Fantasy Flight have released a new preview video of the highly anticipated Dust Warfare. It discusses the rule set and looks at some of the amazing miniatures to make this skirmish game come alive. Enjoy!
Dust Warfare can be pre-ordered here
Dust Tactics Board game is available here whilst miniature lines can be found in our main store section here.
More Computer Game Crossovers
Increasingly computer games have had a bigger influence on ‘offline’ gaming. 2011 saw big releases like ‘Gears of War’ for instance making the transition to baord games and HeroClix. What other big IPs can we see making the leap? Well, I’d really like to see much more done in the worlds of Elder Scroll series. Skyrim is a massive gaming hit (Previous versions have done equally well) and in my opinion needs to see much more coverage in card games, board games and traditional role playing.
Sci-fi mega hit: Mass Effect most definitely needs the offline treatment. Someone? Anyone? Makers Bioware were gracious enough to give Dragon Age brand to Role playing game publisher Green Ronin: which they called: Dragon Age: Dark Fantasy Role Playing (greenronin.com/dragon_age/). So why not Mass Effect? The mystery continues but I reckon there would be something in 2012 for Mass Effect fans.
Dust Warfare a Hit
The strategy board game, Dust Tactics has been going strength to strength. However, 2012 sees the release of Dust Warfare. This is a new take on the game which frees it from the grided board of Tactics and allows its whole raft of its cool miniatures to be played freely on the table top!
One of the biggest attractions of the game is commanding large attack walkers in your armies. It is unclear how the rules of the game will evolve but expect flowing game play to say the least. Rumours suggest that each player has commend points to spend during each turn. These points must be spent wisely to gain the upper hand on your opponent. Further pints can be spent on each unit and obviously for attack.
One final comment, with Veteran games designer, Andy Chambers involved we expect great things.
Star Wars Gaming to go from strength to strength
With Lucas releasing the film saga in 3D, the merchandise tie-ins are soon to follow. Episode 1 3D gets its cinematic airing in February but it’s the classic trilogy that the SDG staff are waiting for.
The classic Star Wars franchise comes back to the card game format with Fantasy Flight’s 2012 offering: Star Wars: The Card Game. This living card game features a whole wealth of card options for this co-operative game where the Rebellion must defeat the dark forces of the Empire.
Also on the horizon is a space combat strategy game which promises to capture the fast paced action of Star Wars space dog fights. Personally, I want to play the Tie Fighter squadrons in this set myself but this game is bound to be a sure fire hit. Expansion could be plentiful for this game and we expect a series this year to include Han Solo’s Millennium Falcon and dreaded Star Destroyers.
The Hobbit will rock
You’ve most likely seen the Trailer for the new Hobbit film to be released in December 2012. Expect a plethora of new stuff to come out from CCGs, Board games and other merchandise. Games Workshop are looking to re-energise its Lord of the Rings offering and it should release a table-top strategy game before the film’s release. The Lord of the Rings films released from 2001 to 2003 will most likely have new life breathed through them so new products should be launched including Lego sets and more from WizKids Heroclix range which is already out there.
Lord of the Rings HeroClix Campaign Starter is sold here
Warhammer 40k 6th Edition released
Another big release for Games Workshop the cards? Rumblings of the next edition of 40k have been gathering throughout 2011 and it is cited that GW will indeed release the next iteration of 40k doing the Summer.
The supposed 6th Edition box set have had intenet buzz talking of a match up between the Chaos Space Marines and the noble Eldar forces. The rumour mill has been churning for potential rule changes including turn phase changes to make the action more ‘real-time’ for instance. I’m not going to speculate too much but it’s bound to be a high point for 40k fans!
No official announcement yet but with all the buzz I’d expect it to happen sooner rather than later.
Dust Tactics the game is quite a strange beast as you’d expect these kind of miniature wargames to be proper skirmish game without the need of a board. It comes to no surprise then that Fantasy Flight and Dust Studios have indeed created a new spin off called Dust Warfare which is coming soon. However, this review is concentrating solely on the board game version.
The Game
The year is 1947 but it’s very much a parallel universe as massive combat mechs stomp around the green fields of Europe as the Allies and Axis forces do battle. It’s a power struggle literally as both sides seek an elusive alien material called VX. All this is the brain child of Paolao Parente and he’s created a setting that’s a heck of alot of fun!
The game is played by miniatures and dice which dictate the hits-n-misses. Players go head to head as either the Allied or Axis forces. It’s very much a fast shooter game and relatively quick to play with each skirmish taking under an hour to complete.
Some of the parts in the box (yes, there is a lot more!!)…
What goes into the squad is determined by the player and there is a limit of points value of the total units in each side. The most exciting part of the game is the ability to control giant Mech units that stomp around. Units essentially move on 90mm x 90mm squares on a grid of a 9 squared board.
Here’s the full list of contents:-
• Never-before-released miniatures exclusive to this Core Set
• An updated and comprehensive rulebook
• The “Victory Bridge” scenario book
• Six Combat Dice
• Two double-sided terrain posters (each the size of six terrain tiles)
• 10 unit cards
• Nine double-sided hazard squares
• Two ammo-crates
• Two anti-tank traps
• 1 Blackhawk Walker
• 1 Rhino Hero
• 5 Hell Boys Soldiers
• 5 Death Dealers Soldiers
• 3 The Hammers Soldiers
• 1 Hans Walker
• 1 Lara Hero
• 5 Sturmpioniere Soldiers
• 3 Heavy Laser Grenadiers Soldiers
• 3 Heavy Flak Grenadiers Soldiers
• 1 Plastic Loaded Token
• 1 Quick Start Rules Card
The miniatures is one of the best things about this game. They are incredibly detailed for plastic board game components. You certainly get the feeling of quality from these.
Here’s a couple of pictures from the set…
The Allied forces…
The Axis forces included in the set…
The rules are designed to keep the action flowing as much as possible. There are various rules about movement and firepower of weapons that are described on the individual unit cards. Line of Sight and Cover rules apply in Dust Tactics. They are handled differently according to where a unit is shooting from on which side of buildings for instance. Cover saves work on a soft and hard cover basis and the dice is rolled to indicate whether shots successfully hit targets. If the squad consists of a number of hit troops it’s up to the player to remove which troop/s are taken out of the game. The victory goes to the squad that captured the target objective and victory points are calculated at the end the game.
As you can imagine there’s quite a lot to cover in the rulebook but in terms of quality and gameplay it’s an excellent introduction into the Dust Tactics Universe. Coupled with the fact that a new table top rule set is on its way, it’s an ideal place to build up a decent set of miniatures. Expansions and Scenarios are available and released through Fantasy Flight Games.
Buy Dust Tactics: Revised Core Set here
Additional resource:-
The Rule set is available to download here from Fantasy Flight
