WotC and Game Keeper Stores Closing

Hasbro division Wizards of the Coast announced today it will be closing its chain of retail stores, including Wizards of the Coast stores and the affiliated The Game Keeper stores. The closure should be completed within approximately 60 days.

The closure of these stores will make it much harder for the average person to find European-style games. In the short term, it should make for some nice bargains at your local mall.

From Rags to... Rags

London's Independent offers up a business column about the invention of a board game, but one which acts as counterpoint to the typical "local boy makes good" pieces often featured in the business pages.

The House That Siedler Built

Kosmos has announced sales figures for the Die Siedler von Catan series. All games and expansions have collectively sold 6 million copies, of which 3 million copies were of the basic game alone. In 2002-- 7 years after the game's initial release-- the basic game sold 130,000 copies.

The travel edition has sold 70,000 copies since its release in May, and the new Abenteuer Menschheit has sold 50,000 copies since its release 3 months ago.

The bottom line for publisher Kosmos? Over 10 million Euros per year.

Seattle: Hotbed of Board Game Design?

The Seattle Times reports on a wave of board games designed in the Seattle area. The article focuses on Burn Rate, a card game inspired by the dot.com crash which has exceeded its creators' sales expectations.

Life's Rough for Small Game Publishers

The Christian Science Monitor offers an article about a small game publisher and her efforts to market her game about garage sales called Driveway Deals. The article discusses the difficulty in getting established game publishers to consider your game idea, and in getting retailers to stock an independently produced game.