Hobgoblin rulebook availability

[Cholmondely Percival IV]

For those who may be unaware of it, the physical rules will shortly be available in the UK. Waterstones and Amazon have the book listed at £39.99, with a publication date of 29 October. The Fortune Deck is also listed by both at £16.99. However, it appears from the following video that the tokens and doom dial will only be available to purchase from the author at conventions.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uUAIL8cZitk&pp=ygUaaG9iZ29ibGluIHdhcmdhbWUgdW5ib3hpbmc%3D

[AndrewBeasley]

And for folk like me who have not heard a thing about this:


https://planetsmashergames.com/hobgoblin/

[Cholmondely Percival IV]

It’s had a very long gestation, I think it’s fair to say. Once the Kickstarter closed - probably a couple of generations ago, in terms of the hobgoblin breeding cycle at any rate - it was available to pre-order, with a 10% discount from the retail price, from that site for what seemed like a long time. I was about to pull the trigger when I noticed VAT had been added at the checkout. Removing the card set to leave just the book, the VAT was still there, albeit at a lower figure. There appeared to be no way to query this as I could find no contact address and when I attempted to do so on the author’s YT channel the comment mysteriously disappeared. I therefore appeared to have little option but await publication. It’s a little unfortunate, perhaps, that this more or less coincides with the arrival of another mass fantasy battle set with an even longer gestation.

[Cholmondely Percival IV]

For anyone who may be wondering why the rulebook and cards are now shown by Amazon and Waterstones as ‘temporarily unavailable’ after a publication date of 29 October had been announced and pre-orders invited, I’ve been informed by a source close to Planet Smasher Games (let’s call him Mike) that the rather inexperienced publisher belatedly realised that it would not be a good look to start selling them to Johnny Public before Kickstarter backers had received theirs, which, thus far, not all have. All one can confidently say at this point regarding their availability is: eventually.

[mikedemana]

Having been one of those "pre-order" people with a different rules set, all I can say is I appreciate Mike's concern. Great call -- the public can wait till those who pre-ordered have their copies mailed.

Mike Demana

[Cholmondely Percival IV]

Hobgoblin publisher Electi Studio has announced that all pledges have now been sent out and the rules and cards can now be pre-ordered from their website. I’ve just done so, and, paying by PayPal, the total with shipping by Royal Mail came to £57.01, two pence more than the retail cost from Amazon, from whom they may also now be bought (with delivery estimated between 6 December & 27 January.) Waterstones is not currently offering them for pre-order though one can ask to be notified when they become available. ES states pre-orders through their website will be posted in two-three weeks’ time, so can presumably be expected to be delivered this month. I assume that this is to allow pre-orders made over the last two years, following the end of the Kickstarter campaign, to go out first.

[pixelgeek]

No shipping to Canada

[Cholmondely Percival IV]

Canada isn’t mentioned, unlike the UK and Australasia, but I would have thought they would accept orders. It would surely be worthwhile asking them if you haven’t already.

[pixelgeek]

Canada isn’t mentioned, unlike the UK and Australasia, but I would have thought they would accept orders. It would surely be worthwhile asking them if you haven’t already.

I haven't yet had that work out.

[Cholmondely Percival IV]

I’m sorry to hear that. ES is apparently still “learning the ropes”, in the words of Hobgoblin designer, Mike Hutchinson, so this may just be a temporary glitch. Another approach might be to post a query on his YT channel, Planet Smasher Games. I’m sure he’ll be keen to ensure it’s available to everyone who wants it.

[Cholmondely Percival IV]

While we’re either waiting for Hobgoblin to ship, or for a reliable means of purchasing it, it may be worth considering a very quick goblin-themed skirmish game that is available immediately to everyone. Here is the official announcement:



https://www.snarlingbadger.com/snarl

Edit: Having purchased and downloaded the ‘zine I can report that
The Great Goblin Argle-Bargle takes up 22 of the 36 pages, the remainder being devoted to additional rules for previous Snarling Badger games.