I.C.E.
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Iron Crown Enterprises has produced role playing, board, miniature, and collectible card games for over 20 years. Many of ICE's better-known products were related to JRR Tolkien's world of Middle-earth, but the Rolemaster rules system, and its science-fiction equivalent, Spacemaster, have been the foundation of ICE's business.

ICE was incorporated in 1980 after the principle founders graduated from the University of Virginia. ICE's primary focus, then and now, was on non-electronic, or "table top", role-playing games (RPG's) marketed to the RPG hobbyist market. ICE's Tolkien-based RPG, Middle-earth Roleplaying, was the second best selling fantasy RPG after Hasbro's Dungeons & Dragons. These products have been developed and refined over a twenty-year period, and have achieved commercial and critical success, selling over $30 million of game products. ICE products have been given several game-of-the-year awards domestically, including those from the Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA) in 1996. They also won several awards overseas.

Despite ICE's many successes, the company entered bankruptcy and made the decision to wind itself up under Chapter 7 in October of 2000. In 1997, ICE suffered financial difficulties due to the rapid decline in its distribution net where nearly 70% of ICE's distributors either went bankrupt or became moribund.

In December of 2001, ICE was purchased by Aurigas Aldebaron LLC, an intellectual property ownership company backed by several wealthy individuals. Aurigas immediately replaced the former ICE management with part of the management team from ICE and its own senior representative. In addition, some of the former employees were recruited, and ICE has since recruited new employees.

Note: The current ICE has absolutely no connection with Middle Earth Role Playing. That was NOT one of the properties purchased by Aurigas Aldebaron LLC in 2001.

ICE's game plan is simple:

We will support our core fans who have stuck with ICE through thick and thin by developing more products for ICE's main game systems. This will include beefing up releases for existing settings, which includes our revival of Shadow World, releasing new settings and releasing adventure game modules set in these worlds.

ICE intends to increase its fan base. We are actively implementing a strategy to attract former ICE fans, new-to-RPG fantasy/sci-fi enthusiasts as well as disillusioned or bored D&D players to ICE game systems. This, in turn, will create a larger player base for our core fans, hopefully increasing gaming opportunities and variety for all. More playing and fun means more fans, and fans buy product. This is what we call a virtuous circle and why actively increasing the fan base is a critical ingredient for ICE's success.

As the ICE fan base grows and ICE can generate a stream of excess profits, we will plow that money back into R&D, developing more products for existing fans, advertising to attract new fans, and developing new game systems or settings to increase variety. ICE plans to develop its IP, either in house or through acquisition. In the long run, ICE hopes to develop its IP in other entertainment mediums that will allow fans of our products to not only play games, but to read a book or watch a television series in their favorite fantasy or science-fiction setting.

Subsidiary publishers are: Hero Games / I.C.E..

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