Mallet – Mason’s Guild
This was undoubtedly the perfect model for me to kick off painting a new game system. The sculpt is amazing, there is just enough detail to keep it visually interesting without being overwhelming. The pose is a wonderfully dynamic running pose that gives you the feeling that Mallet is off to charge another mark. Lastly, the expression on his face is really well executed. (more…)
Guild Ball is a table-top skirmish game that combines combat with soccer (or football for those outside the U.S.). Created in the U.K. by Rich Loxam and Mat Hart, Guild Ball launched as a Kickstarter in February 2014, the game miniatures shipped at the start of 2015 and the game began to gather momentum. More often a game starts to lose momentum once the Kickstarter concludes, but Guild Ball’s initial 890 backers has grown rapidly since the game hit stores. The company, Steamforged Games, has shown a knack for engaging its audience via social media, with Periscope videos of production, Twitter and Facebook accounts and appearing on various tabletop gaming podcasts. While that accounts for part of the sustained growth, the game itself is what leads the way. Guild Ball is composed of magnificent miniature sculpts, it’s fast to learn and so engaging to play that every demo leads to more fans.
Each release cycle of the game is broken out as a “Season”. Season 1 was everything that came out of the Kickstarter. Barely had Season 1 made it to the shelves when Steamforged Games announced Season 2 was beginning. A new season means more models and an additional guild. Steamforged Games chose not to coast following Season 1, they punched the accelerator and chose to put out more models before the paint had dried on Season 1’s miniatures.
