Library Additions and Battlegroup News

Not a lot of gaming time or opportunity at the moment so I am (a) watching Comrade James's posts here with much interest and (b) celebrating 99 days to Christmas instead with some new hobby reading courtesy (again courtesy of Amazon!). A couple of titles here I've been eyeing off for awhile (I read and re-read the Featherstone classic many times in my school library), and a bit of preparatory research before Battlegroup Tobruk comes out. I'm hoping to start collecting some models for the Western Desert in the coming year so I'll be ready to go.

However, it now appears that Battlegroup Tobruk will be bumped due to delays in the release of Battlegroup Blitzkrieg.  Ironfist Publishing today announced on Facebook that Battlegroup Blitzkrieg would be delayed from late 14 until Apr 15.  Those who have other books in the series know that these are high quality productions and personally, I'd much prefer waiting and have them continue that standard.  Here is their update:

As you may be aware our fifth supplement, Battlegroup Blitzkrieg, was initially scheduled for release this coming November. However, we have decided to hold back the release of this supplement until next year for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, we would like to tie the release in with the upcoming 75th anniversaries of the events of 1940 that will soon be upon us next year. Our new plan is to have the book released at Salute 2015 in April, in order to be available for players to tie in with the actual anniversaries coming up. This will help us to fully promote the early war period as one rich with opportunities for WW2 gaming and give it the full exposure it deserves. We will also be able to tie in the release with magazine articles and further online content.

Secondly, holding the book back until next year gives us further time for playtesting of the army lists and the scenarios. While we have looked at early war vehicle before in the Barbarossa supplement, we have a host of new vehicles and rules in this book that we hope will give players a real feel for the period and give an exciting and tense game for all involved. That being said, we really want to be sure the direction we are going is one that we, and our playtest teams, are happy with. The only way we can do that is to extend the playtest period. We want to give the best possible product, and while we could release it sooner, we feel and extended playtest period will only make the game better and give us the certainty that we have produced the right game for the Battlegroup series. We feel we have, but its nice to be sure... especially when people have to pay for it!

In terms of the book, you will see a number of changes from previous volumes. As you know Piers Brand has been the main driving force behind this supplement, with help from many others, and he has decided to place more of a focus on historical scenarios of varying sizes for our players. Having a big personal interest in the period, Piers has wanted to show that the Battlegroup system can be used for historical re-fights, not just points based games. As you can imagine, a large amount of scenarios, means a large amount that need playtesting! So while we think players will like the selection and quantity of scenarios, they do have to be tested. The delay in production gives us time to do that too.

The book will of course have a selection of lists (currently 9 lists) and the usual Battlegroup painting guides and historical background. Its a project we are really excited about, and one that we hope will truly revitalise the Early War period for WW2 gamers and show that it is just as exciting as its late war cousin! So in order to do it right, we always said we would rather delay a release and do it properly than get it less than perfect, so we have decided for the reasons above to hold Blitzkrieg until next spring for release. We are really sorry to disappoint those hoping to see it this winter, but rest assured you will have it next April and it will be worth the wait.