Andy Chambers on Battlefleet Gothic

A video I'd wanted to shoot for a long time, Andy Chambers was kind enough to sit down and talk about Battlefleet Gothic - from the initial concept to the release of the starter box set, and beyond with its support from Fanatic/Specialist Games and Forgeworld. Really awesome to hear him talk so passionately about the game and considering how well loved it is still, hopefully you'll enjoy this!
These videos were made in my spare time, and if you wish to pop a donation my way to help support me it'd be greatly appreciated:
Paypal: PayPal.Me/Filmdeg

[@stevid8193]

The best GW game system and setting by far!

[@danielcannon9893]

Hands down 100%

[@Stormseer88]

Agreed! Still remember when I bought the box 20+years ago. Great game.

[@dekai7992]

Yes. Where rules mechanics and lore become one and the same. Also, this game blew open facets of the 40k universe that have since become core elements, like the size of ships, how space combat feels and works, and how it fits into the greater setting.

[@martinjrgensen8234]

It is crazy how much of the form factor of 40k, Jes Goodwin is responsible for. He has an eye for design that is unrivaled

[@davehumphries7635]

I was lucky enough to meet Jes a few times and remember a quick chat on artwork ended up being nearly 45 mins of talking about how he designed things, the processes, showing me some concept art etc. a really really cool and talented individual 🤘

[@TheBroz]

‘Giant armoured choo choo trains in space’ God damn I adore Andy. I’ve had the pleasure of spending a bunch of time chatting with him at games days, Warhammer World and expos and he’s such a wonderful chap with war gaming in his veins. Thank you so much for recording this.

[@kerishlotaan]

I don't care what people say, this is still my favorite game and I do still play it, gonna make my new imperial fist fleet soon enough. If you here about this Mr. Chambers, thank you for making my favorite game.

[@erikyaple]

This channel really is doing the Lord’s work…

[@WanderlustZero]

*Emperor's

[@XX-jn8co]

Speaking of scaling, one of my favourite elements of BFG is how well it scales up and down, it makes for an amazing fleet game but plays just as well with a cruiser and 2-4 escorts. One of my favourite elements of its scalability is how you can take a big fleet each side and break it down to give a crowd of people one ship each.

[@RoyAmkreutz]

Ace! Battlefleet Gothic is still alive and kicking. Rules available, many miniature options and a great community. And the fanmagazine Warp Rift is still being made!

[@martinevans9757]

Marvellous to hear Andy reminiscing about the creation of one of the greatest naval games ever written. He's right; BFG was the culmination of a great effort by some truly creative and inspiring gamers, writers, illustrators and sculptors. It has rarely been equalled. Also - Excellent interview!

[@The_Foil]

I wish GW would sell Battlefield Gothic again! That cover art beats different!

[@RoyAmkreutz]

Well, rules are freely available, many options for miniatures and a great community. Join!

[@TheRampantLion]

The fans are still keeping it alive. There's updated rules and ships out there. I even have a custom made Gloriana for the XI th legion.

[@hkwiv8044]

I’m so glad he acknowledges that the explosion system was too drastic lol

[@vojtechdjakov7271]

We still play it here in Prague ❤

[@HeavyArms0404]

always good to hear from Andy Chambers.

[@Hedgehog_Prime]

A force greater than myself compels me to point out that the Grand Fleet actually had a seaplane carrier at the time of Jutland, HMS Campania, but she missed the signal to depart with the rest of the fleet from Scapa Flow, left two hours later, and was ordered back to base before she entered the battle area. Given the poor weather, it's unlikely that her Short 184 torpedo planes would have been able to take off, let alone see anything if they could.

[@karmacedon]

I WAS WAITING FOR THIS VIDEO - since I saw your instagram post. Thank you mr filmdeg miniatures. I love that you put the ORIGINAL MATERIAL on the table, this is how I imagine meeting Andy in real life.

[@Wraithbored]

Still have a big Eldar Corsair and Craftworld fleet :D

[@cjanquart]

Looking at my boxed set sitting on my bookshelf; have a sizeable Corsair fleet as well and several Craftworld ships still in blisters.

[@cultcommissions4722]

Absolute perfection of a game! thanks for bringing it to life Andy

[@WozWozEre]

'Gaze into the fist of Dredd!' Awesome T Shirt.

[@durgum]

We had a 4 player affair once, temporary alliances, etc. Everyone started super serious and overly competitive. However we had a pop corn event and everyone laughed so hard, it was amazing. The rest of the game was just chucking dice, and laughing. Best gaming memory of any GW Game by far.

[@dekai7992]

As it should be.

[@seanstastny7468]

Great game. Great interview. Thanks for all the good memories Andy

[@nicolaspintelon4329]

After Warmaster, BFG is my 2nd favorite…

[@danh945]

Dropfleet Commander is my favourite game ever, so thanks to Andy for making it. Would love a dedicated interview on how that was developed. Even simple things like the rulebook being the same dimension as BFG really adds to the game. Seeing the ships with their rules profiles below was very reminiscent of building airfix ships as a kid with the stat tables below a profile picture. And can confirm - the ships do blow up just a bit too easily! But the signature / scan system is just amazing; as Andy once said it's the Hunt for Red October in space.

[@Kattbirb]

I do still adore BFG. A few friends and I have pulled out our fleets late last year and had a blast. Im confident that it remains to this day as one of the best systems GW has ever released.

[@jamesl3567]

Here down at the bottom of the world in middle earth (NZ) we still play it! Thanks for an amazing game Andy!

[@fluxcorenz]

Which region is that? Is there an online community somewhere other than facebook?

[@dylan9025]

Another incredible interview. Documentary level stuff, again, cannot thank you enough for the work you do preserving these memories 🙏

[@forthrightgambitia1032]

Very interesting. The famoys quotr from the battle of Jutland "“There’s something wrong with our bloody ships today!” seems highly appropriate to BFG.

[@willanski4321]

I love the fact that a games designer can be so excited in the unexpected performance of some of the elements he's designed - when talking about the Mars and Luna. These games really do take on their own life when you play them which is testament to the people who made them.

[@totalal4601]

Much love for the Lunar class!

[@JonMidtan]

Best GW content on YT. Thanks

[@Killjoy120]

So happy I found this channel, the videos and topics are excellent, plus having the added nostalgia of some of the old days is wonderful! Thank you!

[@LoyalWatcher055]

This was by far my favourite game and models for a LONG time. Absolutely wonderful. So much fun. Just the idea of fighting a planetary assault campaign that has a space element... This was a hard watch because I had to sell all my wargaming stuff years ago and this one (and Man o' war) are the ones that hurt the most.

[@LuckySoaringTiger]

We have 3D prints now

[@GeneChiu]

As a Star Trek fan who played the FASA Star Trek Starship Tactical Combat Simulator, I always loved space combat games. I was looking for something better than the FASA game which after a while, I felt it had some major shortcomings. I tried Starfleet Battles and loved it, but all of my friends hated it. When I first tried Battlefleet Gothic, I was hooked. I loved the pace of the game. Must faster than the other games. I never liked painting, but BFG got me into painting ships. I used only the simpler techniques, but I was surprised how well they turned out. I found the Imperial and Chaos fleets were designed quite well. They played differently and had different advantages and disadvantages. I was not impressed with Eldar and Ork. Eldar were annoying, but the biggest problem is they weren't fun to play against. It's a major issue when you can barely score a hit against them. They just need a planet or asteroid to hide behind and you never get a shot against them. They are so unfun to play against that the only way to stand a chance is to use an equally unfun strategy or you get lucky and there are no terrain that provides cover. Then the Necron came and they were even worse. I played my Ork fleet against a Necron fleet. I scored no hits. I only scored some points because the Necron ship went AAF and rolled so high that it flew off the map. There are a number of unfun battles. I once played my Ork fleet against a Space Marine fleet. That was so boring. Hardly any hits were scored. I think Tyranids and Tau are decently balanced. It was one of the most interesting battles. The entire board was filled with ordnance. Torpedoes and fighters were all over the place. Too bad I didn't have a camera back then. I still have my models. Haven't played for probably 20 years or so. I'm still looking for the ultimate space combat game. BFG is one of the better ones as long as you don't choose any of the unbalanced fleets.

[@richardwales9674]

For me it Battlefleet Gothic and Necromunda. Played more Necromunda but enjoyed Gothic too and had some good games.

[@edgarallanpogo8688]

Awesome interview, thank you!

[@kevinakos7059]

You're doing the Lord's work.

[@daveys1182]

I remember my best friend and I both bought this game when we were heavily into epic. We worked out a game system called "Battlefleet Epic" (genius). Both itno C&C at the time. We had everything worked out in the space battles, so there were different planets with different recources etc etc and you'd have to fight a space battle to get there. when you arrived there'd be a default defending army (depending on the size of the planet) of epic minatures that you could defeat and take control of the planet. It was basically like Risk, BFG and Epic comined.... Really good fun!

[@aleximenser4278]

Quite looking forward to playing a game at 1,750 points in a few hours with a Chaos vs Imperials clash. Was lovely to listen to the thoughts of Andy on the classic gem, really gets me into the spirit of death slinging choo choos in space 😊

[@TheRendar]

Excellent interview with my favorite game designer and one of my all time favorite games! Amazing episode and behind the scenes stories

[@EwbanksAuctions]

Amazing. A really great game, had such a good look

[@Alexandermhinton]

Saw your post on Reddit recently. One of the most important KZbin channels on the subject by far. Fantastic interview.

[@bonechip01]

Will never tire of listenig to the Overfiend.

[@davehumphries7635]

Same! He's responsible for a lot of credit card bills spent on plastic over the years and I'm okay with that 😅

[@OldenDemon]

Excellent work once again

[@RandomVegasGuy-vp9zu]

Battlefleet Gothic, the game of circles

[@gabrielplattes6253]

I looooOOOOved Battlefleet Gothic... ✌😄

[@WozWozEre]

@Andy Chambers - hope you read this good Sir! First of all thank you for such an amazing game system (one of many!) A quick question- is it true that the BFG models (IN in particular) featured deliberately huge weaponry (e.g. Macro cannon barrels) to make them look good/easy to paint etc, and that this was an abstract representation of what were meant to be much smaller (but still massive) weapons? Thank you.

[@darkalman]

Best ruleset GW ever put out by far What I particularly liked about it was each faction was truly unique and had its own play style and tactics. The Eldar and Ork rules are incredibly thematic. 8:40 my absolute favorite image of Battlefleet gothic. My name is Tim, and I am a loader I come from a long family of loaders that have lived on this ship for hundreds of years In that time we have loaded 6 torpedos

[@MrTonyhough]

I did 30-odd illos for the early attempt at Battlefleet Gothic which mutated into Space Fleet. Most of them only appeared in White Dwarf.

[@turbidious1575]

Great video. Best game GW did.

[@matthayward7889]

Fantastic interview, can never hear too much about BFG

[@JuliusCaesar888]

Oh man I'd do anything for a sealed copy of this game

[@davehumphries7635]

Massive props for this game Andy.. it was/is perfect

[@matthinton19]

Another great video! Never played epic myself but my dad used to play a lot

[@JEnz2z2z]

What a pleasant chat!

[@carlh8731]

Really enjoyed this. Gothic was a favourite game for a while and I was hooked from the WD with the card board ships.

[@ZeZwede]

i really hope for a new release of this.

[@blackspade1]

Hands down, my favorite GW game

[@AlyxAu]

Still play gothic still the best ruleset from GW i know

[@Zach_Bloomquist]

Battlefleet Gothic is a cool game if one that is slow and one you need to be far thinking to do well. I taught some of my friends in High School how to play it and we played for a while. Never was as popular as 40k with us but still alot of fun to have my own Chaos Marine and Imperial fleet. I loved building and painting the models.

[@christopherthompson4026]

This game is the one I was wary of until a friend of mine convinced me to get in it at a half off going out of business sale. Best Buy ever! I have so many chaos ships! My buddy said you’ll never be able to play all that in a game. Don’t care more is bette

[@Xray1911]

Andy Chambers created what are probably my favorite rules and my least favorite. Even with the ones I didn't like I thought they were intended to be fun or at least improve something. These interviews have reinforced that. Just got to design the games he wanted to play and share them.

[@elendor3428]

I loved these models so much! The game was also a lot of fun

[@manofaction1807]

Once Upon a time, we fought planetary battles for a couple of summers... BFG was the initial game to determine how much of an army you fought in the World engagements with 40K scenarios with...

[@planestrainsandgames715]

Super cool video! Its a shame gw didnt give it the loved it deserved its probably one of the best game settings in all their ip. I always wanted to get into it but was too young at the time to be buying forge world models, nowadays i pkay bfg armada on pc but i know it doesnt feel the same!

[@darthcheese7971]

Never played BFG but read the rules and loved the ships for this and Space Fleet back in the day.

[@u-wot-n8]

I just got back from giving a good half dozen demo games at Too Many Games! last weekend, and I heard so much "oh I've always wanted to try this out but I could never find someone to play" and I've gotten at least one game store nearby to start up a bit of interest in it. Had a total blast doing it and even if I get 2-3 more people to play with, within a couple hours of me, it's worth it. This game was and remains my favorite tabletop minis game, and the community has taken excellent care of it over the years.

[@roderickhamilton9891]

I was one of the kids that wrote in! I got a very nice letter back with some more rules to playtest. Still one of the best ever 40k settings and games.

[@thehivetyrant614]

I love BFG! That video was very interesting to watch. No mention of the Tyranids, though. ;)

[@jojannehopmans3629]

I was thinking the same 😂 Was waiting for some Nid love since Andy started talking about the factions. Oh well, it didn't detract from how wonderful it is to hear them old guys spreading their old war stories in these videos 😊

[@cjanquart]

First time one of our players (he'd run Space Marines, namely a Dark Angels fleet) ran against a Tyranid fleet, the 'Nid player warned the DAs that "my fleet is really good at boarding actions" and the DAs reply was 'Well, we get a bonus because we're Space Marines". It ended up badly for the Marines.

[@captaincosmo6157]

Tyranids were not part of the original game. Just imperium, orks, chaos and eldar. I'm guessing Andy was full time 40k when fanatic started going through the other races

[@thehivetyrant614]

@@captaincosmo6157 Necrons, Space Marines and Tau were not in the original game either. They are all in the expansion book Andy mentions (Armada). Tyranids are in there too.

[@kharnifex]

yeah they were cool in space fleet!

[@Tremadog102]

To my infinite regret I remember standing in the Luton Games Workshop store in the 1990's with a Gorkamorka Box and a Battlefleet Gothic box sitting discounted on the shelves (omly time I saw that happen!), and I walked out with Gorkamorka. Don't get me wrong, Gorkamorka was a fine game but I should have left that store with Battlefleet Gothic. Brought up on a VHS cassette of Space Battleship Yamato I was fascinated by huge lumbering warships in space firing fearsome firepower into each other's ranks. The game was a much better fit for me and I should have embraced that. The imagery of Andy talking about the battle of Jutland really play on my imagination. I can't shift Sabaton's song "Dreadnought" as I imagine these massive armoured cathedrals filled to the brim with zeal and a misplaced feeling of invincibility and they smash each other to pieces. I remember the cardboard "beta" of BFG in White Dwarf and I'm sad that somewhere along the line I lost that issue and the pieces. The models were great for the time, and I would love to see a modern re-imagining of the game with current technology. If they stick it in the Horus Heres it will be a hue waste of potential though. I want to see those sleek Eldar ships hit the void once more. I'd also love to see how the Necrons would be re-imagined now that they have aircraft, their fleet dynamics may change somewhat. Regardless. I'll have to try and find a box of this sitting on Ebay and suck up the likely horrendously inflated prices one day.

[@MasonAC88]

Still my favorite GW game. Slowly rebuilding my Imperial fleet.

[@Princess_Schala]

As an Eldar Corsair player who has played BFG since it was cardboard cutouts in WD.... "make them as annoying as possible". No mission has ever been so accomplished as that one!

[@ivobleijenberg3171]

Awesome! Greatly nostalgic to watch this. "I tried to make Eldar as annoying as possible". Yeah, you did a great job on that part. I dislike Eldar to this very day for that. 😂

[@RoyAmkreutz]

He mentioned move move shoot. there is an alternative for people who 'didn't get it' 😅

[@ivobleijenberg3171]

@@RoyAmkreutz yep. I have seen the vid. 😁

[@KristovMars]

Mission accomplished.

[@blacktau]

I Wish the Gothic and the Eldritch was still available or at least a big book with all the classic art and concepts of 40k in high quality. Additionally maybe it could be worth it to contact Warwick for an interview regarding aeronautica imperialis and the imperial armour books.

[@Tremadog102]

It's a great book. I have it, and I think more people should have access to it.

[@ktg8030]

I am a big fan of both BFG and Dropfleet Commander.

[@Bonegrinder]

Gaze into the fist of Dredd! Awesome t-shirt

[@davehumphries7635]

Given the huge success of the redo of Necromunda, Blood, epic, etc. they will definitely do an update to this at some point. Id wager not that far off too.

[@Leidensbringer]

Such a coincidence: I grabbed the rulebooks last week and build two 500pts fleets to make a little starter set…

[@Sevarrius]

I haven't played Battlefleet Gothic for about 20 years but I still have my Chaos and Imperial fleets. I had a Necron fleet too but I have no idea what happened to it and to be fair I hardly played with them because the Necron ships were overpowered to the point of not being fun to play or play against. Still probably my second favourite GW game behind Mordheim.

[@charlescrawford1788]

Are they not brining Mordheim and BFG back because they’d have to pay IP or something to folks no longer working for GW?

[@dekai7992]

I'd expect them to own all those rights anyway, as I don't think an employee can retain rights to whatever they've created when part of the company. I suspect it's more about economic viability, with too small margins compared to the big systems.

[@EvilBearWargames]

loved bfg and man o war

[@DavidArcher_]

"How does [standard, universal mechanic] work again?" "I don't know. I play Eldar."

[@ramenoodle7853]

The big armored choo choo trains are my favorite part of my favorite thing!

[@readwatchlisten2863]

My only problem with this game was that it wasn't really Jutland in Space. It played more like Trafalgar in Space. It's still fun. Still play to this day.

[@johnnybigbones4955]

Recently scratch built an Imperial proxy fleet and grabbed some Dropfleet scourge. Wonderful game, so sad it didn't last til I had enough money to buy it!

[@Kreated_by_khaos]

this and mordheim and epic was the best of games in my mind

[@cjanquart]

5:30 mark: Up Front reference...another great game.

[@paullittle835]

"Gaze into the fist of Dredd" tee 😁

[@Satyr_Art_Studio]

Hey Tom! R U planning on dropping in on BOYL next month?

[@Filmdegminiatures]

Yea I’ll be there - most likely just on the Saturday

[@Dagstyrr]

Necrons were so OP! But this was definitely one of the best games. Played a lot of Dark Eldar which didn't help 😬

[@manofaction1807]

Necromunda, Space Hulk, and Battlefleet Gothic... If you haven't played them, you need to go do it.

[@Rhumb100]

The real question is : will the game come back one day ? I think yes and sooner than we think...

[@ramenoodle7853]

Thank you Andy for showing us the righteous endeavor! It's not spelled wrong I'm just american haha

[@owb1979]

I wonder what Andy thought of the Computer game versions?

[@julianwarren7770]

One of my regrets is selling my Battlefleet Gothic stuff years ago! 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@Slechy_Lesh]

4:45

[@malcolmhaldin717]

When can we have a video chat with Jes Goodwin ? 😊

[@Filmdegminiatures]

He still works for GW so not an option currently.

[@FriskyDingo142]

Do one of these on ManOWar please!

[@DavidBarker-r3t]

I'm gutted I had my templates and models stolen they didn't get my rulebook so i still have that at least.

[@robbrewer2391]

Thought this game was amazing and tried getting back into it recently but the 3d printed ships were good but fragile and challenging. If GW see this bring this back update it like AT and make some gamers happy!

[@sambojinbojin-sam6550]

Its official. Orks are there to fist you.

[@jefflanzilotta2057]

Still my all-time favourite miniature game. So sad that GW dropped this game, so much potential lost