Is it just me, or did the summer go by to quickly. In this issue of the newsletter:

• Weekly Calendar Update
• Special Events in September
• Gencon Highlights
• Releases Expected in September

Weekly Calendar Update:

For details on any of these events, please see our calendar of events page.

Special Events in September:

• Saturday Sep 6th: Warhammer 40k Games Day at Victoria Dr.
• Sunday Sep 7th: Pokemon Legends Awakened Bosoter Draft at Granville St (during Hobby League).
• Tuesday Sep 16th: Vs. City Champs - Silver Age Constructed at Granville St.
• Thursday Sep 18th: L5R Heaven's Will Pre-release (limited seating - please call or come by to pre-register for this event) at Granville St.
• Saturday Sep 20th: World of Warcraft TCG Marquee Weekend Battlegrounds event at Granville St.
• Saturday Sep 20th: Magic The Gathering Games Day at Victoria Dr.
• Saturday Sep 20th: D&D Premier Store Game Night at Granville St.
  
• Saturday Sep 27th: Magic The Gathering Shards of Alara pre-release main event - BCIT (this is an outside event - see the U2KR site for details).
• Saturday Sep 27th: Warmachine Legends Legacies release event at Victoria Dr.
• Sunday Sep 28th: Magic the Gathering Shards of Alara pre-release in-store event at Granville St. We will be limiting seating at this event so please call or come by to pre-register.

NOTE: Due to the Magic pre-release on Sep 28th - there will be no Pokemon Hobby League event or Chaotic tournament on that Sunday in the Granville St. store.

Gencon Highlights:

August 14-18 I visited Gencon - the largest gaming convention in North America every year - over 20,000 game fans of all shapes and sizes descend on the Indianapolis convention center. I spent most of my time in the exhibit hall checking out as many of the new releases as I could and picking up as many deals as I could carry home. Here were a few of my favourites:

• The Battlestar Galactica Board Game from Fantasy Flight Games. Set approximately in the middle of season 2 of the new series, this immersive semi-cooperative board game does an excellent job of capturing the feel of the show. I say semi-cooperative because at least one person around the table (depending on the number of players) is a cylon or cylon sympathizer. It could be you! At about the mid-point of the game the "sleeper" agents may awaken and it's a race between the cylon players and human players at the end of the game. Each player takes on the role of one of 10 of the most prominent characters in the show such as the Helo, the Admiral, Starbuck, the President, ... The humans try to fend of the cylons long enough to jump away (make enough jumps and you win), and the cylons try to destroy the humans - through destroying Galactica, or depleting their food, fuel, moral, or population. The pre-production games on sale at the show sold out, but I have a line on a copy that hopefully will be in the Granville store in time for the first board game night in September. The game isn't scheduled for release until October, so come on by and check it out.
• Agricola from Z-Man games. I picked up a couple rare copies of this highly anticipated board game to use as store copies. Come try one out on board game night at either store. I will be very surprised if this game does not win the Spiel des Jahres (German Game of the Year award) this year. We have a limited number of copies on sale at the stores currently - and according to the gents at the booth - they have another print run scheduled for release to stores later in September.
• World of Warcraft Miniatures Game from Upper Deck Entertainment. I waited in line for hours to get the demo of this game - and it was worth the wait in my opinion. The pre-painted plastic mini's come with detachable bases so you could theoretically use them for role-playing as well (although the bases attached to the figures are pretty large at about 1.5" across). The game uses an interesting clock mechanic which can mean that not all of you figures will activate in each round - it really adds another element of strategy to the game. It seems well suited to organized play - I look forward to running events. The only question at this point seems to be - will they be able to keep supply in line with demand. I wasn't able to bring back any sample figs for this game - so I guess we'll all just have to wait for the release date later this month (September).
• Monsterpocalypse from Privateer Press. Are you a fan of the Japanese Monster movies? Another pre-painted plastic miniatures game - Monsterpocalypse lets you get in on the fun of giant monsters or mechs smashing buildings, other monsters, and an inexhaustible supply of tanks, helpicopters, and smaller monsters. Using custom dice and some interesting game mechanics - this one also seems well suited for Organized Play. I have one figure I brought back with me to give people an idea of what it's about (I'll leave it at the Victoria Dr. store), and I've spoken with one of the local Press Gangers about getting some demos organized when the product releases this month (September).
• Magic the Gathering - Eventide Land Playmats. I brought back a limited supply of large MTG playmats featuring the art from the Eventide dual lands. These are pretty cool looking, and are not supposed to be available in Canada - if you're interested check them out when you're in either store. Once they are gone - I probably won't be able to re-stock them.
• I also picked up some Vs. TCG booster packs, and Heroclix 2-figure boosters at a really good price. The deals are only on while supplies last (at the Granville store).
• D'oh! Dice sets and singles from Crystal Caste. I picked up a small assortment of dice on which the number '1' is replaced by the word D'oh! I also picked up a couple sets of solid metal copper and brass 12mm d6's. These are available at the Granville store if you're interested.
• Warcogs accessories from Gale Force 9. Their new line of "brand neutral" miniatures gaming accessories including tokens and templates. Check them out at our Victoria Dr. store - they are a good value.
• D&D 4th Edition by Wizards of the Coast. While not technically a new release - I got to play in my first 4th edition Living Forgotten Realms adventure. We had a great DM and I really enjoyed the experience. I'm looking forward to RPGA sanctioned events at our store(s) in the future.

There was a lot more to see and do than I had time for (but if you ever get to go - True Dungeon is a must do).

New Releases for September 2008:

All dates are approximate and based on the best information we have at the moment:

• Tomb - Early September (I played this a Gencon - light fun Dungeon romp).
• Warmachine - Legends book and Epic Warcasters - early September.
• Vs. Marvel Universe (re-stock) - September 2.
• Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist Genesis Boosters - September 2.
• World of Warcraft - Darkmoon Faire collectors sets - September 8.
• Art of War - the L5R Board Game - mid September.
• World of Warcraft- Black Temple Raid Deck - September 23.

We also expect some additional new board games from Rio Grande (no - not the Race for the Galaxy expansion), and some additional Warmachine and Horders models later in the month. Give us a call if you'd like more information on a specific product or release.

See you all in the stores and happy gaming everyone. As usual, e-mail questions or concerns to info@tcgaa.ca.