@CWO:
@LHoffman:
I don’t quite understand how this game could be considered to NOT compete with A&A. Whether or not it ever will on a distribution scale is something else entirely, but in terms of content and plot, A&A and War Room appear extremely similar. The terms, language and framework are basically identical.
The concept of competition between games of this type should perhaps be seen differently as competition between, let’s say, competition between Apples and PCs, in which the choice of one translates into the rejection of the other. Gamers aren’t likely to feel that they have to buy either The War Room or A&A rather than both. A&A, in fact, already faces plenty of competition from itself, given that Europe 1940, Pacific 1940, A&A 1941, A&A 1942 and A&A 1914 are all on the market simultaneously, and will soon be joined by the Anniversary reprint.
That is true; people are not prohibited from purchasing and playing both. However, I was speaking from both a brand perspective and as it relates to competition in the genre. Nightingale Games is obviously not affiliated with Avalon Hill or Wizards of the Coast. So financially they would compete for market share, to some degree, if War Room ever became as established and widespread as A&A.
More than that, both games are in the same genre and have a radically similar model. The level of similarity makes them tantamount to the same game in the grand scheme, albeit with slightly different mechanics. So you have a group of friends over to play games: which do you choose A&A or War Room?
There isn’t a right answer to that question, but the differences between the two games appear to be limited. I am talking big picture.
