Getting Games Out the Door
By John R. Phythyon, Jr. , General Manager
January 2011

"Greetings and Salutations"

So Christian Slater launched his movie career in the classic 1989 film, Heathers. I’ll use the line, but I can’t claim this is the beginning for me. I’ve been with Avalanche Press before. I worked on the creative side from 2001-03. If you’re familiar with our now-defunct RPG line, you’ve seen my work. I also designed our fantasy board game Tears of the Dragon and did some writing for Alamein, Secret Weapons and GWAS: Zeppelins.

But in my second go-around with APL, I’m concerned strictly with the business side of things. I’ve been serving as the sales and marketing director for the past four months. Now, I’m taking over as general manager.

We’re in the process of completely reorganizing the firm. We’re going to emerge with a leaner company that can produce product a lot faster and more effectively.

I understand that in the past few years Avalanche Press has lost your trust. Sure the games were good ... when you could get them. I believe the first thing a successful business needs is the trust of its customers. My policies as GM are going to be designed to re-establish that trust.

The first thing we need to do is start getting new product out the door again. Many of you have been waiting on pre-orders for years. Others are excited about things we’ve announced, and you’re dying for it to come out. I’ve got a plan to make all that happen.

The first phase will take place over the next two or three months. We’re going to concentrate on things we’ve recently solicited that are near completion. You should see They Shall Not Pass (APL0701) and Enlightened Warlords: A Player’s Guide to Soldier Kings (APL0844) in the next week or so. Following that, we should have Panzer Grenadier: Go for Broke (APL0838).

The reason for these three products getting the nod is simple: They are the most ready to go. In fact, the reason we moved these up the pipeline ahead of other things in the first place was they could be published more quickly.

After that, we’ll be looking at Battles of 1866: Frontier Battles (APL0112). That will give us a Playbook, a sourcebook, a supplement, and a boxed game out in about a month’s time.

Next, you’ll see other recently solicited products: Remember the Maine! (APL0706), The Kaiser’s Navy (APL0845), Winter Fury (APL0705), and Western Desert Force (APL0704). Again, these games are the easiest ones to get done quickly. Following them, we should be able to move the Kursk games out the door.

I’m sure that’s not going to make some of you happy. I know you have been waiting on Army of Lappland and Red Desert (among other games) for some time. I’m sure it seems we should get those done first. If I had my druthers, that’s what we do. But I have to think about things practically if we’re going to get this backlog cleared out. I don’t think Mike would dispute the fact that things were a mess. If we’re going to get this finally taken care of, we have to use the most logical, efficient approach there is. And that’s hitting the low-hanging fruit first.

That said, I appreciate that some of you have had money tied up in APL for some time, and you rightfully expect to get a return on that investment. Therefore, if you have placed a preorder with us for a product that has not shipped, I will be happy to convert your investment to any game we currently have in stock. I’ll also grant you a coupon for 10 percent off your next order from the web store. Just send an e-mail to customerservice@avalanchepress.com, let us know what your total investment is, and what product(s) you would like as replacements. We’ll get it taken care of right away.

I’m very serious about turning APL around and making it again the company you trust to provide high-quality gaming entertainment. I’ll keep you updated on what we’re doing to make that happen, but I know there’s one thing that will continually prove it to you: Get those games you’ve been waiting on out the door. We’re working on it. Over the next few months, you should see us make good on that promise. I look forward to delivering it.