REVIEW: Quartermaster App
4 Minute Read
Nov 17 2014
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What’s Quartermaster you may be asking? It is the simplest, and best army list writing tool I have encountered so far!
… and it can fit in your pocket! Today I take a look at what makes this App so great and why you should be writing your lists on it.
I first came across Quartermaster when I was listening to the Bad Dice podcast. They talked about it frequently and I always struggle to gather enough enthusiasm to make my lists in Excel, so any program that makes this job easier and more fun for me is great. When I first went searching for it I have to admit I was almost scared away by its price of $9.99 USD. That is a lot for an App in my opinion, and more then I have spent on any to date. I decided to take the risk though and download it, and I wasn’t disappointed.
When you first get the App it has no game systems or army files on it, but there is a simple button to add them. It will take you to a website outside of the App, where first you must download the game system, and then you can pick any of the army files available. All of this is free, you don’t pay for any add ons past the initial fee. As you can see above, pretty much everything is available, and it gets updated frequently and quickly. Once you have selected the file to download it will say “Open file in Quartermaster,” you click it and it’s installed. As simple as that.
Once you have your files downloaded you are ready to start creating. By clicking the “+” sign in the top right corner you create a new army save file. In the screenshot above you can see all of the ones I have already created. I can edit any of these by selecting them.
Once you start a new army you then have to pick your template.
Once your template is selected you can give the roster a name and away we go.
Depending on the game system you have selected it will either be broken up into Lords, Heroes, Core, etc. or HQ, Troops, Elite and so on. To select a new unit you just click on the entry and pick the unit from the list.
You can increase the size of the unit from here and also give it a nickname if you want.
You also have the option to change their wargear or any unit upgrades by clicking on the arrows along the right side. The only downside to this App is that it doesn’t give you descriptions for any of the items or special rules, so you still need the Codex/Army Book for that. They obviously did this for legal reasons, but it’s not much of a hindrance, especially if you are familiar with your army.
After you have finished building your list you have the option of sharing it. You can send the Quartermaster file to other people, but this can only by opened by people who also have the App. Alternatively you can Publish it, which then allows you to print it or email the file so anyone can read it.
This is how the file looks after you publish it. Along the bottom you can see the options for emailing, printing, and copying. It lists the unit’s stats as well as the points cost, upgrades, wargear, or special rules associated with it. The presentation is very clean and easy to read, much better then a simple old Excel file.
The cost for the App may be steep, but it really is great. Not only is it good for building and publishing army lists for upcoming games, but it’s also really easy to kill time with it and experiment on new list ideas. I highly recommend this to anyone who plays any table top game supported by it. I tried Army Builder back in the day as well, and I think Quartermaster has it beat for ease of use and presentation.
Final Score – 5/5
Have you tried out the Quartermaster app yet?
Tyler is a life long painter and hobbyist and took home his first Golden Demon award at the 2012 Chicago Games Day with a follow up at the 2013 North American Games Day. More of his work can be found at his blog, Mengel Miniatures.
Author: Tyler Mengel
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