The premium version of the game, and its fully painted models, do come with a significant price tag (approximately $40 a unit, $50 a vehicle, and $300 for a full-painted core set). Comparatively however, this price is around the same amount one would pay for an unpainted unit or vehicle from other top manufacturers that I have seen.For those who like to paint their own miniatures, or those with fiscal concerns there are also sets that come with unpainted models, and a reduced price tag. The unpainted miniatures have the exact same sculpt, are mostly assembled (a walkers arms may come detached for packing), primed (green for Allies and gray for Axis), and bearing a few decals. This allows the unpainted sets to be played right out of the box, and painted at a later time if desired.
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Having both painted and unpainted models available is a great option which I feel meets the needs of multiple tabletop gamer types. I know personally that I love the hobby of painting miniatures but I know others who just want to get right to the battles and rolling of dice. Then again I would be lying if I said that I have never wished I could field a good looking army faster than I can paint it. The Dust: Tactics range of products allows for the best of both worlds where you can buy and instantly play a great looking painted army or purchase paint and/or play a more customized looking one.
Dust: Tactics Gameplay
If I had to sum up the game play of Dust:Tactics in two words it would be ‘fast’ and ‘brutal’. The fast play and brutal results, once the bullets start flying (dice start rolling), forces a player to think strategically before, during, and after each unit move if they want any hope of being victorious. I suppose this should really come as no surprise as the word ‘Tactics” is in the title. However, the gameplay is not forgiving of strategic mistakes, such as rushing forward without cover, and can often place a player at the mercy of the dice rolls, especially the initiative roll. This type of play can turn out to be frustrating in the beginning for the more aggressive player, or those with less experience in tabletop war games. However, after a few games, you find yourself trying to understand what your opponent is after while calculating risk based on whether the dice will tumble in your favor or not.
The game definitely seems designed for the player that wants a bit more than a board game but not all the rules and variations that come with a true tabletop war game. While speed, armor, range, close combat, and other stats are all part of the game unit cards are included with pre-calculated armor to weapon strength charts that helps to reduce the number of rolls needed to reach an outcome. This simplification speeds up the game while maintaining reality, however a few areas rally against it, such as being able to fire multiple weapons at different targets and engage in close combat all in a single round. For the most part these cases were minor and easily overlooked knowing that it sped up the game allowing for more games and scenarios to be played in an evening.
Dust: Tactics Materials
Beyond the miniatures there are several other supporting materials. The game is played on one or more fold out “boards” which are really gloss posters. Each poster bares one or more combinations of terrain including land, water, fog, or impassable, each marked with an icon to denote its type. Additionally, the poster may include two-dimensional, top down representations of buildings, bridges, or the like. The Revised Core Set that I used came with two such posters printed on both sides allowing the creation of a number of different battlefields by using them individually and/or pairing them together edge to edge. Each poster has a square grid overlay on it used to mark movement and distances. The game also includes a number of printed cardboard squares and plastic obstacles (two tank traps and two ammo crates) that are used to vary the battlefield even more. The combination between the posters, obstacle squares, and plastic obstacles really allows an endless number of games to play.
