Thurn und Taxis

Holy crap, it's here at last. Thurn und Taxis, the game I'm betting will win SDJ this year. I will have the game in hand thursday. If you asked me for one in the past, I'll have it for you so get ready to...DELIVER MAIL!!!!

BE THE SNAKES!

Damn it! Someone beat me to the punch on this...you've got to admire a game that is

1) An unlicensed knock-off of a big hollywood movie (Like "Jurassic Island")
2) That tells you up front what it's about in its title- no pasted-on theme here!
3) LETS YOU BE THE SNAKES

Check it out- http://www.cobrasinthecockpit.com/

Nyarlathotep- My Funny Friend

Oh no, it's Nyarlathotep! Yes, Fantasy Flight Games' long-awaited first expansion to ARKHAM HORROR will be in stock this Thursday! CURSE OF THE DARK PHAROAH ($14) should be a real thrill for those of (like the old AGF crew) who played Richard Launius' masterpiece to the point where taking down the Great Old Ones became a shockingly efficient routine. Richard's shown me some of the work he's done on the _next_ expansion, and all I have to say is that this is just a teaser for DUNWICH HORROR!

In completely unrelated news...those of you who have long dreamed of a game that will have you in bed with that pudgy bearded man in your game group one turn and hooked on heroin the next will hail the arrival of the English version of Friedemann Friese's FUNNY FRIENDS ($23)- I anticipate its arrival within the next week, so get your order in if you want in. It's a fun activity, but don't come to it expecting the strategic gameplay of POWER GRID. I'll miss Frank Branham's attempts to interpret some of the cards from the German and I'll wager the, um, "semen stealing" card is on the cutting room floor.

Das Zepter Von Zandavor- Next week!

If anyone would like to preorder Z-Man games' English edition of SCEPTER OF ZANDAVOR, please contact me ASAP- I will have it early next week. It's $35.

It's an interesting game, I had the dire misfortune of playing the game with a big group of hyperanalytical folks that made the game run literally about 5 hours. So somebody convince me that it's a good game, because it seems like it ought to be.

MB
Factory Games

The Official Factory Games FAQ

Lately I've had a lot of questions from new customers regarding Factory Games and our policies and practices, so here is the Official Factory Games FAQ. Please feel free to email me with any other questions you might have.

1. What is Factory Games?

Factory Games is a Blog-based business, sort of a new twist on the online retail store. In fact, what we do is more or less exactly the same thing as Our Esteemed Competitors do but we try to give it a more personalized, local touch because we've always felt that being a part of the gaming community in Atlanta is essential for the hobby (and the industry) to thrive. This is not a fly-by-night, selling out of the basement sort of operation- we are fully licensed for business in Dekalb County and are responsible for sales and use tax just like any other business. We pride ourselves on being able to offer a terrific, competitive discount (30-35% off retail on most products, not including 7% sales tax for Georgia residents) and also on the ability to get out and personally deliver games to your game groups, workplaces, meetings, and gatherings.

2. How do I place an order and how can I pay for it? How can I get it delivered?

Easy- just email factorygames@bellsouth.net. Alternately, you can call 404-839-0664 but please email a followup as well. We can take cash, checks, money orders and Paypal (factorygamesatl@yahoo.com- please note that it's a slightly different address until further notice). Paypal payments will incur a 3% upcharge tacked on by those pirates. Deliveries can usually be handled on friday afternoons/evenings and weekends. We're usually at the Mercer Meeples meetup on Thursday nights so that's always an option. Please arrange a delivery method when you order, we'll do our best to get it to you as soon as possible. Mail delivery is possible for an extra fee, and yes, we do ship out of state for a nominal and fair postal rate.

3. Is X in stock where X=product?

Again, just email for more information. If we don't have it on hand, we'll get it for you. Typically we can have most items in your hands within 3-7 days depending on availability. Whether you're into RPGs, CCGs, miniatures, or any other type of hobby game- we can get it for you and usually at the stated discount levels.

4. Will there be a storefront?

We're still working on it...that's the long-term goal of course, to re-establish what was destroyed at Atlanta Game Factory. There are several options that are out there, but please bear in mind that it's a slow process. For now, we're a "virtual" storefront and all I can say is that it's definitely better than being out of business!

5. What happened at Atlanta Game Factory, anyway?

Watch chapter 3 of the "Twin Peaks; Fire Walk With Me" DVD and all will be explained.

MB
Factory Games

Factory Games European Vacation- A flop!

Well, unfortunately Belgium didn't turn out to be the hotbed for copies of CASH N' GUNS as we had hoped for. Factory Games' own Dan Cornett has returned and unless you wanted a copy of Bohnanza or Carcassonne in Flemish or the Knizia talking King Arthur game (yikes), he was not successful. So please, by all means, resume your search for imports elsewhere for the time being.

MB
Factory Games

DEFLEXION Update

I'm still waiting to hear from a few folks that wanted a DEFLEXION. If anyone is still interested, please contact me ASAP. This is a special order item, I will probably only do one shipment from these guys so if you want in, email me!

Thanks
MB

New/Current Releases Available Late June/Early July

It's been a fairly slow season for releases but things are about to heat up dramatically. Last week CLEOPATRA AND THE SOCIETY OF ARCHITECTS ($35) showed up, which should please you Days of Wonder acolytes. It looks like a fun family game with big, chunky pieces and the promise of throwing corrupted officials to the crocodiles. Speaking of DoW, the MEMOIR '44 PACIFIC THEATER ($25) expansion will be available next week so you armchair MacArthurs can do a little island hopping. Rio Grande Games has just released another batch of Queen games including Stefan Dorra's BUCCANEER ($17) and ATON ($17) along with the English edition of Leo Colovini's MAUER BAUER, MASONS ($25). SPIRITS OF NIAGARA ($17) is out and it comes with a real wooden beaver, which Face 2 Face's WINNER'S CIRCLE ($22) can not claim.

A little closer to mid-July, we should be seeing some of the more hotly anticipated games that haven't arrived yet. From Fantasy Flight Games we should be see the first ARKHAM HORROR expansion, CURSE OF THE DARK PHAROAH ($13) which will add even more variety and evil to an already great game. A GAME OF THRONES gets the expansion treatment again with A STORM OF SWORDS ($27) which probably _still_ won't convince Robert Martin that it's a great game. Rio Grande will soon be releasing FUNNY FRIENDS ($23) which is an absolutely hysterical experience with the right group- have sex, take drugs, and get crushed by a falling crucifix. Well, unless Jay cleans it up. We should also see THURN AND TAXIS ($21) soon, which seems primed to take Spiel Des Jahres this year and the new edition of EL GRANDE ($35) will be available soon for the 3 of you out there who have never played it. Z-Man Games should have THE SCEPTER OF ZANDAVOR ($35) ready soon, a game I wish I liked but I just don't- probably because my first game was a 5 hour long analysis paralysis torture session. Finally, there's reports that TEMPUS ($35) starting to appear but they're completely unsubstantiated. I love Martin Wallace's designs (usually), so out of all this it's probably what I'm the most excited about.

MB
Factory Games

Belated Blog Update/Changes- 6.21.06

Hi folks, sorry for the long delay in updating the ol' blog here...your humble narrator has never had a blog before and is still learning about the care and feeding of one so please forgive the absence of new information. Let's get to it, shall we?

First off, I am currently enrolled in an Electronic Writing/Publishing course at GSU as part of my mad dash to the graduation finish line (those of you who recieve the email newsletter have already been apprised of my insane 6 class schedule) and I will be experiementing with some things in the coming weeks as part of various class assignments related to successful blogging. Hopefully, we can tidy this place up a bit. The graphic design idiom that we will be moving towards is Aleksandr Radchenko meets Peter Saville. Wikipedia those guys.

Second, I'm going to change the format of the posts as I wasn't satisfied with the big, inclusive posts- I'd much rather provide smaller chunks of targeted information so you Vs. folks don't have to read all about Dinki Donki or whatever the latest Eurogame rolling down the pipeline is called to get to the useful stuff.

Third, the contact information on the blog has been completely updated. Please make sure you are emailing factorygames@bellsouth.net to place your orders or to ask questions.

That's all for now, thanks for reading.

Michael Barnes
Factory Games