Weekender: Talking Licensed Games & Events On The Horizon!
January 24, 2015 by brennon
Welcome to another episode of The Weekender! Today we'll be talking about quite a big topic in the tabletop industry at the moment and that's working with corporations and licensing games!
We'll also be talking about a few cool bits and pieces that popped up this week including Warlord Games' new Bolt Action Soviet Infantry (Winter), the awesome looking All-In-One Army Boxes for the Trollbloods & Cygnar of Warmahordes and a Kickstarter coming soon called Witch, spooky stuff!
- Dropzone Commander Invasion 2015
- Temple Con 2015 (Streamed Live right here!)
- UK Games Expo (29th-31st May) featuring Mutant Chronicles Warzone Resurrection International Tournament. First prize of £1000 in cash!
There's also a lot of events coming up this year and above are a few of the ones to look out for. Of course there's plenty more too so keep an eye out for more announcements.
Our Game of the Weekend this time around is also the Homeland Board Game from Gale Force Nine, another great property for them to pick up and the gameplay looks solidly interesting too!
We also announce the lucky winner of the Conan King Pledge! You lucky sod!
Have a great weekend
Yah it’s weekend !!!!!! I have just watched the first of your start of your adventures into B.A. and I am really excited to see that develope. Yes you are right Warren WWII history is incredibly interesting once do go past the “popular” knowledge but I agree it was really brutal. The other fact that is a real consideration is the length of the war, some countries and army’s could have been in a state of war for 6 years. Now if you have children and think about their happy lives they have had so far, and then think about… Read more »
Good episode guys 🙂 always heard about the dark side of the war from my grandad, he had plenty of stories from trudging through north Africa till he ended up stationed in Germany. My nan, aunt’s and uncles were all in Germany with my grandad, where they were “given” a house to stay in while my grandad was there. My nan even recalls where she used to have Germans come begging at the door, because some literally had nothing because we had flattened whole towns as we steamed in.
@warzan you have pm
Great vid again guys thanks I think the various licencing restrictions are just growing pains, its new to everyone involved, licence issuer, licencee and us as potential customers. It’s also worth remembering that such restrictions are not in danger of become industry standards, they only apply to games based on such IP. I’d be a bit annoyed if I were a AvP backer primarily due to the communication failures, and that is perhaps the important lesson companies need to learn. If there are restrictions and so on, people will understand, as long as you tell them that things are disappearing… Read more »
Great show as always. I think Warren needs to wear a Russian uniform with all those medals on it when defends Stalingrad. Looking forward to Justin’s impression of Homeland.
I am presuming the game is based on the American version of the show and not the original Isreali one?
Given the Israeli version has a different name and cast then I think that’s a fair assumption 🙂
Enjoyable show – I like the hollow templates (and then I thought holo-templates would be even cooler – frikkin’ lasers baby!). I am in for AvP and not flapping – I have worked with lawyers and corporate schmoozers before. I think the main delay is dragging them off the golf courses to be honest…
Looking forward to Nachtjager – a lot of almost Weird War stuff there.
Ooooh, Wrath of Kings looks nice… like the fact they not only have free rulebook but free kindle/ ebook novel for fluff junkies like me!
I had a nominal pledge in on Wrath of Kings in the hope I could afford to bump it up later, but sadly wasn’t able to. I do still get the weekly KS updates though. Some really beautiful minis in the range. I’m hoping I may still get the chance to vulture someone’s unwanted pledge when it ships. I’m all for licensed games. There’s seems to have been a unique confluence of events with AvP in that it was Kickstarted and is being licensed from a massive company with a keen interest in their IP. Had it not been Kickstarted,… Read more »
Excellent show! Loved learning about Wrath of Kings! Whoa – where did that come from? Licensing – both for and against it. As a fanboy, I want to be able to do things like recreate massive battles from favorite shows and stories, but I also want the new stuff the “little guys” can bring into the picture. When dealing with IPs though, you have to remember that it is the holder’s responsibility to ensure the product meets their standards in regards to accuracy and also community standards. For example, a nude Kristanna Loken figure would be completely appropriate in a… Read more »
Lots to think about with this weekend’s show! I’ve been mainly a Fantasy/Sci-Fi player for most of my gaming career (25 years) and it’s only really been the last couple of years that I’ve been seriously into the historical side of things- you make some interesting points Warren, and I agree that when you look into the real events your view does change- for me anyway I’ve discovered a real fascination in researching the history equal to if not greater than reading the fluff for 40k, Hordes or whatever and- without wanting to be too melodramatic- it really has opened… Read more »
I will play any thing, as the lead/plastic mountain will atest to. But I do try to step lightly whenever it is something that the guy I meet on in the pub or on the street might have lived through.
So like Warren I normally err on the side of pulp. For and BA does seem to pull me in the historical direction
Nice show
Warren for documentaries you can do any worse than buying a copy of World at War
I agree with what you said about the vicious fighting on the Eastern Front but we should always remember the countless millions of civilians that also died
I totally understand where @warzan is coming from. The whole idea of turning World War 2 into a game of toy soldiers makes me uneasy. Unlike most of my school friends, I didn’t grow up with grandfathers who told me stories about the war. One grandfather was killed fighting in Italy in 1944. He was 27 years old and left a wife and two very young daughters, one of whom was my mother. My other grandfather never fought. He was partially sighted, I fact totally blind in one eye and was classed unfit for service. All of his friends and… Read more »
I read that as an expression of how it makes you feel, rather than as a rant. At least until you apologised for ranting lol. It’s not something I take any issue with so this is not a rant back. I respect your feelings on the matter. I’m only replying because I want to address this point you raised – “I’m very interested in the history of it myself, but more in the history of how such terrible dictators all came to power in the twentieth century, rather than the details of what this uniform or that rifle looked like.”… Read more »
I’ve found that my contact with BoW and the wargaming community has rather tempered my “touchiness” regarding relatively recent wargaming. I’m finding that those of us interested in these sort of games tend to have a greater appreciation for the sacrifices made by by those involved.
I happen to be interested in the strategic and tactical decisions made in these conflicts and the various “what if” scenarios that unfold from it all. If anything, I think it makes me it makes me less gung-ho.
On a lighter note, I too have been convinced to start a Soviet army for WW2 (though in 20mm and mainly for Rapid Fire and a little Bolt Action), so I’m in a similar boat to Warren here. I’ve actually gone for two armies- a larger, more ‘generic’ force for RF based around Operation Bagration June-August ’44, and a smaller BA force for the Moscow counter-offensive Dec ’41- Jan ’42… Ski troops with Aerosan transport plus infantry in winter gear (I agree with Sam’s greatcoat comment) and tanks in winter camo! Looking forward to finding out more about this period… Read more »
And apologies Erastus, the first line of my last post made it seem like I was commenting on your own post- actually I meant ‘on a lighter note than MY previous post’!
Bad timing!
Ha ha no worries 🙂
Just a comment on Warrens thoughts on historical gaming. Most people play historical war games to try to understand the strategy and tactics involved in that type of war.And see how they would get on in the position of the historical commanders. This adds additional depth to the game play experience for those people interested in this feature. The game is still a game , but has the decision making refined to give a specific historical experience. I agree is important to remember the full history ,not just the ‘cool stuff’.And this is where historically accuracy in historical games comes… Read more »
I can’t agree with blindly following a game because “you like it”. How do you know you like it? Without seeing the rules there is no way to know if it will be a good or fun game or not, I’m sure I’m not alone in buying utter garbage sight unseen, that money isn’t coming back. The minies are part of the hobby and if they don’t have aesthetic appeal then I’ll not want to part with cash for them. Maybe on paper something sounds like it would be fun, not every game that could be great will be. And… Read more »
Is the aesthetic appeal of the minis not part of liking a game? It is a major consideration for me.
I must be the only one annoyed by that but during WWII there were no russian army, only soviet ones.
Did you catch the number of buttons on their coats by any chance 😉
Great show guys, I agree with @warzan with regard to historical gaming and it was something I have thought carefully about myself. It’s also the reason I don’t loom at games such as ambush alley as I feel it is too recent. With regard to getting an idea as to the Eastern front, I will pass on a recommendation Andy Chambers made on a podcast – Barbarossa by Alan Clark, which does an excellent job of providing an overview while providing the human side. With regard to the licensing, I think anything that raises the profile is worth while. If… Read more »
i have backed the avp kickstarter.im in to it for over $800.US.(and i know 2 guys personally who pledge higher)and i did get a little nervous when the kickstarter page went down.but i have read what prodos has put out and ive been mixed on my feelings towards this.but i have finally said to myself im not going to complain about it.i want them to put out a game that will be great.if it takes more time so be it.i have other games to keep me occupied till it is in my hands.between the new rules for infinity,putting together robotech… Read more »
Bolt Action has become my 2nd love after 40/30k (and is quite possibly going to overtake at some point as well!), so really looking forward to the new series guys. So….. licencing…. can of worms is now firmly opened! So I invested in the AvP kickstater to the tune of ~£200 in Nov/Dec 13. At this point the target for delivery was May 14, so 6 months. We had a weekly email update on progress and the state of play. All good. We were then told there was going to be a delay of a few months, OK fair enough,… Read more »
Yup I didn’t go in for the AvP kickstarter because of the awful job Prodos did of the Mutant Chronicles KS, a friend of mine went in with a group and ordered a whole ton of stuff, only to finally get a small amount of it, meanwhile they are selling all the same items retail that they were missing from their pledge. When they complained Prodos told them they were backers not customers and eventually threatened to withdraw their pledge if they didn’t stop complaining. While I totally agree with Warren that when it comes to licenses some accommodation needs… Read more »
Man, @olliep and cyberbob2k, I can’t even imagine putting all this money into a kickstarter just to learn you may or may not get your product, depending on the mercy of some lawyers. Not to be a downer, but this is one reason I don’t go in for KS in general. I’m pretty impatient, I’m the guy who buys retail and pays the extra shipping for 2-day or overnight because I want it NOW. 😀 If they don’t make a game for what you like, build it yourself. I can start to understand why @warzan is “ambivalent” toward these big… Read more »
Regarding Warren’s very humanist (but totally understandable) reaction to the horrific background details (certainly not ‘fluff’) regarding the invasion of Soviet soil during WW2. It is good that he reiterates the opinion that we ‘do not forget’ the senseless loss of human life and potential during these factual events! Play games based upon them by all means, but do not get complacent about what really happened. In addition, I attended UK Games Expo last year for the first time in my 56 years! and found it to be one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life! Why?, you may… Read more »
I like the idea of licensed IP’s if they are done correctly. X Wing has a really great rule set to go with those great prepainted minis. It’s a pretty affordable game to play to especially if you have a friend that is willing to play empire so you can play the rebels or as the scum. I can think of a few IP’s that I would probably be on board with if the right company picked them up.
With the scum out I really want to buy that faction up and have a three way battle with the nephews. Two player is ok but I love the chaos of more complex multi-group scenarios and I think it leads to a greater story-telling type of style over a one-on-one battle game.
I suspect the metronome might become rather annoying to both you as players and the viewers but how about dropping in a cut scene with a short clip of the metronome status from time to time? Could be quite dramatic.
@ Warzan If you like soviets and city fighting you’ll love combat engineers with body armour.
Wow. Thanks for the opportunity. Looking forward to hear from you and work with you guys. @Warzan Why don’t you recreate some of those troops stationed in Leningrad. There are a lot of possibilities, because they were under siege for like 900 days, straight 500 of them without a single resupply. You could build some battlehardned troops, which were there from the beginning, or some greenhorns who have been drafted directly from work into the militia forces. And times where tough, so maybe not everyone would have gotten a wintercoat. I think some IPs are great to see enter our… Read more »