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January 1978 - Tuesday 3
3rd day - 362 days to come

To GAMES Magazine. Spoke to Ronnie Shushan and FIFI WEINERT Fifi Weinert about SENET. I read over the manuscript from Timothy Kendall Ph.D. and his suggested rules. They gave different goals for the two players. I said that I didn't know of any ancient game with differentiation and doubted whether he was correct - but I couldn't prove it. They made repros [reproductions] of pages from A HISTORY OF BOARD GAMES OTHER THAN CHESS and P's board and rules. We agreed that their rules were probably jazzed up for the popular taste. They ran off repros [reproductions] of the entire article for me and FIFI Fifi said she'd call on Friday to get my opinion as to whether the game plays or not. (She didn't call.)
Spoke to Mike Donner for a few minutes but he kept getting phone calls.
Spoke to Laura Palmer and told her that I still hadn't rcd. [received] a copy of PAPER, PENCILS, AND PENNIES. She never did get around to contacting the publisher to send me another copy - but made to do so.
I looked at the book THE HISTORY OF BOARD GAMES. Looks like standards but I asked if I could borrow it. She is using it, but she will get me another copy. We both agreed that my reference library is useful to them.
Earlier, Ronnie gave me a spare copy of THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF FUN & GAMES. With their permission took the following back numbers : 2-#1, 5-#2, 5-#3. Told Laura Palmer that I'd have ELEUSIS article in on 1/16. Rought art by me O.K.
To Fabio Coen. Just as I got there Janet Townsend brought in some preliminary art work on CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, small pictures from the book pasted onto my board. Favio said that he thinks the game plays very well and catches the spirit of the book. Now it is a question of getting the sales force enthusiastic.
Talked about a book of science fiction games and he didn't seem too thrilled with the name FUTURE GAMES. Tried to explain TELEPORTATION to him but with no success. I'll have to have the games in much more complete form before I can get an answer from him. I suggested putting in loose sheets with boards on both sides (similar to the dice cards in PENGUIN COLOURGRAMS 2) but he said they would get lost. It will be O.K. to put a board on the back cover however. (They do not have a copy of PENGUIN COLOURGRAMS 2 and I said I'd bring one next time I came.)
Fabio suggested a book of games using the pocket calculator and I told him that quite a few had been done. But we figured that a book of tear-out sheets and the calculator would be new.
I'll work on the two books as quickly as I can. If one is done by me by the end of Feb. [February] it can make fall publication.
Showed Fabio the book TAKE TWO! and he seemed a litter interested. He asked if I would mind if he discussed the possibility of contacting the their doing the book, with the English publisher. I said that I would rather do a book of my own - especially since I had discussed the idea of such a book before getting TAKE TWO!, and he said he definitely wouldn't contact them - other than to order a copy from them. After we discussed the pricing of such a book I said that, although I believe that I could come up with a better selection of games, if he feels that putting out the English book would be more economically feasable [feasible], it is O.K. with me.
Fabio gave me sales figures: BEYOND TIC TAC TOE - 16,000 this year in 1977 making a total of 82,000; BEYOND SOLITAIRE - 8,000 this year in 1977, making a total of
(cont. [continued] on 1/2)