This almost slipped by me but Games Workshop announced two new “Book Store” games that look pretty interesting. And, if your’e wondering “book store games?” You can read my review of Warhammer 40,000: Fireteam for a refresher.
They announced three different games but, I don’t care about Lord of the Rings so we’ll let that one slip. What’s interesting are the new Warhammer 40,000: Beginner Set and the Warhammer 40,000: Tacticus games.
Real quick, let’s deal with the “Beginner Set” since, to me it’s the least interesting, but an interesting marketing tact to take. Here’s the photo included in the announcement.
This is interesting because, from the models laid out on the table and the contents of the box, it looks almost identical to the Warhammer 40,000: Introductory Set except the Introductory Set offers a small paint range and a brush. I guess what intrigues me is the marketing concept here. Is it what fits in a box? Is it that people who pick up the Introductory Set at a Games Workshop or other hobby store might be more prone to doing the hobby side of it whereas a bookstore customer is more interested in the game aspect?
It’s an interesting question since the two box are so similar. The Introductory Set is already available for pre-order on the Warhammer website for €61.50. Which is not an unreasonable price for twelve miniatures, some terrain, a basic rules book, six paints, and a brush. Jesus, even I’m half tempted just to see what all the fuss is about. But I also imagine the book store games will be priced more around €50, so maybe that’s why there are no paints included.
While we’re talking sets though…
This also went up for pre-order over the weekend and, even for someone like me who’s not that interested, the €200 price-point for 12 marines plus a vehicle and 32 orks plus a vehicle and a box of actual plastic terrain. I mean, it’s reminding me of when my brother and I split the Second Edition box back in the 90’s. It does look like a hell of a deal if you were looking to get into the game but didn’t know where to start. Honestly, I can see this one selling like hotcakes over Christmas this season as a whole bunch of brothers end up splitting it and mom and dad don’t have to worry about where the boys are for the next three months.
Anyway… what made me even write about this announcement was actually Warhammer 40,000 Tacticus, yet another one of Games Workshop’s retailer mini-games like Fireteam or Darktide.
I will admit, I often look at these and scoff. Look at that tiny game board. And six miniatures? Are you kidding. But… even though I’ve been burned before, I also really enjoyed Dark Tide and so I start wondering… maybe they’re onto something?
Like Darktide, this is based on a popular video game, this time from the mobile market and it’s undoubtedly an attempt to pull people from the digital realm onto the table top. Which, hey, fair. People should definitely get offline more. It’s one of the best aspects of the hobby. Last Friday I hosted a group game where four guys stood over a table into the wee-hours moving their minis around and having a pretty damned good time. So good on GW for continuing to try to draw people over.
The question I have is, is a game like this going to do it? The game board looks smaller than the board in Fireteam. And six miniatures… what usually inspires people (in my opinion) is seeing the table covered in painted minis and allowing one’s imagination to run away. So is this going to be effective?
That Games Workshop keeps creating these games tells me that they’ve found some level of success. They may be loss leaders. But that’s a valid strategy too, so long as it succeeds at converting whatever number of players from a casual book store game player into a core game player. It would be really interesting to get some insight into how well these games work.
Having learned my lesson with Fireteam, I’m probably going order this to my aunt’s house and have her box it up in a care package of American snack foods. So I won’t have a review on it right away but I will definitely document it if and when I can get my hands on it.
