The Darwin Project has announced that the U.S. version of the adventure games magazine Lotus Noir, which focuses on collectible card games (CCGs) and collectible miniatures games (CMGs), will be delayed from October 2004 (see 'Lotus Noir to Launch in October') until January 2005.  More than 40,000 copies of the Lotus Noir U.S. prototype (issue 00) were distributed at various cons and through game distributors this summer, and the initial print run for the Lotus Noir #1 has been set at 70,000 copies, which will be distributed across a number of channels including the newsstands.  The magazine will be monthly.  The first issue will be released in early January, and then at the beginning of every subsequent month (between the first and the fifth).

Lotus Noir has been very successful in France (where all the various versions are produced) with its focus on CCGs and CMGs and its clever, gamer-oriented design (sidebars provide key information on the games discussed in the articles).  The gamer-friendly focus of Lotus Noir is evident in its Magic the Gathering price guide, which not only includes price values for the cards, but also their deck-building attributes.