I have always liked boardgames but have re-discovered this hobby recently, to the point that my collection now boasts 76 games (with a dozen or so more on order).

Days of Wonder is a company that make games with a very high production quality. They released a two-player light "wargame" some time back called "Memoir '44", by Richard Borg. As you might expect, this is set in World War II.

Towards the end of November / early December they are set to release a new game of his that is based on the same system. It is called "BattleLore" and looks to be very good indeed. The game is generating a fair amount of hype, largely due to the success of the previous game, but some it seems justified. I know I want to snap this one up as soon as I get the chance. It is a fantasy battle game, with wizards, ogres, goblins, etc.

Check it out here: http://www.battlelore.com

I'm sure this will be of interest to someone else here. I have all the other Days of Wonder big box games, and I can vouch for their quality.

Anybody else think this one looks good?

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"Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best."

I liked Memoire 44 a lot. So I'll be checking out this one !

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<a href="http://www.bloodbowl-game.com">Blood Bowl !</a>

Looks pretty cool Mark! I think I might have to dig up $70 somewhere.

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No one feels as helpless as the owner of a sick goldfish.

I have managed to secure my copy of BattleLore, and I am very pleased with it.

For those of you considering purchasing this game, there are two "niggles" that you should be aware of:

1) The dice in the first batch have problems with the printing. They are wooden dice (standard for Days of Wonder products) with coloured images on the faces. The images have been rubbing off alarmingly quickly. The good news is that Days of Wonder is a company that takes great pride in their products and is committed to customer service. They have already identified the problem and will be correcting it and issuing replacement dice, at their expense, to all those affected.

2) Some of the plastic figures, espcially the cavalry, can be quite bent by being squashed into the box (which really is loaded with bits). This will bug many people, especially the more "particular" folk (myself included). A solution on their website that works so well I want to do it again just for fun, is to place them in just boiled water before dipping them in cold water. The warm water straightens them right up again, even their swords.

The game is real quality. Everything from the artwork on the cards to the board itself illustrates how much effort went into the making of it. I have a lot of boardgames (86 at last count) and this is easily one of the most impressive games in my collection. It looks great set up on the table, and makes people want to play it, which is very handy.

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"Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best."

That looks brilliant Mark, I will definately keep an eye out for it in my local gaming shop. If they don't stock it, I'll try and order it from that website.

I wonder how adaptable the rule system is - whether we could incorporate LOTR into the game, perhaps?

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Dagster

I think a person could replace the minis they give you with the game with your own LOTR minis very easily. Some house rules to add more of a LOTR flavour and you're away, although the standard rules would still work fine.

I must say, I have yet to play the game, but I liked Memoir '44 well enough to know this one will work. Now, if only I could get my wife to play it, or my son to play anything other than HeroScape.

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"Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best."