"War of the Ring" Will it Sell?

My thought on this,

Is the game being marketed at the general public? Has the game reached the shelf at a Target/Walmart/KBToys store? If not, I would guess that the more hardcore gamer is their target market, since more people will not search out a game like this if required to go to a special games/hobby store.

I will add that most of the general public is more likely to seek out the LoTR: Risk game, to fill the void of a war game containing this theme.

Now for another angle, was the idea behind this game an attempt to win over the miniature wargame area?

I have no clue, but the miniature market is large. if they win over people from this market, they could do very very well.

Yes. I think as designers we have to be mindful of this critical point in our games. I think that this critical point is different for each type of game. For example, as mentioned in other threads Monopoly/LIFE can both be at least 2 hours, yet A LOT of nongamers have these games. The trick is to match the mechanics and theme to game length.

I think Benedict points out that Fantasy Flight did this quite well. There theme and mechanics are big enough selling points on their own that the game can be a little longer and still pull a pretty good chunk of the general audience. If the theme was something lame or the mechanics slow/cumbersome (not saying they aren't, it would just surprise me if they were) they would have a harder time selling a long game.

Just my 2cents on what we need to pay attention to as designers.

This was my point exactly. Game length really depends on your game. Another reason playtesting becomes so important. If its too long during a playtest it is probably too long!

I bet you're right, but it also retails for almost twice as much, and that's also a pretty big factor. I "predict" that it will not sell worse than they expect it to, but I'm not sure who they envision as their target audience, and it will depend heavily on who they're shooting for as to how they'll do.

You're probably right about this, but "LotR Risk" is the game of this style aimed at the general audience -- this one doesn't seem to be bound for Target. If it appeared on Target's shelves, though, I bet it would do ok. But who knows; Knizia's game didn't. The obstacle is probably more the "new" design. People like LotR themes, but would rather buy a reworking of Monopoly or Risk, which they know, then learn a new system. Too bad; this one sounds great. I can't wait to play it!

-Jeff

Though I tend to agree with recent posts by SiskNY and Trickydicky,

I think we all need to keep in mind, what the game has to offer and the marketing behind the game. Though many people will be pulled to the familar, a new game like MTG made an impact on the market when it was released, so why cant this game do the same thing?

Since I have not played it, or even looked at the rules, I really have nothing to base my opinion of how well the game will do.

How do you assess if it will or it wont be the next big thing? I guess you listen for the buzz and see if it offers anything new to the gaming market. And even then you just never know!

Being a sucker for games with good review, I asked a friend of mine to bring it from France for Christmas.
I hope I won't be decieved. I'm buying this game not on the theme, but on the good review this game has.

Unfortunatly, I was disapointed a couple of time. I hope this time this will not be the case.

FYI, the game that receive good reviews but in my opinion fell short of any interest: Alea/Rio Grande Princes of Florence (1st price Games mag in 2001) and Hans in Gluck/Rio Grande Amun-Re (Nominated German Game of the year 2002).

I relying on my feeling on this one. Wish me luck.

Scurra,

I understand the idea of immersion, but the point I wanted to make is the following.

If a game sell well, if it has a good review from Boardgamegeek (3rd best game ever) and Funagain (4 stars) is these representative of a good game. When I mean good game I expect a balance between Theme, Mechanic, length and for me strategy with a hint of luck.

As for Princes of Florence and Amun-Re, I think these games are flawed and should not deserve the attention they received. Both Theme are interresting, but the mechanics just doesn't work. Same thing for St-Petersburg that gets boring after you figure out how it work.

I guess the best way to figure out if a game is for you is to find a game critique with the same taste you have. It should be ok. Luckly for me, I think I've found him.

Sometimes, I would like to be carefull with my game buying and read on the game before buying it. Sometimes, it just impulse on the hype build up by the community and I get disapointed.

Anybody shared this feeling before ?

I take your point. Then again, you have to remember that the world would be very dull if we all found the same things interesting. (One distressing side-effect of this is that of "dumbing down" - that in order to reach a large enough audience something has to be restricted to simple concepts that are easy to sell and/or understand.)

What on earth makes you claim that? It's true on the level that says that Chess is flawed because the better player will always win, but it seems to be wrong on oh so many other levels.
(I also think you are partially wrong about St.P., but given that I've spent more games of that playing variant scoring rules it's hard to tell any more!)