Paolo Parente's DUST 1947 - simplicity with Spectacular Visual Tabletop battles

Time travel back 10 months to Pax Unplugged 2017 and you will see me walking the convention hall in the dealers area doing what I do in the gaming, geek, and grognard world. I was passing by a very visual demo setup of Mech's, Tanks, and some extremely tricked out infantry. While looking familiar, it was enticing and in my haste to get to my next video interview, I made a note of this company and told myself, I have to get back to this. It was Paolo Parente's "Dust 1947" .

Fast forward to June of 2018 and as I head to a media broadcast for a local news station, I catch a glimpse of the Dust 1947 booth. While my time was limited, I again did not get back to talk to the booth staff but, the word on the show floor was this game is taking tabletop miniatures to the next level.

Fast forward again, this time it's August of 2018 and Indianapolis is the place. Gencon is happening and the city is full of gamers everywhere you go. I planned accordingly with my limited time and thought I should be set, but again missed the opportunity to talk with the company rep's onsite. From what most of the tabletop groups I network with are saying, I missed the best booth at the show.

Now it is Labor Day, 2018 and I start to get calls and texts from friends and local gamers telling me I should have been at "The Gameroom's" (a game store in Toledo, Ohio) Annual Game Demo Event. The demo teams along with the USA Distributor's staff from DUST USA were present and  running games. They also answered questions and helped new and existing players choose factions to take home. Even my son, who was in attendance for an RDI tournament, said that the game is visually stunning and bringing him back to the tabletop miniatures world.

"So, what is this game that keeps eluding me? Lets hear from the Publisher:

"The year is 1947. The war that started eight years ago with Germany invading Poland isn’t over. The conflict has long spread worldwide. Other than the three great blocs, there are but a handful of countries left hanging on to relative neutrality.
As the conflict grew longer, old alliances were broken while new ones were formed.
Nowadays, the leading powers of the past are assembled into three huge states:

• - The Allies have gathered around the U.S.A. This great coalition of nations includes, among others, the British Commonwealth and the French colonial empire.
• - To secure their survival against their powerful enemies, Germany, Japan, and Italy have merged as the Axis. The rise of this totalitarian state was helped by the successful assassination of the Führer in 1943 following operation Walkyrie.
• - The USSR and communist China have united their fates to build the SSU, or Sino-Soviet Union. Becoming a planetary power, the communist bloc intends to impose its way of life on all other continents.
• (a new Cthulhu faction was introduced this Summer, The Japanese army is due to arrive at Pax Unplugged this year and a new Extraterrestrial faction will arrive next year).

Throughout the world, the three blocs are fighting to gain exclusive control over a revolutionary ore: Vk. This ore has revealed extraordinary properties and brought forth the design of gigantic combat robots, capable of challenging the world’s most advanced tanks. The discovery and first military applications of Vk came from Germany. Everything concerning this ore is shrouded in mystery. Rumors have been going around saying its secrets were revealed by aliens from another planet… But who could take such rumors seriously after years of war propaganda?

So as I contemplate on how to tell you that I have missed several opportunities to bring this game to you, a couple things happened.
While working on a Xbox feed, I get a notice from Miniatures Market (a Online Retailer with a retail store in St Louis) that they are hosting a Dust 1947 "Learn to Play Day" at the Retail Store on Sept 22nd. Now the kicker as I gather information to bring you, I found out that the USA Distributor is located about 20 minutes south of where I live!!!   This game is calling me now.

What else can I say that all of you probably don't already know? The game is currently distributed through Dust Studios, it was previously licensed and sold by Fantasy Flight Games and before that, through Battlefront. While it has a Alternate History Post WWII theme, it already incorporates the Cthulhu  mythos and army faction. Plans are coming to bring in a Alien race in late 2019. The possibilities are endless. The miniatures are amazing and the company welcomes players to use any previous models they might own from FFG or Battlefront. The models from Dust Studios now come in three versions and this is a huge step in appealing to all gamers. You can order them unassembled, you can order them assembled and primed and, now get this, you can order them fully painted! This is not some 3 color paint scheme, these painted miniatures are presented very well...with the use of multiple colors and even have a weathered and battle worn look! The game is easy to learn, does not seem to get bogged down in rules, has various complexity in its game mechanics and did I mention that the miniatures look awesome!

So there you have it. I have brought you Dust 1947 and have not talked to a company rep, not to a demo team member, I don't have any product in my hand and I have not played the game at all yet. What I can tell you is that every gaming group, friend and relative I know is playing, or going to play this game. The reviews if based upon my readers & followers is extremely high! One person wrote "...this is what a tabletop game should be". Chad from Orlando, FL   "...and the visuals of the game, the game mechanics, the pre-painted or primed models are awesome all around". 

I will be picking up some Dust 1947 product in the coming weeks and will do an unboxing of some newer models on our Mixer Channel and schedule a Mixer feed later this Month or next.