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What I mean is, will we start seeing more than just Warmachine and Warhammer games? I play both of them, but I play other miniature games as well. CAV, Stargrunt, Wargods of Aegyptus(I know there was a recent article on them). I realize you only have so much space but maybe a 1 or 2 page filler with a run down of the games with a shot of painted mini or battle scene? That way you don't have to rag your text to flow longer than it needs to. Hmmmmmm? Anywho... just wondering.
I look forward to getting each and every issue. Keep up the good work.
jhilahd
Dallas, TX
Chief Technical Officer
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...will we start seeing more than just Warmachine and Warhammer games?
Well, one of the tricky bits of balancing we have to do with Undefeated is to make sure that our content appeals to a large enough group of people. Obviously Warhammer is the most-played minis game out there, so we're likely to cover it a lot more than, say, the fifth-most-played minis game.
The exception is that if we see a game that we think *will* be among the most played games in the near future, we might spend some time on it, which is exactly what we did with WARMACHINE in our first issue (which was published at the start of that game's rise to the top of the ranks).
In short, if a lot of people are playing it - or are about to be playing it - we'll cover it, and often. But if not, it'll be a lot harder to justify the space.
-Vic.
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Chief Technical Officer
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there's actually a store here in Baton Rouge that covers D&D minis almost exclusively.
One thing we're finding, though, is that there seem to be a lot of people buying, but not so many folks playing.
Are stores running D&D minis tournaments in your area? Is it easy to find a game, or even somebody to trade with where you live?
-Vic.
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Chief Technical Officer
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I'm very curious about how the Star Wars minis game will be received, too. Star Wars fans tend to be collectors, and the minis look great for the most part, so I think it might have a shot, at least from a sales point of view. But I just don't know if anybody will be playing it.
-Vic.
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One thing we're finding, though, is that there seem to be a lot of people buying, but not so many folks playing.
A lot of people are buying the D&D Miniatures for roleplaying, but more and more people are playing the skirmish game. We had a strong showing at GenCon tournaments, and the number of monthly leagues that we support keeps going up.
-Jonathan Tweet
Senior Game Designer
Wizards of the Coast
One thing we're finding, though, is that there seem to be a lot of people buying, but not so many folks playing.A lot of people are buying the D&D Miniatures for roleplaying, but more and more people are playing the skirmish game. We had a strong showing at GenCon tournaments, and the number of monthly leagues that we support keeps going up.
-Jonathan Tweet
Senior Game Designer
Wizards of the Coast
Jonathan - I've never had a chance to see you posting before where I can do this, but:
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for the D&D Miniatures game.
(Now, if only I could find the Undefeated mag here in Ballarat...)
Cheers,
Merric Blackman
Maintainer of the D&D Miniatures News site
http://www.3rdedition.org/merricb/mini.htm
With regard to D&D minis... none of the stores in my area (Orlando, FL) were doing any regularly scheduled events of any kind with regard to D&D minis. So I had to take matters into my own hands.
I held my first sanctioned tournament last weekend (Oct. 23rd). While I only had four players for this first event, I spoke to a lot of people that seemed interested in playing the skirmish game.
One other thing... The Star Wars Minis game is going to be huge. It will be much larger than D&D Minis fairly soon. There are people excited by SWM that have never played a minis game. I'm a D&D purist so I won't be getting any SWM, but I honestly think that SWM will quickly rise to the top of collectible minis games.
Take care... :)
--sam
Well, it's 21 JAN 2005.
UNDEFEATED is going on "hiatus."
I've gotten depressed over it.
I love this mag and hope it survives.
In re-reading this thread, though, and given the statements in the press release to the effect that sales of the mag were strong, but they were going to try to make it better, I'm worried UNDEFEATED will lose that "something" it has.
Ya know what I mean? Even with the limited space of a print mag, they try to cram in as much depth (that sounds weird) into an article, no matter the topic.
Other mags tend to give short-shrift to a lot. Heck, SCRYE and InQuest allot, like, a third of their space to friggin' price guides. That's content?
Given this forum about minis games, I'm going to toss an idea out there: Two seperate mags.
I am primarily interested (as a player and consumer)in miniatures games, collectible and non. And in strategy board games that even tangentially use miniatures.
Is there a market for people like me? Who want coverage of Warhammer, WarMachine, HeroClix, MechWarrior, Crimson Skies, Axis & Allies, Fortress America, Star Wars Minitures, Pirates of the Spanish Main, Navia Dratp, HeroScape or -- heck -- Knightmare Chess?
I want previews and reviews, sure. I definitely want strategy discussions on the latest games. But I also like stuff like "histories" or "bios" of a game or game style. (That PBeM article immediately springs to mind.)
I like "... like a Pro." I like game designer interviews, not just related to "The Next Big Thing" but also about game design, and their approach to it. I like the Last Page.
I like "competative articles" where two staffers pick a game and we follow along as they play. They can show mechanics/quirks of the game and of individual play styles.
And with competition like SCRYE and InQuest devoting most of their space to CCGs (pretty much MtG, with passing articles on others) and Games Workshop devoting its mag to highlight its products, maybe there is room for UNDEFEATED: MINIATURES GAMING and a seperate UNDEFEATED: CCG.
Maybe.
Maybe?
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Chief Technical Officer
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Unfortunately, I just don't think there are enough people like you around!
I think that a magazine focused solely on non-CCGs would have a desperate time maintaining profitablity, while one focused only on CCGs would have a hard time getting the market to acknowledge that it's sufficiently different from Scrye and InQuest.
Actually, that second part is part of the problem we're trying to solve with Undefeated even now. Hobby manufacturers and advertisers get it, but hobby distribution and retail generally fail to see the distinction. As a result, we're selling startlingly few copies into game retailers, while we're doing surprisingly well in non-hobby stores.
-Vic.
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.... Actually, that second part is part of the problem we're trying to solve with Undefeated even now. Hobby manufacturers and advertisers get it, but hobby distribution and retail generally fail to see the distinction. As a result, we're selling startlingly few copies into game retailers, while we're doing surprisingly well in non-hobby stores.
-Vic.
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"Doing surprisingly well in non-hobby stores"?! Really?
I admit, when I first heard about the mag, I had to pester the store owner of the venue I frequent the most. And he ordered it so intermittantly at one point, I subscribed.
What kind of non-hobby stores? We talking bookstores like Waldenbooks/Barnes & Noble? Gamestop? Supermarkets?