2 GAME TRADE MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2006

COVER STORY

Games are the gifts that keep on giving, during the holidaysand all year long!

Give the Gift of Game!by William Niebling

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Retailers: For wholesale inquiries, please contact Michael Webbat (410) 602-8000, or email mew@alliance-games.com

T a b l e o fCONTENTS

FEATURESReading the Spread

Divination! Creative Director Rich Thomas offers a glimpse into thefuture of White Wolf Publishing.

by Zack Walkers62

PREVIEWS

GIVEAWAYSettlers of Catan 10th Anniversary

Limited Edition 3D Treasure Chest — Mayfair Games72

REVIEWSThe Spoils Open Beta Tournament

Card Game - Tenacious Gamesby Scott Gerhardt57

PRE-ORDER SECTIONSGAMES

ANIME

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The Tree of Swords Chapter 3: Direct Orders, More Deaths, and Wagonwheels.

Castlemourn Fiction by Ed Greenwood

Dreamblade: Child’s Playby Ken Troop

ORIGINAL FICTION

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SNK Joins the UFS!Season’s Beatings! Combatants from Samurai Shodown 5 and The King of

Fighters 2006 battle it out in Sabertooth Games’ Universal Fighting System!by Sabertooth Games

Tragedy Without AngstMisery Loves Company! Walk the path of the tormented in the Promethean: The

Created sourcebook, Strange Alchemies.by Jess Hartley

Street Fighter: The Dark PathRoad to Victory! Akuma, Cammy, Dudley, and Fei-Long enter the Street Fighter

arena with the UFS expansion, The Dark Path!by Alexander Black

Sabertooth Games UFS Organized PlayTeam-up with Sabertooth Games for Universal Fighting System Organized Play!

by Joshua Morris

The Rules of WarWarmongering! Kate Flack, Black Industries’ Brand Manager, explores the key prin-

ciples of roleplaying in the Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy campaign setting.by Kate Flack

Theophrastus: The Great Healer’s Secrets!Pseudoscience! Luck, ingenuity, and determination are the prime ingredients to

be an alchemist’s apprentice in Mayfair Games’ Theophrastus.by P.R. Chase

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Can you feel it? The subtle chill? Yes, autumn is surely onthe horizon, and with the seasonal changing of the guard inthe forecast, can winter be far behind?

Which is why now is the perfect opportunity to planfor Old Man Winter’s blustery insurgence… to take stockon your reserves, dig out your wintry wardrobe, andprepare to hunker in for when the weather outside isfrightful. And, once you’ve settled in, there’s no betterway to while away the time than nestled by a cozy-warmhearth with good company, good cheer, and an engaginggame (a splendid segue into this issue of Game TradeMagazine, I might add!)

This month, GTM is filled to the brim with a host of gamesto delight and distract you from the pending pelting of sleet,hail and snow outside beginning with a selection of popularboard game favorites from Mayfair Games’ holiday cache includingAmazonas, Hey! That’s My Fish!, Mesopotamia, and Theophrastus(plus, check out the GTM giveaway for a copy of Settlers of Catan 10thAnniversary Limited Edition 3D Treasure Chest!). Things will be heating up asSabertooth Games unveils World Championship and organized tournament play for the Universal FightingSystem, while powerhouse combatants from SNK and Street Fighter battle it out in the UFS circuit! Plus, BlackIndustries fans the flames of war with Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy, White Wolf divines the future ofthe World of Darkness, and we get the skinny on Tenacious Games’ The Spoils CCG. And, if you’re all tuck-ered out from all this indoor excitement, you can plunge into your favorite reading chair as GTM conjures upan original Dreamblade yarn by Ken Troop and the third chapter in Ed Greenwood’s Castlemourn tale, “The Treeof Swords.”

‘Tis the season… to play games! [save the “jolly” for when the holiday’s are upon us]

PUBLISHERAlliance Game

DistributorsEDITOR/ DIRECTOR

OF ADVERTISING Phyllis Opolko

MANAGING EDITOR/ ADVERTISING MANAGER

Andrew SmithART DIRECTOR

Matt BarhamPRODUCTION SUPERVISOR

Andrew RaymanCOPYWRITER

Todd A. KaylorADVERTISING ACCOUNT REPS

Phyllis Opolko, Andrew Smith

Submissions should be sent to Andrew Smith

All Submissions become the property of

Game Trade Magazine, unless areturn request is in writing,including a self addressed

stamped envelope.

All titles and artwork are trademarked and copyrighted of their respective owners

GAME TRADE MAGAZINE1966 Greenspring Dr., Suite 300 Timonium, MD 21093 Phone 410.560.7100Fax 410.560.7589SAndrew@diamondcomics.comWWW.GAMETRADEMAGAZINE.COM

Call for advertising Info: 410.560.7100

© 2006 Alliance Game Distributors and respective copyright holders. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of Alliance Game DistributorsAll rights reserved.

Printed in Canada.

FOREword

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You’ve got games. Here’s why you should share.It’s that time of year again, and now you are looking for the

perfect gift. But you actually already know what that gift is. Becauseyou’ve been playing games for years. You love games. You delightin games. Don’t you know that everybody else does too?

There are a lot of reasons why games are the perfect gift for anyseason. Here are a few that you might not have thought of:

GAMES ARE GOOD FOR ALL AGES:When I was growing

up, I always got a gigglewhen a game said “forages 9 to 99!” But the truthis that this is an artificiallimit. Anyone of any agegroup can find a game thatthey will love to play. Fromyour youngest little cousin(who probably wants some-thing with bright colors and big wooden pieces) to your great-greatgrandma (who probably doesn’t), there is a game suitable for every-one. Games are great for kids because they can teach them valuableskills like sportsmanship, counting, arithmetic, and how to interactsocially with others their age. Games like Pick Picknic from RioGrande Games, The Kids of Catan from Mayfair Games, or Rat-a-tat Cat from Gamewright are all great ways to teach these skills with-out the young players even noticing that they’re learning anything!But let’s not forget that there are benefits for more venerable gameplayers too. Recent cognitive studies have suggested that people whoplay games are less likely to suffer the effects of Alzheimer’s. Gamesare good for the mind the same way that exercise is good for theheart. If you don’t work your mental muscles, they will fade that muchfaster. So help out your favorite older relative with some great cardgames such as the Sid Sackson classic Sleuth or Wizard from U.S.Games Systems.

GAMES BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER:Of course, let’s not forget the

purpose of giving gifts in the firstplace. Especially during the holi-days, it’s a way to show people howmuch you appreciate them, andgives you an excuse to get togetherwith friends and loved ones. Butwhy stop there? After all, you can’tshare a tie or a sweater. But you canshare a rousing game of Amazonasor Carcassonne, or Risk. Long afterthe holidays, you’ll still be getting together to enjoy a great game orthree. It’s like giving a gift over and over again.

GAMES COVER EVERY INTEREST:Of course, not everybody is excited about the same topics. If they

were, then there would only be one new movie every year. But no

matter what your luckygift-recipient is interestedin, you can find a gamethat will tickle that partic-ular itch. Is he a fanaticabout the American CivilWar? Instead of buyingyet another dry historicalbook about the Battle ofGettysburg, why not geta game like Battle Cry that will let him fill General Lee’s bootsinstead? Is she fascinated by dragons? What about a copy of TomWham’s Dancing Dragons?

GAMES ARE ARTWORK:Usually, when you shop for a

game, you are most concerned aboutthe game mechanics. But sometimes,you just want to be blown away bythe beauty of the game itself. This isespecially true when it’s a gift game.Cleopatra and the Society ofArchitects from Days of Wonder, orDread Pirate from Front PorchClassics just might be beautifulenough to put on your coffee table. Some of these high-end collec-tor’s games, like The Settlers of Catan 10th Anniversary Edition oreven an occasional CCG like Upper Deck’s Vs. System are just asmuch fun to look at as they are to play.

GAMES ARE ETERNAL:Sure, you might be blown away by the latest anime-inspired

CCG. Or you might hold your breath when you open the hot newcollectible mini booster. But there are a lot of games that have beenaround for a long, long time, and are still loved by millions. Thereare chess sets of every type imaginable. Even a simple deck of play-ing cards and a copy of Hoyle can be an appreciated gift for awould-be game enthusiast.

GAMES ARE WHAT YOU KNOW:Perhaps the best thing about giving games as gifts is how easy it

is. After all, you already play games! You know a lot about it! Youare the expert, so you can find the perfect game for anybody on yourlist: not too simple, not too complex. Of course, if you aren’t certain,your local hobby store is the perfect place to go and get some topquality advice. And while you’re there asking for ideas, you canknock a few items off your list at the same time. Your local game storeis the best source for games, whether they’re gifts for your family, orgifts for yourself!

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William Niebling grew up in Wisconsin, in the shadow of TSR, during the 1980's. He nurtured a love of games and gaming froma very early age, spending many wondrous rainy afternoons andbitter winter days playing games of every type and style.

GAME TRADE MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2006 7

COVER STORYCOVER STORYCOVER STORYCOVER STORYBy William Niebling

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