FFG Done With AT Classics?

I think this thread is a a little hyperbolic. Whilst i expect FFG to view their output as perhaps 70% serial games the fact that they are going to reprint Tigris and Eurphrates shows they are not completely dedicated to one sales model. AH had a million expansions and FFG have always been an expansions heavy company. I suspect we will continue to see big box games like X-Com but perhaps not at the three a year rate of the past. I also expect they will reprint FoD at some point. They added Letters from White Chapel to their line pretty recently, thats not a serial purchase. They have a lot of games listed on their site, it doesn't surprise me that they'd trim some of the fat but games like Cosmic, Chaos in the Old World and Talisman aren't going anywhere.

They're actually printing the episodic Tigris and Euphrates Legacy.

FFG also recently published the one-shot Witcher adventure game, although the few comments around here were pretty damning.

Many years ago there was talk they were working on a Game of Thrones adventure game, wonder if that's still in the cards. They don't seem to support their GoT Battlelore line anymore since Battlelore 2nd ed came out either.

There were also rumors of them reprinting the GW Blood Royale, although after all these years, who knows.

Gear World will definitely disappear soon, it was on sale for $20 everywhere last year even a couple of months after release. They printed way more than needed to meet demand.

FWIW, I loved my play of XCOM at BGG.con and can't wait to play it some more when it arrives soon. But I agree that there doesn't seem to be much buzz for it. It has had somewhat of an anti-buzz thing with some people whining about the included app, so there may be a wait-and-see as far as that goes. I feel like it should get some decent word-of-mouth once it's out, though. To become an AT classic? Probably not. But I can see it being pretty influential long-term for being one of the first games to merge technology with a board game in a way that is cool and still feels entirely like a board game. I think it also is unique for being a co-op that mutes some of the "alpha dog" thing, while still requiring a lot of cooperation and teamwork.

Geez, I sound like a shill. Anyway, I think it's good for FFG to branch out with other types of games, but the more they get away from AT style releases, then it kind of changes their identity. That's not remotely the case, though, at least not yet. I would call X-Wing their latest AT classic.

I think in the future the one off self contained games are going to be from that Euro Classics Line. T&E is a good start. I know for a fact that they're reprinting Mission: Red Planet. Both Cathala and Faidutti have mentioned it, plus some guy from FFG asked me to be a playtester for it. So I know that is coming and will prob be part of their Euro Line. I wouldn't be surprised if it's the next title they announce.

I agree with Grudunza about XCOM. It's mostly forgotten thanks to people bitching about the app...I'm curious to see how well it's received in the long run.

I think what we will see MUCH less of from FFG is non-licensed games. Expect more Witcher and XCOM and less Cadwallon/Red November. It seems like they're pulling the plug on all of the Dust Games that they've acquired as well. With all the money they're raking in from Star Wars I can't blame them from wanting to go the licensed route. Gale Force 9 has made a name for themselves by making licensed products relevant again.

When are one of these companies going to get off their asses and acquire the rights for an Escape from New York or A Big Trouble in Little China game? Cmon already!

Egg Shen wrote:
When are one of these companies going to get off their asses and acquire the rights for an Escape from New York or A Big Trouble in Little China game? Cmon already!

I have the original TSR Escaped from New York (unpunched) ready to sell or trade. Don't let FFG's inertia prevent from playing a classic.

Haha...didn't know that TSR game existed. That scrawled drawing of Donald Pleasence on one of the cards/tiles ALMOST makes me interested!


One game that I don't think anyone has mentioned getting de-listed from FFG is Middle Earth Quest. Big huge game from them that never seemed to catch on. It seems to have some very vocal fans, but I don't recall many people on the fort loving it. I grabbed a copy of this sometime last year for like $40 and I'm glad I did. Now it looks to be OOP and out of stock everywhere. I need to get it to the table soon.

Here is my mini-review: fortressat.com/blogs/my-blog/games-from-...e-from-new-york.html

It is actually a pretty decent adventure game (have to be a lover of the movie though).

I think MEQ is OK -- there is some neat stuff going on in it, but it really doesn't blow you away. And, there are really some better Tolkien games to play: Lord of the Rings, War of the Rings, Battle of the Five Armies, etc. It is better than that sad sack of a game, Nazgul.

MEQ has some cool stuff going on. I personally like the card play, using the same hand for health, movement, combat, and exhaustion. It suffers from a weak endgame if there is a "tie" on the two faction's objectives that it ends with a single all-or-nothing battle (with some advantages given based on relative progress to the objectives). It's basically like the designers gave up and threw a band-aid on the design. Still, wish I could get it back on the table, but unlikely to happen anytime soon.

Agree that Cosmic is safe. It gets reprinted every year indicating steady sales, and Christian confirmed that it does sell well. Over on BGG FFG Cosmic has even been increasing lately, which is unusual for an older game that isn't entrenched in the top 20, so I think it's still attracting a lot of new players who hear about its greatness. It was also recently hinted strongly that they're still planning about two new expansions.

I would also suspect that games which are still getting expansions are safer. But yeah, for anyone other than Star Wars lovers FFG is certainly past their prime