SHADOW & STEEL GAME PIECES

The U.S. Army War College, through the W6QM Micc-Carlisle Barracks office in Pennsylvania, is seeking responses for the manufacture of 1,000 copies of the board game *Shadows & Steel 2045* under a total small business set-aside, as defined by FAR 19.5. This solicitation, identified by number W91QF026BA001 and issued on May 19, 2026, with a response deadline of May 22, 2026, is structured as a sources-sought notice intended for market research rather than a formal contract award. The procurement falls under NAICS code 513120, Periodical Publishers, and is restricted exclusively to small business concerns, with particular encouragement extended to businesses certified under the 8(a) program, HUBZone, Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB), Economically Disadvantaged WOSB (EDWOSB), and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) categories. The deliverables include a complete game set consisting of 400–600 professional-grade cards printed on 12pt 320gsm black-core matte stock, approximately 100 small cube tokens, a rulebook, and a medium stout box with full exterior printing, all to meet commercial quality benchmarks comparable to high-end products like *Magic: The Gathering*. Two packaging options are under consideration—a single full base game box or a core set with separate expansion boxes—and the production must align with detailed technical specifications referenced in the attached product documentation. Delivery is required by June 22, 2026, to DoDAAC W25BDX at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, under FOB Destination terms. The solicitation requires responses through Standard Form 1449, with Offerors expected to provide their CAGE code, small business status certification, and information regarding commercial availability and pricing. No pricing data is required at this stage, nor are any evaluation factors, weights, or award criteria defined, as this is a pre-solicitation information gathering effort. The government has not specified formal military packaging, preservation, or labeling standards such as MIL-STD-2073-1 or MIL-STD-129R, though full box printing, PSC 7820 classification, and DoDAAC identification are mandatory. The primary point