Convention Report: GAMA Trade Show 2006

By Rick Thornquist

Here are my reports from the GAMA Trade Show 2006 which took place from March 13-16, 2006 in Las Vegas, U.S.A.

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March 17, 2006 - Convention Report: GAMA Trade Show 2006 - March 15, 2006 - Part 2 (Day 3)
March 16, 2006 - Convention Report: GAMA Trade Show 2006 - March 15, 2006 - Part 1 (Day 3)
March 15, 2006 - Convention Report: GAMA Trade Show 2006 - March 14, 2006 - Part 3 (Day 2)
March 14, 2006 - Convention Report: GAMA Trade Show 2006 - March 14, 2006 - Part 2 (Day 2)
March 14, 2006 - Convention Report: GAMA Trade Show 2006 - March 14, 2006 - Part 1 (Day 2)
March 14, 2006 - Convention Report: GAMA Trade Show 2006 - March 13, 2006 (Day 1)

Articles

Convention Report: GAMA Trade Show 2006 - March 15, 2006 - Part 2 (Day 3)

By Rick Thornquist
March 17, 2006

This is the second part of my report for Day 3 of the GAMA Trade show, and this is also my final report from the show. In this part I report on my playing of play Rocketville and chat with some more publishers about their upcoming releases.

Posted by Rick Thornquist on March 17, 2006 at 08:05 PM in Special Features > Convention Reports > Convention Report: GAMA Trade Show 2006 - Comments (0) - Link

Convention Report: GAMA Trade Show 2006 - March 15, 2006 - Part 1 (Day 3)

By Rick Thornquist
March 15, 2006

Here’s the first part of my report for Day 3 of the GAMA Trade show. In this part I report on my playing of play Cleopatra and the Society of Architects and chat with some publishers about what they have coming up.

After getting up, I headed down to the open gaming area where I ran into Larry Whalen of Face2Face Games and my Vancouver friend Darcy Paulin. Larry had a prototype of Ted Alspach’s that he wanted to give a whirl so we gave it a go. Unfortunately, I can’t really say anything about it except perhaps that it’s more of a gamer game than Seismic.

After finishing up the prototype, we had lots of time before the exhibit hall opened so we broke out a copy of Ticket to Ride - Marklin that I had borrowed from Days of Wonder for just such an occasion. Again I really liked the game. Darcy beat us all by a mile which is unbelievable considering he wasn’t there for half of the game! He had to leave in the middle to go to the bathroom and we just drew two cards from the deck whenever it was his turn. When he came back he had a pile of cards. He then went on to win the game! I’ll have to remember this clever strategy for future games.

Posted by Rick Thornquist on March 16, 2006 at 11:17 AM in Special Features > Convention Reports > Convention Report: GAMA Trade Show 2006 - Comments (8) - Link

Convention Report: GAMA Trade Show 2006 - March 14, 2006 - Part 3 (Day 2)

By Rick Thornquist
March 14, 2006

I posted part 2 of today’s report and then headed back into the exhibit hall to touch base with my last publisher for today - Asmodée. Later in the evening I got the chance to play the upcoming Phalanx / Mayfair game Bison.

Posted by Rick Thornquist on March 15, 2006 at 03:16 PM in Special Features > Convention Reports > Convention Report: GAMA Trade Show 2006 - Comments (2) - Link

Convention Report: GAMA Trade Show 2006 - March 14, 2006 - Part 2 (Day 2)

By Rick Thornquist
March 14, 2006

After posting part 1 of today’s report it was time to head back into the fray. In this part of my report I visit Fantasy Flight Games, Café Games and make a quick stop at Educational Insights.

Posted by Rick Thornquist on March 14, 2006 at 07:00 PM in Special Features > Convention Reports > Convention Report: GAMA Trade Show 2006 - Comments (0) - Link

Convention Report: GAMA Trade Show 2006 - March 14, 2006 - Part 1 (Day 2)

By Rick Thornquist
March 14, 2006

Today is day two of the GAMA Trade Show. I’ve got quite a bit of Days of Wonder scoop this morning, so I decided to post this right away before going back for more.

My first order of business this morning was to head down to the open gaming area to see what was going on. The room was fairly empty, but started to fill up quickly with people chatting and grabbing some of the available free foodstuffs.

I had hoped to play some games, so I went on the prowl to find a publisher with a game I could borrow. I finally ran into Eric Hautemont of Days of Wonder and scored big - a copy of Ticket to Ride - Marklin Edition. I brought it back to the open gaming room and grabbed a few players. Actually, getting players was pretty easy - I held up the box and was pretty much deluged with people who wanted to play it.

Posted by Rick Thornquist on March 14, 2006 at 04:26 PM in Special Features > Convention Reports > Convention Report: GAMA Trade Show 2006 - Comments (5) - Link

Convention Report: GAMA Trade Show 2006 - March 13, 2006 (Day 1)

By Rick Thornquist
March 13, 2006

Yup, I’m on the road again to another game fair! This time I’m in Las Vegas for the annual GAMA Trade Show.

GAMA is the Game Manufacturers Association and they hold a yearly show for buyers and sellers of games. Last month’s New York Toy Fair is mostly for toys and mass market games - the GAMA show is mostly for games and caters more to the hobby market. It’s here that you’ll find your favorite boardgame companies - Fantasy Flight, Eagle Games, Face2Face Games, etc, along with other companies flogging RPGs, TCGs and various other three letter acronyms. It’s here that the publishers and retailers come together to talk business (but they do take time to do some fun things as well).

What is my purpose then? Well, I’m here to give you the inside scoop on what new games the boardgame companies have in store for us. At the New York Toy Fair I was able to get the scoop on upcoming releases from a couple of the boardgame companies. Many of the companies from the Toy Fair are also here - I’ll be getting update from them as well as the scoop from companies weren’t at the Toy Fair (Fantasy Flight, for example).

Posted by Rick Thornquist on March 14, 2006 at 01:43 AM in Special Features > Convention Reports > Convention Report: GAMA Trade Show 2006 - Comments (0) - Link

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