The holidays are fast approaching, and if you plan on spending them with your extended family, board and card games can be a great way to pass the time. Sure, after you’ve helped clear the dishes away, you could just pass out on the sofa... or you could escape a dragon’s perilous dungeon, save a gnomish submarine from certain destruction, or dodge the wrath of an angry sorcerer!

Most serious hobby gamers know the pitfalls of trying to introduce too much complexity to the non-gamer crowd too soon. Can you imagine teaching Twilight Imperium 3rd Edition to Grandma? But where to start? Which games are best suited, based on complexity and number of players, to holiday gaming with the family? We’ve put together a few ideas...

In Drakon, up to six players race to be the first to collect 10 gold coins, all while avoiding a powerful dragon. The rules take less than a minute to explain; on each turn, you either put down a tile (expanding the dungeon), or you move your character miniature one space. Each tile you land on does something a little different, such as let you claim one gold token or steal one from the player to your left... and one tile lets you move the dragon herself, using her to hunt down your opponents! From this basic premise springs a surprisingly strategic board game with a satisfying “gotcha!” element.

For the more dramatic and outgoing crowd, Aye, Dark Overlord! actually presents light roleplaying elements, and can quickly become a terrific storytelling experience. The Overlord’s evil plot has failed (as it usually does), and he’s looking to blame an underling. Aye, Dark Overlord! is a fast-paced game of blame, lies, and pitting player against player in an attempt to avoid the Overlord's wrath. Each turn, players will be called upon to make up excuses, using one of the three hint cards they have in their hand. When the excuses start flying, hilarity will follow!

Red November, a nail-biting board game in which players struggle desperately to keep their submarine from sinking, has three things going for it to make it ideal for your holiday get-together. First, it accommodates a whopping eight players, meaning even big families can share in the action. Second, it’s fully cooperative. Many new players are put off by competition, but a cooperative game like Red November keeps the expectations nice and light, since everyone can strategize together. Third, it’s amazing fun! Red November puts players in the roles of gnomes on a sinking submarine. They must put out fires, pump leaking water, and even fight off an attacking kraken, all while waiting for help to arrive. If you’re planning on playing with children, just be aware that these endangered gnomes like to the take the edge off with a bit of grog (an in-game item that bolsters their bravery). But let’s be honest... wouldn’t you?

Any one of these games would be great for your holiday gathering, but keep watching our site! Letter of Marque, a simple bluffing game for 3-6 pirates, will be hitting retailers soon. Check out our detailed preview, then pick it up just in time for Thanksgiving!

Fantasy Flight Games is pleased to announce that we are now on Facebook!

Facebook provides another great way for you to keep in touch with FFG.

Follow us to stay up to date with our cool videos, contests, and special events. Get the latest news on our extensive list of games and other media!

We'll see you there...

League Kits for A Game of Thrones: The Card Game and Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game are now available from the new Fantasy Flight Games Business-to-Business online store (which we announced last week in this article).

Our Living Card Game League Kits provide exclusive prize support for your in-store Living Card Game playgroup. League Kits also provide voting forms which allow players to influence aspects of the game, such as cards to include in future sets. (Stay tuned for news on the results of the previous league kits' voting!)

For more information on the contents of the current League Kits, check out these articles:

A Game of Thrones: Recruit the Melee Champion

Call of Cthulhu: Seize the Elder Sign
 

Ordering support for your Living Card Game league is now easier than ever. These $15 kits can be ordered directly through our Business-to-Business online store. Just log in to the B2B site and select the "Promotional" category. You can also order any older League Kits that are still in stock. 

If you are a retailer or distributor and would like to create an account to order directly from Fantasy Flight Games, please contact Bryan Bornmueller to get started today.

Fantasy Flight Games is pleased to announce the launch of our Business-to-Business (B2B) online store, a system designed to provide exact inventory information to every tier of our wholesale customer base, while making the process of ordering FFG products more efficient and accessible at all hours.

"This is a big step forward for FFG and our customers" said Bryan Bornmueller, FFG's Senior Sales Associate. "This service will simplify and speed up the ordering process for most of our customers and will handle not only the day-to-day restock orders, but also pre-orders and backorders."

The FFG B2B Store is aimed at making it easier for both distributors and retailers to check stock levels and place orders for product. To ensure stability, the system has undergone testing with a group of distribution and retail customers since early summer 2009. The launch of the B2B online store is an important technological advance for FFG, one made possible by a major systems migration the company undertook in the Fall of ’08.

“We’re very proud of the interface, functionality, and potential time-savings that this software can give our customers,” said Christian T. Petersen, CEO of Fantasy Flight Games. “We’ve worked hard to make this an elegant experience for the user, one matched by a robust operation internally at FFG.”

Interested distributors and retailers with FFG accounts can contact their FFG sales representative to obtain more information about this new service.

Lower shipping rates on small orders through the FFG Webstore are now available from USPS First Class Mail for orders up to a total of 13 ounces for domestic shipping (US, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Alaska) and up to four pounds for international orders.

Examples of items that would qualify for USPS First Class Mail (domestic):

• Booster packs
• Packs of card sleeves
• LCG expansion packs
• Wings of War miniatures
• Extra dice sets

The FFG Webstore automatically calculates the weight of your order and will default to USPS First Class Mail if your total order is under the maximum weight specified above. Note: You can still select alternate shipping methods, such as USPS Priority Mail or UPS, even if your order qualifies for USPS First Class Mail.

USPS First Class Mail shipping is the lowest cost for shipping that Fantasy Flight Games offers through our webstore.* Shipping times vary for USPS First Class Mail, depending on the distance shipped.

If you have any questions regarding ordering and shipping from the FFG Webstore you can email store@fantasyflightgames.com.

* All orders on the FFG Webstore include a $2 handling fee.

We return from Indianapolis to our homeland of Roseville, Minnesota from one of our best Gen Cons ever and we have the 30,000 or so of you who attended to thank! It is called the "Best Four Days in Gaming" and it is you who make Gen Con what it is. Once again, thank you!

This year, we had one of our largest booths ever, with over thirty demo tables, featuring brand new, Gen Con-debuting games like Middle-earth Quest, Chaos in the Old World, Ad Astra, Penny Arcade: The Card Game, Chaos Marauders and Warhammer: Invasion The Card Game. (See below for release dates of the Gen Con debut games) Our booth also featured classic games with new and upcoming surprises for them like Descent: Journeys in the Dark and BattleLore.

At our seminars, we got to talk about some of our upcoming releases for Dark Heresy and Rogue Trader with developer Ross Watson and contributors, and at the ever-popular In Flight Report, Christian Petersen got to announce some exciting upcoming releases like Descent: Sea of Blood, Letter of Marque, Talisman: Frostmarch, and more.

One of the biggest and most exciting announcements of Gen Con 2009 was our announcement of the new edition of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay that developer Jay Little went into detail on in his seminar.

Clips from all of these seminars can be found on our Gen Con videos page and Jay's Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay seminar will be available in full on our website soon. Check it out and find out what everyone who is interested in Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay is talking about.

Check out our Gen Con videos page for more recap videos made by our tireless media team of Jason Beaudoin and Keith Hurley. If you missed out on this year's Gen Con, be sure to check out these videos.

We would like to extend our heartiest congratulations to the winners of our various card game tournaments and championships:

Call of Cthulhu
World Champion: Tom Capor (Agency/Hastur)

A Game of Thrones
World Champion: Erick Butzlaff (Lannister)
Melee Champion: Jonathan Benton (Stark)
Joust Champion: Greg Atkinson (Greyjoy)
Legacy Champion: Erick Butzlaff

Kingdom Hearts
Keybearer Tournament Champion: Mike Kalmbach (Roxas)

Universal Fighting System
Singles World Champion: Paul Bittner (Zi Mei)
Team World Champions: UFS House - Matt Kohls, Paul Bittner, and Jon Herr.
Legacy Champion: Ryan Riley (Tycho)

Warhammer: Invasion
Inaugural Event Champion: David Marks (Orcs)

We would also like to thank everyone who participated in our special A Game of Thrones and Call of Cthulhu Gen Con weekend leagues and in our UFS Wandering Master event.

Detailed accounts of these championship events will be posted here over the next few weeks. Stay tuned!

A Selection of Gen Con Pictures

Jay demoes Chaos in the Old World	Evan H demoes Penny Arcade	Corey demoes Middle-earth Quest

Ross with Kai and Jackie Norman in Warhammer 40,000 costumes

Congratulations also go out to the team behind Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay: Dark Heresy who took home four ENnie Awards for Best Game, Best Production Values, Best Interior Art, and Best Monster or Adversary. Way to go!

Extra-special thanks go out to our tireless team of volunteers who helped us out all weekend long in the FFG board game room, in our booth, and in the Card Game hall: we couldn't have done it without you! Thanks for making GenCon possible with all your hard work and dedication.

Thanks so much to all our fans who visited us at Gen Con 2009! We'll see you next year!

Release dates for games that debuted at Gen Con 2009:

A Game of Thrones LCG: Tales of the Red Keep Chapter Pack: September 2nd
Ad Astra: September
Anima: Beyond Fantasy GM Kit: October
BattleLore: Heroes Expansion: September
Battlestar Galactica: Pegasus Expansion: September 2nd
Call of Cthulhu LCG: Twilight Horror Asylum Pack: September
Chaos in the Old World: September 2nd
Chaos Marauders: October
Descent: Journeys in the Dark Quest Compendium: September
Descent: Road to Legend Miniatures, Wave 3: September
Middle-earth Quest: In stores now
Midnight Chronicles DVD: September
Penny Arcade: The Card Game: October
Percevan: The Realms of Aslor: September 2nd
Rogue Trader RPG: Late September
Rogue Trader Collector's Edition RPG: Late September (Shipping with Rogue Trader RPG)
Warhammer: Invasion The Card Game: October

We bid a fond farewell to another successful Gen Con! FFG had an absolutely amazing show this year, and we thank you for tuning into our video recaps!

More video updates from day three of Gen Con Indianapolis, 2009. Check out footage from the exhibition hall as our designers demo FFG's latest games. Also, a quick hello from Ross Watson at Friday night's ENnie award ceremony.

Check out video highlights from day two of Gen Con Indy 2009, including breaking announcements from FFG's annual InFlight Report.

Check out a brief highlight video from Fantasy Flight Games, reporting from the front lines at Gen Con Indianapolis!