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DireKobold
Skirmisher
21 Posts
    
 | | 04/13/2006 11:07 PM |
| Obviously by definition Dreamblade is a "Collectible Miniatures Game", but since playing it and reading the rules I wonder if it belongs in the same category with the other CMG's. After quite a bit of thought I've decided that it doesn't, and here's my reasoning:
1- No terrain
2- Figures move an attack as one, rather than individually
3- Incremental deployment
4- Structured, Chess-like playing field
5- Doesn't use points
6- Blade mechanic
7- Ephemeral nature of the creatures (they can come back from the dead, etc.)
I'm sure that there are many CMG's that share one or two of these characteristics with Dreamblade, but with so many differences it seems clear to me that Dreamblade is a new beast. As many people have said it's like "Magic with minis".
So my questions are:
1- Do you agree? Is it a new genre?
2- If so how will that affect it's success and longevity?
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Dreamblade Generator | |
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Balduran I
Sergeant
404 Posts
| | 04/14/2006 11:08 AM |
| I completely agree - it's a new thing. DB has nothing to do with "miniatures gaming" as we know it now. It's not a "war game." It's an abstract game, back story about dreams and tech and a hospital buidling not withstanding, where the real intense players will be no more into the story than the top magic players consider themselves wizards casting spells at each other. It's much closer to, honestly, chess. Chess with dice, really.
That's a good thing. Chess is the ultimate competitive board game. Take all the minis games played at all the cons, FLGS, dining room tables and Moms' basements in the world and it isn't even a noticeable fraction of the number of chess games played. If WotC wants to tap into something that'll be big, they couldn't have picked a better "genre" to emulate. | |
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PhibbyRizo
Warrior
207 Posts
Good Ol' Minnesota
| | 04/22/2006 6:53 PM |
| So....This is my first look into it, so I don't mean to sound Judgemental.... but it looks lik Navia Drapt crossed with Hecatomb.
I guess it has potential as a interesting game. | |
High Priest of the Mercury Dragon (Prayers all all I have...)
Champion of Genasi
Unhallowed Called Shot: Ghoul (Vindicated! Gravetouched Ghoul)
Night Below Called Shot: Cave Runner
Icon Called Shot: Hellfire Engine | |
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DireKobold
Skirmisher
21 Posts
| | 04/24/2006 12:10 AM |
| | I confess to not being very familiar with Navia Dratp, but looking at the website for it, it may also be part of this new genre, though I guess it won't be official until someone comes up with a name for the genre. I'll have to work on that... :) | |
Dreamblade Generator | |
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striderlotr
Commander
3370 Posts
| | 04/24/2006 2:52 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by DireKobold
I confess to not being very familiar with Navia Dratp, but looking at the website for it, it may also be part of this new genre, though I guess it won't be official until someone comes up with a name for the genre. I'll have to work on that... :)
And Navia Drapt has been out for a while, and is not that new. | |
Sean Banks
Champion of Elementals
Official Organizer
Gen Con 05 maxminis Event | Winterfantasy 06 maxminis Event | Gen Con 06 maxminis Event | Winterfantasy 07 Community Event | |
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wolfpackee
Skirmisher
1 Posts
| | 04/24/2006 7:48 PM |
| As I posted on the WotC forums. To me DB has a different feel to over other CMGs (DnD, SWM, HeroClix, etc.) for many of the reasons in the first post.
It looks and sounds like a board game with collectible pieces. I like that because if it was like any other CMG in the market, I probably wouldn't have as much interest in it. | |
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striderlotr
Commander
3370 Posts
| | 04/27/2006 2:03 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by wolfpackee
As I posted on the WotC forums. To me DB has a different feel to over other CMGs (DnD, SWM, HeroClix, etc.) for many of the reasons in the first post.
It looks and sounds like a board game with collectible pieces. I like that because if it was like any other CMG in the market, I probably wouldn't have as much interest in it.
And that is one reason why the made it, to be different (IMHO). If everything is the same and all we do is rehash old stuff, then what is the point. Every now and then we need something new and different to shake things up a little. I'm hoping DB is just that shake... unless it is chocolate, I'm not a big chocolate shake fan... vanilla on the other hand!!! | |
Sean Banks
Champion of Elementals
Official Organizer
Gen Con 05 maxminis Event | Winterfantasy 06 maxminis Event | Gen Con 06 maxminis Event | Winterfantasy 07 Community Event | |
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DireKobold
Skirmisher
21 Posts
| | 06/28/2006 12:06 PM |
| Resurrecting this thread now that more people have hands on experience with the game.
So what do you think? Does Dreamblade deserve it's own classification? Is it not a true CMG? | |
Dreamblade Generator | |
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striderlotr
Commander
3370 Posts
| | 06/28/2006 12:13 PM |
| | Well if I was to give it a new clasification I would call it a CCBG or Collectible, Customizable Board Game. There is definitely the feel of a CMG with the boosters and starters giving a random selection as well the rarity categories... but I would lean more towards a board game feel of play. So there you have it... quick I need to copyright CCBG. [:)] | |
Sean Banks
Champion of Elementals
Official Organizer
Gen Con 05 maxminis Event | Winterfantasy 06 maxminis Event | Gen Con 06 maxminis Event | Winterfantasy 07 Community Event | |
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Ondo
Sneak
64 Posts
| | 06/29/2006 6:58 PM |
| I think game genres should be based on how the game plays, not how its sold. As such, I don't think "Collectible Miniatures Game" is a genre at all - they're just miniatures games. D&D Miniatures is nearly identical to Chainmail, so they're the same genre as far as I'm concerned. (OTOH, the traditional categories, like board, card, and miniatures games, are based on the components, not how they play.)
CCG I think is a legitimate genre. They play differently from standard card games not because of the collectible aspect but because each player plays with their own deck which contains different cards than the other players' decks. Brawl and Blue Moon are examples of games I'd consider in the same genre as Magic in spite of not being collectible.
Dreamblade I'd probably classify as a board game, but that category is already very broad, perhaps too much for it to be a useful classification. Regardless, if Dreamblade was assigned to a smaller category I still don't think it would be alone.
Of course, that's all my opinion, without putting a ton of thought into it. Thinking about it more may change my mind - generally a good classification system for games seems hard. | |
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fenrishero
Sneak
63 Posts
| | 06/29/2006 7:52 PM |
| Dreamblade is definitely the first 'innovative' collectible miniatures games since mage knight, the original CMG. It's the first one since mage knight that will have no predefined secondary market. Heroclix had a secondary market in comic book fans. DDM has a huge secondary market in D&D players. SWM has Star Wars fans, who are notorious for their willingness to buy based on brand. AAM was targeted towards fans of a popular board game, as well as more classic wargamers. DBM, by contrast, has no market but what the game can make for itself by being a good game.
I agree with Balduran. The appeal of this game is going to be the fact that the strategy is very close to that of chess, with a little bit of CCG strategy mixed in. Unlike most other minis games, the strategy is not about selecting the most competitively priced pieces in the best faction, but rather bringing the most versatile collection of pieces you can, and executing strategies based on the flow of the game. This makes every game very different even with the same band. This is in stark contrast to other minis games, which are about deciding a strategy before the game starts and hoping the dice will allow it to happen. In a DBM game, you could execute the central synergy of your band and win. In the next, you could be forced to rely on the sheer stats of your mid to low cost pieces to carry the day. In another, the order of your spawns might be what decides the game.
I also have to love a game where the only way I can lose a piece is for my opponent to roll well. In DDM, I was always losing because I blew one critical save. | |
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