Screwing Your Customers Minus 1

This weekend, I managed to complete my collection of late war army lists for Flames of War. I say “complete” because I just picked up D Minus 1: the Late War airborne supplement; and this book, combined with Festung Europa makes for a complete set of army lists. I’m not normally so negative on this blog; but, the treatment Battlefront customers are getting is nothing short of shameful.

Festung Europa was supposed to be the complete (but generic) army lists for the late war period. That was, of course, until everyone noticed that paratroopers were missing from the book. The original news announcement was quickly removed from the Battlefront website; and, if I hadn’t have grabbed the Google Cache version which is now here, the truth would have been lost forever. Right there, in black and white, is the phrase "Our initial release for late war will be a 180 page full colour book covering every late-war list for every country." Furthermore, if you look at Festung Europa it is billed as "The Intelligence Handbook for January – August 1944." Funny, I thought D-Day and the paratrooper actions were in June? You know, a month between January and August? Perhaps someone forgot to tell Battlefront.

Then there was the claim that there was just no way paratroopers would have fit in Festung Europa. Unforunately for Battlefront, I can count. If you look at Afrika it has 212 pages for $40 MSRP. Festung Europa also retails for $40 and has 148 pages. D Minus 1 retails for $25 and has 60 pages. Last time I did the math, 148 + 60 equaled 208 which is still less than the 212 pages of Afrika. So not only has Battlefront forgot that June comes before August but they also forgot how to print 212 page rulebooks. What is especially painful about being able to count is realizing that $40 + $25 is $65. A fact Battlefront managed to work out, not surprisingly, on their own.

I almost wonder if it isn’t time to champion socially responsible wargaming. In the end, I guess I’d just be swimming against the current of all the other Kool-Aid drinking wargamers.

"Resistance is futile"