As a little addition to Hot War and Cold City we have released limited edition Special Situations Group and Reserve Police Agency insignia badges. Each shaped badge in made from bronze coloured plated nickel and hard enamel and are approximately 1 inch in diameter. Each badge comes in at £3 but if you want both badges you can buy them together for £5. Anyway, if you want to pick up a badge or two go to the shop page





Cheers
Malc

Here at Contested Ground Studios, we're delighted to be able to say that Hot War is now back in stock at our on-line shop and at Indie Press Revolution. So, apologies if you've been attempting to get your hands on the book over the last couple of weeks.

Hot War is a game of friends, enemies, secrets and consequences in the aftermath of the apocalypse. London 1963 is a dangerous, brutal place to be. A government teetering on the edge of fascism. Military forces moving to take control. Brutalised refugees treated as cattle by a country they thought would give them salvation. And all the while, strange horrors stalk the land.

Hot War combines a rich background with systems that allow groups to make it all their own and mechanics that really enhance play. If you want to know more, then check out the free downloads and previews available on our website or read some actual play reports and reviews.

Cheers
Malcolm

One game I've been enthusiastic about for a long time now is the wonderful Covenant: A Game of Failing Conspiracies by Matt Machell. How lucky that recently I've been able to take part in not one, but two games of it.

The first took place at KapCon 2009, here in Wellington. You can check out the actual play reporting here.

The seocnd game is something I've been looking forward to for a long time: a Covenant game lasting more than a single session. Last night we went through cell and protagonist creation for our Wellington-set game that will be played out over the next couple of months. Check out First Name Terms.

I'd encourage people to have a look at the Covenant web pages and check the game out for themselves. It's a wonderful and largely under-played gem.

Cheers
Malc

And here are the totals for 2008. The number in brackets is the 2007 total, if applicable. There are also some thoughts on the performances of our various products.

( A long post... )

The final figures are in for Q4 of 2008. In a couple of days I'll be posting up the overall figures for 2008 along with some thoughts on where we went, where we are going, highlights and lowlights.

Figures given in brackets are the sales figures for the previous quarter.

Hot War

Sales continued at steady rate. While not stellar by any means, they remained at a level which is both pleasing and sustainable. December saw a marked rise in direct sales from our own website, a trend that seems to be continuing into January. Many of these were from France, although I haven't been able to track down the reason why we have seen this sudden spurt. I'm assuming some positive metnions on French RPG fora, mailing lists or blogs.

So in Q4, Hot War has struck a nice balance between selling and requiring reprints.

IPR: 44 (109)
Direct: 19 (27)
Con: 11 (54)
Vendors: 11 (12)
Comp: 3 (58)
PDF: 44 (103)

Total: 132 (305)

Cold City 1.1

As always, CC continues to achieve good sales, always trickling along at between 25 and 40 sales per month. Q4 was no different, seeing an average of 34 sales per month. The game is definitely now in the 'long tail' period of sales.

IPR: 35 (46)
Direct: 19 (13)
Con: 14 (25)
Vendors: 3 (8)
Comp: 0 (0)
PDF: 32 (49)

Total: 101 (141)

a|state

Not a sparkling quarter for the old devil, yet we always manage to shift a copy now and again.

IPR: 3 (16)
Direct: 2 (2)
Con: 2 (2)
Vendors: 0 (0)
Comp: 0 (0)
PDF: 11 (13)

Total: 18 (33)

Avenues & Alleyways

Sales of A&A are definitely down on previous quarters, but again, it's not much of a worry. It's a quality supplement that sells to those who are either keen to get everything for a|state as a 'new found' game, or for those finally getting round to buying it when they have owned a|state for a long time.

IPR: 4 (7)
Direct: 3 (2)
Cons: 0 (0)
Vendors: 0 (0)
Comp: 0 (0)
PDF: 3 (16)

Total: 10 (15)

As always, questions and feedback are appreciated.

Cheers
Malc

The excellent Robert Bohl, one of my fellow Play Collectivists from Gen Con and all round good guy, hosts rather good gaming podcast entitled The Independent Insurgency. He talks face to face with small press authors on a variety of subjects. At Gen Con Indy 2008, Rob and I sat down to have a chat about Hot War and related matters. You can listen to our sparking wit live over the internet:

It's right here.

There's a lot that's of interest, including the inspirations behind Hot War, music, Robs game Misspent Youth and even chitchat about a few other games such as Covenant and 3:16.

As always, both Rob and I appreciate constructive feedback in any form. It must be noted, however, that "Dude, your voice is really annoying" does not count as constructive feedback.

Cheers
Malc

As boxninja has noted, it's that time of year when we can reflect upon those things which have been great in gaming for 2008.

I've certainly been excited by these things...

Duty & Honour by Neil Gow is a top contender for my new game of the year. Swashbuckling Napoleonic adventures in the style of Sharpe.

Empire of Dust by Clint Krause and Amy Garcia. Traditional gaming but with lessons learned and a larger-than-life, Dune-inspired setting.

Who could avoid mentioning 3:16, the brilliant take on SF carnage and war.

The Collective Endeavour continues apace, despite some growing pains. This year saw some great efforts at UK conventions.

KapCon 2008 (yes, I know the site is for the 2009 con), New Zealands biggest RPG convention. 2008 was my first time there. Great fun.

The Play Collective enjoying its second year at Gen Con Indy.

And, of course, I'm tremendously pleased that bloody_art_guy and myself completed and published Hot War!

Cheers
Malc

I'm not one for delving into the personal via LJ. However.

Tomorrow (that's Tuesday 4th November, if you're reading this retrospectively) I fly out to New Zealand to begin a new adventure. I'll be living there for a year while I write my Masters thesis at Victoria University, Wellington.

To all the friends in Scotland that I leave behind: I will truly miss you all. But this isn't goodbye, just 'au revoir' for a while. We'll certainly stay in touch, I hope, through phonecalls, emails and the odd mix CD. I'm sad to be leaving you for a time, but you'll still be with me.

To all the friends in New Zealand that I'll be seeing again: I am excited to be only a couple of days away from once more enjoying your company. I made many good friends during my last visit to NZ and I hope to renew those when I get back.

These are exciting, changing, sad, reflective and happy times.

But, everything will work out for the best, I'm sure.

Cheers
Malc

This marvellous Lego creation by Tania Baixinhos. Tiny fields, little houses in the tree, even some villagers gathered around. Wonderful stuff.



Cheers
Malc

I'm delighted to say that through the good offices of Mr John Wilson, Mr Paul Bourne and myself, the Hot War Wiki is online and available for you to peruse and add things to.

At the moment, there are a few things there such as some monsters from the book, a few literary titles, a couple of films, some places and organisations. I am very hopeful that the HW Wiki will grow into a substantial and useful resource for people interested not only in Hot War, but all in the Cold War UK and post-apocalypse fiction.

One thing I'm especially keen to see is people adding their own, personal thoughts and reflections on books and films related to the game. there's a couple up there already to give you an idea of what I'm talking about.

Anyway, go use the wiki, add stuff, have a browse.

Cheers
Malc

The most excellent Mr Neil Gow of Newcastle has on this day released the first issue of his fine periodical The Duty & Honour Almanac. This is in support of his recent game encouraging the playing of roles and the creation of stories, Duty & Honour. Mr Gow encourages, with his canny eye for the 'rules of the game', play in the style of Messers Sharpe and Harper as recounted by the pen of Mr Bernard Cornwell, a popular novelist of our time.

If you are a gentleman or lady of quality, I can offer no greater encouragement than my personal recommendation to leaf through the game of Duty & Honour by Mr Gow. Why, even that most noble of commanders, the Duke of Wellington himself was known to while away his evenings on the Peninsula, surrounded by a body of his most trusted officers, enjoying the entertainments offered by Mr Gow's work.

In other news: three bushels of grain and a firkin of small beer were removed with malice from the yards of Mr Abercrombie upon Tuesday last...

Cheers
Ensign Malc