When do the previews come out?

[Der Panzinator]

So far we have seen a few previews of the miniatures. Is there set dates when these are posted?
And also when we the official previews start that will give information on the game mechanics and components?

[GoblinSlayer]

The previews are posted every Friday, I think we get the rules and stuff in July after that we'll probably learn about the strategys and what not.

[SeattleGamer]

I thought the previews came out late Thursday afternoon? Perhaps you are right, and it's Friday morning.

[GoblinSlayer]

I thought the previews came out late Thursday afternoon? Perhaps you are right, and it's Friday morning.
Well for me In Wisconsin, it's been every Friday around 2 in the afternoon I think.
But if your in Seattle like your username suggests that would be Friday morning.

[SeattleGamer]

I am in the Seattle area. Drive by the WotC/Hasbro complex from time to time and sigh (an example of a dream job for me would be working there on anything Avalon Hill related). Sigh.

First wargames were AH. I have so many fond memories of playing games with my dad on the weekends. Those games brought us together, in a way that nothing else ever did.

Then of course I wake up and realize I've spent 25 years in software, first writing programs and now managing others who do, and unless "they" decided "Heck Steve, there's no difference between managing a software development project and managing a game development project . . . you're hired!" there is no hope.

Wife, three kids, bills to pay. Can't afford to start off in the mailroom. I don't think a resume that say's I've played games for 35 years will have any pull :-)

[JasonR1]

I am in the Seattle area. Drive by the WotC/Hasbro complex from time to time and sigh (an example of a dream job for me would be working there on anything Avalon Hill related),,,,,,,,,,,

Wife, three kids, bills to pay. Can't afford to start off in the mailroom. I don't think a resume that say's I've played games for 35 years will have any pull :-)

I think you would be a great play-tester. I have heard that game companies are always looking for play-testers, and you have all that experience, you are interested in gaming and you are right there. I would give them a call or stop by one day.

It may not pay anthing at all, but it could be a cool way to spend some time and get to know the folks behind the company on a couple of afternoons when you come home from work.

-Jason

[SeattleGamer]

That might work, if their playtesting sessions were after normal business hours or on weekends. Small companies tend to do that sort of thing, larger companies tend to keep regular business hours.

Sabertooth Games, the ones who brought forth the GW 40K and Fantasy CCGs were also located nearby. I WAS a playtester for them, starting with the first expansion to the 40K game (the initial set was done, but not out yet), and continuing on through many other expansions, and then on to the development of Warcry and it's first few expansions.

Playtest sessions were every Wednesday night, after normal hours. Had a great time tinkering with game mechanics and offering suggestions that eventually made it into the game. But, they then relocated to another state. :-(

[SeattleGamer]

Well, it's 11:00 am PST, and still no sightings of the next mini.

[skeevo666]

Well, it's 11:00 am PST, and still no sightings of the next mini.


This should tide you over http://www.gamefest.com/news/feature_detail/2798_0_3_0_C/ :D

[Platoon Crusher]

Looks really nice except for the maps. They are not very appealing at all. I think paper is a bad idea and seems very cheap to me. The miniatures are nice though. I will try the game out myself but, after seeing the cheesy maps I am losing much interest. Very dissatisfied with the "quality" (maps) here. Need to rethink the materials used in the games guys...... :rolleyes:

[SeattleGamer]

"Looks really nice except for the maps. They are not very appealing at all. I think paper is a bad idea and seems very cheap to me."

The maps are plastic-coated, so you can add terrain features if you roll your own scenarios (like put a bridge over the river, and say you can't cross excapt at that point, etc). From a prior post by Richard (game designer) he said that the maps were blank hexes on the reverse side, so people could design their own using wipe-off

How did you think they were going to fit mounted 8.5" x 14" mapboards into those typical minis boxes? Guess the could have gone the route of the D&D cardstock terrain tiles, but they would have been maybe 4" x 8" at best, and you would have needed a ton of them.

Now, as for attractiveness, I will agree that they were rather garish and unappealing.

[TheFoeHammer]

The maps should not be a problem. The serious gamer can laminate them to protect them. Making them out of paper keeps the production cost down for the starter.

[kaiserluger]

I agree with Foehammer the maps are easy enough to laminate if neccesary.

/Wave to Foe- Looks like you made the jump over from LOTR

[GoblinSlayer]

I've made the jump from LOTR to, and so have some of the others on this board.

[TrimChris]

Plexiglass can be your friend.

[Stojakovic]

If I can some friends to help (fat chance) I would like to make my own board but I have to make it the same size as the board that they give you, the hexes will give me a problem... I think :o

[CdtWeasel]

The SWM starter for the 3rd set had a mounted board in it, the box is a bit bigger than the others and it cose a hair more, but makes a nice board, though was only 1 sided. COuld be a later edition will have a mounted board.

[skeevo666]

COuld be a later edition will have a mounted board.


I could see them doing that for a specific area like Normandy or Iwo Jima. :)


.

[SeattleGamer]

Just thought I'd mention, that Memoir '44 has a double sided mounted mapboard with 2" squares. And it's a thing of beauty. And the base map is just plain, and you add terrain tile hexes to any hex to add hills, woods, rivers, etc. The main game board comes with "green" on one side, and beach on the other.

And for those who don't want to head out and buy the entire game just to get the maps, there is an expansion coming out next month that is just a new terrain board, with "sand" on one side, and I believe "snow" on the other.

While I will certainly give the AAM game a shot with their included maps, I will also be giving the game a try on the M44 maps. The main reason for playing with miniatures is the visuals, and I still say the included maps (at least from the few photos I've seen) look ugly.

[Vulturedoodle]

And for those who don't want to head out and buy the entire game just to get the maps, there is an expansion coming out next month that is just a new terrain board, with "sand" on one side, and I believe "snow" on the other.
I was not aware...thanks for the tip.

While I will certainly give the AAM game a shot with their included maps, I will also be giving the game a try on the M44 maps. The main reason for playing with miniatures is the visuals, and I still say the included maps (at least from the few photos I've seen) look ugly.
That's a good idea, but I'm trying to remember how big the Memoir '44 board is. Are you planning to use multiple boards?

I hope to play using a 4'x6' felt map, one with 2" hexes. I intend to use the Memoir '44 terrain tiles with it. I'm even giving some thought to playing some FoW on it. Would make moving and firing terrifically quick and easy.

Regards,
Steve F.

[Autarch]

I hope to play using a 4'x6' felt map, one with 2" hexes. I intend to use the Memoir '44 terrain tiles with it. I'm even giving some thought to playing some FoW on it. Would make moving and firing terrifically quick and easy.

Regards,
Steve F.

Sweet, where did you get the felt map with the hexes on it?

[SeattleGamer]

Monday Knight Productions sells felt playing mats in several colors and sizes.

Their 4 x 6 with 2" hexes is about $50, while their 3 x 3 with 2" hexes is about $23.

Don't know if this will post as a link or not, but here goes:

http://www.mondayknight.com/MKP-Mats-LargeHex.htm

[SeattleGamer]

Doh!

Meant to say BEFORE I hit the post button that I have their 4x6 mats (without hexes) in green, sand, water and space and they are very good quality. They hold up well to repeated use. I've stored them rolled up in my closet and had no trouble having a flat playing surface when unrolled. I've also stored them folded up in a box, and while it takes a little longer and a bit more effort to get them to relax without the creases, they still work very well. Highly recommended.

Oh, I should also mention these are not just a roll of thick felt. They take the thick felt and then splatter spray on another color that sticks wonderfully (in the case of the star map, they actually do quite a bit more, as you will see in the photos). So you get several shades of green on the green mat, and several shades of tan on the sand mat. The water and space mats are handled differently (see the photos).

[SeattleGamer]

"That's a good idea, but I'm trying to remember how big the Memoir '44 board is. Are you planning to use multiple boards?"

Well, unfortunately, the M44 boards are only meant to be extended on their ends, not along their sides (victory tracks run down both of the long sides - whereas the ends have half-hexes so when you butt another board up against them it forms full hexes).

At 9 x 13 hexes for one mounted board, it comes to slightly less hexes than the four AAM boards when combined into an 11 x 16 hex area.

What I was thinking of doing was printing out my own versions of their maps without the victory tracks, and creating my own cardstock folding maps. I've found that the masking tape with the strings in it makes excellent and very sturdy hinges on the back of cardstock. I love the colors used by M44 for their board and hex terrain tiles.

I will also point out that there is a new terrain pack being released for M44 that will include lots of new 2" hexed terrain tiles, there's a russian front pack that will include more terrain tiles (some with snow I would suspect), and there is a new board being released with desert on one side and snow on the other. Once all those are in my hands, I suspect it will take me the greater part of a day to prepare a desert, green and snow board, and associated terrain tiles to go with them.

Then again, perhaps I'll just design my own, that way I can post them on BGG without any copyright infringement, so anyone else who wanted them could use them as well.

[Autarch]

Those are some nice mats! Are they thin enough to put objects under to simulate terrain? Are they two sided? The page doesn't say.

[Vulturedoodle]

Those are some nice mats! Are they thin enough to put objects under to simulate terrain? Are they two sided? The page doesn't say.
Mmmmmm, you could probably do hills, but I don't know how satisfying they would be. The stuff is fairly thick and stiff, for cloth. Single-sided.

Well, they're actually double-sided, but only one side has hexes. Uh...to be completely accurate, they're six-sided if you count the edges. I believe you *could* twist them into a Mobius form for outer space games, too.

Regards,
Steve F.

[Stojakovic]

Monday Knight Productions sells felt playing mats in several colors and sizes.

Their 4 x 6 with 2" hexes is about $50, while their 3 x 3 with 2" hexes is about $23.

Don't know if this will post as a link or not, but here goes:

http://www.mondayknight.com/MKP-Mats-LargeHex.htm

Thanx for the heads up on it I may get one in the future. But isn't cheaper to buy 2 3x3 then it is to buy one 4x6.

[SeattleGamer]

Autarch, as Vulture already mentioned, these are thick felt. I don't have one in front of me at the moment, but we're not talking paper-thin. Possibly 1/8". And they are somewhat stiff too, has to do with colored flocking/paint that they spray on. It makes them durable, but they don't drape well.

I'll tell you what though, just for you, I'll take out one of my mats this weekend and give it a "hill" test. I'll try one, two and three paperback books and let you know how the wrinkle factor turns out (and post the results back here).

Also, I remember that the sea and space mats were much more flexible. It wasn't thinner felt, but the pattern painted on didn't add that starchy-stiffness that the other mats received. The green and sand were easily twice as stiff.

As to being single or double sided (and I'm resisting the temptation here to head off into humor), the flocking is only sprayed on one side. So the green felt mat is a nice green color on the unflocked side, and a greenish flecked with light-green/yellow on the other. The space mat is simply black felt, and I've used it as such for non-space games. In fact, it makes a great background mat for games like Warhammer Quest or Mage Knight Dungeons, where you lay tiles down. Gives them something to kinda stick to, and makes the area between those dungeon tiles black instead of kitchen table.

Stoj . . . two 3x3 mats will get you a 3x6 area, not a 4x6 area, so yes, you can get two of those for around $46 instead of $50, but it's not the same sized area. So you save $4 and get 18 square feet instead of 24 square feet, only 75% of the area.

[Stojakovic]

Autarch, as Vulture already mentioned, these are thick felt. I don't have one in front of me at the moment, but we're not talking paper-thin. Possibly 1/8". And they are somewhat stiff too, has to do with colored flocking/paint that they spray on. It makes them durable, but they don't drape well.

I'll tell you what though, just for you, I'll take out one of my mats this weekend and give it a "hill" test. I'll try one, two and three paperback books and let you know how the wrinkle factor turns out (and post the results back here).

Also, I remember that the sea and space mats were much more flexible. It wasn't thinner felt, but the pattern painted on didn't add that starchy-stiffness that the other mats received. The green and sand were easily twice as stiff.

As to being single or double sided (and I'm resisting the temptation here to head off into humor), the flocking is only sprayed on one side. So the green felt mat is a nice green color on the unflocked side, and a greenish flecked with light-green/yellow on the other. The space mat is simply black felt, and I've used it as such for non-space games. In fact, it makes a great background mat for games like Warhammer Quest or Mage Knight Dungeons, where you lay tiles down. Gives them something to kinda stick to, and makes the area between those dungeon tiles black instead of kitchen table.

Stoj . . . two 3x3 mats will get you a 3x6 area, not a 4x6 area, so yes, you can get two of those for around $46 instead of $50, but it's not the same sized area. So you save $4 and get 18 square feet instead of 24 square feet, only 75% of the area.

Ahh stupid me. So from what I think I may under stand that the mats are able to be folded up for storage? And the company is legit right?

[Autarch]

Autarch, as Vulture already mentioned, these are thick felt. I don't have one in front of me at the moment, but we're not talking paper-thin. Possibly 1/8". And they are somewhat stiff too, has to do with colored flocking/paint that they spray on. It makes them durable, but they don't drape well.

Is it water based paint? They seem to have clear warnings about dealing immediately with spills. I assume that's because felt spots easily.


I'll tell you what though, just for you, I'll take out one of my mats this weekend and give it a "hill" test. I'll try one, two and three paperback books and let you know how the wrinkle factor turns out (and post the results back here).

Thanks. :cool: I was also thinking along the lines of rolled up towels to make long hills and folded up towels to give larger surface areas of elevation. With towels, there is a bit more support around the edges, rather than just a void under the felt you get with a book or box that collapses awkwardly when you place something off the edge of it. If the felt is inflexible enough though, that may not be a problem considering these are plastic minis, not heavy metal. :)


As to being single or double sided (and I'm resisting the temptation here to head off into humor), the flocking is only sprayed on one side. So the green felt mat is a nice green color on the unflocked side, and a greenish flecked with light-green/yellow on the other. The space mat is simply black felt, and I've used it as such for non-space games. In fact, it makes a great background mat for games like Warhammer Quest or Mage Knight Dungeons, where you lay tiles down. Gives them something to kinda stick to, and makes the area between those dungeon tiles black instead of kitchen table.


I was curious if there was some kind of non-slip coating, or if both sides had the same surfacing or if it was a two ply construction with another useful color on the opposite side (like the space mat).