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 May 15, 2008
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Ask Rio Grande Games
Jay Tummelson, president and chief bottle washer of New Mexico's biggest game publisher and the man most responsible for the introduction of Eurogames to North America, answers your questions about anything and everything, whether they relate to Rio Grande releases or not. To see everything that the company offers, visit the Rio Grande Games website.
HeadlinesDecember 2, 2007 - Ask Rio Grande: Ten Years on the RiverOctober 13, 2007 - Ask Rio Grande: Please, Call It a Comeback October 9, 2007 - Ask Rio Grande: More Essen Questions October 4, 2007 - Ask Rio Grande Games: Too Many Rules! September 29, 2007 - Ask Jay: Essen Expectations September 23, 2007 - Ask Jay: Tiling the World with Carcassonne September 19, 2007 - Ask Jay: No, No, No, No, Maybe and Race for the Galaxy August 30, 2007 - Ask Jay: Wells Fargo Won’t Be Euro-ized August 21, 2007 - Ask Jay: More of the Same? - Questions about Reprints August 16, 2007 - Ask Jay: Oregon and Race for the Galaxy August 7, 2007 - Ask Jay: No Go Godzilla for Manhattan August 2, 2007 - Ask Jay: Thebes? Yes, Thebes! |
Articles
Ask Rio Grande: Ten Years on the River
Eight titles from Rio Grande Games were released into the distribution stream in mid-November after most of them debuted at the Spiel game convention in Essen, Germany this past October. Does that satisfy a hungry gamer’s appetitie? No, they want more, more, more! Thus these questions:
Q: Hi Jay, what sort of ways is Rio Grande looking at celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2008?
A: Still looking at options, but I will have a party of some sort at Origins.
Q: Did you see the Kosmos Perry Rhodan two-player game at Essen? If so, are you reconsidering your decision not to publish this game?
A: What decisison not to publish? I am planning to publish an English version. [Editor’s note: Jay’s previous answers might have given the impression that he wasn’t doing this game, but he specifically said “I have no plans” and “I plan to discuss these at Essen."]
Q: Will Rio Grande release international versions of the Queen titles Giganten der Lufte and Eketorp? If so, when?
A: Still no word from Queen on this, sorry. [Editor’s note: Rio Grande does have the games listed on its website, but the release date is unknown.]
Posted by W. Eric Martin on December 2, 2007 at 04:00 AM in Special Features > Ask the Publisher > Ask Rio Grande Games
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Ask Rio Grande: Please, Call It a Comeback
Q: I noticed that Ys is about to be reprinted. Do you know if the reprint will include components for five players, or will there be another printing of Ys+ which is the fifth player expansion for the original game? I have been looking forward to playing Ys with five for some time now.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on October 13, 2007 at 12:15 AM in Special Features > Ask the Publisher > Ask Rio Grande Games
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Ask Rio Grande: More Essen Questions
Q: I’d like to know if there is any timeline for a RGG printing of “Cuba”?
A: It will release at Essen and be here [in the U.S.] in November.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on October 9, 2007 at 12:15 AM in Special Features > Ask the Publisher > Ask Rio Grande Games
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Ask Rio Grande Games: Too Many Rules!
Q: How much of the game price of Thebes is due to the extra full-color copies of the rules in six languages. These are very nice full-color rules that must raise the printing price by many dollars, in addition to adding to the shipping weight. Wouldn’t an English-only version save game buyers here in the USA quite a bit of money?
Posted by W. Eric Martin on October 4, 2007 at 12:15 AM in Special Features > Ask the Publisher > Ask Rio Grande Games
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Ask Jay: Essen Expectations
Q: Last year I bought the German version of Fiji not realising that I could get an English version from you. Which games released at Essen in 2007 will you have available on your stand in English?
A: I cannot say for certain which Essen games I will have in English at Essen, but I can say which of the Essen games I am doing English versions of.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on September 29, 2007 at 12:15 AM in Special Features > Ask the Publisher > Ask Rio Grande Games
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Ask Jay: Tiling the World with Carcassonne
Q: After Carcassonne: Abbey and Mayor, there is apparently another Carcassonne expansion on the horizon. Adam Spielt lists a sixth expansion called Count, King and Consort that will be bundled with the main game. Is Rio Grande releasing this expansion in English? If so, can you tell us about the Consorts? (I presume that the Count and King refer to earlier Carc expansions.)
A: The 6th expansion is a combination of the small boxed expansions I have done. I understand it will also have a few new tiles, which I will make available somehow.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on September 23, 2007 at 12:15 AM in Special Features > Ask the Publisher > Ask Rio Grande Games
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Ask Jay: No, No, No, No, Maybe and Race for the Galaxy
Q: Do you have plans to release English versions of any of the following Kosmos titles due out at Spiel 07: Anno 1701, Golden Compass, or Perry Rhodan?
A: I have not been approached about them and have no plans now. It is possible we will have discussions on these at Essen.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on September 19, 2007 at 12:15 AM in Special Features > Ask the Publisher > Ask Rio Grande Games
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Ask Jay: Wells Fargo Won’t Be Euro-ized
A short Q&A this week with Rio Grande’s Jay Tummelson. You submit questions for Jay—as well as Zev at Z-Man Games, Valley Games, Fantasy Flight Games, Days of Wonder, and Red Glove—by writing to askthepublisher@gmail.com. The other Ask the Publisher sections will begin shortly. Now, the questions:
Q:What type of games do you like personally? What are your favorite games?
A: If Wishes Were Fishes, Medieval Merchant, Puerto Rico, Caylus Magna Carta, and Power Grid for starters.
Q: On a podcast interview, you talked about a new version of Thurn & Taxis, but with an American postal theme and you were trying to get permission from Wells Fargo to use their name. Have there been any developments on this game?
A: Sort of—we will not be using their name.
Q: How well are sales of the first edition of Zooloretto going? Is it close to selling out? (It keeps being out of stock at the on-line vendors.) Is there any plan to print a second edition by the end of year?
A: It sold out within a month. We expect more in a few weeks, likely October.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on August 30, 2007 at 02:00 PM in Special Features > Ask the Publisher > Ask Rio Grande Games
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Ask Jay: More of the Same? - Questions about Reprints
Readers have asked Jay Tummelson of Rio Grande Games lots of questions about reprints in the past week. We’ll start with those questions, then branch outward:
What’s old won’t be new
Q: Back in March 2007 in this column, someone asked about the possibility of a reprint of the Eggertspiele title Neuland, and you said that you would ask Peter Eggert about his plans for the game. Do you have any news to report about a new edition of this excellent game?
A: Peter has been busy with his plans for Essen, but we will discuss it at Essen.
Q: Have you given any thought to reprinting the Queen titles Schnäppchen Jagd or Die Händler? Both of them are highly rated games on BoardGameGeek that have never had an English edition.
A: Not really—those decisions are up to Queen. I will remember to ask them at Essen.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on August 21, 2007 at 02:00 PM in Special Features > Ask the Publisher > Ask Rio Grande Games
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Ask Jay: Oregon and Race for the Galaxy
Jay Tummelson is preparing for Gen Con, so Ask Jay is taking this week off. That said, here are two items of interest:
- Rio Grande will co-publish Oregon with Hans im Glück, and while the HiG version should definitely be on sale at Essen, the Rio Grande version is in the “cross your fingers and hope” stage. Here’s a short description of the game from designers Åse and Henrik Berg: “Oregon is a family/strategy game with a colonization-theme with a card-driven placement mechanism. The aim of the game is to position farmers and point-giving buildings in the best possible locations on the board.”
Someone asked for a frontier game? - When the third Race for the Galaxy preview appears, it will include a downloadable copy of the rules.
Editor’s note: I bumped this item to show off the Oregon cover.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on August 16, 2007 at 09:00 AM in Special Features > Ask the Publisher > Ask Rio Grande Games
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Ask Jay: No Go Godzilla for Manhattan
Rio Grande’s Jay Tummelson answers a few questions about newly released and upcoming games and reveals one secret about his fantastic customer service:
Q: You have a reputation for great customer service. How do you manage to have spare bits of so many games? Do you have an open copy of each game and remove the bits you need, opening a new one whenever you need one not in the open copy? Are they in New Mexico or at your warehouse?
A: I open copies of games as needed to send replacements. All of them are in NM.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on August 7, 2007 at 04:00 PM in Special Features > Ask the Publisher > Ask Rio Grande Games
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Ask Jay: Thebes? Yes, Thebes!
This week Jay clears up the confusion surrounding the Jenseits von Theben/Thebes issue and looks ahead to what will hopefully be more releases for Spiel 07:
Thebes
Q: What is the final published name of the international edition of the Queen game from Peter Prinz? Is it Thebes?
A: Yes, it is—to my surprise.
Q: There’s not a separate RGG version, correct—
A: Yes, that is correct.
Q: Only an international version with English, German, French and Spanish rules called Thebes?
A: Yes, again!
Posted by W. Eric Martin on August 2, 2007 at 03:00 PM in Special Features > Ask the Publisher > Ask Rio Grande Games
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Ask Jay: Tichu for Two, and Two for Tichu
Jay Tummelson from Rio Grande Games answers a few questions about future releases, one non-release, and business in general:
Business overview
Q: Will the worsening dollar-euro exchange rate affect RGG production, prices, or profit margins?
A: It already has, and there will be increases later this year if the present trend continues. In the past few years, I have tried to balance reduced margins with small price increases and will continue to work in that manner.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on July 24, 2007 at 02:00 PM in Special Features > Ask the Publisher > Ask Rio Grande Games
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Ask Jay: Board Games to Video and Back Again
Fresh on the heels of Catan, Carcassonne has made a splash on Xbox Live Arcade with both boardgamers and video gamers alike. Jay Tummelson offers his opinion on the transition from cardboard to console, along with a few other topics:
St. Petersburg
Q. What was the genesis of Saint Petersburg? How much of the design did you work on? What about the development?
A. The genesis was Bernd Brunnhofer [from Hans im Glück]. I did help a bit with development.
Q: Who has done the design and development work on the St. Petersburg expansion?
A. The newer part (not Banquet) was Tom Lehmann.
Q: Do you think the release of the excellent computer version had any effect on sales of the Saint Petersburg boardgame (or, more recently, Yspahan)?
A. I really do not know, but I am certain it helps.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on July 16, 2007 at 02:00 PM in Special Features > Ask the Publisher > Ask Rio Grande Games
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Ask Jay: Origins Follow-Up & a Revised Shipping Schedule
The Origins International Game Expo ended on July 8th, 2007, and Rio Grande head honcho Jay Tummelson offers his thoughts on the convention, along with other happenings at the company.
Origins
Q. How was Origins for you and Rio Grande Games?
A. It was a fantastic show—the board and war rooms were better than ever. I had the chance to see several prototypes and even took some with me that I hope to produce one day. All in all, it was a very successful convention. Origins is easily the best of the two large conventions in the US.
Q. Were there any surprises this year, either in your demos or the event itself?
A. As I watched the demos, I admit I was a bit surprised at how well all the new games we showed were received. It may be the best batch I have had ever to show at Origins. The demo tables were in constant use, even late on Sunday.
Q. Were there any new signings for the RGG stable?
A. No signings, but several games were taken that I’m certain will become RGG games.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on July 11, 2007 at 02:00 PM in Special Features > Ask the Publisher > Ask Rio Grande Games
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Ask Jay: More on the SdJ-Winning Zooloretto
Since Zooloretto won the Spiel des Jahres 2007 in late June, there’s been a run on the game and supplies are short. More copies are on the way, now bearing the bright red poppel of victory, and there’s even more Zooloretto to come down the road…
Zooloretto
Q: Now that Zooloretto has won the Spiel des Jahres 2007, is there any chance that Rio Grande will release the Zooloretto expansions that Michael Schacht has made available on his website?
A: I will do something with the expansions (for sale in published versions) in addition to those already on my site. ( Downloadable Zooloretto expansions on the Rio Grande website)
Q: Do you have any plans to produce a Spiel des Jahres edition of Zooloretto with the SdJ logo? Does the SdJ logo matter in terms of stores willing to carry the game?
A: Of course. That will be printed later this month. I think more stores—and more players—are now interested in the logo than in the past, yes.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on July 3, 2007 at 02:00 PM in Special Features > Ask the Publisher > Ask Rio Grande Games
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Ask Jay: Thoughts on Zooloretto’s Spiel des Jahres Win
Rio Grande Games is publishing English versions of all five games that were nominated for Spiel des Jahres 2007, so having yet another SdJ winner in the stable was never in doubt. Here, Jay talks about the Zooloretto win and other topics.
Zooloretto
Q: Congrats on Zooloretto, although since you had all five nominees, is it anticlimactic?
A: Not at all—I think it is exciting to see a new company and new designer [Michael Schacht] win the award.
Q: Were you on the phone with Abacusspiele [the German publisher of Zooloretto] this morning, regarding the reprint quantity?
A: Yes, but just to confirm what we had discussed prior to this weekend.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on June 26, 2007 at 02:00 PM in Special Features > Ask the Publisher > Ask Rio Grande Games
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Ask Jay: What’s Original at Origins?
A few questions about individual games this week for Mr. Jay Tummelson of Rio Grande Games, along with the various odds-and-ends that BGN readers always seem to come up with.
Origins
Q: Are you able to talk about any of the new games that you will have at Origins for either demo purposes or for sale? Will you have Race for the Galaxy?
A: I will not have RftG—too soon, I am sorry to say. I will have all the recent releases plus (maybe) Ponte del Diavalo, Catch a Cache, Jenseits von Theben (not for sale), Jambo expansion, and Cartagena 2.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on June 19, 2007 at 03:00 PM in Special Features > Ask the Publisher > Ask Rio Grande Games
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Ask Jay: More on Ra, and Retirement Plans
Ask Jay: More on Ra, and Retirement Plans
Jay Tummelson of Rio Grande passes on very small hints about a few Essen games and sees nothing but clear skies ahead in terms of RGG’s future. As always, you can submit questions to Jay as comments at this end of this post or through the BGN Contact page.
Q; In your opinion, what are a few of the most underappreciated or underrated games that Rio Grande has ever published? (For example, you mentioned Evergreen as one of your favorites for the year in a recent Boardgame Babylon interview.)
A: Actually, I trust in the player community. If they do not like and buy a game, then it is not a good game. Or, rather, if a game does not become a great success, it is not great. I have published a lot of good games that have sold well, but not greatly. Had they been great, they would have sold greatly. My opinion is just one and to suggest that there was a great game that many people did not find great is not realistic.
I do publish games I like, games I think my customers will like, and games I think deserve to be published. If a game becomes very successful, I am very pleased. If not, I am happy to have done the game for those who did like it. I do not try to anticipate what game will be great—just wait and see like everyone else.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on June 12, 2007 at 04:00 PM in Special Features > Ask the Publisher > Ask Rio Grande Games
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Ask Jay: The Return of Ra
The Rio Grande website included an interesting announcement recently: Ra, January 2008. The first game in the big box alea series, Reiner Knizia’s tribute to the best sun god ever, is coming out in a third edition from its original English-language publisher after a brief stop at Uberplay.
Q: How did you manage to get Ra back under the Rio Grande label?
A: I have told Reiner that I was interested if it became available and it did.
Q: Will there be any design or component changes to Ra (as was done with Taj Mahal), or will the game be identical to the first RGG edition?
A: The changes will be similar to TM, but I will look for other changes that may be needed. And Reiner has already asked for a small change to the rules, which I will include—but as a variant.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on June 5, 2007 at 03:00 PM in Special Features > Ask the Publisher > Ask Rio Grande Games
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Ask Jay: Pontificating About Pricing
In this week’s installment of Ask Jay, Mr. Tummelson answers questions about whether prices affect sales, how prices affect production, and more. Have a question about a Rio Grande title or some broader aspect of the game industry? Then submit it, and we’ll pass it on…
Q: As other game publishers start taking preorders, have you considered going this route as a way of gauging interest in a wider array of titles, before committing to produce them?
A: No. It is just not something I find useful or appropriate. Somehow, asking my customers to guarantee the success of a print run just seems wrong to me.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on May 29, 2007 at 12:00 PM in Special Features > Ask the Publisher > Ask Rio Grande Games
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Ask Jay: Spiel des Jahres Spillover on American Shores
The nominees for the 2007 Spiel des Jahres (Germany’s Game of the Year award) were announced on Sunday, May 20th, and Rio Grande Games is handling the English-language version of all five games, despite them being published by four European publishers (Ystari, Abacusspiele, Ravensburger, Queen).
Q: Do the SdJ nominations affect your sales for those games? How about sales of the SdJ-winning title itself?
A: In the early days, there was little impact, but in the past two years I have seen a change. Last year, for example, I took orders for 1500 copies of Thurn & Taxis in the week following its announcement as SdJ winner. Of course, all the winners are good games so it is a bit hard to determine how much is due to the award and how much is due to it being a great game.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on May 22, 2007 at 02:00 PM in Special Features > Ask the Publisher > Ask Rio Grande Games
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Ask Jay: Predicting Hits (or Not), and a View of the Game Industry from Across the River
This week, Jay Tummelson takes a Grande look at the game industry, hints at the release of a Carcassonne storage locker, and talks about why you can’t predict anything. Thanks for the great questions, and keep them coming…
Q. At the end of 2006, you mentioned that you might consider printing empty big Carcassonne boxes so that those people who had purchased the individual game and all of the subsequent expansions could store everything easily in one box. Are you still considering this? How many people would you need to hear from to make this product feasible?
A. I am considering offering a box for customers to buy to store all their Carcassonne games in, but it will not be the Big Box, but something even more permanent and appropriate for storing this great game.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on May 14, 2007 at 03:00 PM in Special Features > Ask the Publisher > Ask Rio Grande Games
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Ask Jay: Rio Grande Expansions in Knucklebones, and More…
After the pitiably short Ask Jay episode of last week, readers have submitted a number of quality questions for Rio Grande’s guru. Here we go…
Q. With the recent demise of Games Quarterly Magazine, will Rio Grande include expansions with Knucklebones magazine?
A. We are working on that now, yes!
Q: Any word on whether you might pick up Burg Appenzell, the Zoch game?
A. Will do this one, yes.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on May 7, 2007 at 01:00 PM in Special Features > Ask the Publisher > Ask Rio Grande Games
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Ask Jay: Elfengold?
Almost no questions have been submitted for Ask Jay recently, so this post is rather short. You’re more than halfway through it, in fact. If you want to read more next time, submit a question or six and I’ll see what Mr. Tummelson has to say.
Q: Would you consider publishing Elfengold—the expansion to Elfenland—in English. Elfenland is one of Rio Grande’s titles and I believe it to be a pretty popular one. Elfengold was never released in English and has been hard to get for quite a while.
A: Yes, I will consider it.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on April 30, 2007 at 12:00 PM in Special Features > Ask the Publisher > Ask Rio Grande Games
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Ask Jay: A New Look for Lost Cities, Medieval Merchant, and…Rosenkönig?
Our second installment of Ask Jay looks at a few game redesigns, some artistic, some mechanistic—including one game that might come to Rio Grande thanks to my nosy self. Ask Jay won’t appear again for a few weeks since Jay Tummelson will be in Columbus at the Gathering of Friends, but add questions to this thread or submit them directly to the editor and I’ll ask the questions in person.
Rosenkönig
Q. Now that Kosmos is releasing a new edition of Rosenkönig, do you have any plans to release an English edition of the game?
A. I have always told Kosmos I was interested in doing the game if it was ever reprinted. I was not aware of their plans, but will ask them next week. Thanks for the heads-up.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on March 26, 2007 at 02:00 PM in Special Features > Ask the Publisher > Ask Rio Grande Games
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Ask Jay: YS+, Mr. Jack, Jenseits, and Fish
BGN’s inaugaral “Ask Jay” column starts with a few clarifications of comments Jay has made on BoardGameGeek. Post new questions for Jay in the comments section of this post or write to the BGN editor.
Questions about specific games:
YS+
Q. You mention on BGG that you will have a “complete” version of Ys+ available later in 2007. What do you mean by complete? Just the Ys+ components in a box? Or will the base game and expansion be sold together?
A. Right now the plan is to produce YS+ in a box for normal retail sale.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on March 19, 2007 at 02:00 PM in Special Features > Ask the Publisher > Ask Rio Grande Games
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Ask Jay: New Feature on Boardgame News
In an effort to have more direct participation from some figures in the game industry, Boardgame News is starting a new feature called “Ask Jay,” the Jay in question being Jay Tummelson of Rio Grande Games. You, the readers of BGN, can submit questions about upcoming Rio Grande titles, current releases, games you want to see, and so on. Roughly once a week, we’ll present a sampling of these questions to Jay, then compile the answers in a Q&A format.
If you have a BGN account—for which registration is free—you can submit questions as comments on this thread. To keep your questions private, not to mention make it easier for yours truly, you can submit questions directly to the BGN editor.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on March 16, 2007 at 09:02 AM in Special Features > Ask the Publisher > Ask Rio Grande Games
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