Dreadfleet playthrough

So we finally are given a glimpse of what a game of Dreadfleet might look like and I think its a very detailed run through. Now whether this was always planned to be shown yesterday or whether it was a hastily put together article in response to the withering criticism they've received for not showing the rules isn't really the point. Nope, they've actually done the right thing by showing a turn sequence in the game and also showing some of the game mechanics, so they get a thumbs up from me for finally doing the right thing. I still think this is what the video should have done but hey better late than never right? Also like to say I love the piece of artwork at the top of the article, I have no idea who is responsible but it looks really moody and chaotic and catches perfectly what the game seems to be about, well if the run through is anything to go by.

I like this piece of art... even if it is a little red

Now I'm not going to go re-write what they have said in the main article because quite frankly what's the point? No I'm going to give my thoughts on what they've revealed so far. The first bit of information we get is that there are 12 scenarios in the game, now to shoot off at a tangent can someone please tell me why it is that pretty much every game in box seems to have either 6 or 12 missions? What's wrong with 10 or 8? Any way I personally think 12 missions is a good number to have and if they're varied enough and offer different challenges then it should keep gamers happy for a fair few months. The next tidbit of information comes in the form of the roll to see the direction of the wind, those of you who ever played Man-o-War should be getting a nostalgia hit around about now. Yep wind direction will affect your speed and as it changes could provide you with a boost or a cause you no end of bother... it is the first random element.

The game has 5 phases to each game turn, although that in and of itself is utterly meaningless information, the phases and their functions are listed below:

1. Initiative - erm do I need to explain this to you? Oh OK then every turn players roll to see who gets to go first. Another random element, but one we're all used to and I'm not too sure there's a better way of sorting out the I go you go game turn sequence to be honest with you.
2. Status - This is the phase where any effects that your ships might be under, positive or negative are resolved. Again there's nothing odd or revolutionary about this and its something we're all used to from other games.
3. Fate - At first it seemed like both players drew a set amount of 'fate' cards. These cards add a random element to the game in the shape of events and things. They can be positive or negative in effect. However on further inspection it seems you roll to see how many fate cards you drew adding a further random element to a random element.
4. Action - The 'doing stuff' phase. It appears from the read through there are alternating activations like Malifaux or dare I say it Spartan Games products. This is a good thing as its moving away from the you do all your stuff, then I do all my stuff mechanics of Games Workshops current range of games and should alleviate the boredom of sitting on the side lines watching stuff happen to you. It also means that those initiative rolls won't be as powerful and important. Also of note is the fact that ships need to be given orders before they do things and that there are 5 orders. Although the article only mentions 4, these being full speed ahead, repair, hard-to-port and hard-to-starboard, what the mystery fifth order is I don't know or even if there is a fifth order. The other interesting mechanic is that to complete these 'orders' you have to pass a command test, this is an interesting mechanic to me and one I've personally been working on myself for some years now and it actually has a lot of scope and I'd love to see more games try and use it... so Brownie points to Phil Kelly for giving it a go here.
5. End - Erm I'm none the wiser to be honest, I don't think it was mentioned although I'm sure its just the normal check to see if anyone has won phase.

So that's how the turns are broken down and I don't think there's anything too revolutionary or weird about how the game turn is broken down, although there are some significant departures from the normal Games Workshop doctrine of game design if you will. Nothing new or revolutionary in terms of the industry as a whole but nevertheless it represents something new for Games Workshop (Jake Thornton has pointed out that's not necessarily the case in the comments below, he's Quirkworthy by the way).

The ruler thingy looks handy

So what are my overall impressions? Its not a serious game, and by that I mean its not taking itself too seriously. Its designed to be fun, however I would like to know who it was that decided randomness was fun? Randomness is a necessary evil in table top gaming and I've always felt that as a gamer your job is to combat that random element in every game system to maximise your chances of winning. Yeah I'm aware that makes me sound like a total maths geek. I hate the overbearing use of random elements in game systems as a means to creating game balance, I think its a cop out and I just think for me there are maybe too many random elements to the game. Speaking of which here's the start to a series of articles I did on Game Balance. That's a personal choice though and others might love the random elements the game brings too the table.

Yay for cards!!! They're a great gaming tool

So was it enough to convince me to change my mind? No it wasn't, while I've heard some people claim its just like Man-o-War I can confirm as somebody who played that game a hell of a lot that its nothing of the sort. The addition of damage cards and fate cards and all the rest of it are interesting though because here we have something that board gamers are more than used to using in their games and wargamers might not be so used to using. I think as well from what I read the game has a really awkward mismatch, it looks like the random elements and the aesthetic design of the ships has been designed for a younger market, nothing wrong with that as we always need fresh blood coming into the hobby. However in my experience games like this with lots of cards and things to remember can be very complex to teach to children and arguably aren't suited to the younger market. So I think it feels like its not really well aimed at anyone in particular. However as I said it the fact that the miniatures still look like kids toys to me and I can't dig those aesthetics that's putting me off the most. Yeah they're detailed like all Games Workshop plastic kits are, but honestly I'm not bothered if its a detailed kids toy.

 Cards bring their own challenges... you need space and lots of it

However I'll give Games Workshop credit for trying out some new ideas in this product, even if I think the reason behind launching it are a little bit more cynical than that. I also give them credit for finally letting us see what the game is sort of about. Even if it didn't really explain certain things in as clear a way as I would have liked. The article did give me a feel for what to expect from the game and for that it was worthwhile and it confirmed to me that its not a product I'd wish to purchase, so I can stop worrying about selling my remaining kidney. I'm happy however that Games Workshop are still looking at doing new things, its something I personally have criticised them for in the past few years so I'll give them a pat on the back for giving something new a go. Its just a shame they've done so with a product that isn't interesting to me personally and in such a way that my cynic meter went off the scale... I'm sure the accountants will be happy with the mid year sales boost it will provide. Peace out!