Frostgrave Japanese edition

[Captain Y]

Hi,Japanese edition of Frostgrave is out(I kinda helped translation).Wargaming is really tiny market here,so we are hoping getting board gamers and TRPGers into the hobby this.
(It's very unusual for Wargaming gets translated for us)
we are using hashtag #frostgravejp on Twitter to post pics,game related posts,etc.

[Hupp n at em]

Great news! I hope it makes some converts, I know I am thinking of Frostgrave as a way to get certain friends to drop the Magic cards and pick up some miniatures. 

[mweaver]

Excellent. I hope it catches on!

[Drachenklinge]

Funny, I never thought about a tabletop-scene in other countries beside Europe and Anglo-American. I know that the Japanese are great builders and painters of models, but tabletop?

Conga rats! Great to see such success for Frostgrave.

[nicknorthstar]

I'm really pleased to see this.

From my point of view (29 years working in the hobby, OMG) Japan has never been a market for any of the companies I've worked for. I don't really know why, other than my opinion that they just prefer their own 'stuff' (Manga etc.)

So I was really happy to see a significant number of Japanese customers signing up to the Frostgrave Nickstarter, closely followed by an importer placing a substantial stock order, and a conversation with him saying he was talking to Osprey about translating the book.

And here it is! Hurrah!

[Darnok]

Getting a ruleset translated into your own language is always nice, so congrats to the Japanese gaming community. And good job on the translators side of things!

With gaming space in Japan being even harder to find than in other countries, I believe that "Frostgrave" could do really well. You really don't need a lot of room to play on, and you don't need many models either. YOu still need some room for all the terrain - but that's the same with most other tabletop wargames too.

On top of that, "Frostgrave" is easily adapted to all kinds of settings, and already comes with a bestiary that covers quite a few "typically Japanese" creatures.

So yeah, the game could do well over there. Now its chances have become even higher!

[Sisyphus]

Having lived there for 15 years, I can say there is a smaller market there for miniatures stuff. But there is a market... and it is slowly growing. It has to do with the overwhelming amount of Sci-Fi stuff there already which is collectable rather than a gaming hobby. When people say gaming they think of only Playstation and such stuff. I think miniature companies started off by targeting people who liked constructing module kits and from that showed them they could "play a game" with it.

GW had opened several stores but they mostly went bust... probably 12 stores and I know now are down to 2 or 3 only. Warlord Games was trying to move a little in there with WW2 stuff... and Japan is represented in Bolt Action.

Board game companies are also growing although I suspect a wee bit faster... but both are complimenting them.

Finally, just how much of the Japanese market are US soldiers off base?

[nicknorthstar]

The Nickstarter participants for Frostgrave from Japan were not US Servicemen.

[Sisyphus]

Surprising about the lack of "Base Boys". They have some powerful gaming clubs around the Yokohama area... not exclusively GW at all.... lots of variety.

But good to hear that the Japanese are interested in new games. GW stuff took off some but funny enough it was mostly fantasy. Theory was Japan was already full of SciFi stuff so fantasy was a fresh air to them. Some Warmahordes and other manufacturers... many just collected figures for painting... but I can see what the appeal Frostrgrave might be for them.