Links: Dorn on Goa, Results from Z-Man's Exclusivity & Psst, Hey You – Wanna See My Doodle Roll?

As many of you know, we don't buy from Canadian distributors. The cost is significantly higher than purchasing from the U.S. and there's a lot less breadth and width among the Canadian distributors. That means quite often we're buying direct from [Z-Man owner] Filosofia.

Here's a few things that we noticed:

• A higher cost per game of 3 – 5% due to shipping
• Increasing our minimum stock quantities by about 30% (roughly $1,300 dollars) for Z-Man Games
• More out-of-stocks for longer periods due to much slower ship times

After sales of 16,000 the FFG version of Britannia has sold out (though it's still available in some stores, FFG has no more). I've received a notification from FFG that the contract is terminated. So I can immediately begin looking for another publisher for a revised edition.

This will include three new versions of the game and a slightly-revised version of the current game published by FFG. The idea is to offer games that will answer all of the major objections to the current version of Brit, and include the current version, so that the package will be suitable for a larger audience. (The objections: too long, too scripted, too much chance; and occasionally, not sufficiently realistic in one respect or another.)

I'm getting tired of seeing so many such designer diaries being released. Sorry that this sounds negative. This is probably due to my overall jaded-ness with the quantity of new board games... I wonder whether people write designer diaries mainly because they feel these will help promote their games, or because they enjoy writing their own stories.

Watch this video and see why Phil Orbanes, leading toy industry expert and President of Winning Moves Games, loves his Doodle Roll!