New Osprey Game - Flashpoint: Platoon Skirmishes in World War III

[jetengine]

Amazon searching brings up a new ruleset written  by Jamie Gordon (author of Ospreys Crusader era wargame "Outremer: Blood and Faith" ) called Flashpoint: Platoon Skirmishes in World War III.

I've sent a message to Osprey asking if this is a Cold War Gone Hot kind of thing or more of a modern day thing. Either way its interesting. Due for release January 25th 2022.

[Cypher226]

Oh that does sound interesting!

[Rick F]

Yes, it does sound interesting. I like most of the Osprey rules.

[Splod]

Hmm, I've got a number of the Osprey 'blue book' range and I find them to be rather hit and miss.

But I'll approach this with an open mind!

[commissarmoody]

My bet would be on cold war gone hot. There was a cold war gone hot video game series called operation flash point so, might be inspired by it?

[SJWi]

Sounds interesting but I'm not holding my breath. Not due for release for another 15 months!

[Harry Faversham]

Jamie can sometimes be found lurking in the 'Medieval Adventures' sub forum...
perhaps an Agent could be dispatched there to interrogate him?

[NurgleHH]

Hmm, I've got a number of the Osprey 'blue book' range and I find them to be rather hit and miss.

But I'll approach this with an open mind!

I am with you. A lot of them needed support and clarification, which never came. And the slowing frequency shows the interest of Osprey, I’m afraid.

[Pan Marek]

I'll put in another cautionary vote.  I found "World Aflame" hopelessly generic, and "Rebels and Patriots" a mere toolbox, and what was spelled out seemed overly complex. 

[SJWi]

I'm afraid I can only echo the comment about the variable quality of the Osprey rules. "Dux Bellorum" has good ratings but were based on  an earlier ruleset. I have also heard good things about "The Men Who Would be Kings", and indeed plan to buy them myself for my Maori Wars project.  The "Rampant series and "Pikemen's Lament" also see good useage, albeit I must say "Lion Rampant" left me cold with no period flavour. Most of the others seem to have sunk without trace.       

[Sir_Theo]

For the price of them (usually less than 8 pounds) I have only ever passed on ones that cover periods I have zero interest in. And of the ones I have bought more hits than misses (OGAM, IHMN, Gaslands, Zona Alfa, Black Ops, En Garde, TMWWBK, Lion Rampant, Fistful of King Fu) , even if I've never actually played them they have been interesting reads full of good ideas.

I will probably pick this up.

[jetengine]

Sounds interesting but I'm not holding my breath. Not due for release for another 15 months!

Oh certainly, I just felt it relevant to let the group know of an upcoming ruleset from a prominent company

[SJWi]

Sir Theo makes a good point. The Osprey rules are good value especially if you can get them for under £10. I have spent a lot more on other rule books that have proved “duds”. My only recommendation would be to wait and see what independent reviews make of them before purchasing. Unlike other rules where you can sometimes get tasters ( eg the TFL U-Tube videos) or debate on various forums or blogs there doesn’t seem to be much prior discussion pre-release for Osprey.

[Ultravanillasmurf]

.... Unlike other rules where you can sometimes get tasters ( eg the TFL U-Tube videos) or debate on various forums or blogs there doesn’t seem to be much prior discussion pre-release for Osprey.

Depends on the author.
Zona Alfa had articles prior to publication:
https://ospreypublishing.com/blog/tag/zona+alfa/
Plus the author (Dentatus of this parish) had blog articles.

I know that Frostgrave, Oathmark and Spacegrave are special cases (and not Osprey Blue Books) but they have plenty of coverage (Spacegrave is due for Salute next year : https://ospreypublishing.com/blog/stargrave_artwork_reveal/ but is getting blog articles).

[Easy E]

All the pre-launch, post- launch, and everything in between is up to the writer of the rules.  Osprey provides access to some resources to help publish, such as artwork, some editing and (sometimes) photographs and that is about it.  They also have industry connections to help get some articles about your rules published in magazines and online, but those articles are going to have to be written by the author or the Authors connections.     

They have very long lead times since they are part of a much larger publishing company, and access to the printing press must be scheduled very early.  They run tight deadlines and page limits for their authors since they are trying to fit printing between other works.  I believe they only have space to do 2 Blue Books a year.   

That said, I love the "Blue Book" range as it allows easy access to Periods, ideas, and mechanics that I might never see if they are all hidden behind a $25+ plus book.  I own everyone and I will own everyone that gets published.  I want to support the model so it does not disappear!