GMorts Chaotica: Privateer Press

I should probably have posted this yesterday...
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MONSTERPOCALYPSE MAYDAY!

Attention citizens. Attention citizens.

This is NOT a drill. The Monsterpocalypse has returned. Repeat: This is NOT a drill.

Please refer to your G.U.A.R.D.-issued S.M.A.S.H. (Strategic Monster Attack Survival Handbook) literature.

TIME TO KAIJU INVASION: T-minus 5 months….
Ten years ago this July, I started the epic adventure of working at Privateer Press. I showed up to work that day, and on my desk was a folder with a sticky note on it. The writing on the note read, “Monsterpocalypse Rules for Will.” Turns out, one of my first tasks was to become an expert on Privateer’s soon-to-be-released new game. It was already a surreal experience showing up to work at Privateer, but having one of my core job responsibilities be to learn one of the most anticipated new games for 2008 took it over the top.

To be honest, I came in lukewarm on the idea of Monsterpocalypse. I was (and still am) a pretty hardcore hobbyist. I spend far more of my time painting than I do playing. So, while I loved the idea of a giant monster miniatures game, I wasn’t entirely sure about the collectible, pre-painted aspect of it. However, halfway through reading the rulebook, I was hooked. I knew that this game was something special, and I couldn’t wait to sit down with the prototype playtest models and start playing games.

The way the action dice system worked, the resource management of power dice, and, most important, those sweet, sweet monster power attacks and destructible buildings combined to hit every single note my eight-year-old, kaiju-movie-loving-self ever wanted. From that point on, I took every opportunity I had to be involved with Monsterpocalypse. While I got to contribute to a ton of awesome things to the first edition of Monsterpocalypse, being the lead on the S.M.A.S.H. pamphlet—which took the concept of airplane safety information cards and applied them to giant monster attacks—remains one of my favorite projects in all my time at Privateer.

Fast-forward 10 years, and Monsterpocalypse remains not only one of my favorite games, but it also represents a significant and important part of my history with Privateer. When the opportunity came to do a second edition of the game—this time as a hobby miniatures game—well, let’s just say the speed of my thumbs up broke the sound barrier.

I couldn’t ask for a better 10-year anniversary project than getting to dive back into the game that kicked off my career at Privateer. I’m very excited about how we’ve been able to update the game while still remaining true to the original experience. Few things remain as satisfying as suplexing your opponent’s monster into a cluster of extremely flammable downtown high rises or watching the look of horror on your opponent’s face as your monster goes into hyper form and beats the ever-loving snot out of his once-pristine monster.

Best of all, though, is that this time around, I get to hobby my forces to truly fit my eight-year-old self’s imagination of what my giant robots and alien invaders would look like. And while I’ve been painting models for a couple of decades now, I’m really excited to use these amazing Monsterpocalypse models to introduce miniature painting to people who’ve never picked up a brush. In fact, we were very conscientious with the Monsterpocalypse model designs to strike a perfect balance between detail and accessibility. In other words, making models that offer tons of potential for veteran hobbyists but that are also approachable and rewarding for someone who’s never put a paintbrush to a model.

In the end, I could go on and on about Monsterpocalypse, but I’m quickly running out of my allotted word count, and I can only suffer so much of John’s withering gaze of shame. Luckily, today kicks off a whole slew of Monsterpocalypse information goodness, starting with a live Q&A with Monsterpocalypse Lead Developer Jason Soles on our brand-new Monsterpocalypse forums Thursday, May 3rd!
And remember, no matter how much you want to, never feed the hostile creatures!