This afternoon was a whirlwind tour of the strip.  We hopped on the Monorail to head from the Hilton to the Luxor with lots of stops in between. We watched the fountains at the Bellagio and the Volcano erupt at the Mirage.  We had a so-so dinner at the MGM Grand.  We stopped at the Lions habitat and the Rainforest Café.  There’s actually an Elephant behind me if you look hard.  Over all our feet hurt and we’re exhausted but I think I did a good job as tour guide.   There’s not much we haven’t seen.  But all good things must come to an end.  So now it’s time to pack our bags and get ready for an early start to the airport tomorrow.  It’s been a great trip.  I hope you’ve enjoyed it with me. 

 

See you all soon. 

~Dina

 

   

 

 

Well, it’s back to the show floor this morning.  One of my great finds today was from a new company called Wells Expeditions.  Headed up by two names many of you should know, Ray Wehrs and Jordan Weisman, this game seems as inventive as HeroClix was in it’s day.  The game is called Arcane Legions.  It’s a collectable mass action miniatures game.  The figures shown here are prototypes.  Most (but not all) of the figures will be pre-painted.  Guys you need to keep your eye on this one.  Mark my words it’s gonna be big! 

 

Since I was able to take care of most of the business stuff yesterday I spent today making sure to get some pictures of some of our favorite vendors.  James and Kim from Bandai, Andrew Looney from Looney Labs and my favorite guy Scott (my number one sales rep.)

 

After a brief rest we’re headed out to see some more sights.  Fill you in later…..

~D

 

Wednesday Night:

I know you are all probably jealous of me being out here in beautiful sunny Las Vegas.  Well don’t be.  Seems I brought the East coast weather with me.  Today was 58 and windy with a few rain showers.  But after the rain stopped Al and I headed outside to do some sightseeing.  Although I have visited Vegas before this is his first time.  First stop, Paris.  We took a trip to the top of the Eiffel Tower.  We got a great view of the city.  Seems like there is construction on every corner.  I don’t think these guys know there’s a recession going on. 

 

After Paris we headed over to Caesars where I got my picture taken with Nero himself.  After a few pennies in the fountain and a few dollars in the slots we headed to dinner at a well know hole in the wall.  Literally.  Battista's Hole in the Wall is a great Italian restaurant where many of the locals eat.  It has great food with a fun decor and lots of free wine.  I highly recommend it.

 

Well, its late and I have another early start tomorrow so till then.

~Dina

Day 2

 

What happened to Day 1 you ask?  Did you somehow miss it?  Umm no, it was just pretty boring.  Most of the day was taken up with travel and I didn’t think you would want me to bore you with it but I will sum it up quickly here.  Since Ed couldn’t attend with me this year I talked my brother Al into coming out with me.  After finally arriving we checked into our room at Bally’s.  They put us in a handicapped room.  Is there something you all are not telling me?  Do I look handicapped in some way?  The shower was great for me, but anyone over 5’ tall had to bend over in order to fit under the showerhead.  Needless to say I asked for a new room.  A fast burger for dinner (I only wish it could have been an IN-N-OUT™ burger.) and $20 lost in the slot machines and we were off to bed to prepare for an early day today. 

 

7am saw us downstairs at the Bandai breakfast.  Quite an unusual time of day for me to be up but this is one event I didn’t want to miss.  They were going to talk about ATF.  Thanks to the great relationship we’ve forged with Bandai over the last couple years we are one of their top stores.  Because of this they used us as an example in their presentation as someone to whom all others stores should aspire.  Okay, maybe the whole “stores should aspire to” thing I made up, but they did use us as an example as to what other stores are missing out on not using the great Bandai OP program.  During the presentation Bandai talked about their upcoming game called Battle Spirits.  Nicknamed “BS” in Japan, Bandai has wisely changed it to just “B” here in the states.  This Collectible Card Game (CCG) looks really great.  It comes out in August but I’m bringing back a demo with me so you guys can check it out.  One major thing they are going to change with their Organized Play on this game is that there will be cash prize tournaments.  Something they have not done previously. And of course ALL Things Fun! will be at the lead in supporting events for this new game.

 

After breakfast we headed over to the Konami meeting to talk about their new COSSY tournament software and the future of Yu-Gi-Oh!  We've been working with them behind the scenes over the last few months and we are really excited about some of the changes in the works. If you haven’t done so already you should make sure we sign you up so you can get your new Konami card. (So visit Ed at the store and get signed up!) These guys are committed to making the new OP program really great.  Keep checking back to our site about some upcoming news that I can’t talk about yet.  Good Stuff!

 

Next we were off to the Wizards of the Coast (WOTC) meeting to talk about Magic the Gathering (MTG.) Besides from the new Vault that you all know about they also talked about the new 2010 Core set.  Instead of all reprints, all the new core sets going forward will have 50% new content and there will be a core set every year instead of every other.  They also talked about how the in store pre-releases were a great success.  Thanks to all of you for coming out to the store to supporting this format. 

 

Finally the show floor opened and I could really check out some new product.  Sorry guys, Fantasy Flight did not attend this year.  However I did get to see some other great stuff. 

 

Flying Frog has five new items on the schedule. Something Wicked and a Hero Pack which are both expansions for their game, Touch of Evil.    The Hero Pack adds 4 new heroes for the game (there’s one of these coming for their other hit title, Last Night On Earth as well).  Something Wicked gives you a new full size game board, over 130 new game cards, 4 new heroes and much more.  Last Night on Earth (LNOE) has two expansions in addition to the Hero Pack.  But I think the most exciting new item which won’t be out till 1^st qtr 2010 is the Invasion From Outer Space The Martian Game.  Let’s just say Martians land and try and take over a carnival crowd.  Don’t they know Circus performers are crazy? 

 

Next stop Smirk & Dagger.  For those of you who know what a great game, Run For Your Life Candyman is you’ll be happy to know they are doing it again with their next game Shootin' Ladders.  At first glance it may look like the classic kids' boardgame, but my gingerbread guys never carried rifles.  These little guys mean business!

 

No GAMA show is ever complete without a visit with our friends at Looney Labs.  They have a new game coming out I KNOW you’re going to love.  It’s called Traitor?  No, that’s not a question.  That’s the name of the game.  I watched the demo today and can’t wait for it to come out.  Werewolf fans keep watch.  This one has your name on it.

 

I also found a great new board game called Magnifico (DaVinci’s Art of War).  This will be coming from Asmodee this fall.  Players compete to receive the title of “Magnifico” by attempting to conquer Europe at the beginning of the 16^th century.  To achieve this, players need to use military strategy, shrewd economic planning, and Leonard da Vinci’s amazing creations.  From the designers of Dust, this is one to keep an eye on.

 

New from Steve Jackson is Munchkin Fairy Dust.  Yes guys it’s PINK.  This is a small booster expansion which will contain only 15 cards and will Retail for $3.95.

 

A quick stop at Upper Deck yielded some snap shots of the next World of Warcraft Miniatures Set.  These pieces look great!!!

 

I‘ve not done it all justice so I’ll tell you in more detail when I get back.  I still have tomorrow to discover more new stuff.  I can’t wait.  For now I’m off to dinner and maybe a seat at the Poker table (if I don’t chicken out). 

 

More pictures and more news later,

Dina