Retail Boons and Omens

 I don't remember 4th of July sales attracting my attention, pre-COVID.  The concept is sound: liquidating older product for space for new lines, and with toys and games, everything needs to be set prior to Christmas.  The summer sales is not a concept I see (or see well done) in gaming retail, 

Perhaps I just caught lightning in the bottle twice.  First, was discovering heavy discounts (up to 50% off) in the game section at Target.  Catan, Ticket to Ride, and similar staples are unaffected, but by time I got over there last week, shelves were pretty bare.  I did manage to get a copy of the Wizard of Oz Adventure Book game by Ravensburger for half-off (hopefully the figures are worth it alone.  More on that on a future post. 

Searching for bargains, or ill omens?

The second item that surprised me was a random social media post with a picture of a stack of the Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition at Ollie's Bargain Outlet for under ten bucks apiece. While surprising, game expansions are sometimes overordered from retailers and the overstock ends up at place like Ollie's on the cheap.  

When I made it to my local Ollie's nothing related to Terraforming Mars was there, but there were a surprising number of "non-traditional" boardgames from noted game companies: AEG, Rio Grande, Z-Man, and a few others.  Any Terraforming Mars product would be a a significant upgrade from this mid-to-lower tier games sitting on the shelves, but it might be a sign that the great board game Renaissance is not as red-hot as it has been for years.  I've questioned some of these game choices and what a store might order out of these gluts in my monthly game solicitation post, and perhaps this is an ongoing process I've been oblivious too, but when half the shelves are "Boutique" board games, sharing with more traditional fare, I'm fearful for the well-being of the smaller companies.