White Dwarf compared to other gaming magasines

[Sgt Whiskey Swiper]

I clocked the other thread, but it was a bit too specific.

I read:

White Dwarf (subscription)
Signs and Portents (free online MGP)
Wargames Illustrated

Strengths of WD - mainly catalog (self promotion) not too many others...
Signs and Portents - free! Free rules, ideas, a small catalog section.
Wargames Illustrated - articles of all periods, free rules.

I personally find Signs and Portents superior to GW for an 'inhouse' magasine, and Wargames Illustrated for general articles.

What do you think?

~Swipe.

[Wintermute]

WD IS a catalogue, Its says so on the cover of the UK edition

Would you post a link to Signs and Portents please?

[starlight]

http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/ho...hp?qsSeries=13

Obedience is ours.

[RevEv]

The joy of WD is that is is focussed at one set of games systems and one set of games system alone. In that way you can easily determine the official line on how the games are developing, look at the official sneak peeks and browse a very up to date catalogue. If you accept that it is, in itself, one long advert then it is refreshing to read a magazine without page upon page of advertising for something you may never be interested in.

On the down side WD is a catalogue. It will always try to feature the latest releases and will only sparingly revisit older games/models/ideas. It also holds much that is of no interest to all readers (I, for one, have no interest in Chaos or Lord of the Rings). Also, by being official, it will always seem to lag months, if not years, behind web based communications

I have looked at other gaming magazines (computer and tabletop games) and have to admit that WD is one of the only magazines I will read cover to cover even now after 9 years and a couple of hundred issues in the future.

[Sniper Kelly]

The problem that White Dwarf has is the narrowness of it's scope. Take Wargames Illustrated as an example; they can cover any period from history, any army, using any ruleset, in any scale. In the latest issue they feature an amazing WW2 battle report in 1/35th scale!

I think the best thing WD could do would be to veer away slightly from the main game systems and introduce more ways of playing with their figures - say printing scenarios and simple rules for games in the same vein as Warhammer Quest or Space Hulk, or how about a gladiatorial game?

[sulla]

How about kill team, or the rules of engagement scenario rules or the Black Gobbo space hulk rules? Don't WD (and BG for that matter) bring out some decent rules variants from time to time?

[RevEv]

The problem that White Dwarf has is the narrowness of it's scope. Take Wargames Illustrated as an example; they can cover any period from history, any army, using any ruleset, in any scale. In the latest issue they feature an amazing WW2 battle report in 1/35th scale!

To be honest that is why I buy it - I don't have time for the GW games I have already without looking at other eras. Besides, there are magazines like wargames illustrated out there so why should GW double up on them when there is already a dearth of good material covering their own games systems.

[Griefbringer]

I think the best thing WD could do would be to veer away slightly from the main game systems and introduce more ways of playing with their figures - say printing scenarios and simple rules for games in the same vein as Warhammer Quest or Space Hulk, or how about a gladiatorial game?

It would be good enough if they would give a decent support again for the so called specialist games - back in the 90's they got plenty of coverage (and were not called specialist games).

[ashc]

trouble is its become about selling mini's and not about supporting the games they've have already made (especially the smaller skirmish games; less models used = less money in GWs pocket).

Ash

[Sniper Kelly]

To be honest that is why I buy it - I don't have time for the GW games I have already without looking at other eras. Besides, there are magazines like wargames illustrated out there so why should GW double up on them when there is already a dearth of good material covering their own games systems.

I'm not saying they should go the historical route, it's just that the universes that they've created are so vast and have so much potential, yet they never seem to do anything with them. It's as if you have to check in your initiative and imagination at the door before you can start work at WD!

I hate to hark on about 'the good old days', but at least they used to publish background information and try to inject some atmosphere into the Dwarf with illustrations and short stories once upon a time. Nowadays it looks a far more professional magazine, but it's lost what made it so great, at least from a 40k point of view.

[Keravin]

I've started moving my older White Dwarfs over from my parents so I've been rereading them before putting them away.

It's amused me that nowadays we get the whining that "no one" reads a third of the issue. Seems to be fairly consistent throughout the years. I never read the Traveller sections in the very old issues or the Epic sections (which was more than half an issue at times).

Looking forward to reading the 90s though. They were always some of my favourite issues.

[RevEv]

I'm not saying they should go the historical route, it's just that the universes that they've created are so vast and have so much potential, yet they never seem to do anything with them. It's as if you have to check in your initiative and imagination at the door before you can start work at WD!

I hate to hark on about 'the good old days', but at least they used to publish background information and try to inject some atmosphere into the Dwarf with illustrations and short stories once upon a time. Nowadays it looks a far more professional magazine, but it's lost what made it so great, at least from a 40k point of view.

If you're looking for the background material alone then the large number of novels available provide some of that. There are also the fluff books that BL and FW publish - the Imperial Armour series especially (I just hope that they have proof read the new one properly this time!). However I do agree that there seems to be a stagnation in the development of fluff in WD - especially as any magazines that encouraged fan based writing (ie the Journal) now seem to be discouraged.

[Osbad]

How about kill team, or the rules of engagement scenario rules or the Black Gobbo space hulk rules? Don't WD (and BG for that matter) bring out some decent rules variants from time to time?

Well they *used* to. Sadly from the direction WD has taken in the last three issues it looks like anything that takes more than 2 words (of one syllabul each) to explain (in fact scrap that: anything that can't be explained by photographs of the new minis) is just not going to make it into those pages any more.

WD is now 95% catalogue and 5% "gaming supplement" now. There just doesn't seem to be any room for anything that takes more than 30 seconds to read!

[Xeres]

Question is, do you think WD will be dropped?

I mean very few people will keep buying WD soon if this keeps up.

[Grimshawl]

I'm sincerely hoping that a falling subscription retention rate and low overall WD sales may alert someone at GW that the Dwarf is in bad shape, perhaps on his last leg and needs imediate care. I looked thru a borrowed copy the other day and it was terible 2 outta 10 in my opinion, there isnt much they could do to make it a worse magazine at this point so improvement shouldnt be that hard.

[RevEv]

Don't count the dwarf out yet.

Webzines make no profit and have no shelf space to catch peoples attention. At the end of the day many new customers are attracted by the magazine on the shelf of the local newsagent. Certainly that was how I was caught almost 20 years ago - if only I'd bought them then I'd still be enjoying Thrud the Barbarian now. Ironically I stopped reading WD then because of the decrease in D&D items and the increase in Warhammer content.

Just goes to show really that nothing changes.

[Ragnar]

White dwarf has been going downhill since Paul Sawyer left and the Storm of Chaos campaign ended. Balanced/ well written/ well played battle reports and tactic articles have all but dissappeared.

Tis a sad time for White Dwarf when the free online Black Gobbo has much more interesting articles for gamers than GW official magazine.

[ashc]

imo i dont even think black gobbo is as good as it used to be, but then at least that is a freebie.

Ash

[Mikhaila]

Is there a published report on subscription numbers for WD? They don't sell ads, so they may not have to publish the numbers.

[Crazy Harborc]

WD.........naw, not any more. The idea of paying 6/7 bucks a month for a "catalogue", isn't appealing anymore. I may change my mind in a few more months, maybe not.