FINE GAMES UPDATE NEWSLETTER #39 12 December 2002
Fine Games for Players & Collectors
2078 Madrona St., North Bend, OR 97459-2143
email: M.Dean@FineGames.com ph: 541-756-4711 10am-9pm PST
WELCOME again to another Fine Games e-newsletter. These Updates contain
news and other info of interest to active board gamers. The latest issue is
always available at .
Subscriptions are available free when you submit complete contact info
(home mailing address, phone # and email address). If you choose
to unsubscribe, you may do so via a simple emailed request to do so.
C O N T E N T S
SPECIAL GAME SALES Annual End-of-Year Clearance
Fine Games NEWS .......... What's going on at Fine Games
- LAST CALL for Game Orders in 2002
- Closed for Vacation 24 Dec - 5 Jan
- Mailed Catalog Sent in October;
Available for Download
- Clash of Arms Games Available
- Other Mfg Games Also Available New
Simulations Canada, WWW, Excalibur
- New Contact Info:
800# Pager: 866-225-4312
Instant Messaging
INDUSTRY NEWS ............ What's happening in the Game Industry
- Continued Increases in Shipping Rates
- Fewer Publishers, Fewer Games
- Computer Viruses, Real & Fake
JUST FOR FUN Christmas Gift Suggestion List
NEW Games ................ New & Pending Board Game Releases
- Key New Releases
- Key Pending Releases
CONTENT: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seasons greetings to you and your significant others. We hope that the game of life is treating each of you fairly & well.
SPECIAL GAME SALES
Fine Games offers you the chance to pick over more than 500 items we wish to clear from out shelves. Our End-of-Year Clearance Sale drops the price on all these items, most of which are new & undamaged. We just want them out of here by 23 December, and we'll a deal to do it.
See our special clearance listing at .
The only requirements for this sale are that they be paid for normally AND SHIPPED by 23 December 2002. They gotta sell during this tax year...
And if you want to make an offer on any of our Disk Wars or Button Men items, we'd like to hear it!
F I N E G A M E S N E W S
1. LAST CALL for game purchases needed by Xmas. Friday (13 Dec.) is about the last moment to order games needed by Christmas. We can still get it to you in time if you step up to Priority Mail or 1,2, or 3 day UPS shipping (or live in the western half of the US) and we ship late next week.
There is still time to obtain special order items. We will place an distributor order early next week. This should allow us to ship your order by Monday, 23 December -- tho such shipments won't won't be received until well after Xmas.
Call or email us NOW!
2. Fine Games will be closed for vacation between mid-day Tuesday, 24 December (Christmas eve) thru Sunday, 5 January. During this time, we'll be unable to answer either our email or our phone. Its a wonderful time to go camping in the desert.
3. Fine Games sent but one printed catalog this year. It was mailed in mid-October to active customers. If you didn't get a copy, or misplaced the copy you did receive, download it in Acrobat PDF format at
.
4. Fine Games can now purchase the entire line of Clash of Arms games. ALL of their games are available thru us, and we stock their more popular titles. See our catalogs for more info.
We've reestablished relations with CofA recently; they'd abandoned the retail distribution system several years ago (aggravated by a legal dispute with one of our competitors that still lingers).
5. We are now also able to obtain new games from other now-deceased publishers including Simulations Canada, World Wide Wargamer, and Excalibur. Virtually all of the games available are now in stock including such great titles as ESCAPE FROM COLDITZ, and IRONCLADS and its EXPANSIONS.
6. We offer you two additional ways to contact us. You may request a call-back from us by leaving a NUMERIC PAGE at 866-225-4312 at any time.
You may also contact us to ask a brief question about availability, etc, using INSTANT MESSAGING. We are available on Yahoo at Fine_Games; on MSN at M.Dean@FineGames.com, or on AIM at FineGamesPDX.
I N D U S T R Y N E W S
1. Our costs continue to escalate in excess of inflation. UPS has announced that its prices will increase an average of 4% as of the beginning of the year. We are still analyzing our shipping cost structure to see if it will be necessary for us to make some changes as well.
2. As we've mentioned in nearly every newsletter for a few years, there are ever fewer publishers, all putting out fewer games. Its nearly impossible for a small or one-game publisher to gain access to national distributors. So, the number of new wargames appearing each year is getting pretty small.
This trickles down to making it ever more difficult to place an order on our distributors since fewer games are coming from them (as opposed to manufacturers). And it makes wargames that much less appealing as a group to distributors -- and potential publishers.
3. Computer viruses and hoaxes periodically surge thru our ranks. Every few months, we get a few dozen sent to us within the space of a few days. All are easily caught by our anti-virus program. We urge YOU to secure a decent anti-virus program for YOUR computer. We also urge you to use good judgement & do some research before you forward virus warnings you might receive; more often than not, its a hoax in which the "repairs" themselves will damage your PC.
The "BugBear" virus going around is particularly interesting as it takes a random email still on your system, slaps a new user name onto your email domain, then mass emails it. So, it can't be easily traced back to you. And if you've got some confidential emails, they're at risk. I've seen emails that are rather "interesting" and several years old.
J U S T F O R F U N
If you're a procrastinator looking for a game for someone special (maybe yourself??), you may want to check out our Game Gift Giving Suggestion List at
N E W G A M E R E L E A S E S
You can always view the most recent listing of New Game Releases at
.
Our recommendations from among the full list below are these:
Box Est Cash
Publsr / Game Title & Edition Typ Wght PriceEA Rels Date
------ -------------------------------- --- ---- ------- ------------
AMARILLO DESIGN GROUP (ADB) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
STAR FLEET BATTLES: CAPTAIN'S LOG #25 Bk 0.6 $12.00 02/11
------------------------------------------------------------------------
AVALANCHE PRESS, LTD. (Avalan) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
EAGLES OF EMPIRE, NAPOLEON IN THE HC 1.2 $26.00 02/11
DESERT
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHEAPASS GAMES (Cheapa) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
AGORA Fo $3.50 02/11
CUBE FARM Fo $3.50 02/11
FIGHTBALL TEAM DECK 1, 2 *OR* 3 En $12.00 02/10
LORD OF THE FRIES CARD GAME 2ND SB $12.00 02/10
NEXUS Fo $3.50 02/11
VERY CLEVER PIPE GAME 2ND Fo $3.50 02/11
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CRITICAL HIT (CRI) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
ASL:BLOOD & IRON MAP PAX Fo $18.00 02/12
ASL:HURTGEN HELL TO BULGE MAP PAX Fo $9.00 02/12
TOBRUK 2ND GAMERS' GUIDE Bk $18.00 02/12
TOBRUK 2ND: EXPANSION 1 zl 0.4 $15.00 02/11
TOBRUK 2ND: EXPANSION 2 zl 0.4 $15.00 02/11
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DECISION GAMES (DecGms) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
CAPTIVATION SB $18.00 02/10
DRIVE ON STALINGRAD, 3RD BC 1.4 $35.00 02/10
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DECISION GAMES S&T GAMES (DecS_T) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
ROUGH & READY #212 n 1.2 $15.00 02/10
------------------------------------------------------------------------
EAGLE GAMES (EGL) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
CIVILIZATION, THE BOARDGAME LB* 8.5 $45.00 02/10
------------------------------------------------------------------------
EIGHT FOOT LAMA (EightF) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
MONKEYS ON THE MOON SB $15.00 02/10
------------------------------------------------------------------------
EURO GAMES / DESCARTES (EuroG) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
DRAKE & DRAKE SB $11.00 02/11
TONY & TINO SB $11.00 02/11
WAR & SHEEP SB $11.00 02/11
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FAST FORWARD ENTERTAINMNT (FAF) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
INNING-A-MINUTE BASEBALL Fo $12.00 02/11
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GMT GAMES (GMT) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
GUILFORD COURTHOUSE & EUTAW SPRINGS BC 1.0 $28.00 02/10
VON MANSTEIN'S BACKHAND BLOW BC 1.2 $28.00 02/11
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GMT C3I MAGAZINE (GMTC3i) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
C3I #14 n 1.0 $10.00 02/10
------------------------------------------------------------------------
HASBRO INDUSTRIES (Hasbro) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
STRATEGO, STAR WARS LB* $20.00 02/12
------------------------------------------------------------------------
HEAT OF BATTLE (HOB) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
ASL:ONSLAUGHT TO ORSHA Fo 1.5 $52.00 02/10
------------------------------------------------------------------------
IMPRESSIONS ADVERTISING (ImpAdv) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
DANGER GUY Fo $6.00 02/10
ELECTION DAY Fo $4.75 02/10
PROGRAMMERS' NIGHTMARE SB $10.00 02/10
SUCKING VACUUM Fo $6.00 02/10
------------------------------------------------------------------------
INNER CITY GAMES DESIGN (InnerC) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
BLOW ME OUT OF THE SKY! zl $6.00 02/11
GUMMI WARS! zl $6.00 02/11
------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTERACTIVITIES INK (Intera) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
HAMLET! A GAME IN FIVE ACTS Fo $5.50 02/10
RULES TO LIVE BY, LARP POCKET PLAYERS Bk $5.50 02/10
GD
------------------------------------------------------------------------
JOLLY ROGER GAMES INC. (JOL) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
NODWICK CARD GAME SB $14.00 02/12
------------------------------------------------------------------------
L2 DESIGN GROUP (L2DG) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
STREETS OF STALINGRAD 3RD FB 150.00 02/12
very limited supply, due to arrive ~23 Dec.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MILTON-BRADLEY (Milton) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
RISK, LORD OF THE RINGS EDITION LB* $30.00 02/10
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MULTI-MAN PUBLISHING, (MMP) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
ASL: JOURNAL #4 n 0.6 $17.50 02/11
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ONE SMALL STEP (One) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
JAUNTY JALOPIES SB $18.00 02/11
------------------------------------------------------------------------
OUT OF THE BOX PUBLISHING (OutBox) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
APPLES TO APPLES: EXPANSION SET 4 SB $10.00 02/12
------------------------------------------------------------------------
QUEST FOR DRAGON LORDS (QuestD) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
QUEST FOR THE DRAGON LORDS LB* 4.5 $46.00 02/11
------------------------------------------------------------------------
RIO GRANDE GAMES (RIO) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
BUCKET KING BC $17.50 02/12
CARCASSONE HUNTERS & GATHERERS FB 2.2 $14.00 02/11
HEAVE HO! SB $14.00 02/12
HELLAS SB $14.00 02/12
ODIN'S RAVENS SB $14.00 02/12
------------------------------------------------------------------------
SAVANT GARDE ENTERTAINMNT (SGE) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
FROOP CARD GAME SB $14.00 02/11
------------------------------------------------------------------------
STEVE JACKSON GAMES (SJG) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
GURPS ASSASSINS Bk $8.50 02/11
GURPS CASTLE FALKENSTEIN, OTTOMON Bk $16.50 02/11
EMPIRE
GURPS TRAVELLER 25TH ANNIV SET Bk $35.00 02/10
HARDCOVER
GURPS TRAVELLER 2ND [HARDCOVER] Bk $21.00 02/11
X-BUGS: SET 3, FLYBORGS & USARTHROPODS SC 0.8 $18.00 02/10
X-BUGS: SET 4, CHITINIANS & SOVIETOPTER SC 0.8 $18.00 02/10
------------------------------------------------------------------------
STRAT-O-MATIC GAME CO. (Strato) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
STRAT-O-MATIC PRO BASKETBALL LB* $30.00 02/11
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TWILIGHT CREATIONS (Twilig) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
WHEN DARKNESS COMES: HELL UNLEASHED zl 0.6 $11.00 02/12
WHEN DARKNESS COMES: HORROR WITHIN KIT Fo 0.6 $11.00 02/10
------------------------------------------------------------------------
VIEW FROM THE TRENCHS MAG (ViewTr) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
VIEW FROM THE TRENCHES MAGAZINE #46 n 0.3 $4.50 02/12
P E N D I N G G A M E R E L E A S E S
You can always view the most recent listing of Pending Game Releases (those
due within a few months) at .
You'll find a couple hundred titles listed, tho some may never actually see the light of day.
These items are NOT yet released; info here is the latest available.
Box Est Cash Expected
Publsr / Game Title & Edition Typ Wght PriceEA Rels Date
------ -------------------------------- --- ---- ------- ------------
AMARILLO DESIGN GROUP (ADB) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
FEDERATION AND EMPIRE: ADVANCED Bk $21.00 due 02/12 ??
OPERATNS
GURPS PRIME DIRECTIVE RPG: PRIME ALPHA Bk $11.50 due 02/12
STAR FLEET BATTLES: C5 MAGELLANIC CLOUD Bk $19.00 due 02/12
STAR FLEET BATTLES: MODULE OMEGA 5 Bk 1.0 $16.00 due 02/12
STAR FLEET BATTLES: ROMULAN #2 FLEET LB* $29.00 due 02/12
BOX
------------------------------------------------------------------------
AVALANCHE PRESS, LTD. (Avalan) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
PANZER GRENADIERS, BATTLE OF THE BULGE BC $45.00 due 02/12
ROME AT WAR, FADING LEGIONS BC $36.00 due 02/12 ?
SECOND WW AT SEA, BOMB ALLEY BC $45.00 due 02/12
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAOSIUM (Chaos) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
ARKHAM HORROR 2ND FB $45.00 due 02/12 ?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHEAPASS GAMES (Cheapa) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
GIVE ME THE BRAIN! CARD GAME 2ND SB $8.00 due 02/12
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CLASH OF ARMS (CofA) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
BARON'S WAR BC $30.00 due 02/12 ?
BRUTE FORCE, WAR IN THE WEST 1940-5 BC $56.00 due 02/12 ?
LOBOSITZ BC $40.00 due 02/12 ?
METRO LB* $18.00 due 02/12
------------------------------------------------------------------------
COLUMBIA GAMES (ColumG) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
HARNWORLD RULES 3RD BC $23.00 due 02/12
HARNWORLD: HARNMILITARY SUPPLEMENT Fo $23.00 due 02/12 ??
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CRITICAL HIT (CRI) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
COMBAT! ARNHEM HC $45.00 due 02/12
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DECISION GAMES (DecGms) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM SC $33.00 due 02/12 ??
------------------------------------------------------------------------
EAGLE GAMES (EGL) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
AMERICAN REVOLUTION LB* $40.00 due 02/12
------------------------------------------------------------------------
EURO GAMES / DESCARTES (EuroG) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
KALIDESCOPE SB $15.00 due 02/12
MARE NOSTRUM LB* $40.00 due 02/12 ??
SPECTRUM SB $12.50 due 02/12
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FAT MESSIAH GAMES (FatMes) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
SHAPESHIFTERS, 3RD [10TH ANNIV EDI] Fo $10.00 due 02/12
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FAR FUTURE ENTERPRISES (FFE) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
TRAVELLER 2300, BOOK 1 Bk $21.00 due 02/12
TWILIGHT 2000 RPG V1 HC $21.00 due 02/12
TWILIGHT 2000 RPG V2 HC $21.00 due 02/12
TWILIGHT 2000 RPG V3 HC $21.00 due 02/12
TWILIGHT 2000 RPG V4 HC $21.00 due 02/12
GAMERS (% MMP) (Gamers) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
BULL RUN, THE BATTLES OF... BC $0.00 due 02/12
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GUILD OF BLADES (GldBld) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
WORLDS OF HEROES & TYRANTS: ALONE CARDS zl 0.2 $5.00 due 02/12
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GMT GAMES (GMT) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
BLUE V. GRAY, CIVIL WAR CARD GAME 2ND HC $21.00 due 02/12 ?
CATAPHRACT: ATTILA KIT zl $12.00 due 02/12
DOWN IN FLAMES: CORSAIRS & HELLCATS! BC $32.00 due 02/12
KIT
ROME BC $28.00 due 02/12 ?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GAMES RESEARCH & DESIGN (GRD) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
WAVELL'S WAR FB $55.00 due 03/ 6 ?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GREY GHOST GAMES (GreyGh) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
GAME MASTERING SECRETS Bk $18.00 due 02/12
------------------------------------------------------------------------
IRON BEAR STUDIOS (IronBe) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
SIEGE II CARD GAME SB $15.00 due 02/12 ?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
LOONEY LAB (Loo) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
ARE YOU A WEREWOLF? n $3.25 due 02/12
PLAYING WITH PYRAMIDS Bk $10.00 due 02/12
ZENDO SB $30.00 due 02/12
------------------------------------------------------------------------
OMEGA GAMES (Omega) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
CARRIER WAR 2ND BC $35.00 due 02/12 ??
CARRIER WAR: WAR PLAN ORANGE EXP KIT BC $21.00 due 02/12 ??
RANGER 4TH BC $24.50 due 02/12 ?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
OPERATION STUDIES GROUP (OSG) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
NAPOLEON'S GAME, CONQUEST AND EMPIRE HC $40.00 due 02/12 ?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
RIO GRANDE GAMES (RIO) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
WASTE, THE BUSINESS FB $21.00 due 02/12
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TWILIGHT CREATIONS (Twilig) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
ZOMBIES!!! 2ND SB 1.4 $18.00 due 02/12
------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPPER DECK (UD) (541) 756-4711 10am-9pm PST
GREGORY HORROR COLLECTIBLE BOARDGAME BC $17.50 due 02/12
GREGORY HORROR: MONSTER EXP BOX FB $50.00 due 02/12
BOOSTERS
GREGORY HORROR: MONSTER EXP DECK SC $3.00 due 02/12
We hope you enjoy this newsletter and welcome any comments you may wish to
provide to guide us in what we provide in the future.
Michael Dean
Fine Games for Players & Collectors