Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

It has been an age, but I have managed to get a new review up!



The Osprey Wargame series has been one of my favorite sources of rules systems. They are typically a quick read and bring interesting mechanics and ideas to the table. The price point and length of the rules have introduced me to all sorts of interesting games. This in turn has spurred my own creativity and game design.

Today, we are going to take a look at Kobolds and Cobblestones. This is a game of Fantasy gang combat for control of the underworld of a cosmopolitan fantasy city. As I was thinking about the game, I was surprised to read their take that Kobolds are a form of lizard man style creature. I have been forever stained by the old Ad&D Monster Manual that had art showing them looking like little dog men. The idea of them being lizard-like frightened and confused me! However, I got over it. It turns out I was the one completely out of the loop!



This game does not have any design notes. However, I did read in the acknowledgments that the game was built by “making it up” as he went along with some of his gaming buddies. I like the spirit of this approach. Now let's take a closer look and see how it all hangs together.

https://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2018/07/review-kobolds-and-cobblestones-osprey.html

This was the first "blue book" I didn't pre-order, as the poker stuff didn't interest me. The past few years have seen a lot of attempts to eject dice, or at least the ubiquitous d6, but none of them seem to "stick." I guess Malifaux is the most successful (but as I recall that uses d20s in addition to poker decks).

Do we think it is worth picking up?

Because I'm just about ready to buy a bunch of these:

http://otherworldminiatures.co.uk/?s=kobolds&submit.x=0&submit.y=0&submit=Search&post_type=product

...in an attempt to create a diorama of this:



I'd love to have another game system to use them with!

I'd rather play Advanced Song of Blades & Heroes. I have a ton of Otherworld Miniatures. They are the bee's knees.

As Manchu says, it depends on if you like the Poker based mechanics as that is the heart of the system. I got it pretty cheaply and my goal is to spur my own game design thought process, so it was worth it to me to see an alternate take on mechanics using cards.

However, for playing it would probably be for a short 6 game campaign and then be done for the year. There is not the investment in models and gang growth that other more robust skirmish games provide. However, i could see you having a small fantasy gang for this, using it as the base for a Frostgrave force, building it up for Dragon Rampant, which you could also then use for Kings of War. If you are into Fantasy it is a nice supplemental game to take a short break from your main games.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Manchu wrote:
This was the first "blue book" I didn't pre-order, as the poker stuff didn't interest me. The past few years have seen a lot of attempts to eject dice, or at least the ubiquitous d6, but none of them seem to "stick." I guess Malifaux is the most successful (but as I recall that uses d20s in addition to poker decks).

Yes, there has been a push in the indie market to push the direction of games away from basic d6 as the core number generator to resolve actions. I have seen this with the rules I have reviewed. Many designers prefer cards for the ability to hold a "hand" and make decisions on when to use certain cards from your hands to allow additional agency of the action on the board. A roll of a d6 does not allow for that level of "player agency" as you get the results you get.

Personally, I prefer to add decision making by allowing a player to game the number of dice they can roll in order to increase probability, in essence creating a dice pool (which could be considered equivalent to a hand of cards) that can be used and banked. The more dice you roll, the cleaner the probability of results. You can still use a core D6 for such a system.

Ultimately, I prefer dice in my games but I can see the appeal of cards.