From: Ellindar
I thought I’d write up this article on GenCon and the Decipher experience so you’d have some great info to post. As you know, I was sent into the horde of gamers to GenCon to find out all I could about the new LOTR card game by Decipher. I had spoken ahead of time with Karen Levy, Decipher’s newest PR manager and set up an interview for Friday morning at 9am. I arrived at the Con on Thursday evening about a half an hour before the main exhibit hall closed. My friend Tom and I went as fast as we could up to the Decipher booth where I met Karen, to say the very least, they picked a perfect person and she could not have been more helpful.
We arrived Friday morning and we were *snuck* in under cover as the Main hall doesn’t actually open until 10am. We were introduced to the design team who were ready for the interview. We spoke about the game mechanics and much much more. I will have the entire interview transcribed tonight and sent in by this evening or tomorrow morning at the latest. We were then introduced to one of the design team members of the LOTR Roleplaying game they will be launching so I decided to interview him also. Later that day at 3pm we were given an invitation to attend their official LOTR Preview at the Hyatt hotel. We were able to make it and were about the middle point of the line of hundreds of people. We were among the last twenty people to make it in the doors! There were so many people waiting that half of them didn’t make it in. It’s amazing the amount of pull LOTR has.
We sat through the preview which was really a general overview of the game. However, a suprise! We were told that the nine Nazgul had been in the room and hidden the nine rings beneath nine of the SEATS! There was a hushed silence as everyone sat there in shock for about 10 seconds. (an eternity!) Suddenly EVERYONE was on their feet throwing they’re chairs over! ARGH! We didn’t have one! Nine people held up their arms with a golden ring! These people were then brought to the front in which they were told that they were now official LOTR Decipher ring bearers and will receive a lifetime supply of their LOTR products!!! Every LOTR release they will be receiving! I had never seen such a promotion and everyone couldn’t believe it!
Decipher is really moving in the right direction and by the way they handled the entire Con I believe they are really going to make it big. Just as a note, Decipher had to go against game giant Wizards of the Coast and beat them out for the rights to the LOTR card game! Great job Decipher! That’s it for now and the interview will be coming soon!
