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According to Repos, the solution for the guild problem is the same as the solution for those who received Age III cards with different colored backs in the second printing of 7 Wonders, that is, to visit a store and ask for a replacement deck of Age III cards. As for the Rome card, Repos is working with LudoFact to reprint the cards but is not sure how long this process will take; whenever the cards are available, they will also be available via game stores.
• Founding Fathers (link) and Famiglia (link) are both now available for online play at Yucata.de.
• Famiglia-related post #2: Designer Friedemann Friese has released solitaire rules (in German only) for the game on his 2F-Spiele website.
• Looney Labs has posted a long explanation for why the release dates of IceDice and Looney Pyramids have been pushed back to September 30, 2011. The short answer: The pyramids failed a safety test that they had passed on the first go-round of testing, requiring the company to modify all the packaging and (in the process) boosting the minimum age on these and all future Looney Pyramid products to 14+.
• Designer Michael Schacht loves to tinker with his designs. One result of this process is a year's worth of new maps for China in the online game section of Schacht's website. July 2011, for example, features a Scandinavian map created with help from Swede native Pontus Nilsson.
• In early June 2011, The Atlantic published an article from Scott Keyes titled "Settlers of Catan: How a German Board Game Went Mainstream", followed by a rebuttal from Rebecca Greenfield.
• Not strictly game-related, but if you haven't checked out Kirby Ferguson's video series "Everything Is a Remix" (part 1, part 2 and the just-released part 3, with part 4 still to come), you should do so, especially if you've ever beefed about such-and-such a game being nothing more than a rehash of Games A, B and F. Ferguson would likely argue, "Yes, exactly so – and that's a good thing. That's what creative people do."
• I received a note from designer Peter Olotka of Cosmic Encounter fame that players will design "Expansion Set 5" for CE on the game's Facebook page. "Expansion Set 5?!" I asked. More details on this after I speak with Olotka...
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