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Attack Of The Miniature Clickies
Thanks to GamerDad for its 'Unplugged' column discussing the phenomenon of 'clickies', miniature collectible RPG figurines with stats included in the figure's base. The article argues of traditional tabletop wargaming: "With the high entrance cost in time and money, it is difficult to bring new people into the hobby. Younger gamers suffer from a lack of cash, while older gamers suffer from a lack of time." These easier, supposedly cheaper alternatives are then evaluated, including lines such as Mage Knight ("As the first 'clicky' game released, it has grown into the largest"), Heroclix ("a decent game with a great theme"), and Lord Of The Rings (praised "for its 'large, messy battle' feel.") But the article ends with a caveat: "My gut instinct is to warn any kid away from all collectible games. Children (and adults) are too easily sucked into a cycle of buying 'just one more' booster pack and hoping they find something great inside."
Technically, Breakeys also has the piece stats included on/in each piece.
I collect D&D miniatures, which is a collectable game like Mage Knight (except you get the stats on a card). I have yet to play one game with these miniatures using the rules for their game. Instead, I use them in pen and paper campaigns during battles.
For 8 miniatures at $10, they are a very cheap alternative to buying a metal miniature and painting it (and with my painting skills, they usually are better painted).
I was recently informed by a friend who works at a games store that WotC is raising the 'standard retail price' of the D&D minis to $13 or $14 (I can't remember which) for a box of 8 instead of $10. They're planning on selling out the current boxes with the $10 price printed on them as-is, but the next set of boxes distributed is supposed to have the increased price.
If you're looking to complete a collection or just score up more goblins for your D&D game, now might be the time.
It's like that dawn of the dead movie, once you're biten, you are lost!. I started with the D&D minis, just because I wanted to get a few cool ones. Now I can't stop, by the way, check out maxminis, a friendly trading community.
Problem is, most minis that are good for RPG use (Ogres, Trolls, Giants, Drow) are good for the Skirmish, so while the RPGers are going to want multiples of those, the Skirmisher wants at least one or two because they are collectors, so it makes some minis very hard to get.
I am considering selling my 300+ collection and switching to using counters. No more collecting, I know exactly what I'm getting (no random stuff) and MUCH cheaper.
To bad Wizards of the Coast is releasing a Star Wars plastic miniature line