Base Camp: August 2022

Mid-August already and I feel like I'm still recovering from my trip out west!  I had such a great time at PLAAY-dot-Con! It was wonderful to get reacquainted with so many friends and to make many more new ones. Keith and Sam do such a tremendous job with this one-of-a-kind event. It's exhausting!  I don't know how they pull it off.  The gaming time was great, as was the time in-between, filled with conversation and connection.  

The schedule this year was more relaxed, allowing attendees time for lots of pick-up games and extended demos on the side. I soaked up previews of several games in development, which is just candy for a game design geek like me. Of course, I really enjoyed getting some face time with customers, playing LOB and Dice United on several occasions. In the showcase event, Stone Cold Hockey was well-received and fellow Dice United players seem to have a comfortable grasp of the process.  Stone Cold is more involved, but the core structure is the same.  

Anyway, I could gush on about the good times there.  In case you missed it, below is a link to a video montage in which I managed to miss most of the big, funny moments.  But hey... I tried!

Pre-orders are now open for the print edition of Stone Cold Hockey! These pre-orders are mutually beneficial, helping us to gauge demand for the initial print run and allowing you to receive your game in advance. Additionally, there is a download link for a PDF copy of the instructions, so you can go ahead and get familiar with the game, long before it ships.

The price of the core game is $40 and this option will remain open through August 31st.  On September 1st, everything will be sent for the initial print run and turnaround is expected to be 2 to 3 weeks.  Pre-orders are expected to ship by September 23rd.  

Click on the button below to go to our online shop:

Roo Games is partnering with SMP to bring the Stone Cold experience to the computer as well!  Richard Hanna and I have been developing the Windows version alongside the table top game for months and it is finally time to show it off!  This version is currently in development and our goal is to have it ready shortly after the table top version is released.

Now available in print, the latest EFL Championship and Serie A sets! There are some twists that make these new sets really intriguing and we are very happy to offer them in our "futbol" collection:

* EFL Championship 2021-22

This was a very competitive season with little to separate a large pack of clubs. Fulham proved to be the most consistent club over the long haul, led by Mitrovic's incredible run of 43 goals. A very strong squad in Bournemouth finished only two points behind them.  Two clubs also suffered the administrative hammer; Derby and Reading both tried to battle back from point deductions. Storylines abound!

*Serie A 2021-22

Our first new Italian set in three years. The City of Milan was the focal point of this season, as AC Milan and Internazionale (Inter) dueled for the top spot. Meanwhile, Salernitana returned to the top tier after a 22-year absence and dramatically survived the relegation threat by a single point!  After years of Juventus dominance, this made for a very different take on this league.

Looking further down range...

LOB: Kings of the Ring 2010s - Once Stone Cold Hockey is launched and the dust begins to settle, this 100 card expansion will become a priority again.  Target: 4th quarter

Dice United Translations Guide - This has been on the to-do list all year, currently, it will follow the LOB expansion above. Target: End of Year

MLS 2022 - Target: 1st quarter, 2023

LOB: 20th Anniversary Edition -  Next year will mark 20 years of LOB! Hard to believe. I want use this milestone as an opportunity to make some revisions. The focus will be on the core fighters set (125 hall of famers). The power of LOB for Windows is a great advantage that we didn't have years ago, so why not use it to vet ratings changes?  There will also be some nice improvements to the game itself. More on that in the months ahead.  In the meantime, LOB is out-of-print. I wouldn't want a new customer to get the game and be disappointed that the new edition came out a short time later.  Target: 2nd quarter, 2023

Shrapnel - A two-player robot battle game is in the early stages of development. The current version is based on the 2d20 System Reference Document by Modiphius and this could be a possible partnership with them.  The image below is linked to their home site. Target: 4th quarter, 2023

Wrap-Up:

Thanks for reading all that!  A lot is going on and I sincerely hope there is something to keep you interested.  The next newsletter is scheduled for mid-September and will contain the details of the launch of Stone Cold Hockey.