J. Sawyer I wanted to take a second to thank you for the games you design - the Napoleonic era is my favorite period and I really have liked your simpler operational games (6 days, 1806, Leipzig, and Napoleon's Last Battles.) I tried computer games, but the feeling and the scene on the screen just ain't the same! Jocade We are a French retailer and we want to congratulate you to the good work you make. We are about to finish translation of Highway to the Kremlin. A very good game. JOCADE 59, rue Berbisey 21000 Dijon FRANCE Mark Lindberg ...it'd be nice to have more info on Napoleon's Game (jpegs of the maps, counters, cards, description of play) before committing to a pre-order. [Ed sez:] At the moment we are substantially redesigning the game, so we really have nothing in a state to present on the web. When we get to the stage of having some finished components we will post them immediately. That all takes time. I really do think this game would get more pre-orders if you (1) gave more info, and (2) promoted the game as a card-driven game (GMT doesn't have a corner on this market, do they?). I've been playing wargames for 25 years, and I absolutely love the card-driven games that began with WTP, because they are relatively simple (and therefore easier to find opponents and time to play) and yet have enormous replay value because of the complexities of the card interaction. I own all but one, and have two on pre-order (BtB and NW), so I am willing to buy just about any game of this type, and I believe there are many other people just like me (look at the number of messages on CSW for PoG, FTP and TYW). Just my thoughts. Masahiro Yamazaki I have just opened my personal website: http://www.mas-yamazaki.com/ Although almost pages are in Japanese, I also provided some pages in English: http://www.mas-yamazaki.com/welcome.html [Editor Sez: Masahiro is OSG's talented graphic designer responsible for our Boxes and Counters.] Chris Nelson I think there is room in the hobby for many more strategic Napoleonic era games, including both the GMT version (fast and multi-player) and the OSG version (more detailed two player game - like POG). However, I have not pre-ordered it yet since there didn't seem to be a time pressure to get the order form mailed in. I don't do electronic ordering, and furthermore, I figured that sometime in the next two weeks would have been fine. There may be more people similar to me, holding off till after the holidays. As to the flyer going out in December and not bringing in more orders, I am not sure that you have given enough time yet for the flyer to bring in more orders. There are a lot of distractions this time of year, what with the holidays and family visists, and what not, and many people might not have gotten around to sending in their orders yet. I am not trying to tell you how to run your company, but perhaps you could recind your suspension of Napoleon's Game through the end of January. Make announcement to that effect, and ask people who have put off ordering the game, to do so, and also have people who have ordered the game to try to drum up some additional orders from their friends, then maybe you can get the game to the 250 mark. Thank you for your attention, and I hope you give this some consideration. From E-mail Is it possible to improve the graphic of the game on your web site. I think the current image is so awful, that when I first saw it I was very turned off and almost decided not to want the game. I understand it is just the playtest version or something, but if the background color for land could be changed to something other than orange, that might help sales too. From E-mail I think there are some things that you can do to increase the visibility of your game. 1) Have someone do a write up on the game and have John Kranz post it in the news desk. I think it would be especially good if there is someone who has experience with the new GMT game too, so that person can then compare and contrast the two games. Emphasize the similarities to For the People and Paths of Glory it at all possible. I suspect there are many people who don't even know your company exists, or that Napoleons Game exists, or are barely aware of your existence. It should be more than just a paragraph too. 2) Have someone do a write up on the NapGame folder similar to what the designer of Wilderness War did in that folder. The replay that Volko Ruhnke did was so interesting and made the game sound so fun, that I had to P-500 it. This despite the fact that the French and Indian war is a war that I have close to zero interest in. A good write up that highlights NapGames mechanics cannot but help to sell the game. Please review the following posts in the Wilderness War folder to see what I am thinking of. Posts: 68, 69, 70, 79-84, 119-123 131-34 137-39 142-5 173-7 193-4 197-99, 207-8. Now that is way more than needed, but something along those lines might help spark some interest. 3) Does Joe Youst have any map artwork done that you can show off? A JPEG of part of the finished map could be a big help, especially when compared to the poor quality graphic that is currently on your web page. Or maybe some images of the counters/cards if they are done. Tom Alaerts I just discovered that Napoleon's game is delayed. Sad, very sad... but remember the interview we were busy with: if published on consimworld I am sure it will generate some new orders! My gaming crowd knows full well about you - you have some very strong fans there. No, the trick is all those card drivers out there. I can't imagine they wouldn't buy if they only knew... Let me do some thinking. Maybe I can come up with something... From: Consimworld, OSG Company Support Page Mike Welker I think the problem was a convergence of: 1) recession... so people are nervous about their game budgets. 2) competition... the GMT multi-player Nap Wars has been in the wings for some years, and a lot of people had been waiting, it's shot up to close to 400 pre-orders in a week or two. 3) product portfolio... the game is in the same genre era-wise, but the p-t-p/card system is a new engine for OSG. People could be a little nervous, but I am only speculating. 4) two player... there are enough 2-player NapStrat games, even if old, there is a faithful fan base for War and Peace. I, for one, really focus attention on LGE. Mike Marentette I think that the main problems leading to the postponing of Napoleon's Game are related to lack of awareness about the game and a reluctance to emphasize the similarities with We the People and Paths of Glory. The fall flyer should help as well as news items on consimworld and grognards, but it may be too early to tell the impact. If it had been Napoleon's Game and not the Napoleonic Wars on the GMT P500, NG's would have shot up at the same rate as NW. I don't buy the lack of interest in two player games arguement. Ted Racer's Barbarossa to Berlin is also doing very nicely on the P500. John Vinal Reaching beyond the current audience: Maybe the "quiet company" is a little too quiet. I have to admit that I'm impressed with the way the L2 people (Art Lupinacci) have banged their own drum and tooted their own horn over the new Streets of Stalingrad game. That carries a $100 pre-pub price tag, and I believe they have 700 pre-orders already. Maybe OSG can do similar things. Perhaps a banner ad on the top of the Consim World main page and Web Grognards would help (do they cost any money?) saying something like "Napoleon's Game by OSG now in pre-pub! Lock in your discount now!!" Maybe have your fellow game publishers include a one-page flyer with their magazines and games as they are shipped. For what it's worth, I was going to pass up the GMT game in favor of the OSG version. I'm still hoping it will see the light of day. Good luck Kevin. L2 is a terrific example. Streets of Stalingrad has a much smaller audience than would Napoleon's Game. Maybe map postings, counter postings, full replays, living rules. Without a doubt a folder here on consim (is there one?) would help. We need to have something to talk about and getting the word out is power (and money). I keep fairly active in many aspects of this hobby but only just learned that the OSG game is the serious game and the GMT version is the pseudo-Euro (the reason I am now pounding the drum). If I just learned, many don't even know about it at all. Charles Vasey Sounds like this project should be reinstated. John Kranz Kevin -- I'd consider a special game preview article on this game, and I can then coordinate by adding a "Pre-order Now" button to accompany the piece. Might be a worthwhile experiment, especially since the news page now reaches over 1,000 unique visitors per day on average. Rob Winslow Kevin, in "Boardgaming/General Discussion" it's posted that at least one person tried to order Napoleon's Game off the website but had so much trouble he gave up. I can sympathize here -- I preordered a long time back (before the current web set up, I believe I e-mailed you), but have been completely unable to get info from the web. I was going to download the rules, but ran up against a brick (OK, an electronic...) wall each time, so I gave up. Figured I had enough other things to do, and I knew you had my order (from a personal e-mail). So that's at least 2 people who have given up due the website being most user un- friendly. Amother guy posted that the description of Napoleon's Game doesn't give a real feel for the game. I agree. With so many card-driven games out there now, there's a lot of room for comparison (and room to show differences). I think this would help. Since GMT's upcoming game has been mentioned, I'll follow up by saying: 1. Preordering at the GMT website is a breeze. The site is very user friendly. Plus GMT posts "Living Rules" and and artwork for upcoming games (not yet for the Nappy game, but I imagine it will be coming soon). 2. GMT's Nappy game has gotten "word-of-mouth" marketing for at least the past 4 or 5 years. I've personally watched it being played several times at various WBCs. Folks that have played it and frequent Consimworld always speak highly of it. Both those points are in direct contrast to OSG's Napoleon's Game. The OSG website is tough to order from, and there's very little "meaty" info about the game. Also, other than posts from the designer, news of this game isn't being spread around Consimwrold. Who are the playtesters? Maybe they can set about posting in various folders. Anyway, sorry to be rambling. I just wish to see Napoleon's Game published. I do think there are things you and others affiliated with OSG and the game's development can do to increase publicity and accessibility. Togu P Oppusunggu Count me as one who didn't realize that you needed 250 orders to follow through with Napoleon's Game. I haven't followed discussions in consimworld for either OSG's or GMT's game thinking it was still far in the future. I'll probably look at it now to see who's doing what. My vague impression is that one is being done by McLaughlin and the other by Renaud. Just on the face of things, I would prefer to see OSG's take on a card driven game. I love the We the People system, but I'd be more interested in seeing a new system or somebody new on the block doing a card-based system. From E-mail Some sort of Living Rules a la GMT would surely help. I have seen they were sent to those who preordered; on the other hand, posting them on the web could maybe get some of the fence-sitters (like me) to jump in on a title. Updating the map and counter previews, together with a replay on this or the dedicated folder - or on the website, or on all of them - would help. Also, for us European, it would be useful if we could use your UGG liason to pre-order (therefore cutting shipping costs in half) - assuming it is still in place. Back to OSG News February 2002 Table of Contents Back to OSG News List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 2002 by Operational Studies Group This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com