"Games/Rules you were Amazed were Successful" Topic

Which rules surprised you by being popular?

Which rules surprised you by being popular?

Black Powder. Never ceases to amaze me.

Most games that are popular are easy to understand why. Most often due to good marketing.

If I had to choose Id say Flames of War. They came out at a time when there was no "mass-market" historical rules, and not much competing with GW on anything resembling their level. The game was/is good (though understandibly not everyone's cup of tea) and has done very well for itself as well has historical gaming in general.

I'm with cat- it is hard to believe that rules that leave so much to chance (activation) are considered competitive.

I am never surprised when a rule set that doesn't appeal to me personally becomes widely popular, because I don't assume that my wargaming tastes and preferences are the same as everyone else's.

OTOH, I am always amused when grognards grumble about the popularity of a newer rule set that does not happen to meet with their own personal approval.

DBA etc . Totally baffled by that game/s.

Not at all baffled by Black Powder- my group and I played that game once and fell in love with it. It was like a breath of fresh air compared to some of the rather stuffier sets we'd played untill then.

Chess. The minis are abysmal, no detail, limited historical appeal, Eurocentric. Shocking really.

DBA a bit.
It just seems so meticulous and barebones that it's hard to imagine how it basically took over ancients gaming, unless you were there to see it.

Obviously a testament to the design that something so different could not just do well but incredibly well.

DBA.

Frostgrave (which I love, so this is a good thing.)

If you think it's only about marketing, you don't remember Napoleon by Foundry….lots of up front marketing and buzz, and then a bomb.

Marketing may kick something off, but marketing doesn't give them staying power…people have to like playing the game for it to gain any legs.

Oh, and I still can't believe DBA has ever been successful…

Warhammer Ancient Battles, top of the list. Roll to hit , roll to wound, roll to save (or something along those lines). Tedious!

I can't see the appeal of Black Powder either, its ok but there is nothing particularly original or exciting about them.

But this is just my take on it and we are all entitled to our own preference.

BP, once was several dozen times too many. WRG anything: Seriously boring rules, obscene minutiae, and no historical or tactical sense at all for the 'lighter' varieties – give me a good game of chess instead.

But to each their own, if you like it, play it.

WAB, Bolt Action, FoW, the later editions of WH.

I never played WRG, but didn't it come at a time when there wasn't really much else for ancients gaming?

Malifaux.

Flames of war.

I was horrified the first time I saw a long row of tanks lined up hub to hub in the open and learned that this was the tactic rewarded by the rules.

Forget tactics, Chick; it's all about the flames (see rules title).

The success of FOW, Black Powder and so on doesn't amaze me – they followed an established and very successful marketing model. I am surprised by just how successful Frostgrave turned out to be.

DBA,DBM,and Infinity

Games with chibi figs. Don't see the appeal.

DBA, largely because 3 decades on and into v3.0 of the rules the community is still arguing over the same points in the rules. Not minor bits either, but key mechanisms in the interection of elements on the tabletop.

"….horrified".
Horrified? Jeez.

DBA, largely because 3 decades on and into v3.0 of the rules the community is still arguing over the same points in the rules. Not minor bits either, but key mechanisms in the interection of elements on the tabletop.

Which points? I have only played DBA solo, so I don't know what I don't know…

DBX the most boring games I've ever played.

FoW, of course it didn't hurt that they had a backer with deep pockets.

With the post 1990 gaming generation, marketing surpassed game mechanic realism as the motivating factor. So all of the games I would list come from this time frame. Also most games that amazed me were from genres that I do not play.

game mechanic realism

Truly an oxymoron, if ever I heard one.