FREE REALMS™ TRADING CARD GAME

Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) and The Topps Company Inc. (Topps) today announced that the highly anticipated Free Realms™ Trading Card Game hits stores this week. Developed at SOE’s Denver studio in close collaboration with Topps, it integrates a trading card game format with the exciting online world of Free Realms, featuring more than 180 game cards as well as more than 50 virtual reward cards redeemable for exciting items in the online game.

“Free Realms is poised to be a tremendous success for us,” said John Smedley, president of SOE. “Now, we’re taking the next step and putting the trading card game in stores nationwide. This week, you’ll be able to walk into many of your neighborhood retail stores and pick up one of the best trading card games I’ve ever played.”

As Topps continues to explore fun and interactive ways for their young consumers to get involved, Free Realms becomes the latest in a roster that includes Topps Town, Topps 3-D Live, and BabyBottlePop.com, which link physical products to innovative online entertainment destinations. Michael Eisner, whose Tornante Company and Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC. acquired The Topps Company, Inc., in October 2007, said, ”It’s been exciting working with Sony Online Entertainment on this endeavor, which has resulted in the development of a multiplatform product that is likely to spark the imaginations of trading card game fans everywhere.”

The physical Free Realms Trading Card Game features:

More than 180 Cards – The premier release of the Free Realms Trading Card Game features more than 180 cards, as well as 50 exclusive virtual reward cards not found anywhere else, and 16 physical exclusive cards with codes that unlock the equivalent card in the online game.

Exciting Gameplay – Developed by SOE’s Denver studio, the minds behind Legends of Norrath™, the Free Realms Trading Card Game brings the lively and colorful world of Free Realms to the familiar and fun format of the trading card game.

Virtual Rewards In Every Pack – Every Free Realms Trading Card Game pack features a virtual reward card redeemable for fantastic items inside the world of Free Realms, such as exclusive pets like the Toyger, the tiger-striped housecat, cool virtual clothing like the Rocker outfit, pet clothing, special character effects, and more.

The Free Realms Trading Card Game arrives in stores this week and is available in two formats. New players can pick up the Passport to Free Realms Starter Pack for $9.99 USD (plus applicable taxes). The Starter Pack features a 40-card starter deck, one full color playmat with rules, and a virtual reward card redeemable in the Free Realms online game for an exclusive virtual Black Labrador dog, an exclusive card player T-shirt for your character, three jumbo health potions, an exclusive virtual Cardie Racer and a one-month membership with full access to Free Realms (a $4.99 USD value). Players looking to enhance their existing decks can purchase the $3.99 USD (plus applicable taxes) booster pack, featuring 10 game cards, one virtual reward card that can be redeemed for an exclusive in-game item, and 50 Station Cash™, the virtual currency for the Free Realms online game.

For more information, visit the official Free Realms Trading Card Game site at http://www.freerealms.com/tradingcardgame.

About Free Realms

Free Realms allows you to do what you want to do, when you want to do it, in a lush, living, 3D world, filled with rich landscapes and fun wildlife. Play as a ninja one minute or be a chef the next! From pet raising to mini-games like kart racing, or battling giant spiders and adventuring with friends – there’s something for everyone! With scheduled content updates and special events planned there is always something new to see and do in the world of Free Realms. Visit http://www.freerealms.com/ for more information.

About Sony Online Entertainment

Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) is a recognized worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online games, with hundreds of thousands of subscribers around the globe. SOE creates, develops and provides compelling entertainment for the personal computer, online, game console and wireless markets. Known for its blockbuster franchises and hit titles including EverQuest®, EverQuest® II, Champions of Norrath®, Untold Legends™, and PlanetSide®, as well as for developing Star Wars Galaxies™, SOE continues to redefine the business of online gaming and the creation of active player communities while introducing new genres on various entertainment platforms. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, with additional development studios in Austin, TX; Seattle, WA; Denver, CO; Tucson, AZ and Taiwan, SOE has an array of cutting-edge games in development.

About The Topps Company, Inc.

Founded in 1938, Topps (www.topps.com) is a leading creator and marketer of sports and related cards, entertainment products, and distinctive confectionery. Topps entertainment products include Major League Baseball, NFL, NBA and other trading cards, sticker album collections, and collectible games. The company’s confectionery brands include “Bazooka” bubble gum, “Ring Pop,” “Push Pop,” “Baby Bottle Pop,” and “Juicy Drop Pop” lollipops. In June 2008, Topps unveiled Topps Town (www.toppstown.com), the first online virtual sports community for kids, bringing together the popularity of trading cards with the exploding world of web-based social networking.

FREE REALMS - AVAILABLE NOW!

Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) announced that the free, family-friendly online video game Free Realms™ is now available for everyone to play at www.FreeRealms.com. Free Realms is a whimsical virtual world, loaded with fun for gamers of all ages. Whether you want to race karts, raise a pet, explore mystical forests or chat with friends, in Free Realms, you can do it all.

“We’ve designed Free Realms to be a fun, safe place for gamers of all ages to play online and are excited to finally open the doors to our adventure-packed world,” said Andy Sites, senior producer, Sony Online Entertainment. “Free Realms is free to play and truly lets you do what you want, when you want. Every member of the family will find something fun to do in Free Realms!”

In Free Realms, players can customize their characters and play a wide variety of minigames in a safe, online environment, packed with stunning visuals, distinctive environments, and social networking capabilities. Players are free to do or be anything: Become a ninja, cook a yummy meal, battle goblins, set out on epic quests or connect with friends through a safe, social networking page. The Free Realms Trading Card Game is a full-featured trading card game playable both digitally within the Free Realms online game and through a physical game available wherever you buy trading cards!

Free Realms offers a variety of features, including:

• Free Gameplay: Free Realms is free to play; however, additional content can be accessed through a Membership or micro-transactions.
• Rich Character Creation: With thousands of customizations and combinations, you can blend fantasy and reality to create your perfect avatar.
• Be Whoever You Want: Characters aren’t locked into classes or jobs – you can be a ninja one minute and a race kart driver the next.
• Kid Safe: Free Realms is designed with kids’ safety in mind and has pre-canned chat, reporting, filters and Parental Controls that allow for the customization of security options, for younger players.
• Something for Everyone: Players can take care of pets, sort mail, race go-karts, battle goblins or cook meals for their friends.
• Vibrant, Deep Environment: Adventurous gamers can spend hours exploring towns, bustling cities, beaches, forests, snowy mountaintops and more.
• Connect with Friends: Whether you’re meeting up with old friends or finding new ones, Free Realms allows players to stay connected through its social networking page. Just log in, see what your friends have been up to, click their avatars and join them in Free Realms.
• Everyone Can Access: Free Realms is designed to run on nearly all PCs. The game will stream to your PC as you play, so Free Realms will not take up a lot of memory and will download quickly.
• Trading Card Game: The Free Realms Trading Card Game will let players pit fun characters like dragons and goblins against one another in fun, fast-paced combat. Half the game is collecting new cards so you are armed with the best lineup of attacks and defenses to prove your might in online tournaments.

Free Realms is rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and up with content descriptors of Crude Humor and Fantasy Violence. To play Free Realms, visit: http://www.FreeRealms.com.

song of drums and shakos nominated at Origins 2009

Our Napoleonic fast play skirmish rules "Song of Drums and Shakos" written by Sergio Laliscia have been nominated at Origins 2009 in the best historical miniature rules award. Andrea Sfiligoi of Ganesha Games will attend Origins and will run ongoing demo games of SDS and other games -- if you attend this great con (Columbus, OH, June 24th-28th)remember to look for our table and vote for us!

Skirmisher Releases ‘Creatures of the Wastelands’

Skirmisher Publishing LLC is pleased to announce the release of Creatures of the Wastelands, a collection of monsters, mutations, and other material designed for use with Goblinoid Games’ Mutant Future and other post-apocalyptic games ($7.99, SKP E 0912, 80 pages; authors Derek Holland and the Skirmisher Game Development Group; artists Dragan Ciric and Jeremy Pea). It is available as a PDF download on several online sales venues, including DriveThruRPG and RPGNow.

Subtitled A Menagerie of Mutants and Mutations, Creatures of the Wastelands is fully compatible with Mutant Future, as well as Labyrinth Lord and other games that use the familiar "1st Edition" rules introduced in the 1980s. This collection includes:

* More than 200 new creatures, including the terrible Great Mother, several mutant dinosaurs, the warlike Lumbricid, the insidious Silver Sheet, and the mysterious Smart Stones.

* More than 50 mutations, including the new the Parasite mutation type and a number of Plant mutations.

* Several odds-and-ends, including new terrain types, new materials, and a number of non-creature hazards.

* Original illustrations by fantasy artists Dragan Ciric and Jeremy Pea.

Creatures of the Wastelands is fully bookmarked and designed to be printer-friendly and easy-to-use and includes low-resolution screen-friendly and high-resolution printer-friendly versions both of its cover surfaces and its interior pages.


Skirmisher Publishing LLC
P.O. Box 150006
Alexandria, VA 22153
http://www.skirmisher.com
sales@skirmisher.com

Are your game's Aboleth Mages under-average? Are the Greater Barghest's skill points grimly befuddling? Do you find Retriever Demons to be ridiculously dominant against your PCs? These are just a few of the monsters in the OGL SRD that have errors in their stat blocks, bringing their mistakes into your game.

ENWorld staff reviewer/3.5 rules guru John Cooper and Skirmisher Publishing LLC have stepped up to address these problems with the Cooper's Compendium of Corrected Creatures series of books. This critical new series of books fixes the problems you didn't even know your monsters had and presents thoroughly revised and corrected stats for the myriad creatures in the v.3.5 SRD.


Skirmisher has just released the first volume in the series, Cooper's Compendium of Corrected Creatures: OGL Monster Stats A - D (Aboleth - Dwarf) ($6.99, SKP E 0908, 134 pages; John Cooper, Shane O'Connor, and the Skirmisher Game Development Group; artist Alejandro Melchor). It is available as a PDF download on several online sales venues, including DriveThruRPG and RPGNow.

Features of this book include:

* Corrected stats for all the monsters in the A - D sections of the v.3.5 SRD that address often-overlooked elements like skill synergy bonuses, size modifiers, and shapechanging abilities.

* Stats for a number of official OGL monsters mentioned but not given statistics in the SRD, such as the Hound Archon Hero's Juvenile Bronze Dragon mount.

* Improved organization of material, especially items not listed in the proper order.

* "Coopers Comments" sidebars throughout explaining particular changes and giving guidance on how to effectively reflect them in the game.

* Fully bookmarked and designed to be printer-friendly and easy-to-use.

This book and the series of which it is part are designed to be an invaluable resource for OGL game masters, players, and publishers alike. The three subsequnet volumes are currently in development and scheduled to be released on a monthly basis, in March, April, and May. Cover concepts for the E - K, L - S, and T - Z volumes have been completed and can be viewed here.

Incorporating all official errata as well as corrections for errors that went unnoticed until now, this series of books presents the monsters from the SRD as they should be. Fix up your foes and run a better game with Cooper's Compendium of Corrected Creatures!


Skirmisher Publishing LLC
P.O. Box 150006
Alexandria, VA 22153
http://www.skirmisher.com
sales@skirmisher.com

Where to Find Skirmisher Products

Following is a list of many of the places that Skirmisher Publishing LLC products of various sorts can be found online. In addition, Skirmisher books can also be found in many game stores and are available to them through a variety of U.S. and international distributors. Follow the links below to get the best prices on Skirmisher books, miniatures, and other products.

Amazon.com
In addition to selling most of our print items on Amazon.com, skirmisher also has a storefront on the site through which it sells the lowest-priced new, used, and collectible versions of its books, along with a variety of individual titles from other publishers.

DriveThruRPG

e23
Digital Content from Steve Jackson Games.

Lulu.com
At this innovative site, customers can purchase print editions of Skirmisher books that are normally available only in electronic format!

RPGNow

Skirmisher Game Store
In addition to carrying Skirmisher products available elsewhere, this site is the exclusive outlet for Skirmisher miniatures, including its "Orcs of the Triple Death" prepainted resin figures and "Quactica" white metal miniatures.

WargameVault

Paizo

YourGamesNow

Arima


Skirmisher Publishing LLC
P.O. Box 150006
Alexandria, VA 22315
http://www.skirmisher.com
sales@skirmisher.com

Song of Arthur and Merlin available on Dec.23rd

On Dec. 23rd, Song of Arthur and Merlin, the Arthurian sourcebook for Song of Blades and Heroes, will be available from our blog www.ganeshagames.blogspot.com as a $8 pdf.

It will also be available soon as a download from many online pdf retailers -- watch this space-- and as a printed book (37 black and white pages with color covers).

For those who do not have the basic books in the Song of Blades series, please take note that we'll offer all the books including SAM in a discount bundle on www.wargamevault.com

Here's what the back of the book says:

PULL THE SWORD FROM THE STONE AND BECOME KING OF THE BRITONS!

Song of Arthur and Merlin is the third expansion for the Song of Blades and Heroes miniatures rules, bringing the world’s most famous legendary king to your tabletop battles. Written by Arthurian expert Daniel Mersey, this book includes:

* Three versions of the Arthurian story: Hollywood’s knights in shining armor, the gritty hero of Welsh legend, and a historical world stripped of all magic and monsters.

* 6 special scenarios and campaigns for Arthurian games and 11 new scenarios for all Song of Blades and Heroes games.

* 100 new rosters including famous knights of legend, magicians and creatures from British folklore, and the historical Britons and their Saxon, Pictish, and Irish enemies.

* 38 new special items from Arthurian legend.

* 19 Arthurian warband advances.

* New special rules and optional rules for playing games with larger warbands.

THE ORIGINAL SONG OF BLADES AND HEROES RULEBOOK IS REQUIRED TO PLAY THIS GAME. TO FULLY ENJOY THIS BOOK OWNERSHIP OF THE PREVIOUS SUPPLEMENTS SONG OF GOLD AND DARKNESS AND SONG OF WIND AND WATER IS RECOMMENDED