Its that time of year again... here's my pick for the Top 5 wargaming products for 2011 (as well as long-winded retrospective).
It appears as though Tabletop Gaming News is eschewing doing their annual "Best of..." polls/editorial, so I figured I'd blather on about the same subject matter to give you all (well, all 2 of you) something to read in your post-Christmas/Hanakkuh/Quanza dinner food comas.
2011 - A Year in Review
The Year of The Big: This was the year several game companies went big, both in terms of price and in terms of model size. While the past several years have had a lot of activity from skirmish game manufacturers, the two biggest market players (GW and PP) produced several large kits. For example, see GW's Ogre Kingdoms Stonehorn/Thundertusk, Beastmen Cygor/Ghorgon, Grey Knights Dreadknight and Privateer Press' batte engines. Even Malifaux, a skirmish game, released (relatively) large models in the form of Avatars (50mm base models versus the traditional 30mm).
And who could forget Coolminiornot.com's Cang the Implacable (seen below):
Yes, that rider is a 28mm model. Cang is a Biiiig Boy!
Several existing companies also went in terms of scope: GW release Storm of Magic (a large scale battle supplement for Warhammer Fantasy) and Privateer released Unbound (a large scale battle supplement for Warmachine and Hordes). Mantic Games had a go at this with Warpath, though that (arguably) has not met the same success as the above products.
Whether these decisions were motivated by a desire to create a cinematic gaming experience, the ability to produce large, detailed models at a low cost (via lower Asian labor), or to provide an experience that the smaller skirmish games can't provide is any one's guess. However, 2011 was undeniably the year of "Go big or go home".
Year of Privateer Press (that should have been the Year of GW): Games Workshop had a lot going for it coming into 2011: lots of interest in Warhammer Fantasy via the release of 8th edition in late 2010, the continuation of the beautiful Dark Eldar range (and its successful launch in Q4 2010), the return of three 40k armies with long outdated rulebooks (Blood Angels, Grey Knights, and Necrons), a new video game for major consoles with the Warhammer 40k IP, the launch of Warhammer Forge, etc etc. On paper, this should have been an extremely strong year for GW within the wargaming community.
Instead, this happened.
While its undeniable that GW released some very strong products this year (Nurgle Chaos Lord kit, Tamurkhan: Throne of Chaos), this also had some really poor releases (Finecast release, the community's response to the Grey Knight codex, Dreadfleet) as well as some frankly terrible marketing (Did you know about Blood in the Badlands? Me neither)
By contrast, Privateer Press only continues to gain market share. They successfully released both Warmachine:Wrath and Hordes:Domination. They've consistently had positive community interaction. The blog-o-sphere/podcast-o-sphere has been slowly adding growth in Warmachine/Hordes content. Despite some missteps (some of their new models are kinda fugly), Privateer continues to expand.
Year of Consolidation/Collaboration: Coolminiornot.com purchases Tabletop Gaming News! Soda Pop collaborates with the guys behind Darkson Designs to produce a new sci-fi game! Wayland Games merges with Beasts of War to produce Tabletop Nation (whatever that is)! Rackham releases classics via Coolminiornot.com!
This a year of consolidation, though blissfully everything seems to have worked out well for the consumer. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues going forward (or rather, if economics continue to make it a favorable option).
In Summary: 2011 was a pretty good year for wargamers; there's increasing competition for a wargamer's money and an increasing number of companies bringing quality product to bear. Less tangibly, there's been an increasing amount of intellectual content provided by consumers (e.g. - comics like Ninjabread, editorial content with Bell of Lost Souls and the ilk, apps for army building, etc). Considering "the hobby" is considered in its death knell by many, its nice to see an increased interest in making wargaming more accessible to a broader community.
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Without further adieu, here's my pick for the Top 5 Wargaming Products of 2011:
5.) Abyssal Warlord by Scale75
An interesting take on a "Bad Guy Knight", this model has an undeniably unique and internally consistent feel and has lots of interesting details. All-in-all, a solid model.
4.) The Shovel 'Tulu by Maow Miniatures
You can't help but love this miniature. Maow hits another out of the park.
3.) Tamurkhan: Throne of Chaos by Forgeworld/Games Workshop
What's not to love about this book: it looks gorgeous, it has interesting and flavorful new rules, and the background is well-written (if not poorly proof read). It also proves that Forgeworld can produce a competent Fantasy book. As a product and proof-of-concept: Tamurkhan delivers.
2.) Nurgle Chaos Lord by Games Workshop
This miniature encompasses everything good that Games Workshop is doing at the present: its got tons of detail, comes on a plastic sprue with intelligently place connections to the sprue, quite literally "oozes" characters, and looks nice when mixed in with the army its intended for. If only GW had released a few more models like this, their outlook might be rosier.
1.) Super Dungeon Explore! by Soda Pop Games
By far my favorite product of the year, the boys at Soda Pop Games have themselves a hit! SDO is an interesting mixture of board game, RPG, and wargame that succeeds in creating a unique, video-game inspired experience. The look is anime-inspired but doesn't go quite as far as Relic Knight line does, while the mechanics are enjoyably old-school. Best of all, the game contains everything you need to play (miniatures, board, rules) in a single $90 box. A great Christmas gift and a great gateway product for someone considering getting into wargaming.
Honourable Mentions:
Warmachine Two-Player Starter box by Privateer Press games
Imperial Armour 10: Part 2 by Forgeworld/Games Workshop
Malifaux: Twisting Fates by Wyrd Games
Helldorado Rulebook by Asmodee/Fantasy Flight Games
LOLWut Award:
Tyberos: The Red Wake by Forgeworld/Gameworkshop
"Yo dawg, I heard you liked Lightning Claws on your Chainfists, so I put...."
That's a wrap; leave a comment if you think I flubbed on something and see you turkeys next year!
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