Based on growth rate, non-collectible miniatures and miniatures games were the strongest hobby games category in 2023, up around 9%, from $525 million to $570 million, according to ICv2 estimates.  Collectible games was the only other category to book a win, and it was only up around 3%, while the other three hobby game categories were all down for the year.

Miniatures giant Games Workshop led the way, with sales up around 15% in North America, according to ICv2 estimates based on its public filings.  The launch of the new edition of Warhammer 40,000, announced a year ago at Adepticon (see “New ‘Warhammer 40,000’“), was the biggest driver; it kicked off with a bang behind a $250 box set (see “’Warhammer 40,000: Leviathan’ Heads to Preorder“) last summer.

The biggest obstacles to better Games Workshop sales are all self-inflicted, we heard in our interviews.  Backlist fill rates are still not high, a problem that came to the fore during Covid and has persisted, and although retailers seem to be getting what they order from Games Workshop on most new releases, distributors continue to be heavily allocated.

A bigger problem, cited by both retailers and distributors, was the shortening of the preorder cycle, making it extremely difficult to gather demand info in time for initial orders to Games Workshop.  Preorder info reaches Games workshop customers on Sundays, and orders are due two days later.

The frenzy for WizKids Dungeons & Dragons miniatures has cooled, along with sales of the RPG.

BattleTech sales increased the fastest of non-GW lines in 2023, with the continued availability of the Beginner Box a big driver of customer acquisition.

Atomic Mass Games titles are doing well.  Marvel Crisis Protocol was up year over year, behind the release of a new Core Set (see “’Earth’s Mightiest Core Set“) and increased SKU counts.  Star Wars: Shatterpoint had a successful launch, bringing new life to the Star Wars franchise for the company.

For an in-depth analysis of these topics, see “Miniatures the Strongest Category – In Depth.”

For an overview of 2023 sales in the hobby games market, see “Hobby Games Eke Out a Win.”

For the top miniatures lines for Fall 2023, see “Top Miniatures.”

This week’s episode of The Bad Batch was one that had to happen. And now that it’s out of the way the series can start moving towards its end game. But that doesn’t mean it was an unenjoyable episode. The Batch has one of their most pressing mysteries solved, and we get to catch up with one of the fandom’s favorite characters.

As always, in order to break down this episode we will have to spoil large portions of what happens. If you haven’t watched this episode yet, proceed at your own risk.

The Harbinger

A harbinger is a person or thing that signals the approach of something else. And while it’s a neutral word and there can be positive examples of harbingers, it’s probably one of those words we naturally associate somewhat negatively. ‘Harbinger of death’ is a fairly commonly used phrase. So when Asajj Ventress showed up this episode we quickly knew who Fennec had called and that she probably had some news the Batch didn’t want to hear.

Personally, I didn’t think Asajj was going to be the mysterious caller. It seemed implied that Fennec’s connection would have worked for the Empire, and why would Asajj when she too has such a high M-Count. But it made more sense when it was revealed that Asajj wasn’t looking for a fight, she legitimately just wanted to chat.

M-Count

What she has to reveal is exactly what we all already assumed. A high M-Count indicates somebody with lots of midichlorians and a stronger connection to the force. Omega immediately spills that she has a high M-Count and therefore must be a force user. Asajj offers to give her a test and the Batch is suspicious of her intentions.

From their perspective, she’s a war criminal and can’t be trusted with a lothcat let alone their smallest big sister. And their fight is an interesting one because Asajj is working twice as hard to not seriously hurt any of them. They’re not enemies. They’re not friends. But both of them have an enemy in the Empire and that makes them decidedly not enemies.

Force Test

Asajj runs Omega through a few basic tests to see how strong her connection to the force is… and it seems unimpressive at best. But I’m dubious. One of the tests was a connection to animals, and we know that Omega is almost as good at connecting with animals as Ezra Bridger. We’ve seen her effortlessly befriend beasties over and overtake Batcher, for example. And when she tries in front of Asajj she gives up after about two and a half galactic seconds.

Whether this was Omega sabotaging herself by trying too hard and not letting the flow of the force come naturally, or Asajj purposefully trying to convince the clones that Omega’s M-Count is low is unknown. But I’m pretty sure what we’ll see by the end of the season is a decisive display of natural force ability. And maybe Omega will find one of those Jedis-in-hiding to teach her the ways of the force. Being deep in hiding for a few years would explain why we haven’t seen her in any Star Wars stories that take place after this point.

What did you think of this week’s episode of The Bad Batch? What do you think is left in store for the clones as the series comes to an end? Did you know it was going to be Asajj, or did you think somebody else would be making an appearance? Let us know in the comments!

May the force be with you, Adventurers!

She/Her/They/Them | Writer, Cosplayer, Podcaster, Tapletop RPGer, Opossum Enthusiast, Mediocre Ukulele Player, & Coffee Addict. To find Meaghan elsewhere on the internet, check out her LinkTree at https://linktr.ee/habie_cosplays
Any emails regarding articles or potential game or accessory spotlights can be sent to [email protected].

Read the Comments (0)

While Orcs and Goblins might be coming out right now, and bringing a rad Journal with them, we are already looking towards the future. The Dwarfs are coming and bringing their grudges with them. The forge fires are relit and Dawi are on the march (moving a swift 6 inches of course). Today lets take a look at a few reasons I’m super excited for this release.

Slayers!

Everyone loves Slayers. Right now however they are a little lackluster in the Dwarf army. That all seems set to change. The Dwarf release is bringing a ton of Slayers with it. Not just classic “rank and file” Slayers, if there is such a thing, but other fun things. The Goblin-Hewer, Doomseekers and Ungrim Ironfist are all coming as well. Given the number of Slayer models I think we can make a reasonable guess that one of the Dwarf Armies of Infamy is going to be Slayer focused. With some new units and new rules they might once more take their rightful place!

2nd Army of Infamy

If the Journal is like the three we’ve already seen Dwarfs are going to get two Armies of Infamy. One is almost certainly Slayers. But what could the second be? Maybe something focused around engineers and warmachines, but you already get access to a ton and that’s not the most fun army. My other two best guesses are something along the lines of the High King’s host, with a lot of Hammers and elite units. On the other end of the spectrum a Ranger focused army, Bugmans Cart is coming back as well, could be a lot of fun. Either way it will be nice to see Dwarfs get more options.

Tons of Great Models

Rules aren’t everything. The release is also exciting just for a whole ton of great models coming back. Much like the Orc & Goblin release GW has really gone back into the archives and put out some great models. Tons of classic characters, and even stranger minis, are making a comeback. Not only does the release promise to buff Dwarfs, but it will be a real nostalgia trip for many players.  Dwarfs are also getting brand new models with the new King/Thane kit which looks just fantastic. Both players and hobbyists should be really excited about this release.

New Mercs

One of the surprising announcements was the re-release of Prince Ulther and his Dragon Company.  These guys date back to the 80s and haven’t had rules in ages. Seeing great old models like these come back is really a ton of fun. However, even better, they aren’t just models. The Dragon Company is getting rules, allowing them to be taken as Mercenaries in both Dwarf and Empire armies. In addition, their rules will come with the models and not in the journal. Now, this is a little weird as they are Made-to-Order, so I’m not sure how it’s going to work. But it’s very cool to see them rushing to expand the game outside of just the Arcane Journals. It’s also great to see more Mercenaries added in, getting us closer to a full Dogs of War army.

Fast Release Schedule

Finally, the announcement of Dwarfs makes me pretty excited because it means we are getting a fast release schedule. While we don’t know when they will come out, Orcs and Goblins are still a week and a half off, we can guess with in the next couple of months. GW normally doesn’t announce things that far ahead of time. That means we will have four of the nine core armies out by mid-year, and at this rate should have maybe eight, but most likely not all nine, out by the time the game is one year old. This is a pretty fast release schedule and shows that GW is serious about getting the game out and not just letting it lag around without releases. That’s really good to see in action.

Let us know what you are looking forward to from Dwarfs, down in the comments! 

Abe is that rare thing, an Austin local born and raised here. Though he keeps on moving around, DC, Japan, ETC., he always seems to find his way back eventually. Abe has decades of experience with a wide range of tabletop and RPG games, from historicals, to Star Wars to D&D and 40K. He has been contributing to BOLS since almost the start, back when he worked at and then owned a local gaming store. He used to be big into the competitive Warhammer tournament scene but age has mellowed him and he now appreciates a good casual match. He currently covers 40K tactics and lore, as well as all things Star Wars, with occasional dabbling in other topics. Abe remains in mourning over the loss of WFB to this day.

Read the Comments (0)

Atomic Mass Games sent us a preview copy of the Ee Chee Wa Ma! Squad Pack and I’ve had a chance to assemble these models. The Ewoks are out of their tree-top homes and ready to battle the Empire!

Ee Chee Wa Ma! Squad Pack In Star Wars: Shatterpoint

Kicking things off we get the following units in the box:

• Leia Organa (Primary Unit)C
• Chief Chirpa (Primary Unit)
• Paploo (Secondary Unit)
• 2x Ewok Hunters (Supporting Units)

Leia Organa

This miniature is relatively simple but it captures the look of Leia on the ground before the Battle of Endor. She’s got an alternate option with a helmet if you prefer that instead. To me, the braided hair was too iconic to leave under the helmet. She also has her blaster and tactical tree stump she’s standing on. It’s a nice, crisp sculpt and it was easy to assemble as well.

Chief Chirpa and Paploo

Chief Chirpa (left) and Paploo are two main Ewok characters. With this pack you can run a full on Ewok squad as Chief Chirpa is a Primary option. They might be cute but they are actually capable fighters — especially on their home turf. These miniatures were pretty quick and easy to assemble as well. One thing I do wish AMG had was more “natural” bases for Star Wars: Shatterpoint in general. But the extra scenic options for these minis are nice.

Ewok Hunters

The Supporting Unit in the Squad Pack are the Ewok Hunters. You do get two of them — although they are the exact same sculpts. It’s really going to come down to how you paint them to make them different. That said, the scenic base is nice but a bit of advice: dry fit those bits! Make sure you know how they all fit before you put any glue to this one. You don’t want to accidentally glue something on wrong and then it messes with the rest of this mini diorama.

I also appreciated that this was basically the ranged version. The Yub Nub Squad Pack features the spear-wielding Ewoks and we’ll be taking a look at those in the very near future.

This is a neat little squad pack and with the Ewoks and Leia, you’ve got more options to fill out your Rebel Squad. How effective Ewoks are in combat…well, that’s going to be up to how well you can manage these vicious teddy bears. Don’t let their cuteness fool you though. The will certainly turn your units in to BBQ given the opportunity.

Star Wars: Shatterpoint – Ee Chee Wa Maa! Squad Pack

“An iconic Rebel and her Ewok companions join Star Wars: Shatterpoint in this new Squad Pack! Featuring both Leia Organa and Chief Chirpa as Primary Units, the Ewok Paploo as a Secondary Unit, and two Ewok Hunters wielding bows as Supporting Units, this pack gives players a variety of new options for creating Galactic Civil War-era squads. In addition to beautifully sculpted miniatures of these characters, this pack also includes all the Stat, Order, and Stance Cards players need to field them in battle.”

Cute. Cuddly. Carnivores!

Writer, Editor, Texas Native, and Austinite for 15+ years, Adam covers all things Tabletop Gaming. Which includes Warhammer 40,000, Age of Sigmar, D&D, Board Games and everything else that involves dice, boards, cards and a table.
A hobbyist, player, and collector of miniatures and games, Adam’s current obsession are his Death Armies for Age of Sigmar, his Blood Angels and Tyranids for 40k, and his ever growing Arkham Horror: The Card Game Collection.

Read the Comments (0)

Warhammer The Old World is off to a great start. Its a great game with a ton of depth. Though it had a more limited release than some people had hoped, we are getting constant new releases. Take in point the upcoming Orc & Goblin release. A little more than two months after the game came out we are already getting a third wave of releases with a third army. That’s a pretty good schedule. Along with the model release Orcs are also getting an Arcane Journal, and its a doozy. Today, take a look at what we’ve got in the new book.

Armies of Infamy

Like the other Journals this one comes with two new Armies of Infamy, alternate ways to run your Orcs and Goblins. The first is the Nomadic Waaagh! This is a very limited list that focuses on an all-mounted army. If you like chariots and wolf riders, then you will be in love with this one. The list mostly has buffs for Goblin Wolf Riders, with some other minor ones for Orc Boar Boyz. It seems like a very fun list, but I’m not sure it’s a major powerhouse. Using Wolf Riders to effect will take some real work. However, there may be a pretty solid build in an all chariot list.

The second army is the Troll Horde. In exchange for losing Night Goblins and Warmachines , along with a few other things, you get a big focus on Trolls. Not only can you take a lot more, especially in core, but they are better. The major buff here is getting to re-roll regeneration saves vs non-magical attacks. Shamans and Troll Hags also share their LD with nearby trolls. Both of these rules are serious buff Troll units leading to a strong force.

Named Heroes

The book introduces two new named characters as well. Kiknik Toofsnatcha is a Goblin Warboss on a wolf. He is particularly good in a Nomadic army as he buffs all ambushing Wolf Riders (and in that list all Wolf Riders can buy Ambush). However he is just a good character in his own right.  With a solid stat line, a great magic weapon, and some other good rules he is a steal at 105 pts. I’d expect to see him a ton on the tabletop.

Ogdruz Swampdigga is the other character. An Orc he who thinks he is a troll, or at least has convinced the Trolls that he is. He’s… not really that great. A lvl 3 that near Trolls casts like a lvl 4, he doesn’t do much you can’t already get. Despite being the a hero that focues on Trolls he brings almost nothing to a Troll Horde army. His main use is to bring some of the Troll Horde rules into a normal army.

Powerful New Units

Possibly, the best part of the book is a set of great new units you get. First up you’ve got the Troll Hag. She can be taken in either the Troll Horde or in a regular O&G army. She’s basically a cross between a Giant and Wizard. She can be up to a lvl 2, is unbreakable, super hard to kill, and rocks a -1 to be hit in combat. She has a breath weapon for shooting and in combat… well. In combat she rolls on a Giant-like chart, with the possibly to drop a 5″ S6 ap -2 templet on the enemy. YIKES!

Badlands Ogre Bulls are another new unit, that brings a bit of Ogre Kingdoms into the official game. The unit isn’t groundbreaking, but the option to have a unit with a 4+ save and 4 attack each doesn’t seem too horrible. Most interestingly they are the first official Dogs of War unit, able to be taken as Mercenaries in any Grand Army!

Black Orc Boar Chariots are upgraded Orc Boar Chariots and hit pretty hard. They don’t do anything particularly new or special outside of that but are still a solid choice. They do seem to be a really good option as a mount for a Black Orc character giving them a lot of punch. Interestingly while the chariot it on its own  is limited to the Nomadic Waaagh!, as a mount it seems to be able to be taken in all O&G armies.

Grinding Bones and Fixing Linehammer

The last new unit is the massive Bonegrinder Gaint. Like the Ogres its not limited to just Orcs & Goblins. It can be taken in O&G armies yes, but also as a Mercenary in Warriors of Chaos and Beastmen Brayherds Grand Armies. This guy is scary! He is basically a normal giant on steroids. Bigger, stronger and harder to kill, he’s going to take a lot to put down.

Meanwhile he’s got a big old chart of attacks that changes depending on what he is attacking. He can drop S7 Ap -3 templets on the enemy, or simply do D3+1 wounds to a big enemy model. However maybe the best attack he has forces an enemies fighting rank to take Initiative tests or die. It’s the perfect counter to Linehammer as it punishes wide units.

Magic And Magic Items

Lastly, the book contains a whole new lore of magic, Troll Magic, and a stack of new magic items. Troll magic is… OK. A decent amount of it buffs Troll units, and a lot of the rest reads similar to Dark Magic. It’s a decent option but not an auto-take.

For magic items you’ve got a nice selcetion, and unlike other Journals, none of these are limited to the Armies of Infamy. A few standouts to me are:

• Dead ‘Ard Amour – Limited to Black Orc/Orc Bosses who are infantry, cavalry or chariot, its full plate with +1 toughness. Seems solid.
• Effigy of Mork – gives you a minus 1 to be hit in combat as a Talisman. Easy to combine with other options to be at a -2 to be hit, meaning for a Warboss pretty much everything in the game will hit you on a 6+ with a very few things getting 5+/
• Idol of Gork – gives your spells +3″ range and you can re-roll a casting roll once a turn. Want to be a High Elf?

Overall the solid magic section rounds out what is a very powerful book that gives your Orcs & Goblins a ton of new options.

Let us know what you think about this book, down in the comments! 

Abe is that rare thing, an Austin local born and raised here. Though he keeps on moving around, DC, Japan, ETC., he always seems to find his way back eventually. Abe has decades of experience with a wide range of tabletop and RPG games, from historicals, to Star Wars to D&D and 40K. He has been contributing to BOLS since almost the start, back when he worked at and then owned a local gaming store. He used to be big into the competitive Warhammer tournament scene but age has mellowed him and he now appreciates a good casual match. He currently covers 40K tactics and lore, as well as all things Star Wars, with occasional dabbling in other topics. Abe remains in mourning over the loss of WFB to this day.

Read the Comments (0)

It was a busy weekend at AdeptiCon and Sunday had events happening as well as a new preview from AMG. Hopefully over the coming weeks we’ll get some better pictures of these slides but this is what we’ve got to work with. At least we’ve got a lot of confirmations and a new road map along with dates, too. Let’s get into the reveals!

Star Wars: Shatterpoint

The Today, The Rebellion Dies Squad Pack has been revealed before. This was our first look at the cards. Unfortunately, well, you can “see” the image quality of the cards above for yourself.

Here’s our first good look at Chewie and Han for Shatterpoint. Again, we’d go into more detail about the cards but…well, you can see the issue.

The Never Tell Me The Odds mission pack is also shown off. This is the third pack designed for the launch of the game. This pack has you taking big risks for big rewards!

Stronger Than Fear Squad Pack teasers show off Kanan and Zeb. They also pair nicely with…

Make The Impossible Possible Squad Pack teaser above. Chopper and Sabine Wren are reporting in July of 2024!

And of course, we’ve got Thrawn coming with the Not Accepting Surrenders Pack due out in August 2024.

Did you want your Bad Batch to be…bad? Well you’re going to get that option in Q4 of 2024 with Good Soliders Follow Orders Squad Pack. Note, it probably supposed to be “Soldiers” but I’m just going with what’s on the slide from the stream…

Oh hey, did you want to play all Mandalorians all the time? Your dreams may be coming true with the This Is The Way Squad Pack.  And yes, if you play this particular squad you’re mandated to say that every time you use the ability.

Note: This is a new UNIT pack. All of these characters are secondary characters and are Bounty Hunters that do represent any play squad out of this box. These are options you can mix in to other Squads.

General Veers is coming and apparently he’s going to get to direct some “off the board” artillery at targets! Coming in Q4 2024.

Lando is keeping it classy with the Cloud City Admin look in the What Have We Here Squad Pack. Apparently, this squad is going to be able to swap sides so that could be quite interesting.

Jedi Master Kit Fisto and Jedi Nahdar Vebb. Coming in hot in Q1 2025!

And get ready for even more Lightsabers as the Wisdom of the Council Squad Pack will also be your first chance to run some Jedi Younglings into battle. ‘Cause you know how Star Wars loves it’s child soldiers…

And finally for Shatterpoint, we’ve got the Road Map below so you can see what/when stuff is slated to arrive.

Star Wars: Legion

Maybe it’s the darker background but these slides turned out waaaay better. Above we have the first close look at the Range Troopers cards. They are bringing in a whole lot of heavy weapons.

The Clone Republic Commands are coming in hot with their Katarn Pattern Armor as well.

The Bad Batch Unit Expansion will be usable by both the Rebels and the Empire — but Omega will only show up with the Rebel side of the house.

The Rebel Sleeper Cell Unit pack is coming in Q4 2024. This might represent the Rebels you would have seen in action in Andor.

And to “keep the peace” we also have the Imperial Riot Control Squad. Those shock batons are for your own good!

The LM-432 Crab Droids were teased before but here we get a look at them painted.

We also have new Outer Rim  Battles Terrain coming in Q1 2025. This set modular and there to give players more options when constructing a board.

The Aqua Droids are coming and they are larger than you might think. Not only did the size surprise the folks at AMG but they will probably shock folks once they see them in person.

ARF Trooper Unit is also coming to the game in Q1 2025. Get those clone problems solved with…more ARF Troopers! And don’t forget the “generic” Jedi Attachment you’ll be able to include, too.

During the stream Will Shick went into the big project they have been working on for Star Wars: Legion in that they have been moving older sculpts over to the new Hard Plastics and updated sculpts. Here’s a few of the new updates coming:

I’m glad that AMG is redoing many of these sculpts in Hard Plastic. That should help keep the details and crisp lines for years to come!

That was all for Star Wars from AMG. You can see the dates on all the images and also the road maps to confirm the projected release schedule, too. It’s a good time to be a fan of Shatterpoint and Legion!

Writer, Editor, Texas Native, and Austinite for 15+ years, Adam covers all things Tabletop Gaming. Which includes Warhammer 40,000, Age of Sigmar, D&D, Board Games and everything else that involves dice, boards, cards and a table.
A hobbyist, player, and collector of miniatures and games, Adam’s current obsession are his Death Armies for Age of Sigmar, his Blood Angels and Tyranids for 40k, and his ever growing Arkham Horror: The Card Game Collection.

Read the Comments (0)

Horus Heresy: Hibou Khan Is The Flip-Flopping Character Arc We Need

Hibou Khan is a Terran-born Loyalist-Turned-Traitor-Turned-Loyalist in the Horus Heresy saga. He goes to show could all use a second chance.

D&D Accessories: Getting Natural With These Druid Goodies

The weather is getting nicer and the druids are getting ready to go back on adventures. They’ll need some of these tools.

D&D: Steal The DM’s Seat With These Five Spells

Spells in D&D are a variety pack, some are useful in combat, some for communication, but these five let you slide right on into adventure.

The Evolution Of The ‘Mad Max’ Saga In 3 Minutes

This side-by-side comparison of the first four Mad Max movies gives you a look at George Miller’s favorite things.

I’m Really Loving ‘Star Wars: Unlimited’ — And You Should, Too

Finding packs of Star Wars: Unlimited can be tough right now, but take that as a sign that people are having a great time with it.

GW Pre-Orders: ‘Pricing & Links’ – Orcs, Goblins, & Solar Auxilia Weekend

The Orc and Goblin Tribes arrive to the Old World along with the Solar Auxilia’s next wave. All up for pre-order from Games Workshop.

Pop culture writer and news editor that has been on the BoLS team since 2010. Contributor on the One of Us podcast. Marvel, Vertigo, Batman, and dystopian sci-fi fan. Enjoys bad movies, amazing stunt performances, and the internet. Hates rom-coms. (she/they)

Read the Comments (0)

Freebies and Pay What You Want

Note: While “Pay What You Want” downloads are available for free, please support the creators if you are able!

Green Ronin Publishing released the Fantasy Age Quickstart for the second edition of the fast-paced Adventure Game Engine RPG. The quickstart features a streamlined intro version of the AGE rules, pre-generated characters, and the adventure “Terror o the Ghost Ship”.

• Price: Free

Downsized Press has the third issue of their Downsides Dungeons with The Ziggurat of the Lizard People. This fully-stated mini-dungeon is ready to run for Old-School Essentials with hand-drawn maps for the old-school feel.

• Price: Pay What You Want (Suggested: $1.99)

Geek Rampage released Crystal City Chronicles, an anthology of six Sci-fi/Western adventures for Stars Without Number. Explore the lawless frontier mining planet Zephyrus-2 and meet the inhabitants of Crystal City as you stop off here for a one-shot or start a new campaign.

• Price: Pay What You Want (Suggested: $2.00)

In an interesting OSR Retroclone, Dank Dungeons released Spectral Exterminators: A Hilariously Horrifying Roleplaying Game, a “legally distinct” version of the old 1980s West End Games Ghostbusters RPG. This has the full open license version of the game free of any licensed material for your paranormal investigation and elimination RPG news.

• Price: Pay What You Want (Suggested: $1.00)

RPGuPolaka has a system-neutral sci-fi adventure These Aren’t the Alpacas You’re Looking For as part of the One Page Derelict Jam 2024. Investigate what happened to the ship of merchant Amir Al-Fayed and why this herd of a dozen alpacas ended in disaster for his ship.

• Price: Pay What You Want (Suggested: $1.00)

If you want a more OSR take on the classic post-nuclear apocalypse setting, Bombland in Bad Decline from Operant Game Lab draws inspiration from Knave, The Red Hack, and the classic Fallout games.

• Price: Pay What You Want (Suggested: $5.00)

Alexander Nachaj released The Mask of the Black Sun: A Taggart Agency Mystery, a 1920s module for Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition. The investigators are in the Canadian city of Salem Falls, New Brunswick, seeking out a stolen ancient mask and unraveling the mystery behind it and those who seek it out.

• Price: Pay What You Want (Suggested: $4.99)

Over on Dungeonmasters Guild, Rashid Clark has a massive adventure for Level 1-3 characters, The Fade Lands. This over 180-page adventure includes new magic items, new playable species, new monsters, a new campaign setting, and a lot more.

• Price: Pay What You Want (Suggested: $0.00)

Death Pits of Brightshire from Nathan Ashley is an adventure for 5th to 7th level characters where the adventurers are sent to track a lost Merchant’s Guild caravan and find themselves entangled in the diabolic secrets of the town of Brightshire.

• Price: Pay What You Want (Suggested: $1.00)

So, you’re all in a tavern. The barbarian starts running their mouth about who is the strongest when a mysterious patron calls them out on their boasts. How do you determine who is the strongest without resorting to a barroom fight? Bas Klein has an answer with Armwrestling – A Game for In-Game Taverns with over the top rules for arm wrestling.

• Price: Pay What You Want (Suggested: $1.09)

Over on Storytellers Vault, Sky Bradley and Henry Langdon have an update to a classic sourcebook with Clanbook: Gangrel 5th Edition. This 59-page book includes 7 new archetypes, 13 new Discipline powers, 4 new Loresheets, 4 new Gangrel Bloodlines, 5 new predator, types, and more.

• Price: Pay What You Want (Suggested: $0.00)

Combat has always been downplayed in the various Storyteller games, but even then it’s an inevitability that physical conflict will happen between Kindred. Eric M. Souza wants to make running the combat easier with The Quick Combat Book, a new streamlined combat system for Vampire: The Masquerade and other World of Darkness titles including 1st, 2nd, Revised, and 20th Anniversary editions.

• Price: Pay What You Want (Suggested: $0.99)

The first Lightning Round this week features gamemaster/DM resources like monsters, maps, random generators, one-page adventures, drop-in encounters, and more. All products are Free or pay-what-you-want.
The second Lightning Round features player resources like classes, subclasses, backgrounds, feats, races/species, and more. All products are Free or pay what you want with the suggested price in parentheses.

Bundles and Sales

Note: I have included end dates when listed for the following sales, but please be warned that those without published end dates may end suddenly so be sure to plan purchases accordingly.

If you’re looking for maps for your VTT, this week’s sales are for you. Starting off, Tellest has the 50 Maps of Tellest Volume 1 bundle with over 50 battlemaps for a variety of environments including campsites, cliffsides, keeps, forests, bayous, savannas, taverns, sewers, and more

• Price: $29.91 (83% off)

Next up for the sci-fi fans is the Maps In Space! Map Pack from Alpha Strike Games Limited with eight maps from spaceships to asteroid bases to colonies to orbital facilities and more.

• Price: $4.99 (50% off)

Gabriel Pickard has the perfect bundle for an unsettling encounter with the Bio Builder Blistering Bundle with a collection of map elements to create a living landscape of flesh and body parts capable of creeping out even the most hardened space marine or stalwart fantasy adventurer. I’d throw in horror investigators, but they’re a nervous bunch already.

• Price: $11.98 (20% off)

Over on Storytellers Vault, Ugo Leão released the adventure and setting pack Living and Burning Gods Bundle. The bundle includes the Vampire: Age of the Living Gods setting covering the Sumerian Empire in 2350 BCE along with the three-part adventure Burning Gods. Also available in Portuguese.

• Price: $24.99 (29% off) in English
• $14.99 (25% off) in Portuguese

Charity Bundles and Sales

Goodman Games released Dungeon Crawl Classics #105: By Mitra’s Bones, Meet Thy Doom! This 2nd level adventure by Stephen Newton is a tribute to designer Jennell Jaquays and inspired by her Dark Tower adventure, playable either as a stand-alone adventure or as a prelude to more explorations of the Dark Tower.

• Price: $19.99
• Charity: Jennell Jaquays medical expenses (50%)

Veteran game designer Owen K.C. Stephens has posted a GoFundMe to cover the costs of his medical treatment as he fights cancer. Owen’s list of credits is more of a list of popular RPGs as he has worked on Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, Starfinder, d20 Modern, Star Wars, d20 Modern, Dragon Age, and that’s just the start.

• Charity: Owen K.C. Stephens Medical Expenses (all proceeds)

For another way to help Owen, Echelon Game Design collected so, so many titles for the Owen KC Stephens is RAD! Bundle. This bundle includes titles for Pathfinder (both editions), Starfinder, Savage Worlds, Icons, Call of Cthulhu, Song of Ice and Fire, Thieves World, Wheel of Time, D20 Modern, Dragon Age, Gamma World, and a lot, lot, lot more.

• Price: $29.99 (97% off, total value of the bundle is over $1000)
• Charity: Owen K.C. Stephens Medical Expenses (90% of sale price)

Over on Bundle of Holding, Modphius has the John Carter of Mars bundle for the pulp sci-fi/adventure 2d20 System game. The Starter Collection includes the core rules, narrator screen and kit, and maps of both Barsoom and Korad, while the Bonus Collection adds on the Phantoms of Mars campaign, three sourcebooks, and two card decks.

• Price: $7.95 (78% off) with variable-cost Level Up option
• Charity: RollVsEvil (10%)
• End Date: April 1, 2024

Goodman Games is here in the charity section for the second time this week (and won’t be the last either) with the Goodman D20 Monster Guides bundle. This bundle of D20 system/3.x sourcebooks have rules for expanding several monstrous races and rules on how to play them as player characters as well. The Minor Threats collection includes the books for Doppelgangers, Dragonkin, T-Rex, Treants, Velociraptors, and Wererats while the Major Threats collection adds on Beholders, Drow, Fey, Liches, Rakshasas, Vampires, and Werewolves.

• Price: $9.95 (78% off) with variable-cost Level Up option
• Charity: San Francisco-Marin Food Bank (10%)
• End Date: April 7, 2024

Over on Humble Bundle, the Pathfinder 2nd Edition Guns of Alkenstar bundle looks to throw you into the Outlaws of Alkenstar Adventure Path and other gunslinging adventures in Golarion. The base level includes the digital version of the Pathfinder 2nd Edition Beginner Box, the Outlaws of Alkenstar Player’s Guide, the first adventure in the adventure path Punks in a Powder Keg, and the one-shot Head Shot the Rat. The second tier adds on the Pathfinder 2nd Edition Core Rulebook and Bestiary (the original OGL versions and not the new updated versions), the Lost Omens World Guide and Character Guide, plus the second adventure path adventure Cradles of Quarts. The third tier adds the third and final adventure The Smoking Gun, the sourcebook Guns & Gears, the setting book Impossible Lands, and the rulebooks Advanced Players Guide and GameMastery Guide plus all three adventure path adventures in VTT format for Foundry. The top tier adds on top of all that a physical copy of the Pathfinder Guns & Gears equipment book (shipping & handling additional).

• Price: $5/$15/$30/$40 (90% off at top tier)
• Charity: Worldbuilders Inc. (user-defined, default 5%)
• End Date: April 11, 2024

Magpie Games has an impressive bundle this week with the Best of Magpie Games Bundle. The base tier includes six games from Magpie Games plus the trio of Fate Codex Anthology titles, the second tier adds on four books for the superhero RPG Masks: A New Generation, the telenovela RPG Pasion de las Pasiones, and three other titles, while the top tier has the big ones: the dark fairy tale series Bluebeard’s Bride, the licensed RPG based on the board game of woodland critters at war Root, and the powerhouse licensed title Avatar Legends with the core rulebook, Wan Shi Tong’s Adventure Guide sourcebook, the adventure An Urgent Request set during the Roku Era, and the Avatar Legends Starter Set not just in digital format but also the physical boxed set (shipping not included)

• Price: $5/$15/$25 (94% off at top tier)
• Charity: Child’s Play (user-defined, default 5%)
• End Date: April 13, 2024

Cubicle 7 has the Warhammer Fantasy Role Play Bundle. The base level includes the Warhammer Fantasyt Role Play Starter Set plus two adventures and a 20% off coupon to the Cubicle 7 store. The second tier adds on the core rulebook and six more adventures, while the top tier gets you eight more adventures with the full bundle having the entire Enemy Within campaign.

• Price: $1/$15/$25 (91% off at top tier)
• Charity: Children’s Health Ireland
• End Date: April 4, 2024

Goodman Games has the Dungeon Crawl Classics & Mutant Crawl Classics Megabundle 2. This bundle has four tiers with the first tier featuring the core rules for Dungeon Crawl Classics, two adventures, and a 20% off coupon for the Goodman Games store. The second tier adds on the core rules for Mutant Crawl Classics along with the DCC Reference booklet, two zines, and four more adventures. The third tier adds on so much more with a total of 79 products including sourcebooks, adventures, zines, genre expansions, and a whole lot more. The highest tier ads on a physical softcover of the Mutant Crawl Classics Core Rulebook (shipping and handling extra).

• Price: $1/$15/$25/$40 (95% off at top tier)
• Charity: No Kid Hungry (user-defined, default 5%)
• End Date: March 28, 2024

Modiphius has a bundle for Dune: Adventures in the Imperium ready to send you on adventures on Arrakis and beyond. The base level includes the Quickstart and Agents of Dune Deluxe Starter Set along with character sheets and a 50% off coupon for select physical Dune products. The second tier adds on the standard edition core rulebook, the Gamemaster’s Toolkit, the campaign book Masters of Dune, and the introductory adventure Desertfall Adventure. The top tier adds on enough for a full library of books for 18 total including setting books, campaigns, adventures, NPC collections, rules expansions, and more.

• Price: $1/$10/$18 (91% off at top tier)
• Charity: charity:water (user-defined, default 5%)
• End Date: March 21, 2024

That’s all for this week! If you know of any bundles or sales starting soon, please contact me on the EN World Discord, tag me on Mastodon, or send me a message here on EN World. Discount percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole number and are based on the standard retail price provided by the site. Note: Links to Amazon, Humble Store, Humble Bundle, Fantasy Grounds, and/or DriveThruRPG may contain affiliate links with the proceeds going to the author of this column.

There’s no easy way to sugarcoat this, but while some stores are running out of Star Wars: Unlimited starter packs and booster boxes, Fantasy Flight Games sent me a huge box of stuff to show off to you all today. They’ve already announced they will be working hard to deal with the scarcity in the future. But for now, let’s get into why you should be checking out Star Wars: Unlimited as soon as you can.

Star Wars: Unlimited Overview

Of the CCGs out there right now, at least the ones I know enough about, Star Wars: Unlimited is closest to Lorcana. The players’ overall objective is to reduce their opponent’s Base to 0 HP. Most bases start with 30 HP.

Each deck also has a Leader. The leader starts in a sort of passive mode, providing some small benefit or ability to use. However, once a player activates their Epic Action, they enter the battlefield as a unit like any other. But epic actions can only be activated once per game, so losing your leader means they return to their passive state for the remainder of the game.

Individual units are played to either Ground or Space, as noted at the top of their card. When attacking, the unit can attack another unit in their area or their opponent’s base directly. They deal damage equal to their Power, in the red on the left, and have HP equal to the blue number on the right. They also have aspect icons in the upper left. These are mostly about deckbuilding, but essentially, the cards in your deck should have aspects that match those of your leader and base.

Any card can be played facedown as a Resource. These resources are used to play cards from the hand by exhausting resources equal to that card’s cost in the upper left. There are units that can attack and activate abilities, events that offer single-use effects, and upgrades that attach to units for extra bonuses.

Gameplay

Each round is broken up into the Action Phase and the Regroup Phase. In the action phase, players go back and forth taking a single action:

• Play a card
• Attack
• Action Ability
• Take Initiative
• Pass

Players take actions until they both choose to pass. A player who Takes Initiative will go first in the following round. But also means they will Pass for the remainder of the action phase. So their opponent might get a few extra actions until they also pass, which ends the phase.

The Regroup phase is clean-up stuff. Players draw 2 cards, opt to play one of the cards in hand as a resource and refresh their played cards. Then, the next round begins, and the cycle continues until one player’s base is reduced to 0 HP, giving the other player the win!

Get Started With Star Wars: Unlimited

The Starter Set is obviously a great place to start. It’s got everything you’ll need for a full game for 2 players; two decks, two playmats, tokens, and deck boxes.

If you’re looking to really deck out your deck, you can also pick up some official deck boxes. They come with space for a fully-sleeved deck and a separate space for your token box.

You may have noticed the cool hyperspace dual-player Game Mat XL. It’s got space for both players and has a great construction and feel. There’s also the single-player mat without any indicators for a more clean playspace.

Finally, hard acrylic tokens will hold up a lot better than the cardboard ones that come in the starter set. If you’re going to be playing a lot of games (and you will), you’ll want to pick up a pack of these as well. There are damage tokens, activation tokens, initiative tokens, stat boost tokens, and others.

There are a lot of resources out there to make sure your Star Wars: Unlimited setup can survive any wear and tear. I’m telling you, once you get in a few games and start building your own decks, you’ll want to play a lot. You’ll be glad you picked up these upgrades when you did.

Matt has loved games of all kinds his whole life: board, video, war, roleplaying. He’s worked as a writer for BoLS since 2017. He’s worked as freelance editor for board game rulebooks and has designed many of his own games as well.

Read the Comments (0)

There’s a reason the Mandalorian armor is so icon. And there’s another reason they keep their helmets on. But we’re not here to talk about that today. Instead, we’re going to focus on the new rules for the now iconic duo of Din Djarin and Gorgu in Star Wars: Shatterpoint.

via Atomic Mass Games

“This pair represents one of the strangest team-ups in Galactic memory, one that proves the powerful bonds forged when lives are on the line. Before meeting Grogu, Din Djarin had earned a name for himself as an implacable bounty hunter, a profession not uncommon among the survivors of Mandalore. Raised in a more orthodox and traditional sect of his people, he lives by a strict religious code which includes keeping his face hidden from others. “

The Mandalorian

Kicking things off is The Mandalorian’s A Clan of Two ability. This allows him to dash around and possibly follow that up with either a push (from Grogu’s Force abilities) or a possible 5 die attack. Obviously, he also pairs best with other Bounty Hunters, Mandalorians, or Scoundrels as he shown by This Is The Way. Those heals are nice and the removal of conditions is always helpful.

He’s also quite Fearless and Inventive. This is a nice boost of attack dice when you’re really in the thick of things with this unit. To top it off, he’s leaning on Grogu for Do The Magic Hand Thing to make an opponent suffer for attacking at range.

When it comes to attack trees you’ve really got two options: Warm or Cold. That’s how the Mandalorian will bring you in — alive or dead! Bring You In Warm is a geared a bit more towards melee but it’s the more flexible of the two trees. It’s got more options to Dash, Pin, Disarm, and Strain a target. But if you need to be ruthless and take a target out quickly and from a safe distance then Bring You In Cold might be the better option.

With quick damage packed in the stance along with range 5 and another range attack die, it’s a mean stance for sure! It’s still got some tricks to be sure but that Amban Sniper Rifle isn’t playing around. Once Mando has you in his sights you’re in for a real bad time.

The Mandalorian can be hired in the upcoming Certified Guild Squad Pack up for pre-order now. You don’t want to mess with this wolf and his cub.

Writer, Editor, Texas Native, and Austinite for 15+ years, Adam covers all things Tabletop Gaming. Which includes Warhammer 40,000, Age of Sigmar, D&D, Board Games and everything else that involves dice, boards, cards and a table.
A hobbyist, player, and collector of miniatures and games, Adam’s current obsession are his Death Armies for Age of Sigmar, his Blood Angels and Tyranids for 40k, and his ever growing Arkham Horror: The Card Game Collection.

Read the Comments (0)