Geek Chic No More

Geek Chic, maker of high-end custom gaming tables, has closed up shop. Four years ago, the company appeared to come out of the television show, Shark Tank, with an investment but that deal fell through. Two years ago, the company announced the launch of an exclusive event service that that never materialized. And a more recent arrangement with Crash Games also dissolved. Now the company’s core furniture-building business has ceased operations.

Though Geek Chic may be finished, the idea of there being a market for expensive add-ons for well-healed hobby gamers lives on with custom box inserts, hand crafted wood dice trays, and still several other companies making custom game tables.

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Geek Chic is adding a new gamer table model to the company’s lineup. The Vanguard, which Geek Chic describes as having “a design that can blend into both modern and traditional aesthetics”, will run around $3,000-4,000 (depending on options chosen) and be available in sizes up to 6½ feet long. It has the normal dining room table look but also features the recessed Game Vault space and rail system to hold accessories.

In addition to the made-to-order tables, Geek Chic is also offering a ready-made standard Vanguard configuration at $2,500, which will begin shipping in November.

geek-chic-vanguard

paxeast2Every year I go to PAX East I make sure to stop by the Geek Chic booth to torture myself. Their tables are absolutely gorgeous, and way out of my price range. That is, until now. Their latest table, The Drop Ship, is a pre-made budget table in their line of wondrous gaming tables. While still a good amount of money ($1600 + $200 shipping), the Drop Ship falls in line with a lot of dining room tables I’ve seen.

The tables features include:

• Choice of Hardwood (Cherry, Maple, or Walnut)
• Game Vault System
• Lightweight Vault Lid (dual sided)
• Geek Chic Roll-Out Game Layer
• 29 ½” leg height
• Rail System
• 4 Locking Cupholders (with new solid brass slide-lock mechanism!)
• Suction cup to lift the vault lid and clear acrylic layer

There may just be a Geek Chic table in my future after all!

Drop Ship

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Geek Chic Acquires Crash Games

Crash Games LogoMaking a move outside the furniture business, Geek Chic has acquired Crash Games. Terms of the deal were not announced but Crash Games founder Patrick Nickell will remain at the head of the company. Based on a statement released today, it appears the move is primarily aimed at allowing the game company to extend beyond its core market of Kickstarter backers. Crash Games has plans to publish six board games in 2016.

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Geek Chic XPGeek Chic, the company that makes custom game furniture, is expanding with another deluxe service, upscale game events. Branded Geek Chic XP, the inaugural event of this service is set to take place alongside Gen Con in Indianapolis. For $1,200 per person, ticket holders will have access to a special game lounge with concierge service and full-service food and beverage options (further charges apply). They also get access to additional but unspecified activities, 1 year of membership, and recommendations for activities at future events.

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Geek Chic Dropship TableGeek Chic is launching a line of ready-made game tables. The company says it will not replace or interfere with production of its custom furniture.

Geek Chic has designed the Dropship line to be affordable and easy to ship, yet it maintains many of the quality, solid-wood features of the company’s earlier offerings. Each Dropship gaming table will have a recessed playing surface, replaceable top, and rail-system with cup holders. The Dropship table will be available in Cherry, Maple, or Walnut in square or rectangular configurations for $1,750 and $1,600, respectively.

Shipping begins in July. Preorders are being taken now, however, the company is planning on maintaining a selection in inventory for quick shipment at any time.

Gifts for the Game Collection

There’s a gamer in your life, but you don’t know what to surprise them with as a gift. There are deck-builders, dice fests, worker-placement games, area-control games, and all sorts of different types of games (and so many!) — it’s tough to just pick that perfect game for your perfect gamer. Instead of giving a gift for them, why not give them something for their game collection?

Replacement Money and Score Counters

There’s something about the tactile experience of props in games, from the foam guns in Ca$h ‘N Gun$ to the paper money in Monopoly. Purple Pawn suggests upgrading your game collections money and scoring counters with one of these three suggestions:

Bird Bucks from Smart Play Games. For less than $7, you can replace money and score counters with a thicker thematic card deck. Featuring fifty cards numbered 0-9 with a sharply designed monetary look, these cards can be used as score keepers and as a clever tool for budding game designers.

A Poker Chip Set. Gamers who dislike paper money in their board games can use a standard set of poker chips as a replacement. When looking for a poker chip set, look for chips that are about 11.5 grams or higher for the weight and feel. Plus, they make a satisfying CLUNK when tossed onto a game table. Added bonus: poker chip sets can also be used for playing poker! Amazing!

Campaign Coins. A fantastic set of coins and counters available in many different styles and metals, these coins are absolutely luxurious to hold and use. You can create a specific collection of coins or just go for the King’s Ransom, a custom set intended for use with board games. Wonderfully designed, these coins are a delight to look at and play with. (Shopping for Christmas? Get your order in now to have a set arrive in time!)

Organizational Supplies

There are games with well-designed inserts and then there are the majority of games. Here are three items that Purple Pawn suggests to use to help manage their game collection (once they throw away that useless insert):

Hugo’s Amazing Tape. Games with cards often have the same problem: keeping them together. Enter Hugo’s Amazing Tape. This product is a transparent static wrap that sticks to itself, not your game components. It’s great for securing game boxes and keeping cards in organized stacks. Although Hugo’s Amazing Tape works well on most games, make sure to point your gamer over to this geeklist on BoardGameGeek for a list of games “safely tested” with the stuff. Looking for more colors? Try static bondage tape.

H-Shape or X-Shape Rubber Bands. To keep that overstuffed game box shut, a collection of crossing rubber bands might do the trick. Unlike regular rubber bands, these are split almost down the center, allowing one rubber band to wrap around all four sides of a game box.

Plano Stowaway Boxes. Primarily used as tackle boxes or for crafts, these transparent storage boxes can be configured to hold many differently-sized game components. For games that require multiple types of tokens (we’re talking about you, Fantasy Flight Games), Plano boxes are a great asset for organizing and storing. The boxes come in different sizes and basic configurations; most have adjustable dividers.

Other Items

And a miscellany of items that are just plain helpful (or tasty).

Edible Dice. Searching for a gift for a role-player? Gamers love dice — and Dice Candies makes them out of chocolate. A complete set of Ghirardelli, Van Lerr Callebaut, or TCHO organic chocolate polyhedrals (one each of d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, and d20) will run you less than $10 — that’s less than some sets of non-edible dice!

Sports/Duffel Bags. Game night at a friend’s house? Heading to a convention? Your gamer will want to have something to safely and securely carry their games over. Look for a squarish-shaped duffel bag that is at least twelve inches wide — square board game boxes like Dominion are just under 12″x12″x3″. End pockets are great for holding smaller games. Note that when buying online, dimensions listed are usually the exterior size. The item linked above should carry three Dominion-sized boxes in the main compartment with room for a smaller game box.

Game Tables. With a round gaming table that’s easy to put away for storage (and to be used for other things), all players can have the game board at an equal distance, which helps with seeing those small board elements and reaching the board no matter where you sit. Have a few thousand dollars in your gift-giving budget? Consider The Portal by Geek Chic for something a bit more elegant and customizable.

Dice Trays. When rolling a handful of dice, it’s helpful to keep them all together instead of chasing them off the table or — for the gamer who wants to keep their game pristine — scuffing the board. Dice trays come in various shapes and styles, but for our tastes, you want to look for a large (but not too large) rolling surface and high walls.

paxeast2

This year is the first year I’ve had the opportunity to attend PAX East in Boston, MA. Mostly known as a convention for video gamers, there’s a large, and growing, tabletop  component to the show. Though I only attended the show on Friday, I was able to see a LOT of great stuff for the tabletop, and even demo a few new games. Since there was a lot to see, I’ll be breaking this up in to several posts over the next few days so as not to overload everyone.

Wizards of the Coast

My first stop was the Wizards of the Coast booth were they were showcasing the 2015 version of Duels of the Planeswalkers. While none of the new cards have been added to the alpha build yet, I was able to check out the new UI and tweaks to the game overall. While 2014 was a vast improvement over 2013, 2015 is just a more polished, smooth update to 2014. The new deck builder is supposedly more robust, but wasn’t available yet. Overall I was impressed with what I saw, and can’t wait to get my hands on a finished version with all the new features and cards.

Wizards also had a demo station set up on the tabletop floor for Kaijudo, where they were explaining the new draft format, and had samples of their new competitive decks. These decks are constructed to be a bit more competitive than current pre-constructed decks, and make for much more exciting play. I was able to get one to bring home, and will soon be testing it out with the kids. One of the most exciting aspects of the draft format, coming out this May, is that the number of cards in booster packs is going up from 9 to 14. The price will stay the same. Now you’ll be able to buy 3 boosters per person to host a draft game.

Privateer Press

Privateer Press’s booth had several things going on, but the main two attractions were Zombies Keep Out and Warmachine Tactics.

IMG_0579Zombies Keep Out is a cooperative board game for 1-6 players where everyone is trying to keep zombies from breaking down the barricades to a goblins’ workshop. Players work together to try and build crazy contraptions to stop the zombie horde before they break down the barricades and invade the workshop. One of the cooler mechanics of the game is that players who suffer zombie bites have to slowly start acting like zombies. 1 bite means a player has to start slurring their speech while playing. They also can’t trade cards. More bites start making the player have to moan and point, instead of speaking.

Privateer was also showing off Warmachine Tactics, a PC game of the popular miniatures franchise. The game looks pretty amazing, and feels solid. The really cool part of the game will come to a future update of the build. Players will actually be able to paint their units. Not just color them, but paint them. Since the data will be stored procedurally, it takes very little power to send your unit customizations to another player over the internet, so any player you play against will see your custom units on the field. The game is currently still in development, but will see a release around the end of the summer.

Geek Chic

One of the most amazing things I saw at PAX was the Geek Chic book. We’ve covered their tables in the past, but I’ve never gotten a chance to see one in person. Flat out, these are some of the most amazing, beautiful pieces of furniture I’ve ever seen. They’ve got tables in every size and shape to meet the needs of gamers in all stages of life. From coffee tables and GM desks to kitchen tables and the famous Sultan, these tables just ooze class.

 

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Geek Chic, makers of drool-worthy gamer furniture, appeared on ABC’s Shark Tank this past Friday. Founder, Robert Gifford, walked away with a $300,000 investment from shark, Robert Herjavec, in return for 25 percent of the company.

Gifford revealed during the show that Geek Chic did $2 million in business during 2012 but was in the red by $100,000.

From comments made by Herjavec, you can expect him to push the company to raise its prices.

Geek Chic on Shark Tank