Blood on the Sands **NEW** Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears...

[swordman]

if you see the number of people that are following this item, I think that a Kickstarter could be a solution.

[fastolfrus]

Why not start with a LAFstarter?
Pitch up a price for pre-orders and see how many LAFers will pay it.
Tell your publishers that you already have xxx number sold before printing and then see what they say?
Doesn't rule out kickstarter, but on here you don't need to give us free stretch goal rewards.

[YPU]

Guys, we haven't heard from Furt himself since may last year. Lets not get carried away.

[Furt]

Sorry gents for the late reply, but I've been on holidays away from any tech. Special thanks to Elbows for drawing my attention to the posts here.

I think an explanation is LONG over due, something I have truthfully been avoiding for some time, but here goes.

As you can probably guess, unfortunately, the publishing contract for Blood on the Sands did not result in an ideal outcome and I find myself back to square one. 

As I had explained in earlier posts the publisher was having troubles determining exactly what type of game BotS is, a "board game" or a "skirmish/war game". Most of the problems stemmed from the campaign system, as thankfully the combat rules are pretty tight. Ultimately the publisher wanted the campaign to be played out in a single sitting, like a board game, rather than the ongoing record keeping style. This was impossible without changing the game play dramatically, something I wasn't willing to compromise on, and that's where things ground to a halt, with us both having different visions for the game and neither of us able to complete his vision alone. In the end we agreed mutually that it was best to abandon the contract.

I'm not happy at all with the disappointing outcome but I understand that it was the right thing for the both of us. The process was not without its benefits although. Both the combat and campaign rules were heavily play tested by the publisher's large group and they tried to break the system in ways I never considered. The combat held up well enough, but the campaign showed big room for improvement, hence the publisher's reluctance to continue along that route. The group offered quite a few good suggestions and gave some very useful feedback.

As many of the play testers here on LAF will agree, BotS really is a bit of a strange beast, that in reality is both board game and wargame. Some dislike the "chits" and counters etc necessary to play the game, but I designed the game that way because a gladiator game with two miniatures on a hex grid, as pointed out in the posts above, can be a pretty simple looking affair. I did try to make BotS as dynamic as I could although and avoid a simple "move into contact and exchange blows until someone dies approach" that many gladiator games adopt.

Regardless I'm back where I started with a half finished game and a lot of work ahead of me if I want to pull it off. When the publisher originally approached me he understood I needed help refining the rules and that is still the case. As the rules stand I don't feel they are even worthy to release as a PDF and the campaign still needs a lot of work. So a Kickstarter won't work unfortunately as the game is not complete and it's really not a money matter.

I am unsure at this stage of the fate of Blood on the Sands.

I am so sorry to disappoint anyone, but no one could be more disappointed than me. It has really put a dampener on the whole hobby and I have even been absent from my beloved LAF of late. Thanks for everyone's continued support of Blood on the Sands, as always it is much appreciated.

[Mason]

Good luck with whichever direction you decide go with it, mate.
It really is a very clever game and deserves a much wider audience.
I am sure there are many on here who feel the same.
 

[Hu Rhu]

I am sorry to hear of your dilemma. I echo many other LAFers who think that your game is great and would love to see (and support) it in publication.  However until you are satisfied with your product I fully support and sympathise with your dilemma. 

I am sure that if you need further playtesting or rules development, there are many of us who would offer to help you.
Good luck with your fantastic project.

[Dr DeAth]

Same about the outcome, but don't give up - you really do have a great game there.

[Elbows]

I'll echo my previous statement: don't aim for 100% perfect, it's a goal you'll never hit...and if you do, you'll change something and be back to 95%.  On the same token, don't put the game up for sale if you're not happy with it.  Find that balance.

I'm still more than willing to playtest more.  If you've revised stuff, and are willing, hit up your old playtesters here and let us know what's changed.  I'm sure we're more than happy to knock out more games and give you more feedback. 

[Vulca]

Maybe you need some new play testers as well. Fresh blood with fresh ideas.

[Eithriall]

I'm still more than willing to playtest more.  If you've revised stuff, and are willing, hit up your old playtesters here and let us know what's changed.  I'm sure we're more than happy to knock out more games and give you more feedback. 

I'm sorry to read this but I agree with Elbows...And perhaps we can help to find another way.

[OSHIROmodels]

Me and the chaps are happy to help play test whatever you have mate 

cheers

James

[Lowtardog]

Keep plugging away. An option would be to do something similar to DMH

Put out the rules with a league or ladder tourney for scenaios then a second book for campaigns, it couls raise some readies get you your mojo and give plenty of time for looking at your campaign rules

[Sturmpioneer]

Maybe some additional help like Alessio Cavatore?  You are so close by the sounds of it that maybe a bit more horsepower will get you there?

[NurgleHH]

Don't make it so complicated, Furt. Your game is broken down to a simple base a game with dices, counters and figures. Just call it "a game of heroes in the acient rome with figures, counters and dices" in the subtitle and release it. Sometimes simple is the best. Or is Frostgrave a boardgame - it is played on a board, isn't it?

[Furt]

Again thanks for all the support guys - it's much cheaper than therapy. 

So I have been thinking - many of you here are responsible for helping me get BotS this far, perhaps I could call on the collected mind-trust that is LAF to nut out some of the inherit problems with the campaign rules.

I'd love, at this stage, to hear your opinions on what you think a gladiator campaign should entail. It would be interesting to hear people's expectations.

Any thoughts?