FAO Schwartz will add toy and game spaces to 700 Macy’s Stores over the next two years.

FAO Schwatrz has been through some rough times, recently, filing for bankruptcy and essentially selling all of its assets. Nevertheless, operations continued.

Last October, they opened a 5,300 sq foot stores inside a Chicago Macy’s, so apparently the experiment was a success.

(source)

• 0 Comments

National Backyard Games Week, May 23 – 30, is Patch Product’s way of saying get out and have fun (and buy their backyard games). (source)

Come Out And Play, June 6 – 8 in NYC, is a festival of outdoor games and sports that will spread over the Lower East Side of Manhattan. An example game is Human Blackjack, where players vie to be dealt as cards to the next hand. (source)

• 0 Comments

Qyshinsu is a beautiful new abstract game from R. A. Frederickson. It comes with a round board, twenty four disks, and a hokey story/rules guide that looks and reads like a Loreena McKennitt CD insert.

Essentially, what disk you put onto, or remove from, the board determines the location of the next disk that your opponent must put onto, or remove from, the board.

His other game, Zhadu, is also rather pretty,

• 1 Comment

The Baltimore Kids Chess League is enriching the lives of 1,200 elementary school students in 60 schools. They not just keeping out of trouble, they’re learning sportsmanship and critical thinking skills.

Middle and high schools want to get in on the act, but there are doubts about funding even the current program next year, owing to what amounts to a proposed “redistribution” of the system’s money.

(source)

• 0 Comments

Games are my hobby. But I’ll admit to dreaming about making games my career. I daresay that some of you have as well. As the saying goes, do what you love and you’ll love what you do.

Well, believe it or not, it is possible. A survey of game companies reveals a number of available positions. However, it also reveals a number of important facts to consider. Career employment-type positions are rare and are generally concentrated in customer service, marketing, support services such as accounting and information technology, and production. Development jobs, though they are generally found in-house, are rarer still. Design and graphic illustration, however—the type of work you might think about first when you imagine creating games—are more often left to independent contractors or freelancers (which, hopefully, we’ll cover at a later time). Also, don’t expect to find a wealth of opportunities or high-paying positions—Hasbro and Mattel CEO positions being the exception on the latter. Finally, though you may be interested because you enjoy playing games, the companies who are recruiting expect their employees to take the jobs seriously. They are looking for people with specific skills and experience, and in most cases require successful candidates to relocate.

So, if you’re still interested, this is some of what you can find available right now:

• Steve Jackson Games is looking for a Production Assistant and a Perl Coder.
• Fantasy Flight Games is recruiting for a Senior Roleplaying Game Developer.
• Paizo Publishing has opportunities for a Customer Service Representative, Warehouse Personnel, a Software Developer, and a Copy Editor.
• “Intern” positions are available at Kenzer & Company. From the description, this appears to be warehouse order processing, but it’s unclear whether or not the positions are paid.
• At Privateer Press there are jobs for Linux Administrator and Packing/Shipping.
• Positions at Upper Deck include Financial Analyst, Designer (Entertainment), Lead Artist, Associate Game Designer (WOW Miniatures), Senior Software Engineer, Senior Systems Engineer, Technical Support Specialist, Web Designer/Developer, and Director of Direct Response Marketing.
• In the UK, Games Workshop has positions available in retail sales support and management. In the United States, opportunities include retail, as well as Administrative Assistant, HR Director, and Trade Account Manager.
• Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro, is recruiting for UI Architect, Software Development Manager, Software Developer, Bilingual Graphic Designer, Game Brand Developer (Japan), and Administrative Assistant.
• The rest of Hasbro is recruiting for 30 open positions, including 5 in accounting/finance, 5 in engineering, and 4 in graphic arts & design.
• At Mattel, there are opportunities for Interns in Design/Development and career positions as a Senior Marketing Associate, a Senior Security Investigator, and Senior Financial Analyst.
• Ravensburger is looking for a Press Advisor, Planning Engineer, Product Manager, and Technical Product Developer/Manufacturer (at least that’s how Babel Fish translates it).

• 1 Comment