Download Re-Roll Issue #1 the Backstage Digital Digest
September 11, 2016 by lloyd
This month we set ourselves an experiment, could we over the course of the 30 days create a beautiful digital digest of the hobby that month that could act as a central communique for all of us in Backstage.
We set out to come up with a name, design, layout and content and feel our way through the minefield that is digital publishing, with a hard deadline of the 1st of the following month.
What you are about to download is the result of that. (And yes it was a bit of a painful experience lol - but we half expected it would be all things considered.)
Anyway as an experiment we felt it worthwhile to give you the 'designers notes' on the what and the why of how we approached this, and that is in the video above.
Download Re-Roll
Re-Roll's future is now up for grabs, we have undertaken the experiment and now it's over to you as the core community of Beasts of War, to decide if the format has a future or not (and what shape that future may take).
As with all things, it's not been developed to appeal to everyone and our hardest core community members are not exactly the target of this format, but we'd be interested to see what all of you think of it (good or bad) as an additional viewpoint of your hobby and as a potential totem we can gather around each month.
We mentioned volunteering to be on the production team of Re-Roll, and if that's your thing and you feel you can dedicate the time to it, please send @warren a private message 🙂 Again we'd love to hear from folks to assist with Copy, Proofing and InDesign Layout - as well as content).
Here are a few guides on how to send the download to your tablet or device:
![Warcradle Studios Reveal TINY New 10mm Festive Marker! [Updated]](https://images.beastsofwar.com/2025/11/christmas-kyle-main-600-338.jpg)
PM me @warzan if you fancy joining production if we move forward on this 🙂
@warzan Hi warren, I’m happy to help out with Re-roll. I’ve been running Irregular Magazine since 2009 (www.irregular-magazine.com). I understand the amount of graft that goes into a project like this, as we put Irregular together around our day jobs.
Love the concept and idea guys. About to head home now but I’ll down load and read it over a beer 🙂
Really great idea, I like what I’m seeing. Honestly it’s great for someone like me who might not get the chance to log in everyday and miss certain things. Nice to catch up on them.
I also like bringing in the community from the comments to showcasing members work and projects.
“I also like bringing in the community from the comments to showcasing members work and projects.” – Couldn’t agree more. 😀
Just had a quick flick through and looks like a nice look back at the previous month. With all the calls for ‘Justins & Dragons’ to become a regular feature on BoW I think we’ve found a potential home for it if it were to happen* 😉 I’d also like to see more community comments on news items (assuming your able to find them); there were a couple scattered throughout, but I think it’d be nicer to have seen a few more (not too many otherwise it’d become too cluttered). I also think it could have done with an extra proofread check through as I noticed a typo (p34, “…most have pale pmple grey skin…”); haven’t read thoroughly though, so don’t know if there were others.
*this assumes of course that caesar is willing to do it. And if he is, then I think it’d be best if he kept posting in the forums the regular stand alone strips with the Re-Roll strip being a special full page spread, possibly with a plot to it that carries over each issue.
Fixed – Thanks! We’ll definitely be in touch 🙂
‘Welcome 🙂
loving the idea chaps i would certainly download and read religiously, i would describe it as a Beast of Wars digital companion, and if you can get the collation and publishing down to an acceptable timescale and not drain your resources then it could be for me a cracking addition to the site.
whenever i meet new gamers or youngsters i direct them to your site to see whats out in the wider world other than the games workshop they have usually found the hobby from. something like this gives a great simple overview which metephorically sells both the site and the hobby to these newbies young and old.
id like to see a monthly letters section where questions can be placed and answered on a regular basis.
if you ever need any assistance please give me a call to action ive experience writing detailed reports as part of Aircraft design and operations with BAE Systems the aircraft manufacturer. As well as reviewing document content as part of a design team, im a little rusty as its been a while but im sure i can shake the brain cell into action if required, anything to help the hobby.
We like the idea of letters too 🙂
a health warning is needed for the back page lol!
and woo am famous a quote of mine made it in 😛
Seriously spoilt with hobby mags this week, new WD now the re-roll 😀
Nothing i would particuarly change in terms of layout, would be happy to contribute any content i could as well…
By gawd..Justin does look creepy as a fortune teller!!
Suppose I’m too ‘hardcore’ to find any commercial news I’ve missed but I’m always keen to see what other community members are up to and it’s great to see some work from the WAYPN thread. I’d certainly like this to be featuring regularly! But not only painting related, maybe battle reports or conversion projects as well?? There’s a lot of stuff out there worth being mentioned I think.
Justin @dignity “the fortune teller” almost had me spitting my iced tea all over my cubicle at work. Co-workers are looking at me strangely now . . . 😐
Justin, you didn’t by any chance appear on the Eurovision Song Contest a few years back?
Loved it guys….. Although you need a “Mature content warning” for that ugly old witch on the back page. This is a great way to summarise all of the news articles and what’s been going on into an easy to down load format. Perfect for me because I don’t get as much time as I like to spend on the site.
What sort of content are you looking for members to provide? And will this be a back stage only publication moving forward?
Yep, this is exclusively for Backstage 🙂
Kinda like the old underground punk mag days 😉
Only with slippers, comfortable trousers, sensible hair and toy soldiers! Apart from that, it’s exactly like a pink mag lol 😉
Even punks can grow old gracefully 😉
when where, did i miss the memo?
I just took a quick look and it looks great. I really like it. Something I’d like to see added would be what have the BoW crew been up to hobby wise. Perhaps a snap shot or two of the games and/or game tables that have been played on or a before and after shots of miniatures just out of the box and where you’ve gotten to over the month. That sort of thing. I know that there is a tutorial by John in the mag but I was thinking less detail for the “What have the Beasts been up to” section.
“what have the BoW crew been up to hobby wise”
Pictures of us up at 4am making Re-Roll 😉 lol
Its just as well your the beasts of war not gaming otherwise it would be the bogroll…
@warzan: so ‘BoW After Dark’ is less…adult… and more…uni student?
:p
BO Dwarf……..Sounds apt
Great idea guys. I will read it asap!
Take you time and chill – Re-Roll should be approached like a smooth sipping Irish Whiskey 😉
What a wee sip followed by the bottle?
That is exactly why I wait with the download until I am on the train to Essen (and maybe I will have a second one then)
Love it. Really loving it.
Probably not for me as I visit the site daily. The high res pics are a treat though, as I usually don’t click for closer looks on the news items.
Also, I got to the last page and thought “Oh, a pretty lady. Wait, she’s got a beard. Wait, it’s Justin.” I think I skim too much.
Looks really great guys!
Watching through the vid, i wouldnt want to see battle reports, simply because they are better done these days as vids.
As for interactive, talk to me about xamarin, ios,android and win phone from one code base, can also integrate existing actionscript based (flash) stuff into the run time….
Happy to proof too.
I like it! Very cool idea!!! 🙂
This is how you do a proper ‘next generation e-magazine’ 🙂
I think it could do with a section on all the weekender shows for easy reference.
Add a page for a cartoon or whatever funny pictures and you’ve got a finished product that manages to make ‘White Dwarf Visions’ look like an amateur product by comparison.
well that was a surprise today:-) i like the idea and the concept , not sure i will read it all the time though, funnily enough since i started subscribing to BoW i stopped getting my magazines …lol
This is pretty awesome guys, will pick this up on my phone so I can read it on the commute. Loving the eye candy… although I can feel my wallet starting the tingle. And you absolutely right hard to catch everything especially all the activity in the forums. Great work guys, I dont know what I can do to help but would be interested.
Well done
Martin
Awesome Guys, what a nice idea !!! So nice !
An interesting read, I did really enjoy johns paint guide and the community paining picks.
Whelp, that’s a new folder added to my “Gaming>Magazines” folder…
And a top bit of software for reading PDF’s (and other document files such as comic books) on iPad? ComicFlow. It will recognise damn near everything. My Mini currently has a bevy of sword manuals, the complete Battle Angel Alita, the first year of More Than Meets The Eye, all of the current Infinity rulebook downloads, Battletech Alphastrike and a few more besides. Never had a problem reading any of them
It’s a great idea and looks good. You are right some of us simply don’t have the time to keep up with everything and this does the job. But you are quite right, this is going to be terribly time consuming for you and just might not be worthwhile as a result.
I guess it is high time for a survey to see what part of your backstage base has IOS and Android and how interested they are in getting an enchanted version of it.
I guess there could be a possibility to see if beasts 2.0 could have the articles ready to be exported in PDF format to make your work easier.
Now is this product necessary? (in the resources vs usability scale) I think it will need something static and exclusive to make it really stand up.
Does not download for some reason
What are you trying to download it onto?
@templar5836 try and right-click the download link and pick “Save link as…” the PC should then ask where you want it.
Very much enjoyed that. Was worried it was just going to be a rehash of all the news stories of the month, but it was a bit more than that, and very well presented.
Maybe worth looking at community contributions in the vein of @oriskany‘s article series, reviews, retro articles, scenarios, etc. Some games, like the often overlooked Terminator Genisys, would greatly benefit from that kind of coverage where you maybe couldn’t do it on the site.
Big opportunity to do something really classy here, on par with the print wargames mags. Hope you can do more with it.
Haha, maybe should’ve watched the video first to get your thinking behind it! 🙂
I don’t use pads so i’m looking this on my PC.
I think the overall aesthetic is good. I’m finding the photos of miniatures look different in this format. They seem cleaner somehow. You-all look quite different in your photos.
I tend to flick through BOW Breaking News fairly frequently – once a day on average i’d say, but i did catch some things i was interested in Re-Roll that either i hadn’t seen before, or perhaps not taken in, or perhaps just didn’t think were worth clicking on. I also thought it served as a good reminder / recap.
As a slight aside, i think referring to BOW user comments is a good thing in general. I wouldn’t want you go out of your way to find comments but if you’ve seen something of interest, let’s have it.
So overall a good little piece of eyecandy to flick through for me. Whether it’s worth the time and effort you’d be putting into it, and worth not doing other things instead, is hard to say.
Just: wouhaou. Magnifique. Such a Great idea and so obvious Also. More tutorials
Looking great guys! Just downloaded it to my iPad. Great way to catch up on all the months news.
Whoooo hoooooo… Got my first gold button!!! Very excited about that, thanks guys!
Awesome idea! I love it!
Zine time! Read this while waiting for proposals to be printed and bound. Never thought I would be reading a zine on a tablet while growing my business.
Maybe this is the place for a bit of the monthly painting highlights.
Cheers, I like something I can read as I wind down from a meeting.
It has a lot of potential and the content in this seems about the right balance, what would I like to see as content, BOW member wins new record amount on the European Lottery, ok I know I have to buy a ticket.
In case that is not there I would say a great little catch up on a month, as someone who look through though daily.
How about an army page just to showcase a single army each month with the strong points, the weak points, how it plays etc and background for the reason of it coming existence. already looking toward the next addition.
Great idea anyway mates.
I am going away for a break this weekend. I wont be sitting in front of my laptop / tablet or phone watching the Weekender (Unless I really want a slap across the back of the head :)…. But waking up and relaxing in bed reading a couple of articles would be “acceptable behaviour”. Easy to put down so as not to be throwing out the usual “I will be out in a sec when this segment finishes” which often goes hand in hand with “I just have to get this wash on this unit before it dries out in the pallet – which we all know would be a monumental waste of money.
So I think this idea has a firm place in the increase of content moto that is the battle-cry of the Beast of War legion.
As an interesting platform discussion – it is worth noting Android now hold 70.85% of the mobile market share and is growing rapidly, so while everyone keeps talking about devices with an “i” in the preface, if the experiment was to grow into interactivity … Apple based software may not be the focus point of the future, but who knows what will happen next. I guess it’s just a point worth keeping in mind with potential future steps 🙂
Cheers
Mark
had a quick skim through its looking good not sure of the bearded lady at the back but guys.
I like the painting guide from John. Will have to check that out.
At first glance it looks set at just right level to sit back and relax with during lunch break. I’m going to give it a go tomorrow.
Also I did spot a few things I’d somehow overlooked form the site so I will go back and have a closer look at those. Probably got something to do with the size of the pictures as they kind of reach out from the screen and slap me around the face, in a nice way 🙂
I had quick flick trough and I like it (as long as its not taking too much of your time and effort guys) and it could be great to involve more people from community or maybe driven only by community? and I could get more Hobby Lab?
yes yes yes! love this, so much more heart than the newsletters, love the magazine format and the house style.
Looks good guys, especially the short article bite size of the articles! I guess it depends on how much time you have to burn to put it together, and what the release frequency is.
Wow Justin @dignity sure is scary looking and makes me wonder if he is as weird as the physic from the movie Mallrats.
Beautiful layout. Clean and modern design. I like it. Now, would I trade this for a weekender? Mmm… no… I read that in like 20 min (skipping what I’m not interested in). A weekender provides me with at least 3-4 more length of entertainment. Having said that, I am open for new experiments 😉
Brilliant. Love it.
No big advice from me, guys. This is a very nice start. Let it mature on its own.
Great stuff guys, found a few bits and pieces that I’d missed through the month :).
This was a great discussion/presentation about Re-Roll. I had a flip through the download and admired the hires pictures of the latest and shiniest. Johns painting tutorial was a definite highlight (Fortune Teller ‘Mistress Justina’ and her magic ball being a close second.
I was however a little torn in my feelings about Re-Roll, as I wasn’t sure I would be happy if the beloved Weekenders had to take a backwards step due to the time needed to produce Re-Roll’s high quality finish – I live for The Weekender/XLBS! You guys are so funny and so awesome. 🙂
Was this a resource I really wanted or needed I asked myself?
Of course then I remembered the links that connected Re-Roll to all the highlighted Beasts of War articles. Suddenly I was jumping straight to articles I had either missed or glossed over due to time constraints when browsing the Beasts of War website. Customeeple, Black Sun Miniatures, Heer46, the Blackwater Gulch 2nd Ed. kickstarter – things I would never have taken the time to go back and search for in my busy time constrained lifestyle. Those highlighted articles and links, in one easy to browse package, are gold!
So yes, I think Re-Roll is a good idea and if it gets the green light from the community it will be something I will look forward to every month.
Maybe it’s an opportunity to give a bit of coverage to those products that have been released that don’t make it onto the main site. I know there will be hundreds but a mention of a few might be interesting
If you ever feel there is stuff we are missing please take a moment to submit it here: http://www.beastsofwar.com/submit-story/
No guarantees it will make it in, but at the very least we make sure the news teams are aware of it 🙂
With the amount of stuff released these days it could be a never ending list
Though the big news in the last couple days us Henry Hyde resigning from Miniature Wargames magazine as they try to take it a different direction
Well it was big news to me anyway
News to me too. Why aren’t you posting this in the forum? :). Also, well done for volunteering to write a regular column for Re-Roll highlighting some of the lesser known releases 😉
@warzan Really like the look and feel of this and as someone who spends most of his life on the London Underground it’s great to have something that can be saved on the phone and accessed whilst I’m inevitably stuck in the tunnels!
Would be interested in helping out with articles in the future. Myself and @graystoak recently embarked on a ‘tale of three gamers’ project for Dust magazine and have discussed doing more Article projects on gaming and terrain building.
I fall in in the category of Backstagers for whom this isn’t aimed at, so any feedback on it from me would be of limited value. The only thing I would say is that whilst you’re not especially commercially-minded, if it’s going to take up a lot of time it probably needs to add value to the business, and not just the existing-user experience.
Absolute gold-bait, I love it. As far as I’m concerned it’s worth the BackStage subs alone! I love digital publications, my eyesights not good so reading on my iPad Pro is such an advantage. I like the hyperlinks for additional content and the potential to include user content. I love the layout, it’s clear, well illustrated with lots of quality images. Obviously the content will vary from issue to issue by as with the XLBS there’s usually something for everyone. I’d be happy to see adverts relevant to the content.
For me, as a hobbiest, this is a major asset and renews my commitment to BackStage
My only concern regards @dignity on the back page – I’m mentally scarred 😉
This is just great, so I can skip those newletters – thumbs up for a genius innovation 🙂
This is ace. I don’t always get a chance to keep up with what is going on, so to have a downloadable summary with links to the website content is great. It also means I can read on my commute without worrying about the signal dropping out (which it does frequently). Will have a proper read and add some more when I get a chance.
Hey guys, love the magazine – I log in almost every day to check the site but for me it was a nice slower pace that allowed me to go back and re-examine things I had skipped over before; great job!
Oh, this is so cool! Just downloaded and I am off to read it 😉
MASSIVE thumbs up from me 😀
Downloaded and looking forward to reading it through tonight… I especially like the high resolution images… real eye-candy
I for one would love for this to become a regular thing
Blokes,
Really enjoyed this, have a couple of magazine digital subscriptions and this sits nicely along side and is pleasant to flick through off line.
I really don’t think you need to go for something with bells and whistles, as you said for the more detailed content we have BoW!
This is an easily navigated, and professional activity summary, an improvement from the current newsletters in my view, and could easily replace them to claw back some resource time.
Fingers crossed for issue 2
Great read, I like the format and easy reading. Keep it up and I will be a happy panda!
This in a small way replaces, for me anyway, the old series of On the Tabletop. I really enjoyed that small series.
I liked it. I keep up with the news as it happens so no real surprises, but still nice to see all the hi-res pics and get a better look at some things.
I appreciate the idea of Re-roll, but I’m a bit worried that its production would eat too much time of the core BoW team, just like periodical Bootcamps did.
For me personally a digest is not really necessary as I check the site almost daily, unless I’m so busy I don’t have time for pretty much anything.
The larger images are nice though. I notice I’m sometimes squinting with my nose almost against the screen trying to see more of the details on newly released minis.
What I miss most from the website is interesting comments and references, because I don’t always look back at an article after I’ve watched/read it.
To make this project work I think you should leave a big part of the content-creation to the community. If you can create a workflow where you just manage the general look of the publication and monitor the quality and deadlines that would be best for its longevity I think.
if you signed up to backstage it means you wanted more , but how much more and of what?
its a great idea and its potential should absolutely be explored, but its pandora’s box of a question.
beasts of wars weekender and xlbs, plus the natural overflow content that’s a consequence of companies showcasing to the table top gaming community. has been such a success that it has given birth to a monster. a community has arose around beasts of war that has expanded in all the various ways the hobby can take it.
how to best spend the time and resources at the right time in your development in order to accommodate this complex developing monster is a heavy question.
wish I new you guys as conversations happen a lot slower when you have type them out.
i think i would need to talk for about two hours to get this one off my chest.
along with the main shows organising the forums and the breaking news is probable the top priorities. so if you feel the time and resources offer enough beyond what 2.0 will give you to the point that its a priority over the other potentials ,of which their are many, then go for it the details can be worked out.
the unique things you do like flame strike probably rank higher than any other bonus content you .
have fun with all the possibilities .
I’m jealous , it sounds like fun.
The Dice Tower has a successful KickStarter every year to help fund their content. You should check them out. Also you guys should look into Swag. There are sites out there that you’d only have to supply the imagery for the products, I believe that’s how Redbubble works. I know I’d buy at least one coffee mug and several shirts. 🙂
Do you need an artist @warzan, @lloyd then I am you man
What a fantastic idea…. Great work guys I love it 🙂
I really, really, enjoyed Re-Roll. I visit BoW several times a week and I’ve seen most of the content already, but having all that in a beautifully laid out magazine that I can smoothly flip through in an iPad without separate page loads is just a wonderful experience. And those hi-res images (except the last page, could have been a lot lower res…)
Clearly lot of time and effort went into this and it’s totally understandable if you guys feel it’s too much work to do monthly. However I really wish we’d get to see more issues and I’d be happy to pay more for backstage membership or participate in a fundraiser to help this happen.
On the format, I don’t feel there is any kind need for interactive content, a PDF is just fine and works out of the box on practically any device. Videos, 360s and other can be linked from the PDF just like you’ve done.
I think this is a great idea and it looks fantastic. I know video is your medium but sometimes you want to be able to access things more immediately and digest them at your own pace. I think when you nail down the overall navigation and access on the main site though this will be less of a necessary product though?
Although you mentioned that it is not a magazine and not a “BoW whitedwarf” I think maybe fan submitted battle reports/AAR’s might be a really cool thing if they pass a quality control test; say a recognised popularity level for the game e.g, Bolt action, Kings of War, 40k and painted armies/quality photography.
It could always evolve into a quality fanzine with content produced by backstagers and edited/hammered into a sparkling monstrosity by the beasts. This would still take up some time on your part (the BoW team) but would allow you to focus on video content and improve site functionality. This is perhaps a bit far removed from re-rolls initial mission statement but if it is not that goes ahead in the end it could become something else instead.
I’ve read a lot of different hobby magazines over the years, and I can honestly say that this is the best looking one I’ve ever seen. I’ve really got to commend you on the design of this, folks! Too often I think wargaming publications have an amateurish look to them or just look boring. Re-roll is a joy just to look at. And at 60+ pages for a digital publication, it packs some serious punch. It always bothers me when digital magazines are like 20 pages; I need more content in my life!
The only design element I think you should change is to fully justify your text paragraphs. It’s a small change, but one that adds volumes to the professionalism and overall finish of the piece!
I really hope you move forward with it, and as you do start pulling in more community elements like more tutorials, articles, and interviews, because that will easily make it the best magazine in the industry, and make it worth the subscription cost of backstage on its own.
We talk a lot about full justification in here lol
Lloyd really really dislikes it, hence why it wasn’t used 🙂
I did get him to do some tests on it though, I liked it, he still didn’t lol – you can guess who won 😉
this was awesome. remided me of the ol’ white dwarf kind of stuff. kick ass boys. keep er’ coming!
Fantastic gem. Has stopped me from getting WD subscription, BOW just keeps giving and is worth every penny.
Re-roll spot well happy.
thanks for this guys, i will check it out. I think this is gonna be nice on my tablet for when i’m on the go or… in a waiting room!
I love the concept of Reroll. It’s a nice recap of articles that I don’t always get a chance to read throughout the month, in a digital ‘zine format. Love being able to grab the tablet and get caught up without having to do a lot of browsing. Also a great way to get the hobby fix when you are travelling but know you’ll be out of wifi range.
Howdy, gents! Gave the mag a read through this morning, enjoyed it muchly. Really like the links to larger articles, makes it easier than hunting through the website for the specific article. The layout is just right, and got to see some models previewed that had slipped past me last month. I always enjoy painting articles, and John did a great job with the ghar. And i would love to see the comic as a regular party of the magazine! Hope you can keep producing Re-Roll, think it’ll be a wonderful addition to the Beasts of War digital content library.
Just took a quick look through and I like it!. Definitely saw a few things that get my interest that I missed on the website.
I am on my PC, have clicked download, but nothing appeared to happen and I can’t find where it might have attempted to save it.
I clicked again and it said I have already loaded this unique pdf as one of my six allowed per day.
Try looking in your standard download docs folder should be somewhere like this:
C:\Users\Lloyd\Downloads (obviously this is mine but yours would be similar)
Or right-click the download link and pick “Save link as…” the PC should then ask where you want it.
I don’t just like it, now that i’ve had the time to look at it, I love it!!!!! Well done guys I really hope to see more 🙂
Love it. Would definitely read this. If it matures and develops some regular unique features, possibly humorous (maybe include the cartoon strips?), contributor opinions, etc it could be really cool.
This delivered on every level for me fellas!! I’m one of those back stagers who can just about grab the weekender and XLBS shows, but the rest of the week might not see me get online to check the site for updates or news.
This allows me to catch up in one sexy fell swoop, it also looks very clean and works perfectly on the iPad. You nailed it first try as far as I’m concerned.
Now while we’re all in the experimenting mode can I ask, is it bad that I found Justin’s wierd Gypsy Temptress photo strangely alluring….. It she/he’s eyes….. Full of mystery and promise….
Yes, it’s bad…..very bad, indeed!! Now, give me 10 games of dropzone commander, and 5 games of team yankee as penance!!!!
I really love this format. Having it catered to off line viewing is just a brilliant touch. I read it at work in some down time in a meeting, just loves it. I’d love to see this keep going.
I like this idea. I can’t keep up with all the notifications I get.
I really enjoy the idea behind it, just wait to see a more clear approach of what it “trully” is.
You say is not White Dwarf (and I am ok with that) but it needs its time to take a final shape I believe.
I totally support it!
Thank you Gents, I work away from home and the internet isn’t always available, an offline fix of hobby and BoW is amazing 🙂
Managed to open on my phone.
Very handy and informative.
I liked the business industry section and John’s tutorial.
It is something I would look forward to each month.
I like the links beinh provided, but appreciate that this was won’t become a new menu function; it is meant to stand alone.
Another draw or bonus would be for an extra golden button being highlighted first on re-roll. It is usually photogenic and nice to tie the community encouragement and recognition deeply into the magazine.
I took the advice given to read this when there was sufficient time to flick through slowly and savour it properly. Like many of us seemingly I’m really impressed. Although I check the site a couple of times a day since I switched over from TMP earlier in the year there are still apparently some things I missed so it is great to get key news collected together.
Things I loved were:
High-res images
John’s painting tutorial (might even prefer this format to the videos. Although videos are excellent to watch for technique ideas they can be difficult to see in sufficient detail what has actually been done at a given moment. The picture stage format fixes this perfectly)
The industry business review section
Community and team comments
The lovely way it reads on the iPad, some serious design skills on show chaps, well done.
The ability to reflect on the month just passed in gaming. This was the most important.
I personally didn’t use the links but I can see their utility. If there is room for anything else perhaps readers letters or readers Top Tips. I don’t mean in a Viz way although if anyone out there is witty enough to come up with some hobby related funny tips that would also be cool. I’m sure we all have a few quick things that would be useful advice for the community but are too short to merit a forum post on their own.
I appreciate this must be a big drain on time although now the format is established perhaps it would be quicker to compile in the future? Whilst we all always want more I’m happy to swap this for a couple of play-through videos if production time compromise is required.
Long and shitty bus ride today to go and visa. Re-roll to the fething rescue!!!! Read from virtually cover to cover. Really great read lads. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Cheers for the rescue!!!!
It is a really good idea. I miss a lot of the new releases every month. So a release round-up would be great. The most popular reading material in the Break Room at my work is the Screwfix catalogue 🙂
I remember the old Citadel Release sheet 🙂
and a ‘whats on’ for the historical war-gamer (?). As a kid I was inspired by the model Battle-Scene in Enniskillen Castle and the model Viking burial in Bangor Heritage Centre.
I wanted to tell people about this: https://classicalassociationni.wordpress.com/2016/09/02/programme-of-events-2016-17/
(I plan to paint a team of Irish Imperial recruits – Late Roman Army Gripping Beast 🙂 )
…but stuff like this always gets shunted down message boards very fast.
just read all the comments – dunno about the time and labour issue.
I would rather have video and audio content than reading material.
This is the sort of thing I’ve been looking about for for a while now, well worth starting a backstage subscription for this alone.
I’ve found it incredibly hard to keep up with the numerous different games, new editions, new factions etc that are around now – especially since its gone from a couple companies making all the games, to dozens (Which is a great thing mind you). It obviously doesn’t make sense for one of these companies to show off competing games, so until Reroll, there hasn’t really been a single source that quickly shows of such a varied selection (Atleast not one that I’ve come across), I had no idea GF9 made stand-alone minis! I’m not sure it really needs to be interactive either, and personally would rather it includes an even broader selection of games instead (I don’t believe I seen the new Marvel Knight models, or Dropfleet Commander)
If it is something you continue onwards with, it may be worth making this one or the next available to everyone, give people a taste so they know what they’re missing.
Man, this is just amazing. For the price of just one coffee a month you guys really manage to give us a huge amount of content, organised play and platforms for us to interact with you and between each other. You guys are great! Keep it up!
This is just a brilliant idea! Love it! Keep it up guys! 🙂
Actually this is a fantastic idea. I am kinda busy so I am sure I miss things and this is a great way for me to catch up and keep up!
Thank you BoW!
Fantastic piece. I’d love to seem more paint tutorials and maybe some sculpting tutorials..
Only problem I’ve had so far is I can’t read it on any iPhone PDF readers including acrobat and good reader.
Keep up the awesome work!
I will be honest and say I haven’t read through all the comments and posts on here to see what feedback has already been put already and will just go through and list my thought sna opinions.
Overall, I love the vibrancy of the magazine, the photos are all of a very good quality and the article writing was the right length where I was engaged and didn’t have too much to read through.
The Negatives and this is purely from my point of view.
1. The length initially put me off but having started a lot of the content is evenly broken up between images and text making for a nice balance and it didn’t take as long to read through as I first thought.
2. I am not sure what photo editing you have used for the images of the BoW team but I am not a fan, I was worried Ben had actually died and come back from beyond in the first one. and with the vibrancy of the magazine for me these do not mesh well.
3. In the contents the use of the same page number multiple times I didn’t like, I would find a single page number and a short list better.
4. The way the categories are shuffled together in the running order makes it a little annoying when reading it on my phone. On some occasions I only had 5-10 minutes and figured I would have a quick read, flicking up and down to read the articles I am most interested in first. If the content was laid out in sections rather than a shuffle I wouldn’t be swiping 30 pages on my phone at a time looking for the heading as I went or having to go back to the contents because the Sci-fi stuff isn’t all grouped together.
5. To further muddy this the page themes are sometimes in the middle of the pages and very similar to the re-roll page numbering bar at the bottom leaving you unsure if you have scrolled a page or half a page when flicking up and down. Might be easier if the page theme was at the top of the page.
I feel ‘A Month of Gaming’ could do with sub content to list what is there. Until I got to it I didn’t realise it was video footage of the playtesting and was happy to find some I hadn’t seen. This highlights one of the main reasons I like this magazine as I will very rarely look back through the BoW site pages for these but here I just click the link. The problem then is I spend the next 90 minutes on the toilet at work until I have to fall off my porcelain stool, rub my legs until the blood begins to flow again, so I can actually stand up and walk semi normally with a pins and needles limp.
The Positives.
1. A nice balance of content ranging far and wide and so with something for pretty much everyone.
2. An already tried and tested set of key contents mirroring what we get on the Weekenders, playtesting, community painting, new releases, kickstarters, etc..
3. I think my favourite layout style for showing new items was page 5 in a rank layout, I was wondering if you had varied it to a box layout on page 6 deliberately to see which people preferred or if it was just to vary it.
4. It was good to see the BoW team and community members comment throughout and I think these are really good for highlighting peoples magazine favourite bits much in the same way as the gold buttons.
5. The embedded links that take you to the relevant BoW page relating to the content.
I think it would be criminal not to have Caesar do a comic skit for this each month. It will be like reading Hagar with the odd tank and rpg mixed in 😉
To be succinct, I love the format and content in the first edition. Life with my family, work takes a lot of my time, and what is left is time I use to watch XLBS/Weekender; and to be honest I skip around in this sometimes. (Of course, never missing any of your diatribes, diversions, only Jason’s comments). Ben, I think you know it’s all Warren I forward over, but dont tell him.
The magazine lets me get involved in more depth by reading the article and go in depth, following links etc to learn more investigate those items as I delve more in the article. So truly fits my time needs and format, and articles so far are generally at the right depth.
I now am back to gaming more with friends in person, and painting mini’s with my 5 yo daughter. BTW Warren, She loves Shadows of Brimstone and Kingdom Death, (albeit edited version of the text to make it more G rated as possible) Again, the magazine is great and look forward to more each month, two months?
I like it, Nice to see lot of HIGH Quality pics where you can zoom in.
Keep up the good work.
I was not convinced at first about this iniciative (I prefer the video material you guys make) But reading the painting guide I have discovered the dipping range from Army Painter and can’t be more excited 😀
Great work guys, as always.
PS: there is a errata pag 45, section 10 the title is incorrect ;D
Could we get the scale on the section dividing pages for the featured games? I thought it was a crucial piece of information missing that would be really nice to have! That’s what I’ve gotten from just a skim.
There is a certain feeling reading a magazine while at the pub having a pint. Re-roll give me that feeling, just like the new WD do.
A linear experience that I can flick through and enjoy without searching for content.
For me the content is about showing of nice minis and tables to inspire me. I felt that the painting tutorial wasn’t for me since I’m more into terrain than painting normally.
You have a solid base that is easy to expand. Love to see good pictures of hobby related material. Would love more terrain and tables though. That’s more me than impressive painted minis. I can sit for hours looking at train terrain enthusiasts for example. There are so many inspiring dioramas and train tables out there that I would love to see on Re-roll.
A summary:
Loved Re-roll and I would enjoy a monthly digest with a nice pint. The content was good even though the painting tutorial wasn’t for me. A hobby lab tutorial would have suited me better but that’s just my opinion.
Would love to see me focus on tables and dioramas since that’s where my passion is at the moment.
All in all a great product that I would love to read. I would even love to help out. Been a few years, but back in the days I published a hobbyzine and even travelled around conventions in Sweden with a crew to make small fanzines around the conventions.
Even if Indesign isn’t my brand I’m fairly at home with Desktop Publishing Software and design. Home enough to be able to create an article from instructions and constraints.
PM me if you want to talk further about contributing.
And yes, I have a stack of magazines to read on the toilet. 🙂
Just got around to reading this – I love it! Here’s my very humble two cents if one would care to read through:
Strengths:
– Article length: Quick, snappy articles are perfect for my small Kindle and meagre attention span.
– Pictures: Many high quality pictures (as is the norm from BoW!). Sense of humor points for the Dr. Evil snapshot!
– Amount of content: I wasn’t expecting more than 30 pgs or so, but was pleasantly surprised when I was flipping past pg 50. The more the better I say!
Tip (just one!):
– List ‘quick facts’ about featured titles?: I’m primarily interested in 15mm or smaller games and there were many titles in the mag that I wasn’t familiar with. Maybe include the scale and other fundamental details of games in some way?
to answer @warzan questions from WXBS about re-roll
– I would keep it free personally because
1)I have about 20 issues of Figure Painter, excellent magazine with Angel level of painting tutorials and I only readed one or two because is digital not print copy, ( and I payed for it now is about 1.50 each)
2) it will reach more people ( if free) that would help to interest them to join to backstage
-I did found articles I haven’t read and I am on BOW page daily.
@dignity Justineveryone in my house have books in toilet to read its relax time for everyone, and small stack of catalogues. I sometimes have coffee with me too, my daughter takes toys with her every time too.
Even though I don’t use a tablet I like the idea of an offline magazine.The miniatures photos are better scaled up in this format. And I like the painting tutorial.
Maybe Re-roll could be a “hardcopy” of the best of the BoW site that month.
Really liked the mag, nice work BoW team. My only suggestion after a read through might seem a little textbooky but if you used the coloured bar at the bottom of the page, where the page number is, to be a couple of differnt colours. You could just use a few for news, golden buttons and painting guides, coming soons. Could also maybe add an in the forums for any build logs that you deem worthy, the slaughter priest one is getting really interesting.
I’m sorry, but I won’t be downloading this again.
It’s simply an extended ad for various products. And there was nothing in there that I hadn’t already seen. At least not for any of the games I might be even remotely interested in.
But then again, I’m probably not your intended audience so…
Went through the magazine a second time with about a week’s pause and it still looks great, not too much text and good picture quality that draws the eye. The comments and opinions are a good way to get the community more tied into the news.
However the main issue with me is not as much the magazine but missing out on a lot of this stuff from the main webpage under ‘view all’, which isn’t actually showing all. Sometimes I forget to browse the different subcategories or when I do, I encounter half of the stuff that I already saw under ‘view all’. That way I feel like I missed out on the new releases or announcements. A ‘highlights’ and ‘view all + category filters’ would be ideal for me personally 🙂
Again, good work on Re-roll, this is definitely something that I’ll take as reading material for my commute!
I just got to say that i loved Re-Roll. Just starter in a Job that requires a 1,5hour commute, at it was a perfect start on my work week to flick through the pages. Got a good magazine feel to it something that is a plus for me. (The guy in the next seat seem to enjoy it as well as he was continuously looking over while pretending not to
I enjoyed this first issue. The ability to sit, off line, and look over what I saw, and what I missed if the sites content. For myself, the ‘Business of the industry’ articles were most welcome. I quite enjoy talking about the business of running a publisher or a retailer. Understanding how a game is designed, produced and published, how a system is sold and marketed helps me to enjoy what I have and better control my ‘demands’ for new or extended product.
As to frontstage or backstage – Consider a quarterly digest for frontstagen, not as up to the minute but all the best stuff in one package, reviewing the last three months. It also becomes, weather intended or not, a marketing tool for Backstage. ‘If you like this but wish it were more timely then consider joining Backstage.’
I hope that you find a way to keep ReRoll coming. Thanks guys.
Really enjoyed this first issue and looking forward to more in future. Keep up the great work and keep trying new things.