"Pricing for DBA 3.0" Topic

Don't ya just love it the way people jump to condemn something who have yet to personally had a chance to even hold it in their hands and see for themselves?

The real value remains in the use of the purchase by the gamer him/herself. If enjoyed and played a lot- it could be a really great value. If not, well it goes on the shelf with the rest of them……

Perhaps some additional examples might be in order: Black Powder. At about $75.00 USD, it had better do almost everything but paint your figs for you. I finally got my hands on a copy before purchasing a copy for myself (which I still have yet to pull the trigger on). While it looks like a fun "game", it seemed pretty generic to me. I see that for another large investment, I can buy additional books that will allow me to focus upon certain periods and make an attempt to be more "period specific". Fair dink-um, but for that total investment, I feel like I should be getting armies included with that! Getting started in WH or 40K for about the same total investment at least came with figures and other "goodies"! (Yes, written by much the same folks but now on their own….)

DBA has been around for decades and is a known entity. perhaps having it all in the same HB book has an intrinsic value all it's own? …..It could be interesting which "tweeks" thru the years the author has seen to include…

Hi, Black powder retails for 48 dollars, IIRC and can be even cheaper.

It's a hardback book. The army lists and the associated descriptions for each are well worth the money. There will be no pretty pictures so eye-candy fiends need not apply. It is small press and a hard bound book so the price is going to be a bit more. I would have expected it to be around $30 USD if it were in the same format as DBMM.

$40 USD seems expensive for DBA. But the last copy of that gameI bought was 2.0. If this version is hardcover, colour illustrated, expanded rules examples, more detailed army list explanations or otherwise improved from the earlier set it might well be worth the extra price.

I was expecting a retail of $25 USD-30 and the same format as before.

So, it seems high, but not a priori unreasonable. Certainly I have games that I have paid much more for and played much less.

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I just read the OMM listing for preorder and it states hardback, 144 pages for $38. USD That page count and hard covers and the price sounds a lot more reasonable.

Phil and Sue aren't getting any younger, and as someone else pointed out on an earlier thread, this may well be Phil's Magnum Opus.

The price is all inclusive, with the promise of some online resources to be downloaded. Considering that DBA 3.0 stands on its own, doesn't cost a fortune to play, and can be played quickly after school with a bunch of 7th graders, its a fair deal in my opinion.

I have some of the lavishly produced rules. After a very short time, I don't really see the pictures anymore. I admit that it would have been nice to have seen a different cover, but I understand why they decided to keep the design.

Retailing for about £20.00 GBP in the UK. 144 page hardback book. Seems reasonable to me.

The numbers seem clear.

Ok why are people comparing DBA to Black Powder?

It should be compared to the systems that purport to target the same wargame experience. I.e a complete element based wargame at a cheap price.

Things like Mighty Armies, Basic Impetus. The comparison should be with those products.

I am not sure I like the new price or the hardback option. For me DBA was always my small genius plucky cheap little booklet that held tons of fun at a cheap price. But this may change once I get my hands on a copy.So I might be eating my words with mustard and peppers.

That said

It is cheaper than Black Powder. So what? Is it cheaper than Mighty Armies? Basic Impetus? Other competitors in style and scale?

Is Mighty Armies 144 pages? Is Basic Impetus hard bound?

The price is largely being determined by the physical presentation I am sure.

Neither Basic Impetus, nor Mighty Armies include the many army lists that DBA does. BI army lists are available free on the website, but that is not the same as included in the book. BI is also not available in print, and is not a complete set, it is a stripped down introductory version of Impetus. DBA has from the start been a full set of rules.

You may not be comparing apples to oranges, but you are still no closer than apples and pears.

Are all three element based games, in which the ambition is to get a good game with a small amount of miniatures? Yes

Are all three addressing the same periods? Yes

You are also most unfair with Basic Impetus. It is a complete game. As DBA is to DBM, Basic Impetus is to Impetus.

No sir, I am afraid I am comparing apples to apples. Maybe red apples to green apples, but apples none-the less. Except if DBA has decided to compete with products such as Hail Ceasar, War and Conquest, Clash of Empires, then it must be compared with the rules that have the same goals.

A DBA game now will cost at least (rulebook and two armies) 90-150$ at 15mm

A Mighty Armies: Ancients game will cost 72$-130$.

This might not look as much, but for the players who like DBA because of its relative cheapness, this may be an issue.

Again, I may be eating my words, with mustard, horseradish and pepper if I get my hands on the book. But this is a valid comparison.

One of the memes my good friend Jim and I have is "bang for a buck". We have had hundreds of games using the same 6 houses I bought for a dollar at a flea market.
So, if you get hundreds of games out of your forty dollars, that's great.
I bought the original for $5 USD years ago and was unimpressed. Cheers to you if you like it.

Except if DBA has decided to compete with products such as Hail Ceasar, War and Conquest, Clash of Empires, then it must be compared with the rules that have the same goals.

I don't think by any stretch of the imagination DBA 3.0 is trying to compete with the likes of HC etc.

The biggest price factors are determined by:
a) the decision to go hardback
b) the pagecount – I believe v3.0 will contain about 50% more army lists than 2.2 not to mention all the historical reserach that has gone into producing those lists.

I bought the original for $5.00 USD USD years ago and was unimpressed. Cheers to you if you like it.

The new v3.0 is quite a bit different to the original. You might even be pleasantly surprised …

For a snazy hardback full colour edition £20.00 GBP / $40 USD is about par for the course.

I may buy this – but I'm still playing V1.0, dated March 1990, though.

Next year is the quarter century of DBA – not bad for a quick SoA participation game.

but I'm still playing V1.0, dated March 1990, though.

There is something to be said for playing 1.0 though I hear 1.1 is supposed to be the ultimate of the 1.0 series. I DL'd 1.0 and purchased 1.1 a couple of years ago. The only real changes I see are in the army lists.

There are some subtle but improved rules changes in 1.1. Couldn't remember exactly what at this point. Either one will still give you a good game.

I'll be getting 3.0 just for the army lists. Army lists from any version will work with any of the others. The new lists will have detailed composition notes on the troop types. Used to have to buy all 4 of the DBM army books to get that info. So this one book is worth the value of 4 old army books — and $40 USD isn't bad in comparison to that.

Personally, I would rather they hadn't gone hardback.

Soft cover seems handier on the table.

For a small run having both would be asking a bit much, but would have given people the option of a set of rules to place on the shelf or one to use at the table.

The option of a pdf version where one could print out a few relevant pages of lists and rules for use at a tourney or just to keep from cluttering the table would have been even better.

I wouldn't buy it if it was only a dollar.

I will buy it.

I was expecting a retail of $25 USD USD-30 and the same format as before.

I had questioned the wisdom of charging $42 USD for this, but IF (and only if) the cost would have been $30 USD for the soft-back edition I can see the hardback being worth the extra $10 USD or dollars.

It would be a kick to see Amazon sell this at 40% off the way they are currently selling the new 5th edition D&D books.

but IF (and only if) the cost would have been $30.00 USD USD for the soft-back edition

There is no softback edition.

I believe he meant the DBA 2.2

I meant a hypothetical softback edition of DBA 3.0

In other words, if given the choice between the current $42 USD DBA hardback & a $32 USD DBA 2.0 size softback I consider the extra $10 USD for the hardback money well spent.

Having said that, I would far prefer a $15 USD-$22 softback edition of DBA 3.0.

It's currently on Amazon UK for £399.00 GBP. I think that's maybe a little too much