How it all started…
For the oldest amongst us, it all started with the discovery and tentative deciphering of a well-worn copy of Chainmail, the miniatures ancestor to D&D. For others, from stumbling into one of Games Workshop’s first stores in London. For yet others, from spending way too many sleep-deprived nights playing Microprose’s Master of Magic…Once hooked, we knew there was no turning back. Heroic fantasy, in its various forms, would forever hold a special place in our hearts and minds!
Fast-forward a few years. We’ve grown-up, sold our previous businesses, acquired the rights to a devilishly addictive card game, and even launched a game company as a result!
We don’t know yet that a simple, but addictive train game is going to win the next Spiel des Jahres, but we are fortunate enough to find ourselves in Florida one late afternoon in a gentleman’s game room, playing one heck-of-a-game.
That gentleman is Richard Borg.
That game is the ancestor to what would soon become…
More than anything, what captures our attention that day in Florida is the hard-to-reduce-into-simple-words sense of wonder that literally emanates from the oversized gaming table.
The way the eye-catching miniatures set amidst rolling hills and forests seamlessly interact with a deceptively simple-looking card driven system… the way each dice roll becomes a cinematic vignette of what unfolds in some corner of the battlefield.
Several hours later, what is now abundantly clear is that we aren’t even remotely ready to tackle a project of this scope yet. Not from an editorial and product design standpoint, , nor from an engineering or marketing one either… The project is simply too all-encompassing and complex, the challenges too varied and the opportunity too big for us to take on.
So for the next few years, we continue to hone our craft, always keeping this heck-of-a-game somewhere in the back of our minds.
Eventually, with increasingly complex development projects such as Shadows over Camelot under our belt and successfully launched, the time finally seems right to begin work on the epic game system that would become BattleLore…
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September 8th, 2006 at 3:05 pm
WOW!
September 8th, 2006 at 4:32 pm
Ok, i’m getting excited
September 8th, 2006 at 5:00 pm
Wow, indeed. To hear that these guys encountered a game that knocked their socks off, but had the patience and respect for their customers to hold out until they were sure they could do the game justice? That is incredibly impressive to me.
September 8th, 2006 at 5:38 pm
This game looks fantastic! I’m sold.
I do have to say though that I hate promotional figures! I don’t have a problem with pre-ordering through Days of Wonder to get the Hill Giant, but its not clear how to get the Earth Elemental without dealing with a middle-man. I would rather not rely on the competence of my shakey FLGS, which has limited focus on board games. Will there be a way for individuals to get the Earth Elemental directly from DoW?
September 8th, 2006 at 6:16 pm
Schweeeet!
September 8th, 2006 at 6:38 pm
I wonder if the minis will be painted or available painted?
Looking forward to this release!
September 8th, 2006 at 10:47 pm
Looks like the minis will be unpainted so that you can customize them yuorself. ID will be handled through the Banner system.
September 9th, 2006 at 12:30 am
Please tell me this will be available in Australia.
September 9th, 2006 at 3:44 am
Yes… Australia needs this!!
September 9th, 2006 at 8:49 am
Will online resellers have *all* the figs available (for those of us in countries without FLGS)?
September 9th, 2006 at 5:32 pm
I have not only wet myself, I have wet the person next to me as well.
Mentioning Master of Magic as a design influence means that I Will Buy Your Game. Period.
And heck, because it looks like a fantasy successor to Mem44? Even Better.
September 9th, 2006 at 11:40 pm
Can anyone tell me when it will be available for pre-order. I don’t want to miss the promo’s.
September 10th, 2006 at 1:24 am
As interested as I am, if they insist on having limited availability promotional figures for pre-ordering through different places, I will probably pass on buying it, on principle alone.
September 10th, 2006 at 10:07 am
A couple of answers, in no particular order:
- The product will be available in Australia via local stores, who will receive it from our Australian distributors.
- For countries where we do not have distribution, the product will be available from our own web site, at list price (ie $ 70), like we do for all our products.
- The Hill Giant will be available to ANYONE that pre-orders through their local game store in the US. For those that don’t have a local game store, the game (and the promo mini) will also be available for pre-orders from our web site, once the pre-orders go live. In addition, the promo mini will be given to all our foreign distributors for them to pass on to their resellers. Other countries where we have an established distributors will announce their own plans for this mini, as they get closer to receiving it.
- The Hill Giant will NOT be available for pre-orders from discount online stores (the whole purpose of this promo is to help retail stores who promote the hobby with play rooms, live demos and such).
- The Earth Elemental will be available for a very long time, at all sorts of events, small and large, around the world. Availability (and ways to get it) will not be an issue, and there should be no reason (imo) to pay crazy prices on eBay to get one. We are also committed to getting it to people in remote countries in a simple, cost effective manner.
September 11th, 2006 at 5:46 am
>> - The Hill Giant will NOT be available for pre-orders from discount online stores (the whole purpose of this promo is to help retail stores who promote the hobby with play rooms, live demos and such).
Fair enough. Makes sense. As long as you can play the game fine without it…
September 11th, 2006 at 1:28 pm
The Dice Tower podcast interview re Battlelore is here :-
http://www.boardgamenewsfiles.com/thedicetower/TDTS01-TheDiceTower-SpecialEpisode1.mp3
“This is the first in what will hopefully be a reacurring series of audio interviews. This one is with Eric Hautemont, CEO of Days of Wonder. We talk about some of their games, but spend a majority of the time talking about the upcoming BattleLore.”
September 11th, 2006 at 7:04 pm
The hill giant is available through FLGS in the US, but if we live in a small country where the distribution is shakey, and they have a track record of handling such promos poorly, we could be stuffed. I’m already steeling myself for the news that $70=£70. Ho hum.
September 12th, 2006 at 7:47 pm
Re: I’m already steeling myself for the news that $70=£70.
Gee, the pound is devaluing even faster than our local sea-shell currency :-}
Best to order direct, methinks - you get the promo item and avoid the “shakey” local distribution (plus you probably save some shekels).
September 13th, 2006 at 10:14 pm
The Pound is strong, but the local distribution chain is long and demanding. Ordering from the US involves getting stung for shipping and import taxes (of about 22% on the product PLUS postage), so it’s swings and roundabouts.
September 15th, 2006 at 10:14 am
Is there a release date for this game?! It looks promising! Any more pictures available elsewhere? Does the game come with a board like Memoir, or will it be more like Warhammer? Thanks!
September 15th, 2006 at 11:32 am
Has the RRP for the ‘monthly packs’ been announced?
September 15th, 2006 at 9:16 pm
Target release date is end of November, worldwide. The game will come with a Board. It is way too early for us to talk about monthly packs (though I will come back on this subject on a future blog entry).