Steve Jackson's Blog, page 403

November 13, 2014: SJ Games At BGGCon

Boardgames!



We're going to BGGCon from November 19-23, and we hope to see you there! We'll be at Booth 203 at the Hyatt Regency at DFW Airport; come say hi to Randy, Devin, Keith, Alex K., Jimmie, and Scott. Scott will even be doing a playtest of Car Wars (the new, upcoming edition!), so you should totally come and check that out. Here are the dates and times:

Thursday 11/20 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Friday 11/21 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Friday 11/21 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday 11/22 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Sunday 11/23 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.



– Brian Engard



Warehouse 23 News: The Ultimate Munchkin Stocking Stuffer!



For Christmas gift fun this year, we've got that Munchkin in your life covered!



Grab Munchkin Holidazed and get eleven new cards, plus four reprinted cards from the hard-to-find Munchkin Holiday Surprise , as well as a candy-colored Level Counter and six red-and-green festive 14mm dice!



Available from Warehouse 23 !

November 14, 2014: Announcing Star Munchkin Deluxe

Star Munchkin Deluxe



MSRP: $29.95



Releases March 2015



Grab your laser sword. Fight every cyborg and alien you meet. Stab your rivals in the back and steal their stuff. Take the loot and run!



Star Munchkin Deluxe is the Star Munchkin you know and love, but with a board and standees for even better door-kicking action!



– Brian Engard



Warehouse 23 News: Don't Be A Naked Cowboy



Victorian explorers, Wild West adventurers, and other late-19th-century heroes – going unarmed is almost as bad as being nude! With GURPS High-Tech: Adventure Guns , you'll be locked and loaded for action. Download it now, only from Warehouse 23!

November 15, 2014: International Games Day Is Today!

International Games Day is happening today! Check out the map of participating libraries, and then hightail it to your local library to play games like Munchkin , Revolution! , Illuminati , and Castellan .



– Brian Engard



Warehouse 23 News: Get Ahead, With Hydrans!



Whether you're a member of the Hydran Kingdom or fight against them, Star Fleet Battles: Hydran Master Starship Book provides a compiled collection of ships from various sources for Star Fleet Battles . Get it now, from Warehouse 23!

November 12, 2014: The Martians Are Taking Over

At least, if the number of copies of Mars Attacks: The Dice Game we're selling through are any indication. The game just released a little while ago, but they're already on their way to being gone, so you might want to pick up your little Martian before it disappears.



The good news: we're working on a reprint already; the new games should be ready in the spring.



To all of you who helped make Mars Attacks: The Dice Game such a huge success for us: thank you.



– Brian Engard



Warehouse 23 News: The Munchkins Are Invading!



Fireside Games' own Anne-Marie De Witt has designed a crazy, clever, and addictive new game based on designs by Justin De Witt ( Castle Panic ) and Steve Jackson ( Munchkin ) in what is a semi-cooperative game of all-for-one meets all-for-me!



Grab your copy of Munchkin Panic from Warehouse 23 today!

Munchkin Panic is a trademark of Fireside Games, LLC. Munchkin is a registered trademark of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated, used under license by Fireside Games. All rights reserved.

November 11, 2014: Push The Limits Of Your GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Games!

Folks love the old-school flavor of the GURPS Dungeon Fantasy series. But sometimes you want to push the envelope, shake things up, and get crazy. This month's Pyramid is here to help, with Pyramid #3/72: Alternate Dungeons .



This month's centerpiece is an innovative character-creation system from Dungeon Fantasy architect Sean Punch. This supplement-length feature makes it faster than ever to make heroes . . . without character points! Choose from ready-made packages of abilities to design a customized balanced GURPS character in minutes.



Pyramid #3/72 also features suggestions from Matt Riggsby for playing as monsters (complete with several GURPS templates), Phil Masters' look at "planetary romance" and taking a Dungeon Fantasy game to Mars, a guide to playing as a computer-RPG hero, and much more.



GURPS routinely lets you do the impossible, and this month's Pyramid makes that easier than ever. Lay your hands on this groundbreaking breathtaking treasure individually, or subscribe today and get these digital delights delivered for months to come!



– Steven Marsh



Warehouse 23 News: An Affordable Night On The Town



Owning your own decadent town is cheaper than you think, thanks to Urban Dressing: Decadent Town . Roll some dice, and get the sights, locales, and encounters you'd meet in such a place. Decadence is only a download away at Warehouse 23!

November 10, 2014: Reminder: International Games Day

International Games Day is this weekend! Don't remember what that is? Check out the DI where we explain it!



Go to your local library to play games like Munchkin , Revolution! , Illuminati , and Castellan .



Check out the map of participating libraries to see if there's a library near you running events on IGD.



-- Brian Engard



Warehouse 23 News: An Evil Sewer? Makes Scents!



Explore a dangerous locale that's beneath your feet, with Alternate Dungeons: Infested Sewer . This download from Warehouse 23 will make your players flush with excitement!

November 9, 2014: Eclectic Games Wins Prestigious Award!

Our friends over at Eclectic Games in the UK took home some awards from the Reading Retail Awards. I'll let them tell you all about it in their words.



From the Press Release



Independent specialist boardgame retailer Eclectic Games received the prestigious title of 'Retailer of the year 2014' at the Reading Retail Awards ceremony on Saturday 13th September. The annual awards aim to 'Reward Outstanding Retailing in the borough of Reading' and include both customer and business nominated categories. The coveted 'Retailer of the Year' category cannot be directly entered - the winner is selected by the independent judges from within the categories announced at the awards ceremony.



Eclectic Games was nominated in three categories this year, and was shortlisted for the second year running for the customer-nominated 'Shop I can't live without' category and also for the 'Independent Retailer of the Year'. Bobby Lonergan, Business Improvement District Manager for Reading UK CIC, and member of the judging panel said "The sheer quality of the customer testimonials in the nominations we received for Eclectic Games in the 'Shop I can't live without' category were a deciding factor in our choice to award them Retailer of the Year 2014"



The Eclectic Games team of owners Becky and Darrell Ottery, assistant manager Nahum Evans, and all their staff join the select company of previous winners, including the Reading branches of national institutions John Lewis and Marks and Spencer and beloved long-term town fixtures such as The Smelly Alley Fish Company.



Darrell and Becky had this to say about their award - "We're amazed and delighted at the recognition this represents, that an independent and external body can see the same thing in our business that our customers do. To be seen to be on the same level as respected, national retailers like John Lewis is fantastic for a small, family business. It confirms what we've known from the beginning; that passion for excellence in the products you sell, the service you offer your customers and the support you offer your staff is universal across all great retailers, irrespective of company size."



How They Feel About It



This type of award goes a long way towards countering a number of enduring myths about the hobby games industry, bricks and mortar retail of games, independent retail in the world of mega chains, and the viability of a business model that sells at full MSRP. Eclectic Games sell board games, card games, collectable card games, RPGs, jigsaws, minature accessories (paint, flock, greenstuff, tools), puzzles and chess sets. We don't sell single cards for CCGs. We sell all of these at full MSRP with one or two minor exceptions. We run evening events supporting boardgames on Monday and Friday; Netrunner and other Living Card Games on Tuesdays; our sanctioned Magic tournaments on Wednesdays; and a rotation of other CCG tournaments on Thursdays. We have a full calendar of weekend events each month across all the Organised Play programs we support, plus boardgame days and designers demoing new games.



We are a town centre retail store, with separate shop floor and 50 person games space, a demo games library of 1500 titles, and staff who can intelligently recommend games to you. We are focused on boardgames, not Magic, Yu Gi Oh, Miniatures, comics or toys. Last year, 40% of our turnover came from boardgames, 29% from all of the CCGs we sell, 12% from event entry fees. Our customer demographic covers all ages, is about 60/40 male/female, our staff is 50/50 male/female. We employ four members of staff plus the owners, all drawing a wage. We are clean, well lit, and have sufficient bathroom space. 90% of our turnover is in store, with only 10% going through our website. We've been in business for eight and a half years, and have been through two shop moves in that time.



Our customer base is loyal, intelligent, driven by value rather than price, diverse, inclusive, dedicated, informed, vocal, curious, passionate, stubborn and pedantic. To justify our policy of selling at full MSRP (a gross margin of about 38-42% in the UK) we must add sufficient value to the transaction to outweigh the cheaper prices available from other retailers, typically those who operate only online, and thus tend to have lower overheads to take out of the same gross margin, and/or expect to make up in sales volume what they lose in gross margin. We do this by holding a broad stock of games, and having detailed, indepth knowledge of that stock to make suitable recommendations. We back that up with the ability to try games out before risking spending money on them by holding a huge library (which is where the marketing budget mostly goes) and offering the evening and weekend events where potential customers can meet others, hear their opinions, and try out games without any obligation. We offer a small discount to the members of local gaming societies we work with (the university gaming society, one or two sports and social clubs at the larger local employers), and a loyalty card scheme open to all that amounts to a 5% discount over time. Our value-add is the imediate availability of the game, the vast and detailed product knowledge of our staff, and the ability to eliminate buying an unsuitable game by trying it out first. As an additional benefit, there is the fantastic community centred on eclectic games, and the chance to meet other gamers who are always looking for more people to share their passion with.



– Brian Engard



Warehouse 23 News: Federation Commanders, Prepare For Your Briefing!



The world of Federation Commander is more exciting than ever, with Federation Commander: Briefing #1 . Get two dozen scenarios, six new ships, and much more! Download it today from Warehouse 23.

November 7, 2014: Announcing Munchkin World NYC!

You love Munchkin , right? Of course you do! We love it too, which is why we want to do something extra special for it next year.



Which is where Munchkin World NYC comes in! Munchkin World NYC is a pop-up store that we're opening in New York City on Valentine's Day weekend, February 13-15, 2015.



"What'll be at the store?" I'm glad you asked. We'll be selling various Munchkin titles, of course (some of them early releases!), but we're also going to have open gaming, a Munchkin Invitational, signings with Steve Jackson, Andrew Hackard, and John Kovalic, and more!



Munchkin World NYC will be at 353 West 46th Street, New York, NY. For more information, check out the press release.



We hope to see you all there!



– Brian Engard



Warehouse 23 News: Taking Over The Galaxy Has Never Been Easier



No plans this week? Why not conquer the galaxy?! With the just-released Fifth Edition of Star Fleet: Galactic Conquest , you can build your own Star Fleet Battles campaign, with conquest, exploration, diplomacy, and much more. Download it today from Warehouse 23!

November 8, 2014: Munchkin Changed My Life: A Fan's Story

Every once in a while a fan sends us something that makes us all warm inside, and right now that fan's name is Justin.




I have an interesting story I'd like to share with Mr. Steve Jackson and the other folks who worked on Munchkin , and I hope you will share this story with others to let people know how awesome your game is and how it can truly change someone's life. So feel free to put this on your site or anywhere you'd like to share it.



Like many interesting stories, it starts on a bit of a down note and includes a board game nearly being destroyed at the climax but – Yeah, you'll see . . .



You have to know a little about me first. My name is Justin and I've lived with debilitating panic attacks and social anxiety since I was 13. I'm 33 now and still struggling but I've learned to live with it. I've tried to get out of the house, but it's tough. My girlfriend, Amanda, is part of a game night, but I was never able to go because of my attacks and agoraphobia. It was hard for me because I hated being alone but at the same time I didn't want to ruin her good time, so I just stayed at home and kept myself busy while she was out.



The anxiety began to get worse. My therapist said I needed to find a way to get out and be social, that it would help the healing process. That same day I saw an ad for your game on the back cover of one of my favorite comics, and I thought maybe I'd give it a try and play at my own house at least. So we saved up and got the game and the first expansion, and we bought it directly from your site. I remember being touched by the fact that someone threw in some extra cards and a little silver coin in the box, even though I didnt know what the coin was for. More on that later.



So Munchkin arrived and we had our first gaming night at our house, I wasn't leaving the house, but I was being social at least, and that was a big step. WE HAD A BLAST! Laughter and jokes and really good game play – it was a night to remember. I knew then and there that I couldn't keep this game to myself, I'd have to take it to Amanda's game night at her friends' house. I'd have to face my anxiety and power through it and get out there and live.



So the next week I went and I was able to concentrate on the game, which made it much easier to fight the pulls of anxiety and panic that were causing havoc in my head. It was rough but I made it and despite the anxiety, the game and great company made for an amazing time. Another wonderful night of memories.



And so it went for almost a month. One session lead to another and I was getting out more than once a week, which was a vast change from the way things had been. My anxiety was (and is) being defeated. I'm being more social. Getting out more. Life is good.







So last night (Gaming Sunday), I'm excited but nervous (my anxiety has been flaring up a lot lately due to a death in the family). We get in the car, drive 20 minutes to our destination, get out, and the game is no where to be found. I start to freak out. It's not in the car. Instantly my panic swells. What has happened? Amanda and I discuss it – Amanda remembered me putting the game in one of those reusable grocery bags and taking it outside but after that neither of us knew. Had I left it sitting in the driveway?



My anxiety wouldn't allow for another car ride (the ride is one of the hardest part), so I stayed at the gaming house (which I should note, staying somewhere without Amanda was another big step!) and Amanda went back to see where I'd left the game. You'll soon see she was the true hero of the night!



So 30 minutes later I get a call from Amanda. She's on her way back. She's searched the house, the porch, the driveway — the game is nowhere to be found. As she's explaining this to me, my heart drops. What had I done? Then she stops and says "Oh my gosh! I found it!"



She found it alright, strewn across the road nearly a quarter of a mile from our house. Apparently I'd put the game on top of the car in my anxious confusion and forgotten it was there. It had held on for quite a while before finally succumbing to wind and gravity, but in the end, it had fallen off and been hit several times by other cars.



But Amanda was not about to let that ruin our night! With me on the phone nervously telling her to be careful, she went around and collected everything she could. It took her an hour and we waited patiently. Would the game still be playable? Surely not! It'd been hit by a car, run over – and yet all we could think was, "Can we still play it?"



Amanda finally got back with the game. My anxiety was at a serious high. But still I kept thinking "Can we play it? And if not, is there somewhere we can go to buy a new copy?" It was Sunday and getting late, so there was nowhere to go get another copy, but that didn't matter because, as Amanda plopped the game on the table, we found that it was mostly intact!



She'd recovered the game board, which now had a tire mark on it, the die now blackened by tires but still very useable, the colored pawns which had been crushed (much like our hopes an hour earlier) but NOT DESTROYED! We bent them to stand back up and they were still useable. The cards were dimpled, blackened, and bent, but they were still able to be used despite being found as far as a block from their point of impact.



All in all, Amanda had recovered the entire game (and expansion) save for the game box (which had been destroyed on impact apparently) and 5 cards. ALL BUT 5 CARDS! We counted and compared the numbers on your site in disbelief.



The game was, indeed, still completely playable and if anyone would like pictures of the battle-scarred game, crushed characters or road-mottled cards, I will gladly take them for you.




But here is the best part. We didn't even care. We just wanted to play. So we all set about separating the doors from the treasure cards. We unflattened our little Munchkin characters and slapped the game down and we played. We played well into the night and we had an amazing time as always.



This is a true testament that not only can Munchkin change the life of someone with a bad mental illness, but it can survive being hit by numerous cars and still be playable.



I find this inspiring and I still have that little silver coin you gave me, I've kept it with me all this time when I go out, it helps me when things get tough.




We were so touched by his story that we sent him a bunch of stuff to replace his broken and beat up (but still playable!) game. Thanks for being a fan, Justin!



– Brian Engard



Warehouse 23 News: More Monsters, More Hunting!



The Monster Hunter International Employee Handbook and Roleplaying Game has three new supplements at Warehouse 23: Adventures in Monster Hunting (featuring six new scenarios), Hell's Horde (with monsters, villains, and other weirdness), and A Mess of Monsters (29 additional threats). So much coolness, it's scary!

November 5, 2014: International Games Day

Hey, have you heard of International Games Day? It's a worldwide event on November 15 where libraries everywhere open their doors for folks to come in and play games, learn about new games, and so forth. While that's technically something that you can do pretty much any day of the week (seriously, libraries are pretty awesome), the thing that makes International Game Day special is that game companies donate bunches and bunches of games to libraries all over the world to make the day lots of fun for everyone!



Companies like us! That's right, we're participating in International Games Day. We're donating hundreds of copies of games to libraries all over the country, games like Munchkin , Revolution! , Illuminati , and Castellan .



Check out the map of participating libraries to see if there's a library near you running events on IGD.



And check out the press release for more information!



– Brian Engard



Warehouse 23 News: Our Boldest GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Support Ever



Build characters super-fast, without character points! Play as monsters! Visit Mars! Pretend you're a video-game hero! Do all this and more in your GURPS Dungeon Fantasy games, with Pyramid #3/72: Alternate Dungeons , available separately or as Warehouse 23!