned for new releases.
sales@dnddicewholesale.com
Deliverance: Council of the Fallen from Next Level Web is the first expansion to the highest-rated religious game on BoardGameGeek. Can you safeguard the saints of Fallbrook and hold off the encroaching darkness?
Learn more at PlayDeliverance.com/CotF
The Curseborne RPG from Onyx Path Publishing will detail a shadowy urban setting of mysteries and legends, romance and betrayal and more. The Curseborne: Ashcan Edition is your introduction to the world of Curseborne. drivethrurpg.com/en/product/484466/ curseborne-ashcan-edition
Christmas Sleeves from Peachstate Hobby Distribution features artwork of mischievous, sugar-craving, troublemaking holiday helpers. The standard size brushed art sleeves, sleek playmat and tube are available just in time for the holidays. #DragonShieldChristmas2024 phdgames.com
In Rebel Princess from Bezier Games, legendary princesses are attending a party when the princes crash the party, proposing marriage. Not today! Reject these unwanted proposals, break hearts and stay single!
danma@pubservinc.com
More New Products on pages 14, 15, 24 and 48
CGE Rebrands with a New Logo and Fresh Games
by Nathan Meunier, North American Marketing, CGE
It’sbeen an exciting time of change for CGE! Earlier this year, we purchased Oriens Karton, the Czech Republicbased board game manufacturing facility that we’ve been working with since our early days. This has opened up a lot of opportunities for us to optimize the way we make our games. It also lets us innovate and experiment more with new production ideas, which is an essential part of our creative process as a company. Additionally, after many years as Czech Games Edition, we’ve also decided to rebrand and simplify our brand to just CGE, with a new logo and a new website coming next year. Beyond that and other fun things to come, we’ve also got two unique new releases this year to put on your radar. So, let’s get to it!
SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence
Explore our solar system to discover traces of life beyond planet Earth in SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence — a new CGE eurogame for one to four players, inspired by existing or emerging technologies and efforts in space exploration. Designed by amateur astronomer Tomáš Holek, SETI pays homage to planetary exploration, astronomy, the ongoing search for signs of life in the vastness of space and efforts to understand the nature of life in the universe.
In SETI, players lead scientific institutions tasked with exploring and
researching the galaxy in search of signs of life beyond our own planet. Finding extraterrestrial life is inevitable, with each discovery having a unique impact on the gameplay. You’ll need to carefully manage your resources across five rounds, as you work to make the biggest scientific contributions (and score the most victory points) to win.
There’s been a lot of buzz surrounding SETI as we head into its European launch at Essen Spiel, and we expect it’ll be a hot seller when it lands in the U.S. this holiday season.
Set to release Q4 2024. For more information, visit cge.as/sebgg.
Little Alchemists
Little Alchemists is a family-friendly potion making and deduction game for two to four players that’s based on the original Alchemists game released in 2014. It offers a streamlined standalone version of that experience, playing out across seven unlockable chapters that each add new components and mechanics into the mix. It’s the first CGE game designed specifically for children and their families, and we wanted to craft an experience that grows in depth and challenge alongside the age and skill level of players.
In the game, players are competing to make and sell potions — it’s like running a lemonade stand, only the lemonade is magic. The first chapter starts with simple concepts and mechanics — you’ll start by gathering and combining ingredients
for brewing potions to sell to adventurers that popup. Potion craft is handled by scanning combinations of ingredients with the companion app, which reveals the results for you to mark down on your potion crafting pyramid.
As you collect keys by achieving your potion-making goals, however, you’ll unlock new chapters that gradually add more components, mechanics and complexity to the experience. This expands the types of potions you can craft, weaves in special goals and abilities, increases the deduction challenges and incorporates other surprises into the gameplay.
Little Alchemists isn’t just a kids game, of course. By mid to later chapters, the game expands into a robust mediumweight deduction game with euro elements that even adult gamers will find challenging.
Little Alchemists is available now. To learn more, visit cge.as/labgg.
Snatch It
Experience the joyful weirdness of catching juicy flies for your froggies in this quick, quirky and highly interactive party game for three to six players. Grab up bugs from the pond as fast as you can, then try to gobble them up before others snatch your food away.
Please note, this is a game we are distributing in the U.S. on behalf of our German partners HeidelBÄR Games. It is not a CGE release. For more information, visit czechgames.markettime.com.
by Andrea Fanhoni, PR & Communication, Ares Games
Atruetitan of the board games is back on the market. Mega Empires, the new version of the legendary Mega Civilization board game, is coming soon to retail stores worldwide. Mega Empires covers the development of ancient civilizations – over 8,000 years of history – offering a rich and immersive historical gameplay experience. Players expand their dominions, cultivate culture and technology, engage in conflicts and trade, apply diplomacy and face calamities. Trade is a central mechanic, with players exchanging commodities while avoiding calamities such as natural disasters, invasions and internal strife.
Mega Empires traces its roots back to Mega Civilization, a game designed by Flo de Haan, Gerart de Haan and John Rodriguez as a tribute to Francis Tresham’s classic Civilization. Released in 2015 in a limited edition, Mega Civilization became a legend in the board gaming world, with its massive wooden chest, 11 kilos of weight and an unprecedented depth and complexity, appealing to hardcore strategy fans who relished the idea of dedicating an entire day to a single session. Aiming to broaden
The Biggest Board Game of the World is Back
the game’s appeal and to make it more accessible to smaller groups and varied player counts, the designers decided to revisit the concept in 2019, developing Western Empires and Eastern Empires, two comparatively smaller stand-alone games that could be combined to recreate the full Mega Civilization experience but that were never released to the North American market.
Now these two games are back with revised rulebooks, added content and a unified brand name. The result of this 10-year long journey is a rejuvenated product line, Mega Empires, developed by Colossus Games and published by Ares Games, builds on the success of a great classic. Without sacrificing the charm and depth of its predecessors, Mega Empires adds flexibility to the player counts (three to 18 players are now possible), to the game length (from shorter three-hour scenarios to legendary day-long sessions) and appeals to a broader audience of strategy and history enthusiasts, thanks to a wider distribution worldwide.
At the core of this new line of civ-building games you find two standalone games, compatible with each other – Mega Empires: The West and Mega Empires: The East. In Mega Empires: The West, five to nine players lead civilizations
from the Atlantic Ocean to the Middle East. In Mega Empires: The East, three to nine players develop their civilizations from the Middle East to India. When the two games are joined together, they become a grand-scale strategy experience with an impressive map stretching more than 2 meters, spanning from the Atlantic to current-day Bangladesh, featuring 18 legendary civilizations such as the Romans, Egyptians and Babylonians.
The Mega Empires line also includes accessories and expansions: a Special Buildings expansion, adding an iconic monument to each civilization; two large neoprene Deluxe Game Mats, enhancing the game experience; beautiful, largesize identifier cards for each civilization; and a product aimed to existing Mega Civilization or Western Empires players, the Upgrade and 3-4 Players Pack, which includes the improved components of the new edition. More stand-alone games are also in development and are due for release in the near future.
Find out more about Mega Empires on the dedicated website mega-empires.com. For commercial information, contact Ares Games at sales@aresgames.eu.
Best Sellers for Gift Buyers
by Ian Birdsall, Marketing Manager, Floodgate Games
If you’ve been around the board game hobby for the better part of the past decade, you’ve probably (hopefully) heard of Sagrada, a game of dice drafting and window crafting. This ambitious spatial puzzle board game includes double-layered player boards and 90 colorful, translucent dice to simulate the crafting of stained-glass windows for the Sagrada Familia cathedral.
Sagrada continues to be a perennial bestseller years after its initial release. It has been translated and printed in dozens of languages. The game has seen four expansions that add more players, dice, challenges and ways to enjoy the dice drafting and placement that Sagrada excels at.
Sagrada’s gameplay is full of tense decision-making each turn until your final die is placed. If you’ve played, you know the satisfying feeling of planning out your dice placement to achieve an objective or
the thrill of realizing how to best use the tools at your disposal to fit a drafted die into just the right spot! The fulfilling gameplay of watching your stained-glass window come together hits just the right space to be enjoyable for gamers of all stripes and ages. Sagrada combines elements of visual beauty, accessibility, strategic gameplay, replayability and creativity, making it an excellent choice as a holiday gift for your retail customers this year.
If you have Sagrada on your shelves, you’re already aware of it as an evergreen title to keep in stock, especially for the holiday shopping season. We often hear from our community that Sagrada is the game they use to introduce new people to the hobby. To many, Sagrada is their favorite board game – a game that they enthusiastically share with others. It’s a game that is approachable to new players and still maintains a satisfying level of complexity and challenge to keep the most hardcore gamer engaged. Add to this
the variability of content included in the expansions, and you’ve got a series of highly giftable items for both new Sagrada players and longtime fans.
The most popular of the four expansions to Sagrada continues to be the 5 & 6 Player Expansion. While this expansion adds components for a fifth and sixth player to join the fun of game night, we’ve found that this isn’t the main reason people acquire this expansion. Included in the 5 & 6 Player Expansion are new private and public objectives, new window patterns, and, of course, the very popular private drafting pool module; these can be enjoyed at all player counts!
The Great Facades series of expansions includes three titles, each with their own sets of modular expansions. Passion, the first in the series, expands players’ options with the rare glass modules and the highly acclaimed Inspiration cards. Life introduces new scoring opportunities with the masterwork dice for players to challenge themselves and be rewarded for succeeding. The final of this set is also the most popular and highest-rated (just barely) of the three. Glory leans into the competitive aspects of Sagrada with new objectives that reward the player that achieved them first or fulfilled their requirements best with more points than the other players!
Sagrada and its many expansions will continue to be titles that gift-buying gamers will be looking for. Order your restock of these titles today from your distributor. To learn more, visit us at floodgate.games.
Bring the whole family together this holiday season!
Sagrada , with its family of expansions, is a welcome addition to any gathering - and a great gift for the holidays!
Adventure:
The perfect gift this holiday season!
Didyou know that dragons celebrate Christmas just like … well, almost like humans? Despite their reputation for greed, gift giving is central to dragon social life. In fact, many of the lessons their Christmas gift giving teach transfers easily to human players. Therefore, we’d like to share some of those lessons with you, dear shopkeeper. Dragons are known for their treasure hoards, so, much like human players, their basic needs are more than met. While yet another bejeweled crown is always appreciated, a truly great gift needs a bit more flair. And there’s one thing that adds flair above all else: the gift of adventure! This, dear shopkeeper, is where you come into the picture. There may already be a dragon’s hoard of adventure in your store, just waiting for curious players (or dragons) to find the perfect gift for their geeky loved ones in it.
A player looking for a gift may not see this potential by themselves, but gentle nudge from a skilled shopkeeper is often enough to open their eyes. Take care to
by Ian Nielsen, Content Specialist, Dragon Shield
show the holiday shoppers the opportunities already waiting for them among the treasures in your store. Especially gear with a slightly higher price point can become truly stellar gifts.
Take for example the Game Master Companion or Player Companion –essential gear for any RPG fan delving into dungeons with their friends to challenge fearsome dragons. Gear of this level, which is of excellent craftsmanship and tailor made to fit the exact needs of players and game masters alike, is the perfect gift idea for those who want to add more adventure to the lives of their loved ones.
What about those shopping for gifts for players who don’t delve into RPG dungeons, but instead meet their foes on a battlefield made of cards? Don’t worry, there are plenty of treasures that make excellent gifts for TCG players. It could be special sleeves for a treasured deck, such as our 25th Anniversary Sleeves, with a unique and striking aesthetic or the Special Edition Red/ Gold Matte Dual sleeves.
Exciting sleeves are not the only gift opportunities for TCG players. The Fortress Card Drawers and the Sanctuary Slipcase Binders let players feel secure that their treasured collection is well-organized and safe, while they are out having adventures on the battlefield. The luxury of card protection and organization worthy of dragons is a great gift, that provides a true quality of life upgrade for something very near to players’ hearts: their collections.
Hopefully, you found these lessons from dragon Christmas helpful. While there may be slightly more screaming and burned villages in a traditional dragon Christmas than in a human one, they are much the same where it counts: the drive to find the perfect gift for friends and family.
And should you need some extra gear for your hoard of adventure goodies, that are just waiting to become someone’s favorite gift, your friends at PHD Distribution are here to help with your order.
HOLIDAY Reflections and Bright New Horizons
by Bill DeVoe, Lead Game Designer, Nimue Innovation Studios
As the year draws to a close and the holidays approach, Nimue Innovation Studios is reflecting on an exciting and transformative year. We had an amazing time at GenCon in Indianapolis, especially enjoying our time at Cardhalla and running several “Learn
to Play” sessions for Round Table. Seeing new players engage with and enjoy the game was a rewarding experience that energized our team.
Our journey since launching our Kickstarter last year has been one of learning and growth. GAMA Expo gave us invaluable insights, and conversations at Origins and GenCon further cemented the need to refine our original plans. The result? A rapidly evolving approach that’s shaped our upcoming offerings for Round Table.
For retailers, we’re excited to announce that our Round
Table Starter Sets – featuring two Starter Decks, four Treasure (booster) Packs and a premium metal turn-keeper – will be available in November. These sets provide an all-in-one package for new players, making it easier than ever to introduce Round Table to your customers, just in time for the holidays.
In addition, we’re on track to finish development on our highly anticipated solo and cooperative grand quests before the year’s end. These new game modes will expand the Round Table experience, allowing players to face challenging quests on their own or with friends.
Looking ahead, we’re also excited to share that our first expansion, The Fae, is in development! This expansion will introduce magic and the mystical fae realms, shaking up the established rules of the game in fun and unexpected ways. New regions and sites for both casual and tournament play will be featured, including iconic locations like Lindisfarne and Stonehenge. As the holidays approach, all of us at Nimue Innovation Studios wish you a joyful season filled with love, laughter and gaming adventures. May 2025 be filled with epic adventures! Stay tuned for more exciting updates, and happy holidays from our team to yours!
In Vegas Showdown from Renegade Game Studios, players are multimillionaires working to build a luxury hotel and casino. This is the same great game fans love with updated art, graphic design and components.
In Maki Master from KTBG, you work to complete rolls, makis and specialty sushi creations. Space in the kitchen is limited, so beat out the other chefs and prove you’re a true Maki Master. kidstablebg.com
The Car Wars Orange/Purple
Two-Player Starter Set from Steve Jackson Games has everything players need. Includes two pre-assembled, unpainted minis; a sample build guide; 50 customization cards for each player and more!
warehouse23.com
The Red Gold Matte Dual from Arcane Tinmen has a metallic redish sleeve back and gold inside. This is part of Arcane Tinmen’s 25th anniversary celebratory range of special edition products. gtsdistribution.com/pc_ combined_results.asp?search_ keyword=15065
Adventure Journals from Old School Dice and Accessories are a must-have for your everyday journaling and the adventurers! Available in five beautiful colors and two different sizes. Pricing starts at $44.99 MSRP. oldschooldice.com/accessories/ adventure-journals-new
CURSEBORNE
by Eddy Webb, In-House Developer, Onyx Path Publishing
There’s a story about a woman who died and came back again. She woke up to find police all around her. She couldn’t tell them that she wasn’t dead, because she knew by lack of breath and still heart that this wasn’t true. She waited until she was in the back of the ambulance, all zipped into her black bag, and slipped away while no one was watching.
The police wrote it off, the emergency responders made a joke missing person poster and her family grieved. Within a week, everyone forgot about her. She did not forget about them. She was a monster now –a dead thing trapped in her own body. And for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out what she had done to deserve this fate.
Curseborne, coming to Kickstarter in October 2024, is a game about being unapologetic monsters in a world where being monstrous is the least of your worries. In Curseborne, you play as Accursed, descendants of monstrous lineages lurking in a modern world that closely resembles
our own. You rebel against the ancient feuds between these entwined families, as well as against the web of curses that bind you, while fending off inhuman antagonists seeking to claim – or reclaim – your power.
The world of Curseborne is full of intrigue, magic and things that go bump in the night. It’s just like our world, except the reason that things don’t go your way or that bad things happen is that the people are literally living in a world of curses. When you trip, fall and skin your knee, it’s because you’re affected by a curse that can’t help but put you in bad situations. When you wreck your new car, it’s because the curse doesn’t care about your feelings or how good things were going for you. Everyone is affected, and curses take no prisoners.
Some people are cursed more than others, and these are our Accursed characters. They have a particularly large curse that hangs over their heads and makes them more prone to bad things happening to them and around them. The nature of this curse also makes them magical in nature. They have a sense of the thing holding them back, and they can manipulate it in ways
that normal people cannot.
Onyx Path Publishing is crowdfunding the stand-alone core rulebook for Curseborne. This is the first book in a game line that will have multiple source books, fiction, dice, accessories, adventures and much more. Curseborne will contain:
• Everything you need to run and play the game, set in a modern world with contemporary problems and ancient terrors.
• More than 30 different playable character options separated into five monster lineages, with options for playing in single- or mixed-lineage groups.
• Guidance on how to evoke urban horror genres, such as creepypasta, paranormal romance, found footage and urban legends.
• Horror-themed powers as well as modern magic.
• Rules for using Storypath Ultra, Onyx Path’s acclaimed new d10 dice pool system.
Visit curseborne.com or theonyxpath. com for more information!
CURSEBORNE is the much-anticipated return to HORROR ROLEPLAYING GAMES from ONYX PATH PUBLISHING.
CURSEBORNE is a stand-alone core rulebook detailing a shadowy urban setting of MYSTERIES and LEGENDS, ROMANCE and BETRAYAL, AND MORE.
This standalone core rulebook is the start of an exciting new game line in which players can explore a whole world of curses and the horror they cause.
Avastinterconnected network lies just below the surface of the fields and forests of the world. Miniature kingdoms expand to cover more and more territory, but space is limited and only careful planning and decisive action will ensure the future of your mushroom empire. Mycelia are the hidden root systems of fungi. Their threadlike filaments expand into soil, wood and plants to collect water and nutrients. It’s up to you to plot their growth and choose the right mushrooms to fruit to ensure the future of your fungi family.
In Mycelia by J.J. Neville, you control the fate of your growing territory. Over the course of the game, you expand the area of the board you control while experiencing the life cycle of many different varieties of mushrooms like the jubilee waxcap and scarlet elfcup.
To expand your territory, you spread your spores, looking for rich terrain to germinate and grow in. You have to be careful, as keeping your network together can be difficult and the wind can play an unpredictable role in where your spores end up. When you have the requirements, you can grow diverse and beautiful mushrooms from all over the world. Different varieties come with their own cost, value and powers. Eventually, every mushroom goes into decay. It’s a part of the ongoing cycle, but it doesn’t mean the end of their contribution to your
Mycelia Building a Mushroom Empire
by Sean Jacquemain, Communications Director, KTBG
empire. Decaying mushrooms still have a critical role to play, as they provide instant or ongoing effects.
Mycelia is a game with a rich theme that ties in to the mechanisms. J.J. Neville is a mycologist at heart, spending time researching dozens of different fungi species. Neville designed the gameplay and provided all the incredible illustrations for the game as well. The rulebook even includes a section of fun fungi facts where you can learn that the death cap is responsible for 90 percent of all mushroom-related deaths and that the honey fungus can live for more than 100 years!
The board where you’ll grow and expand your network of filaments starts small, constructed with triangular terrain tiles, but it will grow over the course of the game, providing more opportunities. Each time you play, the board will develop differently, requiring new approaches and strategies.
Mycelia is a simple game with lots of fun decisions to make and a high replay value. You will be able to pick up the rules quickly and you’ll be sporing, fruiting and decaying in no time. Look for this game of fungal superiority in your FLGS now.
by Sarah McGrath, Distributor and Retail
Relations Lead, Flying Frog Productions
Ithas been more than 15 years since the release of A Touch of Evil: The Supernatural Game, the classic colonial gothic horror game. Some may already be familiar with the game’s setting: the small, secluded village of Shadowbrook during the dawn of the 19th century, a time where science and superstition were on equal footing. Now, to celebrate the recent release of the Revised Edition, let’s take a closer look at this cursed town and its inhabitants, ever on the brink of falling into darkness at the hands of evil creatures and supernatural horrors.
feeling daring, perhaps they will enter the dangerous olde woods in search of powerful weapons and Magik, or rifle through the abandoned keep where shady characters meet to conduct secret deals.
While players explore the village and surrounding areas, they will also want to investigate the residents of Shadowbrook itself – most importantly, the town elders. These individuals are pillars of the community, long-standing leaders that are respected and sometimes feared for their sway over the people. When a hero is ready to face the villain, they can take up
to two town elders with them to form a hunting party – but how will they know which ones to trust?
When players begin the game, they all start in the center of Shadowbrook at the town hall. From there, they’ll begin to explore the mysterious town and surrounding countryside in order to gain items, allies, event cards and investigation markers to build up their character. Ultimately, they must hunt down and defeat a dark and powerful villain – such as the vampire or the spectral horseman – in a showdown. Will your hero choose to explore the manor of Lord and Lady Hanbrook, a location filled with knowledge but also with restless spirits? Or perhaps the windmill, where a crafty mind may turn up more clues? If your hero is
One of the actions that a hero may perform during their turn is to pay investigation to peek at the secrets of a town elder. These secrets range from a little secret that is inconsequential to your investigation (but makes for excellent gossip) to something far more sinister, perhaps even that the town elder has been in league with the villain all along! Should it be the latter, the town elder card will be flipped to their “evil elder” side and they will join the villain against the heroes, complete with a new title and villainous portrait. As part of this revised edition, each evil elder now has a bonus ability they grant to the villain, making it even more imperative for players to know where each elder’s loyalties lie. Whether it’s your first time playing A Touch of Evil: The Supernatural Game or your 100th, Shadowbrook will be there to welcome you to hold back the darkness again and again. But as always, be careful … no one is safe from the creatures of the night and no one can be trusted – for inside everyone lies a touch of evil.
Daniel Kerry: Dungeon Crawler
As demand for immersive RPG experiences grows, retailers can attract customers by offering quality 3D terrain. With options ranging from simple maps to handcrafted pieces, it’s crucial to find the right solution and Tenfold Dungeon stands out amongst the field, balancing affordability, durability, and convenience to create a compelling retail offering.
Retailers have a variety of tabletop terrain options to choose from, each with distinct pros and cons.
2D maps and mats are affordable and portable, yet lack the immersion of 3D options. While 3D-printed terrain offers customization and detail, it can be costly and time-consuming to produce. Handcrafted pieces are visually impressive, yet fragile, expensive, and hard to scale for retail. Amid these options, Tenfold Dungeon provides a unique balance of quality, portability, and affordability, making it an ideal choice.
Tenfold Dungeon: Meeting Retailer & Consumer Needs
Tenfold Dungeon is the ideal terrain solution for retailers, combining high quality with a design that’s easy to stock and sell, with its lightweight construction making it simple to display in-store and easy for customers to transport.
Crafted from durable cardboard, Tenfold Dungeon withstands heavy use, maintaining its vibrant artwork and visual appeal over time. Unlike custom or 3D-printed terrain, it’s ready to use right out of the box, providing a seamless, convenient setup for gamers of all experience levels as they Unbox. Clip. Play.
The modular design allows players to create diverse layouts quickly, adding flexibility for game stores that run regular RPG events or demo sessions. Tenfold Dungeon is also cost-effective, offering an affordable alternative to high-end terrain without compromising on quality. Its compact storage design means players get a full table of terrain but that can fit in your retail space - making it easy to keep in stock and manage inventory.
In every way, Tenfold Dungeon meets both retailer and customer needs perfectly.
Stocking Tenfold Dungeon allows retailers to tap into the growing demand for immersive RPG experiences while creating opportunities for increased customer engagement and sales. With its eye-catching design, Tenfold Dungeon is perfect for in-store displays that capture attention, drawing them towards dedicated RPG sections. This 3D out-the-box terrain can enhance in-store game nights and demo events, with boxes able to be combined to create even more interesting campaigns, showcasing the product’s quality and encouraging customers to stay longer, browse other RPG items, and make additional purchases.
Tenfold Dungeon also presents excellent cross-selling opportunities as customers who purchase 3D terrain are often interested in upgrading their overall gaming experience, making them likely buyers of items such as miniatures and dice. Ultimately, Tenfold Dungeon supports retailers in delivering a complete RPG experience, strengthening customer loyalty, and driving sales across a range of gaming products.
In Conclusion
With Tenfold Dungeon, retailers gain a versatile, highquality product that meets the needs of today’s RPG players. Its affordability, ease of use, and immersive design make it an ideal addition to any store. Stocking Tenfold Dungeon helps retailers attract RPG fans, drive sales, and boost customer satisfaction.
Heroes
To Digitize or Not to Digitize?
Twenty years ago, board game publishers were hesitant to create digital versions of their games. It was thought that the heavy investment into creating a digital version of a board game would only serve to drive sales away from the analog version. Why would someone buy an analog version of a board game when they could get the digital version for almost free?
They were all wrong.
Studies and COVID have shown that consumers who play digital versions of board games are more likely to buy the analog version of the game. There are countless explanations for this.
Here’s mine: People want their heroes to succeed.
It doesn’t matter if your hero’s a savvy lawyer on a TV show, an entire sports team, the Justice League, a highly intelligent cannibal who loves chianti, a blonde musician living in Tennessee or even, yes even, a board game. We all want our heroes to succeed.
Trial by fire
The card game Silver has been an unsung hero for Bézier Games. First released in 2019, Silver’s initial release was perfectly timed to coincide with the largest world event in the 21st century. In Silver, the villagers from the Ultimate Werewolf universe once again found their villages infested by werewolves. Your job? Through clever card play and leveraging the powerful abilities of your rogue’s gallery of
by Jay Bernardo, Marketing Manager, Bézier Games
villagers, you may eliminate the werewolf horde.
Silver’s clever and approachable cardplay resonated with gamers around the globe, but it was Silver’s unique deck customization that had gamers howling for more. Why play each expansion separately when you could create your own Silver deck using cards from any of the expansions for a truly unique experience. How unique?
There are roughly 4,069,338,437,094 possible Silver decks.
Storing and combining seven decks of cards (as well as seven silver artifacts) isn’t easy. Our recent Kickstarter campaign for the Silver Collector’s Edition included a box to store everything, but it wasn’t enough. We wanted to give Silver one final gift: digitization.
A hero reborn
Now, we did release a Silver app a while back, but we did a complete overhaul. This new version is as far beyond its predecessor as werewolves are beyond saving. (Trust me.)
Your new Silver app now includes:
• Improved intuitive UI/UX design
• New art and animations
• Faster gameplay and loading times
• Thematic background music
• One-, two-, three- or four-player games
• Multiplayer online functionality
• Play against any combination of AI opponents and online adversaries
• Gameplay statistics
• Deck customization
• The ability to both save and name your decks
• The ability to play your decks with others online
The one-two combo of the multiplayer online play and deck customization has knocked our socks off her in the office. We shared the news with our Kickstarter backers who are now howling for the release. We honestly cannot stop playing Silver in the office and it has butchered our workflow. We blame our Dev Team for being incredibly skilled and driven. (They’ve even promised to replace all our missing socks.) We have already finished development on both Silver (Amulet) and Silver Bullet. Silver Coin is in the final stages of development with Silver Dagger, Silver Eye, and Silver Fang on the way.
While we will still offer the original app in the both Google and iOS app stores, our focus will be on this new Silver app, which you can download for free. The smooth, fast, approachable gameplay of the new Silver app is sure to thrill and delight old fans, but we’re preparing for more fans to emerge from the app’s release. Make no mistake. We’re a game publisher and a business, but we’re also gamers rooting for our hero.
Avatar the Last Airbender Aang’s Destiny Designer Diary
by Pat Marino, The Op Games
Inthe past seven years at The Op, I’ve developed games for various popular franchises like Harry Potter, Star Wars, SpongeBob, Die Hard, Batman and more. Transforming these beloved fan experiences into interactive games that stay true to the originals while offering something fresh poses a unique challenge. Working on Avatar the Last Airbender: Aang’s Destiny was especially thrilling for me as a dedicated fan of the series.
My journey into the world of Avatar began years ago through a friend, leading to multiple viewings of both the original series and The Legend of Korra. The characters’ depth and growth throughout the series never fail to impress me. As a longtime fan, I aimed to incorporate as many characters and storylines into the game as possible, catering to both casual viewers and die-hard fans with subtle references.
I envisioned a cooperative game, Aang’s Destiny, that allows fans to experience the entire series together. Unlike my previous Avatar game, which focused on specific events, I aimed for a broader and deeper exploration of the content this time. The deckbuilding system used at The Op provided the perfect framework for this vision, following the successful models of
Harry Potter Hogwarts Battle and Toy Story Obstacles and Adventures.
Designing the game presented challenges like determining playable characters and incorporating bending abilities. I navigated these hurdles by incorporating feedback from testers and fans to create a game that appealed to both new gamers and seasoned hobbyists. The need to balance difficulty levels across the seven content boxes also proved to be a key consideration, ensuring a challenging yet enjoyable experience for players of all skill levels.
Drawing upon insights from previous game versions, I strived to retain the essence of what fans loved while introducing new systems to enhance gameplay experiences. By addressing thematic changes and refining gameplay mechanics, I aimed to deliver a unique experience that stays true to the spirit of the beloved series.
Overall, the process of developing “Aang’s Destiny” has been a rewarding journey, combining my passion for one of my favorite IPs with the intricacies of the deckbuilding system. I hope that fans of Avatar the Last Airbender will find joy in rediscovering the world of Avatar through this immersive tabletop experience.
New Healthcare Services Information Available
GAMA is pleased to partner with LIG Solutions to offer affordable and comprehensive health insurance and pharmacy solutions designed exclusively for individuals, families and business owners along with their employees. Coverage is available across the United States as an exclusive member benefit with GAMA.
The new program was discussed in a webinar on September 17, which was recorded and is available on GAMA healthcare program page along with more information about this new initiative.
To watch the seminar and learn more about the program, visit ligmembers.com/gama
GAMA Launches Book Club
GAMA recently launched a new member networking and education program, GAMA Book Club. Led by member Andrea Robertson, with Rain City Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, the group will meet biweekly to review and discuss a selected business book.
The kickoff book will be Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller. This NY Times Bestseller book teaches marketers and business owners how to stories framework to improve how they connect with customers and grow their businesses. We anticipate covering a new book each quarter.
For more details on Book Club, contact David Ableson, GAMA’s education manager, at david.abelson@gama.org.
Meet New Retail Director
Jamie Mathy
At the October 17 Board of Directors meeting, it was announced that Jamie Mathy, owner of Red Racoon Games in Bloomington, IL, was selected by the Retail Voting Membership Groups officers to represent them on the board. His selection was the result of a recent vacancy created by the resignation of former director Rhonda Becker.
Mathy is an entrepreneur located in Central Illinois. His focus is on businesses that spotlight employee culture and satisfaction – happy employees will deliver incredible service to customers. He purchased his game store in 2014 after having run several other businesses prior. Mathy was elected to the Retail Voting Membership Group officers earlier this year and looks forward to continuing his service to GAMA in this new role.
Mathy also firmly believes in giving back to the community. He serves on the board of numerous nonprofits, works with the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council on a technology advisory committee, has served on the Bloomington City Council and continues to volunteer countless hours for agencies all over the area.
"My goal in life is to leave the world a better place than I found it," Mathy said.
Advocacy Update – U.S. Port Workers Strike Suspended
GAMA was pleased that the port workers’ strike on Eastern and Gulf Coast ports was brief as the members of the International Longshoreman’s Association (ILA) agreed to suspend their work stoppage until January 15 to continue negotiations on a new contract with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX). At the time of this report, the two sides have agreed on a tentative wage increase and were still in talks about several other key points such as automation at the ports and some benefit distributions.
GAMA, as part of a coalition of more than 200 trade associations including the National Retail Federation and the Toy Association, sent a letter to President Biden urging his administration to work with the ILA and the USMX to help them return to the bargaining table and restart stalled negotiations.
We have also reached out to key legislative leaders on behalf of our member requesting that they address this important issue. We issued an advocacy alert to our members, urging them to contact their elected federal officials asked them to step in to avoid a strike.
We will continue to monitor this important issue for our members and alert you of developments as they occur. The best way to stay up to date on their announcements is to sign up for email alerts from GAMA or to be subscribe to our members only Facebook group.
You can contact Grace Wilson at grace.wilson@gama.org to be added to either the email list or Facebook group.
Crowdfunding
by Andrew Lowen, President, Lowen Games
NERDS
Ifyou want to excel in crowdfunding, you need to practice the fundamentals! Learn our top four essential fundamental truths and some “more than common-sense” wisdom if you’re looking to get the most out of your crowdfunding campaign!
Fundamental #1 – You need a crowd to crowdfund
We have found that the key to any crowdfunding project’s success has everything to do with the strength and execution of a pre-marketing plan.
The harsh reality is that you need a crowd to crowdfund. Everette Taylor, CEO of Kickstarter, echoes this: “You have to cultivate an audience around your product, your company, your service; even if it’s just your friends, your family, your 30 cousins, like whoever it is … you have to cultivate your own audience and have them ready to go and ready to support at the beginning.”
This is why you need to develop a system that builds a captive audience around your game before you launch it, and why we at Crowdfunding Nerds put so much emphasis on pre-marketing and email acquisition. The quickest way to fail is to launch without a crowd.
Fundamental #2 – Communicate with your crowd before launch
If the quickest way to fail is launching without a crowd, the next is launching without a crowd that is prepared and excited for your launch! Many game developers are afraid of spamming their fans, but if you built your email list honestly, it should be filled with prospects that asked to receive correspondence from you. You are simply
addressing the needs of your fans.
For this reason, the quality of your email list is more important than the quantity. You want to see people engaging with your content before launching it. Also, do not be afraid to lose subscribers when sending emails – people opting out is a natural part of the process!
Fundamental #3 – Develop a community space for fans
Create a digital community around your game so fans can interact with you and each other! Eventually, dedicated fans will start engaging with each other and answering questions about your game on your behalf!
Our definition of a “community” is a place you can talk to fans, fans can talk to you and fans can interact without you. Common examples of this are Facebook groups, Discord servers, or BoardGameGeek forums.
Fundamental #4 – Understand why gamers back crowdfunding campaigns
Understanding why gamers make pledges will shape your marketing strategy moving forward, and it would be a massive mistake to overlook this. Here are some of the reasons why gamers back crowdfunding campaigns:
• To actively help bring something cool into the world
• To support something that can’t be made without their assistance
• To contribute to the design and development process
• To buy a present for their future self and get an epic gift in the mail
• To receive premium components and greater value than a retail release
• To get the game before anyone else
The experience of crowdfunding is just as much about joining a passionate game developer on their journey as it is about receiving a cool game. If you build a community and instill confidence in your actions, they will follow and support you. Practice your fundamentals!
If you’re searching for a marketing team to build your landing page, run ads for you, set up your marketing system, we love doing those things! Contact us for a free project evaluation and consultation!
CrowdfundingNerds.com/Marketing
Andrew Lowen is the chief nerd at Lowen Games, Next Level Web and Crowdfunding Nerds. He has marketed brands such as Elder Scrolls, Star Trek, Fallout, Conan, Dune, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Mass Effect, Ascension, and more. Andrew is based in New Braunfels, Texas, where he has five lovely daughters, two sons, and the most patient wife of all time. Gaming for the last 39 years has filled his head with stuffing!
BoardRemixing MUNCHKIN
How Collaboration Helped Create Munchkin Shadowrun
by Katie Duffy, Marketing Manager, Steve Jackson Games
games based on established intellectual property have gained popularity in recent years. Whether it’s Jaws, Lord of the Rings or Stardew Valley, tabletop fans are eager to experience nostalgic properties in new ways. But while many of these games take their inspiration from movies, television shows, video games and comic books, Munchkin Shadowrun took a different approach – it based its setting, characters and other gameplay elements on another tabletop staple.
“It’s an absolutely classic background – a high-concept mashup of fantasy and cyberpunk,” said Steve Jackson, owner and founder of Steve Jackson Games. “It’s been on the ‘This would be cool!’ list for a long, long time, and fortunately our friends at Catalyst thought so too.”
Bringing the sixth world to the Munchkin-verse
Shadowrun has been a favorite among tabletop roleplaying fans since its debut in 1989, thanks in part to its intricate lore that combines fantasy and dystopian science fiction. Munchkin also has a dedicated fanbase, and its overall light concept allows for countless iterations that appeal to different genres and characters. This was an asset when adapting Shadowrun – especially since both games are loving satires of a household name.
“Munchkin was designed to make fun of D&D, which, ostensibly, is a big serious fantasy TTRPG,” said Devin Lewis, Munchkin Shadowrun’s lead designer. “So, mapping Shadowrun onto it wasn’t much of an issue.”
While both Shadowrun and Munchkin have common roots in Dungeons & Dragons, Lewis and the rest of the Munchkin team still had to work diligently to make sure that their final creation contained enough Shadowrun references for a faithful parody while remaining accessible to those unfamiliar with some of Shadowrun’s more esoteric references.
funny while respecting the IP.”
Fortunately, Lewis was able to collaborate with Shadowrun developers at Catalyst Game Labs to make sure that his work lined up with their own. He was able to use their expertise to create sharper, Munchkin-style puns – and to get inspiration for a game mechanic unique to Munchkin Shadowrun: the Matrix track. An homage to Shadowrun’s cyberpunk reimagining of the internet, the Matrix track offers players a means of winning the game outside of Munchkin’s normal combat and leveling systems.
“[Adapting the game] was really quite easy and fun,” said Lewis. “The real issue was making the set
“Adding hacking into the game was a big priority for me in this set because it’s such an integral part of the Shadowrun world,” said Lewis. “Making it an alternate win condition really brings up the interest level, and giving players combat bonuses for moving along the track really incentivizes interacting with it, even if you’re not trying to win that way.”
Bringing Munchkin Shadowrun to the masses
Audiences got a sneak peek of Munchkin Shadowrun during GenCon 2024. The game was met with excitement by fans of both games. Lewis was thrilled to see that a separate audience enjoyed the final product as well.
“The deeply wounded groans of IT people playing this set make me very happy,” he said. “It happened in the first public playtest at GenCon, and it was music to my ears.”
Bad tech puns aside, it’s clear that this successful collaboration is destined to become a classic part of the Munchkin canon.
