Press Release - Webbed Sphere, Inc. Acquires Long Time Game Publisher Flying Buffalo, Inc.

https://flyingbuffalo.com/pages/the-flying-buffalo-press-release

Corbin, Kentucky (August 4, 2021) - Webbed Sphere Inc. announced today that it finalized acquisition of pioneering, award-winning game publisher Flying Buffalo, Inc., best known for the Tunnels and Trolls role playing game and bestselling Nuclear War card game series.

The deal was finalized July 31 with the estate of Flying Buffalo founder Richard Loomis. Loomis created the play-by-mail game Nuclear Destruction in 1970, and founded Flying Buffalo with Steve MacGregor in 1972. The company initially focused on running play-by-mail games, and later became well known for publishing the second-ever role playing game Tunnels and Trolls, originally designed by Ken St. Andre, starting in 1975. The Scottsdale, Arizona company is currently the oldest active publisher of pen-and-paper role playing games in existence.

“Flying Buffalo and Rick Loomis hold an esteemed position in the history of gaming, and we are proud to now be a part of that legacy,” said John Ward, CE

legacy,” said John Ward, CEO of Webbed Sphere. “Flying Buffalo has thrilled generations of gamers over the past 50 years, and it will make a great compliment to our Toy Vault and Mchezo brand lines. I am excited about what the future holds.”

Since its founding, Flying Buffalo published many popular board games and roleplaying game titles including: Tunnels and Trolls, Nuclear War, Mercenaries, Spies and Private Eyes; Death Dice, Ace of Aces, Lost Worlds, Monsters! Monsters!, Imperialism, Origin’s award winning Citybooks and a series of  role playing supplements that included the famous Grimtooth’s Traps. The company was also groundbreaking in its release of the first solo role playing game modules using it’s Tunnels and Trolls system, starting with “Buffalo Castle,” written by Rick Loomis and published in 1976.

“It's always hard when your child finally grows up and leaves home, but I'm looking forward to a bigger, brighter future for Tunnels & Trolls under the organization of Webbed Sphere,” said Ken St. Andre, creator of Tunnels and Trolls. “May T&T spread even further to the greater world than it already has, and may Webbed Sphere make all their saving throws going forward!”

Douglas Malewicki, the inventor of the Nuclear War™ card game in 1965, said he’s excited about the opportunities the purchase of Flying Buffalo represents.

“I’m excited and really look forward to working with the new Flying Buffalo team,” Malewicki said. “I definitely want to help ensure that Nuclear War continues to improve, evolve and thrill new generations of gamers. The fun begins!”

Specific announcements about Flying Buffalo properties will be forthcoming in the near future. The company plans to work diligently with retailers and distributors to make sure products are in stock and available to the public.

Flying Buffalo also plans to be an exhibitor at Gen Con, to be held in Indianapolis Sept. 16-19, and will release more exciting news as the show approaches.

About Webbed Sphere

Webbed Sphere Inc. is a management and holding company for numerous ventures including online retailer Troll and Toad, home decor brands Darware, Decorae and AuldHome; game and toy publisher Toy Vault, and jigsaw puzzle manufacturer Mchezo. Its array of companies also specialize in property acquisition and development, business and consumer fulfillment services, liquidation outlets, and hobbyist gardening supplies.

About Flying Buffalo, Inc.

Flying Buffalo, Inc. is a publishing company best known for the second ever role playing game distributed to the mass market - Tunnels and Trolls. It was founded in 1972 by Rick Loomis and Steve MacGregor as a play-by-mail game company, but also published numerous popular role playing games, card games, and gaming supplements. It is located in Scottsdale, Arizona.

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News - Jack Vance’s Lyonesse (High Fantasy) to become a new RPG from The Design Mechanism

I must admit, I've never read any of Jack Vance's work. I guess that gives me an Appendix N demerit or something.

In any case, The Design Mechanism has secured the license to produce an RPG based on Jack Vance's Lyonesse Trilogy. It will be a stand-alone game built on the Mythras RPG, which itself is a descendant of RuneQuest 6. Then there are the Mongoose OGL versions of RuneQuest (later named Legend) that came before.

In any case, here's a bit of the press release:

Jack Vance’s high fantasy masterpiece, Lyonesse, is brought to life in a new roleplaying game by The Design Mechanism. Licensed and approved by Spatterlight Press, Lyonesse is a standalone game based on the acclaimed Mythras system.

Using The Design Mechanism’s Mythras mechanics, the Lyonesse roleplaying game is presented as a standalone game with all the rules necessary for play.

The development of the Lyonesse roleplaying game will be documented from time to time on the Design Mechanism’s website and forum. Work is well underway, and the game is anticipated to appear between late 2019 and early 2020.

You can read The Design Mechanism's blog for a larger summary here or the press release here. Or go to ENWorld, where there is a summary and no links to the source. Almost makes one think they had an exclusive...

DriveThruRPG Launches “Storytellers Vault”, a Creators Content Program for Vampire: The Masquerade

It isn't often that I pass along actual press releases, but I do know a significant number of "old school gamers" that have a special place in their gaming hear for the "Old" World of Darkness.

White Wolf Entertainment and DriveThruRPG Launch “Storytellers Vault”, a Creators Content Program for Vampire: The Masquerade

Stockholm, Sweden – August 11, 2017 White Wolf Entertainment, creator of the World of Darkness and Vampire: The Masquerade are partnering with DriveThruRPG to allow independent content creators to publish material set in the World of Darkness using the Storytellers Vault.

For over a quarter century, fans of the World of Darkness have aspired to bring their own unique World of Darkness creations to the masses, and now they can as part of the Storytellers Vault, White Wolf’s new creator content program.  Beginning with Vampire: The Masquerade, aspiring writers, artists, and game designers can publish their non-canonical table top RPG supplements and fiction stories worldwide in the language of their choosing, and making half of the revenue as their royalty. To assist content creators making the best possible products, Storytellers Vault offers a considerable variety of graphical layout tools including pre-made design templates, and art-packs to choose from.

“World of Darkness fans have always shared their stories with the world, and now is the time we help them to do that in an even greater scale” says CEO Tobias Sjögren.  “The magic of the Storytellers Vault is supporting fans that love and want to create content from all eras of our games, we can’t wait to see what they produce and how everyone enjoys it!”

The Storytellers Vault features:

- Self-publish service for table top RPG material set using any of the four previously published editions of Vampire: The Masquerade
 - Content creators themselves set the price for the material they publish and receive 50% of the revenue
 - Access to over 15 templates and art packs produced helps content creators make their work look as professional as the official products from any set era
 - Publishing in any language supporting the vast global World of Darkness community
 - Additional content supporting other game lines and historical settings in the White Wolf catalogue will be progressively unlocked beginning in October 2017

 The Storytellers Vault is now available at www.storytellersvault.com.


About White Wolf
White Wolf is a licensing company focused on creating the best participatory brands in the world. Since its original entry into the roleplaying game market in 1991, White Wolf’s World of Darkness has grown to be one of the most recognized and successful brands in the hobby game space with collective book sales in excess of 10 million copies during this time. White Wolf's World of Darkness brands, which include Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, Wraith: The Oblivion, and Orpheus, has been licensed for television series, console and computer video games, interactive media events, and a myriad of merchandise and other entertainment products.
www.white-wolf.com
Contact: press@white-wolf.com

About DriveThruRPG
DriveThruRPG.com is part of a family of premiere online marketplaces including RPGNow, DriveThruRPG, DriveThruCards, DMsGuild, DriveThruComics, DriveThruFiction, and Wargame Vault. Together, we have been selling digital and print-on-demand comic books, roleplaying games, and fiction since 2001. As of 2016, we have launched multiple community content programs as well as our Community Card Creator for fans to create content for some of their favorite roleplaying and card games.
www.onebookshelf.com
Contact: matt@onebookshelf.com

New Big Dragon Games Unlimited to Publish Steve Marsh's Shattered Norns #1: Into the Shadows

Yeah, I'm nearly a week behind in sharing this announcement. As much as I'm adjusting to working overnights, I'm not adjusting to working overnights ;)

New Big Dragon Games Unlimited is going to publish Steve Marsh's Shattered Norns #1: Into the Shadows. It's being published for 5e (and who says you need a license to publish for the latest edition anyway?) although it was developed with earlier editions. Not surprising for the man who was the lead editor of the D&D Expert set and the main man behind the aquatic creatures in the AD&D Monster Manual.

What does that mean for us, the consumers? 5e is pretty easy to convert to earlier editions and with New Big Dragon Games behind the project, it should be a good one.

Something tells me this deal was worked out during NTRPG Con 2015...

Here's the full press release.