Can we just all take a moment to congratulate Geoff on his perfect presenting skills for this advert at the start. I was expecting him to break character at any moment with some lewd innuendo but alas no, he kept the filth to the podcast proper. Geoff: I salute you!
What makes MESBG the best rule set in my eyes is that it works at various points levels and it's a well balanced game. Running most armies is viable competitively. It also has great narrative and matched play options.
Would say it also does heroes really well, in that they're powerful pieces, that can and do change the course of the game, but aren't unstoppable like they can be in some games, or just another model with slightly better stats as they are in others. Definitely my go to example of how to do heroes on a wargame.
MESBG is great, it scales really well between small skirmishes and full blown sieges. It’s also super detailed when you need it but also relatively simple to just pick up and play. It’s just great and my wife and I love it. Edit: Personal perspective on Pat’s question about why MESBG is great, it’s not just nostalgia. I still play frequently. Simply put, it’s very easy to pick up but you can layer and layer complexity to your own desire.
I remember being at a GW show at WHW and it was when Ents/Treemen were new for LOTR. I was looking at the Ents when Alessio wandered over and started chatting to me. The one thing I remember from that conversation was him saying I'd be better off getting some twigs and making my own Ents as they'd look better and be cheaper…lol I think he left to set up River Horse not long after.
Again, cracking video! Wonderful discussion and gives me impetus to paint my pile of shame 😂. Also, really agree regarding the Primiarchs return. I was really surprised when o returned to the hobby in lockdown, by them and the Custodes being playable. Really should have remained mysterious and enigmaticand added as part of Horus heresy. We need mysteries like that to froth about !
Lads there's a typo in the title; it should say the GOAT of games systems - Alessio Cavatore MESBG is the golden standard of rules imo - well balanced at various levels of play, competitively sound across multiple factions & subfactions, fantastic for narrative games and most importantly can be picked up and put down without having to read a grimoire of rules! So you can get down to playing Amon Hen, shouting B******! do it for Yorkshire! or I didnt choose ya! whilst you play that heart wrenching scenario!
Ghost in the Shell as a miniature skirmish game? Sign me up. Though frankly I think Appleseed would be a better Shirow IP to build a wargame for, even if less well known. As to Akira, if you went from the manga instead of the movie, there is a lot more scope in there for a game - from Gangs of Neo-Tokyo to the army and the rebels. A lot more goes on in the story than what happens in the movie.
I fondly remember Allessios Bretonnian lance rules. There was a battle report in white Dwarf with Alessio and his Bretonnians fighting the Empire with a steam tank. It was such a good report and was written as a narrative story. The LotR game was also a great rule set.
Remember him in Lucca, may be 1997. I got the Warhammer new edition signed. Now I am 38 years old, I follow a little bit of games on RUclips but I didn’t play a game battle in over 20 years. It was great to find this interview!
Such a fun episode! From my time a few years ago spent doing a lot of store/convention board game demonstration work I got to try out a bunch of hobby board games. Some of my favorite mechanics are the same as what Alessio mentioned where the rules are easy but there's a lot of depth to the game. Scythe for me took a while to be a favorite & such a delicate balancing act of all the parts on the board plus it like Five Tribes has the extra fun but of money is for playing the game but it's also your victory points so it easily adds a ton of tension. The other is Concordia where your turn is just playing a card but it takes a while to be used again plus as you're usually watching your own stuff, the ending is nerve wracking as the victory points get totalled at the end so it gets tense.
Was lovely to meet Geoff and Patrick at Warhammer World the other day. Very friendly and extremely approachable. Keep up the great work. Cheers Scouse Will.❤
The SBG rules system was 'officially' used four times (to my knowledge) for Warhammer Historical wargames: -Legends of the Old West (American Wild West) by Mark Latham -Legends of the High Seas (Pirates) by Tim Kulinski -Legends of the Rising Sun (Feudal Japan, just a brief article in Wargames Illustrated) by Aaron Loomis -Gladiator (Roman gladiatorial combat--and one of WH's final games) by Barry Hill Warhammer Historical: The Great War was adapted from 40k.
It's an absolute pleasure to see Alessio here. I may not have been a LoTR player, but I have never seen anyone around the scene who has his level of passion and absolute love for the hobby. I remember seeing him at Games Days gone by, and the more questions or hobbyists were asking him questions, the more excitable and animated he became, to the point I was concerned he may explode by the end of the day. Such an enormous amount of respect for the man, and his achievements speak for themselves. Arguably the most successful designer of our age for sure!
amazing interview! some of my favorite games he worked on/wrote!! I just started Conquest too! Also laughing at the going from fantasy to 40k to historicals ending up at model trains and stamps 🤣 I also started with stamps (and also model trains/scale modeling) Peachy! 😂 That's probably the sulfites your allergic to Geoff, in wine - gives me a massive headache as well. I suppose it could be the tannins as well tho. You'll just have to stick with Beer 🍻🍻
Always love chats with Alessio involved, fun chats with lots of laughs. Personally love LOTR, the terminator genesys game, bolt action and kings of war. And of course lots of gw games! One of the hobby greats!
I am incredibly excited about the Ghost in the Shell game, I've thought about buying Hasslefree's Major and Batou knock-offs many times. I'm not usually a big Kickstarter person but that game will get me to pledge for the highest tier (if it is on KS of course)!
I always appreciate an in depth discussion on MESBG. I think the game is still relevant for the point that Allesio makes about encouraging tactical play but not enforcing it. Giving each model agency means that even a hobbit can in theory take down a troll and that is in keeping with the theme of the source material. Jeff’s questions were really on point for this video. Keep it up lads!
My wife and I had the very great pleasure of meeting Alessiio at UKGE, he's a lovely bloke and very tall. Have a number of his IP based games and they are family favourites.
For Jeff his red wine reaction is due to a genetic reaction to an antioxidant contained in the red wine grape. Certain people can’t metabolize it. They can get a headache as soon as 30 minutes after a small amount drunk
The submachinegun in a briefcase thing from GITS is a real weapon; originaly an MP-5 with a funky shell, if memory serves it was developed for (or at least adopted by) the American Secret Service.
Ghost in the Shell in miniature gaming format. Shut up... and take my money. I'm a big old gubber for GitS and Apple seed and I'd love to see the properties being brought to a new medium. Being written by a studio with such pedigree is just all for the best. 😁
@19:43 This is a problem that I think Shatterpoint avoided well. You rarely kill anyone. At best they're wounded. And that adds to the immersion with the concept of like "This is a battle like you'd see in a TV show or movie" allowing you to use well-known heroes without feeling weird that anakin died well before he became vader.
Oooh a GitS game. Man I’m jealous that Alessio got that, I’ve been tinkering on my own rules for it for ages. But at the same time I have a lot of experience with Alessio’s rule sets so I’m excited to see what he does with it.
Wow, Alessio hasn't aged at all! ...not that I knew him personally, I mean from White Dwarfs and things... Actually this whole comment is getting weird. Great video guys!
I've long thought Bolt Action 1st edition was a qualify game. Alessio had clear design goals and he executed them succinctly. He even said at in one place - here is the rule for this - if you see otherwise in an army book, that's incorrect. However, once other people started adding stuff by campaign and army books, BA became less cohesive. But yeah first edition is solid. And BA 2ed even with the additions is still miles ahead of most other games in terms of clear design goals and execution.
The red wine headache, maybe its a scouse thing. Me and my brother both from Liverpool, 1 mouthful and it feels like a khorne berserker has hit us in the front of our heads with a chain axe.
MESBG is the best ruleset GW has ever made! All the armies are well balanced (Something AoS and 40K never have been). The game plays well at all point levels from 200-1000. 40K really only is designed around 2000. Theres very few gotcha mechanics and its more about movement and tactics. Definitely the best GW game!
about the primarch thing, I personally don't play *right now* but I find some battle reports to be helpful in learning. however whenever it's a marine legion or chapter with a primarch, they're gonna be fielding the primarch and it feels less special. I like it lore wise but as a new player it feels like I *have* to buy a primarch if I wanna play ultramarines or dark angels or whatever. I'll probably just stick to guard then XD
Your content and style is really nice but there is almost always one of you breathing in the mic. In here it gets noticable starting at the 8min mark. I hope you can fix it :)
Shout out to Geoff mentioning the 'machine gun suitcase'. That's totally made me think of Once Upon A Time In Mexico now and the guitar player with the two assault rifle suitcases... Such a guilty pleasure! 😂
Get yourselves some fun wargaming t-shirts and stickers from www.grmdrk.com/
Can we just all take a moment to congratulate Geoff on his perfect presenting skills for this advert at the start. I was expecting him to break character at any moment with some lewd innuendo but alas no, he kept the filth to the podcast proper. Geoff: I salute you!
sadly being 6.6 feet tall and a big broad shouldered guy i need a 8xl which they don't do, but have passed the web page to sized normal sized mates
What makes MESBG the best rule set in my eyes is that it works at various points levels and it's a well balanced game. Running most armies is viable competitively. It also has great narrative and matched play options.
Just piggybacking off of this it's really more about the player skill then the rules
Would say it also does heroes really well, in that they're powerful pieces, that can and do change the course of the game, but aren't unstoppable like they can be in some games, or just another model with slightly better stats as they are in others. Definitely my go to example of how to do heroes on a wargame.
Alessio’s rules were peak at GW. Then he started his own gig and is still killing it!
MESBG is great, it scales really well between small skirmishes and full blown sieges. It’s also super detailed when you need it but also relatively simple to just pick up and play. It’s just great and my wife and I love it.
Edit: Personal perspective on Pat’s question about why MESBG is great, it’s not just nostalgia. I still play frequently. Simply put, it’s very easy to pick up but you can layer and layer complexity to your own desire.
spot on. I only got into mesbg in the last year or so. Its top quality, as a game system its still a class above anything else GW currently do.
I remember being at a GW show at WHW and it was when Ents/Treemen were new for LOTR. I was looking at the Ents when Alessio wandered over and started chatting to me. The one thing I remember from that conversation was him saying I'd be better off getting some twigs and making my own Ents as they'd look better and be cheaper…lol
I think he left to set up River Horse not long after.
With Middle Earth and Bolt Action being possibly my two favourite game systems, I was really hoping this episode would happen one day.
Fantastic, what an incredible interview! Between these interviews and Jordan Sorcery, the GW knowledge available has exploded this year.
Alessio and Rick Priestley are 2 people I've hoped you'd get on the show. great episode, hope you can get Rick on soon!
Love the added board game chat near the end. Love a bit of Brass and Ticket to ride
The fifth edition Vampire Counts army book was the first time I remember seeing his name. Absolutely legendary. Both him, and the book.
I love this book too! One of the few from that era I kept!
The typo of roll in the description is a nice touch. well done.
These industry chats are so freaking awesome, love these Painting Phase team! 😊
I never realised Alessio was behind Tails of Equestria! Wow!
Oh boy, an absolute giant in miniature gaming, let alone his impact on Warhammer in all its forms!
The thought of that Ghost in The Shell game is keeping me up at night. Also Tony says hi Alessio!
Ha! Sounds right up your street
The mechanics for Terminator Genisys Miniatures Game were indeed wonderful.
Again, cracking video! Wonderful discussion and gives me impetus to paint my pile of shame 😂.
Also, really agree regarding the Primiarchs return. I was really surprised when o returned to the hobby in lockdown, by them and the Custodes being playable.
Really should have remained mysterious and enigmaticand added as part of Horus heresy.
We need mysteries like that to froth about !
Although I do hope Primarchs Top Trumps exists....
What a gem! I love that he gives us a peep into the game design process without a tidal wave of data 😂
Lads there's a typo in the title;
it should say the GOAT of games systems - Alessio Cavatore
MESBG is the golden standard of rules imo - well balanced at various levels of play, competitively sound across multiple factions & subfactions, fantastic for narrative games and most importantly can be picked up and put down without having to read a grimoire of rules!
So you can get down to playing Amon Hen, shouting B******! do it for Yorkshire! or I didnt choose ya! whilst you play that heart wrenching scenario!
Yep can’t argue with all these points
Ghost in the Shell as a miniature skirmish game? Sign me up.
Though frankly I think Appleseed would be a better Shirow IP to build a wargame for, even if less well known.
As to Akira, if you went from the manga instead of the movie, there is a lot more scope in there for a game - from Gangs of Neo-Tokyo to the army and the rebels. A lot more goes on in the story than what happens in the movie.
I laughed a lot during this! What a lovely human being! Such amazing passion and positivity
I fondly remember Allessios Bretonnian lance rules. There was a battle report in white Dwarf with Alessio and his Bretonnians fighting the Empire with a steam tank. It was such a good report and was written as a narrative story. The LotR game was also a great rule set.
Remember him in Lucca, may be 1997. I got the Warhammer new edition signed. Now I am 38 years old, I follow a little bit of games on RUclips but I didn’t play a game battle in over 20 years. It was great to find this interview!
Such a fun episode! From my time a few years ago spent doing a lot of store/convention board game demonstration work I got to try out a bunch of hobby board games. Some of my favorite mechanics are the same as what Alessio mentioned where the rules are easy but there's a lot of depth to the game.
Scythe for me took a while to be a favorite & such a delicate balancing act of all the parts on the board plus it like Five Tribes has the extra fun but of money is for playing the game but it's also your victory points so it easily adds a ton of tension. The other is Concordia where your turn is just playing a card but it takes a while to be used again plus as you're usually watching your own stuff, the ending is nerve wracking as the victory points get totalled at the end so it gets tense.
Was lovely to meet Geoff and Patrick at Warhammer World the other day. Very friendly and extremely approachable. Keep up the great work. Cheers Scouse Will.❤
It was an absolute pleasure to meet you too and I very happy to talk to anyone who’s kind enough to listen to my utter nonsense. Geoff
@@thepaintingphase 😂😂😂
The SBG rules system was 'officially' used four times (to my knowledge) for Warhammer Historical wargames:
-Legends of the Old West (American Wild West) by Mark Latham
-Legends of the High Seas (Pirates) by Tim Kulinski
-Legends of the Rising Sun (Feudal Japan, just a brief article in Wargames Illustrated) by Aaron Loomis
-Gladiator (Roman gladiatorial combat--and one of WH's final games) by Barry Hill
Warhammer Historical: The Great War was adapted from 40k.
Ooh interesting, thank you for clarifying these, especially the Great War system 👌 - Peachy
It's an absolute pleasure to see Alessio here.
I may not have been a LoTR player, but I have never seen anyone around the scene who has his level of passion and absolute love for the hobby.
I remember seeing him at Games Days gone by, and the more questions or hobbyists were asking him questions, the more excitable and animated he became, to the point I was concerned he may explode by the end of the day.
Such an enormous amount of respect for the man, and his achievements speak for themselves. Arguably the most successful designer of our age for sure!
Neat! I always find Alessio very engaging to listen to. Thanks for bringing him on!
amazing interview! some of my favorite games he worked on/wrote!! I just started Conquest too!
Also laughing at the going from fantasy to 40k to historicals ending up at model trains and stamps 🤣 I also started with stamps (and also model trains/scale modeling) Peachy! 😂 That's probably the sulfites your allergic to Geoff, in wine - gives me a massive headache as well. I suppose it could be the tannins as well tho. You'll just have to stick with Beer 🍻🍻
Conquest the Last Argument of Kings for which Alessio initially contributed = best game !!
game is not by Alessio....
He did right the initial ruleset with his company. @@multislann
Always love chats with Alessio involved, fun chats with lots of laughs.
Personally love LOTR, the terminator genesys game, bolt action and kings of war. And of course lots of gw games! One of the hobby greats!
That was a great chat! Really fun to watch. Alessio seems like a really great guy. Keep upnthe great content!
I am incredibly excited about the Ghost in the Shell game, I've thought about buying Hasslefree's Major and Batou knock-offs many times.
I'm not usually a big Kickstarter person but that game will get me to pledge for the highest tier (if it is on KS of course)!
Amazing... Now we want Gav Thorpe, for an hour talking about dwarfs ❤
Take a shot
Love these vids. Great to see you all having fun
I met Alessio at the mesbg tournament in Lincoln. What a legend.
Ok the entire interview was great but a ghost in the shell game! Holy shit I need that game
I always appreciate an in depth discussion on MESBG. I think the game is still relevant for the point that Allesio makes about encouraging tactical play but not enforcing it. Giving each model agency means that even a hobbit can in theory take down a troll and that is in keeping with the theme of the source material. Jeff’s questions were really on point for this video. Keep it up lads!
My wife and I had the very great pleasure of meeting Alessiio at UKGE, he's a lovely bloke and very tall. Have a number of his IP based games and they are family favourites.
As a short and thick Welshman, I remember Alessio for being the tallest person I've ever seen in real life. Probably. Shout out Mantic open day.
For Jeff his red wine reaction is due to a genetic reaction to an antioxidant contained in the red wine grape. Certain people can’t metabolize it. They can get a headache as soon as 30 minutes after a small amount drunk
Great video and guest! 😊
The submachinegun in a briefcase thing from GITS is a real weapon; originaly an MP-5 with a funky shell, if memory serves it was developed for (or at least adopted by) the American Secret Service.
Yup, an MP5K.
Great interview! Btw, would love to see Alessio do a Dragon Age game based on the video game series.
☝️💯☝️ yessssss this please
Ghost in the Shell in miniature gaming format. Shut up... and take my money.
I'm a big old gubber for GitS and Apple seed and I'd love to see the properties being brought to a new medium. Being written by a studio with such pedigree is just all for the best. 😁
@19:43 This is a problem that I think Shatterpoint avoided well. You rarely kill anyone. At best they're wounded. And that adds to the immersion with the concept of like "This is a battle like you'd see in a TV show or movie" allowing you to use well-known heroes without feeling weird that anakin died well before he became vader.
I was waiting for this interview 😁
Another great episode and another great guest, you guys are knocking it our of the park
Another excellent interview, thank you guys.
ROLL the dice! Royal Crumble
Oooh a GitS game. Man I’m jealous that Alessio got that, I’ve been tinkering on my own rules for it for ages. But at the same time I have a lot of experience with Alessio’s rule sets so I’m excited to see what he does with it.
Warmaster is still the best game GW ever released!!
I remember writing a letter to gw some 20 years ago asking to pass on my appreciation to Alessio, absolute legend!
Can't wait to see what Alessio does with Ghost in the Shell. Love Alessio, such a great guy!
Noooo Alessio, pandoro over panettone is actual heresy... 🤣
Joking of course, great chat as always, thank you guys!
Great show, awesome guest!
Wow, Alessio hasn't aged at all! ...not that I knew him personally, I mean from White Dwarfs and things... Actually this whole comment is getting weird. Great video guys!
This is a great interview!
what a funny interview. love hearing from the GW creatives that built the worlds i inhabited as a youth.
Another fantastic guest :)
38.06 - Oh my, we need Tuomas Pirinen on for a Mordheim episode, if you can catch him in country or the Patreon will cover some flights!
Already listened on spotty, just came to comment for the algorithms 🤘
Legend
Met him many, many years ago at a games night in a pub in Nottingham. He's a nice bloke.
One of the best guests yet he was hilarious
I've long thought Bolt Action 1st edition was a qualify game. Alessio had clear design goals and he executed them succinctly. He even said at in one place - here is the rule for this - if you see otherwise in an army book, that's incorrect. However, once other people started adding stuff by campaign and army books, BA became less cohesive. But yeah first edition is solid. And BA 2ed even with the additions is still miles ahead of most other games in terms of clear design goals and execution.
I'm thinking I need to get into MESBG now! Always had it in my peripherals but never played it :D
As a Skaven player myself, I have to say - the armybook was excellent! No notes!
Alessio doing a Berzerk skirmish or boardgame 🥹
Hippos hunting humans for sport - Epic, just epic - Hippopotamus hominem lupus
The red wine headache, maybe its a scouse thing. Me and my brother both from Liverpool, 1 mouthful and it feels like a khorne berserker has hit us in the front of our heads with a chain axe.
I think us Scousers are just too cultured for it.
I'm glad youtalked about the My Little Pony RPG. I've always wonded what kind of whiplash going from Grimdark to that.
I've been bouncing since Alessio mentioned having the Ghost in the Shell licence. BOUNCING I TELL YOU!
Pandoro is indeed the superior cake. Well said, Alessio!
Another great chat 👍
Game systems come and go.....MESBG is something that will never leave my shelf. Awesome game
☝️💯☝️
Couldn’t of said it better
Tannins in wine are probably tge cause of your headache
Legendary!
We all know what your favourite cheese is Peachy; Gruyere de Comte. It’s french and full of holes 😂
😂😂😂
I already knew Alessio was a design genius, but it's good to hear he's also a man of culture and refinement. Pandoro is 100% superior to panetone!
MESBG is the best ruleset GW has ever made! All the armies are well balanced (Something AoS and 40K never have been). The game plays well at all point levels from 200-1000. 40K really only is designed around 2000. Theres very few gotcha mechanics and its more about movement and tactics. Definitely the best GW game!
What a nice sitdown was this. Are there any plans on picking up the Terminator wargame again?
Fine! I guess I’ll play MESBG again 😂 Good timing though, I just got myself a copy of Warmaster and a couple of 3D printed mega armies to go with it 🎉
Can I ask where you got the armies from? Or files, I guess?
Mordheim is super easy to upgrade: play Frostgrave 😅
about the primarch thing, I personally don't play *right now* but I find some battle reports to be helpful in learning. however whenever it's a marine legion or chapter with a primarch, they're gonna be fielding the primarch and it feels less special. I like it lore wise but as a new player it feels like I *have* to buy a primarch if I wanna play ultramarines or dark angels or whatever. I'll probably just stick to guard then XD
Where have you been!? My drive to work the last 2 weeks has been excruciatingly boring without sidetracked! 😂
Super sorry a mix between illness and the premises move, but back to normal business
Hippopotamus is "River Horse"=flodhäst in swedish too.
Terminator is a fun little game!
We need more killer salad facts!!! Lettuce!! The evil!!
im am now looking into most of the games, but was working on my own lego ruleset i know have a direction.
YES! Jeff reading ads!
Your content and style is really nice but there is almost always one of you breathing in the mic. In here it gets noticable starting at the 8min mark. I hope you can fix it :)
We all know why he left gw……..he lost a bare knuckle brawl in the car park 😂😂😂😂😂😂
I’m so glad he and Peachy have been able to put that behind them!
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂ya know put glasses on peachy, and they ALMOST could be twins 👍💯
Has anyone thought of Duncan and Peachy as Tyler Durden and The Narrator?
Makes a lot of sense when you think about the HQ Fight Club Stories...
That does make a lot of sense……….especially why Duncan dosent check emails 😂😂😂😂
Shout out to Geoff mentioning the 'machine gun suitcase'.
That's totally made me think of Once Upon A Time In Mexico now and the guitar player with the two assault rifle suitcases... Such a guilty pleasure! 😂
BEST EDITIONS
My question is the Ghost in the Shell going to be an rpg, wargame with minis, or a boardgame?
yes.
😉
I am that man!!!
Lord of the rings is in deed one of the best system made. Not just a GW one.
NO QUESTIONS ABOUT WARMASTER - FANTASY'S EPIC!!! VERY DISAPPOINTIN!!!! Also, suggest "Cabrales" to Alessio, I think he will enjoy that cheese.
Berserk tabletop game!
Alessio!!
finalemente!