Quote Originally Posted by Coog View Post
I wonder if SJG are thinking of adding their own miniatures to the game and making more colorful playing surfaces.
Phil Reed was very clear that they don't anticipate having miniatures in the base game - they will have die cut counters (better than the old cardstock counters from the 80's, at least). The goal was to set the core game at a price point where it could be sold in Target and other mass-merchandisers, and miniatures are too costly. Another staffer (Andrew Hackard) was quick to state that they reserve the right to change their mind on this goal, though.

Having said that, they left the door wide open that they might produce miniatures separately or perhaps later in time. I would bet a very large sum of money that if the CW re-launch is successful, they will produce minis, and lots of them.

No word (that I'm aware of) on what kind of playing surfaces they will provide (if any), but I suspect that SJG is very aware that consumer tastes have changed a LOT in the 30+ years since CW was first published, and component quality will have to go up significantly to keep customer interest high. This will probably be one of those decisions that comes much later in the design process, though. They have a LOT of work they want to accomplish with the core game itself before they even get to the issue of components.