Do I get into Dust?

It most certainly can't have escaped most of my regular readers notice that I've been on somewhat of a board game binge of late. I'm sure I must have mentioned this a few times. Thing is I really am a wargamer and I told myself that after Gear of War, Super Dungeon Explore and Dungeons & Dragons: Legend of Drizzt that for me that would be it for quite a while, well unless Kingdom Death suddenly pops up at very short notice. You see although Descent Journeys in the Dark is beginning to be extremely tempting, as is Claustrophobia (if I could find a copy) I really don't want to divert my gaming away from what I love and that's painting cool miniatures and playing wargames. Although the Dust Miniatures are exceptional in some cases, its not really been enough for me to take the plunge. Plus on this blog I want to get back to writing about Infinity and few others a bit more.

Thing is the amazing alternative history world of Dust has always kinda had me interested. I've read some very mixed things about Dust Tactics though some people tell me its great, other people tell me its average at best, its this mixed messages I've been getting coupled with the expense of buying the game that put me off. However the world created by Paolo Parente and the miniatures themselves have always intrigued me. Because I think its fair to say they are a significant step up from the usual board game fair served up normally in that horrible rubbery plastic. No its more than fair to say that the Dust Tactics miniature range provided by Fantasy Flight Games is on a par with some of the best plastics on the market from more typical wargames companies.

The boxed game itself can be picked up for around £70 if you shop around a bit and to be fair that's a pretty reasonable price considering the components you get in the box and for what's in the box that's a very reasonable price. However there is another reason I was always drawn to Dust Tactics. There was a the rumoured wargame that was supposedly in joint production with Dust Tactics and would use the same lovely miniatures as Dust Tactics, in a proper tabletop wargame, it was believed to be called Dust Warfare. Initially I kept a close eye on the world of Dust waiting to see if this Dust Warfare would ever surface, and until very recently I'd have to say I was very disappointed with the fact it hadn't yet shown its face...

...well I need worry no more. In fact having dismissed Dust pretty much from those games I was interested in a few months ago, the announcement of Dust Warfare has got me way more than interested again in this alternative WWII history game. I guess its the possibility of having two games for the price of one in some respects but the other part of it is that one of my own personal wargaming hero's is actually behind the production of Dust Warfare, Andy Chambers. Now I know some people hate ex-Games Workshop Design Studio staff with a passion and rage that should be reserved for mass murderers, sex offenders and current Games Workshop staff... but I happen to think many of them have been given a raw deal by fans of wargaming in general... that's Games Workshop staff and not the mass murderers or sex offenders, they actually deserve the bad press!

I actually liked much of what Andy Chambers did at Games Workshop and whenever I got the chance to speak to him he always seemed really insightful, intelligent and most importantly enthusiastic. He was also very friendly and willing to chat to people. I know he's stepped out of the world of miniature wargaming for a fair old while now working on computer games at Blizzard entertainment, but seeing his name of the Dust Warfare rulebook certainly made me sit up and take notice. Go on click on the picture on the right and in the bottom right hand corner you'll see his name. Now for some I'm sure this will be meaningless, for some it'll bring you out in hives but for me it actually gives me a glimmer of hope that the wargame for Dust might actually be worth playing after all. That means my bank balance could be in for some further punishment if it is. You see this really is big news for me because I genuinely thought that wargaming had lost one of its leading lights to computer games, it was the same worry I've had about many others who have left the Games Workshop over the years too.

So what about the game? Well I wish I could tell you more than the fact its written by Andy Chambers, but really I can't. You can find the full press release for Dust Warfare on Fantasy Flights website and read it all for yourselves. Picking out the salient points though Fantasy Flight say they are at the Beta testing stage and will be running demo games at this years GenCon so if you're there definitely try it and get a look at it. The other point they are keen to hammer is the point I made earlier on that you are essentially getting a single range of miniatures to play in two game systems, one a board game that has a smaller physical footprint the other a wargame to be played on your standard 6' by 4' gaming board. I think though the biggest thing for me is that Fantasy Flight Games have actually taken the conscious decision to move away from their normal market of card games, board games and RPGs. Trust me that's a big deal.

Of the game itself the article touches very briefly on a few things such as the game having a command phase and that the spending of command points is important and that these command points might actually be a finite resource or at the very least limited. This is an interesting mechanic because I'm noticing this sort of thing more and more in wargames, its like there is an almost RTS resource management element creeping into the industry, be it focus in Warmachine, Soul Stones in Malifaux, Orders in Infinity or Mana in Anima Tactics. Its the use of these resources in these games that very often determines who is victorious, and who just plane old sucks. The fact that Dust Warfare has its own resource management mechanic just emphasises to me just how ubiquitous this sort of gameplay mechanic is becoming now and it makes certain games from certain companies seem antiquated in comparison.

Another interesting thing to note is a comment about the 'unit phase', now by the sounds of things the unit phase is your standard move, shoot and bash over the head with the butt of a rifle phase, however one phrase did catch my attention and that was 'reaction mechanics'. Now Andy Chambers is no stranger to 'overwatch' rules and the active and reactive mechanics they bring. My current favourite game of all time TM, Infinity is obviously a great exponent of this and its ARO system although criticised by some, is for me still the best active and reactive mechanic on the market. It is also another trend that has slowly crept into wargaming, and that is the 'always playing' mechanic. Many games try to do it in many different ways but I think we're slowly seeing the death (hopefully) of the your turn my turn mechanic whereby for half the game you're basically an interested observer.

I know its really not much to be going on at all, well it really isn't anything to be going on at all. However its clearly got me all excited, mainly because I'm looking at those lovely miniatures and thinking 'aha' (in my best Alan Partridge impersonation) I might actually have a game worth using these nice little miniatures in after all. But more importantly I hope its a return to the industry of one of its greatest protégés Andy Chambers and I hope its a return to form. Almost as exciting as that is the fact that Fantasy Flight Games has finally got its collective arse in gear and is now looking to publish its first proper wargame, they've actually been producing lovely miniatures for a few years now for some of their games and its about time they stepped up and took on a proper wargame. With them at the helm  it could be a huge success because all the foundations are there. It also sounds like Dust Warfare was always part of the plan, but that they've been waiting around to see how successful Dust Tactics was and how well received the miniature range was, that sounds to me like this has been a very serious decision and one they've thought out very well and for such a well run company that should get others in the industry sitting up and taking notice. Peace out!