Chasing the Mega Mothership

Once the game releases on October 10th, one of the first promotional giveaways you will be able to acquire will be the Mega Ares Mothership. If you send in 24 booster tops along with the receipts for those boosters (which have to be purchased from a real “Brick and Mortar” game store), then we will send a free Mega Ares Mothership to the game store of your choosing where it will wait for you to pick up.

Now you may have a couple of questions like: “Why 24 boosters?” Well I will tell you! 24 boosters is the magic number of boosters you will need to purchase in order to acquire a complete set of Monsterpocalypse. If you buy a case of 12 Monster Boosters, you should pull one of each monster along with their hyper forms. If you purchase a case of 12 Unit Boosters, you should have the following number of units and buildings (separated by rarity):

• One of each of the 12 “★★★” rarity units.
• One of each of the 10 “★★” rarity units with two duplicates.
• One of each of the 14 “★” rarity units with 10 duplicates.
• One of each of the nine buildings, with three duplicates (but you would also have 12 buildings total, which means that you would have a full compliment of buildings for playing).

Thus with the purchase of those 24 boosters you should have a complete set of Monsterpocalypse figures. The Mega Ares Mothership is not only a thank you from Privateer Press but also a badge of honor that notes that you are a serious collector who can assemble a force to be reckoned with.

Note that you could send in any combination of Unit and Monster Boosters. Some players may wish to build up a collection of their units and buildings allowing them to assemble a more refined force; two cases of Unit Boosters would allow for a pretty awesome force selection. You can send in any combination of Monster and Unit Boosters that you want to get your free Mega Ares Mothership, however buying 24 Monster boosters would be odd…

Now you might also be asking: “Why do I have to buy them from my local Brick and Mortar game store, and why do I have to pick it up from my local game store? Can’t you just send it to me?” Privateer Press believes that fostering strong relationships between you and your local game store is important, and we want you to take the extra time to get to know your local game store. As I have mentioned before, the Brick and Mortar game stores are the backbone of the adventure game industry (meaning those games that are not played using a digital device). Without a local game store, many players will not have a place to play, and without a place to play the games there is no reason to buy the games. Therefore, it would be nice when you pick up your free Mega Ares Mothership if you buy some dice or maybe another Unit Booster or something. Those game stores are important and every purchase that you make from them helps.

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Big Trucks and Bigger Monsters

Last week will be remembered for the unloading of numerous big rig containers. Apparently Monsterpocalypse is too much game to be contained on pallets surrounded by pallet wrap, so those shipping containers were filled top to bottom and front to back with cases of product. Each individual box needed to be unloaded by hand and passed down a line of employees to a shelf or stack of boxes where it waits to be sent out into the world. It was a lot of freaking work! Truck after truck after truck…

Along with the task of unloading the trucks also came an all-new experience for those of us in the office. We finally have product in house to play with! Now we have the real deal! No longer will playtesting be subjected to the use of the heavy big dice we had made for playtesting; we have the real dice now. No longer will we have to use foam buildings (which were expertly crafted by our in house hobby expert Rob Hawkins); we have actual building figures now. No longer will we have to pirate gaming pieces from board games to substitute for units and monsters; we now have the REAL Monsterpocalypse figures to use.

Though the game was more than enjoyable in its playtest incarnation, having the real game in hand takes Monsterpocalypse to a whole new level. When you step away and look at the map, you actually see a dramatic clash between monstrous titans taking place in the middle of downtown “Metroland.” It’s enough to make citizens of Tokyo run in fear!

I have worked on a number of games, and throughout the process of producing a game, samples of the product will trickle into the office here and there. Though that is cool, I can honestly say that there is no better time than the day when you have a real and complete copy of the rules in your hand so you can build a real army, force, or deck and play with it. Last week during our first annual company chili cook off, we received our comp product and actually played a few games. It was awesome watching the people in the office who have not been playing the game for the last six months crack open their starters and boosters, admire the figures, and then actually start playing. Watching the “player’s journey” is one of my favorite parts of game design; it’s rewarding to watch people work out strategic problems for themselves as they learn the game. Nothing beats the look of satisfaction that comes over a player as he puts together a cleaver combo or wining strategy.

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Time to make some noise!

With just a few weeks left before the launch of Monsterpocalypse, it’s time to let your retailer know that you want to put your hands on this game! Take a moment to communicate with your store owner. How else will he know to order you your Monsterpocalypse?

First and foremost, the best reason for you to tell your local game store owner or manager that you want Monsterpocalypse is that it helps him out immensely. I used to work in a game store “way back when,” and I can tell you that it makes life a lot easier when the person placing orders has a clear idea as to how much of what he should order. With so many games coming out all the time, game stores have a hard time picking and choosing which products to stock. When you preorder with your retailer, you’re giving him some assurance that there’s an audience ready to play this game he’s considering, and he’s more likely to get it upon release. Without that extra confidence, many store owners will play it safe and wait to see if a product is going to do well. Doing so not only hampers the launch of a product, but it means that you might be waiting longer to get Monsterpocalypse if your retailer isn’t already planning on it. You have waited this long, why would you want to wait any longer?

One of the best parts of any game is organized play. Though all stores will be eligible to order event kits, only those stores ordering the Monsterpocalypse: Rise Launch Event Kit will have access to the first three Mega form event prizes. If your retailer feels like there is a large enough demand for Monsterpocalypse in his or her store, then he can order the Launch Event Kit. The three free included Mega forms are to be used as prizes for the first three in-store Monsterpocalypse events. These are exclusive Mega Forms that you’re not going to find anywhere else. If you want to have a chance to compete in these events, let your store owner know so he can get the Launch kit with his first order of Monsterpocalypse. These Launch Event Kits are extremely limited and available only on a first come first served basis.

Quantities of Monsterpocalypse are, of course, limited. Based on the excitement and response we’ve seen at Gen Con, we’re anticipating a quick sell-through of our first production run. Don’t worry, we’ve already ordered more, but again, if you don’t want to be stuck waiting, head to your store and make sure the owner or manager knows you want Monsterpocalypse the day it’s available.

Supporting your local game stores is vital to the success of your favorite games. They not only provide retail locations where you can purchase great games like Monsterpocalypse, but they also provide locations where your local gaming community can come together to trade stories, share thoughts, and most importantly, play the games. Because we at Privateer believe in supporting game stores, we are offering one of our Mega Forms as an incentive for supporting your local game store. If you send in 24 booster tops along with a receipt for those boosters, you will receive the Mega Ares Mothership direct from Privateer. The receipt must be from a physical “Brick and Mortar” store, and receipts from online retailers cannot be accepted. So get out there, talk to your local game store owner or manager, let them know you want Monsterpocalypse the day it’s available, and then save your receipts so you can kick butt with your Ares Mothership, mega-style!

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