Played Lost Patrol for the first time in many years and was pleasantly surprised by how well it’s held up. I was, effectively, coming at it almost fresh as I couldn’t remember much about the rules themselves. There was one detail I think it’s worth creating a FAQ for, but other than that (and it was a tactical detail rather than a problem) I thought it was clearly written.
Tinpot and I played twice, swapping sides as intended in the design. Neither of us managed to get off the Death World, but that was always the most likely result. Next time though, next time…
It’s funny coming back to something after so long. I can see a few things I might do differently now, though in the main it’s a game I’m rather proud of. Someone was telling me the other day that I have a signature style to my designs (simple mechanics that hide a great deal of tactical depth and replayability). I think this is a good example of that, even though it’s old.
It’s a shame that it’s out of print, but there’s not a lot I can do about that. Even so, I think I might post up a few articles about it. There are the possibilities if offers for small painting projects, and then there are the expanded rules I have in mind. It’ll amuse me if nothing else 🙂
Quirkworthy 
The cover art for that box, and the contemporary cover art for the White Dwarves (130 – 170) is stunning, and definitely my favourite style.
Never owned Lost Patrol, but still have a copy of Kerrunch somewhere. That was pretty good.
Interesting you should say that Clive. Kerrunch (1991) is an earlier generation of games from LP (2000). The reason for the retro design was that I had no art budget except for the board and was trying to do something distinctive yet simple. The rest had to be made up by reusing existing art I could find in the archives. I designed the cover as one of a series (there were 6 in the initial set – 4 were never produced) and all had that circular window cover.
You may not be able to re-release the original game, but what about remaking it, incorporating the improvements you mentioned. The IP might need tweaking, but that shouldn’t be too hard.
I could do, though I probably won’t.
I’ve mentioned before that most of my gaming time has a habit of ending up as playtesting time for whatever I’m currently working on (ie being work and not play). This is a major contributor to me not painting any more and is something I am trying to reorganise. I’d like my hobby back, thanks. The only way for me to do this is to try and be firm about where the boundaries lie.
Lost Patrol is something that I’ve got no plans for doing commercially as I hold no license for it and whilst I could rebrand it I don’t really feel the need. It was designed to fit the IP and I think it does so very well. It’s a product of both the IP and the process I was working with at the time. Lost Patrol also offers me the opportunity to paint up a handful of 40K models and actually have a use for them 😉
I can always design another game 🙂
I always tell people that I design games for fun, and the additions I’ve been doing for LP are just that – me having fun and expanding a game I want to play simply because I want to. No big agenda. For those that have the game this offers a bonus to their game play as a side effect, but it is simply a side effect of me playing about.
If you really want a version of LP that’s repurposed then there are folk who’ve already done that on the web, taking my design and my words, removing my name and then touting it as their own work. It’s flattering to have my work so liked that it is stolen. However, flattering is not the only word for it.