As previously announced, November brings us two stocking-fulls of early Christmas cheer: the reprint of Vault of the Fiends (AG1242, $19.95) and a new double deck Dungeoneer set, Realm of the Ice Witch(AG1246, $19.95). We've given distributors a deadline of Monday, Nov. 14th to turn in orders, so that we can ship them out next week and have them on the shelves of most stores before "black Friday" (the day after Thanksgiving in the US, traditionally the biggest holiday shopping day). We are also very optimistic about having some copies in our booth at Gen Con So Cal (drop by to say "hi" to Jeff and Jerry if you're in attendance), assuming the games ship from the printer as expected late this week.

The next Ars Magica sourcebook, The Mysteries Revised (AG0279, $29.95), is running very late -- obviously it missed its intended October release date. We are expecting to combine its printing with the next Ars book, Covenants (AG0280, $29.95), and release both in the second half of January.

We have a bunch of new projects in the works for 2006, in addition to quarterly sourcebooks for Ars Magica. Some of them involve production overseas, however, and after our experiences with unpredictable shipping on Gloom, we're trying to be cautious in announcing ship dates. The result may be that our schedule looks a little light in the first quarter right now, but do not fear ... 2005 is looking like it may be our best year for gross sales in a decade, and it may well be our most profitable year ever. We're quietly laying the groundwork for 2006 to be even better.