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Weekly Store Update: 24 March
Spring is here! Depending on where you live, you're either starting to venture out or are still huddling up with your family and games. Or, if you're here, you're doing both - just depending on the day of the week. More predictable than the weather though is our weekly newsletter with stories, goodies and more. Check us out!
INTRO
Welcome to our weekly newsletter! For our new readers I'm Eric, and Wendy and I run Stone Valley Games. This newsletter is our way to share both local and world-wide gaming news of interest that popped up last week. It also provides our subscribers, both local and remote, some information on the going's on around here so everyone feels like part of the action. At the bottom of this newsletter we show you the restocks, new items, and preorders added to the store last week. It's not too difficult to navigate, so let's get to it!
PINNED THE GOLD STAR ON US
We started selling on TCGPlayer a few months ago, and here less than 90 days later we've grown from a Level 1 to a Level 4 Gold Star seller. To become a Gold Star, we had to match a feedback rating of at least 99.5% and had at least 100 transactions within the last 90 days. So, check and check. If you haven't yet seen us over there, here's a link.
We've also just been upgraded to TCGPlayer Pro status, which means we'll be able to have remote, in-store and local purchases for not only our sealed products, but also for all of our singles. It will all be hosted on its own website that I'll connect to our webstore here.
Pro will also include an in-store kiosk once it's all said and done. Ultimately, I will most likely have all of our Collectible Card Games, and even card game accessories like sleeves and such, in the TCGPlayer Pro site.
I've moved about 20,000 cards from Deckbox, our old selling platform, to TCGPlayer and have about 100,000 or so more to move. It's taking quite a bit longer than I had originally anticipated, but we're getting there. One of the reasons things are so slow is because we're having to pause every month to categorize and input the latest MTG set which takes about a week. Releases used to be quarterly, but there has been something released almost every month now for a few years now. It's a bit difficult keeping up, especially since we were so used to the old schedule.
In any case, going forward the next thing I'd like to do is get all of these cards moved over. I don't want to make the website and be happy with how it's set up and then add 100K cards only to be disappointed with how it turned out and have to readjust. One thing at a time, right? I have a good handle on what we're doing with our card games, I just need...more time 😀 The universal 'funny' around here. But we are getting there!
MORE FANTASTIC REVIEWS
Jason from Meeple, Myself and I has published a few reviews lately. For those of you who don't know Jason, he produces both podcast and written reviews of games focusing on solo play. He cut his teeth on the Board Game Geek servers and has years of practical, and applicable experience with solo gaming. If you are, or are interested in solo gaming I encourage you to check out his reviews.
The first review is for Twilight Struggle: Red Sea. It's a lighter, solo-friendly adaptation of the much crunchier and multiplayer Twilight Struggle we all know and love. You can find his podcast anywhere you normally listen to them, and here's his base podcast site: Game Review: Twilight Struggle: Red Sea: Conflict in the Horn of Africa
Jason's second review is posted "at home" there on Board Game Geek, and you can find it here. He discusses the card game Ashes Reborn and its latest expansion. If you're interested in card battling games you should see what Jason thinks about this latest iteration of the long-running game.
STONE VALLEY WATERWORLD
After many, many months we have now finally discovered the last region of our running roleplaying setting, Stone Valley Pangea. For those who may not know, the Pangea was when our own world's continents were squished together in a single, giant land mass long before the first human took their first step. We took that same concept and inserted it into a new fantasy world.
In our fantasy concept, a significant human colony was inserted right into the heart of the Pangea along with a mysterious Obelisk of Power. The people were supposed to grow together around the Obelisk and become an advanced species working together to further everyone's advancement. However, with little surprise to anyone who knows humans, they didn't. Instead, they splintered into different tribes and migrated toward the six geographically different regions to ultimately wage war for control of the Obelisk.
Over the course of hundreds of thousands of years, many of the beings who were once human have mutated to become more adept to survive and ultimately thrive in their environs with their own abilities, languages, creeds and beliefs.
To get an idea of the layout, if the Pangea is like a clock face, the regions from the top going clockwise are Mountainous, Plains, Desert, Swamp, Ocean, and Forests. Up until now we have been introduced to all of the regions save the Ocean, which we will be introduced to today.
Second Lieutenant Chogrywr, finned hand high on his preferred terrestrial fighting weapon, looks to the remaining marines emerging from the blackened depths of the never-ending ocean.
His raiding party, trekking from the underwater city of Tholothian, is singularly focused on probing the latest 'land dwellers' defensive upgrades. Having led several such endeavors in the past, 2LT Chogrywr was cool and calm, mentally and physically prepared for whatever may come his way. It was a good thing too...
A little further up the beach, squad leader Sergeant Scurcel surprisingly displays the hand and arm signal for "stop". Surprising only because this beach landing was supposed to be uninterrupted from any 'dirty air breather'. So much for "supposed to be..."
Assistant squad leader, Corporal Truskod, quickly moves to secure the squad's guidon and readies his service speargun weapon in preparation for immanent contact...
So, the Ocean section of the Pangea is primarily that - open water. There are a very few points of land scattered around the vast waters, but over the millennia the humans who had migrated there have changed significantly over time. Now as adept underwater as on land, they are the most capable warriors in the entire world. However, it takes far more than brawn to win the war...
There we are, now each region of the Pangea has been briefly explored. I have submitted all of the initial vignettes and photos to our fantasy setting section of the website so if you're interested you can check them all out there. FYI, for some reason I'm having trouble getting the slider to work properly on desktop computers, but the mobile version is working perfectly. Regardless, the information is there, and I'll continue tweaking it over time to make it prettier.
What's next? Well, each of the individuals you have been introduced to will ultimately meet, and that meeting will spark the long, laborious process of either ultimate unification of the Stone Valley Pangea peoples, or their terrible demise. It's going to get real!
THE WRAP UP
Okay, enough news for this week. Below are the Restocks, New Items, and Preorders added to the shop last week. You can click on the item to learn more, and many of the products have review and gameplay videos so you can see the game in action. If you're visiting our page and you'd like to keep up with our giveaways, sales, new products, and articles like this one just create an account here. Once created you will be subscribed to our newsletter and become enrolled in our loyalty system, instantly earning 50 Stones that you can use on your very first order. A Stone? One Stone is equivalent to One Cent. That doesn't sound like much, but you earn 2 Stones for every dollar spent and 5 for each product review, so though it may seem small, those savings add up fast! Redeem your Stones upon checkout, and they can save you up to 10% off your cart total. Loyalty Matters!
