Thursday, November 16, 2006
Official Word: Commonly Asked Questions
Days of Wonder takes the opportunity in their latest official DoW blog post to clear up some of the most commonly asked questions asked on forums about BattleLore. Hopefully this will finally quiet some of the endless debate that has been raging on their blog and Boardgamegeek about the promotional figures and DoW’s plans for expansions.
I won’t repeat all the detail here, but basically DoW seems to be doing all it can to make sure everyone will have a chance to get both the Hill Giant and Earth Elemental promotional figures in their hands. In the US, the Hill Giant will be available to all those who pre-order BattleLore either from Days of Wonder direct, or their Friendly Local Game Store. The Earth Elemental will be available at gaming events, and also from the DoW website to registered BattleLore owners free of charge (save for a shipping and handling fee). In Europe, a limited number of sets of both the figures will be available to pre-order customers. For the rest of the world, these sets will be shipped with pre-ordered copies.
For full details, consult the DoW blog post. Personally, I hope this ends some of the whinging that has characterised discussion of the promotional figures (for example, one ridiculous ten page discussion on Boardgamegeek!) It must have been very frustrating for DoW to make these free figures available and then have to put up with the petulant demands of some of the gaming fraternity.
Moving on, it is now confirmed that BattleLore is published and fully supported in English, French and German. Thanks to volunteers, Spanish, Dutch, Italian are partially supported via online resources such as the DoW blog. However, at this point there are no plans to publish versions in those or other languages. Also, the 80 page rulebook will not be released online as a PDF, though additional copies of the rulebook will be made available for purchase from the DoW site.
And now the stuff we all want to know more about: what are DoW’s plans for BattleLore expansions? The big news is that starting from March 2007, they plan to release 2-3 blister pack mini-expansions every month! These will be in the US$7-$12 range.
Intriguingly, DoW plans to “surprise and delight you” with memorable ‘tools’ built upon the foundations given in the core game, with the focus far more on D&D and roleplaying than Warhammer. In comments probably directed to those who fear the precedent of collectible miniatures games, it is pointed out that the idea is not to start an ‘arms race’ towards the most powerful armies and creatures; or to make customers feel that every expansion is a ‘must-have’ (though knowing myself and many other gamers, I’m sure most of us will consider them all must-haves anyway!)
There will also be two major expansions next year, one around (northern hemisphere) summer and one before Christmas.
And, last but not least, it is confirmed that although there will not be a points-based system, Richard Borg and the development team are creating an innovative and fun new approach to army building.
All in all, it seems the future is bright for BattleLore fans. Days of Wonder seems determined for the game to become something very much more than ‘just’ a miniatures battle game. Stay tuned here as BattleLoreMaster.com goes along for the ride!
