Dec 2011 releases

[Primarch]

This model (Sue) is an example of what's irking me right now about Malifaux.

I feel like the entire range is slowly becoming some dude's "oh it'd be so cool if there was a game with THIS in it! lol". Where I think it'd be cool if everyone once in a while there was a "joke" or special edition model, it seems like the entire catalogue is full of inside jokes or weird that don't mesh either rules or style-wise . That, and the paper-rock-scissors of certain masters make it hard to take the game seriously. I know you're not supposed to take the game "seriously," but there you go.

I think that the variety of themes and styles is part of the appeal for me. The occasional in-joke like Sue isnt too bad and there hasnt been much else that has jumped out at me as being terribly out of place (Hamelin perhaps).

There is a definite imbalance between the masters, especially the ones from the second book compared to the first. (The Dreamer for example surpasses most of the characters in book 1 and is a pain to deal with ). I think this is down to Wyrd being new at this whole game design thing more than anything else.

As has been said before, you definitely need to play to your strengths in Malifaux, which is something else I like about the game. The differences in play style help make the game fun and stop it from being just another line up your models and shoot kind of game. Between that and the card mechanics in place of dice, I just cant help but love the game and I wish they would do an RPG version. THAT would be cool.

And yeah, dont take it seriously.

[me_in_japan]

I quite like Malifaux's whole style. It has a pretty unique ambience to it, even Hamelin (who I dont think is out of place at all. In face, if anything's out of place it's the Freikorps. Bit too paramilitary for my liking. I prefer the quasi-steampunk feel of things more than the dakkadakkadakka squad.)

[Primarch]

I quite like Malifaux's whole style. It has a pretty unique ambience to it, even Hamelin (who I dont think is out of place at all.

Sorry, I meant Hamelin was kind of a joke character (as in Pied Piper of...), rather than that he was out of place. I actually have both Hamelins now.

[ennui]

Yeah, you know, I'm not entirely sure what my hang up is. I mean, I still enjoy the game and a lot of the models are really great (though a good half of them are not). And even with the jumble of genres mixed together it still manages to keep my interest. But I'm not interested in the lore at all, so I wouldn't really be interested in an RPG. I think more so than the jumble of characters its the jumble of rules that every new addition brings to the table. I mean, take a look at the Dreamer's card. Look how much crap is written there, and then look at Chompy's card, which has even MORE crap written there. And then go look at the forum posts where people are trying to dissect exactly what the hell they mean. And now the avatar rules? I think I can safely go without them.

The game is fun, but sometimes it takes some work, and I guess I wish I could take the RULES seriously--or at least have a clear idea of what they are--if not the game itself.

[Primarch]

Yeah, you know, I'm not entirely sure what my hang up is. I mean, I still enjoy the game and a lot of the models are really great (though a good half of them are not). And even with the jumble of genres mixed together it still manages to keep my interest. But I'm not interested in the lore at all, so I wouldn't really be interested in an RPG. I think more so than the jumble of characters its the jumble of rules that every new addition brings to the table. I mean, take a look at the Dreamer's card. Look how much crap is written there, and then look at Chompy's card, which has even MORE crap written there. And then go look at the forum posts where people are trying to dissect exactly what the hell they mean. And now the avatar rules? I think I can safely go without them.

The game is fun, but sometimes it takes some work, and I guess I wish I could take the RULES seriously--or at least have a clear idea of what they are--if not the game itself.

Fair enough. Dreamer and LCB do have a LOT of rules on their cards. Likewise the new avatars have a lot of rules too. I'm still not exactly sure what my Showgirls are doing when I play a game, but they seem to do it very quickly. Again, I kind of like the fact that no two models have the same rules except for some of the weaker minions (Death Marshals, Ice Gamin, Ronin etc). It does mean that there is a lot more to remember, but with only 5 models on the table I can usually manage, though the aforementioned showgirls leave me with a headache.
The lore in the first two books was ok, but the third book really starts to pull it together. I do think that the card mechanic would work very well in an RPG environment though. It's more fun than rolling handfuls of d6 at everything.

[ennui]

The classic Japanese cyberpunk rpg Tokyo Nova uses cards in a similar fashion, and it is AWESOME.