The Venus Next expansion for Terraforming Mars was expected to be available in November after the end of the Essen show. Unfortunately, this didn't work out and the expansion hasn't been released yet. We have talked to our supplier today and the new UK release date is in early January. We are very sorry for this delay. If you have ordered other games together with Terraforming Mars: Venus Next and you would like to arrange a part-delivery of the available games please contact us.

This week's arrivals: - Cosmogensis - Clans of Caledonia - Charterstone - Merlin (restock) - Legacy of Dragonholt - Scythe: The Wind Gambit - Sid Meier's Civilization: A New Dawn - Ticket to Ride Map Collection: Volume 6 – France & Old West - Unlock! - Mystery Adventures http://meeplescorner.co.uk/Recent-Releases/Month-of-December

ICv2 has conducted a two-part interview with Asmodee US executives. The interviews are a very interesting read about the state of the board game market, the short lifespan of games, how different channels contribute and the market’s limits.

November is behind us and it is time for another Top 5. This is the first one post-Essen and some of the top games were a surprise for me. Top 5 Sales 1. Altiplano 2. Calimala 3. Santa Maria 4. Azul 5. Indian Summer Calimala and Santa Maria are the two surprise on this list. Both are really good games with very positive feedback after Essen, but not the big hits I was expecting here. But their success is also based on the fact, that they haven’t been on general release in the UK (yet???) and we luckily managed to get stock in shortly after Essen. And this list doesn’t include big Essen hits like Nusfjord, Charterstone and Photosynthesis because they have been delayed and are only arriving now. Top 5 Pre-Orders 1. Rajas of the Ganges 2. Clans of Caledonia 3. John Company 4. Bunny Kingdom 5. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle Again, a few surprises here: Rajas went a bit under the radar at Essen (a bit like Ulm last year, so maybe it is also connected to the publisher), but it is a new Inka & Markus Brand game, which are always quite popular. No surprise with Clans of Caledonia, it was only stopped from taking spot #1 by a limited number of copies available. John Company is another surprise: Sierra Madre Games is normally known for very heavy games that are only interesting for a very small number of gamers, but this one has an interesting theme and is apparently more on the lighter side. And again a small footnote to this Top 5: there are none of the big hitters like Azul, Nusfjord, Charterstone etc. included, because for most or all of these the pre-orders closed shortly before or after Essen based on the high demand and us wanting to make sure that every pre-order customer will get a copy.

We are getting closer and closer to Christmas and still, quite a few of the Essen releases haven’t arrived with us. But for this week a few more have been confirmed and it also looks good for next week. Here are the games/expansions con arrive arrived this week: - Ticket to Ride Map Collection: Volume 6 – France & Old West - Legacy of Dragonholt - Clans of Caledonia (sold out) - Fallout (no stock allocation necessary, but sold out) - Unlock! – Mystery Adventures - Sid Meier’s Civilization: A New Dawn - Scythe: The Wind Gambit - Okanagan: Valley of the Lakes - Riverboat Early next week Charterstone and the Recharge pack will arrive and hopefully the main part of our Photosynthesis order, Bunny Kingdom and Mountains of Madness (the last three should get confirmed later this week).

I’m very sorry, that it was a bit quiet here during this week, but we were very busy trying to get all these new games out as fast as possible. Here is a quick overview what has arrived since Monday and is now available to order: Montana Queendomino Space Freaks Last Friday: Return to Camp Apache Sub Terra A Game of Thrones: Catan – Brotherhood of the Watch Bastion Dragonfire: Character Pack – Heroes of the Sword Coast Dragonfire: Wondrous Treasures Through the Desert Concordia: Aegyptus / Creta Rob ‘n Run TransAtlantic Cosmosgenesis Arkham Noir #1 And next week we are expecting another wave of new games, I will post an update on Monday once I have received the confirmations for all the deliveries that are on the way to us.

It was our first Pegasus Games Day at the shop and for us a big success: lots of people joining us for the day and lots of great new games on the tables. Here a few photos from the day...

Montana, designed by Ruediger Dorn and published by White Goblin Games, has finally arrived today. Man vs Meeple has already posted a video review of the game and recommends the game for everyone who looks for something that is a step up from Karuba (also a Ruediger Dorn game), but still a good entry-level game.

Shut Up & Sit Down have posted their video review of Twilight Imperium 4th Edition. Even if you are not interested in the game, just have a look at the video to see what this is all about. Because Twilight Imperium is an absolute classic and the game that made FFG as we know it today possible.

Another Friday, another update what game we are expecting next week. Confirmed arrivals are: Through the Desert (Thursday) A Game of Thrones: Catan – Brotherhood of the Watch (Thursday) Sub Terra (Wednesday) Nations: The Dice Game – Unrest (Monday/Tuesday) Clans of Caledonia Transatlantic (Wednesday/Thursday) Concordia: Aegyptus / Creta (Wednesday/Thursday) Rob n Run (Wednesday/Thursday) Cosmogenesis Arkham Noir Not 100% confirmed yet is Queendomino, hopefully, we will hear more from the UK distributor (also about Photosynthesis) on Monday. And there are also a few restocks coming in: Istanbul – The Dice Game, Merlin, Azul, Heaven & Ale and all the Exit games.

Gaming Night #3 at the shop, this time with lots of new games like Santa Maria, Indian Summer, Noria, Montana, Gaia Project and more. And not to forget Dragonfire, which I would like to try.

Indian Summer is in stock since yesterday. If you would like to know more about the game: Tom Vasel has published his video review of the game.