Jane Fonda mini. Boosts effectiveness of VC anti-aircraft.
Aha! :-D
There IS a Hanoi Jane event card in the Communist’s event deck!
That’s great to hear!
This game is unique in that the topic is the designer’s singular passion, so it’s not merely the next variant, ya know. You walk away from each turn feeling like you have the secret new understanding of the Vietnam War.
I’ve designed and developed a lot of games professionally, but I had never quite seen a game like this, one that is simple and yet also historically accurate. Wargames should have been designed like this from the beginning.
:-)
Aha!  :-D
There IS a Hanoi Jane event card in the Communist’s event deck!
Any chance of a Marlon Brando?
We’ll have to be satisfied with the riverine pieces! :-D
The poll is proving to be very interesting. The AH-1 Cobra, for instance, has maintained a steady lead from the beginning, and it still does!
One thing I’d like to add about this poll; you may be tempted to believe that your customers or audience want MORE than what you’ve already laid out, that (at least for me) I’d rather have you focused on playtesting, marketing and supporting the vast scope of stuff you’ve already proposed than adding more and more new concepts at this point. This conversation is part of that, of course.
There is always a reason to add more gee gaws and detail, and in due time that should happen (its the kickstarter curse I suppose).
I have every confidence that you’re going to make a well designed game, so please relive yourself of the burden of assuming that a well-designed game should or can include EVERYTHING that we nerds would want to see included (which is better left for expansions after the community dismantles and dissects your original build of the game by ‘playtesting’ it to death!!)
taamvan,
You make a very good point, in fact a point I am familiar with from all the games I have designed and developed over the years. Indeed, I’ll commend your insight on this point because most people do want extra pieces, so I thought it was unnecessary to explain that idea (i.e., this doesn’t imply that the game will become more complicated!)
But since you shrewdly bring it up, I will state publicly that the game’s design is finished and complete, and we have no intention of complicating what already works. These extra miniatures may, at best, be offered up as optional additions, or they simply become the actual game piece for what is presently represented by a rule or an event card or whatever.
I should say (for anybody with your concern), these extra pieces are more along the lines of not wanting to be using Panther tanks in Axis & Allies 1940. We would like to give players the actual article in terms of the equipment being represented by a rule or an event card…or just if someone wants to have an actual Aussie infantry somewhere on the map.
And, too, a fair number of people just want the game for the extra miniatures, and so this gives them more miniatures to have as a bonus for backing the game! :-D
I am one of those people that want miniatures first, and if I dont like the rules and map, I just house rule it later and make my own map. Its the miniatures that is difficult to make in my basement, so I need to buy them from professionals.
Clever move to make the Jumbo map and Extra set editions. Hope that helps you reach the goal, halfway today. It will be difficult to sleep the next 3 weeks
I am one of those people that want miniatures first, and if I dont like the rules and map, I just house rule it later and make my own map. Its the miniatures that is difficult to make in my basement, so I need to buy them from professionals.
Clever move to make the Jumbo map and Extra set editions. Hope that helps you reach the goal, halfway today. It will be difficult to sleep the next 3 weeks
Is there a pic of Jumbo map and what size will it be ?
Narvik, SS
Yes, the Jumbo maps were simply a request by others, so I can’t claim any particular inspiration; I merely offered what a lot of players seem to want. :-)
The Jumbo map set will be a total playing area of 44x68" (four 22x34" maps arrayed as a rectangle). I have to admit it will be a grand map; it’ll look spectacular once set up. :-o
Regarding the pieces, yes, I hope many of them find other uses in other people’s games or adaptations or so forth. I can see a fair number of people making a Cold War variant for their Axis & Allies game with these pieces, for example, which is great! Or, someone may want to make their own tactical game or so. I love it.
:-)
The poll will be closing itself by default in another half hour or so!
:roll:
I appreciate your considered response.
I know that these things are done as a labor of love, not really a profitmaking enterprise. I re-read the introduction of Oriental Adventures from TSR (1985) last year. The comments of the creators really capture that they were all collaborating, doing massive amounts of research, writing, editing, discussing, to create something completely new and that while TSR was about as massive and corporate as gaming development gets, none of it would have been possible without their desire to collaborate, compromise on their visions, and produce an end product that their audience wanted.
People today would be like, well a ninja role playing character–duh! but someone had to create that idea in a framework where people would remember it.
I believe that the origin of Axis and Allies style wargames is those ads on the back of 1960s comic books—“4000! pieces Army men re-create D-Day only $9.95”. and when Larry saw these things as a kid and ordered them, the disappointment wasn’t simply that the pieces are tiny and chintzy and covered in flash molding, but that there was no real “idea” for intellectual kids to apply, and that without rules and a framework the pieces are just like any other silly toy. But with rules, all those pieces bring the armchair general in us to life and let us fully participate in the history we love.
Back to the game, I think that my suggestion (and im no designer) would be to take any additional funds above and beyond your compensation and production costs, and print as many more copies of the existing minis and sets as you can. People seem to be willing to pay as much as $3 PER PIECE for certain molds that might have some universal use. And if you dont want to get into the business of selling piece-by-piece, if you print a couple hundred extra copies of the game, those could potentially fund future efforts and community adoption. People will still want to buy the game (and unique pieces) post the KS and if you never get to run those molds again, as I understand it is the complexity and development of each mold, not the per-piece production cost that is restrictive.
Even if the game is offered for less, or in parts, that doesn’t kill the deal for me, whether you print 200 copies or 20,000, I’m not looking for a collectable. Some people see the price as a deal killer, that’s the most common comment im seeing–not “boy I wish it had more pieces” holy crap! I’m overwhelmed just by the photos and I love AXA!
By all indications, what I was looking for is what you already made! and Good Luck!
taamva,
Yes, and thanks for your comments. You’re right, this is a labor of love, not a method to make any real money at all, that’s for sure. This is why everybody is amazed that, for 800+ pieces, it’s merely 0.17￠ per game piece! (to say nothing of the actual game they get)!
I was one of those kids that bought the plastic box full of 2D plastic and cheap soldiers. I did that once and learned my lesson. In fact, in some circuitous way, it’s an experience like that which led me to this project, to make sure this game and the game pieces are top notch.
Fortunately because I am not the designer of the game, I am able to sing the game’s praises without being accused of over-selling or bragging, and it was the designer’s vision to use all these beautiful game pieces, and so I can see how that is a major attraction. There’ll not likely be a game like this to come around again, so that’s why I think gamers are jumping at the chance (Did I mention we crossed 50% funding today?)
Eric :-D
Poll Results!
Thanks to those that participated. The poll here, combined with the external poll (150+ voters) settled on these top 10 picks:
In order of most popular:
1 ) AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter
2 ) Vietnamese village sculpt
3 ) Australian/ROK Marine infantry
4 ) Earthen bunker sculpt
5 ) Viet Cong additional sculpt (VC with RPG)
6 ) US Marine infantry sculpt
7 ) PT-76 light tank
8 ) US Army Ranger
9 ) 155mm heavy howitzer
10 ) M-41 Walker Bulldog tank
Thanks for voting!
For those of you that have backed the game, look forward to an update post next week where I’ll start to post images of these new sculpts, one by one. They may not be in the order above (the infantry are more time-consuming, so they will take longer), but some of these prototypes we already have, so keep an eye out in your KS messages.
Eric
Note that the projections for over 100% funding are very good, so it seems like we might be able to include even more miniatures than we hoped for.
Every extra pledge that comes in makes this more likely, so I will update the poll when the campaign ends.
If you are interested in getting this game and all its pieces, don’t miss your opportunity; the campaign only has a little over a week left:
