From: peter@techbook.com (Peter Sarrett)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board.ce
Subject: Classic Flares, Tech, More CE.
Date: 9 Sep 92 22:06:13 GMT
Article-I.D.: techbook.1992Sep9.220613.13226
Reply-To: peter@techbook.com (Peter Sarrett,,,,)
Organization: TECHbooks --- Public Access UNIX --- (503) 220-0636



I spoke with Jim Musser of Mayfair earlier today (I needed to update him with
my current address so I'll get my copy of More CE) and thought I'd pass on
the tidbits of info I received.

1) More CE will be shipping in 2-3 weeks.  The copies seen at GenCon were
pre-production copies.

2) Sales of More CE at GenCon were "brisk" and Mayfair was very pleased.

3) Given the GenCon response to More CE, and the expectation that sales of
   the basic set (which have been steady) will increase as people who have been
   holding off see that Mayfair is not West End and plans to support the game,
   Jim said that Mayfair would be crazy not to continue to issue expansions.

4) Although they are not certain what they'll do next or when they'll do it,
   they will probably go the route of releasing smaller expansions priced at
   about $15 each containing a single game component.  Each expansion will also
   include 15-20 new Alien Powers with Flares.

5) It is likely that the first such expansion will be Technology, which was
   axed at the last minute from More CE because of budgetary concerns.

6) There is no plan to produce a Classic Flares expansion.  Mayfair has not
   received many requests for it.  Jim's logic went something like this: Most
   people who have played with Eon's Flares already own them.  Mayfair estimates
   that only 15% of the owners of the Mayfair set also own an Eon set.  Most of
   the people who have played with the new Flares have never played with the
   Eon flares, so wouldn't even know about them or have reason to want them.
   Producing a Classic Flare expansion would require Mayfair to support it in
   the future, which means they'd have to release two Flares for every new
   power.  It's a lot of headache for something for which there is no great
   demand.  Mayfair could produce such an expansion fairly inexpensively, but
   they can't really do a print run of only 100.  Basically, unless they start
   hearing from people who would buy such an expansion, it's not going to
   happen.

7) Mayfair is very pleased with the quality of the components in More CE.  The
   sizes and colors of the cards and powers match those in the basic set.  The
   new moons are die cut cardboard, rather than the thin paper discs of the old
   Eon moons.

That's about it.  I'm just eager to get my grubby little paws on More Cosmic so
I'll finally have a complete set.  I'll probably spend a little time creating
some new Flares so I can use the old Eon Flare rules, but I have to say that
despite the fact that one-shot Flares are essentially overblown Edicts, they're
quite playable.  But I do miss the sheer annoyance factor of the Eon Empath
Flare.  =)

===============================================================================
Peter Sarrett          |   "You don't stop playing games when you get old--
peter@techbook.com     |    you get old when you stop playing games."
(503)579-0873          |                                        - O. W. Holmes
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Newsgroups: rec.games.board.ce