OP Support, Minor Guild Model Update & More | Guild Ball Update 4

Welcome back, sports fans! It’s another beautiful day for the beautiful game. Jamie Perkins here to give you the lowdown on what’s been going on behind the scenes. 

There’s a lot to discuss, so let’s get into it…

Errata Frequency

Now 4.6 is out in the wild (psst, if you missed that you can find all the details here), we’ve seen some fantastic reactions to the new changes as well as the recognition of the Lamplighters as an official fan Guild.

We’ve also seen some of you asking how often we intend to release errata changes for the game.

Having stress tested this a fair bit over Guild Ball’s history, we’re of the strong belief the best cadence for regular errata release is once a year. This gives the game a chance to settle following any changes made; for ‘watch lists’ to be updated and monitored; and for a decent amount of data to be recorded to inform future decisions, without releasing updates too fast for casual and returning players.

This aligns with the Guild Ball Community Project’s (GBCP’s) intention for regular erratas, so we’re all on the same page. You can expect the next errata of Guild Ball to land during March of 2025*.

*Disclaimer: we reserve the option to release small, “emergency” errata changes should something on the watch list prove too problematic to leave until the annual errata. We’ve got an eye on you, Soma!

Lumberjacks Minor Guild

We’re working with the GBCP on development of the Lumberjacks as a minor guild for the Masons. There’s a lot of moving parts to releasing a whole new minor guild, so while we encourage you to watch this space, you might be watching it for a little while yet.

There’s not a lot else to say about this for now, other than it’s best to consider the timescale on the Lumberjacks as measured in months, rather than weeks.

Crossover Minor Guild Miniatures

Back in February, we estimated the Minor Guild miniatures would be released this week. 

We’ve been monitoring your feedback and reviews of Guild Ball miniatures as they’ve landed with you. There’s been a lot of positivity, some teething problems, and consistent requests to detach minis from the bases.

Separating the minis and bases into two parts means you’ve got the freedom to switch the standard base for a scenic base, if you’d like to. It also reduces the chances of breakages during shipping. 

So, we’ve removed the bases from the crossover minis, and we’re running another round of test prints to make sure they come out as intended before releasing them into the wild. 

This means our revised estimates for the Minor Guild crossover minis becoming available is w/c (week commencing, i.e. during the week of) April 22nd, 2024. 

Updating the Range

As well as testing the Minor Guild crossovers, we’ll also be testing detached bases for the entire range. 

That’s a whole lot of minis to test and check, so right now, we can’t confirm when those will be available. The current versions, with bases attached, will remain available in the meantime. 

Guild Ball at UK Games Expo!

We’re sponsoring the Guild Ball event running this year at UKGE! Tickets are available here.

Event details:

• Venue - NEC Birmingham, UK Games Expo
• Date - Saturday June 1st, 2024
• Size - 32 Players

We’re incredibly excited to see Guild Ball return to UKGE, and hope this will be the first of many!

But how exactly are we supporting it?

OP Support 1: Prize Codes

A few weeks ago, we ran a test at a local event in Leeds, UK. 

We gave the TO (tournament organiser) a small number of codes for our online store, which the lucky winners could redeem against Guild Ball mini orders. 

This test went so well that we’ll be doing the same for the UKGE event, and then for all Guild Ball events that take place afterwards! More details on how this will work in a future update.

OP Support 2: Limited Edition Miniatures

Now we’ve tested the system, this is the next step. 

Rolling out at the same time as the discount prize codes, we’re going to introduce codes that allow you to “purchase” a limited edition miniature for free. All you’ll need to cover are the shipping costs. 

To begin with, we’re going to select a number of fan favourite limited editions from the past. 

However, if things continue to go well, our future plan is to introduce brand new limited edition sculpts as organised play support. Watch this space!

OP Support 3: Trophy STLs

Last but not least, we’re designing a set of trophy STLs! These will be available to download in a similar way to the Kick Off! starter set miniatures. 

If you’re running an event and have access to a 3D printer, you’ll be able to download these trophies and print a set yourself. 

Of course, you could still do this even if you aren’t running an event and feel like awarding yourself a trophy. Why not? You deserve it!

Guild Ball Accessories & Licensed Partners

We’re in the middle of conversations with several outlets regarding officially licensed accessories for Guild Ball such as play mats, measuring widgets, and tokens! 

The first of these is Deep Cut, and you can find their officially licensed play mats here. 

Watch this space for the rest!

Next Steps

From here on out, you can expect an update like this at least once every two months. 

With that in mind, our next key beats are:

• Week commencing April 22, 2024: Revised estimated release date of Minor Guild crossover minis on our online store
• Week commencing May 27, 2024:  Estimated re-release date of full Guild Ball range on our online store with bases detached
• June 1, 2024: SFG sponsored Guild Ball tournament at UKGE
• Week commencing June 3, 2024: Estimated release of OP support for wider Guild Ball events
• Week commencing June 3, 2024: Guild Ball Update 5

And that’s all for now. In the meantime, you can find us in the Discord. 

We’ll see you out there on the pitch!