BBC News has a 3 Minute Video on the Beginnings of Games Workshop

One of The Tavern's Discord members shared the link to a recent BBC News story on the beginnings of Games Workshop. It clocks in at just under 3 minutes so it won't keep you from doing your usual responsibilities, like writing bills or cleaning the cat's pan ;)

Seriously, its 3 minutes well spent.

Here's the link to the video.

Enjoy.

Games Workshop is Being Sued For $62.5M - By a Retailer / Lawyer

Looks like there's some money to be squeezed out of Games Workshop - or a the very least, a valiant attempt to do so.

SpikeyBits has the details of a $62.5M lawsuit filed "in the US Federal Court of Southern Florida alleging six criminal violations of US law and is seeking $62.5 million in equitable relief from Games Workshop.

Moore alleges violations of the U.S. Law and RICO under 18 & 15 U.S. CODE, including but not limited to Fraud, Price Fixing, Tortious Interference, Breach of Contract, Unjust Enrichment, Restraint of Trade, Conspiracy and Antitrust Violations."

That's one hell of a shot across the bow.

There's a lot to the article and I'm not going to attempt to break it down, but these two paragraphs stood out to me:

For near-30-years GW has always maintained that we sellers can “Set any price we want for the items we wholesale from them (GW)”. Yet, more recently GW ‘asked’ its retailers “not to have a ‘shopping cart’ on our websites – since they were adding one to theirs”!? Soon after, without agreement from Stores – GW ‘asked’ that “advertised prices (on the internet) not be more than 20%-Off MSRP – directly contradicting their previous assurances and our extant long-held Verbal Good-Faith Contract. Later, (unknown to Plaintiff) GW said 15%-off. 

Eventually (and unknown to your Plaintiff Stores) GW ‘claimed’ to have quietly instituted a ‘policy’ to outright ‘prohibit’ any/all sales which used internet.

Go to SpikeyBits and read it for yourself. IANAL and I have no clue how this will play out. Still, interesting to see the company quick to threaten to sue over its IP being sued over its IP ;)

PETA - Boldly Going Where No Sane Group Should Go - Trying to Make Games Workshop "Fur Free"

I first saw this yesterday and initially figured it HAD to be a joke. PETA, the animal advocacy group, wants Games Workshop (Warhammer, Warhammer 40k, etc) to stop sporting figures with fur.

Now, follow this.

This are "miniatures" - they are not real. Which means that any fur detailed is not real.

But what about art? Its not real.

How about in computer games? Its not real.

No animals were harmed in the creation of any of Games Workshop's IP.

Wait... do they still sell horse hair brushes to paint these fur wearing miniatures? Are the horses harmed? It may be time for a revolution!

Now, if Games Workshop were to declare the not real fur in the first place to be faux fur, would that make PETA go away? Probably not: "While we appreciate that they are fictional, draping them in what looks like a replica of a dead animal sends the message that wearing fur is acceptable"

How many Warhammer players drape themselves in fur? Fuck, who could afford to at the price GW minis cost.

Grounding in reality is weak in this one.

For fuck's sake...