Indie Boards & Cards is merging with Action Phase Games to create “a single games publishing behemoth.” Most of the company’s products will carry the Indie Boards & Cards name, though the Heroes Wanted line and certain other products will continue under the Action Phase brand. Distribution will remain managed by PSI.

Funnybone Toys has signed on with Lion Rampant for distribution in Canada. Previously, the company was handling Canadian sales directly. Funnybone says the move is the first step of a global expansion.

Ninja Division Publishing (Super Dungeon Explore) and Seven Seas Entertainment have formed a joint venture, Shinobi 7, that “will focus on producing tabletop games that are based on hit anime, manga, and pop culture brands.” The new company’s first title will be Space Dandy Galactic Deck-Building Game.

Superstore chain, Hastings, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy while owing PSI, Ultra PRO, and ACD Distribution each hundred of thousands of dollars.

Spin Master is opening an office in Australia and will take over the distribution of its own products currently distributed by Funtastic. The company is also expanding its operations in Mexico and Central and Eastern Europe and recently purchased children’s app makers Toca Boca and Sago Mini.

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Privateer Press just announced that all the distributors in North America it works with (ACD, Aladdin, Alliance, E-Figures, Gamus (GTS), Golden, Lion Rampant, Peachstate Hobby (PHD), Southern Hobby, and Universal) have signed the company’s new distribution contract and agreed to support the company’s new free rider policy.

The policy seeks to discourage high-volume online retailers from discounting product and not offering meaningful services that help the growth of the industry. It’s been put into place to help brick-and-mortar stores compete with online stores on more equal footing.

“We greatly appreciate the support and commitment to the health of brick-and-mortar retailers shown by our North American distribution partners,” said Sherry Yeary, president of Privateer Press. “Change won’t happen overnight, and eliminating free rider practices will be an ongoing issue that will take time and a united effort between publishers and distributors to overcome, but we have already seen the positive effect of instituting this policy, and we remain committed to its success, no matter what it takes.”

Privateer has also released that over 200 brick-and-mortar stores that previously didn’t carry Warmachine and Hordes product will now do so thanks to policy. Currently all launch kits for the new editions of Warmachine and Hordes have currently sold out at the manufacturer level through presales and distributors.

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Lion Rampant Imports and Distributions, a full service game distributor based in Ontario, Canada, showcased several new games for the North American market at Toy Fair.

From Drei Maigier Spiele, translated versions of Cockroach Poker and Cheating Moth were available. Cockroach Poker is the English translation of Kakerlakenpoker, a cute bluffing game for the whole family. Cheating Moth (Mogel Motte) is a silly family game that is all about cheating: players need to discard all their cards, but several cards can’t be placed in the discard pile — the players have to hide them up sleeves, in pockets, or dropping them on the floor.

Zoch is re-releasing Reiner Knizia’s Pickomino (Heckmeck am Bratwurmeck), the classic dice game, and Ghost Blitz 2 (Geistesblitz 2.0), a fast-thinking followup to Ghost Blitz where players grab matching (or mis-matching) items shown on cards. Lion Rampant also brought Ghost Blitz 5 to Midnight to the show to gauge interest. The 5 to Midnight version is a bit more complex than the other Ghost Blitz games released in North America, explained Rose Kriedemann, COO of Lion Rampant. In this version, players have to call out items on the cards as they grab the items. Other games Lion Rampart is testing in the North American market are Polterfass, a non-dice dice rolling game (barrels that land up on end or on sides), and Auf Teufel Komm Raus (Kettle of Hell), a push your luck betting game about grabbing coal from Hell without getting caught by the devil.

Lion Rampant also had Ukloo, an early reader treasure hunt game where the whole house is the game play area, and Schmidt Spiele’s Rondo, an abstract strategy game.

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