Asked about the acquisitions given R&R's typical focus on party games – such as the release in July 2012 of Pluckin' Pairs, DoubleTake and Pass-Ackwords – DiLorenzo said, "I've been wanting to expand our fledgling strategy line for a while, and in fact I have several new ones coming out over this year and next. I played both of these with Peter [Eggert] and really liked both the game play and the fact that these were two NEW (not retrofit) Knizia designs, so they were a good fit."
In addition to these titles, DiLorenzo has three additional titles due out in October 2012: HomeStretch, a horse-racing game; Attraction, an "action tabletop game"; and Hey Froggy, "#2 in the Anthony Rubbo 'Hey' series" following the release of Hey Waiter! in 2010.
• When Mayfair Games announced in July 2012 that it would release an English-language version of Klaus Teuber's Star Trek: Catan, with that game "sold exclusively through U.S.-based Target stores beginning in the autumn" of 2012, some gamers and retailers expressed concern over the idea of Mayfair – normally highly supportive of brick-and-mortar stores – giving an exclusive to an "outsider". I asked Robert Carty, Mayfair's VP of sales and marketing, for a comment on the situation, and here's what he wrote:
• Bacchanalia is a two- to three-hour role-playing/card game combination from designers Paul Czege and Michele Gelli and Italian RPG publisher Narrativa that will debut at Spiel 2012 in two formats: a regular card game in a box and a deluxe version that comes with a bottle of wine, the better to recreate the famed bacchanals of legend. Love the art nouveau look of the proposed cover art! (You can see that on the Bacchanalia website as the designers/publishers haven't uploaded images yet.) As for the game play, here's an overview:
Unfortunately for them, in that torrid summer, Bacchus and his followers came down to this village surrounded by vineyards. Attracted by the excesses brought forth by intoxication, other gods manifest themselves; cruel Pluto, severe Minerva and the sensuous Venus will play with the destiny of mortals with all the thoughtlessness only gods can have. The player's objective is to reunite with her beloved and run away. Each player in turn draws a hand of cards and, based on the results of the draw, describes a scene from the story for her protagonists. Elements of the scene vary according to which god was more present in the draw. For instance, a scene dominated by Pluto will feature a violent crime in which the protagonist ends up somehow involved. Benevolent Venus reunites lovers. Bacchus brings thrill and excitement, and so on.
There is a clear winning condition – reuniting with the beloved and running away before your accuser catches you – but one player reaching it doesn't prevent other players from doing the same; multiple winners are possible.
In the chaos of the bacchanal, will the fugitives be able to reunite with their beloved and get to safety? Or will they meet a harsher end? Will they be caught by their accuser – or will they be lost forever in the rapture of the bacchanal?