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Made in jp
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Somewhere in south-central England.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-57996237

tl:dr Lots of people started playing tabletop wargames in the lockdown and found it was good fun in various ways.

I'm writing a load of fiction. My latest story starts here... This is the index of all the stories...

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Moustache-twirling Princeps





Gone-to-ground in the craters of Coventry

They got some of the smaller games people in there, which is nice. Hopefully they'll see a bump in orders.

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Good to see the hobby increased for many companies during a period of loss for mostly everything else.

The article still felt a little like a product placement advert for Kill Team though.

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It is pleasing to know it’s not just GW enjoying an increase in sales.

A market with competition is a healthy market for us nerds.

   
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Regular Dakkanaut





 Gimgamgoo wrote:
Good to see the hobby increased for many companies during a period of loss for mostly everything else.

The article still felt a little like a product placement advert for Kill Team though.


Fully half the article was about GW competitors, including some companies that a lot of mainstream people would never have heard of. So I wouldn't say that.
   
Made in de
Dakka Veteran





For me the big take away was the closing bit from Annie of Bad Squiddo.

However Annie Norman, who runs Bad Squiddo, a company that designs female war game miniatures, said the past 18 months have not been plain sailing for everyone in the industry.
"It did pick up at the start of lockdown as people were being furloughed and staying at home, so there was a sudden boom," she said.
"But it definitely went back down again around the summer."
Annie, who runs the company by herself said people often see articles in the press about big games companies booming and assume the same is true for everyone in the business.
"I'll admit to feeling a bit of jealousy when I see articles about Games Workshop doing well," she said.
"But it's still a good sign for the industry in general."

Rick, the Grumpy Gnome

https://thegrumpygnome.home.blog/ 
   
Made in ca
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 Grumpy Gnome wrote:
For me the big take away was the closing bit from Annie of Bad Squiddo.

However Annie Norman, who runs Bad Squiddo, a company that designs female war game miniatures, said the past 18 months have not been plain sailing for everyone in the industry.
"It did pick up at the start of lockdown as people were being furloughed and staying at home, so there was a sudden boom," she said.
"But it definitely went back down again around the summer."
Annie, who runs the company by herself said people often see articles in the press about big games companies booming and assume the same is true for everyone in the business.
"I'll admit to feeling a bit of jealousy when I see articles about Games Workshop doing well," she said.
"But it's still a good sign for the industry in general."


40k I think saw a much higher degree of growth during lock down then everyone else due to it's "cultural presence on the internet" there are proably a LOT of "I'd like to try warhammer 0k but don't have the time" players out there

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Moustache-twirling Princeps





Gone-to-ground in the craters of Coventry

As the 'gateway drug' into wargaming, new GW players will eventually find Bad Squiddo and others. But, not straight away.
Who has started the hobby by buying from a smaller company like BSG? I doubt it is many people.

So, GW's gain now is a smaller company's gain later. GW has had enough of the Lockdown market for now, go and spread the hobby with the others.

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Not to mention a lot of former players out there who are fairly easy (as such things go) to tempt back into it.

   
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Stonecold Gimster






 Londinium wrote:
 Gimgamgoo wrote:
Good to see the hobby increased for many companies during a period of loss for mostly everything else.

The article still felt a little like a product placement advert for Kill Team though.


Fully half the article was about GW competitors, including some companies that a lot of mainstream people would never have heard of. So I wouldn't say that.


I was actually thinking more about the way the Kill Team boxes were propped up in the family gaming pics, not the written article.

My Painting Blog: http://gimgamgoo.com/
Currently most played: Silent Death, Xenos Rampant, Mars Code Aurora and Battletech.
I tried dabbling with 40k9/10 again and tried AoS3 - disliked both, but I'm enjoying HH2 and trying Battletech Classic and AS out 
   
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Locked in the Tower of Amareo





 Gimgamgoo wrote:
 Londinium wrote:
 Gimgamgoo wrote:
Good to see the hobby increased for many companies during a period of loss for mostly everything else.

The article still felt a little like a product placement advert for Kill Team though.


Fully half the article was about GW competitors, including some companies that a lot of mainstream people would never have heard of. So I wouldn't say that.


I was actually thinking more about the way the Kill Team boxes were propped up in the family gaming pics, not the written article.


So 1 pic has that and it's ad for it? Not for say mantic giant or other stuff in article?

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Gone-to-ground in the craters of Coventry

2 pics.

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United Kingdom

So who else does a game in a box (with terrain) like Kill Team? Mantic & Warlord do a few - anyone else?

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/08/23 11:24:33


 
   
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tneva82 wrote:
 Gimgamgoo wrote:
 Londinium wrote:
 Gimgamgoo wrote:
Good to see the hobby increased for many companies during a period of loss for mostly everything else.

The article still felt a little like a product placement advert for Kill Team though.


Fully half the article was about GW competitors, including some companies that a lot of mainstream people would never have heard of. So I wouldn't say that.


I was actually thinking more about the way the Kill Team boxes were propped up in the family gaming pics, not the written article.


So 1 pic has that and it's ad for it? Not for say mantic giant or other stuff in article?


2 pics with propped up boxes like an advert. None of the other pics had that.
Just an observation.

My Painting Blog: http://gimgamgoo.com/
Currently most played: Silent Death, Xenos Rampant, Mars Code Aurora and Battletech.
I tried dabbling with 40k9/10 again and tried AoS3 - disliked both, but I'm enjoying HH2 and trying Battletech Classic and AS out 
   
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RogueSangre



West Sussex, UK

 Gimgamgoo wrote:
tneva82 wrote:
 Gimgamgoo wrote:
 Londinium wrote:
 Gimgamgoo wrote:
Good to see the hobby increased for many companies during a period of loss for mostly everything else.

The article still felt a little like a product placement advert for Kill Team though.


Fully half the article was about GW competitors, including some companies that a lot of mainstream people would never have heard of. So I wouldn't say that.


I was actually thinking more about the way the Kill Team boxes were propped up in the family gaming pics, not the written article.


So 1 pic has that and it's ad for it? Not for say mantic giant or other stuff in article?


2 pics with propped up boxes like an advert. None of the other pics had that.
Just an observation.


The photos were taken and submitted by the father, I suspect he added the box to be helpful and show what they were playing.

Counting the actual official promotional model images in the article, Mantic comes out in the lead with 2. GW, Warlord and Bad Squido then get 1 official promotional model image each. Warlord, Mantic and Bad Squdio also get a bonus promotional headshot of the CEO / Owner.
   
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beast_gts wrote:
So who else does a game in a box (with terrain) like Kill Team? Mantic & Warlord do a few - anyone else?


Off the top of my head (although think Mantic and Warlord have got the recipe down quite well)
Infinity
ASOIAF starter set
Fallout WW
Not sure about the FFG Star Wars games? They do a good starter set but don't think it contains terrain

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West Sussex, UK

 Pacific wrote:
beast_gts wrote:
So who else does a game in a box (with terrain) like Kill Team? Mantic & Warlord do a few - anyone else?


Off the top of my head (although think Mantic and Warlord have got the recipe down quite well)
Infinity
ASOIAF starter set
Fallout WW
Not sure about the FFG Star Wars games? They do a good starter set but don't think it contains terrain


ASOIAF only had the plastic terrain with the Kickstarter. The regular version just comes with some flat cardboard templates but still better than nothing (and I believe some are themed around the army, with Nightswatch and Free Folk having snow covered).

Fallout WW comes with a paper gaming mat but no terrain (you could get a bundle with the cardstock Red Rocket at launch)

Star Wars Legion comes with a few small plastic barriers. A nice bonus but not enough to play a full game.

Warlord and Mantic are definitely the best two at providing an out of the box experience with terrain.
   
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MN (Currently in WY)

NERDS!


Ahem.... I wonder if the same is true in the US as it is in the UK. You would think those sales growths for Warlord and GW would translate, as does the Mantic conversation about US folks getting up early to be part of the seminars.

I feel like RPGs and board games have boomed much more in the US rather than Wargames, but I have no real data to base that on.

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Well, we might be able to extrapolate that from GW’s own sales data, by looking at how their US sales have changed over the past three or four years.

It would of course be far from conclusive, but if we see say, a 20% increase for GW, it would show a growing appetite over the pond for wargaming. Whereas if they remained fairly static, and the main increase for GW came from the U.K. and Europe, it might suggest other companies found the same.

   
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Regular Dakkanaut




Nottingham

Cheers! I gave a much longer interview but of course there isn't much space for all my ramblings.

GW doing well is awesome, and is indeed a big gateway. My point which may have got lost is that because they are making mega mega bucks doesn't mean the entire industry is, it's been a really hard 18 months (or however long now) as a one person operation, being screwed by various failed schemes or small print to help us from the government, and having to keep on top of all that and keep a business running has been hard. Larger organisations have whole teams on keeping up with that legislation. Not just an overtired Annie. Also Brexit.

By "jealous" it was not intended as in a bad way, I'm always more than happy to admit to those sort of things, of course I am jealous, who wouldn't be, I want a massive golden statue outside my office!

I didn't mean to sound grumpy, it was more of a "it's sucked, but hey we're still here and upbeat!"

I got a decent amount of orders and followers off it too, woo!

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/09/25 07:17:44


   
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 Annie wrote:
Cheers! I gave a much longer interview but of course there isn't much space for all my ramblings.

GW doing well is awesome, and is indeed a big gateway. My point which may have got lost is that because they are making mega mega bucks doesn't mean the entire industry is, it's been a really hard 18 months (or however long now) as a one person operation, being screwed by various failed schemes or small print to help us from the government, and having to keep on top of all that and keep a business running has been hard. Larger organisations have whole teams on keeping up with that legislation. Not just an overtired Annie. Also Brexit.

By "jealous" it was not intended as in a bad way, I'm always more than happy to admit to those sort of things, of course I am jealous, who wouldn't be, I want a massive golden statue outside my office!

I didn't mean to sound grumpy, it was more of a "it's sucked, but hey we're still here and upbeat!"

I got a decent amount of orders and followers off it too, woo!


Cheers Annie.

Yeah I keep hearing that from other companies too and we see companies mostly silent online and some closing down during this difficult period. So I agree I think there are 2 very distinct realities here when you compare competitors to the big GW.
I wish you manage to keep it going and come out of the end of this Brexit mess that is so difficult for most companies. We need your minis in the industry.
Best of luck.

   
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Thanks for chiming in.

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