Is this getting a new edition (after second) for is it largely out of print is it worth getting into at this point?

Ok got it then its dead no one even has the labedo to even answer

Libido.

You waited a grand total of one day for a response in a forum for a game you know is OOP before going off on a rant about inactivity. Good show.

To answer your question, FFG has not made any official announcement about a third edition as yet.

Didn't feel I was ranting apologies if it felt that way was just closing the post down

Didn't feel I was ranting (my rants are normally a few hundred words at least) apologies if it felt that way was just closing the post down!

I wish we have a third edition. Since my point of view, seems that RB is dead. No news about the game, nothing new under the sun…

Besides, one time i have knowed about Talisman, RB mechanics are a bit bored for me. It need to be improved.

I think there will always be debate about Runebound vs. Talisman . I could be wrong, but Talisman seems to be picking up steam extremely quickly. The decline of Runebound and the rise of Talisman may be telling Fantasy Flight what current gamers want. Runebound is slow. Maybe modern gamers don't want that.

There has been nothing said about a new edition of Runebound yet, while Talisman has gotten all the love. It's safe to speculate that continuing to invest in an already successful franchise like Talisman will be a more effective decision than rebuilding Runebound. I would expect a third edition of Runebound only when Talisman starts to grow stale.

I actually see it with a different take.

Runebound has had a lot of life. 5 big box expansions, many small card pack expansions too numerous to list (look them up in Products). It has nearly run its product life cycle.

Talisman still has a few more expansions to go to fully realize the whole Talisman experience…expansion boards on each corner…currently, with The City coming out, 3 of the 4 corners are now in play and available to buy and play. FFG still has that last corner to make and sell. And they will likely do just that. With The City just being released, the 4th corner is still probably 12-24 months out, with perhaps one more card expansion in between. Still some life left in this Product life cycle.

The hardest part for Runebound owners (particularily new Runebound ownerslike me) is FFG letting 2 big box expansions and almost all the card expansions go OOP. It feels like abandonment, but it is probably more a factor of their sense that it is a mature market for those products and a bigger risk to reprint. After all, the game has been out for 8 years (since 2005 I believe?), has sold successsfully all of its expansions. The more expansions you put out, the smaller the market becomes fewer people buy them all, while most will buy just a handful, or just 1 or 2 big box expansions. So the returns for more expansions just get smaller and smaller. The remaining available big box expansions are just enough to keep us new buyers in the game so to speak.

The Conspiracy Theorist in me would suspect a 3rd edition somewhere down the pipeline. As many here are speculating on. But perhpas they will just continue the line, keeping the base game in stock with the current 3 big box expansions and just leave it at that.

And I am OK with that. I do not need every expansion for my enjoyment of the game. With 3 big box expansions still our there, I have 4 ways to play a really great game. And I am glad I got off the fence and bought it 3 months ago. It has been one of the most played games on our game table since I got it. And I suspect new Runebound owners will have the same experience, regardless of where the game's life cycle is, regardless of OOP card expansions.

Addendum to my long previous posting…

Last November, when I decided to get my Runebound game, it was easy to buy on Amazon, though I did notice the stock available was quickly declining with each week I was putting off the decision to buy. After writing that previous posting, I went back to Amazon to see the availability. Wow. Only 2 new ones left under $100 out of all their affiliated merchants. And 3 more new ones after that in the over $125 price range. I was lucky to get mine under $45 when I did. And FFG is out of stock per their web site.

Given that, i still hold to what I said….if you can get a copy, BUY IT NOW, and you will get a LOT of great gaming for your purchase. And with the 3 big box expansions still out there, you will get a lot more great gaming as soon as you get your expansions. But don't wait too long. This one appears to be going off the grid.

It really saddens me to hear that this game is slowly dying. It was my next prefered pickup from FFG.

So far I have:
Battlestar galactica
Descent 2nd ed

Future pickups:
Runebound
Runewars

These games seem to have everything I am looknig for in a boardgame. Sadly it seems I am going to have to search for future pickups outside the safety of FFGs guaranteed awesomeness.

Wrapped said:

Honestly it's a great adventure game but nowadays since the expansions are harder to find at normal prices, Runebound is not that good of a buy for newcomers.

But don't get me wrong, if you can get your hands on some Challenge and Item & Allies expansions for added variety, this game becomes one hell of a great game.

I agree that the game has run its course…but running its course vs. not selling, either way they both lead to death. A 3rd edition might happen…I am more optimistic that FFG has intentions to revisit Terrinoth in general. Descent is getting the love, at the moment, Runebound might as well.

My biggest issue with Runebound is there is a lot of downtime between turns. It is a great exploration/adventure game…in fact, it is what I was looking for, but I have no vested interest in seeing how other players fare other than knowing whether they took the spot I was hoping to get, etc. The battle rounds do heavily favor the dex characters as well and I feel it could use some improvement, but it works as it is.

The big box expansions breathe the life into the game as every one feels and plays differently. I really do enjoy them.

I just cannot get my gaming group into it…they see a game with too much downtime. And nothing I can do can change that. I feel I could improve it…for example, make it a single party where we quest/adventure cooperatively and when we reach an encounter, we battle many encounters, not just one. So many ways to liven it up in a 3rd edition. There is a need for a game like this, there are players who want to play them.

A perfect analogy a person in my group used: It is 6 player solitaire. I agree with the sentiment…but solitaire can be a ton of fun. And Runebound is fun.

Well they are printing an new batch of Sands of Al-Kalim,

isnt possible they will do the same for The Island of Dread and the basegame box?

AndiOne said:

I don't see any reprint of Al-Kalim on the upcoming page. Where are you getting this information from?

You can find the announcement on the "Upcoming" section of this webpage. It is towards the bottom between the announcements for Planet Steam and Star Wars: Assault on Echo Base. Unfortunately, there is no information as to when this reprint is expected to be released, unlike most of the other entries where FFG lists the expected quarter the respective product is to be released.

Michael Scorefan said:

Interesting. It's not actually listed as a reprint, so I missed it the first time.

I'm interested to see if there is going to be a new edition as well. I just recently began to get into board games hardcore and discovered Runebound. Seems right up my alley being a strategic RPG boardgame that can be pretty easily played solo. The only daunting thing is the sheer number of products in the line and the somewhat questionable artstyle of the game. It is just offputting to me for some reason. So, I'm hesitant to try and get into it even though my local game shop does have a copy of the core game. If a third edition comes out I'm right there with wallet in hand.

I'll also agree with people saying that Fantasy Flight arn't really abandoning the game. This game has four big box expansions and twenty four card packs. That's far more love and attention than most games can even dream of recieving. Even Arkham Horror is only about on par with that.

CenturionCajun said:

You're not the first person to express dismay with Runebound's art style. Out of curiosity, what do you think of the artwork in Descent Second Edition? (You can find samples of it in the rulebook PDF and D2E product pages available here, if you're not familiar with that game.)

The reason why I ask is because I figure there's a better than average chance that if they do make Runebound 3E, it will use the same style of art as D2E.

I actually quite enjoy the artstyle in the new edition of Descent. The Runebound art looks alot like some of the mid-90s comic book art that is just slightly deformed in a way I find disturbing.

A new edition would need to shorten turns and increase player interaction. Otherwise I'm perfectly happy to keep playing my base game, two big box expansions, and numerous card pack expansions. Not to mention the home brew scenarios readily available here and on BGG.

I don't mind the cartoony art. A new edition would probably recycle big chunks of it or import art from the other Terrinoth games IMO.

It is a shame that 2nd Edition has been allowed to languish for so long now, and I concur with the conspiracy theory that they are letting it go out of print before a re-launch of some sort. Terrinoth seems to have changed a lot since I first opened Runebound all those years ago, we're now looking at races more than individual heroes, and I see very little similarity between the land of Runebound and the land of Rune Age. So maybe they'll relaunch this game with a setting more in-line with the current crop of Terrinoth games.

However, FFG seems to be ploughing an awful lot of resource and effort into their licence-holdings, Star Wars is of course big news for them right now as they seek to recoup the loss they have inevitably incurred through holding the licence for a year with no products to show for it. Otherwise they seem to be more and more an outlet for Games Workshop games. Arkham Horror and Runebound have both seen tremendous support in the past, but all is quiet on the western front while games like Talisman catch up, but also they seem to be moving away from this style of boardgame product. It could well be too early to tell of course, but from what I pay attention to that comes from FFG, there aren't really any of the sort of "modular board games" like these coming out anymore - Talisman being the notable exception. A case could be made for Mansions of Madness, but I feel there is a distinction between boards and tiles there. Has anyone any greater insight? Are FFG making boardgames where the expansions feature new/additional boards? Or is it a case of an expansion being more cards, more minis, more bits, and little else?

If you want a Runebound 3rd ed., please read and post at:

http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/topic/100012-group-positive-thinking/

You can also read the steps I plan to take in addition to the posts in this thread!