Preview of Jugula

[sebastosfig]

Hi everyone.
Last Saturday I had the opportunity to play a game of Jugula, the forthcoming game from the authors of SAGA and Musquets and Tomahawk.





 I really enjoyed them and I also had a chat with them. There will be "campaign" system. It's too complicated to write everything down, so I tried to sum up everything I could on my blog:

http://backtotheminis.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/ive-tested-jugula-next-gladiators-game.html

Honestly, I know I will buy it ( and some gladiators too)

[Furt]

Interesting. So it's a diceless system, that's very different.

[Timbor]

Nice review!  Any ideas on when it will be released?

[Elbows]

Interesting.  Before getting into Furt's playtesting for BOTS I was going to consider doing a Gladiator game myself (bought some minis, a mat, a half dozen books on the subject...and watched the Spartacus DVDs a couple dozen times each...because I love me some blood and boobies).  BOTS is so good that I abandoned the effort.

As a huge card-deck whore (sigh...) I was definitely going to involve a very heavy card based mechanic.  Good to see I didn't bother.  I'd have been crushed if I was 3-4 months into a project and this came out.  Doesn't look much like a competitor for BOTS which is great - maybe pick up both.  This looks to appease more of the "massed combat" style games, where BOTS is far more up close and personal.

Herein lies the beauty of gladiators though - we buy and paint the minis and we can play a dozen games (heck I have a half dozen rules sets I was checking out prior to BOTS). 

[damianlz]

THANK YOU! I have been on EDGE for Jugula news for the last two years. This was like the best sugar rush ever.

[sebastosfig]

Nice review!  Any ideas on when it will be released?

Rumoured to be released in January

THANK YOU! I have been on EDGE for Jugula news for the last two years. This was like the best sugar rush ever.

You're welcome

[Too Bo Coo]

Interesting.  Before getting into Furt's playtesting for BOTS I was going to consider doing a Gladiator game myself (bought some minis, a mat, a half dozen books on the subject...and watched the Spartacus DVDs a couple dozen times each...because I love me some blood and boobies).  BOTS is so good that I abandoned the effort.

As a huge card-deck whore (sigh...) I was definitely going to involve a very heavy card based mechanic.  Good to see I didn't bother.  I'd have been crushed if I was 3-4 months into a project and this came out.  Doesn't look much like a competitor for BOTS which is great - maybe pick up both.  This looks to appease more of the "massed combat" style games, where BOTS is far more up close and personal.

Herein lies the beauty of gladiators though - we buy and paint the minis and we can play a dozen games (heck I have a half dozen rules sets I was checking out prior to BOTS). 

Ditto.

Isnt it a great time to be a gamer where even in the somewhat obscure gladiator genre, there are literally a dozen choices for rules sets, at least as many for minis in various scales....  I could not be happier.

I have the SAGA product, although ironically because of the dice I would say BOTS is closer to SAGA than Jugula, but that's irony!

Happy gaming!

[Prof.Witchheimer]

Just found some preview shots of the figures on Gripping Beast's Facebook page. Their announcement:

Here are some test castings of our new 35mm Gladiators painted by Top Chum Darren Linington. These gladiators are multi-part kits offering endless variety (historically accurate and, er, not so historically accurate parts included...) and they will be released alongside the Jugula game (release date announced as soon as we have it!)

The fourth pic is the comparison to a 28mm gladiator.

They would make nice Mordheim gladiators.

[Too Bo Coo]

WOW!!!

The net is fantastic Prof!

[Mad Doc Morris]

Well, interesting choice. GB competing with Arena Rex in the 35mm figure market is definitely a bold decision. The more given these somewhat awkward designs. Sorry, not for me.

The net is fantastic Prof!

It is. But please read again.

[Too Bo Coo]

Well, interesting choice. GB competing with Arena Rex in the 35mm figure market is definitely a bold decision. The more given these somewhat awkward designs. Sorry, not for me.

It is. But please read again.

Since the background, as well as the basing, of the 4th pic is different, I was under the impression that it was his....

[Elbows]

While they have some definite "cool" factor...really off base with much of the historical references of the time.  Meh. (also, hate proprietary scales...)

[Ray Earle]

Being multi-part it should be easy enough to correctly assemble each class of gladiator to the latest historical 'evidence'. Seeing this evidence seems to change every few years it looks to be quite an intelligent move.

If they provide enough options I'm in. 

[Too Bo Coo]

I'm not crazy about the game, but I'm definitely stealing ideas for my gladiators from these paint schemes.  I totally see what you guys mean in your critiques, but the paint job is top notch.

I'm also turned off when I hear about an off-scale game.  The ONLY 'off scale' I do is 20mm PA, but that's because HW cars are more or less 20mm.  That and the Dark Future minis are great.  Otherwise, when I see 12mm, 8mm, 10mm, 34mm, etc...  To my mind the most common scales are 6,15,25/32,54.  I know a few others are getting more popular, and that's not a bad thing.

[Elbows]

I love the paintjobs as well, I just hate when I feel they've been "wasted" in that kind of fashion.