Concerns over future of this game

[davepaulstanley 46]

Anyone have any feedback on what kind of player support they're getting in their areas?  I'm a part of a Facebook group for local players and all of the stores in the Kansas City area are really struggling to find players to join up.  My local store doesn't even carry any Runewars Miniatures products.  One other store is now offering all RMG products at a discount in order to shed inventory.  

For what it's worth, I painted the entire starter set along with the first infantry upgrades for both factions.  I love the game, played it twice locally, then a bunch with my kids.  Then summer hit and my gaming schedule overall diminished quite a bit because of outdoor activities.  I honestly don't know if it's going to be worth it to sink more money into it, especially, frankly with SW Legion coming out in the relatively near future.

Is anyone else out there worried about the future of this game?  Are we headed downhill quickly or will it pick up?

Edited August 23, 2017 by davepaulstanley

[Wannabe PhD 66]

Runewars is no different to any other game, the community will prosper based on the effort that individuals put in.

Keep posting in your facebook group, discussion, painting, terrain modelling, events and so forth.  Get the word out to your local community that you want games, suggest some places that you could meet to play.  Get in contact with a store and ask about ordering prize support kits, show them that you have a consistent group and they'll want to tap into that revenue stream.

 

[davepaulstanley 46]

Yes, all that has honestly been done by those that have started playing it for several months now.  All to no avail.

[Rentner65 41]

16 minutes ago, Wannabe PhD said:

Keep posting in your facebook group, discussion, painting, terrain modelling, events and so forth.  Get the word out to your local community that you want games, suggest some places that you could meet to play.  Get in contact with a store and ask about ordering prize support kits, show them that you have a consistent group and they'll want to tap into that revenue stream.

 

Offer demogames in game stores or clubs (that's what I'm doing at least). 

The mechanics are great! Once people see or play it for themselves it might get them started! I have had a good recruitment rate so far!

 

[Waywardpaladin 419]

We've got a group meeting every other Friday, that ranges from 4-6. 

[Muz333 778]

I think a lot of people were waiting for the Latari and Uthuk before buying into the game, I include myself in that. However, as you've rightly pointed out, the announcement of Legion happened too early and a lot of people waiting to buy into the game may now give it a miss for Legion instead.

 

Even still, I think Runewars will grow and get a large community going. That said I don't think this will happen until all four core factions are out with a few waves of expansions to add the variety most miniature gamers expect. In fact, even X-wing had a slow start to it and that turned out okay. I fully expect Runewars to be one of the prime tournament games of FFG once it picks up the initial traction.

[davepaulstanley 46]

 

4 minutes ago, Muz333 said:

In fact, even X-wing had a slow start to it and that turned out okay. I fully expect Runewars to be one of the prime tournament games of FFG once it picks up the initial traction.

I was not aware that X-Wing got a slow start.  I've always been under the impression that it really took off right away.  Good to know.  RMG is a wonderful game, so I do hope it is successful.  But, as I've said, I just don't see it happening so far at all in our area.  Hopefully the new factions will help it build momentum.

[jek 1,037]

21 minutes ago, Muz333 said:

I think a lot of people were waiting for the Latari and Uthuk before buying into the game, I include myself in that. However, as you've rightly pointed out, the announcement of Legion happened too early and a lot of people waiting to buy into the game may now give it a miss for Legion instead.

 

Even still, I think Runewars will grow and get a large community going. That said I don't think this will happen until all four core factions are out with a few waves of expansions to add the variety most miniature gamers expect. In fact, even X-wing had a slow start to it and that turned out okay. I fully expect Runewars to be one of the prime tournament games of FFG once it picks up the initial traction.

I'm not too worried about legion, honestly, it will most likely be good in the long run for all FFG games, it isn't going to pull the rank and file crowd away because they were looking for a game to fill a niche and this one is awesome...it may pull more board gamers into the miniature scene and It may pull some more just normal star wars fans into the miniature scene...

 

1 hour ago, davepaulstanley said:

Anyone have any feedback on what kind of player support they're getting in their areas?  I'm a part of a Facebook group for local players and all of the stores in the Kansas City area are really struggling to find players to join up.  My local store doesn't even carry any Runewars Miniatures products.  One other store is now offering all RMG products at a discount in order to shed inventory.  

For what it's worth, I painted the entire starter set along with the first infantry upgrades for both factions.  I love the game, played it twice locally, then a bunch with my kids.  Then summer hit and my gaming schedule overall diminished quite a bit because of outdoor activities.  I honestly don't know if it's going to be worth it to sink more money into it, especially, frankly with SW Legion coming out in the relatively near future.

Is anyone else out there worried about the future of this game?  Are we headed downhill quickly or will it pick up?

Mini's games usually have slow starts, even established games enter in new community have a hard time, so just keep at it, once you have a few people in then start playing on busy nights for other things at your store and encourage people to have a go at the skirmish mode...this is a really good game with a great system and that is going to win people over.

[Waywardpaladin 419]

Both non-wargamer women I've introduced this game to said "I would actually play this again" afterwards, so that sounds like a plus.

[Muz333 778]

34 minutes ago, davepaulstanley said:

 

I was not aware that X-Wing got a slow start.  I've always been under the impression that it really took off right away. 

It started off with just X-wings against TIE fighters and that was all. As games release more waves to give variety and a fluid meta it garners more attention allowing it to become a hit.

[jek 1,037]

1 minute ago, Muz333 said:

It started off with just X-wings against TIE fighters and that was all. As games release more waves to give variety and a fluid meta it garners more attention allowing it to become a hit.

it really wasn't even until scum took off that the game was really big...at least thats how it was around me

[Contrapulator 699]

O ye of little faith. X-wing miniatures had just 2 ships per side for 5 months. Then wave 2 added 2 ships per side, and 6 months later wave 3 added 2 more per side. Runewars is going to have 4 full factions out by the end of this year!

6 minutes ago, jek said:

it really wasn't even until scum took off that the game was really big...at least thats how it was around me

That was when I started playing, so I guess that checks out. And that was over 2 years after the game first released. 

Edited August 23, 2017 by Contrapulator

[Darthain 1,746]

To echo the wisdom of the Elders.  Miniature games always start slow.  They don't have much variety at first, and that hurts them (look how much something like the command pack opened up the game).  Now multiply that a couple times when we get new units.  Once we have 4 factions all getting more units , we'll see the game grow.

[Wraithist 222]

I'm not worried about RuneWars at all.

Worry over RW's future is a common reaction for a lot of people cause they really like the game, and that in itself shows a lot of promise.  Then when nothing was announced at GenCon everyone started the panic parade. Here's why I'm not worried:

1) It's FFG's IP, they don't have a license to worry about for printing and they want to nourish their in house material, not cast it aside like a dirty used up Games Workshop license.

2) The core box got reprinted hella fast, faster than X-wing first wave did I think.

3) We don't even have Cavalry/Archers/Melee options for even Two of the armies out yet, and the game is still somehow super fun.

4) Up until a week ago we only had 2 armies! Plenty of people are going to wait until theres more variety. I really think - even with - Legion announced, that game play will pick up significantly when there are four core armies out so people don't fight the same forces all the time.

5) It has huge draw potential for people who ARENT already entrenched in the wargame scene. It's simple, clean, fun to play and easy to learn.... and it doesn't take half a day to play. After playing one game with my group erry single one of them bought the core set.

6) It's a new wargame that's only been out a year... not a new edition of a wargame, a brand new one. It's too early to worry about the health of the community when its still very much in the beginning stages.

[Darthain 1,746]

20 minutes ago, Wraithist said:

I'm not worried about RuneWars at all.

6) It's a new wargame that's only been out a year... not a new edition of a wargame, a brand new one. It's too early to worry about the health of the community when its still very much in the beginning stages.

It's been out 4 months.  April release.  So even better

Edited August 23, 2017 by Darthain

[Curlycross 361]

56 minutes ago, Darthain said:

It's been out 4 months.  April release.  So even better

Haha we can't worry about something that's been out for 4 months. The game hasn't even reached any form of peak.

[Wraithist 222]

1 hour ago, Darthain said:

It's been out 4 months.  April release.  So even better

Yes! This! I suppose I mean *this* year. And they've had a crazy amount of releases and FFG News coverage since then.

7) Its a smart business decision (one that they might have been forced into via their Star Wars contract) to not overshadow any big RuneWars news with the gigantic news that they're doing a Star Wargame. Let the dust settle from that announcement and the compounding variation of their new releases for RW will organically build the community. If we're still in the same spot in a year then yes, we should fear the end times, but its just too early to tell for this type of game.

[DesignXception 65]

As an owner of Runewars Miniature game and someone who believes that it has a fantastic ruleset, I have to admit that it is not looking too promising for a lucrative future for Runewars. Based on my observations, the game struggled out of the gate for reasons such as a generic fantasy setting with no established lore or hook to get people to initially buy in. Unfortunately, no amount of lore matters if no one is really interested in that lore. There were a lot a fence sitters waiting to see what happens to the game in terms of factions. Then 40k 8^th edition was launched and some of those fence sitters jumped on that band wagon and bought into that. Now there is no interest in Runewars in my area at all. Stock is sitting on my local store’s shelf not moving and no one is playing it. 40k and X-wing dominate the miniature scene here with some AoS and Armada sprinkled in. However, the news of Legion has everyone excited because it’s a Star Wars miniatures game. I expect Legion is going to do very well in my area as it will in other places. While there are other obvious signs that Runewars is not doing well such as lack of any real social media coverage such as battle reports, dedicated websites, podcasts, or even significant forum chatter, the bottom line for FFG will be profit and is Runewars as a product line turning enough profit to warrant devoting significant design and manufacturing resources to it which there is only a finite supply. Of course FFG is not going to announce that Runewars is not selling well and cause panic. As a business they have product they want to sell to recover costs. They have never announced the discontinuation of support for a product line outside of losing an IP license (ex. the Warhammer license)….it just happens and people figure it out after a while when there is no new product announcements. At Gen Con they stated there is more to come but didn’t reveal anything that hasn’t been revealed already. This is probably indicative of them still assessing the market for Runewars and not comfortable to committing to future product releases at this time by exposing any more details. Its only solid business practice any business would employ.  Will Runewars outright die….probably not….FFG will release the products for the other two factions that have already been announced to flush out the game. I suspect you won’t see much more expansions after that as lack of profits will dictate that and resources will be spent on Legion instead since that will be a license to print money for them for the for the next several years. Heck the Lathari Elves core expansion just dropped this past week and there is hardly any chatter in this forum about it let alone around the internet. This was supposed to be one of the milestones that was going to get fence sitters into the game per other’s opinions. The Legion forum just opened here on this website on Friday and there is already over 3,000 posts. The Runewars forum has been open for a year and only has just north of 21,000 posts.  Clear sign of the difference in interest levels between the two games. My guess Runewars will follow the same path as Battlelore 2.0 and new expansions releases will just taper off as FFG’s resources are put into more lucrative product lines such as Legion. That has always been FFG’s mode of operation…they will quickly swing the axe and kill a product that’s not turning a projected profit for them. That said no one is going to come to your home and take away your Runewars Miniatures. It’s only a game after all and if you enjoy playing it or any other game for that matter then continue to enjoy it.  “Hobby games” such as 40k, Runewars, or Legion require a large investment of time and money and as such come with investment risks that you need to be willing to take. Right now Star Wars Legion is the new hotness and unfortunately Runewars already had its window of opportunity and it fizzled commercially. To think otherwise is being ignorant. 

[Contrapulator 699]

Wow, what a wall of text. Again, I bet if you were around when X-wing miniatures first came out you probably would have proclaimed that game dead on arrival, too. Making wild claims about product sales compared to a game that doesn't even have a release date is being ignorant.

[DesignXception 65]

I was around and bought X-wing when it launched.  The X-wing launch was much more popular then the Runewars launch in my area. The Runewars launch was non-existent in my area. By the way I own all things X-wing, Armada, and IA.  It doesn't take anything special other than common sense to figure out whats happening with Runewars.

[Click5 181]

I was at a small 7 person tournament the other day.  There were probably 16 core set boxes spread throughout the game store.  The people that are into Runewars seem to be REALLY into the game and buy a lot of product

[DesignXception 65]

That's great that you do have local support for the game. Consider yourself lucky!. Like I said I own Runewars and think its a great game and I'm not dissing it. I just wish others in my area felt the same. 

[Wannabe PhD 66]

1 hour ago, DesignXception said:

The Legion forum just opened here on this website on Friday and there is already over 3,000 posts. The Runewars forum has been open for a year and only has just north of 21,000 posts.  Clear sign of the difference in interest levels between the two games.

Do you have the stats for the same period after runewars was announced? Because otherwise that's like comparing apples to imperial oranges.

1 hour ago, DesignXception said:

While there are other obvious signs that Runewars is not doing well such as lack of any real social media coverage such as battle reports, dedicated websites, podcasts, or even significant forum chatter... 

It might be cliche, but I'm going to quote Chuck Palahniuk here:

"...the first step to controlling your world is to control your culture. To model and demonstrate the kind of world you demand to live in. To write the books. Make the music. Shoot the films. Paint the art."

So get out there and make battle reports, create a dedicated website, record a podcast and start a significant forum post.  ****, imagine the props you'd get for single handedly pulling together the Runewars community.

[DesignXception 65]

They also say you can't take blood from a stone.

[Budgernaut 6,224]

2 hours ago, DesignXception said:

the bottom line for FFG will be profit and is Runewars as a product line turning enough profit to warrant devoting significant design and manufacturing resources to it which there is only a finite supply.

 

2 hours ago, DesignXception said:

My guess Runewars will follow the same path as Battlelore 2.0 and new expansions releases will just taper off as FFG’s resources are put into more lucrative product lines such as Legion.

As far as I can tell, the amount of development it takes for Runewars isn't significantly different from BattleLore (or X-Wing, for that matter). Yet, the price per box is higher. Why? I think BattleLore sold decently well, but it didn't sell enough to really get the profit they were looking for. X-Wing, however, sells boat-loads, so it can generate more revenue per development time. My take is that the higher price on Runewars is insurance against them shutting the line down. Runewars doesn't need to sell as many units as X-Wing to make the same kind of profit, so it can stand on its own with a smaller community. BattleLore couldn't, which is why it was shut down (in my opinion).