NEWSLETTER AND COMMUNIQUE RELEASED
Steve Cole reports: We have released this month's issue of the Hailing Frequencies newsletter and this month's Communique. The newsletter has the latest information on release schedules and company news, as well as lots of other useful content. It also has links to the new Communique, a free PDF newsletter which is full of good things for Federation Commander players, including new ships, a new scenario, and updated schedules and rules. The newsletter also has links to the most recent Star Fleet Alerts, the press releases that tell your store when to expect new products.
Stephen V. Cole writes: Many do not know that we have a page where you can download FEDERATION COMMANDER wallpaper. Klingon Border, Romulan Border, Klingon Attack, and Romulan Attack are currently available in the following sizes : 800x600, 1024x768, and 1280x1024. http://www.StarFleetGames.com/wallpaper If there are any other sizes or any other images that you would like to see turned into wallpaper, please feel free to write me at graphics@StarFleetGames.com and I will get it set up for you.
This week at ADB, Inc., 28 February - 6 March 2010
Steve Cole reports: I was sick and stayed home Sunday and Monday, and might as well have done so on Tuesday and Wednesday. I got some work done later in the week. The weather was better, cool mornings and the afternoons in the 60s. Strange Email events continued. Over Wednesday night and Thursday morning, my on-deck filters blocked 32,000 spams. I was getting several hundred more per hour, and found another 6,000-7,000 in my spam trap every morning. As I said, I got some work done. I did a reserve blog for Jean, updated the PD FED page count, approved some FC rulings, did quality checks on 1200 map panels, sent some art to Jean for ADB's page on Facebook, worked up a list of Starline 2300 minis (thanks to Nick Samaras for the help!), tried to get GAMA to confirm the Origins events, resolved a problem between a store and a wholesaler, did all but one page of Communique #51, sent the Captain's Log #41 art to the cover artist and interior artist, and did a two-page thing for that issue. I also went to my annual medical checkup, which said that my lab work was perfect but I needed to exercise and lose weight. Steven Petrick was working all week on various parts of CL#41, including the battleforces and the Juggernaut stuff. Leanna and Mike continued dealing with huge mail orders. Mike also did quality checks on hundreds of restock miniatures. We hired Joel Shutts to replace Eric, and he spent Saturday doing a lot of website updates. Jean made some progress on PD FEDS and reported that our page on Facebook was up to 209 fans. The contractor working on our house moved on to Phase 2 (remodeling the master bedroom), getting the woodwork done and stained.
Klingon Warrior
I've been walkin' these decks so long, Singin' my battle song, I know every hatch in these dirty bulkheads of my ship. Where battle's the name of the game, And cowards get washed away like the mud in the rain. There's been a load of strong emotions, On the road to my promotions. But I'm gonna be where the Emperor's smiling at me. Like a Klingon Warrior! Cruising fast on my ship just as far out as I can go. Like a Klingon Warrior! Getting commendations from admirals I don't even know. And orders comin' over the phone. Well, I really don't mind the pain. And I've lost, as much as I've gained. But you're doomed when you're bombing the plains Of some distant planet. And I dream of the things I'll do, With a fighter squadron and a mauler cruiser or two. There's been a load of strong emotions, On the road to my promotions. But I'm gonna be where the Emperor's smiling at me. Like a Klingon Warrior! Cruising out on my ship just as far as I can go. Like a Klingon Warrior! Getting commendations from admirals I don't even know. And orders comin' over the phone. Like a Klingon Warrior! Cruising out on my ship just as far as I can go. Like a Klingon Warrior! Getting commendations from admirals I don't even know. And orders comin' over the phone. Parody copyright (c) 2010 Stephen V. Cole
Stephen V. Cole writes: Many do not know that we have a page where you can download FEDERATION COMMANDER wallpaper. Klingon Border, Romulan Border, Klingon Attack, and Romulan Attack are currently available in the following sizes : 800x600, 1024x768, and 1280x1024.
http://www.StarFleetGames.com/wallpaperIf there are any other sizes or any other images that you would like to see turned into wallpaper, please feel free to write me at graphics@StarFleetGames.com and I will get it set up for you.
Learning About Reserves
This is Steven Petrick Posting: One of the more difficult aspects of military operations to learn from games is the concept of the reserve. This is because most games (whether boardgames or computer games) are set up to put a premium on massing your forces to attack, or simply pick a good defensive line. In both cases the strategy is "all in". There is rarely an inherent advantage to having "uncommitted troops". Players rarely have to worry about things like exhaustion, or morale recovery after a bad defeat. In most games a battle starts and is decided before any "uncommitted" troops could be moved up, so holding out troops is a waste. The result is that by the time many players are adults, they tend to not think about reserves (although some do learn something of the concept from Sports where teams do have "reserves" to feed into the game). Federation & Empire employs both a strategic reserve, and a tactical reserve, concept. When establishing defenses, players can look for opportunities to use "reaction movement" to bring unengaged forces to nearby battles (Tactical Reserves in effect). But the players are also allowed a limited number of "reserve counters" which they can use to designate "strategic reserves". This is a good example of teaching players to think about possible future enemy moves (one of the reasons to have reserves), and to use their reserves to try trap the enemy (reinforce that weak spot the enemy thought they would break through).
GETTING INTO DISTRIBUTION
Steve Cole reports: For a small publisher, getting into distributors is a tough battle, but it's the only way to get into stores. They have so many publishers to pick from, they don't want to be bothered with one great product from one tiny company. Their cost of accounting makes the deal not worth it. The consumers and stores only spend so much money a month, and the wholesalers are already getting all of that and don't need your game to get it, so they don't care much. The wholesalers don't need your game to make as much money as they make, and carrying your game just means some stores are going to buy fewer of games the wholesalers already carry. My free book on the industry may give you some information: http://www.starfleetgames.com/book/One common mistake a lot of publishers make is to just pick some"discount terms" out of thin air, and the wholesalers don't like the terms and ignore you. I've seen several companies fail that way without their ever realizing why they failed. My book has a term sheet that is used by a lot of other companies (I got it from somebody ten times as big as me) which wholesalers will accept (if they accept your games). If you can get into Alliance (the toughest sell of all) you don't really have to have the others (but they're nice to have). They might talk to you on a flooring basis, which is basically consignment. ACD is almost as good. Either will make your games available to every store. Basically, you just keep phoning one wholesaler at a time, send them a sample, call back, and ask them nicely to pick up your game. If that doesn't work, your only way into distribution is to get somebody else to get you in there on the back of their system. You have two roads there. 1. Consolidators. I never used them and don't keep up on which ones are still in business, and the ones that are probably have all of the manufacturers they want. Basically a consolidator is a company that fits into the tiers between manufacturers and wholesalers. They represent a lot of little companies. A wholesaler can buy the "one great game" from ten or twenty companies all in one box on one invoice. The consolidator will take a percentage. They'll hold some of your inventory, but not much, and they won't pay you until something sells, and they might even charge you for storage. Some consolidators went out of business without paying manufacturers. You should join the GPA as those guys can tell you where to find consolidators. Pitching to them is only slightly easier than pitching to wholesalers. 2. Find another game company that is already selling into distribution, make friends with them, and have them slip your game into distribution through their books. My company, Amarillo Design Bureau, Inc., did this for Majestic Twelve Games as part of a wider deal involving the use of their game system and my background. Alliance took the deal because I have flooring with them and they don't care if I send them a few copies of an oddball product because they don't pay me until the games sell. Maybe there is somebody who is a friend of yours and would do it. A friend of mine who runs a much smaller company than mine has a deal with Mayfair and gets his game into wholesalers through their system. I have no clue how he managed to make that deal, but it works for him. I am not saying that "oh, sure, I'll handle that for you" but you can always email me off the list and maybe I might (after I know what your product is) suggest somebody who might help you. One warning. Getting into a wholesaler does not automatically get you into any stores. The stores are going to have to ASK the wholesalers for your game. (When a store makes its once-a-week call to the wholesaler, the wholesaler might have one minute to pitch two or three of the 75 new products that came out that week. You won't be one of them.) You can pay Alliance to put an ad for your game into their "music on hold" system so the retailer hears your ad while he's waiting on hold for his rep to pick up the phone. It might work. You can mail things to stores, but they get ten of those a day from us manufacturers and may or may not read them (think "not" in this case). You can buy expensive, full-color ads in the trade magazines that stores read, but my experience is that stores do not read the ads. Your best bet is to get a booth at GTS where you can talk to 150 or so stores. The second best bet is to join GAMA, get the free list of retailers, and start making phone calls. Cold calling is a painful task but does get you a new store or two out of every 50 or so calls. Good luck!
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