News is starting to trickle in from the recent Gama Trade Show (GTS) and we’ve collected some of the most interesting tidbits.battlefoam.jpg

  • Overall attendance at the show was down in the neighborhood of 18% and many people heard rumors that a number of companies are considering skipping the conference next year
  • Wizards of the Coast seemed focused on the “2” series of D&D (which we’ve talked about a few times ourselves) with some discussion of a Player’s Handbook 3 in 2010 and 4th edition remakes of popular adventures in 2009 (like the classic City of Brass this winter)
  • Looney Labs (creators of the undying game, Fluxx, which will be getting a Martian Fluxx expansion this year) is releasing a new card game: Are You a Traitor which is like the venerable Are You a Werewolf, but for fewer players
  • Evil Hat Productions is releasing Paul Tevis‘ long awaited RPG, Penny for My Thoughts a story game where players control characters with total amnesia, all taking a drug allowing them to access the memories of the other characters
  • Battlefoam continued their marketing onslaught with a strong showing that gained some attention (Battlefoam sells customized foam for transporting miniatures – lots of praise for the product from folks like 40K Radio and the D6 Generation)
  • Out of the Box Publishing (creators of the omnipresent party game, Apples to Apples) showed off their new game, Word on the Street, which seems to be a basic word building game with a “cross the road” mechanic
  • The World of Warcraft miniatures game is doing well enough to warrant a new expansion, Spoils of War, on May 5th featuring 51 new miniatures and rules for equipment  wowminis.jpg
  • Catalyst Game Labs had a bunch of non-Shadowrun/Battletech games to talk about including: Balance of Power, an area control game with a simple combat system and some very nice bits; Leviathan, a naval miniatures game set in a fantastic version of the 19th century (did we need another fantasy naval game after Uncharted Seas?); Merchants, a new card game from Reiner Knizia – no idea on the mechanics on this one yet
  • Atlas Games showed off their new book “Antarctic Express” by Ken Hite – think the beloved classic, “Polar Express,” crossed with HP Lovecraft’s “Mountains of Madness” (yeah…this will be a must-buy for my kids…)

Big hat tips to the Seattle Hobby Games Examiner and Living Dice (and everyone on Twitter who posted updates)!