GW bringing back Specialist Games?!?

[Winni]

What I'd really be insterested to play again is Mordheim.
The computer game is still rather high priced for my taste, though. (Anyone knows if this is PvP only or do they have an AI in it?)
And for the real game I'll be missing players, I'm afraid.

The computer game is amazing! I´ve never played the TT version but i love this game. There is PVP and PVE.

[Chris]

Yes it is too random to be a serious game like chess. But that is part of the charm. Maybe it would be more popular if it was less so, but it would appeal to a different set of players.

[Regash]

but it would appeal to a different set of players.

I just imagined some older guys, playing a large Blood Bowl match in the park, like thhey do chess now...



At least it would be easier to paint the minis...

[Olaf the Stout]

I'd pick up a 'new' version of WHQ in a heartbeat. As long as I think the rules are still easy enough to allow me to play it with the kids...
Yeah, I'd love that.

Me too. The success of games like Super Dungeon Explore might help convince GW's new specialist guy (whomever that should be) that Warhammer Quest is due for a re-release. I frankly think that games like BB and WHQ could be released more or less as-is and generate income for the new division right away, especially if BB is advertised successfully to the new Blood Bowl players generated by the computer game.

The key is, I think, that the games need to be profitable in their own right, as some of the specialist games do not generate a lot of add-on sales (such as Space Hulk.) GW is adamant that the new Specialist Games division be profitable, not just about catering to a few remaining hobbyists.

I don't think an as-is re-release of BB would do as well as GW would hope.

On the other hand, I think something as simple as a boxed set with a new pitch, counters and 2-4 new plastic teams would sell really well. I'd probably buy 2 sets in order to get the new teams, despite the fact that I have 2 boxed sets still.

[Darkson]

http://www.belloflostsouls.net/2015/12/ ... egins.html

[lunchmoney]

I really hate empty links to other pages. Especially if those links are to pages covered in adverts. So to save others the chore of having to go to that BoLS ad-infested page here's the contents of the linked post (spelling mistakes are all theirs):

Here’s the latest word on what the new Specialist Games Team is cooking up for you GW Fans!


A source who spoke to BoLS on condition of anonymity reports:

“Specialist Games is forming thier team and beginning to lay out product roadmaps.

Look for an initial set of of 4 games to be developed concurrently:

Blood Bowl
Battlefleet Gothic
Necromunda
Mordheim
This initial set will be released in sequence and each will get a regular seasonal release slot in future years.

Necromunda is slated for the first release.

The relaunched Necrumunda will be focussed around gang kits and new terrain kits designed especially for the new range.

Other existing lines and previous “recent successful boardboardgames” will be folded into Specialist Games purview and added into the rotation with the above four.

Thus we will see very regular product releases for Specialist games throughout the year, but there may be long intervals in between releases for any one system.”



battlefleet-gothic

I would assume that “recent successful boardgames” is a callout to Betrayal at Calth (Horus Heresy), and Space Hulk. Execution Force seems like a complete game experience and not very expandable. I can see Necromunda being a smash hit with retooled modern minis and that dreamed of 40K skirmish gameplay.

Mordheim

To me the big surprise on that list is Mordheim. Here is the official history of the damned city (via Lexicanum)

The ruined city of Mordheim is located on the border of Ostermark and Stirland. The city was destroyed at the stroke of midnight that marked the beginning of the Imperial year 2000 by a twin tailed comet that had been believed to herald the second coming of Sigmar. Thousands had flocked to the city to witness the miracle of Sigmar’s return, only to see the comet crash into the city and kill most of the people.

Shortly after the devastation it was discovered that the ruins of Mordheim were saturated with Wyrdstone shards from the shattered comet. Soon it was discovered that using Wyrdstone men could perform miracles: healing the sick, resurrecting the dead, and turning base metals to gold. This last use caught the interest of the rival claimants for the Imperial throne and soon the value of Wyrdstone far outstripped its weight in gold.

Mordheim was finally burned to the ground at the orders of Magnus the Pious and remains in ruins until the present.

You can see the big issue with explaining how the entire concept of Mordheim would work in the Age of Sigmar. But hey, if the Great Horned Rat could move Skavenblight to the Age of Sigmar safely, I guess one small city in the Empire infused with warpstome might behave strangely as well.

Blood-Bowl-Box

In any case, it looks like GW is up and running with staff and it going to be bringing us all a lot of Specialist Games on a very regular basis once they get up and running.

~I couldn’t be happier! Which one of those 4 would be your favorite and how would you update it for the 21st century

[frogboy]

I'll be buying all of these, super excited like a small child before Christmas...

Favorite is harder for me to say as I never played Mordheim, but i can imagine that it would be that game. Bloodbowl is my current favourite (obviously). If it dose change then i hope it is still enjoyable to all, a competitive game with good clean rules and for those who like crazyness then something to offer them too. So fluffy players and power gamers can all enjoy it. The 2-1 grind can be a little repetitive and boring, but how they would challenge that style of play without ruining the game i don't know. Possibly make tackling better and a better passing game?

Battle Fleet Gothic was good too. They just need to reshuffle the rule books, similar to BloodBowl as I've always found the order their in confusing.

Necromunda, they are going to have fun with I imagine, so much scope for new stuff. Possibly different hives with new gang expansions?

[Olaf the Stout]

I'd likely buy a re-done Necromunda and Blood Bowl (obviously). Mordheim and BFG would be maybes.

[jdmofo]

Not been around here for a while, just popped in to see if any details on new BB had come to light yet and ended up reading through this thread.

Sorry in advance folks, this view will likely be unpopular here, BUT

I'm hoping for an all-new Blood Bowl. More exciting, more fun. Faster, more scoring.

I played a bit of BB in Univerity when 3rd ed was brand new, but just casual games for fun. Then more recently played almost every week in a local league for 3 years or so.

What I found (my opinion, go easy on me) was that the better all the players in the legaue got at BB (most were noobs when we started), the less fun it became.

We got to the point where your opponent (or you) making a silly mistake was almost none existant, which to me made the dice more and more crucial.

I much prefered it early on when if I lost a match I would think 'next time I'd do XYZ' rather than 'well I made no mistakes there, my Gutter Runners just rolled 1's all game' etc.

The 'stories' were so much more fun when players would go for that long pass mid half just because why not. Yes, most of the time it proved foolish, but occasionally it came off.

The more 'serious' the league became, the less fun stuff like that happened. Everyone naturally becomes more and more conservative.

And the worst part FOR ME is the grind. If you're playing with or against a bashing team (or *shudder* both), then you keep the score at 0-0 when you kick, grind for one score when you receive.

That TO ME is not fun in a game which takes 2ish hours to play.

(Yes, when things go wrong, even the bashing teams must take risks).

Anyhoo, I got to the point where I felt like if I won then I had rolled good dice and if I lost then the dice were against me.

That may not be entirely correct, but thats how it felt and that's why my painstakingly painted teams have gathered dust for quitre a while now.

So I'm hoping for as big a change in this new version (if it even materialises) as there was between Ed2 and Ed3.

Different rules means we could all go back to that golden time of just going for stuff to see what happens, at least for a while until optimum strategies are worked out (at which point I'll retire again).

Blood Bowl excels as a fun game for casual players, set in a crazy, funny world. The 'serious' players need to remember that there is a big market out there who are not interested in tournaments etc, just want a cool, fun, bloody, shiny board game for their collection.

Sorry again

[Loki]

Hi jdmofo,

the balance to that view is that I actually want to try and play the game where I don't make any 'mistakes', I may well be playing to minimise risk and roll as few dice as possible with the highest possible chance of success but that is part of what I enjoy about BB; along with converting, painting, chatting to people I know and even occasionally just taking a random team and trying to score with long bombs or Throw-Teammate or use Ogres as ball carriers or well whatever. I play in tournaments national and internationally, in an organised club and just pick-up games.

The fear is that if GW come in with something totally different then schisms will develop and what at the moment is a quite cohesive and well developed community will fracture and it will hurt the tournament scene and also established club play e.g. 10 people go to a club 5 what old BB, 5 want new BB. It will obviously have a fairly minimal effect on the 1vs1 'beer and pretzel' scene.

Have you tried some of the other FF games out there? Dreadball springs to mind when you talk about what your looking for.

D

[Regash]

Not been around here for a while...
...just want a cool, fun, bloody, shiny board game for their collection.
Sorry again

Well, all that you wrote about BB becoming less fun is your own fault.
BB is a beer & pretzel game but people, obviously including you and your league friends, do tend to play it very competitive.

I think that you'd be surprised how much fun BB can be if you just played it as you used to play it.
Make that pass, for f*cks sake! Why the hell not? Would you lose money, fame or your wife and kids if you lost a match?

Exactly this is why I stopped attending tournaments and online play.
Everything is about being successful, about winning at all cost.
Someone here wrote somewhere that if he lost the game because of one ridicoulus outcome of a kickoff event, he'd see that as a waste of time.
How can playing a game and having some fun be a waste of time?
Because people don't play a game, they compete against each other.
And they don't have fun, they only have victory or defeat.

So, all in all, you're trying to win instead of trying to have a good time and some fun.
Which is, in my humble opinion, the worst way to play a game.

[jdmofo]

Loki: I totally get what you're saying and obviously different people want different things.

Just talking from my own selfish point of view (but aren't we all).

I agree it would hurt the tournament scene if a brand new all-different version came along, although maybe not as much as if a slightly-different-tweaked-a-bit-with-a-few-controversial-new-rules version would (which would more likely split tourney players into 'new rules' and 'CRP' camps)

If a totally new all-different BB was released, aimed more at the casual board game market (ie me), all the tournament players would probably carry on with CRP as they have done without GW for ages. They'd have new minis at least.

The reason I don't bother with Dreadball et al is that it's not BB. As much as I tired of BB in the end, I love the setting, the teams, Bloodweiser etc and pretty much everything BB. I was a big GW fan growing up as many of us were. Other FF games seem like cheap knock offs, regardless of whether they're actually amazing in terms of rules etc. I've also invested a fair bit of cash and a lot of time in my BB teams so starting again with a game that has far less appealing teams, lore etc isn't gonna happen.

But fear not. Will GW spend time and money creating something entirely new and risk it being panned when they could release BB with CRP and some cool new models (Space Hulk style) and shift a boatload of them? Its highly unlikely.


Regash: You're right of course, and that's why I'll never ebay my BB stuff and will no doubt have an occasional friendly game now and again. I think that the longer you play in a league the more competitive you become, not even because you're taking it more seriously, just because you get better at the game and part of being good at BB is knowing that you don't make a long pass just because it's fun.

But an all-new version would really generate interest in BB again and the playing field would be levelled, all of us back to square one. I just like that idea.

[jdmofo]

Thinking more about it, maybe the best thing that could happen for me is that GW release the big box everyone here dreams of, a fancy new 3D pitch, awesome new models and an untouched CRP rulebook (is it me or did GW deliberately make CRP look like CRAP as a final insult as they signed off?)

The new BB set is very successful and generates a big wad of cash for GW, they decide to release a spin-off game, maybe BB 7's or something, with a totally different ruleset, not a watered down version of BB proper. Fast, exciting, plays in an hour. I'd be all over it like a rash.

OK, now I'm in dreamland. But one can dream...

[straume]

I assume you have, but if not: Check out Blood Bowl Team Manager! Excellent fun, goes well with beer and a no-excessive-thinking-allowed-policy!

[TheShepherd]

My hope is for a racial bloodbowl upgrade sprue for each race.

The plastic kits that GW release are excellent and I enjoy converting teams out of them. A sprue with spiked shoulder pads, football style helmets and catchers hands etc that I could buy to bloodbowlify a plastic box would send me to hobby heaven.

I appreciate that this isn't what everyone would want and between the sprue and the original box would also work out quite expensive but I don't do this hobby to save myself money.