OK, I think it's fair to say that I could potentially be considered a hostile reviewer, where this product is concerned. My cynic radar went off of the scale with how this product was announced, and then pimped out to the world, via a veiled threat of buy it now or miss out. It is this crass sort of marketing ploy that normally backfires, and does more harm to a companies reputation than good. That's a genuine shame because most people, perhaps even myself included, were judging the game on how it was handled as a product launch, rather than its merits as a game. However, rather than knee jerk into a rapid review of Dreadfleet, like some people have, I've taken my time to read the rules, played some games with various opponents, and have tried to judge the game on its constituent parts, and more importantly how it plays. I'm glad, in a way, that Games Workshop are still willing to give new products like Dreadfleet a go. It's just a shame that this new product isn't going to be given a decent shelf life, to see how it would have performed and evolved long-term, although after playing it I think it's a wise call to have made it a limited release. Although, looking at the shops round by me, they're all still struggling a week later to sell their 15 to 20 copies they were given. So it's shelf life might be longer than the Games Workshop management wished for. Possibly running into half term, and dare I say it, the start of the Christmas sales period. That was not what they planned!!!
Product Description
It has stuff in the box.
This is a wargame in a box. And yes, there is a difference to all those 'games in a box' I've been buying. Those games are pretty much board games, and while Dreadfleet comes with it's own admittedly nice playing surface, it is not a board game. You get 10 main ships in the box, a few sea monsters and teeny tiny auxiliary ships and other stuff that are really just tokens. There are also a fair few islands, obviously with the now obligatory Games Workshop skulls, so there is also scenery in the box. The rulebook is actually a really nice little book, it's full colour and contains a lot of evocative artwork, but those who can't stand John Blanche's work should probably skip past most of that! The rulebook obviously contains the rules (now that would be an epic fail) but also a lot of background, and what gamers like to term 'fluff'. It's clear a lot of attention has been lavished on the book and those involved should feel rightfully proud of their achievements. There have been reports of some quite serious binding problems with it, but genuinely hand on heart I have not had a single problem with mine, and if I had you'd know I'd let rip with a broadside of my own... sorry I couldn't resist! Their are a few cards, which fulfill various functions in the game and while they look nice enough they don't actually feel that good. I thought looking at the size of the small cards that they might have been Fantasy Flight Games cards, but they don't feel quite as thick, or glossy. They could still be Fantasy Flight cards though, just not their premium cards. However the best thing in the box is undoubtedly the mat, now its not often that I, as a red blooded male (OK, a male) get excited about fabric, but you know what? It's not half bad! Although it's size does limit its usefulness for other game systems really.
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