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.

Q: Do you have any plans to market Zooloretto to zoos themselves? Or otherwise placing the game for sale in more general stores? That fuzzy panda face is a great selling tool!

A: I certainly hope to be able to do so—time will tell if it works.

Q: Zooloretto means something if people are familiar with Coloretto, but to the general public the name would be baffling. Is there any chance you’d change the title to something more appealing for the mass market?

A: Not likely—I do not think the game will have much impact on mass.

Origins Game Expo
Q: At Origins you team up with Decision Games in sharing their booth while they hawk your wares. Do Doc and Callie tag along to all the conventions you go to?

A: No, but they do show my games at some cons where I am not. and they sell my games at WBC.

Q: Is there any reason you don’t sell the games there yourself and cut out the “middle man” for more profit?

A: Yes, publishers selling games at conventions compete with their retail customers and is in my opinion both greedy and wrong. Thus, I do not and will not sell to consumers—at conventions or anywhere else.

Upcoming releases
Q: Are Guatemala Cafe, If Wishes Were Fishes, and/or Ponte del Diavolo in the pipeline?

A: Yes, the first two have already shipped and will be for sale at Origins. PdD will arrive later this week or early next depending on the holiday.

Q: Will Burg Appenzell have a different title for the RGG release? Any guess when the domestic release will hit these shores?

A: Yes, it will be called Chateau Roquefort or something similar. Likely not to be here until fall.

Q: Are Phoenicia and Race for the Galaxy both still on track for July?

A: Well, Phoenicia had (as many have read) printing problems, but I understand it will be done this week or next, so it will release in August. RFTG is nearly done, but will likely not be ready until late August or September.

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