I've seen this kind of thing happen with WotC...just before a new edition of a game is released.

Are we on the verge of 3rd edition of Runebound?

It's an interesting notion, though I would prefer they continue developing the current edition. If there's something new in the way of additional game mechanics (and I can't think of any suitable for RB), I would hope they would approach it from an "advanced" RB perspective. Perhaps something like an add-on/upgrade rather than starting over from zero with a new edition.

But overall, I think it is just an economical way to do reprints of modules for the new blood that has come to this game.

I agree with JC. This looks to me like a more efficient (for them at least) way of reprinting all the mini expansions for RB, so that new owners aren't left out in the cold on past material. I'm guessing the individual micro-expansion model hasn't worked out as well as FFG hoped when they originally started this thing.

It might be a harbinger of RB 3e, but I'll worry about that if and when it gets announced. Historically, FFG has only released a new edition when there was a sizable revision of the core rules to be made. Look at the differences between TI2 and TI3 to see what I mean. Yes, 3e collected a lot of the material from 2e and its expansions into one box, but it also heavily revised the turn mechanics and cleaned up a bunch of other stuff along the way. It was more than just "everything we did before in a shiny new box," it was an honest to goodness improvement.

And even if 3e comes out and it isn't a huge improvement, it will if nothing else serve as a line in the sand for where I can stop buying stuff. I'll happily continue playing 2e even if it isn't the most recent version anymore.

My guess is it's to tempt all the people who haven't purchased them yet individually, as it's almost 50% of the normal price ($59.70 individually vs. $29.95 for them in a shiny new box).

I'm glad that they aren't putting in a single new deck (that I would need to buy this whole thing to get), but it does annoy me as a completist collector that I won't have the shiny box.

Hmmm... okay, $30 bucks is a pretty good deal.

As someone who just got into Runebound and was starting to ponder the expansions, I'm rather happy about this product and expect that I'll be getting it.

I'm a bit confused though, is this available to purchase now?

If not, when and will it be available in my FLGS?

gatharion said:

It's not available right now, but it is coming "this winter" (which could be up to March 2011 or so.) I would expect it will be available in FLGSes across the continent (and later the world) once it's out.