Fantasy Flight Games has announced a Second Edition of its A Game of Thrones: The Board Game (MSRP $59.95).  Each of the 3-6 players the game accommodates has control of one of the great houses of Westeros in this epic struggle for control of the Iron Throne that is based on George R.R. Martin’s bestselling A Song of Fire and Ice fantasy novels, which are currently being adapted for television in the extremely popular HBO series Game of Thrones.  FFG will debut the Second Edition at Gen Con, and release it during the fourth quarter. 
 
The timing could hardly be better. Dynamite and Bantam are launching their comic book/graphic novel adaptation of Game of Thrones in the fall, and given the tremendous impact of the HBO series, Q4 should be the perfect time to debut a new edition of the game and take full advantage of traditionally strong holiday board game sales.
 
The newly updated version of one of FFG’s most popular board games offers a number of enhancements.  It includes elements from the A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords expansions (see “Fantasy Flight’s 2006 Board Game Schedule”) including ports, garrisons, Wildling cards, and Siege engines.  The Second Edition also adds key new innovations such as player screens, which allow players to hide their underhanded doings from their competitors and “Tides of Battle” cards, which convey the uncertainty of war. 
 
Additional improvements include updated graphics and a clarified ruleset.  The deluxe A Game of Thrones: The Board Game Second Edition game box includes: a full color game board, 138 plastic units, 105 cards, 6 player screens, 266 tokens and overlays, and 1 rulebook.