Sorcerer, Schism reviewed in this month's SciFi magazine!

[Jared A. Sorensen]

Just got my gratis copies from the editor!

In the "Games" section, there's a review of Schism. Aside from getting a really nice review ("...a love letter to David Cronenberg..." Heh!) and a high score (A-!), the review called Sorcerer "the best narrativist pen & paper game on the market today" and provided a link to the Sorcerer site.

So hey, if 1% of SciFi's readers checked the site and 1% of them decide to purchase the game, well...that's 250 new Sorcerer players. Wahoo!

[Ron Edwards]

Holy memes, the reviewer even used my jargon.

Good show, Jared. That makes THREE rocking reviews for January/Feb: Out of the Box, Realms of Fantasy, and Sci-Fi.

Best,
Ron

[joshua neff]

Realms of Fantasy? The guy in the apartment upstairs has a subscription to that! I saw the latest issue come in the mail. Hold on...

*    *    *

Wow, what a good review! And hey, it's followed by a review for Swashbuckler! How weird & appropriate is that?

Okay, practical question: as cool as these reviews are, how much will they really affect store reorders?

[Ron Edwards]

Hi Josh,

That's a good question. Here's my take on the situation.

The worst thing to do would be to tell myself, "Oh, look, good reviews; hence, more customer demand flooding into the stores. Guess I'll sit on my hands and anticipate the amazing reorders that should start showing up any day now."

I think the real tactic now is simply to get to the retailers and say, "Look, good reviews. Here's a copy. Why not print it and use it as a handout at your store? Why not put a little sign on the Sorcerer spot on the shelf, saying, 'Rave reviews!'? Oh, and did you recognize that one set of reviews is from the ultimate highbrow gamer culture and the other is from a highly commercial mass-market magazine? Gee, Sorcerer appeals to tons of different people, doesn't it?"

My next plan is to get a lot of retailer-accessories up at the site - printable signs, logos, any stuff they can actually use without it being a big deal. the GAMA trade show is coming up very soon, and I hope to make a big push of this kind there.

Best,
Ron