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Looking for a war game
Shogun
Hair long; money long; me and broke wizards we don't get alongRegistered User regular
Hair long; money long; me and broke wizards we don't get alongRegistered User regular
By that I mean a table-top or board game. WW2 setting; european theater. I like the ideas of miniatures, maps, and tactics/strategy. I've looked around at various things online but I haven't seen anything actually played and I'm not prepared to shell out $75 on a board game and be disappointed.
I guess what I'd like is something like Company of Heroes except as a board/table-top game. I've seen the Axis and Allies board game but that doesn't look appealing. The miniatures version I'm more interested in but I know nothing about the actual gameplay. Tide of Iron also looks good in that it is a boxed set and I don't need to keep buying shit. I know very little about Flame of War other than I think its all miniatures based and that requires painting and scenery and so forth. I've spent a young fortune on WH40k and I'm sure WW2 miniatures are just as expensive.
Does anyone have experience with games like these? If so can you point me in the right direction?
I guess what I'd like is something like Company of Heroes except as a board/table-top game. I've seen the Axis and Allies board game but that doesn't look appealing. The miniatures version I'm more interested in but I know nothing about the actual gameplay. Tide of Iron also looks good in that it is a boxed set and I don't need to keep buying shit. I know very little about Flame of War other than I think its all miniatures based and that requires painting and scenery and so forth. I've spent a young fortune on WH40k and I'm sure WW2 miniatures are just as expensive.
Does anyone have experience with games like these? If so can you point me in the right direction?
Shogun on
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Flames of War is the same level of commitment as other miniature games, lots of painting and building and stuff.
If you aren't adamant about miniatures, you've got a lot more options. Some popular ones now are Combat Commander, or Conflict of Heroes.
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/17970/axis-allies-miniatures
It's like a collectible card game with lil WW2 tanks and men and suchwhat.
EDIT: I have to ask, how is combat commander, it looks terribly interesting.
Memoir 44 is super fun but is abstracted and destigned to play fast. It doesn't have the depth you're looking for. I'd still play it though
Depth is something I definitely want. I'm not sure grognardiess is something I want. Expand upon that. Is Flames of War as hard on the wallet as 40k?
Shogun Streams Vidya
Uhhm it really depends on HOW deep you want to go.
I'd say I could get a small 1500 point panzerkompanie for under 300 bucks. Not as bad as a similarly sized group of IG tanks for Warhammer...
And you probably already have paint, for warhammer...
Combat Commander is actually really good. It's deep enough that I enjoy playing it, but it's easy enough that other people will willingly play it. I think it hits exactly the right balance between depth and playability.
I'd probably avoid ASL starting off, because that is as deep as the deep end will ever get. It's not a game, it's a way of life. It's got tons of devotees, but you might want to work up to it.
Flames of War is a "typical" tabletop minis game. It hits your wallet hard if you more than a basic army, and even then it'll cost you upwards of $150. It's a really great game, and the community that surrounds it can be awesome, if a little heavy on the military-history.
I've been playing a lot of Memoir 44, recently, and I have to say that what it lacks in depth of rules it more than makes up for in versatility. The game is designed to be fast, which is a plus, in my book, as it allows me to sit down with my partner and play a scenario in 30 minutes. When we're going hardcore (like we're going to this afternoon) we'll sit down and play through 4-6 games. The modular "board" and the basic rules make it easy to learn and each scenario is different. The base game also runs about $50.
And Memoir 44 is expandable and encouraging of the community to create their own resources. There are over 100 scenarios available on the Days of Wonder site for free, and each of the expansions tweaks the rules a little bit. In fact, if you're looking for depth Memoir 44 has it, it's just that you have to get yourself past the initial 16 missions to find the really crazy stuff. We've had the game since the beginning of the month, and are still playing regularly. When we finish the basic missions we're going to pick up the air pack and add planes to the battles for the second playthrough.
There are always other options, too. Old hex-based games abound. Tide of Iron is complex (and heavy!) and I've heard good things about it from friends. The issue with Tide of Irons is that it is a full-night endeavor like something similar to Axis and Allies.
It also has magic, so that may not be your thing :P.
It also has rules for having your steam-powered warjack grab another steam-powered warjack by the face and throw it through the nearest wall.
Or through the nearest other warjack and then into a wall.
Man, Warmachine is the best tabletop minis game out there. Hands down. The girl is in the kitchen painting Trollbloods at this moment.
EDIT: I just remembered that after you throw a 'jack into another 'jack and then into a wall, you can then set it on fire.
One game I nearly managed to crush kreoss with his own fire of salvation, it was a direct hit but he took the damage like a manly man.
But still if WW2 is your thing and you are a fan of Warhammer Flames of war is really Warhammer in WW2.
I'm still sort of leaning toward the A&A Miniatures or Tide of Iron has I do like me some hexes and a boxed set makes it easier to get people to play. I don't know anyone personally that plays Flames of War and I know of very few wargaming clubs or groups in my area.
Shogun Streams Vidya
I know the one here has monthly get togethers for just flames of war.
I was thinking about trying it personally. German tanks were rad.
The only gaming store I know if is a Hobby Lobby that is a long ways away. There used to be mom and pop places but they always close up shop. I've never seen one last longer than six months. I know of some wargaming clubs on meetup but they are infrequent and the only one I've attended the dudes were sort of jerks.
Shogun Streams Vidya
Yeah man, if the community for the game ain't good I wouldn't bother.
Half the fun of that kinda wargame is meeting new people to play with.
I'd personally look into Combat Commander. In fact I might actually do that.
Honestly, if you have issues meeting people to play, stay away from the minis games.
Memoir 44 or Tide or Iron sounds awesome. And Tide of Iron isn't a huge draw for non-hardcore-gamers.
But, then again, I really don't care for miniatures games like Flames of War. I just personally find that they aren't strategic enough as games for me and are just pointlessly spendy. So, if that's more your thing, then I don't know
This is fairly common if they're young GamesWorkshop fankids. Usually people in the clubs are much friendlier (and mature) when alternative/WW2 war games are played.
Although.. there was the time I played against a guy with a German FoW army. He was a nice guy, just he had quite a lot of swastika tattoos..
Nonsense, unless you're literally talking about a club of thirteen year olds. Adult mainstream TTG players are just as likely to be friendly mature human beings as historical/niche game players.
That's about the most like an RTS that I can think of... it even has simultaneous turns. Very well produced counters (nice gfx on them), but no miniatures. If you do go this route, do not start with Awakening the Bear. Storms has improved on it in every way.
I have met more than my fair share of Warhammer 40K players that act like children, cheating or being sore losers/winners.
Skirimish level WW2 TTG's give you limited options. I haven't looked into it in about 4 years, but when I did they were almost all very self-published options. I'll try to dig up some of the ones that looked playable. I can't remember any names at the moment. There are a lot of near unplayable "historically accurate" systems with weighty photocopied tomes for rulebooks that you'd want to avoid.
Well done.
I haven't tried any of these, but some certain look playable.
http://www.freewargamesrules.co.uk/blog/
Tons of free rules. If you want to small-scale (10-15mm) you can actually play skirmish games pretty cheap.
ASL isnt that hard if you stick with the core rules to get the hang of it
If your into really deep strategic board game that covets most aspects of WW2
then i would recomend World in Flames. Unfotunately it isn't cheap but fortunately the entire rulebook is available online if you want to check it out
I'm sort of ashamed of myself. Conflict of Heroes looks awesome as well but I'm going to see how Tide of Iron does with some mates. I watched a lot of videos online and it looks really promising.
Shogun Streams Vidya
True, I could have worded that better. Here goes..
People in gaming clubs are usually friendly and mature despite what games are being played. If you experience different than this, most likely a game with space marines is involved.
there we go.
I know right? Those Starship Troopers TTG players are real jerks.
At first it might seem LOL ANIME, but it's got really cool rules and stuff.
IT just occurred to me it is fairly representative of a tabletop FPS game.