"Well crap, just bought version 3 of the rules" Topic

I decided to dip my toe back into FOW after bailing out years ago. I got a good deal on v3 of the rules only to find out that v4 is in the works. Does anyone know what the newest edition is supposed to have that the current version does not? Most of my gaming will probably be solo, or with my brother, so I don't see myself spending more money on v4. I was kinda stoked; now I'm kinda bummed.

FOW has turned into an elaborate scam.

You can get the 4th edition rules for free when they come out. (Just as you could get 3rd edition rules for free if you owned 2nd Edition when they came out).

Not a lot is known yet other than that the game will be more in line with Team Yankee in that there will be unit cards and a more streamlined play.

Your local FLGS should be part of the trade in program where you can give them a V3 for a V4 RB.

Battlefront is nice like that.

FOW has turned into an elaborate scam.

If you bought version 3 you get a free copy of version 4.

That's some scam they've got going.

You may prefer and stick with V3 in the end anyway. The reaction to the transition of FoW to a Team Yankee type game has not been universally well received by the FoW community. Just drop in on the various forums to see what the chatter is about.

Also…in addition to the free rule books mentioned above, BF is also making a PDF of the rules available for free down load. There will also be a free "conversion" guide for playing Early War and Late War force using older books under the new rules. There will be a free PDF for that as well.

Mid War is getting a totally revamped. New Africa Books will follow for DAK and Brits. US and Italians will follow. And then East Front. These will follow the Team Yankee 100pts/cards model.

Yeah, don't be too hasty with the buyers remorse. V4 ain't all that.

How does FOW know you have the previous edition?

You take it into your LFGS and show it to them. They then stamp it and hand you the new version. Thats what happened with the previous edition anyway.

Though some stores simply sent out a copy with every FOW order…a friend of mine ended up with several spares!

As was said, thats some scam.

A scam would be were they take your money and you get nothing. So in this 'scam' you get two rule sets. Hmmmmm….someone's been doing it wrong……

Also…in addition to the free rule books mentioned above, BF is also making a PDF of the rules available for free down load.

nice!

YEA!

"$$$"

And more!

"$$$"

If you're playing solo or with your brother just stay with version 3. My small group has decided to stay with version 3 as well.

If Game's Workshop taught us anything, it's "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

I think we'll see more people sticking with V3 in the V3 to V4 transition than we saw stay with V2 in the V2 to V3 transition. I would not even be surprised to see some FoW communities continue to use V3 as their primary tournament rules set.

Has the game improved or just changed to work better for competitive play?

The big improvement for gameplay is definitely the unit cards with all the test numbers printed. Got a rule that says "hit on a 2+ in assault"? Your unit card says "Assault: 2+"

Has the game improved or just changed to work better for competitive play?

Some say that the V4 rules maybe less suited to competition environments now. The new Morale rules seem to make breaking an opposing force unlikely, generating concerns that game may become too long and often resulting in draw. Bad news for tournaments according to some prominent competitive gamers whose comments I have read.

Some say that many of the changes make the game more historically accurate. Changes there being: You can now range in your artillery on terrain rather than team targets, there are now pre-plotted artillery targets, your force is now limited to a single Forward Observer. Artillery has been made less lethal to tanks, but more so to static units who get stuck under the barrage.

The chief complaints I've seen have been about the way morale works and a bit of neutering of recon unit abilities.

Never been a fan of unit cards cluttering up the table. You're sacrificing a nice looking table and all of that modeling work for playability.

Any time a tournament oriented system moves in an historical direction some compititive players will complain.

Old rule lawyers learning new tricks is never pretty.

I suspect the changes will not be dramatic enough – but we should wait and see.

TomT