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Derek takes us back to the court of Justinian. In this Byzantine themed and decorated board and card game, everyone is working hard to influence the members of the court. You only have so much influence and you want to be sure your counselors are positioned well to serve your cause. You will do well if you spend your influence wisely and can read through your opponents motives.

Justinian Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Board Game Designed by: lessandro Saragosa and Leo Colovini Players: 2-4 Play Time: 45 minutes Ages: 10+ MSRP: $45.00

Today we tease you with some upcoming plans for the pulp gamer network and throw out an opportunity for writers. We have some great discussion today, all spurred by your feedback from the show.

Some plugs today include The RPG Haven Podcast, Emerald City Game Fest, and of course, Uncle Bear. Our famous TomG also has a blog, where he posts a lot of his feedback to this and other shows.

We had a blast at RinCon (be sure to see One Cool Thing) and are now looking forward to TusCon, MACE, and sailing around Mexico and the Caribbean with Gamer Adventures. We were able to enjoy the cooperative game, Witch of Salem several times over RinCon. We also shamelessly plug one of our co-hosts game stores, Hat's Games.

Our main topic today is about value and what happens when a game changes edition or goes out of print. The game that started this discussion was Tales of the Arabian Nights. Many more are also referenced.

Jess Hartley talks about her appearances on The Gearheart and The Game's the Thing. Don recently appeared in The Tome Show and The Game's the Thing.

We congratulate Jason for winning a writing contest with Alpha Omega. We plug Jess Hartley's book, Conventions for the Aspiring Game Professional. The Federal Trade Commission reminds bloggers to disclose their relationship with advertisers. Equinox Roads kicks off our final discussion of ending campaigns.

Ron takes us to early 20th Century Arkham with the cooperative board game, Witch of Salem. Join characters from the works of Lovecraft inspired Wolfgang Hohlbein to stop the elder evil forces from taking over the city. We found this game to be elegant, challenging, replayable, and a real hit. It is an easy game to learn, but you will need some thought and cooperation to overcome the obstacles this one throws at you.

Witch of Salem Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Board Game Designed by: Michael Rieneck Players: 2-4 Play Time: 60 minutes Ages: 10+ MSRP: $49.00

Its all about the games today - games such as:

• Letter Roll
• Justinian
• Emira
• Word on the Street
• Sticks & Stones
• Arthur Lives!
• Equinox Roads
• Swords at Dawn
• Goblin Markets
• Geist
• Witch of Salem

Dave takes us to space with the board game, Martian Rails. From the Empire Builder series known to may as the crayon rail games, this journey allows us to explore a new world and some new twists. Build your railroad empire across the Martian terrain and make tomorrow's big bucks.

Martian Rails Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Board Game Designed by: M. Robert Stribula & the Empire Builder Design Team Players: 2-6 Play Time: 120-240+ minutes Ages: 12+ MSRP: $42.00

We have another great set of conversations today, most of them centering around your comments and emails. Before getting to that, however, we kick off the day by talking to Jess Hartley about her e-book, Conventions for the Aspiring Game Professional. Our conversations then take us into some about the various versions of Dungeons & Dragons.

Uncle Bear gives us some notes about The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets, a rock band dedicated to promoting the literature of H.P. Lovecraft. Then catches us up on his new adventures in New Mexico with FandomNM.

We bring up some more discussion on the Adventures in Oz and a corresponding blog.

Also find out how you may be able to get a free digital copy of your choice of Accent Your Character somewhere in today's show.

Marcelo A. Figueroa is one of few individuals who have participated in every tier of the hobby games industry, first as a consumer, then in Retail (All Star Games), in Distribution (ACD Distribution), as Media (Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer Magazine, Shadis Magazine, Games Quarterly Magazine), and Publishing (Alderac Entertainment Group, Avalanche Press, Playroom Entertainment). And somewhere in there he found time to be a published writer & game designer. His years of experience have made him a respected industry expert in Customer Service, Marketing, Product Demonstration & Sales, including an Origins Award.

Commonly referred to as the "someone you need to know" in hobby games, Marcelo currently works with Sorvent, Inc. as a Talent Manager, helping undiscovered game inventors find publishers for their games, as well as being the Sales Manager for Dan Verssen Games, Warpath Games Distribution, and the Greater Games Industry Catalog.

Our crew talks today about encouraging your players to become more invested into your roleplaying campaign world.  There are several tips and tricks to increasing their involvement, thus increasing their emotional connection, the richness of the story, and the degree of fun everyone will have.

Dave introduces us to the board game, A House Divided. Its a strategic war game that allowed us to reenact and even modify the events of the American Civil War. We were able to start with a basic rule set to dive into the game quickly and allow it to grow with us as expanded rules add all the complexities and details to give the game some reach crunch and realism.

A House Divided Publisher: Phalanx Games Style: Board Game Designed by: Frank Chadwick Players: 2 Play Time: 60+ minutes Ages: 12+ MSRP: $45.00

Today, like about every other day, we play games. These games include Le Boomb, Loot, Mesopotamia, A House Divided, Adventures in Oz, Trailblazer, Letter Roll, Bannanagrams, Space Hulk, Terror Thirteen, and Alpha Omega.

RinCon is just coming around the corner. Be sure to join us October 9-11 at the Tucson Convention Center.

We are going over your thoughts today. We had a great time with a full studio. Interest in the Gen Con panels were brought up, and we are pleased to announce the first of those have been released.

Kirt brought up some LARP links, such as as the LARPA web site, Mike's Microgames and other freely downloadable LARPS, and Interactive Literature.

Some other games that got brought up include Twilight 2013, Mousegaurd, Battlefleet Gothic, Pandemic, FBI, Geist, Grimm, and Duck Duck Go.

Be sure to check out Accent Your Character, dialect training for roleplayers, storytellers, and other casual pretenders.

RinCon is just coming around the corner. Be sure to join us October 9-11 at the Tucson Convention Center.

Derek takes us back in time with the board game, Mesopotamia. Appease the ancient Mesopotamian god, Marduk, by brining your offerings to the ziggurat. To reach that goal, however, you will need to also collect other resources and build a thriving culture. This one also gives us the opportunity to beat up our neighbors up a little bit and take their stuff.

Mesopotamia Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Board Game Designed by: Klaus-Jurgen Wrede Players: 2-4 Play Time: 45 minutes Ages: 8+ MSRP: $45.00

Today we reflect on Gen Con and start looking forward to RinCon. There is an impressive list of guests as you can tell by the RinCon web site and listening to today's show. We are joined by RinCon director and game designer, Boyan Radakovich. We also welcome Jess Hartley to the crew for a few episodes. More blog support is provided by Uncle Bear.

Some entertaining bits we discovered at Gen Con include Mind Flex, Geek Chic, some paper and the cool GM screen by Fat Dragon Games. Some notable games that get brought up in today's show include Innocents, Pathfinder, and some titles by Atarashi Games.

Both Derek and Jess make an appearance on This Just In from Gen Con! Also take a listen to your favorite bloggers and podcasters through the gradual release of the Gen Con Panels.

Derek visits with Leah Osterhaus of Out of the Box Publishing, touching on a number of great titles and learning a little more about the founding and growth of the company.

Leah Osterhaus began working with Out of the Box Publishing 11 years ago test playing games and demoing at trade shows. Since then she earned her Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Marketing from the University of Wisconsin- Madison and worked for several years as an inventory specialist at Target Corporation. Several years ago, Out of the Box offered Leah an ownership position in the company as Vice President of Sales. She now works as the Vice President of Marketing and International Sales.

We wrap up the month with a discussion on the evolution of campaigns. They evolve and change as the times change with technology, or rules just get updated. This spawns a lot of fun discussion and many campaign settings are brought up.

We do want to share at least a couple of links with you because we are just so pleased to have Uncle Bear back with us again â?? oh, and don't forget to follow him on Twitter. The girls say he's pretty hot when he is in character.

Derek welcomes us to Elasund, a city from which you set sail to Catan, and a board game of urban development. Your score depends on your contribution to the growing community and how well you can out-wit your opponents with your influence. This Catan Adventure stands apart from the rest of the Catan games with some aggressive overlapping of city buildings and has all the fun you would expect from a Klaus Teuber game.

Elasund: The First City Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Board Game Designed by: Klaus Teuber Players: 2-4 Play Time: 45-60 minutes Ages: 12+ MSRP: $49.00

Derek visits with Loren Coleman at Gen Con 2009, hitting on a number of things from his writing to his company, Catalyst Game Labs. We get a look at some new and coming titles and get to know more about Loren.

Loren L. Coleman grew up in the Pacific Northwest. An avid reader, he became infatuated with stories and the art of storytelling at a young age. He wrote creative works as early as twelve years old and began to write actual fiction stories in high school for a Creative Writing class. But it was during his enlistment in the U.S. Navy that he began working seriously at the craft, spending off-time during his deployment in the Persian Gulf writing his first novel. Discharged in 1993, he went to work as a freelance fiction writer and eventually became a full-time novelist.

His first novel, Double-Blind, was published in 1998. He has since explored the universes of BattleTech, Magic: The Gathering, Crimson Skies, MechWarrior: Dark Age, Star Trek, and Conan. Around the time of this printing he has sold over twenty novels, a great deal of shorter fiction work, and been involved with several computer games. He is also an award-winning editor and an amateur poet.

When he isnâ??t writing, Loren coaches youth sports, collects far too many DVDâ??s, holds a black belt in traditional Taekwon Do, and runs Catalyst Game Labs. He has lived in many parts of the country. Currently he resides in Washington State with his wife, Heather Joy, two sons, Talon LaRon and Conner Rhys Monroe, and a young daughter, Alexia Joy. The family owns three obligatory writerâ??s cats, Rumor, Cleopatra, and Tigerlilly, and one neurotic border collie, Loki.

So far as we can tell, we held the world's first gamemaster's conference, at least of our kind, with the Southern Arizona Gamers Association (SAGA). If you are in improving your game, this is a must-listen episode. We touch on a number of tips given by the presenters. Our keynote speaker was John Wick of Play Dirty and RPG fame. He and everyone else gave some great advise we were all able to grow on.

Ron enlists us in the FBI. This card game is all about the arrests, and you have a quota to meet. You are probably going to pick up some innocent folks, but that is their tough luck. Capture the worst criminals for the best score and stay on top of the game by clever play.

FBI Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Card Game Designed by: Wolfgang Kramer & Horst-Rainer Rösner Players: 2-5 Play Time: 30 minutes Ages: 10+ MSRP: $13.00

It's hot in the desert, so we stay in and play games, like we need an excuse. Today's discussion includes Geist: The Sin Eaters, Pathfiner, Arcane Legions, City in the Sands, The Chain game, Station Master, Express, and the National Security Decision Making Game.

This one is driven by you and made up almost entirely by your feedback. We start the show by announcing the winner of our Trivathon contest who was awarded digital copies of Accent Your Character and The Game's the Thing style chips.

We had a number of links come up in todays show to share. These include Tasty Minstrel Games, some information about a D&D summer camp, and MACE.

Derek introduces us to the latest rail board game by Martin Wallace called Steam: Rails to Riches. Lay track across the country and respond to the economy of the game to build up the most victory points. Steam is the next step in the evolution of the games Martin is most known for. We'll be digging this one out again for our own delight.

Steam: Rails to Riches Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Board Game Designed by: Martin Wallace Players: 3-6 Play Time: 90+ minutes Ages: 12+ MSRP: $55.00

Our main topic of which we spend a great deal of time on is how to bring characters to life, both as a GM/Storyteller and as a player character.

The games referenced in today's show include Night Horrors, FBI, Innocents, Duck Duck Go, and Forgotten Realms.

The bulk of today's show is about the games released and the events around Origins, and there were plenty. We were therefore only able to cover handful of highlights.

Games today include Triviathon, Penny for My Thoughts, Steam, Say Anything, Pandemic, Mouseguard, Dominion, Arcane Legions, and Are you the Traitor?

We also mentioned the awesome gaming tables by Geek Chic, and the d-total.

Cody and John released the board game panel. Dan and Sara released the Origins Awards.

We also mentioned Eddy Webb's White Wolf podcast and welcome him to the mix of podcasters.

We add Sierra Madre Games to the list of Tucson game companies we started last month.

In other news, Don was elected to the GAMA board of directors.

And, we make one last plug as you hope you will join us for the Southern Arizona Game Master's Conference.

We have also heard from Liz Danforth about games in libraries who shares some great gems for us in her blog.

Look for a surprise contest in today's show.

This is a special presentation of the 35th annual Origins Awards brought to you by the Origins Game Fair and the Pulp Gamer Media Network.

Ron takes us to Candamir: The First Settlers. Adventure through the wilds of Catan and be the hero of your town. This board game is a streamlined, low-conflict adventure game as compared to other adventure games and plays in less time. Provide what the town needs and more than anyone else to be the one to claim victory.

Candamir: The First Settlers Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Board Game Designed by: Klaus Teuber Players: 2-4 Play Time: 60-120 minutes Ages: 12+ MSRP: $49.00

Barbarossa is a sculpture, riddle, and guessing game. Build sculptures that are abstract enough to challenge your guessing opponents, but don't make them too hard or you will get nowhere. This one also appealed to a wide range of players and employed a very unique skill.

Barbarossa Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Board Game Designed by: Klaus Teuber Players: 3-4 Play Time: 60 minutes Ages: 8+ MSRP: $20.00

We couldn't help but notice the mini-mecca of gaming that Tucson has become and decided to spend a few minutes on the topic. Aside from the grand Pulp Gamer Media Network and all of its glory, we have several stores, publishers, and other outlets. The Games the Thing is an independent podcast that includes Ron Blessing, with several credits now to his name. Other media outlets include Uncle Bear and Cerise. Publishers in town include Good Company Games, Tasty Minstrel, Shifting Skies, Ship of Fools, and Master Pieces. Dice manufacturer, Crystal Caste calls Tucson home. Some game stores include Nemesis Games, Hat's Games, and 3 Game Daze stores. The Southern Arizona Gamers Association keeps a calendar on meetup.com, and holds the highlight event of the year, RinCon.

A handful of other topics in today's show includes Hasbro teaming up with Discovery for some new television. The Dead Matter winds up post-production. Dialect training presentations, Accent Your Character is increasing its reach. Evil Hat has a pdf guarantee. Uncle Bear makes Wired Magazine's top 100 geeks to follow on twitter. White Glove Movies by Mayfair Games is soon to launch.

Origins Game Fair is just around the corner - several of us will be there.

Games covered in today's show include Alpha Omega (also covered by Uncle Bear at examiner.com), Armory Reloaded, PS238, Cornerstone, Candamir, Elasund, The Day After Ragnarok, and Age of Conan.

Be sure to join in on the discussion by emailing us, commenting, or joining our facebook group.

We talked about a number of other podcasts including a special episode of Yog Sothoth, a special episode of The Game's the Thing, Grammar Girl, Fear the Boot, 2d6 Feet in a Random Direction, Have Games Will Travel, and Game On!

Detroit-Cleveland Grand Prix is a racing board game like no other. Your moving not just your cars, but others around the track. Your decisions were about timing and maximizing your move, but you usually can't get around the track yourself. This was a real hit for everyone.

Detroit-Cleveland Grand Prix Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Board Game Designed by: Wolfgang Kramer Players: 2-6 Play Time: 45-60 minutes Ages: 8+ MSRP: $25.00

We are still reminiscing about the trip to Las Vegas and shout out to one of our friends we seem to only be seeing on that trip, Alan Sugarbaker of Ogre Cave and now doing a lot of work for RPG.net. Uncle Bear has released a couple of interviews with Don Dehm and Ron Blessing that you may enjoy. We also call back to the passing of Dave Arneson and pointed out an interview we did with him last year.

A lot of things are coming up to include Origins and Gen Con. At Gen Con, we have put together an entire list of events to include our Saturday Night Meet & Greet at The House.

We have now taken audio production in a new direction with our first audio fiction release, Smoky Mountain Horrors with Weston Ochse. These are available from your favorite audiobook provider, along with our dialect training series, Accent Your Character.

Games in today's show includes Exalted, Barbarossa, Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies, Stone Age, Detroit-Cleveland Grand Prix, Traveler, the Scion Companion.

Our main topic is with World War II and started from a discussion on our facebook group. Additional games brought up on this include Weird Wars, Flames of War, Dark Heresy, Gurps WWII, Hollow Earth Expedition, Cold City, and Grey Ranks.

Load the trucks and move 'em out with Pack & Stack. You'll need to grab the right trucks and pack as efficiently as you can to stay ahead of the curve on this one. This short game is getting a lot of play and has lots of little blocks to play with.

Go West Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Board Game Designed by: Bernd Eisenstein Players: 3-6 Play Time: 30-45 minutes Ages: 10+ MSRP: $49.00

Derek gives us the board game, Go West! Your a businessman exploiting the westward migration of covered wagons across North America. This heads-down strategy game of action and reaction will require some focus. You decide when to score, but your opponent scores every time you do.

Go West Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Board Game Designed by: Renaud Verlaque Players: 2-4 Play Time: 30 minutes Ages: 8+ MSRP: $30.00

Our main topic today is ghosts â?? where to find them and how to use them in your game.

We returned home from the GAMA trade show with a whole list of games to explore. Others are more related to our main topic. Some of these include Arcane Legions, Are you the Traitor, Battle Spirits, Pack & Stack, Amazonas, Spirit Slayers, 10 Commandments, Bill of Rights, Savage Worlds, Inspectres, Green's Guides to Ghosts. and Houses of the Blooded, Lost Souls, and Ghostwalk.

We also mention several sources in and out of the Pulp Gamer Network. We welcome Game On! to the network. We also mentioned the fundraiser by Fear the Boot. Be sure to take the survey that Podgecast has put together. The Games the Thing has entered into the Ennies. The D6 Generation had an awesome interview with Curt Covert. Don appeared on an episode of Myriad Games. We also referenced the Small World parody.

We also gave mention to our facebook group. Be sure to hop on over there for additional discussions. We'll see you at Random Con!

Don sits down with Aaron Witten at the GAMA Trade Show. We talk about the trade show, his retail experience, the financial advise he is loaded with and lends to other retailers, and precision dice.

Aaron is founder and currently the CEO/CFO of the Gamestation, Inc. in Leitchfield, Kentucky and recently acquired Game Science. Heâ??s also an independent licensed broker, securities principal, and insurance agent with The Legend Group. His education includes a Bachelors of Science degree in Chemistry from Western Kentucky University (1998), with a minor in music. In 1996, he co-founded the first internet service in Grayson County, and was honored with a Kentucky Colonel award that same year. Heâ??s actively involved in the Lions Club and the First Baptist Church. He has served as Treasurer of GAMA since January of 2007, and on the Board of Directors as a Director at Large since June of 2005. He lives in Leitchfield, Kentucky, with his wife, Laura, and son, Luke.

During today's show we also mentioned a number of Pulp Gamer products that are available at gamestation.net. These include the mouse pad, the coffee cup, the d20 shot glass, and the d20 shot glass (rolled a 1).

We just announce the release of Pulp Studio's new brand, Kanigit Media and our first audio book, Smoky Mountain Horrors by Weston Ochse. This collection of short stories takes place in Appalachian country and is filled with frighteningly familiar characters. Today, we visit with Weston and play a short story for you. To download another free short story, visit Kanigit Media. More are available from your favorite digital audio book provider.

Weston Ochse is the author of science fiction and horror novels, as well as a slew of short stories and non-fiction articles that have appeared in comic books, professional writing guides, literary journals, magazines and anthologies. He won the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in First Novel in 2005 for Scarecrow Gods and was nominated for the Pushcart Prize for Fiction in 2003 for his collection Appalachian Galapagos. He has appeared internationally at conventions and conferences as author, teacher and toastmaster. Weston currently lives in Southern Arizona with his wife, Yvonne Navarro, and Great Danes, Pester Ghost Palm Eater and Goblin Monster Dog. For entertainment he races tarantula wasps, wrestles rattlesnakes, and bakes in the noonday sun.

Ron takes us to the Amazon of the 19th century with the board game, Amazonas. Cut your path across the amazon, set up your outposts, and collect specimens to win the game. Suffer the dangers of the amazon and stay ahead of your opponents to keep your costs down and weigh your options carefully.

Amazonas Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Board Game Designed by: Stephan Dorra Players: 3-4 Play Time: 50 minutes Ages: 10+ MSRP: $49.00

Derek gives us Shear Panic. On each turn, your manipulating a flock of sheep to appear in the arrangement that will score you the most points. The sheep are cuddly cute. The rules are clever and funny. This will certainly be a win for many game tables.

Shear Panic Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Board Game Designed by: The Lamont Brothers Players: 2-4 Play Time: 45+ minutes Ages: 10+ MSRP: $30.00

While on the Caribbean cruise with Gamer Adventures, Don had the opportunity to sit and visit with Larry Roznai, president of Mayfair Games. Games brought up during today's show include Empire Builder, Sutter's Mill, Silverton, Settlers of Catan, and Family Business.

Larry Roznai is a German-speaking native of Chicago, and a U.S. Navy veteran. An avid gamer, he hosted weekly game nights for many years before discovering the new generation of fine parlor games. When he brought home Darwin Bromley's Empire Builder game in 1989, his whole family became great fans of Mayfair Games. Larry became informally associated with Mayfair Games when his younger brother Joe--Mayfair's accountant since 1988--brought him to Mayfair's offices in 1989. There, they played or play-tested a host of Mayfair's games. Their first development work was on Eurorails in 1989-90. Both Joe and Larry became fans of the game system and began working on projects in the early 1990s. They later co-designed Nippon Rails. Larry has since designed Australian Rails and developed Lunar Rails and Russian Rails.

Larry became a part of Mayfair Games' extended family when he attended Gencon as a company guest in 1990. He began working game shows in his off-hours. Meanwhile, he worked for Honeywell. An electronics specialist, he worked on or oversaw major HVAC projects. His strong operations and management skills impressed the new Mayfair Games ownership team, and in 1999 he left the forced air industry and joined Mayfair Games as a board member, President, and COO. Larry moonlights as the bass player for the highly semi-legendary rock band "Byte," which he co-founded uncounted decades ago. He likes rock-n-roll. It is almost as dear to him as his great family. His wife Bridget and daughter Loren both work for Mayfair Games, while his son Karl attends school and helps play-test Mayfair products. (Of course, having worked for Mayfair Games since 1997, Bridget has longer tenure than her Johnny-come-lately spouse.)

We just returned from the Caribbean and are headed out to the GAMA Trade show in Las Vegas. Our main topic is controversial games. We touch on a number of heated titles such as War on Terror, Fishing for Terrorists, Suicide Bomber, Killing Puppies for Satan, Stoner Flux, Playing Gods, Ghettopoly, Blasphemy, Kablamo, the Ouija Board, Hot Chicks, Choice and Blood, and Juden Raus. During the discussion, reference was also made to the move, Paradise Now. Of course we can't help but to bring up the ignorance of Jack Chick.

We cover a number of great games and supplements in today's show. These include Paranoia, Night Stalkers of Hunter the Vigil, Pillars of the Earth, Dominion, 10 days in Europe, Mortal Coil, Gemstones, Dino Dice, Silverton, Ptolus, Arcana Evolved, Savage Worlds, and Hey! That's My Fish!

We welcome a number of shows to the network. These include Myriad Games, Fear the Boot, and The D6 Generation. We also shout out to our friends at Brilliant Gameologists and All Games Considered. In other news, we talk about Monte Cook and dungeonaday.com.

Jeremiah explaines Poisson d'Avril. Its the easiest complex game to get into. Poisson d'Avril is a card and board miniatures game of abstract themes. The object is to win by beating the other players. We are certain you will enjoy at least part of the journey.

Poisson d'Avril
Style: Board, Card, and Minature Abstract Combat Euro-Style Game
Players: 2-20
Play Time: 20-220 minutes
Ages: 10+

We are sailing the open seas with Gamer Adventures, Mayfair Games, Fear the Boot, and 4500 of our closest friends. Forty-one of us signed up with Gamer Adventures to cruise the Caribbean, play some board games to include a qualifying Settlers of Catan tournament, drink rum, explore Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, Key West, and of course our originating port, Fort Lauderdale. Listen in on our experience and be sure to join us next time. Our discussion continues on this episode of Fear the Boot.

We are joined by Larry Roznai of Mayfair Games, Kim Maita of Gamer Adventures, Dan Repperger of Fear the Boot, and the winner of the latest Settler's of Catan qualifying tournament, Darren Lacoste.

Jeremiah gives us the crayon rail game that started it all. Empire Builder is a classic board game about building a railroad empire over North America. The game has been beautifully redesigned and is gaining wide distribution. We always enjoy the rail games and the new challenges each one presents.

Empire Builder Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Board Game Designed by: Bill Fawcett, Darwin Bromley Players: 2-6 Play Time: 90+ minutes Ages: 12+ MSRP: $42.00

We are now headed of to the Caribbean with Gamer Adventures and Mayfair Games! We'll do some recording on the boat so you can share it at least some of the fun.

We touched on a handful of board games, to include Catan Geographies Germany, Hey! That's my fish!, Monuments, The Dutch Golden Age, and Formula D.

Asmodee has a new customer service email, contact_us@asmodee.com.

On the topic of RPGs, we discuss White Wolf's, Seers of the Throne for Mage the Awakening. That ended up launching an entire discussion about designing good antagonists for your roleplaying game.

Berin gives us a good look at Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook II and gave us links to all sorts of blogs on the topic.

Jeremiah takes us back to the southwest railroading days with Silverton. This board game reflects a realistic and challenging economy for you to thrive in with a supply and demand curve that changes during the game. Make your living and excel in the game by building the right rails, picking up the right goods, and making good on your delivery.

Silverton Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Board Game Designed by: Dori Smith, Phillip John Smith Players: 1-6 Play Time: 45-60 minutes Ages: 12+ MSRP: $45.00

Ron gives us Catan Geographies: Germany. Relive Germany's history by building infrastructure and various landmarks. We had a great time with this one and see an amazing amount of potential for more Catan Games in our schedule. It is much like the original Catan, minus the setup and the tiles.

Catan Geographies: Germany Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Board Game Designed by: Klaus Teuber Players: 3-4 Play Time: 90-120 minutes Ages: 10+ MSRP: $55.00

Derek gives us a look at Hey! That's My Fish! Jump from ice floe to ice floe to collect fish and block the other penguins from their quarry. This is a fast and simple strategy game that will keep you scratching your head.

Hey! That's My Fish! Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Board Game Designed by: Alvydas Jakeliunas Players: 2-4 Play Time: 20+ minutes Ages: 8+ MSRP: $25.00

We add Berin Kinsman, AKA Uncle Bear, to our group today and continue our discussion on Game Mechanics. Berin helped us trace the discussion even farther back to an article by Ron Edwards. Berin also references the RPG Blogger's Network, Musings of the Chatty DM, and The Core Mechanic. He also talks about his Get Your Dice Off My Lawn contest.

Jeremiah had a list of news notes to share around a board game resurgence, Hasbro's cash flow, Nerds at Heart, and Con of the North.

Of course a number of games came up today. Those of note include Mouse Guard, Tigris & Euphrates, and Pandemic. Jason has been editing Verge Recharged. Its still in playtest mode and all feedback is welcome.

Feedback included a link to Brilliant Gameologists about gaming environments from a previous episode.

We also want to welcome The Game's the Thing to the Pulp Gamer Media Network!

Derek gives us a look at The Dutch Golden Age. This one has a lot of elements that we enjoy in a game such as a tight economy, a beautiful map, and lots of options on your turn. Handle your choices and your money well and you may just come out on top.

The Dutch Golden Age Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Board Game Designed by: Leo Colovini & Guiseppe Bau Players: 3-5 Play Time: 25+ minutes Ages: 8+ MSRP: $45.00

We have a studio full and a great time. We talked about the gaming environment and finally closed the show with our discussion of mechanics and how much of an impact they have on the roleplaying game. We were also very excited to find from CNN a singles venue around games called Play Date.

We touched on a few games today, but some of those most notable include Empire Builder, EABAnywhere, and what is now called The Sales Activator shown to me by my sales friend from New View Group.

We almost got Uncle Bear to join us today and expect him soon. He was the inspiration for our main topic. Be sure to visit his blog and perhaps you will find your muse as well.

Peter contacted us about coldwars by hmgs. I look forward to hearing more about it!

Jeremiah takes us to the moon with the board game, Lunar Rails. This is a crayon rail game that as Jeremiah found out, changes everything. Both the economy and the geography present new challenges that rail gamers will love.

Lunar Rails Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Board Game Designed by: M. Robert Stribula Players: 2-6 Play Time: 45-60 minutes Ages: 12+ MSRP: $38.00

We have a new guest we hope will continue to join us. Jason has been accused of being the best GM in Tucson and certainly had a lot to contribute to our discussion on coordinated campaigns. We talked about how to get 20+ people together to play in the same cohesive story and have a good time doing it.

We started with a good story from NPR, Interactive Games Make Museums a Place to Play. Making education fun is always something we have stood by and it makes us happy every time we hear of it.

We touched on several games in todays show. Those that received the most attention included Shear Panic, Shogun, and Silverton. Don also spent an evening playing CashFlow by Robert Kiyosaki. The game night was run by a really great group of people from Nouveau Riche.

We are pleased to be included on War Pig Radio with Atomic Array and Fear the Boot. This is a great streaming project that will be of interest to a lot of folks.

Derek took at look at Lovecraftian Tales from the Table. This DVD is chalked full of goodies that Derek went on about for quite some time. Its an exciting packet of Yog Radio and other Cthuloid goodies.

GAMA welcomes John Ward as its new Executive Director. Don welcomes John to the Inside Track.

John holds a Master¹s degree in public administration with an emphasis in fiscal and policy management. His bachelor¹s degree is in criminology, with both degrees from Ohio University.

Professionally, Ward has extensive experience in the military and in state government. Ward is a retired Army officer with over 23 years of combined service in the military police and engineer corps. His military experience has provided him opportunities to deploy to Europe, Central America, Korea, and the Persian Gulf for the first Gulf War.

Ward also has over 20 years of government service in the criminal justice field, most recently in the juvenile system as the state of Ohio's Bureau Chief of Parole and then Bureau Chief of Community Facilities. In this last role, he supervised 12 small correctional facilities and managed revenue generation for Ohio¹s juvenile corrections agency, as well as working with 12 governing boards in a variety of endeavors. He enhanced volunteer programs, developed data and outcome measures, and was able to assist them in operationalizing both economic and procedural efficiencies. He still serves on a national level working and consulting in the criminal justice arena.

Ward is also a small business owner, running his own martial arts studio for more than 16 years. His part-time business/hobby gives him first-hand knowledge of the challenges facing small businesses.

In his personal life, Ward is blessed with a loving and supportive wife Angela, their young son Johnathon, and his teenage daughter Nikki, who is with them part-time. They live in the Columbus, Ohio metro area.

Derek takes us back to the gold rush with the board game, Sutter's Mill. Digging for gold is a part of the rush, but the real winners are those that take advantage of the town while it alive, and get out of town before it dries up. We have a great time with the tight economy and all the tough decisions that must be made.

Sutter's Mill Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Board Game Designed by: Marco Teubner Players: 2-4 Play Time: 60+ minutes Ages: 10+ MSRP: $45.00

Derek takes us around the world with Monuments. Build the prized structures of western civilization and record the rest for historic record. Each turn is full of choices that will help you and your opponents. This, and the historic theme drew us in to play the game again and again.

Monuments Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Card and Board Game Designed by: Stefan Risthaus Players: 2-4 Play Time: 45-60 minutes Ages: 8+ MSRP: $35.00

Derek shows us Express: The Railroad Card Game. This one is perfect for any card game lover. A lot off the mechanics will be familiar and it is themed beautifully. There are team play rules, individual play rules, and some options that vary play. Build a solid collection of trains and finish before your opponents beat you to the punch.

Express: The Railroad Card Game Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Card Game Designed by: Darwin P. Bromley Players: 2-6 Play Time: 45-60 minutes Ages: 8+ MSRP: $15.00

We are just getting started in the holiday season and wanted to give you an overview of the games covered thus far on The Game Kennel. Be sure to listen to the individual episodes for a more in depth discussion about each game.

• Gangster
• Chicago Poker
• The Market of Alturien
• Weinhandler
• Lascaux
• China Rails
• La Strada
• Bacchus' Banquet
• Entdecker
• Domaine
• Toledo
• The Pillars of the Earth Expansion Set
• Nautilus
• Journey to the Center of the Earth
• Alibi
• Anno 1503
• Horus
• Theophrastus
• Intrigue
• Megastar
• The Settlers of Catan
• Catan Traders and Barbarians
• Catan Dice Game
• Settlers of the Stone Age

We are extremely excited to be joining Gamer Adventures for a gamer cruise to the Caribbean this spring. To learn more about this and other cruises, we called Kim Maita. Kim just got back from a LARP cruise and was eager to tell us all about it. We then taked about the coming Magic cruise, and our Caribbean Cruise.

I hope you will be able to join us in March of 2008 for this cruise for gamers and significant others. Kim was kind enough to share links to some of the activities we can partake in when we hit port. Once the new year rolls around, be sure to check with Kim to get the best rates on these events. We will be hitting Key West, the Cayman Islands, and Jamaica.

Mayfair Games will be on board and hosting a Settlers of Catan Tournament. The winner will get a full ride to Gen Con 2009 to compete in the North American finals.

Derek takes a close look at Intrigue. You will laugh and cry as your scholars are hired and fired in this game of backstabbing, betrayal, and negotiation. Talk it up right and you just might receive enough in bribe money to win the game.

Intrige Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Negotiation Designed by: Stefan Dorra Players: 3-5 Play Time: 45 minutes Ages: 12+ MSRP: $20.00

Don spent some time with John Wick at RinCon in Tucson Arizona. The new Houses of the Blooded was a large part of the conversation, but significant talk was also given to Seventh Sea and Legend of the Five Rings. John is currently a co-owner of the Wicked Dead Brewing Company.

Derek gives us Megastar, a music band themed card game of market manipulation. There are a few things to work out such as how much to invest in certain bands and how much to just ride the market. Looking into the future is a tricky business with so many uncertainties, but if you watch closely you can at least get an idea of your competition's motives.

Megastar Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Card Game Designed by: Friedemann Friese Players: 2-5 Play Time: 45 minutes Ages: 10+ MSRP: $10.00

While at Gen Con, Jeremiah was able to get some time with Richard Borg. He is in more places in the game industry than his name appears and his design ranges from Yatzee Free for All and Liars Dice to BattleLore and Memoir 44. We also mentioned Wyatt Earp, and Stonehenge in today's show. Richard was a blast to visit with and is full of good information.

Richard’s professional game credits cover a broad spectrum, which includes over 50 titles. Milton Bradley published his first game, ‘Liars Dice’ a family dice game, in 1988. Following up this initial success were AD&D games (TSR), X-Men games (Pressman Toy) and another hit for Milton Bradley ‘Times to Remember’. In 1993 ‘Liars Dice’ went to Europe as ‘Bluff’ and won the German Prize ‘Spiel des Jahres’. Richard was part of the ‘Star Wars’ customizable card game design team and involved with a number of other collectible card games. Some of his recent designs, that are currently available, include: Hera & Zeus (Rio Grande Games), Memoir ’44 (Days of Wonder), Commands & Colors: Ancients (GMT Games), BattleLore (Fantasy Flight) and Stonehenge Anthology (Paizo Publishing). Richard's newest family game design, Yahtzee Free For All (Parker Brothers) is already receiving acclaim from the game community. Because his body of work does encompass so many age groups and genres, you just may have one or more of Richard’s designs in your personal game collection.

Jeremiah has the opportunity to visit with Jean Vanaise at Gen Con to talk about music, the economy, and of course, games. Jean has been producing games with his own company Flying Turtle for years but has also produced for such companies as West End Games, Iron Crown Enterprises, Ravensburger, and Mayfiar Games. Some of his titles you may be familiar with, to include Shark, Dicemaster, the Hobbit Adventure Boardgame, and the most recent Egyptian themed tile game, Horus.

Derek picks up the mortar and pestle and takes direction from Theophrastus. His alchemy skills will grant him the ability to become his next apprentice. He may have the best brew, or just mess with the others bad enough to beat the curve.

Theophrastus Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Card Game Designed by: P. R. Chase Players: 2-5 Play Time: 30-45 minutes Ages: 9+ MSRP: $25.00

Jeremiah catches Ethan Skemp at Gen Con. Ethan has a long list of credits with White Wolf. There is a lot of talk given to the contrast between the new and the old versions of the many White Wolf roleplaying games, such as Vampire, Werewolf, and Changeling.

Jeremiah had the pleasure of visiting one of the biggest and baddest men in gaming, Erik Yaple. Erik has taken over the Monsterpocalypse project with Privateer Press. This is a very appealing game of monstrous combat. He caught him between games at Gen Con where he spent a lot of his weekend showing the game with a horde of fans.

Jeremiah was able to catch Nicolas Logue at Gen Con and uncovered a wealth of interesting thoughts. Nick talks about the crossover between improv acting and roleplaying and about several projects he has been working on. We most recently know have been seeing his work on Paizo's Pathfinder, several great articles in Kobold Quarterly, the Open Design Project, and of course, Sinister Adventures. We wish him well on his adventures to come and hope to see him again very soon.

Nicolas Logue works for Paizo Publishing and Wizards of the Coast as a freelance game designer. He has also recently launched his own design studio: Sinister Adventures (www.sinisteradventures.com). Nick has done extensive work on Paizo’s new Pathfinder Chronicles campaign setting and the Eberron Campaign Setting for Wizards of the Coast. His recent credits include numerous adventures and articles in Dungeon and Dragon magazines, Crown of the Kobold King, Voyage of the Golden Dragon, Eyes of the Lich Queen, Monster Manual V, Dragons of Eberron, Carnival of Tears, Hook Mountain Massacre, Edge of Anarchy, Hangman’s Noose and City of Stormreach.

Nicolas is also a Fulbright Fellow, an award winning stage actor, produced playwright, budding screenwriter, fight director and a Full Instructor with Dueling Arts International who has performed and taught theatre and stage combat in New York, Honolulu and throughout China. He is a member of the avant garde theatre troupe Cruel Theatre, based in Hawai’i and Manhattan.

His next horizon of adventure: Nick was recently hired to head up the World Theatre Program at the University of Essex’s East 15 Acting School. England beware.

Derek gives us a look at Journey to the Center of the Earth. Its an adventure game based on the Jules Verne novel by the same name. You work together with your opponents to move the party through treacherous terrain, over the underground sea, and then get shot out a volcano. The one that emerges with the best collection of treasure will be the victor.

Journey to the Center of the Earth Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Board Game Designed by: Rüdiger Dorn Players: 2-4 Play Time: 60-75+ minutes Ages: 10+ MSRP: $49.00

While at Gen Con, Jeremiah was able to to spend some time at the White Wolf/CCP booth and visit with Justin Achilli. We all had a great time with the whole crew and are always eager to get caught up with the newest releases. With Justin's long list of credits at White Wolf, we were able to learn about the evolution of the game over time and catch a glimpse at what may be coming in the future.

Justin Achilli is a game designer for CCP Games. He comes from a pen-and-paper roleplaying games background, in which he developed the award-winning Vampire: The Masquerade and Vampire: the Requiem properties. He's now working on CCP's World of Darkness property. When he's not playing video games, he enjoys nightclub DJing, cooking, writing, and making rude gestures toward whoever's playing against the Dallas Cowboys this week.

Jeremiah was able to visit with Pete Fenlon at Gen Con about his roots in the gaming industry and the workings of his current position at Mayfair Games.  Pete started with a love for Middle Earth's a cartographer and an avid roleplayer.  His professional career in games began with with Rolemaster at Iron Crown Enterprises.  Now, he is the CEO and studio director for Mayfair Games.

Chaz shows us how to expand our Settlers of Catan game with Catan Traders and Barbarians. This expansion has several variations and scenarios that provide even more variety and depth to what was already one of our favorite titles. Add some economic complexity or beat back the barbarians while you struggle to settle the island of Catan.

Catan Traders and Barbarians Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Expansion, Tile Game Required: The Settlers of Catan Designed by: Klaus Teuber Players: 2-4 Play Time: 90-120+ minutes Ages: 10+ MSRP: $42.00

We would also like to the fine folks at the Parsec Awards for giving The Game Kennel a trophy and the title for Best Gaming Podcast. We are grateful to them and everyone else that make it posible for us to spread two of our most favorite pasttimes, gaming and podcasting.

While at Gen Con, Jeremiah was able to spend some time with Corey Konieczka of Fantasy Flight Games.

Corey Konieczka has designed numerous strategy and adventure games for Fantasy Flight Games. He has worked on numerous other strategy games and expansions including Warrior Knights (2006), Tide of Iron (2007), Battlestar Galactica (2008), and the Origins Award Winning StarCraft: The Boardgame (2007). Corey works as a senior game designer, developer and producer for Fantasy Flight Games. Originally from New Hampshire, Corey and his wife Shannon now live in the frosty depths of Minnesota.

Don was able to talk Star Wars with freelancer, Sterling Hershey at Gen Con. We visit on a number of aspects of the roleplaying game, how it has grown, and how it compares to other games. We also touch on his work in the miniatures game.

Sterling Hershey is a freelance game designer for Wizards of the Coast and its Star Wars Roleplaying Game Saga Edition and Star Wars Miniatures games. His recent work includes the newly-released Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide, the upcoming Force Unleashed Campaign Guide, and the Legacy Era Campaign Guide. He is a regular contributor to the Wizards of the Coast Star Wars webpage, producing scenarios and previews for the Star Wars Miniatures game, as well as adventures and other articles for the RPG. Previously, Sterling was a regular freelancer for West End Games' Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game. You can read more about gaming in a galaxy far, far away in his starwars.com blog, Delusions of Grandeur. Sterling somehow finds the time to practice architecture when he isn't gaming or writing. He lives in the Midwest with his wife, Mary.

Jeremiah takes us to Egypt by sharing a tile game called Horus. While placing tiles on the board to build regions around the Nile, you are also spreading your influence across those regions. This is a beautiful game of endless variation that will keep you struggling for control.

Horus Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Tile Game Designed by: H. Jean Vanaise Players: 2-4 Play Time: 60+ minutes Ages: 10+ MSRP: $35.00

While at Origins, Don was able to sit down with Dave Wallace. You may have heard Dave on many of the GAMA Trade Show Seminars. He and his wife, Kelli, run a small chain of stores and do a considerable amount of work for GAMA helping other retailers get started. He has also just recently taken a position for the online store, Troll and Toad.

Don brings us another great conversation from Origins. This time he visits with Kenneth Hite. Kenneth has written a number of our favorite games, but today we talk mostly about Trail of Cthulhu.

Kenneth Hite has designed, written, or co-authored more than 70 books, roleplaying games, and supplements, including the Origins Award-winning Star Trek: The Next Generation RPG, GURPS Infinite Worlds, and Call Of Cthulhu d20. He has been Line Developer for Chaosium's Nephilim and Last Unicorn Games' original-series Star Trek RPG, and has written for White Wolf, Pinnacle, Atlas, and many other companies. His most recent works include the Mythos miscellany Dubious Shards (available in print and PDF), the Trail Of Cthulhu RPG from Pelgrane Press, chapters in Wild Talents and Grim War from ArcDream, and Adventures Into Darkness, a Lovecraftian Golden Age superhero sourcebook available in PDF. He explores the Higher Weirdness roughly biweekly in his "Suppressed Transmission" column in Pyramid Magazine (http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid); it has been collected in two volumes. Since 1997, he has written "Out of the Box," an RPG industry news and review column most recently at www.gamingreport.com.

Jeremiah takes us back in time to Settlers of the Stone Age. Journey out of Africa as human-kind settles the globe. Improve your ability to survive harsh climates and collect what resources you can before Africa turns to desert.

Settlers of the Stone Age Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Board Game Designed by: Klaus Teuber Players: 3-4 Play Time: 45-60 minutes Ages: 12+ MSRP: $49.00

Don was able to sit down with Fred Hicks at Origins to spend some time talking about our game. We have all come to the conclusion that he would be one of our first picks to have at our table.

Fred Hicks is one of the minds behind Evil Hat Productions, a small-press publisher of roleplaying games, is the author of Don't Rest Your Head, and is a co-author of Spirit of the Century. He also works part-time as the customer service desk for Indie Press Revolution and as a freelance layout consultant. Fred is not at all certain how it is he lucked into doing all this as his job, but he's certain he has his lovely wife to thank for it.

Don had a great opportunity at Origins to visit with Jeff Bellinger, the designer of Playroom Entertainment's Killer Bunnies. Jeff was full of stories making it an easy and entertaining conversation.

Jeff Bellinger began his life in Jersey and spent many hours developing games as he grew up. He took those games with him to the United States Navy to see the world until he was finally dropped off in San Diego where he created Saren's Stuff to take his games to market. Killer Bunnies caught the attention of Playroom Entertainment in 2002 and has become nothing less than a phenomenon. Jeff teaches math during the school year and continues to travel extensively. He still does most of his work with a paper and pencil and takes advantage of quiet rainy days to work.

Don had a great time talking to Phil Chase at Origins. Phil was joined by his son Auden, who was equally as entertaining. We spoke on a variety of educational topics, emphasizing linguistics in a way we had not yet explored. We also talked about a lot of games, even outside of Phil’s designs. Some of them include Set, Lord of the Rings, Settlers of Catan, Shear Panic, Hey! Where’s My Fish!, and Down with the King.

Phil Chase has been an educator for 14 years, working now for the State of Michigan's Department of Education. His board game design career, under the pen name P. R. Chase, started in 2002 with the release of Theophrastus with Mayfair Games. In 2006, Grand Tribunal was published by Atlas Games, and Gemstones followed in 2007 by Kadon Enterprises. He's a proud father of two boys, ages 7 and 8, who play board games at home as avidly as he does.

Jeremiah takes us on a journey in Anno 1503 to explore uncharted islands and find valuable resources for our people. Of course to be of any value, we also focus on the growth of our settlements and culture.

Anno 1503 Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Board Game Designed by: Klaus Teuber Players: 2-4 Play Time: 60-120 minutes Ages: 10+ MSRP: $49.00

Don was able to spend some time with Michelle Nephew at Origins this year. The visit was phenomenal. We learned at least a little about a bunch of Atlas Games titles, talked some about women in gaming, but mostly just learned more about Michelle and her gaming life.

After years of playing Shadowrun and Vampire in college, Michelle Nephew's RPG editing career began in 2000 with Atlas Games' Three Days to Kill, the very first adventure available for sale under the Open Game License. She followed this up by authoring her own d20 adventure, The Tide of Years, in 2001. While continuing to write and edit gaming material, she finished her Ph.D. at UW-Milwaukee, writing her dissertation on the topic of authorship and roleplaying games. A chapter from her dissertation has since been published in Gaming As Culture, a collection of academic essays on RPGs. With the title "Tenured Editor," Michelle wears many hats at Atlas Games today, including production coordinator, card and board game developer/editor, layout monkey, advertising/marketing coordinator, convention support organizer, and Special Ops demo team coordinator.

Derek give us Alibi. Through clever questioning, elimination, and deduction, you figure out whodunit. It is a little more involved than most whodunit games, and coming close will even give you a few points.

Alibi Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Card Game Designed by: Darwin Bromley & Jim Musser Players: 3-10 Play Time: 45-60 minutes Ages: 8+ MSRP: $15.00

Don visits with Eddy Webb and John Chambers of White Wolf. Topics touched on range from the White Wolf culture to the range of roleplaying games we often find ourselves immersed in.

Eddy officially started in the RPG industry in 2002 by working with Cynthia Celeste Miller on "Cartoon Action Hour" (which was later nominated for an Origins Award for Best RPG of 2003). He worked on projects for his own company (Spectrum Games) as well as freelance for other companies such as Deep7 and Comic Images. He was asked to develop and write White Wolf’s first joint electronic and print-on-demand product, "Mind’s Eye Theatre: Awakening," in 2006. After the book's release in 2007, he was hired to work full-time as the Alternative Product Developer. He currently lives in Stone Mountain, Georgia, with his wife, his roommate, his pug dog and his very grumpy cat.

John Chambers has been a fixture at White Wolf Game Studio for a decade. From his humble beginnings as an intern, John rose through the ranks to develop two of the role-playing game industry's most popular properties, Exalted (revamping the game for its acclaimed second edition) and Scion (a game conceptualized and designed by John from the ground up). Riding high on his win of Best New Game for Scion at last year's Gen Con Ennie Awards, John looks forward developing role-playing games for a long time to come.

Derek takes us on a journey with Nautilus. Explore the depth of the ocean. Only a combination of discovery and research will lead to victory. You will split your time between building the under-water station and diving your submarines to the depths in search of Atlantis.

Nautilus Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Board Game Designed by: Brigette & Wolfgang Ditt Players: 2-4 Play Time: 60-120 minutes Ages: 12+ MSRP: $49.00

We have been long-time fans of The Pillars of the Earth. Your master builders have a number of ways to participate in the building of the cathedral. If you can be more efficient and make wise choices, you will do well against your opponents. The Expansion Set gives you even more choices during the game and allows a couple more players to join in.

The Pillars of the Earth Expansion Set Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Board Game Required: The Pillars of the Earth Designed by: Michael Rieneck & Stefan Stadler Players: 2-6 Play Time: 90-120 minutes Ages: 12+ MSRP: $29.00

Jeremiah talks about one of our favorites, The Settlers of Catan. Explore and settle the island of Catan. Smart trades, planning, and a little bit of luck will work toward your victory. Some of the discussion is around a wealth of resources online. Educators can find some good information on Using The Settlers of Catan in the Classroom. Try it yourself from Professor Easy and learn more about The Origins of Catan.

The Settlers of Catan Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Board Game Designed by: Klaus Teuber Players: 2-4 Play Time: 60-90 minutes Ages: 10+ MSRP: $38.00

Join us online to play in the Catan Oline World. You can sign up and play for free. With a premium membership you can explore even more games and expansions and participate in community events. Visit the Catan Online Wold Forums to find out more.

While at the GAMA Trade Show, Don had a chance to sit down with Phil Lacefield Jr. about several aspects of the industry. Apart from trying to make a couple of predictions, we mostly talked about the Origins Awards. You will be able to vote on the Origins Awards at Origins in Columbus, Ohio.

Phil Lacefield Jr. has been an active sales manager, marketing guru, writer, line editor, designer and layout guy for game companies such as Agents of Gaming, US Playing Card Co., Journeyman Press, Score Entertainment, Reaper Miniatures and many more. In 2001 (against the advice of his therapist) he founded Sacred Cheese Productions in order to consult on issues of sales and marketing to game companies big and small. SCP also runs the legendary Origins-To-GenCon caravan every year.

In February of 2006, Phil took the plunge and moved to Seattle to take up the mantle of Sales Manager for Paizo Publishing. Now safely ensconced in his mountain hideaway, Phil continues to obsess over his precious Saab collection, dote on his precious tropical fish tanks and insists on wearing a full kilt on random occasions.

Derek introduces a board game of Spanish sword making called Toledo. Everyone is racing through town to collect resources, find craftsmen, and present the best swords to the emperor. It is a competitive business. You will find yourself in a few duals on the way with other families seeking the same glory.

Toledo Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Board Game Designed by: Martin Wallace Players: 2-4 Play Time: 90-120 minutes Ages: 10+ MSRP: $49.00

Derek has been rolling for resources lately with the Catan Dice Game. Its a fun probability game of planning and building infrastructure. It is an easy one to find a home for. It is so versatile and portable. Once every day, you can play it online.

Catan Dice Game Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Dice Game Designed by: Klaus Teuber Players: 1-4 Play Time: 15-30 minutes Ages: 7+ MSRP: $12.00

Jeremiah presents La Strada. We recently talked to Martin Wallace about La Strada, making it that much more fun to check out for ourselves. Everyone is making money from the economy of the game, but how much depends on what markets you share and how many times you have to split the pie.

La Strada Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Board Game Designed by: Martin Wallace Players: 2-4 Play Time: 30-45 minutes Ages: 10+ MSRP: $36.00

What started out as a training interview turned into a discussion made public on fitting games into the right hands. The intent is to provide insight to anyone that sells or promotes games on what to present and who to present them to. This is the premise of The Game Kennel and we want you to get the most out of it. By providing additional support to the customers that walk in your door, you can apply your expertise in a way nobody else can. We aim to help arm you with that information on every episode of The Game Kennel in less time than it takes to drive to work.

The discussion today is with Bob Carty and Alex Yeager of Mayfair Games. We have been extremely pleased to work with Mayfair. They have a commitment to the community at the grass roots level, a commitment to educational outreach, and a commitment to quality entertainment. All this has helped us to shape our values and our programing to the betterment of everyone that participates.

You can never go wrong with the Catan series of games. This time, Ron presents Entdecker. Its a tile exploration game of area control. It is packed with decisions that will make or break your success.

Entdecker: Exploring New Horizons Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Tile Game Designed by: Klaus Teuber Players: 2-4 Play Time: 60-90 minutes Ages: 10+ MSRP: $49.00

You can learn the game by playing through this tutorial by professor easy. The single player online game, Oceania, will give you a great feel for the exploration component of the game. There is so much more too it, though. Learn more about the back ground story and the Origins of Catan. Join us online to meet and experience several other Catan games.

We are delighted be in discussion today with the Catan Online moderators, KayakPete, Aero, and Sloejack. Each of them are strong community members and add a lot of value to our experience online. They keep the forums in check and spend a lot of time helping new players with the online games. Their guidance has made a positive impact on a lot of players.

There are several ways to participate at PlayCatan.com. There are a handful of web games that only require the free account to play. Just by signing up you can also participate in Settlers of Catan games in the Catan Online World. With a premium account, several more Klaus Teuber titles are available to you as well as the meta game, where you as a play can collect resources and contribute to the Catan world. Join us in the forums to visit with our moderators and schedule a game today!

Please comment on the COW Radio topic in the Catan Online World forums.

Bacchus' Banquet is a card game with a Roman dinner party theme. Everyone comes to the dinner with their own agenda making variable winning conditions for each player. Its a light hearted fun game of deception, scandal, and intrigue.

Bacchus' Banquet Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Card Game Designed by: Frederic Moyersoen Players: 3-5 Play Time: 30 minutes Ages: 8+ MSRP: $20.00

Every episode of POINT BLANK features a recorded interview with the creative team at White Wolf that gives listeners a sneak peak at the new releases coming out in a segment called White Wolf Confidential. For episode 2, I had the pleasure of interviewing the lead developer for Vampire: The Requiem, Joseph Carriker, about the beautiful new clanbook series.

I think Joseph did such a great job detailing this new line, I decided to release the full interview as its own separate show. I am certain that you will find this interview enjoyable and very informative, especially if you’re looking for more information about the Ventrue clanbook, Lords Over the Damned.

The total length of this special director’s cut interview is roughly 15 minutes and includes information not included in POINT BLANK episode 2 due to time constraints. Enjoy!

Please email all questions and comments to boyan [@] pubservinc.com.

Bo is a huge fan of Domaine. We haven't seen him leave the house without it since we have known him. When the opportunity came up to spotlight Domaine, we had to ask him to do the honors. He jumped at the opportunity. It is a great area control board game with elegant mechanics and a tight economy.

Domaine Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Board Game Designed by: Klaus Teuber Players: 2-4 Play Time: 60-120 minutes Ages: 10+ MSRP: $49.00

There is a lot of opportunity to experience Domaine online. Premium account holders will be able to play Domaine online with new friends and old advocates. You can learn the game by playing through this tutorial by professor easy. We also made reference in today's show to the back ground story and the Origins of Catan.

Jeremiah has spent a lot of time lately building railroad empires across China. China Rails is a pick-up and delivery rail game. Efficiency is key to providing for the people of China.

China Rails Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Board Game, Rail Game Designed by: Michael Dreiling Players: 2-6 Play Time: 3+ hours Ages: 10+ MSRP: $40.00

Derek gives us a look at Lascaux. Collect beautiful cave art by pressing your luck with a cache of stones. This one was an absolute hit with all of our gaming groups. So far it has been played at least twice every time it has been brought out.

Lascaux Publisher: Mayfair Games, Phalanx Games Style: Card Game Designed by: Dominque Ehrhard & Michel Lalet Players: 3-5 Play Time: 25 minutes Ages: 8+ MSRP: $30.00

Jeremiah gives us a look at Chicago Poker. We argued before the show how much this game was and wasn't like poker. I am not sure we finished arguing before starting to record, but we were able to at least give you a good idea about the game. A lot of people in our play groups really enjoyed this one. It was quick to learn and fun to play. Gangster themes are always a hit with us.

Chicago Poker Publisher: Mayfair Games, Phalanx Games Style: Card Game Designed by: Bruno Cathala and Bruno Fadutti Players: 3-6 Play Time: 45 minutes Ages: 10+ MSRP: $30.00

We have a special treat for you from Wil Wheaton (geek, gamer, writer, Wesley Crusher). He preformed a reading from some of his work at Phoenix Cactus Comicon last weekend and invited us to record it for you. You are going to have a great time with this one. It is about an hour long but easy to listen to in two half-hour drives, though by the time you listen to the first story I doubt you’ll want to stop. The first half is a story called Blue Light Special from his book, The Happiest Days of Our Lives. Its a fun bit about buying Star Wars toys as a kid. The second is a humorous look at a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode entitled Justice.

Jeremiah presents Weinhandler. Compete to become the ultimate wine handler by building up the most valuable wine cellar. The bidding mechanic will keep both families and avid gamers entertained. This is a popular choose for many occasions but really fits well at wine parties. Jeremiah has a wine stained rule book to prove it.

Weinhandler Publisher: Mayfair Games, Amigo Spiel Style: Card Game Designed by: Claudia Hely and Roman Pelek Players: 3-5 Play Time: 45 minutes Ages: 10+ MSRP: $20.00

Derek gives us a look at The Market of Alturien. Everyone is competing for the attention and the pocketbook of several customers wandering the market. If they are buying from you, your making the money you need to invest in your success. With every roll of the die, you weigh your options, grab the customers you can, and distract them from your neighbors.

The Market of Alturien Publisher: Mayfair Games Designed by: Wolfgang Kramer Players: 2-6 Play Time: 60 minutes Ages: 10+ MSRP: $50.00

Your a mob boss competing for control of Chicago. You need to have all the right influence in all the right places, and by influence, I mean muscle. Drive your boys where they need to be, and offer rides to your rivals. Of course, your rivals will ride in the trunk.

Ganster Publisher: Mayfair Games Designed by: Thorsten Gimmler Players: 2-5 Play Time: 90 minutes Ages: 10+ MSRP: $45.00