Possibly, let's be honest, PAX functions because it has one very strong benevolent dictator as the head. They need someone of Khoo's caliber as a replacement.
Maybe, but I thought he came on in the first place because Mike and Jerry basically had no idea how to run a business and Khoo presented them with a 10-year plan or something. I dunno how much experience he had before that in business but even if he was learning I imagine that knowledge was also imparted to Mike and Jerry. Ideally they were all on the same page.
I love Mike and Jerry, but... Running PAX takes massive work, ridding herd on super diverse aspects of the business and also ridding herd on a huge and widely diverse staff of paid and mostly volunteers. It's grown organically from something really small, but Khoo has monumental skills.
Seattle needs to push this convention center expansion as hard as it can. When new exhibitors pop up, it's disheartening to tell them that PAX West has a 100% return rate with prior exhibitors, so sorry, go try East (which has its own wait list) or South.
I say this because the tabletop industry is waking up, and is going to start beating down the PAX door. I got two emails this week. One from Asmodee saying they had a great experience at South/East and are committed to PAX now, and another from F2Z (conglomerate that owns Z-Man, Plaid Hat, and more) saying they want in. It's board game time!
Seattle needs to push this convention center expansion as hard as it can. When new exhibitors pop up, it's disheartening to tell them that PAX West has a 100% return rate with prior exhibitors, so sorry, go try East (which has its own wait list) or South.
I say this because the tabletop industry is waking up, and is going to start beating down the PAX door. I got two emails this week. One from Asmodee saying they had a great experience at South/East and are committed to PAX now, and another from F2Z (conglomerate that owns Z-Man, Plaid Hat, and more) saying they want in. It's board game time!
Pretty sure you can skip the wait list if you got $$$.
I don't think Tabletop has ever had the luxury of companies with real $$$. I guess we'll see what happens, as it's out of my hands now. I'm just the outreach guy.
There was some minor grumbling about Asmodee showing up at East and getting 4 booths worth of space, but I don't think they actually skipped any wait list. People on the wait list took Expo Hall booths b/c they didn't want to wait until last minute only to be turned away, and Asmodee (FFG) technically did have multiple years of prior-exhibitor status, just not the prior two years.
During their first few years, when they originally signed a book publishing deal for the comic, there was some crazy language in the contract that they overlooked, where they basically gave the entire company over to this publisher. I don't think they ever saw a cent from that first book. The guy took the money and ran, and they spent years in court resolving the physical publishing rights of the Penny Arcade comic. I think this all happened right before Khoo came in, and he helped clean it all up.
It's one of those ridiculous stories that only they can tell properly. Here's the book, if a visual takes you way back:
Due to the availability of flights, my trip home departs at 10PM on Monday night. Guess I'm going from the Omegathon to the airport. Nice flight on Thursday, though. Should be there by 1PMish Seattle time.
The only problem with the version I was able to get easily is that the box is unnecessarily huge, ala Factory Fun. You wouldn't think you need a TtR-sized box for some medium-thickness boards and five small plastic robots.
The only problem with the version I was able to get easily is that the box is unnecessarily huge, ala Factory Fun. You wouldn't think you need a TtR-sized box for some medium-thickness boards and five small plastic robots.
There are versions? I've only ever seen this one:
ABLE to get? Isn't this game available pretty much everywhere?
I turned up half way through two games of RR this year, and was proud that I still managed to come second and third in both. These skills stick with you even after years of no play!
There are at least three versions you can get in English in America; Rio Grande published a red box and that blue box, but both boxes contain slightly different boards. The "versions" section on BGG doesn't really clear it up, because it says both were published in 1999. One of them might have been double sided, with diagonal walls on the 'advanced' side. I'm not really sure, and all I have to go on is the BGG forums because I didn't do any real research.
In 2013, Z-Man and ABACUSSPIELE published a version in a larger box that has eight double-sided boards. It also makes the center piece a puzzle-cut cardboard tile, potentially exacerbating the offset that occurred when diecutting the interlocking boards, such that the grid might not line up. Fortunately, I got a box where everything was cut nicely, but here's the worst-case scenario:
Every version of the game appears to be OoS on all the online stores I checked. I had to buy it brick and mortar, so there was some angst that I was going to have to deal with customer service if I got boards that looked like that.
How did that kind of board even clear QA? Must have been the cheapest manufacturing. I've watched videos on YouTube from two different board game factories, and both had QA processes good enough such that something so egregious would never happen.
How did that kind of board even clear QA? Must have been the cheapest manufacturing. I've watched videos on YouTube from two different board game factories, and both had QA processes good enough such that something so egregious would never happen.
Z-Man? One man company, publishing 30+ games per year. Shipping them faster than anyone could ever possible QA or even properly promote them. Hope that one or two of them is a breakout hit and it more than pays for all of the rest.
It worked... for a little while.
EDIT: Oh this was made in 2013? The heady days of Z-Man came down in 2011 or 2012.
I've been long aware of Ricochet Robots, but I've never actually played it myself. I love Robo Rally, and never looked into the other robot programming games (Ricochet Robots, Twin Tin Bots).
An important part of tabletop design is manufacturing tolerance. The less time/money you have for physical bit manufacturing and quality control, the more you design to ensure that alignment/print problems aren't game-affecting.
Never make a multipart board with a game-related dense pattern (hexes, grids, boundaries, etc...) that must align across the parts. It's asking for trouble.
Comments
It would take two people to cover what their IT job is.
I say this because the tabletop industry is waking up, and is going to start beating down the PAX door. I got two emails this week. One from Asmodee saying they had a great experience at South/East and are committed to PAX now, and another from F2Z (conglomerate that owns Z-Man, Plaid Hat, and more) saying they want in. It's board game time!
There was some minor grumbling about Asmodee showing up at East and getting 4 booths worth of space, but I don't think they actually skipped any wait list. People on the wait list took Expo Hall booths b/c they didn't want to wait until last minute only to be turned away, and Asmodee (FFG) technically did have multiple years of prior-exhibitor status, just not the prior two years.
It's one of those ridiculous stories that only they can tell properly. Here's the book, if a visual takes you way back:
This will change at PAX.
ABLE to get? Isn't this game available pretty much everywhere?
In 2013, Z-Man and ABACUSSPIELE published a version in a larger box that has eight double-sided boards. It also makes the center piece a puzzle-cut cardboard tile, potentially exacerbating the offset that occurred when diecutting the interlocking boards, such that the grid might not line up. Fortunately, I got a box where everything was cut nicely, but here's the worst-case scenario:
Every version of the game appears to be OoS on all the online stores I checked. I had to buy it brick and mortar, so there was some angst that I was going to have to deal with customer service if I got boards that looked like that.
It worked... for a little while.
EDIT: Oh this was made in 2013? The heady days of Z-Man came down in 2011 or 2012.
Never make a multipart board with a game-related dense pattern (hexes, grids, boundaries, etc...) that must align across the parts. It's asking for trouble.
See also: printing a flyer with a border.
I've got badges, but I want to sort out hotel before getting flights.