CWF Game Cast Episode 48: TotalCon 25 and Bay Area Travels

CWF #48: TotalCon 25 and Bay Area Travels (3-1-11) Download (644)

Hosts Jonathan J. Reinhart and Tom Barbalet’s record together for the first time in weeks. Jonathan reviews his first trip to a con when he attended TotalCon 25. Tom recounts his trip to the Californian Bay area with coverage of their local book and game stores.
Some discussion is held of Rick Priestley leaving Games Workshop. Tom remembers that we had the scoop before the rumors even hit the blogosphere. He asks Henry Hyde to get the skinny and let us know.

Jonathan updates the War at Sea contest, first mentioned in Episode 47, and then discusses the new blog design. Tom throws down the gauntlet to WWPD: News From the Front in relation to our War at Sea contest. The contest ends on March 31, 2011.

Discussion winds down with Tom talking about his book, Field of Chaos.

As always we conclude with a message from our sponsor, 12-7-Games.com, and contact information (find us on Facebook and Twitter).

We hope you enjoy this episode of the CWF Game Cast and are eager for your feedback (both positive remarks and constructive criticism). Send it all to cwfgamecast at wargamingforums dot com. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, or Xbox Live with gamertag cwfgamecast.

The intro song is “Downtown” by Matthew Ebel. Please give his other music a listen at www.matthewebel.com.

Black Powder Fog of War

LISTEN, my children, and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-Five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1860.

Warlord Games publishes the Black Powder rules written by Rick Priestley and Jervis Johnson (both of Games Workshop fame). This rule set creates a Warmaster-esque environment for gamers to recreate historical battles and create their own spanning from the War of the Spanish Succession and ending with the Mahdist uprising in the Sudan.

A lot of excitement surrounds these rules not least of which is a result of the co-authors. My interest washed the sleep from its eyes at the chance to use supposedly good rules for one of my favorite settings from all of history. The American Revolutionary War or American War of Independence (AWI) in gaming parlance. Immersing myself in a few discussions and several issues of Battlegames Magazine prodded my purchase of this rule set. The hardcover book arrived less than five business days later.

Excitement gushed from every fiber of my being and then was, promptly, stampeded on when I tried to understand how to use the book to create an army. Just where would I begin? Coming from a Games Workshop/Privateer Press/Battlefront Miniatures background I was completely unprepared for this new and alien world. The beautifully designed and illustrated book has no army lists! Instead of pages devoted to army composition, unit types (Core, Special, Rare) I found numerous pages on how to play the game but none on how to build the army.

A friend told me a typical size force would be 3,000 pts. They said this equated to a 2,000 pt Warhammer 40k or Warhammer Fantasy army. Surely points values existed. Frantic searching produced no official points (*NOTE* Tom later remarked that point values are somewhere in the back of the book, which I found and noted lack of rigidity provided to the points values by the authors). How the heck are gamers supposed to have an even fight?

So no army composition guidelines and no concrete points listings. There must, I thought, be rules for choosing what type of battle will be fought. There isn’t but there are a nice selection of historical battles from different conflicts, which highlight types of battles and scenarios.

All of this left me reeling and wondering how I would know what I needed to buy to build my army. Changing gears I plowed into 28mm AWI manufacturers and got nowhere fast. Clearly, help would be needed so I implored Henry Hyde, editor of Battlegames Magazine, to impart some wisdom. He e-mailed me a thoroughly researched and helpful listing of manufacturers, with links, and advice for this reluctant assembler and painter. You can find his annotated list at the bottom of this posting.

A couple late nights picking what I do and don’t like in AWI miniatures led to e-mails to Minifigs UK (Minifigs USA seems down for the count) and Neal Capatano at The Warstore.

At last I placed an order for some Perry Miniatures to begin my Black Powder journey. One pack of American Militia walking single file, one pack of Southern Militia/Continental Command advancing in shirt sleeves, and one pack of Southern Militia in a firing line will all soon be in my hands at the cost of $41.92 (including shipping and handling).

What does this mean in game terms? I haven’t the foggiest. A brief discussion with Tom resulted in my learning to buy the models first and the rules last. As you may have guessed this entire process is so unfamiliar and disjointing for me. It is truly unlike anything I’ve ever experienced in the GW/Private Press/FoW universe that I really don’t know how to proceed. Every question answered births numerous queries.

With all the help I can get I know that I’ll figure out how to build an army and play Black Powder. Until then I’m glued into a roller coaster without a safety harness and hoping for a net.

If you can untangle the Gordian’s Knot in my mind I’d be most appreciative in your communication.

Henry’s e-mail to me with annotated list of AWI model manufacturers

Hi Jonathan

Sheesh! How long is a piece of string! I should charge you for a question like that! :-D

Okay, from what you’re saying, I assume you mean 28mm?

The Perry’s are by far and away the best range and the most extensive. Their range is, at the moment, all metal, so no assembly required. They carry a lot of detail and are not cheap.

If you want ‘old school’ and less costly, but in a slightly smaller scale, then look at Miniature Figurines (Minifigs). They are 25mm, slightly ‘stiff’, but nice clean castings and considerably less expensive. There is a Minifigs USA as well as the ‘mother’ UK version. Try http://www.minifigs.com/ (website defunct, try Minifigs UK)

Another excellent option is Foundry (see http://www.thewarstore.com/foundry28mmarmericanwarofindependence.html for US supplier) — hardly surprising, because I believe they were originally sculpted by the Perrys! Again, though, they aren’t the cheapest option.

Another excellent quality manufacturer is Eureka, based in Australia, see http://eurekamin.com.au/index.php?cPath=87_126_127_128

Much cheaper, and US based, are Old Glory. They call their size 25mm, and they certainly are smaller than Perrys: see http://www.oldgloryminiatures.com/products.asp?cat=201

Then there’s Dixon — personally, I don’t like the proportions, but some love them: http://www.dixon-minis.com/dixoncatalogue.php?maintype=26

Again on your side of the pond, and considered by some to be very desirable indeed, are Scruby: see http://www.historifigs.com/American_Revolution.htm#28mm%20Figures though the website is a bit of a nightmare!

And finally, an extensive range can be found at Redoubt http://www.redoubtenterprises.com/ in 28mm.

ALL the above are metal — no assembly required, just a bit of filing to get rid of mould lines/flash.

And if you really want to save money by going 20mm plastic instead of 28mm metal, there are of course Revell, Airfix, Italeri, Imex and others selling boxes via toy shops and hobby shops: see http://www.plasticsoldierreview.com/PeriodList.aspx?period=20 for details and reviews.

Okay, finally, if you’re not keen on complicated painting, definitely go American, and produce an army based mostly on militia with a few Continental regiments thrown in. Many militiamen wore whatever they liked, so nobody can criticise your painting! Avoid Hessians — really complex uniforms and mitre helmets, including some with pinstriped trousers! Eek! And they were, of course, mercenaries in the British army, not really a separate force. The only other truly separate army were the French, way up north or way, way down south. If you fancied some quirky campaigns and lots of white uniforms, then of course they are an option.

The fact of the matter is that the British won almost all of the battles, but the Americans (with French help) won the war, so if you’re going to be remotely historical, then you just have to suck that up!

If you want inspiration, check out Giles Allison’s painting blog at http://www.gilesallison.blogspot.com/ (NB He collects for the “British Grenadier” rules so his units are all very small.) Also see my online album of a huge Long Island game from a couple of years ago that featured in issue 16 (click link to go to official website to buy digital issue: http://www.battlegames.co.uk/dispatches/dispatches_historical/Long-Island_gallery/index.html — many of the figures belong to Giles.

OK?

Best wishes

Henry

Pay Where You Play?

An oft quoted statement amongst gamers is “pay where you play.” It is meant to concisely remind gamers of how important it is to financially support your friendly local game store (FLGS). Proponents declare this to their fellow gamers by implying that the little mom and pop game shop will go the way of Main Street America when Walmart sets up shops next door if gamers continue to make gaming purchases online.

This is blatantly untrue. Gamers have been paying and playing at local game stores while also paying (and playing) elsewhere and they have been doing this for ages. Before the widespread adoption of e-commerce, gamers gladly used mail order to purchase mountains of lead figurines.

Although the internet does provide some cost benefits to companies that use it to do their business, gamers may forget that successful online vendors must carry a substantial stock of products to meet demand. It is costly, very costly, to purchase and house those items and then to hire the help to manually fill the orders. This is necessary because if Vendor A doesn’t do this then the customer will go to Vendor B who does have the items in stock, the staff to fill the orders and provide customer service.

Proponents of “pay where you play” treat the issue as one with inherent exclusivity. They imply, although some blatantly state, that gamers pay online or in their FLGS. Yet again this is untrue. Most gamers that I know who make purchases online also make purchases at their FLGS. Sometimes they spend money at one and sometimes at the other. I know a handful of individuals who buy boxes of CCGs online and then spend a pretty penny in store on singles. One gamer, in particular, price checks online and if the item is within a certain range of the FLGS’s price then they make the purchase at the store.

There are many reasons why gamers may purchase online. The number one, I hypothesize, is price. But, that is not the end all and be all of reasons. Value, Accessibility, and Customer Service are all influencing factors. Where does the gamer receive better customer service? Who treats them better? What place tends to have the item(s) they want? Who is most willing to special order the items and actually obtains the item(s)? How easy is it to get to the FLGS? Is the online vendor’s store offline more than it is on? Where does the gamer feel they receive a better value for their money?

This issue is similar to one at my day job. My work entails the borrowing and lending of materials amongst libraries. If every single library only borrowed and never lent anything then the system would break. That may seem worrisome but it needn’t be. There is an equitable distribution of lending and borrowing. Some places may borrow more and lend less while others lend more and borrow less.

Gamers pay online and at brick and mortar game stores. If every single gamer, everywhere, only spent their money online then brick and mortar game stores would go the way of the dodo. Is this a likely or even remotely probable situation? Certainly not! Some game stores may suffer but the good ones will succeed. Those with good locations, owners who have a solid business sense, well stocked shelves full of desirable merchandise, and treat the customer as king will, and do, thrive.

If you’d like to read a view opposite mine then I recommend checking out The Gate Stormers “Why To ‘Pay Where You Play'” written by my friend Drew. He is firmly entrenched in the “pay where you play” camp.

For those who are curious about my spending habits I’ll tell you this. I’ve spent over 4,000 dollars at Battleground Games & Hobbies over the years. I’ve spent several thousand dollars at the now defunct Danger Planet Games. The Whiz in Northborough has received hundreds and hundreds of my hard earned dollars. I’ve made purchases online. I support my FLGS (and other game stores) with my money, my time, this blog, and the podcast. I will continue to shop at brick and mortar game stores but I won’t give up shopping online either.

I know this is a volatile topic for the community. I look forward to receiving your civilized and mature feedback/comments.

War at Sea Contest

Please read the bottom of this article to find out who won!

Episode 47 of our podcast featured Bill Dettmers, CEO of our sponsor 12-7-Games.com, and I discussing War at Sea. During the interview Bill expressed his desire to help younger gamers obtain the expensive and out of print units they seek from the early War at Sea sets. Many units from those sets fetch top dollar on the secondary market with Kondors and PBY-Catalinas routinely selling for $30+ per plane. I’ve personally seen Kondors and Catalinas sold online at a cost of over $50 for a single plane.

Like Bill, we at the CWF Game Cast believe that younger gamers deserve reasonable access to those out of print models. To make Bill’s desire a reality we are running a War at Sea contest.

What You Need To Do

You are asked to submit your ideas for how young players can get the older (and out of print) War at Sea units they need/want without needing to spend money. This needs to include some sort of “sweat equity” in that the young players need to work for the models. The models will NOT be just given away.

Please submit all of your ideas. We will pick the one we like best as the winner. If more than one person submits a great idea then there may be multiple winners. The winning idea(s) will be sent to Bill Dettmers who may institute it as a system enabling the young players to receive out of print models from his store in adherence with the winning idea(s).

Deadline

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Prizes

The prize basket so far consists of:
1 Monty and the Fox’s Wargaming Show t-shirt (being designed by Tom’s wife, not yet completed)
1 War at Sea booster (sponsored by 12-7-Games.com)
1 Set of 4 Litko Aerosystems Small Smoke Markers
1 TotalCon 25 t-shirt (courtesy of TotalCon)
1 The World of Aruneus – Contagion Infected Zombies PDF for the Pathfinder RPG system (courtesy of Troll in the Corner)
1 Sidequest 001 Temple of Stone PDF by Imperium Star Games for D&D 4th ed
1 Sidequest 002 Goblins in the Streets PDF by Imperium Star Games for D&D 4th ed (sponsored by Imperium Star Games)
1 Current issue of Battlegames Magazine (sponsored by Henry Hyde Editor of Battlegames Magazine)
and prizes not yet decided on. The other prizes most likely will include some previously mentioned prizes along with PDF game downloads.

Estimated value of Prizes: $58.26

UPDATE 3/28/11
We’re getting down to the wire. If at least 5 people participate in the contest we will add the below to the prize basket.

1 War at Sea Booster
1 set of Litko Aerosystems War at Sea tokens

These two additions will increase the value of the prize basket by almost $40. That will bring the total value of the prize basket to around $100 (over when you include postage etc).

All you need to do is submit and get your friends to submit. Remember, if at least 5 people participate in the contest we will include those items and, in the process, will increase the prize value to $100.

UPDATE 4/4/11

We are delighted to announce that we have chosen the winner. Bill, Tom, and myself unanimously agree that Ant S from the Axis & Allies ForuMINI is the winner of this contest. He wins everything cited above in the official prize basket.

Additionally, we are awarding Joe, also from the Axis & Allies ForuMINI, as the runner-up. He will receive 1 PDF copy of Battlegames Magazine courtesy of Henry Hyde, editor, of Battlegames Magazine.

We want to thank Bill Dettmers for coming up with the contest idea and for inspiring us to run this contest.

We want to thank all of our contest sponsors: 12-7-Games.com, Battlegames Magazine, TotalCon, Imperium Star Games, and Troll in the Corner for supplying prizes.

Many thanks are heaped onto Battleground Games & Hobbies and the Axis & Allies ForuMINI for allowing us to promote this contest on their internet message boards.

Finally, thanks are given to all who participated in this contest. We know this was one of our more difficult ones. We are very delighted to award over $60 in prizes! We hope you will take the time to enter our Field of Chaos Political Compass Contest.

Something Looks A Little Different Here…

YES! We have changed our appearance. Spring fast approaches and with it comes Spring cleaning. We’ve done some cleaning of our own. First up is Mimbo, by Darren Hoyt, which provides a magazine oriented style.

The CWF Game Cast wishes to reflect its maturation from a personal blog to a gaming news blog supported by members of the industry. We refocused our purview, redesigned our logos, and restarted our podcast. We renamed it to reflect our changes. The right new theme, in our case Mimbo, simplifies navigation and our process of conveying information.

Mimbo highlights key information for visitors. The most recent article takes center stage. Links to Monty & the Fox’s Wargaming Show, War at Sea Digitization Project, and the Editor’s Choice Award sit above the masthead. A search bar awaits your input to retrieve content from the vault. RSS feed links can be found in a sidebar at right. That sidebar includes a wealth of information. Links to our sponsors, our affiliations, our friends, and our Facebook page are just a few of the valuable resources. It culminates with Recent Posts, Recent Comments, and our Twitter feed.

On the left of the page you will find Featured content. This is usually a handful of articles pertaining to Contents, Announcements, and our Podcast.