![COVID-19 at the Gaming Table VI: Store Support from Pegasus and Portal, and Worldwide Reports from Czech Games Edition](https://cf.geekdo-images.com/beK9JLTexAdAau8pGwTy_w__thumb/img/bpESwUK68PuqbCa0akqqE7p-ZOQ=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic5341626.jpg)
Since the Coronavirus outbreak started, our partners began informing us about their situation in their country and how it affects the board game industry. Our colleagues who are communicating with them pasted that information to our company Slack, where everyone in our company was reading it. It was fascinating to read unfiltered details on how it looks like in different countries and with a bit of board gaming flavor.
After over two dozens of those, we finally realized that it would be the shame if nobody else would have access to these. So we tried to contact a few first of our partners to see if they will be OK to share those stories on our blog. And the response was overwhelmingly positive.
So here we are. For now, it will contain posts connected to the current situation in the board gaming world and what lies ahead of us. Since nobody knows how it will unveil, or how much our world will change in the following months, it is hard to say now how this blog will evolve. So we will have to explore it together.
• Pegasus Spiele, which is as much a distributor as a publisher, has listed stores in Germany that it knows of where people can still purchase games, whether in shop, online, or for delivery to their home.
In addition, if you purchase items directly through the online Pegasus Shop, you can choose a store from a pulldown menu to receive a credit for 25% of the sale.
• Portal Games has started its own kickback program to support brick-and-mortar game stores in the U.S., with these stores being able to acquire a unique code — write to [email protected] to request this code — that they then share with their customers. When these customers use the code at PortalGamesUS.com, they receive a 10% discount on the sale, and 40% of the sale of active products will be forwarded to that linked store.
• On Vox, Emily Todd VanDerWerff profiles Board Game Arena, introducing it to a mainstream audience that might be looking for distractions:
Or are they?
You can find all of those games I just mentioned on the website Board Game Arena, which has been around for years but exploded in popularity in recent weeks. It's a site that's been getting me through some tense times and letting me stay connected to friends around the planet. The selection of board games is truly impressive, and the interface is clean and simple to use.
• SPIEL organizer Friedhelm Merz Verlag tweeted an update about the status of that show, with a response along the lines of what I would expect for now:
By now we are still planning SPIEL as we have still 7 month until it starts. Too early to make a decision. But we are in contact with Messe Essen and the authorities and will tell you asap if something should change.
— SPIEL@Essen - #SPIEL22 (@SPIEL_Messe) April 13, 2020
• Hidden gamers in the news: Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear tweeted about supporting local restaurants, with Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle on the table along with pizza:
Local restaurants need our support, and we are happy to do our part. Thanks DaVinci’s for a delicious pizza! Remember to remove your food and warm in the microwave for 30 seconds. ^AB #healthyathome #togetherky #teamkentucky #patriot pic.twitter.com/OPRK0i8lDy
— Andy Beshear (@AndyBeshearKY) April 11, 2020