Are we excited?

[larry marak]

Directly from Dr. B, it is taking so long to get all the KSF pre-orders orders out because their source for laser cuting is a small company which at the most can turn out 50 sets of counter sheets for KurskSF per week. If anything goes wrong, then zero sets per week (one week they could only produce one of the unit counter sheets, which meant no shipping for 7 days). As he said in the beginning laser cutting is good for short press run projects, but die cutting is the way to go with boxed games that sell by the thousand. Again he has stated that had he waited till he could afford a minimum sized die-cut printing of the countersheets funding wouldn't have allowed the order to be placed yet. KSF via laser was done in order to get the most pre-ordered project off the ground while AVP continues its upward climb to viability. Latest word is that the last of the pre-orders should be mailed out by the end of this month. Doing the math and doing a wag (wiled assed guess) suggests that there were about 400 unit pre-ordered, some under the Citadel title, and some as a two volume Kursk product. Only after these and current online store orders are produced will retail copies be manufactured. I was relatively lucky, I preordered in 2010, and received mine in the second week of shipping. I also pre-ordered Imperial Grenadier which is also now a two volume set, back during the initial offering, when all of us were a lot younger, so I have no trouble feeling the pain.

[waynebaumber]

Count me in as excited, but in a very relaxed away. Now watching Team GB win 3 Golds in one session of Athletics is exciting

[Matt W]

My pace of play has actually, picked up of late as I have found those games and supplements that travel well. I continue to travel for work and the travel causes a significant amount of evening downtime at hotels. Granted my play is generally of smaller shorter scenarios, many of which have already been played but my excitement over the series has really never been much higher.

I should add that my excitement is enhanced by this community. I hope that we continue to see efforts to broaden the base and this forum is a tremendous step to facilitate it.

I know that there remains a concern over APL as a company but would suggest that this community provides the ability to remain upbeat about PG without having to tie its future to that of APL. I continue to support APL as much as possible but I also know that, if they were unable to make the entire trip back to financial and customer service health, the series would remain healthy.

[JayTownsend]

I was very excited to get Kursk South Flank and Patton's Nightmare. There is a whole lot of new material coming out in PG to be excited about. Some of the download only games will become real counter games and there a lot of titles being worked on that no one knows about yet in the general public that will rise the excitement level a notch or two.
I wish I could tell you everything but I can't.

A great future ahead in PG land especially now the AP is getting back on their feet again!

[J6A]

I'm very excited. I'm actually playing more PG now than I have in a couple of years. And the more I play it, the more I realize why I like it. The simple rules to show different situations is great. And heck, I don't even hate the EF/RtB maps (I don't love them, however they are functional). With Skype (although I've only played 1 game), I have more opponents available. I'm finding PbEM isn't my speed, too clunky (but I will finish that scenario if you want, Vince - Otherwise lets Skype it!) and so much of PG plays well solo. Now I just have to convert a couple of FtF guys here in town.

I was mostly down on PG when AP was going through its bad times. I still liked the game, but I couldn't motivate myself to play it.

[J6A]

Directly from Dr. B, it is taking so long to get all the KSF pre-orders orders out because their source for laser cuting is a small company which at the most can turn out 50 sets of counter sheets for KurskSF per week. If anything goes wrong, then zero sets per week (one week they could only produce one of the unit counter sheets, which meant no shipping for 7 days). As he said in the beginning laser cutting is good for short press run projects, but die cutting is the way to go with boxed games that sell by the thousand. Again he has stated that had he waited till he could afford a minimum sized die-cut printing of the countersheets funding wouldn't have allowed the order to be placed yet. KSF via laser was done in order to get the most pre-ordered project off the ground while AVP continues its upward climb to viability. Latest word is that the last of the pre-orders should be mailed out by the end of this month. Doing the math and doing a wag (wiled assed guess) suggests that there were about 400 unit pre-ordered, some under the Citadel title, and some as a two volume Kursk product. Only after these and current online store orders are produced will retail copies be manufactured. I was relatively lucky, I preordered in 2010, and received mine in the second week of shipping. I also pre-ordered Imperial Grenadier which is also now a two volume set, back during the initial offering, when all of us were a lot younger, so I have no trouble feeling the pain.

With some luck, the people producing the counters may be getting a second laser cutter (not that I'm aware of the source or anything) which would help production, however the 2nd laser wouldn't be just for APL. Realistic capacity right now is about 250 sheets/week, IIRC. That's not a lot of copies of KSF. I'm thinking it was more than 400 copies ordered, based on the number of sets produced to date and the fact that AP is still filling pre-orders.

[Hugmenot]

With some luck, the people producing the counters may be getting a second laser cutter (not that I'm aware of the source or anything) which would help production, however the 2nd laser wouldn't be just for APL. Realistic capacity right now is about 250 sheets/week, IIRC. That's not a lot of copies of KSF. I'm thinking it was more than 400 copies ordered, based on the number of sets produced to date and the fact that AP is still filling pre-orders.

I hope producing laser-cut counters for other companies becomes a profitable niche for VPG as I I think it will be very helpful to many small publishers.

[J6A]

With some luck, the people producing the counters may be getting a second laser cutter (not that I'm aware of the source or anything) which would help production, however the 2nd laser wouldn't be just for APL. Realistic capacity right now is about 250 sheets/week, IIRC. That's not a lot of copies of KSF. I'm thinking it was more than 400 copies ordered, based on the number of sets produced to date and the fact that AP is still filling pre-orders.

I hope producing laser-cut counters for other companies becomes a profitable niche for VPG as I I think it will be very helpful to many small publishers.

We are definitely looking to expand this area. Dr. B has repeatedly said he has "dozens" of games for which he wants counters. That's a win-win for both companies, IMO.

[larry marak]

Indeed, the target currently is a new release every 14 days! The limiting factors are 1. printernator capacity (already exceeded, CSA Navy's book had to be outsourced) 2. limited laser-cutting capacity (but with the laser, we can now look forward to 30, 55, 97 unit countersheets, we are no longer tied to the old cardboard dimensions) 3. the complete drying up of creative juices 4.Tornados and Deaths 4. the rent for the new facility going way up 6. a severe double-dip recession. 7. a supernova wiping out the earth.

Limiting factors. It still costs a fortune to die cut 500-2000 sets of countersheets for a boxed game. Making the big mistake once can severely hurt the publisher. The black box solution saves some money, but still costs and so supplies of them are deliberately kept limited. (Wholesaler orders for KSF were apparently not as good as anticipated, which means Black boxes are available for the boxed release of Remember the Maine) Traditional large paper-maps are also apparently pricey, see the cardboard maps for Coral Sea and Pacific Crossroads.

The upshot: the future of supplements looks very rosey, and the long drought of counters is over, provided we are happy with laser cut counters. Boxed games remain something of a question mark. They will require continued growth of new funds through lots of supplement sales.

[Drachma]

This is a legitimate question: are you excited about Panzer Grenadier these days?

I recall when Fall of France was released there was a flurry of plays, discussion, and just general happy brouhaha over it.

To date with Kursk - South Flank all I'm seeing is talk (generally negative, though not overly so) about the new laser-cut counters and grousing (with cause!) by those who have not yet received copies. I don't see or feel any of the excitement we had in the past for major releases.

And now we've got some new books coming out and the extent of the reception that I can tell is "I received mine."

That's it!

Part of the fun of wargaming is that little-kid-on-your-birthday feel of getting a new game and diving in.

Has PG lost that through sheer series volume?
Or is it because Kursk is trickling out?
Can we ever get that excitement back?
Does it even matter?

I was super excited when I heard that Kursk was being considered. I tried to pre-order and got very agitated when I could not seem to place my order - and no one was answering the phone. However I did finally get a copy as soon as the announcement came out that Kursk South Flank was available. With much anticipation I wanted to start playing (sadly solo) but alas a trip to the hospital and an emergency operation on a detached retina has left me a bit behind in my gaming world. Just to let you know - I am still excited and still want to play and I am still waiting now for Kursk Northern Flank.