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After a year or more of obscurity, Navia Dratp is starting to finally take off. The new 'Resurgence' set was released in fall, 2005, bringing the total number of figures to 50. The new figures are not only totally playable, but have made the metagame extremely challenging as well. There is now a piece which can drain your opponent's gyullas, and also a 'super-queen' that can move and jump in any direction (although it is expensive to bring out). There's no doubt that ND's popularity was adversely affected by the miniatures game glut of the past 4 years. Many gamers had looked at the game before and decided that it was 'one game too many to spend my money on'. But where other games continue to expand beyond their enthusiasts' ability to keep up with the ever-growing number of figures, ND remains a small, balanced, and well-thought-out game. Our local game store has begun running weekend tournaments, and the number of participants has been growing steadily each week. If you haven't tried playing yet, there has never been a better time to start.
This game is absolutely, unbelievably incredible. A lot of the various chess variants seem too esoteric to pay much attention to, but Navia Dratp at least has a nationwide marketing push and relatively wide store availablity. With a little grassroots effort, you could pretty easily expect to be able to walk into a game store on a weekend and find a game. But here's the important part - the game is GOOD. The game is easy to learn but the strategy is intense and very deep. Unlike most collectible games, the luck factor only factors in when you purchase boosters; the gameplay itself is completely strategic. New players will find themselves at a significant disadvantage until they learn the mechanics and piece interaction. I don't particularly care for chess, but I am absolutely in love with Navia Dratp. Everyone here needs to go out and get it, no exceptions. Don't let this one slip by.
I love the idea of a four hand Navia Dratp game. I hadn't put much thought into the idea, but had the seed planted soon after playing a few games. I think I'd design the board differently, but I like your idea of capturing three Navias and allowing the opponent whose Navia was captured to remain in play. Thanks for a fun website!
This seem simular to Vantage Master.Consider the following: They both have absurd names. They both start with no pieces but the 'Kings' on the board and add more later. They both have special cells on which you get more energy to summon the aforementioned pieces. They both involve collecting.
After I found this game last week, I can't stop playing it. However, there are a problem happening when I play with my friends. It's a moving (compass) problem. Like Hansa, no 023 (http://www.naviadratp.com/char/m_hansa.html), before Dratp can he 'Jump' over one piece (either mine or oppenent's) and land on the second space? Also Troll , No-001 , we also have an argument after she dratps. Can anyone please help this kind 'blocking problem'?
The crystals are called gyullahs, and gold ones are worth 20, not 30. Also the pawns are called gulleds.
I just found out about this game yesterday, and looked at the main website. It has everything you'd need to play, including the abilities of every piece, except that it doesn't mention which pieces are Navia Guards. I found another site that lists all the pieces in the starters, so I know that Troll (M-001) and Olip (M-008) are Guards, but are any of M-015 through M-029 also Guards?
<p>I don't have IM, but I'd love to play by email, or maybe on Vassal (I think I'd prefer email though). Contact me at [email protected] if you're interested. I don't own any pieces yet, but I've already picked out a 'dream team' that I'd like to try.
The Navia Dratp website is now live... each piece is listed with a background and remarks if needed for gameplay: http://www.naviadratp.com
I usually leave my login going in the Tori Shogi room on the Vassalengine server, but sometimes I forget to turn it off when I sleep or leave home. Sorry for any confusion that might have caused. Let's face it, we are never going to find each other by accident. We need to either schedule a time or exchange instant message handles. My handle on all the main IM services is nemorathwald. Feel free to message me to set up a game!
Anyone even go to vassal? I've gone on and there are rarely people on, and I'm rather disappointed because I want to play some Navia. Matt Arnold, your name is always up on shogi, are you really on all the time? If anyone is into playing Navia on the vassal engine, let me know when you are ususally on. Otherwise I'm even willing to play over an IM using chess notation or something.
on 20040826 it is now uncomplete. I am searching for the movements of the other pieces
For those outside of the U.S. and still trying to acquire Navia Dratp feel free to drop me an e-mail. I know of a seller that ships internationally and may very well be able to help you out as long as supplies of the game last here. They charge very near actual shipping costs from the U.S. to most international destinations. I've heard this game has become quite the hot product following the Gen Con Indy convention this past weekend. [email protected]
Reminder: there is now a Yahoo group to discuss this game, and much more: http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/navia_dratp_enthusiasts/
Mid august has come and gone and still there's hardly any info on this game available. The official website is still 'coming soon'. I'm disappointed. I was really looking forward to it though ..... I doubt the game will be available any time soon in Belgium.
Jeremy, thanks for the offer! Since mine are due very soon, and I won't be able to do anything until then (turning in for the night), it may not be worth the time and trouble to e-mail back and forth. Should there be another delay though (over the weekend grrrr) I'll certainly take you up on your offer. I'm looking forward to playing myself, due to the absence of any local gamers (at the only local gamestore they still think ND is something new shown for the first time at the GenCon...)
Robert, Thanks for the pics. The paintjobs leave room for improvement, like the Navias, but they are certainly pretty good for (sort of) mass-produced minis. It will be interesting to see to what extent they can be improved upon by painting spares of the 'regular' version myself (and others who have announced interest in doing so) A folder for pictures of those has already been set up at the Yahoo group... As for easy to collect, at one per box (of 12), that would _still_ be a rather expensive endeavour :| , not counting the chances of getting a double in the minimum of 29 boxes required ;) I think I'll forget about getting a complete set of those... P. (I may post a summary of this discussion at the Yahoo group, since at least one new member has shown up asking about a figure list and such)
PL, I have joined your Yahoo group and uploaded my pictures in an album called Painted Maseitai - Navia Dratp.
Jeremy, both the painted Maseitai and the booster Navia seem to appear 1 in every 12 boosters. Navia Dratp come in a case of 12 booster. If you buy a full case you should expect to get 1 painted Maseitai, 1 rare Navia (N-003 or N-004), and nearly two complete sets of the unpainted Maseitai numbered 15-29. The small set of figures are not all that collectible (or some would say they are very easy to collect) with only 33 pieces, but compare this to other miniature sets that may have only 20 to 30 different mini sculptures yet have 80 to 120 different pieces to collect. This set has 33 *different* high quality sculptures, and the 33 pieces is more than enough to add enough variety to this game. Still from a collectors standpoint I'd love to see future expansions.
P_L, I already have scans of the board if you want it. Like I said I was doing it in flash. If you want me to take pics let me know. I can also scan. Really, anything you want help on, let me know. Anxious to play online.
Hi Jeremy, I managed to get the main structure of the game finished, but the most time-consuming part will be a couple of board element scans and especially taking digipics of the pieces, since I will finally receive my own set tomorrow. Unfortunately, I'll have a couple of really busy days ahead of me, but depending how things go, I might get around to it by Sunday, so perhaps in the evening, otherwise it'll be maybe a couple of days later at most. As far as trading goes, you might try the Yahoo group I set up, maybe the few members so far will be interested in trading directly too, and hopefully trustworthy enough. I admit that personally I have little experience in the matter, but would think that trading one for one any piece of the same rarity as per Bandai's list (?) should be fairly straightforward... P.
P_L, what is your approx. time for haveing the online version done? Do you need any help? I'm a graphic designer by profession, so if you need anything, like graphics or scanning...anything, let me know. These are the figures that I have after 2 starters and 6 boosters. N-1, 2, 4 M-1 through 14, M-16, M-17x2, M-18x2, M-19 through 22 M-24, M-25x2, M-26 through 28, M-29x2 I also have a slight problem with ND now. Its not major, just annoying. I bought six boosters and I didn't get a single patined figure other than a Navia. What is the rare distribution? Second, and this is good to me, I don't see this game as very collectible. I almost have the entire set. I am short 3 total with 1 of those being a Navia, which I could care less about. And since you can't duplicate unless one of those is a rare painted, there is really no other figure I need or want. As long as you get one, which you can probably pick up on ebay now for like 2-5 bucks. Ebay will eliminate buying boosters for me now. After buying the boosters this first time, and seeing a few figs that I won't use, I'll just buy the ones I want on ebay. I think the cost of keeping up with this game will be very low considering how many actual figures there will be in each set. This starting one only has like 33 total pieces - very low count. An there are a few that I wouldn't mind getting rid of.
Announcement: Creation of a Yahoo group for people interested in Navia Dratp http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/navia_dratp_enthusiasts/ I guess I have too much time on my hands ;) One thing I want to be clear about is that I don't mean that group to be in some sort of competition with this one, and I think this one will perhaps remain a little more mature, especially if ND should ever really catch on. However, the _free_ benefits of the NDE Yahoo group are, as with every group there: the searchable archive, the free file storage area (which I set up to include a folder for peoples' tradelists), picture gallery (for, among others, their own custom paintjobs people have talked about here) etc. It should be a nice complement to this one. I also uploaded my Tori Shogi adaptation, which is more easily accessible since membership is open for now (unlike the Vassalengine group) If nothing else, it will allow you to test the Vassalengine/Java setup on your machine if you are interested in trying out the ND adaptation I plan on releasing in the future. P.
Much appreciated, Robert! As announced in my other post, I finally started my first Yahoo group, in a surge of, erm, enthusiasm (bad pun, you'll see). Like all groups, it includes also a gallery, and I already created an album for people to put pictures of their rare captures in ;) If you're up to it, you can upload them there (it's easy to register, for now I have left membership open) P.
P_L, I found both the Yeti and the Monster of Loch Ness, and oddly enough they were hiding in my Navia Dratp booster packs. I took some time out to attempt to take a few photos (at least the best I could take) of some of the Navia Dratp, Bandai painted chase playing pieces I have. I have sent them to both the graphics e-mail address for chessvariants and Matt Arnold. Hopefully one or the other will have a chance to possibly post them for you.
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