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.

Summer releases
Q. Are there any of the slew of games listed as July releases on Gone Cardboard (Carcassonne: Travel Edition, Cartagena II, Catch a Cache, Jambo Expansion, Jenseits von Theben, Khronos, Manhattan, and Ponte del Diavolo) that you think might slip to August?

A. Carcassonne: Travel Edition is printing next week, so it will slip to August. Cartagena II, Catch a Cache, Jambo Expansion, Jenseits von Theben and Ponte del Diavolo have all shipped from Germany and should be here before the end of July, unless there are delays in transport. Manhattan will be a bit later.

Khronos
Q. Which Khronos rules have changed from the original?

A. Mostly minor changes in rules which allow player more options—like the ability to retain cards when drawing to fill their hands. Also, we have added more cards, so you don’t need to shuffle so often.

Q. So other than the additional cards, the new Khronos rules are playable with the original edition?

A. You can always ignore the changes or make your own house rules, as is the case for any game.

Space Dealer
Q. Have any rules have changed from the original Space Dealer?

A. Not that I know of.

Q. Are the Space Dealer components identical to those in the original?

A. Peter has promised the timers are better and more balanced.

Mystery Rummy
Q. Now that you have the rights to Bonnie & Clyde, is there any chance of getting the right to reprint Mystery Rummy: Jack the Ripper from US Games Systems?

A. That is not planned as yet.

Cuba
Q. Any word on whether you will be distributing the forthcoming Eggertspiele title Cuba in the US?

A. I will be doing the English version of Cuba, yes!

Zooloretto
Q. Here’s a suggestion from a BGN reader (Stanley Bourgeois): If you reprint the Zooloretto expansions and have some room leftover, could you print more money, as it gets a bit tight with five players?

A. I do hope to put together a small run of printed expansions—like the ones online. If possible, I will add some coins to the project.

Many thanks to Jonathan Franklin for pulling this together!

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