Rio Grande Games, Origins, and Jay's Generosity
Hi guys,
I don't know if the group picked up on this post on ConsimWorld from the CABS guys. It blew my mind...
Excerpted here....
"CABS is proud to announce that RIO GRANDE GAMES is contributing nearly 4 TONS of games to CABS for use at the ORIGINS BOARD & WAR ROOM.
EVERY gamer purchasing a WAR or BOARD Room Ribbon will receive a FREE game from RIO GRANDE GAMES.
There are 19 different titles coming and you will NOT be able to choose what title you want. What ever the next box we open has in it that is the game you get.
There is a limit to the number of games but we would have to more than double our attendance to run out of games. So we have to say something like the first 2000 will get a game !!!
BUT WAIT THERE IS MORE !!!
The number of games he is contributing to us is staggering … Where one I said there might not be a prize table … Well it is very possible that EVERY gamer in the room on Saturday will be given an additional game !!!
The amount of games Jay is contributing to CABS for use in the ORIGINS BOARD ROOM is over $125,000 in retail value !!!
You have until June 12th (I think) to pick up your Origins Board / War Room Ribbon … Do it today !!! Bring down the Origins Web Site !!!
RIO GRANDE GAMES – CABS – ORIGINS BOARD/WAR ROOM - A W E S O M E !!!"
I've known Jay is a stand-up guy but this goes above and beyond!
Dale (the penguin) Larson
Comments
Jay
That is totally cool. Jay grabbed me off the floor last year at Origins and taught me and a few others how to play Thebes. He seems like a great guy, his company offers great products, and he has earned my loyalty with his generosity.
Larry
paying it forward
I can't say I am shocked by this amazing windfall from Rio Grande.
Just more evidence that Jay is as generous a person as I have met in the gaming world. When we came up with the Spiel des Jahres episode idea last year, he helped us get copies of games drop-shipped from Europe so we'd have enough time to play them and record the show. And he's certainly been very kind in supporting our efforts with the Spiel-a-thon, too!
Last year, Jay paid for free drinks for everyone in the board room at Origins just as a spur of the moment kind of thing.
His games already provide us with hours of fun and enjoyment and it's really heartening to know that he wants to do his part to support and build the game playing community when and how he can.
Motives
I feel a little wierd bringing this up (I should just shut up and be thankful), but there are several reasons Jay could be doing this, and the reasons could have something interesting to say about our hobby.
Maybe Jay is just independently weathly, and does the board game thing because he gets a kick out of it. If this is the case, he is just a really nice guy.
Maybe Jay gets enough goodwill out of this from customers, developers, and partner companies that it is worthwhile. I wouldn't think this would be the case, but I guess if it puts him over the top on landing the next big thing, it might be worth it.
Maybe Jay does really well as an industry leader and can share some back. This would be really good. Rio Grande does not equal some basement publisher, but knowing that some people are making a boardgame business work would be a great sign.
Maybe Jay gets a nice tax benefit for unloading some surplus. Win/Win for Jay and us, but doesn't really say anything about the health of the hobby.
I don't really care if it is a selfish or generous motive. From what people say I would suspect generous. However, I hope his ability to do this says something positive about the hobby as a whole, and not just something positive about Jay.
- Jonathan
good business sense
Well, Jay is running a business and I am sure that party of his generosity is related to growing that business further. Nothing wrong with that.
If, as part of that, he can spread some love along the way then so much the better.
Boardgaming is still quite a niche market (which is a crying shame, but there you have it). So gestures like this are always going to be good publicity whilst also being good for the hobby. It's very symbiotic when a community is so (relatively) small.
At the end of the day his actions reflect well on both him and his company. Kudos to them both.
Some pictures of the delivered games...
Here's some photos of the delivered games for Origins.
www.buckeyeboardgamers.org/secret_page.htm
Steve.... Too bad Dave can't make the con. ;-)
Dale
sweet!
Oooh! Super secret pictures ... sweet!
Is it wrong that makes me drool?
I've seen several pictures recently like this claiming to be photos of shipping containers filled with the new 3G iPhones.
You can have your phones. Give me cases and cases of games any day! :)
Some Final Tidbits on the RioGrande "Gifts"....
From the CABS guys on ConsiWorld...First this...
"Just so you know ...
All day gaming on Wednesday is new for Origins and is new for CABS. Most of us are taking the enitre day off on Wednesday as are a lot of CABS Members. What this means that for us Wednesday morning and early afternoon is move in time. Most if not all did not have extra vacation times to move our stuff in on Tuesday. This may be different in 2009 - as we all know better now, and of course we do NOT expect to have to carry over 332 cases of games next year, so we may not have to anyway. CABS will be happily bringing 2280 games (337 cases) from RIO GRANDE over to the convention.
The games will begin to arrive between 10 and 11. We expect there to be some time in sorting and getting ready. We should be ready to start passing out games by NOON - Wednesday. The library will be on-site about 2pm.
The library is packed and awaiting pickup. As going to all day gaming is rather new and we have only so much resources and gas like it is - We are trying to do our best to keep our cost and our members cost down and get the library on site and games on site as best we can and at the lowest possible cost to CABS and our members.
See you at the con ..."
and then this:
"The CABS board has decided ...
Since we have 2280 games coming over ... That each Board Room / War Room presented to our staff, will get the bearer TWO games. This will begin on Wednesday around noon.
We are going to do the best we can in divding the games into BIG BOX and LITTLE BOX so that each person gets one of each. We have 19 different titles with 120 of each title.
We will continue to do this until the games run out.
We will give two games to the first 1140 ribbons presented to CABS. First come first served.
If we have any games left over on Saturday they will go onto the prize table.
Thanks again ..."
See y'all at Origins. Hitting the road tomorrow AM.
Dale