Ed West, an editor in the book publishing field, from Garden City, Michigan read Dan Yarrington's recent column regarding game previews (see "Get In The Game--Better Than Ever") and has this to add.

Thanks to print on demand and PDFs, small companies can bypass the distribution network in place.  It is up to store owners to ask customers: "What are you looking for?"  If the answer is: "Can you get me a physical copy of Battle of the Trolls from XYZ Games?"  Then maybe someone should consider contacting that company and telling them they should consider getting a PDF-only book into print or ordering a POD.  If stores and traditional distributors are going to stay in the game, they need to gather some intel from customers.  They need to let the customer know they'll go the extra mile for them.  With a deposit right before placing that special order.

We need name reviewers from trusted sources, not BBj987 thinks Vampires on Ice is the worst game on the planet.  It takes a little skill to write a real game review which means you've actually got to play it, point out what's good and bad and why, then give it a ranking.

Conventions are big because human beings are social and want to be around other human beings that share their interests.  They want to know where local stores are because looking at games before they buy drives sales.  And one store owner told me this: I buy all the pen & paper RPG releases each month (within reason) from my distributor.  I put them on a gaming table in my store and ask my regulars to play.  The ones they like, I reorder, the ones they don't go in the half off bin.

The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.