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I just don't know wether to buy into P-wars or not


ukrocky

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So I have a dilemma, with black friday sale coming up the pack of 5 teddies has more or less swayed me to buy into puppet wars, however I'm unsure if that's what I want to do.

I'm worried I'll get very little use out of puppet wars, with being the only player around getting it and everyone using mine, and when considered with it's high buy in cost that does worry me a fair bit.

I'm considering the following few options;

- Buy the 5 teddies and the P-wars starter box

- Buy the 5 teddies, a necrotic machine and a pack of belles to finish my Molly crew off

- Buy Bloodbowl team manager

- Save my money

And I have literally no idea what I want to do!

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So I have a dilemma, with black friday sale coming up the pack of 5 teddies has more or less swayed me to buy into puppet wars, however I'm unsure if that's what I want to do.

I'm worried I'll get very little use out of puppet wars, with being the only player around getting it and everyone using mine, and when considered with it's high buy in cost that does worry me a fair bit.

I'm considering the following few options;

- Buy the 5 teddies and the P-wars starter box

- Buy the 5 teddies, a necrotic machine and a pack of belles to finish my Molly crew off

- Buy Bloodbowl team manager

- Save my money

And I have literally no idea what I want to do!

Well I can see what you mean! That is quite a dilemma.

But the buy in for the game is actually rather cheap compared to 90% of the mini games out there, though it is a bit high for a board game. Luckily it is a hybrid of both so it ends up in that sorta middle category. So for a smaller price then 2 players buying into most games, you get a 2 player starter that expands to add more players cheaper then any mini's game. Also while we'd love for everyone to buy their own set and have their own minis to play with... the game is a good group game. Meaning if 1 person in the group owns it, you can play nicely that way! You just use draft style of play rather then everyone having their own tuned lists. If they want a tuned list, they have to buy their own basically. But I started it off that way in my area and watched it slowly grow, now 3 others have their own sets.

So really if you think your group will want to play it, you'll get quite a lot of use out of it! Plus if you pick up the multiplayer expansion and some of the other puppet packs you can get up to 3 or 4 players rather quickly.

Basically it comes down to what you think your group will play. Will they want to play with Puppets and make it worth buying the game and the expansions. If so, then you've got a game that will continually grow and the replay value is higher then your other options and also gets more of your group involved for a much smaller price. Heck if your group wants to get into it, then split the cost like some gaming clubs do.

Edited by karn987
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Should probably point out now that I am biased, having playtested PW and bought one of each set during Gencon.

If you like collecting (if you have the special edition minis like LCB, etc) then that's reason enough to get the teddies (could always sell them for profit later).

But there isn't too great a rush to buy in now. With the rules on the website you can easily get an idea of how it works and even proxy a game or two. If you know anyone, however vaguely, who has the game then you can always see what it's like before buying. I currently live is Stafford, but I'm sure they'll be plenty closer to home.

Saying that, I think Puppet Wars is an investment, and a good one at that. The reason being that it does cost and it has had a relatively slow start as it competes with established miniature and boardgames. Though were it excels is that it has the draw of a miniature game - great minis and imo more variety than any other game - but also the accessibility of a boardgame (so long as you establish the card mechanic first). So it's not just your hobby community you will be able to win over, but anyone, plus it's much easier to augment than Malifaux, so you can run tournaments and special rules much easier. Not to mention you can take enough for two players and play just about anywhere without having to do a great deal of organisation. Plus it doesn't feel like Mali-lite, and it has it's own learning curve that is very rewarding.

So Puppet Wars is a mobile game with more variety and freedom to tailor the experience for whoever's playing. I have a Marcus crew, plus I'm thinking of starting Molly, and even though I bought Terraclips, I don't really play Malifaux because I don't know anyone who does it. I play lots of Puppet Wars because I don't have to sell it like other games, the image hooks them and the game reels them in. So for me it has been worth it far more than anything I currently own for Malifaux.

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Puppet Wars is a great game you wont regret purchasing it (have been addicted to it since demoing it all of GenCon next to Karn and Lalo).

Also remember that it isn't "Malifaux Light" but a completely seperate game that happens to share a bit of rules. The best target for players are the Fantasy Flight crowd as they are used to shelling out the money for a fun board game (with enough public play others will buy in).

Trust me once they have played the game they will buy in (as finances allow).

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I agree. Been playing since I have gotten it. Fairly simple for those who play table top games, but really different in my mind. Really balanced game. There are wicked combos, but everything can be stopped or just ripped apart. Much faster than most table top games I have played. Plus, it is quick enough to learn for those who don't typically play this type of game. I too bring everything and break it out between other games or down time. Just played a game waiting for thanksgiving dinner actually.

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  • 2 weeks later...

So I played last night, Seamus vs Lady J with the reccomended set-up.

Early game saw the executioner fall quickly to the convincted gunslinger buffed up by seamus and the belle double teaming him.

After that the tables swung in favour of the guild with the gunslinger losing at roulette vs the judge, the slurrid refusing to come onto the table, the acolyte, punk zombie, nurse and misaki all falling in quick succession leaving Seamus, his belle and bete noir staring at the Razorspine, Lady J, the Austringer, Death Marshall, Alyce, Ronin and Cherub. Oh dear.

Wounds began pinging off everyone, with bete hiding under the bed alot, the belle confusing alyce and then lady J whilst seamus tried his best to get some upgrades on himself and net a couple of quick kills.

Lady J finally managed to get into seamus but thanks to Sugar and Spice survived through the onslaught with one wound remaining, facing Lady J with one wound remaining.

Activation round 5 saw me flip a 2 with nothing to cheat from my hand, and Neil flipped a fairly decent card. After much umming and ahhing I decided to move Seamus one hex out of combat with Lady J only to realise it may well have saved me the game with the austringer ready to launch his pretty little bird at me.

The next set of rounds came around and the game was gonna come down to first activation, Seamus drew a 3 on his last card, pop gun'd Lady J and then stopped her dodging for the win out of nowhere, with Seamus the only resser on the board facing a 1 wound death marshall, 1 wound alyce and a healthy austringer.

It was a really close, exciting game that I genuinely really, really enjoyed. My problem however stays the same. The high buy in cost of getting the box set, 3 boosters and the expansion.

There were a couple rules questions but I'll post up later!

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I didn't. Good idea and models but huge let down as a game. Initial start cost puts many people off, game and 3,4 other boxes too expensive for a board game.

The models are lovely but game was huge let down.

Each to there own though

Luckily it's not really a board game :)

It's a Hybrid game remember, inbetween a board game and a mini's game. It capitalizes on the best of both worlds in many ways but the trade off is the price point of it. But even still, if you stop thinking of the price in terms of a board game and look at what you get.... you get a great deal on this thing. Think of it as a Mini game when you look at it, because it does expand a lot like one. It's also cheaper then a lot of mini game's buyin costs. Especially if your just looking to get started with the core pieces, it's actually a very good price.

But I do understand that some people look at it and all the extra pieces with the mentality of "gotta have them all or it's not the game"... well that's not true. The Core set is enough for 2 players to play with for quite a while. Each expansion you buy not only pushes you towards being able to play with more people, but also dramatically enhances the number of possible toybox layouts.

So while I'm by no means telling anyone your wrong for balking at the price, I am just asking you take another look. You get a lot more then you really think you do and the mentality of "this is to expensive for a board game" is the wrong one to have. It's a hybrid game, it's as much a Mini's game as it is a board game. When you take that into account... this is actually a great price boarding on kinda cheap (it's about the price of buying into Malifaux and you get a lot more for your money).

So I do hope you give it another look, it really is a blast of a game and the price is deceptive. It's not that expensive and it's cheaper by far then getting 2 players into just about any Mini game.

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Lady J finally managed to get into seamus but thanks to Sugar and Spice survived through the onslaught with one wound remaining, facing Lady J with one wound remaining.

Sugar and Spice has the "No Master" tag, haha. Ya dirty cheat! ;)

It sounds like it was an awesome game! Hopefully fullborer and I can have just as good of a game tonight.

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This is a whole seperate conversation. One which, I believe, you are correct no matter which side of the fence you're on. If you enjoy the game, it's definitely worth the expense. There may be much better deals out there, though, depending on your tastes. I would argue that the newcomer "Super Dungeon Explorer" by Soda Pop Miniatures, when sitting right next to Puppet Wars on the shelf, looks like the much better buy.

Luckily it's not really a board game :)

It's a Hybrid game remember, inbetween a board game and a mini's game. It capitalizes on the best of both worlds in many ways but the trade off is the price point of it. But even still, if you stop thinking of the price in terms of a board game and look at what you get.... you get a great deal on this thing. Think of it as a Mini game when you look at it, because it does expand a lot like one. It's also cheaper then a lot of mini game's buyin costs. Especially if your just looking to get started with the core pieces, it's actually a very good price.

But I do understand that some people look at it and all the extra pieces with the mentality of "gotta have them all or it's not the game"... well that's not true. The Core set is enough for 2 players to play with for quite a while. Each expansion you buy not only pushes you towards being able to play with more people, but also dramatically enhances the number of possible toybox layouts.

So while I'm by no means telling anyone your wrong for balking at the price, I am just asking you take another look. You get a lot more then you really think you do and the mentality of "this is to expensive for a board game" is the wrong one to have. It's a hybrid game, it's as much a Mini's game as it is a board game. When you take that into account... this is actually a great price boarding on kinda cheap (it's about the price of buying into Malifaux and you get a lot more for your money).

So I do hope you give it another look, it really is a blast of a game and the price is deceptive. It's not that expensive and it's cheaper by far then getting 2 players into just about any Mini game.

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I didn't. Good idea and models but huge let down as a game. Initial start cost puts many people off, game and 3,4 other boxes too expensive for a board game.

The models are lovely but game was huge let down.

Each to there own though

Budget is budget. It is a pricey game and unfortunately that will exclude some.

But what makes you say it fails as a game? I understand you may not like the cost, but have you played it?

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Sugar and Spice has the "No Master" tag, haha. Ya dirty cheat! ;)

It sounds like it was an awesome game! Hopefully fullborer and I can have just as good of a game tonight.

Whoops...guess I lost then :P

Another question was when bete noir hides under the bed, does she lose all the wounds on her?

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Well to be fair you only need to buy the starter box. A clever investment would then be the Multiplayer Expansion (which is how I started). Then later (the next motnh, perhaps?) you can get one Pawn Booster, getting one of the three Boosters every month for three months. You don't have to buy it all in one go! Seriously.

If you use the draft method of creating forces it doesn't matter at all which (or how many) Puppets you have as long as everybody has the same number of models. Remember, you also don't have to follow the Toybox size (8/12/16/32 I believe) from the rulebook, just use however many you have. As I said this is how I've done it and I plan to expand in the hopefully not too distant future.

I bought the core game and the Multiplayer expansion this October while visiting my girlfriend (she's American and I'm Danish). I bought it purely because I fell in love with the models and the setting while walking through this gamestore. I thought about it for a day or two then begged her to take me back there so I could buy it.

I thought to myself if I want to play this game and the price to do so is to be the one to supply all the models then so be it, as long as my friends want to play. Guess what? The four people I've demoed with so far love it (two of them are a couple) and now the couple are getting into the game as well. I doubt the two others will buy into Puppet Wars, but I'm fine with that as long as they will still play every once in a while, learn from the games and build tuned lists instead of drafting every time.

I hope my experiences can help you!

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  • 3 weeks later...
This is a whole seperate conversation. One which, I believe, you are correct no matter which side of the fence you're on. If you enjoy the game, it's definitely worth the expense. There may be much better deals out there, though, depending on your tastes. I would argue that the newcomer "Super Dungeon Explorer" by Soda Pop Miniatures, when sitting right next to Puppet Wars on the shelf, looks like the much better buy.

Have you played Super Dungeon Explorer? It looks like a load of fun, and it has full-sized minis that look like they'd be just as fun to paint as to actually play the game.

I'm still a fence sitter about Puppet Wars. Yes, I now own a copy, thanks to my gf suggesting her folks buy it for me (online for far less than retail) for a Christmas present. I'd bought the Teddies during the Black Friday Sale, not so much thinking I'd ever get into PW (despite having it on my xmas list), but because they're Teddies. [Heck, just the inspiration they gave me to do the alternate shadow idea (postponed work in progress) made them well worth it.]

I need to get some actual games in before I weigh in with my opinions on the game. I like most of the puppet versions of the characters, and have liked them since I picked up my puppet deck last year. So that's a plus. Aside from waking up to a wretched dream that I'd dropped my puppets in the snowy road across from my LGS, all due to the horribly flimsy box they come in, I think it'll grow on me.

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