Attention Catan Players!
It’s here!
Yes, the first Catan expansion in a long time (six years) is on the shelves!
Read more about this in Mayfair’s extensive write-up at http://www.catan.com/news/2012-12-21/new-expansion-for-settlers-catan-part-1, and get the full details of this sizeable addition to your favourite game.
With five separate scenarios, including one that is designed to work well with two players, this expansion will keep you coming back to the table for just “one more game”.
Arrrr, maties…
New from Wizkids!
Our friends at Neca/Wizkids have been very busy – and we have the proof!
First, for fans of Suzanne Collins (or, more importantly, for fans of Katniss Everdeen), we have great news. Not one, not two, but three separate Catching Fire games.
First, the Seeds of Rebellion board game – set up secret bases throughout Panem. The success of the rebel cause depends on you.
For a different take, try the Catching Fire “Shuffle the Deck” card game – secretly control one of the book’s main characters, mustering support for your cause by rising to various challenges. But be careful – President Snow and the entire Capitol are watching, and failure turns on a card.
For a totally unique mechanic, try the Catching Fire Connect with Pieces Puzzle Building game. Catching Fire joins The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings in Wizkids’ Connect-with-Pieces puzzle game stable.
Speaking of the which, Wizkids has added to their collection of unique games with a new Lord of the Rings dice-building game. This one is a “must-have” for fans of both Tolkein and the dice building mechanic Wizkids gave us with the Quarriors family.
But if science fiction or high fantasy isn’t your cup of geekery, maybe comic books will hit the spot. New for Heroclix fans is the Batman: Gotham City Strategy Game. As Wizkids puts it: “The Batman: Gotham City Strategy Game is a unique combination of Euro-style sensibility combined with the best elements of Ameri-trash theme and design. The core game mechanic is worker placement— placing your Villain, henchmen and Threat tokens to control blocks of Gotham City so as to produce the most income possible—overlaid with thematic elements that bring the stories and the characters of DC Comics Batman to life.”
All of these great Wizkids products – and more – are in store today!
Our Model Building Contest
A reminder that our model building contest is supposed to close TODAY, February 28. However, since we know there’s a few out there rushing to try to get entries done, the contest will close at 10 p.m. on Sunday, March 3, to give folks the weekend to get things finished up.
Attached is the entry form for the contest. Please download, print and fill it out, and submit it with your entry. For those of you who have already submitted entries, please fill out the form and submit it to us so we can get your entries finalized.
http://gameshelf.thunderbay.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Model-Contest-Entry-Form.pdf
Magic the Gathering Pro-Tour Qualifier
See our Facebook event page here – https://www.facebook.com/events/616503728365839/.
Thunder Bay’s first PTQ!
Format: Modern
Cost: $40
Our location for this event is the Masonic Hall at 1600 Dease Street (across from the conservatory). There is parking on-site, and the venue is handicapped-accessible.
Map: https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=masonic+hall+1600+dease+street
Transit information: http://www.thunderbay.ca/
Prize Structure:
1st: Complete Set (10) of Return to Ravnica and Gatecrash Guild Packs
+ Air Fare
+ Pro Tour Invite
2nd: Booster Box
3rd – 8th: 1/2 Booster Box
9th – 16th: 9 Booster Packs
17th – 32nd: 6 Booster Packs
Side drafts will be run as participants allow.
$15 entry
8 Player Pods
Top Four Win Prizes
Dealer tables will available at a charge of $100. Contact jackie@thunderbay.com to confirm.
Food and beverages will be available on site, however the venue is close to several establishments.
Cosmo Blazer Sneak Peek
Yu-Gi-Oh! fans – clear your schedules for this Saturday, January 19th… it’s the Sneak Peek event for Cosmo Blazer!
Your $25 entry fee gets you five packages of the new set, plus a special promo card, Noble Arms-Caliburn!
In addition, we will be randomly drawing to give away four Cosmo Blazer playmats, so come out for a afternoon of dueling, trading and fun!
New Pokémon Release: Boundaries Crossed
On sale today, the newest expansion for the Pokémon TCG – Black and White: Boundaries Crossed – is in stock, both theme decks and boosters!
Play with new Pokémon EX (including the Black Kuryem-EX and White Kuryem-EX), plus add new trainers, forms and locations to expand your complete Pokémon experience.
This set also introduces ACE SPEC cards, amazing new item cards that are so powerful you can only use one in a deck. Read more about them here: http://pokebeach.com/2012/06/translations-of-bw6-crystal-wall-crystal-edge-virizion-terrakion-cobalion-promos
Gotta catch ‘em all!
Yu-Gi-Oh! Sneak Peek Saturday
Yes, it’s that time again! This Saturday we will be hosting a Sneak Peek for the upcoming set, Abyss Rising!
We will be opening registration at noon for a 1 PM start time. $25 gets you five packs of the new set, a special promo card (Ignoble Knight of Black Laundsallyn) and a chance to win one of two special Sneak Peek playmats.
We are capping attendance at 32 players for this event, so make sure you get here early!
Our First Annual (?) Model Building Contest!
As promised, we’re having a model-building contest! Show off your model building skills and have a chance to win some cool prizes! Here’s the scoop:
Build and paint one or more models from one of the product lines we carry in the store, or base a conversion on such a model (conversions must clearly be based on a model from one of the lines we carry). Then, enter your model(s) in the categories below. Each entry costs $5, which will be used to provide prize support. You can enter each category if you wish, but only ONCE per category. All entries will be subject to “blind” judging–the judges, who are not going to be otherwise affiliated with the contest in any way, will not know the identities of the modelers for each entrant. Therefore, there must be nothing on the entry that will identify its modeler; any such identifying marks will be covered (which may affect the appearance of the model!) The decision of the judges (at least one of whom will be a professional miniatures painter) will, of course, be final.
We are establishing the close of business at The GameShelf on December 31, 2012 as the deadline for entering. Judging will be conducted during January, 2013, with winners announced no later than January 31 (but probably much earlier!) All entries will remain the property of the entrant.We are going to ask the winners if we can keep their models on display for 30 days following the end of the contest; we will do our best to ensure they remain unharmed, but cannot ultimately take any responsibility for the models while they’re here. We reserve the right to photograph and publicize any entrants and/or winners, but will give due credit if we do.
Prize support will be ultimately be determined by the number of entrants and a few other factors, although we should be able to give some clearer indication by the beginning of December.
Categories are as follows (note, however, that we reserve the right to determine the most suitable category for a entry):
Best Small Model: This category encompasses single models that are on bases up to 4 cm across the largest dimension, and up to 6 cm in height, including the base, or unbased models that fit within these dimensions.
Best Large Model: This category encompasses single models that are larger than those dimensions given above.
Best Diorama: This is a classic “tableau”, an arrangement of models in a scene, usually intended to tell a “one-look story”. In other words, looking at the diorama should immediately communicate to the viewer a simple, evocative story that the models are designed to tell. There are no size restrictions (other than you have to be able to get it through the door!)
Youngbloods: This is for our younger modellers only. You must be under 18 to enter this category! To keep things simple, there’s only a single category here; to keep things fair, we’re going to ask entrants to adhere to the “Best Small Model” size restrictions given above. Note that if you’re under 18, you’re not restricted to this category; feel free to enter the others, if you want!
You may enter by bringing your entry to the store, filling out an entry form (these will be available beginning in November) and paying the entry fee.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us at the store, at (807)768-8748, or by email at dave@thunderbay.com
Return to Ravnica Game Day on October 27
For our Magic: The Gathering players…a reminder that this coming Saturday, October 27, is Return to Ravnica Game Day. Even as we struggle to find some more of this super-popular set to sell to you, we’re having the requisite Game Day to celebrate the fact that the set has been out for about a month. This is a Standard tournament, with a $5 entry. Registration opens at NOON and closes at 12:45, for a 1:00 p.m. start, so please ensure to be here between those times. Game Days don’t usually fill the store, so we don’t anticipate problems with too many players, but we are restricting registration to those times and establishing an absolute cap of 40 players; if we hit 40, registration closes, NO EXCEPTIONS. In return for registering, you get a cool promo card, a foil, alternate-art “Dryad Militant” (while supplies last). Top 8 each get a full-bleed art promo card, “Cryptborn Horror”, and the overall winner gets a cool, Return to Ravnica-themed “Champion” playmat! There will be additional prize support, too, but given our difficulties in tracking down RTR product, we can’t say, yet, exactly WHAT this will be. So come out, get registered, and have some fun playing Magic: The Gathering!
Halloween Sale Time!
Hey all…it’s almost Halloween (again…it’s like it happens every year about this time!) In honor of all you ghosts and goblins, and the TRULY creepy rubber masks of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, we’re having a sale! Starting today, Monday, October 22 and lasting until the close of business on October 31, all of our board games are 10% off, and all of our horror-themed games are 15% off (whether they’re board games or not). We reserve the right to determine whether something is “horror-themed”, but it’s usually pretty obvious. As usual, this only applies to in-stock merchandise, and can’t be combined with any other discounts. So come in and check out our terrifying selection of horror games and get ready for the big night!