Great day. But exhausting. Between pitching in in the gaming room, walking around, and working the booth, I started the day on my feet for six hours. Then got a short break, then back to the booth. But why complain when I’m having so much fun? Talking to people on both sides of the booth is great, and people are snatching up books. We’re running a demo that’s kind of Food Fight in a grinder style–we’ve got a convenience store diorama, plus several minis, so people can jump in and out into the ongoing melee at will.

I’m looking forward to all the seminars today–I’ll share announcements from them later! For now, enjoy a pic of that lovely stack of Almanacs!

I did not feel like the most useful person today during booth setup day–I walked around a ton but didn’t actually lift much–but the thing is, the booth got setup, and it’s beautiful. The Shadowrun corner makes me happy, and what makes me happiest is the big stack of Sixth World Almanacs on the corner of the table. Finally seeing it in person and holding it is a good, good thing. Spells & Chrome is here too, and plenty of other lovely books.

I’ve also been working on the booth demo, which will feature miniatures painted by my awesome wife, laminated character cards, and grinder-style action–people can drop in and out at will as we play an ongoing assault on an extremely beleagured Stuffer Shack. Look for photos and action reports tomorrow!

Great news on the fiction front today! Catalyst Game labs has launched Catalyst Press, a new fiction imprint. The first book to come out in the line will be Star Challengers: Moonbase Crisis, the first part of a trilogy by Rebecca Moesta and Kevin J. Anderson (and get a load of the names endorsing the project: Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Sally Ride, Leonard Nimoy, Neil DeGrasse Tyson–I get a lot of geek pleasure reading over that list). Coming soon from Catalyst Press: print versions of the Shadowrun short story Spells & Chrome. And after that . . . well, we’ll see, won’t we? But this is a great first step toward new novels!

The biggest gaming con of the year is about here, and we’re putting the final touches on a wheelbarrow load of stuff for the show. This post just went up on Catalyst’s web site to give you a taste of what’s going on!

Catalyst Game Labs will be at the 2010 Gen Con Game Fair at our usual spot right in front of the main doors. Next week, come check out the latest and greatest for BattleTech and Shadowrun. You can also take a look at our growing casual game line–such as Merchants, High School Drama, and Ergo–as well as grabbing demos of our coming games in Leviathans, Balance of Power and Hex-A-Gon.

For those playing in Catalyst-sponsored events, below is a link to a PDF you can download showing the complete schedule for BattleTech, Shadowrun, and our casual games. You can also learn how to play Leviathans, a new miniatures game under development.

Catalyst Game Labs Gen Con Events

We’ve also got a host of authors and artists scheduled for signing at the booth (we’ll have a detailed schedule of days and times at our booth).

Artists

Klaus Scherwinski

Alex Iglesias

Echo Chernik

John E. Kauffman

Authors

Michael Stackpole

Steven Mohan

Blaine Lee Pardoe

Randall Bills

Jason Schmetzer

Loren Coleman

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Also, don’t forget to stop by the booth and check out these ENnie Award Nominees!

Shadowrun 20th Anniversary Edition

BattleTech: 25 Years of Art and Fiction

See you in 3 days!

There’s new Shadowrun goodness floating around in print! Corporate Guide is out and about. Learn all you need to know about the Big Ten, and some rising powers to boot. For more information, look at this post, or to get a preview of the Aztechnology section, go here. Go buy at will, and enjoy!