Friday, November 24, 2017

Holiday Game and Geek Sales - Black Friday 2018

It's the annual run up to the holidays, kicking off with the shopping frenzy just after Thanksgiving.  Black Friday. You know the drill: You've got gifts to buy for the lovable geeks in your life, maybe for a friend, spouse or child (or let's be honest, maybe picking up a little something for yourself).

I've got some ideas for you below, and I've rounded up all of the wargaming Black Friday/Holiday special offers I could find as well. Settle in with your eggnog and let's get started with a little digital window shopping.



Oathmark: The new Oathmark fantasy miniatures from North Star / Osprey have been rolling out, with dwarves available now and goblins shipping soon (preorders for the goblins are available until Dec. 6th, with a chance those in Europe and the UK getting the goblins by Christmas). Check out the "skirmish" special offer, one box of dwarves, one box of goblins and some limited edition metal figures for a low price. I really love the design of these goblins; departing from the GW-influenced gorilla on steroids greenskins. The dwarves also avoid the "beard with feet" silhouette that has become the default look of the stubby blokes from many vendors.

Blood and Plunder: Swashbuckling historic pirates duking it out over land and sea has been our latest passion at the game store. I've painted up my Spanish, am planning on tackling their frigate and sloop this winter, and have additional cavalry and artillery reinforcements on the way. Play is fast and intuitive, and uses and clever card based initiative to make each turn unpredictable. Even if you don't pick up the rules or figures, you have to check out the beautiful ships, useful in 17th and 18th century or even medieval-ish fantasy games that need some brilliant sea vessels to fill the ports and docks of the trade town.

The Wizard's Tower: Tabletop World doesn't make game terrain, they make art. Their resin buildings are exceptionally detailed, elevate any game in which they appear, and put all other terrain vendors to shame. Of course, they have a price to match, but they're worth every penny. This year's latest release is the Wizard's Tower, an imposing structure that could be the focus of an entire game night with the forces of evil assaulting the fortress tower of the noble sorcerer and his outnumbered allies. Tabletop World is running a special as well, with free buildings thrown in for orders of varying sizes.

Pandemic Legacy: This is THE game in my house, adored by all three members of my family. We recently wrapped up Season 1 after playing it for the last few years and are eagerly awaiting the newly released Season 2. Highly recommended!

$5 Off Any Book ($20 or more) at Amazon: Just use GIFTBOOK17 at checkout. Maybe Dracula's America? How about the Frostrgrave supplement Maze of the Minotaur? There's plenty of non-wargaming books I'm sure will make great surprises under the tree like Star Wars: the Blueprints (great as reference for building terrain for the new Star Wars: Legion), the recently released biography of Ulysses S. Grant, the Annotated H.P. Lovecraft, or go all out with the collected Star Wars Art of Ralph McQuarrie.

Game of Thrones Season 1-6: You must have that friend who can't or won't subscribe to HBO, or fell behind on Game of Thrones and never caught up, or absolutely needs to watch the entire series from the beginning. The Blu-Rays for seasons 1-6 are on sale for 70 bucks on Amazon, an all time low price. It's a steal.


Battlefront II: There's been a lot of controversy around the release of the latest installment of the Star Wars shooter franchise, with many critics labeling Battlefront a "pay to win" title. Personally, it doesn't matter to me. I'm no where good enough to realize that my hapless stormtrooper avatar is being obliterated by a 14 year old with mom's credit card, or a 14 year old with superior reflexes. I enjoyed my time running around Battlefront I and experiencing my favorite movies from the inside, I can't imagine this larger and improved game won't deliver a similar time.

Roomba: Wait, what? How is this a game or geek gift. Guys, it's a robot. That actually does work. I mean, how much did the mouse droid actually accomplish on the Death Star? It delivered emails. Stupid. Roomba could kick the mouse droid's rear. Amazon has the 690 knocked down to $275. I love my Roomba. Both of them. You should get one.

Obscure Novelty Shirts: I nearly forgot to hawk my own swag. I've been experimenting with t-shirt design lately, creating shirts for my own amusement. Maybe you're also an ironic fan of old school anti-D&D screeds? or you really dig space helmeted undead astronauts? I admit, they're not for everyone, but maybe there's a special weirdo in your life who would like one?


Wargame Deals

Wargame vendors have also been publishing special offers. To keep everything straight, I've collated them into the list below (in no particular order).

Firelock Games

Starts: Now
Ends: Monday, November 27

  • 20% Off: with promo code jolly17

Foundry

Starts: Now
Ends: January 5th, 2018
  • Buy 8, get 2 free: Buy any 8 standard £12 packs and get an additional 2 free.
  • Buy 16, get 6 free: Buy any 8 standard £12 packs and get an additional 2 free.
     List the codes of the free packs in the comments box when you place your order.

The War Store

Starts: Late Wednesday Night (Thursday the 23rd at 12:01 am)
Ends: Monday the 27th 11:59 PM
  • Discount code BF17: 5% off your order
  • Code PIPSHIP: Free shipping on Privateer Press orders of $100 or more
  • Code BATTLESHIP: Free shipping on Battlefront orders of $100 or more
  • Code GWSHIP: Free shipping on Games Workshop orders of $250 or more
  • Free Stuff: Sprues, paints, mini rulebooks and more

Gripping Beast

Starts: Now
Ends: ?
  • Festive Fun Blister: Themed blister containg limited edition fig, assorted foot. £20 worth of goodies
  • Saga: Version 1 rules are 1/2 price in preparation for Version II

Warlord Games

Starts: Now
Ends: ?
  • Tank Platoons: Selected tanks are 1/3 off.
  • Resin Vehicles: Buy 2, get one free
  • Figures: Buy 4, get 1 free
  • Gates of Antares: Buy 2 boxes, get 1 free
  • Dr. Who: Buy 2 boxes, get 1 free
  • Free Shipping: For orders over £50 / $30

Tabletop World

Starts: Now
Ends: December 31
Ships from Croatia

  • Free buildings: The bigger the order, the better the freebie
  • Free shipping: on orders greater than 250 Eur
Starts: Now
Ends: 9 AM Monday the 27th
  • Free Shipping: on orders over £25, €35 or $40
  • Hourly Deals on Friday: Check the site and social media. Highlights include 200 goblins for £69.99, 80 Enforcers for £39.99, etc. 
  • Mega Deals: Including Warpath Mega Force of your choice plus the rulebook collection for just £74.99, 100 Marauders for £39.99, Mars Attacks Stompy Robots finally make their return for £14.99, more
Starts: Now
Ends: Monday, November 27
  • Free Shipping: on orders over £15
  • New Releases: new releases all weekend.
  • Digital Rulebooks: Monday the 27th digital download deal
  • Combine orders with Ion Age too!
Starts: Now
Ends: Monday, November 27
  • Free Shipping: on orders over £15
  • New Releases: new releases all weekend.
  • Digital Rulebooks: Monday the 27th digital download deal
  • Combine orders with Alternative Armies too!
Starts: Now
Ends: December 20
Ships from Italy
  • 20% Off: Orders over €50.00
  • 25% Off: Orders over €130.00
Starts: Now
Ends: December 17
  • 15% Off: Lots of small scale sci-fi
Starts: Now
Ends: ?
Ships from Netherlands

  • Discount code: black im for 25% off Team Yankee, Tanks, Bolt Action, Achtung Cthulhu, Konflict '47
Starts: Now
Ends: Friday, Dec. 1st
  • 20% off all items
Starts: Now
Ends: November 27
15mm fantasy figures
  • 25% all orders
  • Free Shipping: on orders over  $75
  • Free werewolf miniature with every order

I'll try to keep the list of wargame special offers up to date all weekend, so if you come across a great deal let me know and I'll update this post.

2 comments:

  1. Firelock Games owes you a thank you note....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I just want to share the joy of pillaging pirates :)

      Delete