What about Germany? No real Info here, too. It just got delayed several times as well as domination. Do you have a timetable?

A guy on BGG mentioned that Germany had it but had sold out. You can import from IGUK if you want the English version.

Terribly sorry if this is all a bit old hat,  but I want to thank Arcane Duels.

I played a fair bit of Mage Wars a few years ago. Mostly on OCTGN, and mainly losing badly to a certain Mr Charmyna. My favourite moment being when we played our first match post the Forcemaster/Warlord set and had created almost mirror books with mirror openings.

Found it very difficult to get real life games as no one wanted to dig deep into the game. It only really shines when you play a like minded soul.

With Academy coming out, my interest has been massively rekindled as I reckon I can get my friends to play it. So I started checking out BGG again. Found out about Arcane Duels.

I just wanted to note that these chaps are fabulous.

Something about the exact style of preamble, play, and review just 'clicks' with everything I want to see. It is spot on.

Coshade, Intangible, et al, thank you very much indeed for the truly excellent job you do.

WB Fentum! Long long time buddy! Academy is pretty cool!

Hi sIKE, thanks my old mate. I am back.

Been sidetracked into Pox Nora and Star Wars Imperial Assault. I find it very difficult to find players who will commit to really learning Mage Wars so I hope I can get some action with Academy.

See you on OCTGN I trust.

Regards,

Fentum

Well done man. I will log on right now.

Thank you.

so you've got to be more clever, is what I meant.

I am, so that's good.   

I have played perhaps 100 games so far. First few I took two nullifies as a matter of course, but just rarely / never used them. I found them to be detrimental to tempo, and I generally run aggressive builds.

I find it works better for me to 'take it on the chin' and come back fighting, rather than set up a nullify.

Am I mad? A tactical genius? Or what?

An online platform would be nice, but I imagine it would also be a lot of work. My suggestion is that instead of asking more from Arcane Wonders, we ask more from ourselves. It is up to us to spread the glory of Mage Wars. Become an ambassador, run Demos, organize leagues, and schedule tournaments.

I agree whole heartedly that we should try to convert the wargamer crowd though.

I believe that the OCTGN module was a bloke in his bedroom (metaphorically).

I agree that we should spread the word, but AW can help too. It's their full time job! Perhaps in conjunction with tournaments at shows. Most people I game with have never been to a show! The marketing push at the moment seems to be about events. I am just saying that one passionate person with appropriate skills can make a big difference.

There are a few posts running here and on the Geek regarding how we increase the player pool.

My overwhelming recommendation would be to launch an on-line play platform (cf Memoir 44, Small World, Ticket to Ride, Pandemic, etc., etc.). OCTGN does a cracking job of allowing one to actually play the game, but is a little difficult to set up initially. Nowadays, for 'a little difficult to set up initially' read 'dead in the mainstream'.

There is another suggestion, however, which may help to extend the player base. Advertise to specific groups beyond  CCG or LCG players. I am not really a CCG or LCG player, but I understand that such games are short (30 min?) and somewhat strongly affected by the card draw. Players who are looking for 30 min battles may get fed up with Mage Wars.

For me, Mage Wars is much more akin to Warhammer, Hordes, and other various miniatures games. Players spend hours in advance designing armies (spellbooks), choosing upgardes (enchants, equips) which are all available during play (not a card draw),  involve tactical positioning (we have a map!),  and the occasional special effects (attack spells?). These games take from an hour to maybe 3 hours typically. The players who enjoy these games might be a great target audience for Mage Wars.

Now the elephant in the room here is the MINIATURES themselves. Many people play Warhammer (et al) for the painting and spectacle. I personally hate painting but love gaming, so Mage Wars is a dream for me. I reckon there will be a decent market for players who feel like this, or who no longer have the time to paint hundreds of minis. Those guys are probably a bit older and more affluent now. Again, a GOOD THING for Mage Wars.

In addition to the tired Warhammer (et al) players, there is a market of Wargamers who I KNOW would love Mage Wars if they could get beyond the fantasy trappings. Even with the dripping theme, I believe that if grognards were to give the game a go, we would generate many converts. The complexity of MW is NOTHING compared to the stuff that grognards put up with. There might be an argument to say this market is too small, but recent releases such as I-pad Battle of the Bulge are driving interest in this level of game.

In summary...Mage Wars is a cracking game. OCTGN does a valiant job of allowing on-line play, but an official platform would be even better.  Targetted approaches to miniatures and board wargamers might be worthwhile.