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| Why does the box cover on the right look familiar to me, damn it! |
I'd like to send out a big F-U! to +Tim Shorts of the Gothridge Manor blog for pointing me in the direction of the "Mobile RPG module. Travel-sized Magnetic Role Playing Mod." Kickstarter. I'm not quite sure what to make of it, as it has bits of awesome wrapped in WTF-ness.
"Now you can have your Role-Playing Module and travel too! Magnetic game board & walls with maps to offer endless variables for setup.
We believe this Project is unlike anything ever seen in the gaming realm in the past - or present. This project allows the gamer to take his gaming experience with them while mobile. We have never seen anything that crosses all games and even scales as this in the past and believe it would be a great addition to any gamers arsenal."
So, let me get this straight? No one ever brought their books and paper to a friend's house to run a game?
Now, from what I can see, this is a magnetic game board, much like the travel games of chess or checkers one would be given on a long trip to keep you occupied in the back seat.
Heck, the included tokens look like Parcheesi pieces. They are also utterly useless, as they lack any sort of facing. The miniatures being used are too big for the hexes (and are not included). Oh, and wall pieces are not included either - they're extra.
It's got a level of cool though with the box covers. Hell, magnets in general are just cool shit. Then it hits you - where the fuck would you ever use this? Battlemats are more portable if you are into that kind of a game and more practical in the amount of game space they cover. This you'd have to reset for each room or encounter.
"Mobile RPG module. Travel-sized Magnetic Role Playing Mod." fills a niche that few if any need filled. Better you spend your money on a Frog God Grab Bag - at least you'll get some play value out of your spent cash and probably a few "modules" too.
Wow that is really damn cool.
ReplyDeleteMan, this is perfect! I need this! Like yesterday!
ReplyDeleteI have two metal grids with plastic wall and door segments that are held on place with magnetic strips. I got them 15+ years ago.
ReplyDeleteI have my "Dungeonworks" system as well. They came out around 1991. I bought my set when my local game store discounted it after years of collecting dust with no interested buyers. The 10" x 10" board was too small to do much with. It looks like this Mobile RPG Module isn't much larger.
DeleteThat was them. I bought 2 and it did the trick a lot of the time but still had to be supplemented with cardboard tiles now and again. The biggest problem is scale (or close to scale) walls get in the way when the fight takes place in close quarters.
DeleteHey man, don't hate the messenger. I saw it and thought, "Erik should see this one".
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is, if you are going on a long trip, the driver shouldn't be the GM.
ReplyDeleteI think a simple pizza-style box would be better. Some craft paper, a marker, ruler, tin sheeting, glue, scissors, and 30 minutes you'd be set.
ReplyDeleteAdd some foam core, magnetic sheeting, and another 20 minutes and you have the whole set....
Confession Time: as kids, when we first discovered D&D my sister and I often played one-on-one games while traveling. My folks would give us a sheet of styrofoam on which we taped the module map (usually Caves of Chaos) and she'd roll up a posse of chumps..er, adventurers, who would then brave the dungeon. We'd take multicolored pins and use them to mark the locations of adventurers as the traversed the dungeons. I can safely say that, had this been available in a visible way, my folks would have bought this for my ten-year-old self to use for the games. In fact, I admit that I'd pick one up just to have it for the future when my son is old enough to start gaming.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, kids play iPad or phone games now instead.
DeleteWhich reminds me, I made a magnetic travel version of the old Dunnigan wargame Drive on Metz from his wargaming book years ago.
DeleteIt was awesome on family trips.
It is cool.. but still having a hard time wrapping my head around how and where it would be used?
ReplyDeletePersonally, that would be too small to be really useful, and too big to be really "mobile". But hey, for the gamer who has everything....
ReplyDeleteIt is slightly more portable than my beer fridge as far as magnetic surface go.
ReplyDeleteI think the pieces are just to demonstrate the concept. 15mm or 10mm minis would be perfect.
ReplyDeleteI guess for playing on a train, or the backseat of a car?
ReplyDelete