Newsbriefs for February 29 and March 6, 2008

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BALLY’S ROOM BLOCK CLOSES MARCH 19!
The room block for GTS at Bally’s closes March 19th -- just days from now! Book your rooms before the cutoff to get the best rate!

To reserve your room for GTS 2008 online, you can go to our personal reservation site through Bally's by clicking the link. Stays longer than 7 nights must be booked through the call center below. Stays less than 7 nights are available to book online.  You can scroll down the dates on the default page or you can choose from the calendar that is located on the right hand side of the default page of the website.

Or call Bally’s Las Vegas at +1 800-634-3434 (or +1 702-967-4111). Ask the reservation specialist for the “Game Manufacturers Association 2008 Trade Show” rate, convention code SBGMA8.

Very important - We have had two calls from people who are saying the reservation agents can’t find our code or event name in the reservations system. As there are 200 reservation agents, we are trying to track down WHO is making this error. Our contacts have verified – again – that our info is in there correctly so this is very, very disturbing. If are having this problem, we need the name of the reservation agent you spoke with, approximate time of call, and number called from. This will enable our Bally’s contacts to pull the recording of the call and figure out what the problem is.

Reservation deadline is Friday March 19, 2008. Bally's accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover and Diner's Club.

Questions? Contact Jodie Panzeri at Ops(at)gama.org or +1 614 255 4500.

https://www.harrahs.com/CheckGroupAvailability.do?propCode=BLV&groupCode=SBGMA8

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PREZCON 2008: WINTER NATIONALS
Convention report from Steve Verdoliva, Events & Programs Coordinator

The 15th annual Prezcon took place February 19-24 at the Double Tree Hotel in Charlottesville, Va. This six day event boasted over 600 attendees and over 80 board game tournaments, including the Settlers of Catan 2008 Mid-Atlantic World Championship Qualifier Tournament. A number of game companies, including Columbia Games, Lock and Load Games, GMT Games, Worthington Games, Z-Man Games, Troll and Toad, and others, showed off new products and promoted their games to the crowd. This year’s attendees also enjoyed Revcon II, a mini-convention within the convention that featured board games of the American Revolution. Next year’s Prezcon takes place February 25-March 1. For information on the 2009 show, visit www.prezcon.com.

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A FEW ROOMS AT THE DRURY FOR ORIGINS
Always wanted to stay “in the middle of the action” at the Drury Hotel during Origins? This could be your lucky year! We just opened up more attendee rooms in the hotel, so make your reservations fast.

Reserve your room online at http://www.druryhotels.com/reservations.cfm?id=DR0107.
To get the Origins discount, use Group #546796.

For general information about the hotel and its amenities, visit http://www.druryhotels.com/properties/columbuscvc.cfm.

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THREE SHOWS FOR ONE PRICE AT THE MEGA WEEK OF TRADE SHOWS!
The Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA), the National Retail Hobby Stores Association (NRHSA), and the National School Supply and Equipment Association (NSSEA) are pleased to announce a "Mega Week of Trade Shows" in Las Vegas, from April 20-26, 2008.

All three associations will be having their respective shows autonomously, yet registration and badges for any individual show will be accepted for entry into the other two. Please check with the individual show websites for times and locations.

Entry to exhibit halls does not guarantee entry to all seminar and special membership programs in each show. The shows are being held at the Las Vegas Hilton and Bally’s Las Vegas.

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MANUFACTURERS: MENSA MIND GAMES DEADLINE MARCH 15!
(From the Mensa website) -- Started in 1990, the Mensa Mind Games competition provides an opportunity for game manufacturers and inventors to compete in one of the nation’s most respected and recognized game competitions. Games are played, rated, and reviewed by Mensa members throughout a three-day event. The top five games receive Mensa Select® recognition and may use the Mensa Select seal in perpetuity on their packaging and in their advertising.

* Game Eligibility: Entries must have entered U.S. national distribution between February 1, 2007 and March 28, 2008. Board games, card games, and other types of table and party games for any number of players are eligible. The competition is not open to games that are incomplete or not yet in production. We cannot accommodate video, electronic, or computer games, or any games with an average playing time of more than 1.5 hours. Complete entry requirements may be found on our Web site,

http://www.mindgames.us.mensa.org
http://mindgames.us.mensa.org/manufacturer/enter.php

* Judging: Games are judged by members of Mensa based on originality, game play, play value, aesthetics, and instructions. Participants complete comment cards for each game. The comment cards will be forwarded to the manufacturer and will include category scores and player demographic information.
 
* Winning: The five games receiving the highest scores are declared the winners and receive the Mensa Select distinction.

* Deadlines and Cost:  The entry fee per game is $200 until March 14, 2008.  The entry fee for entries received between March 15, 2008 and March 28, 2008 is $300.  Entries received after March 28, 2008 will not be accepted.

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REGISTER FOR GTS TODAY (AND SAVE ON YOUR HOTEL ROOM!)
Beat the annual rush by getting your GTS badge and making your 2008 hotel reservations now!

Lock in the special GTS rate of just $127/night, good from April 17 (Thursday) through April 24 (Thursday). Make the trip part business, part pleasure!

For show registration, visit www.gama.org/gts/shop-online.
For hotel information, visit www.gama.org/shows-and-events/gts/travel.

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GTS EXHIBITORS: PROMOTE AND CONTROL YOUR GIVEAWAYS WITH THE FREE GTS RETAILER PASSPORT
Giving away product samples at this year's GTS? Let the GTS Retailer Passport program help you easily promote and monitor your giveaway program. Here's how it works: Every attending store location gets one passport. Someone from that location presents the passport at your booth. You tell them about your product, stamp the passport, and give them your sample. It's an easy way to make sure that the right people get the right amount of your goodies!

To participate in the GTS Retailer Passport program, contact Matt Ragsdale (sales@gama.org, 614-255-4500). Register by April 11, 2008 to get into this year’s program!

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HEAR THE BEST OF GTS 2007 SEMINARS AT PULP GAMER
Relive the best of both the retailer and publisher seminar track from GTS 2007 thanks to the folks at the Pulp Gamer podcast. Hear the seminars for free at these links:

Retailer seminars: http://www.pulpgamer.com/category/gama-trade-show-retail-seminars/

Publisher seminars: http://www.pulpgamer.com/category/gama-trade-show-publisher-seminars/

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BUILD YOUR BUSINESS WITH KNOWLEDGE AND CONNECTIONS!
Expand your network of professional retailers and game industry experts through GAMA’s forums: the Game Industry Network and the GAMA Retail Division forum, both on Delphi Forums.

* The GAME INDUSTRY NETWORK (GIN) hosts an industry-only discussion on all aspects of games, from creation through sales. Game professionals use the forum to discuss issues, make announcements, look for and give advice, and more.

To join the conversation, send your request to Anthony Gallela (ed@gama.org). Please include the following:
* your first and last name
* preferred email address
* for retailers: name, location, and your title of your store
* for other industry pros: name of your company and your title

* The GAMA RETAIL DIVISION FORUM gives GRD members a place to discuss GAMA-related topics (the organization itself, things that members want GAMA to do, and such) with fellow members and GAMA staff.

To join the GRD forum, please send your contact information to Trey Reilly (programs@gama.org).