Yesterday, June 22, 2020, Dan King and Jeff Swan announced in the Kings of War Fanatics page that they would be stepping down from the KoW Rules Committee. They both cited gratitude for the opportunity and time in the group but also voiced they were looking forward to a break. With only a few members forming this illustrious group (I believe their current count is at 5 members) this is a big shift in the membership.
The Rules Committee (RC for short), is a small group of dedicated volunteer gamers, that work alongside Mantic to create new rules and balances for Kings of War. New editions, books, and rules are possible in large part due to their efforts.
RC membership is largely a thankless job, but one that has been essential to creating our amazing game. More on that later, first I must say my thanks to Jeff and Dan.
Jeff Swan
Also known as ego duck, Jeff Swan has been a staple of the Kings of War Community. Hailing from Texas in the US; his generalship, sportsmanship, and hobby skill are deservedly known throughout the tournament scene. He gained renown by taking a borrowed Trident Realms army, and winning a GT on the West Coast with it, without practice, early in Second Edition when people thought the army was powerless. His Shark Week army, heavily featuring sharks to represent Trident Realms is awesome. He has placed well in multiple US Masters and Clash of Kings.
Jeff is the type of gamer that makes every event better, and though Mark Cox is probably screaming at the screen right now telling me Jeff’s ego is swollen enough, I am proud to count him as a friend. Jeff served for many years on the RC, contributing to multiple Clash of Kings updates, and of course helping on the mammoth project that was 3rd edition. Thank you to Jeff for your years of work, and countless hours of effort to make our favorite miniature game that much better. I look forward to seeing what army projects you begin working on with your extra free time :).
Dan King
Hailing out of somewhere in the U.K. (it’s all one big island right LOL), Dan King was the longest-serving member of the RC up to this point with 5 ish years in the group (I believe he was the last original member), which means he served on all of the Second Edition content and helped create Third Edition!
He is a fucking legend. The man has won many, many UK events, and even came over to the US and won some of ours including a Blues City Brawl (teamed up with Jeff Swan), and taking the top place at the prestigious Texan event, Lone Wolf. But he is perhaps best known for kicking back several drinks and then singing Barbie Girl by Aqua at karaoke :D!
I had the pleasure of meeting, playing, and getting wrecked by Dan and Jeff at the last Blues City Brawl, and then had the joy of hanging out with him for the rest of the weekend. Dan really is the epitome of what makes the Kings of War community so wonderful, he is tactically brilliant, and plays an extremely tight game, but does so with such a friendly/relaxed nature that you can’t help but have a good time. He is perpetually trying cool hobby stuff and is an endless fountain of enthusiasm for the game. Off the table, he is a delight, and I have since had the pleasure of chatting books, D&D, and other hobbies with him, and much like Jeff, I am incredibly fortunate to count him in my circle of friends.
I don’t think the KoW community can truly understand how many hours Dan has invested in making this game amazing, thank you for your endless hours of service, and thank you to every RC member past and present who keeps this game moving from strength to strength.
A Request to the KoW Community
One of the greatest strengths of the KoW community is how tightly knit it is, and how closely Mantic and its groups work with the community to create an amazing game and product. Content creators, like the RC, are known parts of the community, rooted in our groups, our events, and maybe even our game stores. In many ways this is amazing.
How many other game owners go to events and get drinks with you, have legitimate conversations with you? How many other games can you reach out directly to rules creators and get questions answered in an informal setting? Certainly some, but not many.
But these connections can have negative effects. The RC is put under an incredible amount of pressure, especially considering they are volunteers. They can be flooded with rules questions and suggestions on Facebook. Barely a day passes without a new rules query on Facebook of some sort, and frequently RC members jump into these lengthy threads and try to make rulings.
I have no idea if this or other factors contributes to RC members stepping down. But I do know that this experience has to get exhausting. I want them to be able to enjoy our game, and our groups, as much as we do, rather than viewing it as always an extension of work.
When asking rules questions, when discussing adjustments to units, and when waiting for changes to the game, let’s try to keep a few things in mind. The RC often has to make choices based both on their/the community’s desires, but also that of Mantic Games. The changes to the game may not always make immediate sense, but often as the game develops and gets played more each change makes more sense. In addition, when we field rules questions, let’s give the RC time to give a response. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, when playing a game at an event, if an RC member is there, let them play their game, and ask the TO any questions instead. We don’t want RC members to begin to see events as extensions of work.
I’ll end by saying thank you again to all RC members, past and present. Having rules creators that listen and react to community feedback is extraordinarily valuable. It is a key component for what makes KoW the amazing game system it is. Let’s come together as a community to make sure we give the RC the support and time they need to bring our favorite game to even greater strengths.
