The crunch point.

I'm ahead of last year, but I'm realizing it doesn't matter.  Just two or three bad days in the latter part of the month and that increase can disappear.

This period, from the 15th of the month on, is out of my control.  I've stocked the store, I'm open, that's about all I can do.  I will do at least twice the business than I normally do.  I hope.

This is probably the most stocked with games I've ever been.  I may have a bunch of Settlers of Catan and Ticket to Ride left at the end of the year, but they are such evergreen sellers that I'm not worried about selling them later.

A couple games are unavailable again -- the same games that disappeared last year, and I know the chainstores have scooped them up.  I told my game rep that I thought it was a stupid idea to stiff the game stores during Christmas, but they do it anyway.

But really, it's only one game, Pandemic; I managed to pick up plenty of copies of Ticket to Ride from my comic distributor instead.

I've also completely filled my wish list for books this year, making orders that will still arrive this week.  By the end of the week, it will be pretty much too late to get anything else.

So this is the start of the real season, and all I can do is keep my fingers crossed.