Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Spin Master to Debut at Gen Con 2011 as Sponsors & Family Fun Pavilion Exhibitors Redakai™ and Spin Master Games Will Host Tournaments Daily

INDIANAPOLIS – July 19, 2011- Spin Master is excited to make its debut at this year’s
Gen Con with the launch of its exciting new Trading Card Game, Redakai™ as well
as featured games from Spin Master Games; Stomple™ and the 50th Anniversary of
Stratego™.

“Spin Master has a strong history of launching hits. Their balance of innovation and
love for classic gaming is a great fit for Gen Con. Seeing children react to Redakai™ is
awesome; we are glad to have such strong support in the Family Fun Pavilion,” says
Scott Elliot, senior director of sales for Gen Con.

Featured in the Family Fun Pavilion, Spin Master will be hosting a variety of events over
the course of convention. The Redakai team will spearhead Learn to Play techniques,
Sealed Pack Events, Constructed Events, and a Championship Tournament while The
Spin Master Games team will host Adult and Junior Tournaments for both Stratego and
Stomple.

“Gen Con is extremely important to the game industry,” says Mark Sullivan, EVP of
Marketing for Spin Master Ltd. “Supporting the Family Fun Pavilion will be a great
opportunity for so many people to learn our new games, Redakai & Stomple as well
as play old favorites, such as Stratego. After all, they say it’s The Best Four Days In
Gaming.”

Redakai™ is an all-new boys action property, which features fresh new strategic
gameplay, amazing Blast3D™ technology and a televised series on Cartoon Network
produced by Spin Master Ltd and Zodiak Kids/Marathon Media.

50th Anniversary Stratego™ for half a century, the red and blue armies of Stratego
have battled in homes across America. The Deluxe 50th Anniversary Edition honors the
heritage of Stratego with the original nostalgic theme, an elegant folio package and
all the strategy and excitement that have made Stratego a family favorite. Experience
exclusive never-before-seen cannon game pieces that allow you to name and destroy
your opponents pieces. Enter the epic strategic battle with the 50th Anniversary edition
of Stratego!

Stomple™ is a strategic marble stomping game. Outwit your opponents by stomping
their marbles before they stomp yours and out maneuver by leading their stomper
trapped with no escape. If you outstomp the competition, you win!

Schedule of Events:

Redakai
Learn to Play
• All new players can stop by the Events area or their Booth in the exhibit hall to
learn how to play the game.

Sealed Pack Events
• Any player who buys a structure deck or championship tin product at their booth
or events area is eligible to participate for free in one of their many sealed pack
events throughout the show

Constructed Events
• They will also have daily constructed events for Redakai experts to bring their
custom collection of cards to take on all challengers.

Redakai Championship
• The whole event culminates in their first ever Redakai Championship on
Saturday morning
• The winner will be named their first Champion and win an ipad2!
• Other exciting prizes, online coverage of the event and winning players/decks,
and appearances by the design team behind Redakai make this an event not to
be missed.

League Prizes all con long!
• Everyone who plays in any events in their Events area during Gen Con is eligible
to win league exclusive prize cards just for playing!
• Earn stamps for each game you play and get achievement cards as you play
more!

Stratego
• Players win two rounds and they advance to the championship on Sunday (Junior
& Adult)
• Winner of Tournament receives – $500 American Express Gift Card, Games Prize
Pack and the EXCLUSIVE Stratego 50th Anniversary Edition
• 2nd Place – Exclusive 50th Anniversary Stratego Game & Stomple Game
• 3rd & 4th Place – Exclusive Stratego 50th Anniversary Edition

Daily gaming events culminate into a championship event on Sunday for Stratego

Stomple:
• Each Stomple game is a stand-alone tournament played daily
• Meet and play the inventor of Stomple each day
• Each day in the training room, play the giant game of Stomple every day!

All finalists get a t-shirt for the Stratego and Stomple events

For more information please visit www.spinmaster.com and visit them at The Spin
Master Booth #219.

About Gen Con
Gen Con, LLC produces the largest consumer hobby, fantasy, sci-fi and adventure game
convention in North America. It was acquired in 2002 by former CEO and founder of
Wizards of the Coast Peter Adkison, who owns the company headquartered in Seattle,
Washington. Gen Con is a consumer and trade experience dedicated to gaming culture
and community. For more information visit the website at www.gencon.com. For up-to-
the minute details, find us at www.facebook.com/genconindy and at www.twitter.com/
gen_con

About Spin Master Ltd.
A multi-category children’s entertainment company since 1994, Spin Master has been
designing, developing, manufacturing and marketing consumer products for children
around the world and is recognized as a global growth leader within the toy industry.
Spin Master is best known for such popular brands as boy’s action phenomena and
2010 Boys Toy of the Year winner Bakugan Battle Brawlers™, and award-winning
brands Air Hogs®, Aquadoodle™, Tech Deck™, Moon Sand™, Liv™, and Zoobles™. The
company has also marked an entry into children’s media with the launch of Spin Master
Entertainment, a subsidiary focusing on the design, development and production of
television and other media properties. Spin Master employs 900 people with offices in
Toronto, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Hong Kong, Mexico, Munich, and central Europe.
For additional information please visit: www.spinmaster.com.

For more information, please contact:

Spin Master Ltd.:
LLC
Rachel H. Griffin
Director of Global Communications
T. 310-871-3919
E:RachelG@spinmaster.com

Gen Con
Stacia Kirby
Media Contact
T: 206-363-1492
E: Stacia@speakeasy.net

Dear Syfy and Alphas

Dear Syfy and Alphas,

I really want to like your show. Really, I do. I admit that I started watching it because David Stratham was in the commercials, but I thought you had some cool concepts.

Thought.

Sadly, you seem intent to keep up this pseudo-scientific claptrap to make the show "believable." In a show where a guy can "see" Youtube videos and "hear" cellphone conversations, or where a guy can bounce bullets through air conditioning ducts, realism isn't the buzzword that you should be looking for. Also, if you're going to use an "ability" with an existing name (Synaesthesia I'm looking at you), please use it properly.

Look, you have a great concept for a show here, and that is already putting you one up on on Heroes already, but you really need to fine tune things if this show is going to keep going. If you're going to give us Wanted meets The X-Men then rock on and give us everything you've got...just quit trying to rationalize the show into something that you think we need an excuse to like. I want to like Alphas, and I've enjoyed the first two shows....but I am really not sure if I'll keep watching it at this point.

Oh, and as long as you're listening....please don't add time travel to the plot. Thank you. :)

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Let's Talk About Unspeakable Oath #18

Yes, I know...I am a few issues behind the curve. Hopefully I will be able to catch up, during or after GenCon.

I have fond memories of the original print run of Unspeakable Oath. I was lucky enough to find the issue introducing Delta Green on a news stand when it came out, and that is what introduced me to Pagan Publishing and books like Golden Dawn and the Delta Green sourcebooks. While I have never been overly enamored with Golden Dawn, it just has too much Arthurian material that borders on the cliched, I have been a fan of Delta Green since that issue, having been lucky enough to run a few of my own DG campaigns over the years.

All of this brings us to Unspeakable Oath number eighteen, which is the triumphant return of the magazine. Arc Dream Publishing, the new home of the works of Pagan Publishing, has had some ups and downs in getting the Pagan Publishing material back into the public eye, but they have managed to overcome these problems and return to producing some of the best material for Call of Cthulhu available. Yes, that might be a little biased, but as someone who has a preference for the contemporary era in my Call of Cthulhu gaming, it's nice to see published material that is as close as the Delta Green material. All we need now is a post 9/11 update, and I think I will be happy with the setting for the rest of my life.

Saturday, July 09, 2011

Live at GenCon 2011

I will be doing liveblogging, photography and hopefully some audio interviews as well. I am going to be combining this blog with the resources of other social media sites around the internet to bring you what I hope will be some of the best coverage of GenCon out there. In addition to this blog, be sure to also follow my Twitter feed (look to the right side of this blog for a link to my Twitter feed), as well as the Dorkland blog over on Tumblr (http://dorkland.tumblr.com) for supplemental posts. Audio interviews will be posted to this blog, as well as the Tumblr site, via the Soundcloud website.

It is (hopefully) going to be a busy four days around here. If anyone has any suggestions for things they would like to see (in photos mostly) drop me an email at christopher.helton at gmail dot com and I will see what I can do about getting photos. If you are an RPG publisher or professional who would like to arrange an interview, or perhaps provide material for review purposes, also please contact me at the above email.