Countdown to ChillCon: an Interview with Word Forge Games' Mark Rapson

Hi, I'm Paul, and welcome to The Asylum.

It's Asylum Wargaming's very first wargames show this forthcoming Saturday, and this week I'm interviewing some of the great and the good you can expect to see at the show. And so—hot on the heels of my interview with Gav Thorpe—I would like to present you with an interview with one of ChillCon's co-sponsor, Mark Rapson.


Hello Mark, and thank you for taking the time to chat with me today. Perhaps you'd like to begin by telling us a little about yourself?

Mark Rapson

I'm Mark Rapson, and my company is Word Forge Games. WFG is the company behind the vehicular combat game franchise: Devil’s Run, and the cheeky battling hamster game full of double entendre, CheekZ. We also cast miniatures for third parties—in both resin and metal—and render and 3D print!


I'm familiar with Devil's Run, so we'll come to that later. In the meantime, can you tell me a little about the hamster game?

CheekZ is a card game of bluffing and forward thinking. If I were to compare it to anything it would be Poker, but that is a very loose comparison. What I particularly like about it is its artwork, but also what Andy Ransome the designer has done with the cheekiness of the game. There is a lot of tongue in cheek fun to be had, with lots of double entendre. It works on two levels: for the kids it’s cute and gets them thinking mathematically; and for the grown-ups there is a whole barrel of laughs to be had.


It's interesting to see how different Cheekz and Devil's Run are. Do you have a third game up your sleeve? Or will you concentrate on your existing properties?

We actually have another three up our sleeves! Next up is a small project with local street artists. The game will be called Throwdown and is a card throwing game! I am excited about this as it's a cool rule set and it's awesome to work with the local community of artists. Our longer timescale project is called Star Knights, and like Devil's Run is a BIG project which we will build into a franchise. We haven't shared much yet, but I am personally very excited about this and the work that is being done right now on it. But our new big project is a licenced project for a 15mm tank battle game. It is a tabletop game, straight out the box. It will come to KS shortly. It is very cool with awesome models and a cool aesthetic; but the rules and how the game play is what really makes it for me.


Exciting times! I'm guessing you can't tell me the name of the tank license, right?

Yes I can. It's Absolute Decimation. Check www.wordforgegames.com for more info.


And how did the hook-up with the street artist come about? That's quite leftfield.

I had a flash of inspiration for a new game as I was tidying the house. It wasn't fleshed out, but as I cogitated it over the next day or two I settled on a brick wall idea for the background of the cards, and a graffiti look. I was going to ask my business partner to create the graffiti look, but the very next day an artist called Tim from BLINK Photography walked into my shop, Crescent Gaming Consortium, for the first time. We began chatting and I explained about Devil's Run and art, and he said, "Well, if you ever need any graffiti-style art, let me know..." I can't decide if that was fate, act of God, or blind luck ... but I'll take it!

So what are Throwdown!'s mechanics?

Throwdown! is a simple card game; think Twister crossed with a throwing game. Lots of skill, but lots of laughs too. It's also suitable for game for 1-4 players (and up to 8 if you combine the two variant games together).

Taking the card to the right as an example, if you can throw the card into the ThrowZone whilst jumping in the air, you earn 10 points.


And I assume different cards call for the player to perform different actions in order to earn points?

Yep!

That's a neat idea. Certainly a greater level of physical activity than most card games call for.

Going back to something more conventional, what can you tell us about Star Knights?

Star Knights is the beginning of our next big, home grown franchise. In essence, it's a Space Opera.

The first product will be Star Knights: Solar Crusade, a game created in the tradition of the classic dungeon crawl games like Hero Quest and Descent. But we're doing something special with Star Knights by making it a 1 player game as well as a fully immersive multiplayer. The board game will come with modular board pieces that will be double-sided. Players will be able to place them in specified order or free form. The models will be one piece and of the highest quality. They'll also be rendered by our very own Ben, and also cast by our team. There will be four different races in the game. We've shown the 'lion' race already, but wait 'til you see the other stuff!

If you'd like to learn more then check the face book page at https://www.facebook.com/gamestarknights/.


So looking ahead to ChillCon, do you have anything special in store for the show?

Yes, these two miniatures:


Nice! Something to look forward to! I take it these are for Devil's Run? And am I right in thinking Route 666 is now out of print and we can look forward to the second edition?

Yes. We've now moved onto Devil's Run: Reaper's Revenge, and soon will have the retail game, Devil's Run: Hell's Highway. Devil's Run is going from strength to strength. A lot of people—including our awesome community—have worked really hard on it all!


Thanks for your time, Mark. All the best for Star Knights, and we look forward to seeing you at ChillCon...

...And in the meantime, let's all enjoy this space bull man from Star Knights:

Countdown to ChillCon: an Interview with Gav Thorpe

Hi, I'm Paul, and welcome to The Asylum.

It's the run-up to ChillCon '17, Asylum Wargaming's debut wargames show. To commemorate I'm bringing you a week of interviews with various ChillCon '17 traders, sponsors and other illuminati, including the likes of Daruma Productions' Mark Wallace, Warploque Miniatures' Alex Huntley, and Mark Rapson of Word Forge Games.

First and foremost, however, I present an interview with Gav Thorpe. An author and games designer, Gav boasts an illustrious career with Games Workshop, including a stellar contribution to the lore of both Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000, and a host of novels for Black Library. He has recently left Games Workshop to pursue a fulltime career as a writer. He will also be at ChillCon '17 showing off his pet project, Big Stompy Robots.


Gav, please will you take a moment to introduce yourself?

Gav Thorpe. He has all his own teeth.

I'm Gav Thorpe, author and games designer. Most folks will know me either from my days as a games developer for Games Workshop, or as a writer for the Black Library, or both. I've worked on several editions of Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000, and created the Inquisitor game, as well as contributing to the likes of Battlefleet Gothic, Titan Legions, Gorkamorka! My other games design work includes Cutlass! for Black Scorpion Miniatures. I've also freelanced for the video games industry, most recently as World Creation Consultant for Ubisoft Montreal on the For Honor title. I'm middle-aged, a little overweight, have all my own teeth, and I live with a very understanding partner called Kez and an amazing three-year old called Sammy.

Impressive, especially the possession of all your own teeth. If you had to choose a top three, however, what would they be, and why? 

Top of the list would be Inquisitor, simply because we got to explore so much crazy stuff. Not only were we able to steer the game in a dark direction, but we also revisited one of the staples of 40K that had been ignored for a while: the Inquisitors. The legacy of that work continues today, a lot of it thanks to projects like Inq28 and John Blanche's continuing involvement as a creative and hobbyist through Blanchitsu and so on.

Battlefleet Gothic was also a great project because of my long time love for all things Napoleonic and naval. Writing the history of the Gothic War and working on the characters and background of the Imperial Navy was very fulfilling. Also I was able to come up with something a bit different for the campaign system—the subsector maps and the like—which was very satisfying. And the game is great to play, so a winner all round.

I think my other proudest achievement isn't a single project, per se, but my tenure as Warhammer Loremaster. Not only did I get to work on some cool books in that time—Dwarfs, Beasts of Chaos, for instance—but I also got a real buzz helping the creative team evolve the imagery of armies like Lizardmen, revitalise the Bretonnians and Wood Elves, create the Ogre Kingdoms, and bring events like Storm of Chaos to life. Oh, and we got a plastic giant too!

That's a list you can be justifiably proud of. But can you go back a little and tell us how you came to write for Games Workshop? 

I was fortunate enough to contact Games Workshop when they were hiring Assistant Games Developers. I showed some Blood Bowl rules to designer Jervis Johnson at Games Day '93. He suggested that I send them to him at GW, so I did, along with a cover  letter asking for a job. I went to Nottingham, talked to Rick Priestley, and started a week later. 

The Assistant Games Developer contract was two years, the second of which was spent on White Dwarf magazine. I had another year as a Dwarfer and then—armed with that experience—went back into the Games Design department.

White Dwarf issue 127

So, and this is the last Games Workshop question before we take a look at Big Stompy Robots, what are your favourite 40K and WFB armies, and why?

My number one love for 40K are the Eldar. As I recently celebrated on my blog, the update of the Eldar back in White Dwarf issue 127 was a formative moment for me. 

In Warhammer I I'm drawn to the dwarfs. I love their background, and the playstyle of rock hard, dependable infantry and lethal war machines suits me well. 

I'm lucky that I've been able to work on both factions in my time at GW and as a Black Library author. 



A pair of Gav's Big Stompy Robots

And so onto Big Stompy Robots. As someone unaware of the game, can you bring me up to speed?

Recently I've embarked on an ambitious hobby/games design project. Last year I was approached by the organiser of Nottingham's ROBIN wargames show to conduct a short seminar. Feeling enthused, I  offered to also run a participation game during the event.

I had about six weeks to create a 10mm scale mech-fighting game. This included designing the rules system, creating the board, and assembling the mechs themselves. I managed to get the game ready in time, and I dubbed it Big Stompy Robots. For the moment my only goal is to have some fun games. However, should it go well I’ll continue developing the game with a more commercial goal in mind.

I’ve been kicking around various games ideas for years, obviously, but I ended up going with something new for Big Stompy Robot (although drawing from other ideas I’ve had over the last couple of years).The main point is that the player is a pilot of a single mech rather than commanding a force. It gives the feel of being in control of a complex fighting system, monitoring power levels, the pilot 

More Big Stompy Robots!

interface and the physical positioning of the mech on the field of battle. The player distributes power through the control system of the mech via dice on a series of cards that represent the mech’s systems. These dice determine the activations of the mech, and when it takes an action those dice are then used to resolve that action. Damage is represented by negative damage dice getting introduced into the system, reducing the effectiveness of the systems as they accrue.

I've blogged about it on my website, gavthorpe.co.uk and folks can check out a growing number of gameplay videos on YouTube.


Thank you, Gav, a pleasure to chat with you.

You can enjoy Gav's Big Stompy Robots game—and a host of others—at ChillCon '17 on Saturday 27th May. That's this Saturday. Yes, this Saturday. Better get your tickets fast...

The Complete and Unabridged Guide to ChillCon '17

Hi, I'm Paul, and welcome The Asylum.

As you may have heard, we at Asylum Wargaming are hosting our very own wargames show on May 27th, 2017. It's called ChillCon '17, and it's going to be mega. Want to know more? Then you're in luck, because I've prepared this Complete and Unabridged Guide to ChillCon '17! Why have I prepared it? Because we at Asylum Wargaming love you...

...And once you've read this, you'll love us too.

The Traders

 

Manufacturers of the wargaming miniatures and resin scenics.



Producers of high quality painting and miniature hobby products.

Official show stockists of 4Ground, Crann Tara Miniatures, Heroes of the Dark Age, the Depot Battalion range and used figures, books and rule books.



Specialising in wargames miniatures and rules for the golden age of cult TV.

Creators of lovingly made custom embroidered dice bags.

Creating delicious handmade cakes and other confectionaries.

Producers of quality wargaming terrain and accessories.



Co-sponsor of ChillCon, and the official home of S.L.A Industries: CS1.

Specialist in quality military books and wargame related titles.




Miniatures for collectors, by collectors.



Purveyors of Greenskins and the forces who oppose them.



Specialist commission painter.

PLEASE NOTE: Saddle-Goose Design's handstitched custom dice-bags will be exhibited at ChillCon by Glennbrook Games. Those of you who wish to pre-order a custom bag for collection at ChillCon, however, should contact Saddle-Goose Design beforehand.

Bringing you the highest quality and the best value in custom cut trays and cases.



Producers of lasercut scenery, accessories, movement trays and bases.

Creators of 6mm scale resin cast models and scenics.



The home of affordable wargames miniatures and fantastic tabletop games.



Home of the Nightfolk range of 28mm white metal Goblins, Dwarves and other things that go bump in the night...

Creators of fantasy and sci-fi miniatures and the skirmish game, Burrows and Badgers.

 Purveyors of the hobby's most popular wargames models and accessories.

Creators of high quality 28mm figures & vehicles.



Publisher of hobby rules and games.



Producers of high quality cast resin and metal miniatures.

Home of the world's largest range of 28mm wargaming miniatures.

Your first stop for Rubicon's range of wargaming products.

28mm historical and sci-fi wargames miniatures.

The home of the unique fantastic skirmish game, Arcworlde.

Producers of highly detailed resin miniatures for both 15mm gaming and the starfighter dogfighting wargame, Shattered Void .



Co-sponsor of ChillCon, and masterminds behind such games as  Devil's Run and Cheekz.

The Tournaments

It that's not enough for you, we have more awesome up our sleeves, including Kings of War AND Bolt Action tournaments. Should you wish to compete, tickets for these two mighty clashes can be purchased on our website.

The Participation Games

As well as the tournaments we have these participation games available for those wishing to play in a less competitive arena:

Aliens vs. Predator

Batman Miniatures Game

Gav Thorpe's Big Stompy Robots

Command and Colours

Doctor Who

Guild Ball

Halo Ground Command

Horizon Wars

Konflikt '47

The Walking Dead: All Out War

Scud Alley

Shattered Void

S.L.A. Industries: CS1

Time Bandits 

The Bring 'n' Buy

We're also hosting a Bring 'n' Buy. Should you be interested in bringing and/or buying, then please see our website for more details.

The Venue

ChillCon '17 will be hosted at Ecclesfield School, Chapeltown Road, Sheffield, S35 9WD on Saturday 27th May, 2017. Click here for a useful guide on how to find us.

The Tickets and Goodie Bags

Tickets are available here, and the first 100 entrants on the big day are guaranteed a goody bag stuffed with ... well ... goodies. You can also save £1.00 by buying your tickets in advance.

The Charities

We will donate £1.00 from every ticket sold to our preferred charities:

The three of us involved in the organisation of ChillCon—Steve, Spud and myself—have picked these charities as they all mean something to us on a personal level. Please take a moment to visit their sites and consider making a donation. Thank you.

So that's it, Inmates. ChillCon '17 is coming, and it's going to be awesome. #Fact.



ChillCon '17 is sponsored by Daruma Productions' S.L.A. Industries: CS1...

...And Word Forge Games.