About this card game thing...

This is the last time I will give space in my column to the impact of card games on the hobby sales and distribution system. It appears to me that 1995 is going to be a real turning point for GR/D, and in a positive way. With that in mind I will give one last view inside the industry to show the cause and effect factor of "Magic."

I have continuously stated that card games are not diverting sales from our games, or anyone else's wargames. The diversion is at the wholesale and retail level. The diversion is in time and attention given to sales. And when I say that, here is what I mean.

Stores that sell our games buy them from distributors. These distributors have sales reps whose job is to solicit product from the manufacturers and sell it to retail stores. This is called servicing the accounts. With the huge demand put on this system by consumers of card games, the work day is taken up with servicing these sales and trying to keep up with the two dozen or so card games that have exploded onto the market. That takes attention away from the rest of us: RPG, miniatures, board games, and all.

Stores are not receiving the latest information other than card games, distributors are not soliciting the manufacturers or retail stores. The .system" is creaking under the weight of this new product and the attending work it requires.

I have collected some statistical info that shows how the "new reality" is impacting our industry.

Here are some percentages given to me by a large midwestern store that carries a complete line of miniatures, RPGs, board and family games. The percentage of sales are for December of 1990 and 1994.

TYPE OF SALE	1990	1994
Fantasy RPG	15%	5%
Sci-Fi RPG	9%	3%
Historical Boxed	19%	8%
Miniatures	24%	13%
Card Games	1%	50%
All Other	32%	21%

This is quite astounding in retail terms. Role Playing Games and miniatures took the brunt of the shift, which is natural, since this is the audience that would likely play "Magic" and other types of card games. Several other things must be made clear as well. The volume is in dollars, and the percentages are the per cent of gross sales. This store reported overall earnings had increased by 55% in terms of gross sales in 1994 over 1990.

Wargaming is not expanding as a group. Total dollars of sales may or may not be up. This is possible due to the increase in the cost of games and the fact that our group buys a lot of them, so the numbers could be skewed and not reflective of the total number of players. I think that each year there a bit fewer of us, but the core is still buying at a prodigious rate.

The sum and total of all of this is simple. GR/D is going to strengthen its position in the market by directing more energy to direct mail sales. Names of every Europa player will go into the computer, and we will track those names. We are going to be sending members of the Association more special reports, and we are going to be doing more direct mail solicitations of all types. We are putting in an 800 number for customer service. I don't know if we have to do this, but the experience of business is simple: you make it easier for your customers to do business with you, and you will get more business.

The one thing I would ask is to only use the 800 number for customer service. If you want to chat, hey, I do like to talk to you guys--just use the regular number, please.

Those of you who call in an order and get me on the phone are often asked a bunch of questions. Market research. Just wanted to say thank you for your help in this area. It is easy to say that any Europa game will sell "x" number of copies, but we need to keep in touch with you guys and get your feedback.

Some G-2

Origins. Every booth is sold out. A very impressive showing. Andon, the company putting the show on for GAMA, is receiving 1,000 requests a week for information. Yikes, a killer of a show! Details about Europafest and Origins are inside. If you are thinking of going, if your mind is made up, register as soon as possible. Even if you don't intend to attend the Fest, but are coming to Origins, do it ASAP.

First To Fight reprint. The plan is being modified. After Origins we will be doing a reprint if at all possible-having it back in stock by the end of the year is almost certain. If you have the really swell counters from the first version, we will sell you replacement sheets at cost. There will be few changes in the second edition, so unless you are a hardcore collector, you may only want the new countersheets. There Will be four new countersheets, each 280 in size; the first edition had three at 352 each.

Corps and Higher HQ, and the SF errata sheet is being printed with For Whom The Bell Tolls. Everyone who direct-ordered the game will get one of these sheets included in the box. Now we are looking at the feasibility of getting Second Front back in print.