I spent about 10 minutes with the game designer, Francesco Nepitello, to discuss the game. Also got a few brief shots of the game. My blog is found at richardbliss.typepad.com to view the images.

The games is absolutely gorgeous. The painting is done with fine detail, the ships being my favorite, looking very striking while on the board. The box is mammoth, nearly a meter high would be my estimate.

I've seen some comments about the cost of the game and the desire for the price to be lower. I'm going to disagree and say that I believe the price is just about right. This is not a common nor casual game to own. What is being sold is a unique experience. The owner of the company loves the game and invested the effort and risk of bringing a very special game to the market. I love the look and am planning on buying it before the end of the year. Is it very expensive? Yes it is. Is it priced beyond the reach of most gamers? Debatable. The game industry is big enough to support this kind of specialty item.

Richard Bliss

richardbliss.typepad.com

here is a direct link to the you tube video.

thanks for taking the time to record it. the game looks beautiful.

I saw the interview with Roberto regarding the Wings of War expansion, but did you get video with him discussing WotR CE? And if so, when will you post it?

This does look beautiful! *looks at bank balance and sobs*

It is good value. I could not resist the lure of the one ring any longer...

Yep I agree. I decided its Christmas and to the hell with the cost. So much so that I got all gung ho and ordered it from FFG only to discover Nexus was offering it the UK after I have put my preorder through. So I gotta pay customs too but what the hell. If I cancel it now theres a good chance I will miss out totally so a little extra for the customs boys is no biggie. For something this unique its worth it and trust me I've got someone rare stuff lying about my house and this just adds to the fun.

A lot of people are complaining about the price. From my memory, people have been spending way more than $399 on junks like Mage Knights, Mechwarrior, WH40K, DnD minis, etc. The only difference is that WotR collector set is a lump sum payment while other games let you pay tens of dollars at a time. It is like buying a house with long term mortgage. You end up paying way more than the original price at the end. The price for this collector's edition, although high, is fair and it will maintain some values for a very long time.

Silly to "complain" about price. FFG/Nexus have obviously done their research and charged what they believe people will pay. If they guessed low, then their inventory will be snapped up and they will have left some money on the table. If they guessed high, then they'll be left with a bunch of copies and have to lower their price later (at the risk of angering those of us who paid full price) or wait a long while to unload them.

But for a consumer to complain? Pretty pointless. I can complain about the price of a Mercedes as much as I want, it's not going to make them charge any less. The only thing worth anything to the vendor is whether you buy at the set price or do not buy. They need to establish and promote the value of the product, but ultimately that will lie in the eye of the beholder.