The Inside Scoop on Gaming

GENCON, August, and TitanGames

Well, the GenCon game convention is in the books, so to speak, in more ways than one.

This year, we sold over 2500 RPG books at GenCon off of our Buy One - Get Three Free tables - and over 2000 more on our "$1 Table". It was nice not to have to reload all those heavy boxes back onto the truck - or, more precisely - not to have to watch my crew load them (heh).

I also had a ball seeing Margaret Weis of Margaret Weis Productions - and getting my copies of the SERENITY RPG Books. One hardcover, and two copies of the "Emergency Print Run" of softcovers (which, I think, will prove to be rare-rare-rare at approximately 34 total copies sold by them).

Meeting Ron Glass, Shepard Book of FIREFLY and SERENITY (and who also played on Barney Miller, gawd I'm auld) was a real hoot, too. :)

We arrived at the site at mid-day Tuesday, and set our booth up Tuesday and Wednesday. Had 4 great days of sales (GenCon 2005 was my second best con ever, just behind Origins 2005) and we had a great time selling to all the enthusiastic gamers - many of whom we hope to see at DragonCon next weekend.

We, again, stayed at the Knights Inn. The one at Exit #4 of the I-465 loop, right next door to the Waffle House. I have to say, this Knights Inn was PAR EXCELLENT! The staff was friendly and helpful, we had plenty of towels, and the room was clean and neat every day. Plus, did I mention this: It is next to a WAFFLE HOUSE!! Oh, joy of joy's - I LOVE Waffle House!

Other mentionable things include: The Decorators at the GENCON show, a company called GEO FERN. Excellent help, friendly, and fast to help with problems (like I needed a couple rolls of paper overnighted and delivered to my booth, so they took delivery and helped me out), and also FAST in putting down and taking up the Carpets - so the impact on the load in and load out was very minimal - in fact, the load out was better than EVER. The decorators had the carpet up so fast, we weren't ready to tote a box out and the rolled carpets were all put away before we could even tear down our booth. I can't TELL you how pleased this makes me!!!!!

The GENCON folks - the staff working for Peter that is: Great bunch of folks. Communicated well, easy to get help from, and very flexible with little things (like I needed change, or when we needed to ask a staffer a question, the low level part time, maybe volunteer we talked to got the high-ranking, full time employee to our booth in no time at all, and our concerns were immediately addressed. VERY HAPPY with the STAFF of GENCON. I remember two years ago when the badges weren't printing, and how mad I was that the lines were long. Not a problem this year - they got the kinks worked out, and it was ran exceedingly well. NICE JOB.

LOTS OF NEW RELEASES: I saw at least 50 new products I want to have in my store. Problem is, most retailers cannot afford to have that much new product in a week. I sure wish there was a distributor out there who could put together a "GenCon Release Pack" which included copies of every game released at GenCon - at a 30-day net for their accounts, cause it is tough to bring in that much new stuff that fast. My weekly order this week was nearly 4 TIMES as big as it usually is. OUCH. Now, keep in mind, I had money to spend, cause I made that money at GenCon. But, the average retailer cannot afford to bring in 2 copies of every new release that is put out at GenCon, and this means some really GOOD games get skipped by a vast number of retailers across the country. :(

It was nice to meet so many people who stopped by the booth to say they loved to read my columns on RPG NET. I was kinda planning to stop writing this column, but so many people said they liked it, I decided against it, and will continue to support this column with monthly articles.

Next month, I will tell you about DragonCon - which is ALWAYS a lot of fun, a complete freak show (Hey, I can say that - I have a Star Trek Gold-Command shirt, and vulcan ears, I am a geek, freak and all that, too), and always a real party atmosphere. If you haven't attended DragonCon, it is the weekend of Labor Day every year, in Atlanta. I have only been three times, but it is a FANTASTIC con, and I can't WAIT to see everyone again.

Plus, I love Georgia - got it in my blood when I was a Drill Sergeant at Fort Benning, I suppose. Any of you military guys out there, I need some XL (waist size 40) BDU pants, and other camouflage fatigue pants (same size, other camo patterns) in trade, and maybe a couple patrol caps - size 7 3/4. I won't make it this year to Columbus, to Ranger Joe's, and I need some pants with cargo pockets and such - will trade games for gear. I could also use an RuckSack if someone has one to trade.

Of course, I will buying stuff at the con, too - if you have games to sell.

Lastly, for more info on our buy one get three free deals, see this site: http://www.titangames.com/get3free/get3free.html

Thanks, and see you in Atlanta, I hope. :)

Marcus King
TitanGames - Owner

Behind the Counter

GENCON, August, and TitanGames

GENCON, August, and TitanGames

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Behind the Counter GENCON, August, and TitanGames by Marcus King Aug 29,2005	GENCON, August, and TitanGames Well, the GenCon game convention is in the books, so to speak, in more ways than one. This year, we sold over 2500 RPG books at GenCon off of our Buy One - Get Three Free tables - and over 2000 more on our "$1 Table". It was nice not to have to reload all those heavy boxes back onto the truck - or, more precisely - not to have to watch my crew load them (heh). I also had a ball seeing Margaret Weis of Margaret Weis Productions - and getting my copies of the SERENITY RPG Books. One hardcover, and two copies of the "Emergency Print Run" of softcovers (which, I think, will prove to be rare-rare-rare at approximately 34 total copies sold by them). Meeting Ron Glass, Shepard Book of FIREFLY and SERENITY (and who also played on Barney Miller, gawd I'm auld) was a real hoot, too. :) We arrived at the site at mid-day Tuesday, and set our booth up Tuesday and Wednesday. Had 4 great days of sales (GenCon 2005 was my second best con ever, just behind Origins 2005) and we had a great time selling to all the enthusiastic gamers - many of whom we hope to see at DragonCon next weekend. We, again, stayed at the Knights Inn. The one at Exit #4 of the I-465 loop, right next door to the Waffle House. I have to say, this Knights Inn was PAR EXCELLENT! The staff was friendly and helpful, we had plenty of towels, and the room was clean and neat every day. Plus, did I mention this: It is next to a WAFFLE HOUSE!! Oh, joy of joy's - I LOVE Waffle House! Other mentionable things include: The Decorators at the GENCON show, a company called GEO FERN. Excellent help, friendly, and fast to help with problems (like I needed a couple rolls of paper overnighted and delivered to my booth, so they took delivery and helped me out), and also FAST in putting down and taking up the Carpets - so the impact on the load in and load out was very minimal - in fact, the load out was better than EVER. The decorators had the carpet up so fast, we weren't ready to tote a box out and the rolled carpets were all put away before we could even tear down our booth. I can't TELL you how pleased this makes me!!!!! The GENCON folks - the staff working for Peter that is: Great bunch of folks. Communicated well, easy to get help from, and very flexible with little things (like I needed change, or when we needed to ask a staffer a question, the low level part time, maybe volunteer we talked to got the high-ranking, full time employee to our booth in no time at all, and our concerns were immediately addressed. VERY HAPPY with the STAFF of GENCON. I remember two years ago when the badges weren't printing, and how mad I was that the lines were long. Not a problem this year - they got the kinks worked out, and it was ran exceedingly well. NICE JOB. LOTS OF NEW RELEASES: I saw at least 50 new products I want to have in my store. Problem is, most retailers cannot afford to have that much new product in a week. I sure wish there was a distributor out there who could put together a "GenCon Release Pack" which included copies of every game released at GenCon - at a 30-day net for their accounts, cause it is tough to bring in that much new stuff that fast. My weekly order this week was nearly 4 TIMES as big as it usually is. OUCH. Now, keep in mind, I had money to spend, cause I made that money at GenCon. But, the average retailer cannot afford to bring in 2 copies of every new release that is put out at GenCon, and this means some really GOOD games get skipped by a vast number of retailers across the country. :( It was nice to meet so many people who stopped by the booth to say they loved to read my columns on RPG NET. I was kinda planning to stop writing this column, but so many people said they liked it, I decided against it, and will continue to support this column with monthly articles. Next month, I will tell you about DragonCon - which is ALWAYS a lot of fun, a complete freak show (Hey, I can say that - I have a Star Trek Gold-Command shirt, and vulcan ears, I am a geek, freak and all that, too), and always a real party atmosphere. If you haven't attended DragonCon, it is the weekend of Labor Day every year, in Atlanta. I have only been three times, but it is a FANTASTIC con, and I can't WAIT to see everyone again. Plus, I love Georgia - got it in my blood when I was a Drill Sergeant at Fort Benning, I suppose. Any of you military guys out there, I need some XL (waist size 40) BDU pants, and other camouflage fatigue pants (same size, other camo patterns) in trade, and maybe a couple patrol caps - size 7 3/4. I won't make it this year to Columbus, to Ranger Joe's, and I need some pants with cargo pockets and such - will trade games for gear. I could also use an RuckSack if someone has one to trade. Of course, I will buying stuff at the con, too - if you have games to sell. Lastly, for more info on our buy one get three free deals, see this site: http://www.titangames.com/get3free/get3free.html Thanks, and see you in Atlanta, I hope. :) Marcus King TitanGames - Owner