Inside Tom's Brain - 3-7-2024

[TOM]

Any President can give a State of the Union address---it's been done dozens of times---but nothing can compare to this STATE OF THE GALAXY address! Here are some updates about what is happening at Fed HQ:

CYCLE 1 RELEASES
They are coming along great so if you haven't pre-ordered it's time to get with it! Look for the releases to begin mailing the week of March 25. If anything changes, I will let you know.

GALACTICON 2024
As everyone knows, we are returning to sacred ground at the Jamestown Community College Student Union on Saturday, June 29. It will be the usual excitement of tournaments, Q&A, auctions, and plenty more! And of course the exclusive early release of the LATEST GWF GAME EDITION, LEGENDS EXPANSION, and INDIE SET. Watch for more info on these releases beginning in April because we are excited about all of them! And we deserve to be excited. Wait until you see what's coming!

Also watch for a News Story about GalactiCon in the weeks ahead where we will give you more info about the Friday Nite festivities and Sunday morning events. It'll be a swell time and very nostalgic too. We probably should do driving tours to all the historic spots including the Sheldon House and my first Jamestown home right around the corner, where game fans met for the first time! But even if that doesn't happen (you can do it on your own if you like) you can bet this will be a GalactiCon to remember. It's #35, pretty historic right there, and our loyal and creative promoters will be serving up some surprises, you can bet on it!

LOOKING AHEAD
I will be busy this year with good old FG partly because I don't have any teaching scheduled in the near future. I will devote myself to FG and I couldn't be more excited. I am looking for new ways for getting the word out about our awesome games. When I met potential game fans in Honolulu a few weeks ago it was clear (as it always is) that people love to play the game. The back-and-forth action is addicting and game players at the comic book shop loved playing both Legends and COTG. One of my goals for 2024 is to reach potential new customers because we've got over 35 years proof of a winning game product!

I also want to consider some ancillary items to add diversity to what we offer. That could come in any number of forms, from t-shirts to a Wolf (or other characters) action figure. Also, collectible versions of cards like the foil one we did for Apex (should we do more?), numbered cards, or other creative versions. As a collector myself, I love that stuff. Feel free to share your ideas.

PROMOTER PRIME
As always, it's important to evaluate and re-evaluate what we offer. We will offer Promoter Prime the same way in 2024 as we have in the recent past, but we will also re-evaluate its value to loyal promoters. Perhaps it has outlived its purpose. I am open to ideas and you guys are the experts. Feel free to share your thoughts on the pros and cons of Promoter Prime. Should we just collapse all our cards into our regular releases or is there a place for certain cards to be released separately as PP cards? As Hamlet says, "That is the question."


CHAMPIONS OF THE GALAXY SPIN-OFF EXPANSIONS
The COTG universe is a rich tapestry with intriguing possibilities and that's proved by all the spin-off sets over the years, starting with CPC and including many others. I have tried to be careful that this doesn't spiral out of control, but so far the main GWF timeline has remained intact. At the moment all that is on the schedule for this year is Early Classics; an expansion set is coming in Cycle 3. The fate of several loose ends, such as the Crimestoppers, FTR, Future Shock, Tournament of Champions, remains open and we will see what fits our schedule going forward.

THE STATE OF THE GALAXY
Let's face it---things have been going great! Sure, not everything is perfect, everybody knows that. But let's zoom out for a moment. How many indie game companies survive over 35 years and keep growing? We celebrated some of our biggest years the past few years. That says a lot. We're still looking up---at the stars as we always have! But it's important to focus on quality and not just quantity. Our goal is to keep releasing entertaining game cards for as long as we can. And that's not going to stop.

Please be sure to thank our amazing FG team whenever you have a chance for their dedication to bringing you quality releases. I don't want to start naming people because I will inevitably leave someone out, but you know who they are. We are a team and we are going to stay that way! Let's never take for granted the magic that has touched our lives. The friendships made, the fun of playing, the opportunity to be creative, and that we remain basically a fan-run company.

AND SO...

That's the State of FG in 2024! It's still here, as strong as ever. And we aren't just releasing game cards for wrestling stars many of us grew up with like Brian Blair. These people are now our friends and supporters, yet another testament to how far FG has come since those humble early years. There will be bumps along the way---is anything perfect? Certainly not me! But our enthusiasm and love of this game keeps all of us rolling the dice, being creative, and knowing there are others that share our passion.

Feel free to provide feedback so that we continue to earn your support by providing you with a unique game experience with a unique (and lovable) game community, the greatest one in the galaxy!

Until Sarsaparilla sells an ice cream cone to Burning Man...

TOM

[throwingtoasters]

Thanks for the update Tom.

RE: Promoter Prime. I think, for sure, Legends and Indies Promoter Prime add value. Possibly COTG Prime could be folded back into the regular releases. For many years I didn’t buy COTG Prime because the cards weren’t related to the Prime/Main GWF Story so they held no interest to me. I’ve enjoyed last year’s Prime/Main GWF Story cards and look forward to this year’s but perhaps it’s best to fold those into the main set (or as separate 4 packs like Legends does from time to time) to add a few more cards.

Also working on getting to GalactiCon, easier because it's in June.  I would love to see a bunch of artists brought in as guests.  Chuck, Wenrer, Darryl, Tom Rickert.

[TOM]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Grant and I hope to see you in June.

[Tournament Master]

Mar 7, 2024 23:45:15 GMT -5 throwingtoasters said:

Also working on getting to GalactiCon, easier because it's in June.  I would love to see a bunch of artists brought in as guests.  Chuck, Wenrer, Darryl, Tom Rickert.

I do like this idea. I have to imagine Tom Rickert wouldn't be too tough considering he is in Jamestown.

[maddog1981]

I’m going to make my pitch. I want the alternate cover art for the 2135 Crimestoppers as a poster.

[Swarm]

I vote to bring FTR and Kronos back to prime. Unfortunately we tried fixing what wasn’t broken. 😬

The cool thing about Prime was that we got alternative COTG cards while waiting for the new GWF set every year. So there was always something for COTG fans to look forward to during LOW and indie releases.

Same for Con cards. Let’s add some real value to these exclusives, offer them free at cons then for sale to everyone else after.

[TTX]

I definitely would like to see Kronos as Prime again.

[Dustin]

I think Prime for LOW/Indies is one of the best things ever.

COTG Prime? I like when the cards connect with the current releases...

FTR and Kronos should never have ended. Period. FTR, especially, should have been more supported.

I hope all sets within the COTG Universe get the updated treatment.

It would be neat to have some form of official storyline for a new jumping on point. 2019 and 2025 was long ago.

[Carlzilla]

I can only really speak for Legends, but I definitely think Prime adds value all on it's own.

It can help smaller releases feel bigger and people definitely get excited about guessing the cycles prime cards. Plus it's a place where alternates of mid/lower level guys can be released without riling folks up about it being touted as "unnecessary" or whatever folks like to throw around.

[gamtime247]

I really like getting Prime for Legends & Indies. It allows releases that would otherwise sit for a while to be released and also to get an alternate persona for a card already released.

I’d love more Kronos stuff and those types of releases in Prime would drive me more towards it for COTG. I’m not going to pretend to know the demographics for the game but time gets so squeezed for all of us as we get older. Kronos is great for me to pick up and play with the kids. They love how some of the game aspects are more fictional than Legends & Indies but it doesn’t require a lot of explanation into some of the stories chronologically. It also adds something for me when Dad can show them the original character from when he was a kid. Like the guy who shared with his kid that The Flash that he grew up with had wings on a helmet.