River Horse does Highlander

 It seems that new the year is not over for some and certainly the work load as River Horse has announced plans (apart from rumours over an Arthurian game .Ed) to produce a new board game after obtaining the license for the movie Highlander.

The company has released few details about Highlander:  The Board Game,
other than announcing that it is set in the same universe as the 1986 film staring
Christopher Lambert
, the new board game In Highlander, The Board Game, utilises an interesting concept of utilising the Immortals ability through certain circumstances like Connor is a strong choice for
the early portions of the game. His high influence (owing to his
charming personality) allows him to find the allies he needs to keep his
unique ability in use. Connor is the immortal that most relies on his
allies, his friends, and when he loses them he can harness his pain into
a weapon that can be used against his enemies.

Excerpt from River Horse Facebook page

“The first character available for play in Highlander, The Board Game is Connor MacLeod, of the clan MacLeod. 


Born in 1518 in the village of Glenfinnan, on the shores of Loch Shiel,
Connor MacLeod grew to manhood in the rolling highlands of Scotland. As a
youngster, he was headstrong and impetuous, a known rascal and thiever
of sheep. Kept from the worst of trouble by his kinsman, Dougal, Connor
was a favourite of his uncle, the Clan Chief, Angus MacLeod. Here, he
learned to wield a claymore and temper his rougher edges. A few
skirmishes with cattle reivers and rival clans (especially the MacLeod’s
longtime rivals, Clan Fraser) saw Connor acquit himself well enough to
gain a reputation as a courageous warrior. A handsome man, he had no
shortage of interested women, and he married his childhood sweetheart,
Kate, at the village Wishing Stone.”
River Horse Games has announced they plan both to produce the new licensed board game based upon the classic action movie Highlander through the crowd funding website ‘Kickstarter’ with a campaign to fund in January 2018.
Highlander the Boardgame Kickstarter Jan 12th 2018
Of cause River Horse is certainly no stranger to developing and creating board games and games based upon iconic films, with its successful Labyrinth:  The Board Game recently spawning a new expansion and the release The Dark Crystal a game based on Jim Hensons classic film and graphic novels of the same name. So exciting times ahead in 2018, as their can be only one.
F86b1478498906175c3d2b418c06a694 original

Over the last year, the Figure Sculpting Company Diehard Miniatures behind smash Kickstarter campaigns  Diehard: Fantasy Miniatures, and The Eru-Kin Expansion, encompassing both Fantasy and Sci-Fi miniatures; With small skirmish units to a full armies it seems are teasing something new and exciting with its latest project. The Kickstarter campaign is scheduled to launch this month.Infernals, concept art Chris Walton.
Diehard has been teasing something interesting with their latest Kickstarter, as it hints at some very old school looking but modern styling miniatures.

Now one must be honest, when one first heard about Diehard Miniatures one assumed it was another attempt to cash in on the Oldhammer Movement, as the Mission Statement

Oldhammer Reborn

Our aim is to give the highest quality 28mm Scale Sculpts with more than a nod to the past.
We have gathered a team of oldhammer Veterans to create  an exciting and nostalgic range of figures that merge the old feel with the new look.
With your help we can bring miniatures back to its roots.
    

 

stated. However, with a little bit of research, it became clear that this campaign was never going to be that and why the ongoing project is potentially at its heart what the Oldhammer Movement is about, yet pushing boundaries. Here’s why.

Despite having an unfortunate and awkward initialisation that saw Diehard Miniatures Cancel its first Project, after asking for a £35,000 goal, however it became quickly apparent that this was never going to be achieved. So they dropped the Initial project and re-Launched with a smaller request and more focused approach. It also saw that the company took time as to how it approached its campaign and this showed that Tim Prow and others were interested in what they produced, the core ethic and product rather than the bottom line and a potential jump in produce a product, grab cash and drop out again. The product its self is also one that shows the sheer craft and dedication to what they are producing with an ever growing range of dynamic and superbly sculpted miniatures that pack both cool poses and dynamic range. Kickstarter and the Internet is awash with vanity projects, half-assed sculpts and peoples latest get quick rich scheme that offers poorly or worse overworked 3D sculpted miniatures, but these they have a life and show that the time spent sculpting over the years have put the Diehard miniature Sculptures at the top of their craft and it shows.

Well the latest campaign is about to begin and this is what they have on offer;

Undead Chaos Snakeman, concept art Chris Walton.
Undead Snakemen
For those not following us on Facebook or Twitter we have announced our Undead Rising Kickstarter, launching next  Tuesday 10th  October 2017. We are following the same format as our first two KS (why fix Whats not broken!), we do however have something new! Diehard will be adding original concept art to three of the pledge levels, so if you are interested in buying some awesome art get in early as there will only 3 pieces up for grabs!!
  We are also repeating the prize draw competition of a half price order and a completely free one!! All you need do is place your pledge of £30+ or £60+ respectively before the 20th and not let it drop below the amount before the end of the campaign, its that simple 🙂
As always we have added a few other miniatures for those interested in our other factions, and we’ve got all of Diehard Miniatures back catalogue on offer as well. If you’ve missed out on a previous KS, or just want to add to miniatures you’ve already bought, then check out the ‘Add On’ section towards the bottom of the page.
  Both our previous Kickstarters shipped on time with over half shipping slightly earlier. We anticipate the same happening again this time round as most of the sculpts are already made and master moulded. Our caster is on the ball and producing some lovely stuff 🙂
  Thank you for your continued support, and I hope to see you again for our third release!!

 

 

 

 

 

Warbot, concept art Chris Walton.
Sci-Fi Warbot

 

What makes the Company interesting is it’s absolutely stacked with top talent, Chaz Elliott and Drew Williams, and the artist is Richard Luong (most recently known for his awesome work on Cthulhu Wars). At its head is the esteemed Tim Prow, a stalwart of the Miniature industry who has seen over a decade as Sculptor and Chief figure painter for Games Workshop and over the past 20 years has been seen his talents at Center Stage Miniatures, Ral Partha, AEG : Clan War, Iron Wind Metals, Reaper, Magnificent Egos and Dark Fable Miniatures amongst others. And Diehard Miniatures has gone from a personal pet project to something that is becoming a serious miniature business competitor.

However, we are also starting to see new concept art by Chris Walton who brings a whole new fresh look to the miniature concepts and art. The concept art looks dynamic and fresh, the Infernal Sci-Fi Troops have a dynamic look and yet playful, its refreshing.
So what is the future of this project, well from the Concept art and for me a lot of pain with regards one’s Wallet being hit hard the Warbot, Infernal’s and new Undead this is looking to be a great Kickstarter and a real treat:


TP: These will be 28-30mm scale figures. All the humanoids are between 28mm to 32mm (Eru-Kin starting at 28mm and Orcs at the top end at 32mm). Next size up are the snakemen at 40mm, they are slightly larger creatures and do 40mm well. Next are the ogre-sized monsters they are roughly 50mm tall (Troglodyte, Troll, and Chaos Ogre as examples). Gnomes are 20mm, Dwarf and Goblins 25mm.

 

Kore Thinking, which scored Kickstarter successes with its first 3D vehicle miniature ‘The Kore Aeronautics LARC; a VTOL for 32mm Sci-Fi Wargaming’, has headed back to the crowdfunding site with a new project to bring high-quality Miniatures to the Gaming table. Using innovative Marketing, superb 3d sculpting and 21st Century tech! Kore Automotive has Launched its second Kickstarter aiming squarely at the Wargame market with a range of Cars are modelled in 32mm scale and fit beautifully with a range of Tabletop and Wargames miniatures.

Tabletop Cars - 32mm -- Kicktraq MiniKore Projects aim is to provide the funding for the production of SUV, Saloon Car, 4×4 Pickup, Classic Taxi, Muscle car,  through a Kickstarter campaign that has currently  (at time of writing) attracted £2,156 pledged of £500 goal with 8 days to go.  Blasting past what Kore was initially, looking for £500 to enable them to begin production of the first of our Kickstarter Vehicles the Family Saloon car!

3d Master Print of SaloonThe difference with this Kickstarter is that Kore has some of the 3D printed Masters for the initial designs which means that initial production is already along its path and Kore can make alterations. A spokesperson for Kore was quoted as saying that, ‘The Masters are already with us, and we are delighted with the quality – the following photos don’t show the wheels or wing mirrors, as we only have 1 set of Masters to use and don’t want to go gluing them in until after we have lifted Moulds from them.

Saloon Car 3d RenderOne has to say from the initial look the cars do not seem to pack much detail, however, what they do show that the product is exactly what you would expect and that is a 32mm scale vehicle and with enough detail to make it useable. One rather suspects that with the inundation of overworked 3d models out there one gets used to thinking in those terms rather than appreciating that this is exactly what the model should look like and that it is in a scale that works for gamers on the table.

So the Pledges and what you get.

Well, the Kickstarter has funded four designs funded, it so one should look at the pledges and what Kore are offering.

Pledge levels
We are keeping this Kickstarter as simple as possible! (This is a smart move as it keeps the project simple and allows those not familiar with Kickstarter an easy understanding, (However that is another bugbear and argument.Ed))
There are 3 Pledge levels;
1st Gear Pledge Level1st Gear Pledge Level
For the 1st Gear Pledge Level you can select any 1 Vehicle of your choice from all that we fund!
2nd Gear Pledge Level2nd Gear Pledge Level
For the 2nd Gear Pledge Level you can select any 2 Vehicles of your choice from all that we fund!
Top Gear Pledge LevelTop Gear Pledge Level

The pledge options also allow Pledges of expanding – you can pledge for as many Vehicles as you like, at any quantity and variation you like.  Simply add +£10 per design you want after the first 3.
I.e. you’d like 2 x Saloons and 2 x SUV’s, simply take the £30 Pledge and add +£10.  Do you want 6 x Luxury 4×4’s? Select the £30 pledge and add +£30, and so forth.

3D Printing

As you can see from the picture of the SUV and the pipework that goes into its creation, 3D printing is not something that is easy to set up and get into mass production, the models require extra work cleaning up after printing with the post-production, cutting, grinding, sanding and smoothing out before anyone can even think of creating masters from resin or other production means. Yet the company has taken this into account and are keeping this project manageable.

Thoughts and Scale Creep

While there are many Sci-Fi models to go with the 28-32mm figures, they have a tendency to be expensive and the selection is limited, and yet, however, dinky or toy cars are made in a variety of scales and as many a gamer has seen can be bought cheaply. The problem is that a 28mm/32mm figure is not a correct model scale of a person, however, many modern figures have an odd proportion, with an extra bulk and larger head size. A 1:60 scale is correct or near enough for a 28mm miniature, yet as discussed it looks odd. 1:43, after all, looks right but is not quite correct, and even though the height scale might be correct on the table, they look odd.

The biggest issue with most models with regards tabletop gaming is that with scale creep and variance in model sizes vehicles usually do not fit properly or look disproportionate, however from the scale picture to the left you can see that these really do fit in regards most models and for anyone running skirmish level modern warfare or post-apocalyptic games at 28-32mm then these vehicles are going to fit very nicely.

So what can we see with this particular Kickstarter, well while one will admit this is not Nottingham, though just a little outside and was asked as one of the Games Club Members is backing and mentioned that it would be worth taking a look. Well, I can see a lot of people taking a serious look at the project as the prices and options are very tempting. The range of vehicles is also reasonable and cover the widest range of options for such a small number of options. The taxi is very cool and could fit into many games Inc. Pulp action and Sci-fi, while the Pick-up truck can easily be found in games of ‘The Walking Dead’ or modern skirmish games like Middle Eastern wars, or Post-apocalyptic games. The muscle cars could work nicely for a more street racing style of game or just lined up as scenery along a road.

This is a Kickstarter that is both practical and useful, of use rather than a vanity project.

 

Mini Gangs is a fast to play tabletop skirmish game for 2 or more players.

Mini Gangs launches on Kickstarter

The on-going entrepreneurial push that is Ramshackle Games has again brought a new system and game to Kickstarter with his latest offering ‘Mini Gangs’  a new rule set which combines ease of play with great strategic options resulting in a quick game with a lot of hidden depth. Its an ideal option for short club games, for playing a campaign and for getting beginners into tabletop battle games. a compact 12 figure, A5 Rule Book and tokens game designed around the principle of ease of play and three levels of complexity.

In Mini Gangs players control a gang of four model characters each fulfilling a different generic battlefield role. Each has its own unique style. Any of the gangs can be taken as rewards for backing this project and all are supplied in the full set reward.

This game really does offer a lot for such a simple offering and yet is it something that the market will welcome

For those that follow this Blog, one touched upon this project from Curtis a while ago, https://whispersfromtheleadbelt.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/mini-games-new-venture-from-ramshackle.html and managed to get a couple of playtest games in.

 

WHAT IS MINI GANGS?

The Keychain Mohawkswell at its core Mini Gangs is a whole new rule set from Ramshackle Games, a departure from Nuclear Renaissance with its more complex rule sets in a preference of a game that offers combined ease of play with great strategic options resulting in a quick game, however, one that provides the players with a lot of depth.
Mini Gangs can be played in three different ways, each appealing to a different level of gamer. 

Gateway– A simple and easy game for beginners. Mini Gangs Gateway is designed to teach beginners how to play tabletop strategy games. It great for children of 6 years or older as the simple rules mean it’s easy to understand. It is also good for adults who have never played model based games before. It teaches all the core concepts that are used in more complex games. The Ironstrike ClanCasual– A game for easy play and deep strategy. Mini Gangs Casual adds a deck of cards. These cards represent equipment, weapons and skills for your gang. This adds a layer of depth to the basic rules which makes it ideal for quick games. Whilst being simple, Casual makes for rewarding play. Mini Gangs Casual is great for club or gaming groups as it is a fast-paced multiplayer game. 

Hardcore– A sophisticated in-depth gaming experience. Mini Gangs Hard-core features a full points system, campaign rules and scenarios. It expands the game to be a tool for playing any skirmish level encounters with the minimum of inconvenience.

As I said one got to playtest this game when one had a chance to playtest this game and one of the things that one likes about Curtis apart from a chance to rob his miscast box is that he is generous with his thoughts and ideas that go into game design and the creative process.


DESIGNER’S NOTE – ‘a quote from Curtis’ 

“I first came up with the idea for Mini Gangs when I was trying to make a simple war game. I realised that by using one stat for each character I could make a game that was easy to memorise. The idea is that to shoot, players must roll over this number and to make a combat attack they must roll over the number. By balancing those numbers I could give a good spread of probabilities. 

With four character classes, I could represent ranged troops, combat troops and troops that were ok at both. I then added in the actions, which limit what the classes can do. For example, a healer with an Awesomeness of 2 is very bad at fighting, but would be a marksman level with a gun! Therefore the healer cannot make a shoot action. These three basic rules of under/over, actions and restrictions mean that the different battlefield roles are represented really well with minimal paperwork. 
At this point, Mini Gangs Gateway was born! It’s great for gaming with kids, or players new to tabletop gaming. I find at our local club it can be intimidating for new players to try to get into figure based tabletop battle games. Mini Gangs offers this way in, by using (and teaching) all the core concepts from our favourite strategy games.
However, Gateway doesn’t go far enough for more experienced players. I wrote out a list of additional skills and things I wanted to add to the game. In playtesting, we found that having these on cards gave us a really fun experience. Players in Casual get randomly dealt cards, which they then give out to their gang. Choosing who these go to and then using them during play builds a really deep strategic element into the game. This random setup for gangs also makes for a very speedy game turn around. After a few goes, we were finishing four player games in about forty-five minutes or less!
Once we had the cards working, I assigned points to them and the characters, meaning that players could build their own forces as they wanted. This is Mini Gangs Hard-core, and can be used to put on any kind of game you like.” 

HOW THE GAME PLAYS

Players select four models. These are placed on the gaming table with pre-arranged terrain on it. The table can be any size however a 2ft by 2ft table works well for 2 and unto 4 players.


Players then take turns with their gangs, each character in the gang may make one action per turn. The actions are move, shoot, fight, charge and heal. The movement rules are straightforward with models moving 10cm.

Shooting, fighting and healing require a dice roll, basically, an Action Resolution test to determine if they are successful or not by rolling under their Awesome  Stat. Conversely, they must roll over their Awesomeness Stat in order shoot or perform heal actions. Charging is a move and fight action rolled into one. However, some characters can perform actions others cannot. I.e. the healer is the only one who can make a Heal action. Characters each have one statistic, called their Awesomeness. 

Again this is a real departure from Nuclear Renaissance and many other Tabletop games which aim to provide stats for every possible action, Mini Gangs instead simplifies the statistics the whole system down to its bare bones.

What does this mean, well it makes Mini Gangs easy to play, easy to teach and surprisingly (Not in a bad or negative surprise way) great fun. This is the basic game basic game, and one that young kids and newcomers to wargaming Gateway. Casual and Hard-core use this same game engine but incorporate gang design rules, armour saves and much more. Interestingly the simple mechanics do not detract from the richness and depth of the game.

SO WHAT DO YOU GET AND WHAT ARE THE PLEDGE OPTION

Mini Gangs On Kickstarter

£15 Mini Gang Cards

  • Full 52 Deck for the game

£20 Mini Gangs rule Book 

  • 56-page rulebook


£24 Early Bird Keychain Mohawks

  • 4 polyurethane resin figures

£24 Early Bird BFSFGFT

  • 4 polyurethane resin figures

£24 Early Bird  Ironstrike Clan

  • 4 polyurethane resin figures

£26 Resin Gang

  • 4 polyurethane resin figures

£75 Full set  

  • 12 polyurethane resin figures,
  • Gang Stretch goals
  • Grenade Tokens
  • Digital Copies of Rules
  • Quick Start Set
  • Gang Sheets

RESIN FIGURES

The Keychain MohawksThis is another big shift from the usual resin that Ramshackle normally uses (polyester resin), instead, this is a new high-quality polyurethane resin and while a common resin for model manufacture, it marks an interesting shift. The older style is good, however, what this means for figure production is a rigid, lightweight crisp clean and strong cast. Most Ramshackle Games models are cast Polyester and while this is great for mass production it does have limits in areas like proportional strength which means it cannot be used to produce more dynamic figure poses due to the thinner components like a sword or an arm. It also allows Curtis to sculpt much more detail into figures and for the master sculpt to carry the detail across with the model.

DIGITAL FILES

Like many companies these days Ramshackle is offering a sampler of their rules with a free digital download of the Casual variant which can be found below.

Scribd
or

SaberCat

SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN

So what does this mean, well this will be  Ramshackle Games’ eighth Kickstarter campaign. and all the previous ones have been highly successful, with feedback being positive. It should come as no surprise that this one is looking to go the same way. 
 

The projections on Kicktraq seem to provoke interesting speculation, with the current charts showing.



Mini Gangs Skirmish Game -- Kicktraq Mini

and projections at time of post are at Current Pledge Levels £1,680 putting the project at 84% of the Goal, however the trend (and it is a trend, not a projection!) Trending towards £29,400 or 1470% of goal, and while I’m sure they will succeed in passing the goals and entering the stretch goal range time will tell. 

The gameplay is simple yet fun, and this really is an Intro or entry-level game where it truly emphasises that point. The rules combine a level of clever tactical play and high simplicity that anyone from small children to those new to gaming can pick this game up and start playing from a quick read of the rules. It is the sort of game that those who game are looking for to encourage their own kids into miniature gaming, Games clubs who are looking for either an Intro game or a nice little skirmish game for between games or something a little more lighter.

  However is it for those who game, well from just the gameplay one would say yes, its light refreshing and encourages tactical play regardless of experience it makes you think, the models are exquisite and highly detailed. The use of the new resin is great and something one hopes Ramshackle Games will continue to push with their figures. The new dynamic range of poses and looks are amazing and bring that spark back to the table and something that we will be looking to back, as are many others.