D&D Dice Masters...*sigh*

Well, here we go...

I just got a press release from Wizkids, they're doing a Dungeons & Dragons Dice Masters game.

Another one?!?

So, I guess it is reasonable to assume that the Star Trek version is right around the corner as well.

wizkidsgames.com/blog/2014/05/30/wizkids...ragons-dice-masters/

Yep, I got it too.

Is anyone shocked? I am. I'm shocked that Wizards of the Coast didn't license it rather than having WizKids licensing the brand from Wizards.

I guess it makes more sense since WizKids has the molds, concepts..etc..but to me, it's weakening the D&D brand.

Wizkids is partnered with WotC to do all of their non-RPG work now...not really sure how this affects Lords of Waterdeep, but I think it's why there are no other D&D board games in the works over there.

This will be three Dice Masters games out in one year, one of which will already have a second release (the upcoming X-Men set). This is really pushing it out there. They are all compatible, but I think most folks won't be very interested in putting Wolverine in a D&D party with a Yugioh monster. I dunno.

And Dice Masters still doesn't have a long-term record of success, so that's troubling too. If it can't maintain momentum then the other games may not do as well.

And if for whatever reason one of the others "sucks", then it's trouble too. If either are just palette-swapped cards and die faces, that could be trouble.

I dunno, I can't fault them for going where the money is but rushing product out may not be such a good idea...they could crash their own market.

I think they're looking for onesie sales. Trekkers buy the Star Trek version, Role Players buy the D&D version, etc. They're selling the same game to the entire nerd spectrum. Crashing the market isn't a big concern when you're looking to make your numbers for 2014 only.

As for weakening the D&D brand . . . what's left to weaken?

Amen to Sag's point. D&D is the weakest of brands. Or, the strongest I guess, in that they can continuously shit all over themselves and it doesn't make a lick of difference.

I'm pretty happy with my Quarriors collection right now. The Quest dice expansion really helped improve the game more than any of the others did. It's solid at this point.

I almost bought this X-men vs. Avengers thing. Glad I didn't. I'm just going to wait till the dust settles and see what happens. This is now a fools errand and I'm steering clear for the time being.

So is all of this Quarriors descendants? I haven't been keeping up with it.

It seems to me that Quarriors was the beta version of this system and since then they've been trying to cash in on my nostalgia (something I can be susceptible to) but intellectually I prefer that they come up with their own IP even if it's not that original.

JonJacob wrote: I'm pretty happy with my Quarriors collection right now. The Quest dice expansion really helped improve the game more than any of the others did. It's solid at this point.

I almost bought this X-men vs. Avengers thing. Glad I didn't. I'm just going to wait till the dust settles and see what happens. This is now a fools errand and I'm steering clear for the time being.

Yes, I definitely would not be surprised if I picked up a big set of one of these games in several years when they've run their course. But I'm not getting on until the set is done and I've seen all the different ways they're going to flog the system---I'll buy into the one whose theme appeals most.

Yeah, I'll admit that I got caught up in the excitement...And can see myself stopping shortly (once I round out a few more cards) and take a wait and see approach. D&D and YGO don't excite me. The XMen one coming out...That's going to be hard to resist but I think I can.

Michael Barnes wrote: This will be three Dice Masters games out in one year, one of which will already have a second release (the upcoming X-Men set). This is really pushing it out there. They are all compatible, but I think most folks won't be very interested in putting Wolverine in a D&D party with a Yugioh monster. I dunno.

This is how the collectible model works, particularly in 2014. You need to have set after set after set lined up because each release will only keep folks busy working through the metagame for 3-5 months before it stagnates. This is how you do it. From here it's hard to say how the long term success will be for the game because right now, nobody can play it (which is a HUGE blunder), once starters are everywhere and OP rolls out, we'll be more able to judge if it has long term viability or is a flash in the pan, but as far as release schedules go, this is about right.