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White Dwarf Open Box BG Reviews Part 2
Eric Dodd
New Zealand
Martinborough
Wairarapa
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Between 1977 and 1987 Games Workshop's magazine White Dwarf reviewed board games, along with the role-playing games which were the main focus of the magazine. Issues numbers that do not appear had no board game reviews in them.
There are also some comments from Charles Vasey who briefly had a column in the magazine. Review ratings, especially of GW and Citadel products should be taken with a grain of salt. However the revies of Talisman and Warhammer shown below look pretty impartial. In issue 88 WD "admitted" to being a house magazine, and by issue 94 there were no longer reviews, and only previews of GW products.
Ratings are shown out of 10 when given, and prices shown in Pounds. I've also added the reviewer's name. It's mostly Fantasy and SF games, but there are a few non-genre reviews, too. Disagree violently with the opinions anything here?
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Eric Dodd
New Zealand
Martinborough
Wairarapa
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ISSUE 41 Star Explorer. Price 9.95. Rating 9.
"The game is very well balanced. Above all the game plays smoothly and swiftly and rarely gets bogged down."
Alan E Paull
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Eric Dodd
New Zealand
Martinborough
Wairarapa
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ISSUE 42 Grav Ball. Price 12.95. Rating 4.
"For a game that promises so much, it is a shame it delivers so little. It simply does not do itself justice."
Ian Waddelow.
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Eric Dodd
New Zealand
Martinborough
Wairarapa
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ISSUE 43 [Ist Edition, not this image] Warhammer. Price 5.95. Rating 8.
"If you regularly wargame with minatures...then I recommend you check out Warhammer and let battle commence."
Joe Dever.
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Eric Dodd
New Zealand
Martinborough
Wairarapa
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ISSUE 44 Illuminati Expansions 1 & 2. Price 4.95 each. Rating 6.
"The high proportion of Weird Groups in this selection may shift balance in favour of the Discordian Society; so be it, balance is a secondary consideration here."
Phil Masters.
Plus generally positive Charles Vasey reviews of Sanctuary and Consulting Detective (both later received full reviews).
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Eric Dodd
New Zealand
Martinborough
Wairarapa
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ISSUE 45 Wizards. Price 14.95. Rating 7.
"In terms of enjoyment, which is what really counts in a game, Wizards is a success."
Alan E Paull.
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Eric Dodd
New Zealand
Martinborough
Wairarapa
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ISSUE 46 Sanctuary. Price 12.95. Rating 7.
"Sanctuary will appeal to those seeking an uncomplicated game for all age ranges from 12 years old upwards. Over all, Sanctuary is a good buy for the family."
Alan E Paull.
Plus Charles Vasey on Dragonhunt and Titan " For those of you who are oin reality peaceable fellows I fear its Dragonhunt, but for all the little Darth Vaders out there grab your copy of Titan. The later is certainly the most impressive of the two."
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Eric Dodd
New Zealand
Martinborough
Wairarapa
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ISSUE 47 Star Fleet Battles Supplement 1. Price 5.95. Rating 7.
"There are no plastic ziplock bags to keep the counters in, other than that an excellant addition to SFB."
Jim Sizer.
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Eric Dodd
New Zealand
Martinborough
Wairarapa
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ISSUE 48 Autodual Champions. Price 7.95. Rating 8.
[A Car Wars / Champions RPG cross over] plus
Car Wars Reference Screen. Price 4.50. Rating 6.
"Both of these products show that its possible to present Car Wars system without mini boxes and eye strain."
Marcus L Rowlands
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9.
Board Game: Dune
[Average Rating:7.63 Overall Rank:87]
Eric Dodd
New Zealand
Martinborough
Wairarapa
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ISSUE 48 Charles Vasey on Dune and other games of the book: "Dune [the book] is the rise of the prophet Mohammed and the Arabic Invasions...the game in no way disgraces itself. Its major success is the excellent way in which the gamer is encouraged to play those different roles. The only other real threat to Dune's supremacy is probably Mythology."
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Eric Dodd
New Zealand
Martinborough
Wairarapa
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ISSUE 50 Charles Vasey on Fellowship of the Ring
(Price 20(!)).
"Stands high above the verdant rot of the SPI game on the same subject. All in all a splendid little game which was and is a pleasure to play."
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Eric Dodd
New Zealand
Martinborough
Wairarapa
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ISSUE 52 Talisman. Price 7.95. Rating 6. [That's honest!]
"Talisman is not a bad game. If it was shorter, it would make an enjoyable family game."
Alan E Paull.
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Eric Dodd
New Zealand
Martinborough
Wairarapa
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ISSUE 52 Battlecars. Price 6.95. Rating 8.
"Battlecars is abstract, yet this is to its advantage. If you want quick, simple and fluid action, take a look at Battlecars."
Ian Waddelow.
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Eric Dodd
New Zealand
Martinborough
Wairarapa
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ISSUE 52 Dragonriders of Pern. Price 16.95. Rating 4.
"Classic proof that a good book does not always translate into a good game. This is a game which lacks those crucial ingredients - enjoyment and excitment."
Nic Grecas.
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Eric Dodd
New Zealand
Martinborough
Wairarapa
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ISSUE 52 Lost Worlds. Price 1.95 each. Rating 6.
"The game is easy and good fun but it has limited appeal. Lost Worlds is a good game for lunchtime or to take down to the pub."
Ian Waddelow.
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Eric Dodd
New Zealand
Martinborough
Wairarapa
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ISSUE 55 Forces of Fantasy. [No separate listing force this early Warhammer supplement] Price 5.95. Rating 7.
"I would recommend Forces of Fantasy to those people who enjoyed Warhammer but were unhappy with parts of it - the additions will undoubtably improve it and hopefully not just complicate it [!]."
John Sutherland.
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Eric Dodd
New Zealand
Martinborough
Wairarapa
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ISSUE 55 Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective and the Mansion Murders. Price 19.95 and 9.95. Rating 9.
"It took me almost a week to solve the first case, and I even found my sleep was disturbed by thinking about possible solutions. I like this game very much and urge you not to be put off by the high price - its worth every penny."
Nic Grecas
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Eric Dodd
New Zealand
Martinborough
Wairarapa
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ISSUE 55 Star Fleet Battles Commander's SSD Books 1-3 [No listing or image for this] Price 3.95. Rating 9.
"All these booklets fall into the very nice to have category. They are not, however, essential to the game, but they do speed it up."
Stuart Aston.
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18.
Board Game: Battlebikes
[Average Rating:5.99 Unranked]
[Average Rating:5.99 Unranked]
Eric Dodd
New Zealand
Martinborough
Wairarapa
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ISSUE 56 Battlebikes. Price 4.95. Rating 7.
"The scenarios are the nicest feature of this supplement ... if you liked Battlecars then Battlebikes is a winner."
Ian Waddelow.
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19.
Board Game: TurboFire
[Average Rating:6.33 Unranked]
[Average Rating:6.33 Unranked]
Eric Dodd
New Zealand
Martinborough
Wairarapa
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ISSUE 56 Turbofire. Price 4.50. Rating 8.
"I think it would be possible to simplify some of the game mechanics to speed play and ensure that everyone gets involved in the action, but this would lessen realism."
Marcus L Rowland.
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Eric Dodd
New Zealand
Martinborough
Wairarapa
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ISSUE 56 The Forever War. Price 16.95. Rating 7.
"Forever War is an enjoyable simple SF ground combat game for those who want a good battle without any extra problems to bother with. For those who require more detail Starship Troopers is probably better value (it's cheaper too!)"
Russell Clarke.
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Eric Dodd
New Zealand
Martinborough
Wairarapa
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ISSUE 63 Star Trek III Combat Game. Price 9.95. Rating 8.
"STIII is basically a quick, simple game where ships of all sizes get knocked out easily in a fast-paced mobile game."
Russell Clarke.
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Eric Dodd
New Zealand
Martinborough
Wairarapa
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ISSUE 63 Star Fleet Battles v II Price 21. Rating 7.
"SFB II is an expensive lumbering beast that if suitably trimmed will give you many hours of good gaming."
Russell Clarke.
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Eric Dodd
New Zealand
Martinborough
Wairarapa
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ISSUE 66 Battledroids. Price 16.95. Rating 7.
"This is a well written, easy to understand set of rules. Much of the design is clearly specific to robot combat and succeeds in capturing the flavour of this sort of battle."
Trevor Mendham.
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Eric Dodd
New Zealand
Martinborough
Wairarapa
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ISSUE 66 Warhammer 2nd Edition. Price 9.95. Rating 8.
"All of the characteristics are now numbered rather than the odd mixture of latters and numbers. WII is a predictable expansion of the original, although it has not ironed out all the problems."
Robert Alcock.
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Eric Dodd
New Zealand
Martinborough
Wairarapa
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ISSUE 68 The Worlds of Boris Vallejo. Price 23.95 [!]. Rating 3.
"This is a highly derivative game. The game strikes me as a cynical attempt to cash in on the popularity of Boris Vallejo's artwork."
Paul Mason.
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Unspecified
Martinborough
Wairarapa
http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist.php3?action=view&listid=12...
and Part 3
http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist.php3?action=view&listid=12...