Piñata Games has named Justin Ziran as its Chief Executive Officer.

These charts of the Top Five CCGs Over-all, Top Ten Hobby Channel CCGs, and Top Five Mass Channel CCGs reflect sales in August, September, and October.

Kendall Swafford of Up Up & Away! in Cincinnati, Ohio saw the news about WizKids closing and Upper Deck layoffs and says he’s sorry that people are losing jobs, but the companies are “reaping what they've sown.”

We recently caught up with Wizards of the Coast CEO Greg Leeds to get his thoughts on the state of the market and the implications of the WizKids shutdown, where he expects to find growth for Magic and D&D , and how licensed and new properties fit into the company’s strategy.

R.A. Salvatore’s The Pirate King , the second book in his Transitions Trilogy, set in the Forgotten Realms , debuted at #3 on the New York Times bestseller list.

Hasbro announced earnings of 89¢ per share, with contributions in the quarter from CCGs, board games, Iron Man, Star Wars, and Transformers.

Board games and the big launch for Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition kept the game category steady to up a little in the hobby channel in the second quarter.

Wizards of the Coast announced today that it is restructuring “to focus on key growth strategies for core brands,” which will result in job eliminations.

Gen Con Indy, North America ’s largest game show, went off without a hitch last weekend despite the challenges posed by a weak economy, high gas prices, and the Chapter 11 filing of the show’s organizer.

WotC has announced a decision to refocus its publishing program on its two core brands.