We have shipped a few early games to play testers. How does it look? Here is a letter back from one with our response:
Hi Marshall,
Finally had a spare minute to open the box. The tube looks nice. The opening blurb on the battle is a little pessimistic for the American player! But that is just PR to make the game enticing.
Inside, the map is beautiful, no doubt about it. It does live up to the hype. The small rule book works for me. I prefer that to one large sheet folded up. The blocks are good quality and the labels look nice. The components are great!
Downside: the map is of course curved, as are the rules and charts and other sheets. Curved rules and charts are hard to use! And since the game has to be put away re-rolled, the map and rules and charts will always be curved! That is a concern. Rules, charts, and maps that sit flat are easier to use.
And getting everything back into the tube is not easy! You literally have to roll the bags of pieces into the rules and charts, and roll all of that into the map! Putting the game away will take more work than setting the game up!
Overall, I love the quality of the components. But, just to be honest, I am not sure they outweigh the inconveniences involved. As for expense, I do not mind paying for quality, and that is delivered. But I can understand why others would prefer a practical, more easily used map – I almost feel nervous with the thought of actually playing on a map like this. It would be like playing Craps on the Mona Lisa!!
Mark
Mark,
The map always makes a great impression in person! It is amazing. One play tester was too afraid to play on it because it looked so good! He instead had it framed.
They are beautiful but rest assured, they are also tough. We’ve been playing on ours for a couple of years now. It shows no signs of wear. The worst that has happened is a few threads came loose on the edges. Just carefully trim them off and you are as good as new.
Putting Away
When putting it away, try this: Roll up just the rules and chart with the map. Put it in the tube. Then drop in the bags of pieces. It goes much easier that way. 🙂
Curling
There is a slight curl when you first pull it out. A quick counter roll when you first take it out will quickly remove any curl to the rules, chart and map. The map usually flattens out on it’s own mostly after a few minutes. It’s not as bad as it seems at first.
Thanks for all the great feedback!
Marshall