Hello everyone, Darryl here with this week's gaming news! Starfinder is getting a second printing (for good and bad reasons), more products for Star Trek Adventures, an update on Fallout: Wasteland Warfare, Toys 'R' Us declares bankruptcy, and more!
Starfinder is officially Paizo’s fastest-selling product in history. In a press release, Paizo stated:
Nearly the entire line of Starfinder products is currently on backorder on paizo.com, expected to restock at the end of October 2017. Fans are encouraged to check their friendly local game shops to purchase Starfinder, as there are still books in distribution, and digital versions remain available on Paizo.com.
“The response to Starfinder has been truly incredible,” says James Sutter, Starfinder’s creative director. “From the fans on social media to distributors, from local game stores to the reviews, the enthusiasm for Starfinder has carried forward past Gen Con, and it’s deeply gratifying to see so many people enjoying it!”
It might be a good thing that Starfinder is heading to a second printing, as many customers have reported issues with the binding. In a blog post, Paizo stated:
Our hardcovers use a method called case binding. First, each group of 16 pages (a signature) is sewn together. Next, all of the book's signatures are stacked into a book block, and the book block is stitched together. Then, a fabric reinforcement strip called a spine lining is adhered to the book block to give it additional stability, and the book block is attached to the cover by adhering the book's endpapers to it. (Note that the spine lining itself is not glued to the spine of the book. This is intentional: it helps the book lie flatter when open.)
The problem some customers are seeing with their Starfinder Core Rulebooks is that the fabric lining strip isn't properly attached to the book block, separating after minimal use. This issue is occurring only with a small fraction of Starfinder Core Rulebooks, so if you have been using your book and it doesn't currently show any sign of the lining strip separating, it probably won't occur with normal use.
If your copy is experiencing issues with binding, Paizo is asking that you return your copy to the store or retailer you purchased it from for a replacement or a credit toward the second printing. If you purchased from Paizo, either from their website directly or from their booth at Gen Con, contact Paizo directly at customer.service@paizo.com. Please note that any other issues (shipping, delays, damage unrelated to the binding, etc.) should be addressed to the point of purchase first, and Paizo should be contacted only if the retailer you purchased it through is unable to assist. Replacements for regular editions will be shipped from 1-6 days after acknowledgment from Paizo Customer Service. In-store exchanges should be available immediately if the store has stock. If your retailer is out of stock or you have binding issues with the limited edition, replacements won’t be available until the second printing is available between late October to mid-November.
Modiphius made two big announcements recently. The first involves the Star Trek Adventures game and its first adventure pack, These Are the Voyages Volume 1. The 164-page book includes eight ready-to-play adventures that are about what you want from a Star Trek game: Investigate anomalies, rescue a ship in danger near the Romulan Neutral Zone, explore an alien space station with a strange secret, and more. The PDF is available now at the link above for $14.99, while the hardcover version will be available in October with a retail price of $40.99 (be careful ordering online as the name was used for several episode guidebooks and a documentary series about Star Trek).
Fallout: Wasteland Warfare has a new development blog, and the biggest hurdle of any licensed game has been passed. Bethesda approved all the models for Wave 1 and about half of the ones for Wave 2. Right now, Modiphius is doing pricing from manufacturers in order to open up preorders and they are currently looking at a January shipping date for game stores and late February or March for mainstream retail outlets for the first wave and the core game. Sets have also been determined and there will be a two player starter set, a character set for the Sole Survivor (including a variant Dogmeat), faction and character sets for Brotherhood of Steel, Super Mutants, and The Survivors, and multiple accessory and terrain sets including Red Rocket, vehicles, Nuka Cola machines, turrets, and more. Pictures of the 3D renders of all models are available on Modiphius’s website.
It’s been on the brink and rumors have been flying, but as of September 19, Toys ‘R’ Us has officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. This isn’t as bad as it could be for the toy and game retailer, though, as Chapter 11 is simply protection from creditors as they restructure their finances. The chain’s 1600 stores remain open at this time, and the website is still online and accepting orders normally. A group led by JPMorgan and other existing creditors have provided $3 billion in debtor-in-possession financing in order to provide cash to continue operations. CEO Dave Brandon said in a statement:
Together with our investors, our objective is to work with our debtholders and other creditors to restructure the $5 billion of long-term debt on our balance sheet, which will provide us with greater financial flexibility to invest in our business, continue to improve the customer experience in our physical stores and online, and strengthen our competitive position in an increasingly challenging and rapidly changing retail marketplace worldwide.
Ravensburger, the German puzzle and game company, acquired educational game company ThinkFun. ThinkFun is best known for their STEM-focused tabletop games focused on teaching coding, engineering, math, and logic puzzles. They will join Ravensburger’s library of tabletop games including Castles of Burgundy and is the original publisher of Puerto Rico and San Juan. ThinkFun will continue to operate as an independent brand as a subsidiary of Ravensburger North America, and their Virginia-based offices and current staff will remain in place. CEO Bill Ritchie stated, “Ravensburger is the ideal partner to help us bring our games to even more families across North America and around the world. This will enable us to build upon our distinctive style and explore new and innovative product concepts, across multiple categories and for players of all ages.”
I know I brought this up last week, but there’s still six days remaining in Humble Bundle’s Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay bundle from Cubicle 7. The $1 level includes the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition Core Rulebook in PDF format plus three more books and a 30% off coupon for the Cubicle 7 store, the $8 level includes five more books, the $15 level adds ten more books, while the $20 level includes eight more for a total of 26 books. The $20 level also includes the first official PDF release of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1st Edition Rulebook. You’ve got until Thursday, September 27 to get in on this deal.
Sean Patrick Fannon is probably familiar to many of you as the EN World columnist doing Sean’s Pick of the Week, highlighting new products and other news every week. You may also know him from his work on Savage Worlds, the new Savage Rifts, Shaintar, Star Wars: Edge of the Empire and Age of Rebellion, Champions, or the Fantasy Roleplaying Gamer’s Bible. On his Patreon, he’s creating a lot of interesting work, including a Savage Worlds hack for Star Wars, a campaign setting called Freedom Squad that’s a pastiche of GI Joe and similar action cartoons from the 80s, and a lot more. A $1 pledge gets you access to Patreon updates and announcements, $5 grants access to all the campaign material plus a discount on digital purchases, $10 lets you participate in Q&A Hangouts and further access to work-in-progress materials, and there are even more levels with some cool access included.
So the fact that Monte Cook Games titled their Kickstarter “Numenera 2” might make you think that it’s a second edition of Numenera, but it’s not. Not really, anyway. Numenera Discovery is more of a revised edition and reprint of the original core rulebook that is completely compatible with the existing game and all products, simply rewritten for clarity and tweaks for Nanos, Jacks, Claives, and many of the foci. It incorporates many of the options from Numenera Character Options and Numenera Character Options 2 into this new core rulebook. So if you already have the core rules, Numenera Discovery isn’t a must-buy. If you’re new to the game (such as those exposed to it through Torment: Tides of Numenera from inXile Entertainment), all the previously published material is still compatible. If you’ve been playing since the game launched almost five years ago, all new material will still be compatible with the books you already have. But you old players aren’t left out as Numenera Destiny opens up new campaign possibilities to explore the past in order to actually change the present of the world of Numenera. And of course, there are many other options as well. A $40 pledge gets you both books plus new books The Trilling Shard and Discover Your Destiny in PDF, a $60 pledge gets your choice in hardcover between the two books plus the two exclusive PDFs, $100 gets you PDFs of every Numenera book currently in print and unlocked by stretch goals, $120 gets you both books in hardcover with a display slipcase, and there are a lot more pledge levels as well. Do I even need to tell you that this project funded in just about an hour after launch? Because it’s currently over a quarter million dollars. This project will unlock more stretch goals until Friday, October 27.
Munchkin Holiday Grab Bag is a very special holiday-themed box for the Munchkin card game. See, Steve Jackson Games offered a similar box last year on their storefront, Warehouse 23, and it kinda sold out in under five hours leaving a lot of Munchkin fans disappointed. This year, they’re running a Kickstarter instead for over $100 worth of Munchkin products included with a special box. And because this is still Munchkin, the box has special advantages for players usable in game. A $60 pledge gets you the box set plus the exclusive bonuses, a $120 pledge gets you a “Santa-Sized” version with over $200 worth of material, and a $175 pledge gets you both boxes. There were options for signed copies, but those sold out fast (but keep an eye out in case someone backs out). This Kickstarter is funded, but you have to hurry if you want in as it closes next Monday, September 25.
That’s all from me for this week! Find more gaming crowdfunding news at the EN World RPG Kickstarter News website, and don’t forget to support our Patreon to bring you even more gaming news content. If you have any news to submit, email us at news@enworldnews.com. You can follow me on Twitter @Abstruse where I’ve been slightly obsessed about Fallout for some odd reason, or you can listen to the archives of the Gamer’s Tavern podcast. Until next time, may all your hits be crits! Note: Links to Amazon, Humble Store, and/or DriveThru may contain affiliate links with the proceeds going to the author of this column.
Starfinder is officially Paizo’s fastest-selling product in history. In a press release, Paizo stated:
Nearly the entire line of Starfinder products is currently on backorder on paizo.com, expected to restock at the end of October 2017. Fans are encouraged to check their friendly local game shops to purchase Starfinder, as there are still books in distribution, and digital versions remain available on Paizo.com.
“The response to Starfinder has been truly incredible,” says James Sutter, Starfinder’s creative director. “From the fans on social media to distributors, from local game stores to the reviews, the enthusiasm for Starfinder has carried forward past Gen Con, and it’s deeply gratifying to see so many people enjoying it!”
It might be a good thing that Starfinder is heading to a second printing, as many customers have reported issues with the binding. In a blog post, Paizo stated:
Our hardcovers use a method called case binding. First, each group of 16 pages (a signature) is sewn together. Next, all of the book's signatures are stacked into a book block, and the book block is stitched together. Then, a fabric reinforcement strip called a spine lining is adhered to the book block to give it additional stability, and the book block is attached to the cover by adhering the book's endpapers to it. (Note that the spine lining itself is not glued to the spine of the book. This is intentional: it helps the book lie flatter when open.)
The problem some customers are seeing with their Starfinder Core Rulebooks is that the fabric lining strip isn't properly attached to the book block, separating after minimal use. This issue is occurring only with a small fraction of Starfinder Core Rulebooks, so if you have been using your book and it doesn't currently show any sign of the lining strip separating, it probably won't occur with normal use.
If your copy is experiencing issues with binding, Paizo is asking that you return your copy to the store or retailer you purchased it from for a replacement or a credit toward the second printing. If you purchased from Paizo, either from their website directly or from their booth at Gen Con, contact Paizo directly at customer.service@paizo.com. Please note that any other issues (shipping, delays, damage unrelated to the binding, etc.) should be addressed to the point of purchase first, and Paizo should be contacted only if the retailer you purchased it through is unable to assist. Replacements for regular editions will be shipped from 1-6 days after acknowledgment from Paizo Customer Service. In-store exchanges should be available immediately if the store has stock. If your retailer is out of stock or you have binding issues with the limited edition, replacements won’t be available until the second printing is available between late October to mid-November.
Modiphius made two big announcements recently. The first involves the Star Trek Adventures game and its first adventure pack, These Are the Voyages Volume 1. The 164-page book includes eight ready-to-play adventures that are about what you want from a Star Trek game: Investigate anomalies, rescue a ship in danger near the Romulan Neutral Zone, explore an alien space station with a strange secret, and more. The PDF is available now at the link above for $14.99, while the hardcover version will be available in October with a retail price of $40.99 (be careful ordering online as the name was used for several episode guidebooks and a documentary series about Star Trek).
Fallout: Wasteland Warfare has a new development blog, and the biggest hurdle of any licensed game has been passed. Bethesda approved all the models for Wave 1 and about half of the ones for Wave 2. Right now, Modiphius is doing pricing from manufacturers in order to open up preorders and they are currently looking at a January shipping date for game stores and late February or March for mainstream retail outlets for the first wave and the core game. Sets have also been determined and there will be a two player starter set, a character set for the Sole Survivor (including a variant Dogmeat), faction and character sets for Brotherhood of Steel, Super Mutants, and The Survivors, and multiple accessory and terrain sets including Red Rocket, vehicles, Nuka Cola machines, turrets, and more. Pictures of the 3D renders of all models are available on Modiphius’s website.
It’s been on the brink and rumors have been flying, but as of September 19, Toys ‘R’ Us has officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. This isn’t as bad as it could be for the toy and game retailer, though, as Chapter 11 is simply protection from creditors as they restructure their finances. The chain’s 1600 stores remain open at this time, and the website is still online and accepting orders normally. A group led by JPMorgan and other existing creditors have provided $3 billion in debtor-in-possession financing in order to provide cash to continue operations. CEO Dave Brandon said in a statement:
Together with our investors, our objective is to work with our debtholders and other creditors to restructure the $5 billion of long-term debt on our balance sheet, which will provide us with greater financial flexibility to invest in our business, continue to improve the customer experience in our physical stores and online, and strengthen our competitive position in an increasingly challenging and rapidly changing retail marketplace worldwide.
Ravensburger, the German puzzle and game company, acquired educational game company ThinkFun. ThinkFun is best known for their STEM-focused tabletop games focused on teaching coding, engineering, math, and logic puzzles. They will join Ravensburger’s library of tabletop games including Castles of Burgundy and is the original publisher of Puerto Rico and San Juan. ThinkFun will continue to operate as an independent brand as a subsidiary of Ravensburger North America, and their Virginia-based offices and current staff will remain in place. CEO Bill Ritchie stated, “Ravensburger is the ideal partner to help us bring our games to even more families across North America and around the world. This will enable us to build upon our distinctive style and explore new and innovative product concepts, across multiple categories and for players of all ages.”
I know I brought this up last week, but there’s still six days remaining in Humble Bundle’s Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay bundle from Cubicle 7. The $1 level includes the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition Core Rulebook in PDF format plus three more books and a 30% off coupon for the Cubicle 7 store, the $8 level includes five more books, the $15 level adds ten more books, while the $20 level includes eight more for a total of 26 books. The $20 level also includes the first official PDF release of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1st Edition Rulebook. You’ve got until Thursday, September 27 to get in on this deal.
Sean Patrick Fannon is probably familiar to many of you as the EN World columnist doing Sean’s Pick of the Week, highlighting new products and other news every week. You may also know him from his work on Savage Worlds, the new Savage Rifts, Shaintar, Star Wars: Edge of the Empire and Age of Rebellion, Champions, or the Fantasy Roleplaying Gamer’s Bible. On his Patreon, he’s creating a lot of interesting work, including a Savage Worlds hack for Star Wars, a campaign setting called Freedom Squad that’s a pastiche of GI Joe and similar action cartoons from the 80s, and a lot more. A $1 pledge gets you access to Patreon updates and announcements, $5 grants access to all the campaign material plus a discount on digital purchases, $10 lets you participate in Q&A Hangouts and further access to work-in-progress materials, and there are even more levels with some cool access included.
So the fact that Monte Cook Games titled their Kickstarter “Numenera 2” might make you think that it’s a second edition of Numenera, but it’s not. Not really, anyway. Numenera Discovery is more of a revised edition and reprint of the original core rulebook that is completely compatible with the existing game and all products, simply rewritten for clarity and tweaks for Nanos, Jacks, Claives, and many of the foci. It incorporates many of the options from Numenera Character Options and Numenera Character Options 2 into this new core rulebook. So if you already have the core rules, Numenera Discovery isn’t a must-buy. If you’re new to the game (such as those exposed to it through Torment: Tides of Numenera from inXile Entertainment), all the previously published material is still compatible. If you’ve been playing since the game launched almost five years ago, all new material will still be compatible with the books you already have. But you old players aren’t left out as Numenera Destiny opens up new campaign possibilities to explore the past in order to actually change the present of the world of Numenera. And of course, there are many other options as well. A $40 pledge gets you both books plus new books The Trilling Shard and Discover Your Destiny in PDF, a $60 pledge gets your choice in hardcover between the two books plus the two exclusive PDFs, $100 gets you PDFs of every Numenera book currently in print and unlocked by stretch goals, $120 gets you both books in hardcover with a display slipcase, and there are a lot more pledge levels as well. Do I even need to tell you that this project funded in just about an hour after launch? Because it’s currently over a quarter million dollars. This project will unlock more stretch goals until Friday, October 27.
Munchkin Holiday Grab Bag is a very special holiday-themed box for the Munchkin card game. See, Steve Jackson Games offered a similar box last year on their storefront, Warehouse 23, and it kinda sold out in under five hours leaving a lot of Munchkin fans disappointed. This year, they’re running a Kickstarter instead for over $100 worth of Munchkin products included with a special box. And because this is still Munchkin, the box has special advantages for players usable in game. A $60 pledge gets you the box set plus the exclusive bonuses, a $120 pledge gets you a “Santa-Sized” version with over $200 worth of material, and a $175 pledge gets you both boxes. There were options for signed copies, but those sold out fast (but keep an eye out in case someone backs out). This Kickstarter is funded, but you have to hurry if you want in as it closes next Monday, September 25.
That’s all from me for this week! Find more gaming crowdfunding news at the EN World RPG Kickstarter News website, and don’t forget to support our Patreon to bring you even more gaming news content. If you have any news to submit, email us at news@enworldnews.com. You can follow me on Twitter @Abstruse where I’ve been slightly obsessed about Fallout for some odd reason, or you can listen to the archives of the Gamer’s Tavern podcast. Until next time, may all your hits be crits! Note: Links to Amazon, Humble Store, and/or DriveThru may contain affiliate links with the proceeds going to the author of this column.
