Lately, my son and I have been having table top strategy battles of different flavours. We used mostly One Page Rules (Grimdark Future FTL Warfleets and Grimdark Future Firefights) and some Brikwars (Quickwars-Rules with some house rules attached). I'm not sure where the sweet spot is but as somoene who has been burned by Games Workshops as a teen, I really like systems where you do not need a massive army of minis to fight cool battles on the table.
Like I stated before, anyone can make space ships for Grimdark Future FTL Warfleets from scratch. When it comes to infantry in something like Grimdark Future Firefights, I can't make those myself but one investment into, say, a WH40K Tau scout squad, will set you up with all you need for less than 40 Euros. That's what my son did last week. He could conveivably make two armies of 300 points each out of that set but he only wants to make one anyways.
Anyhow I noticed that there are several very different aspects of the miniature wargaming hobby you can enjoy (or not):
1. Planing your army. Thinking about what to take into battle, what to equip, what their background is. I really like that part.
2. Building your minis.* Some buy whole, some like to craft fine details and customized the crap out of the minis. Others will just take Legos and be done with it.
3. Painting your minis. A distinct step from the one above because people will take stock 40K-Marines and turn them into works of art but eshew any actual crafting in the process. I always disliked painting minis (a lot).
4. Actually playing the game (!). Whether cometitively or just for fun and laughs with friends (different games demand a different level of seriousness, after all). Rolling dice, measuring distances, outwitting your enemy. Like.
*Making a tonk is fun. Playing it is as well. Look at what these two guys (blokes?) are doing with it:
Fuck yeah! The kids and I built several tonks by now. The only downside is the massively printer-unfriendly (but free!) rules doc.
But lets ramble on back to our four kinds of enjoyment of the hobby. I'll go through all table top strategy games I've _ever_ played and rate them on the fun-scale on each four accounts. Also how many units you'll typically field and how much of a money sink they are because yes, that is a big factor.
Warhammer Fantasy Battles (sometime in the late 90s)
1. Planning?
Very fun. Lots of options, a ton of armies to choose from, highly customizable. Liked it.
2. Building?
Medium. You could mod stuff but with metal figures it was hard and also GW didn't like too drastic a change (or god forbid third-party-minis) if you wanted to play tournaments at their stores.
3. Painting?
Lots of painting to be done, that's for sure. For a lot of people this was the main draw of the hobby. I myself didn't like it but that's just me.
4. Actually playing?
Slow and tedious but all together okay. It didn't really help that we all had different states of information and that the chaos players always seemed to be cheating.
5. How many guys?
Lots. My dark elves army had like 100 minis in it and that was a normal-sized army.
6. How much money?
Too much. Fuck you, GW. I spent most of my pocket money on dark elves for several years and then they rebootet them, making my entire army worthless.
Warhammer 40K (sometime in the late 90s)
1. Planning?
Pretty much the same as with Warhammer Fantasy.
Pretty much the same as with Warhammer Fantasy.
2. Building?
I think there are more opportunities for customizing in 40k, because there are more weapon-loadouts and more war machines you can modify.
3. Painting?
Same as fantasy.
4. Actually playing?
Didn't play as much 40k as fantasy. I remember that my dark eldar sucked.
5. How many guys?
I think it was fewer models on average than fantasy but it's in the same general area of army-size. Many.
6. How much money?
Too much, I still think.
BrikWars 2001
1. Planning?
Almost too many options. You gotta think up a theme and then stick to it. I loved it, still dream myself into the paracosm I made up as the background of my three different armies in BrikWars.
2. Building?
It's Lego. If you love it, you love it.
3. Painting?
Nope.
4. Actually playing?
Fun but don't expect a balanced experience. Also it can take a while if you have complex vehicles (worst of all: robots and/or super-power-users).
5. How many guys?
As many as you want/have. I think the biggest battle I ever fought had around sixty minifigs on my side but also like two dozen vehicles.
6. How much money?
Lego isn't cheap but if you already have it...
QuikWars / BrikWars Lite
1. Planning?
Much quicker than the original BrikWars but also much less detailed. If you obsess over the difference between a sabre and a warhammer or a revolver and an uzi, this isn't for you.
2. Building?
It's Lego. But you will likely destroy much of it.
3. Painting?
Nope.
4. Actually playing?
Quick and messy. Played this with my kids a few times. It's usually quite the massacre.
5. How many guys?
Easier to handle large numbers of dudes than the original but still, I wouldn't want to have more than a few dozen units on the table.
6. How much money?
Same as BrikWars 2001.
Next Generation Special Force
This one I made myself. It uses Lego Technics dudes and weapons I made mostly from cardboard and warhammer paint. It's for having small squads fight each other.
1. Planning?
Takes a lot of planning. I made the rules myself but it is a complex game.
2. Building?
You gotta make any weapon from scratch. Also all other gear for your Lego Technics-guys.
3. Painting?
Equipment and weaponry not included. Make it.
4. Actually playing?
Very detail-oriented: Kneeling, being prone, sprinting. How many shots to fire in a turn. It's for the people who enjoyed video games like Jagged Alliance.
5. How many guys?
I only have eight figures for this but that seems close to what I can handle anyways. You could conceivably double that but I think more than that and it gets too bogged down with paperwork.
6. How much money?
Don't know. Second hand figures go between 5 and 10 Euros upon my last check. You could build a squad for around 30 Euros.
One Page Rules Grimdark Future Firefight
1. Planning?
Takes a moderate amount of planning. I make little cue-cards for each warrior of a squad.
2. Building?
You can but I'm better at making war machines and that is more for the regular GDF.
3. Painting?
Like the original Warhammer Fantasy and 40k. I don't really like it but my son greatly enjoys it.
4. Actually playing?
Fun! We've played quite a few battles with this system and my son also plays it with his friends. The turn order and the streamlining of attack-dice compared to Gamesworkshops systems is good. Nobody sits around for half an hour while the other player does their turn.
5. How many guys?
Depends on your army, of course, but I've seen between five and twelve minis fielded in a regular 300 points game.
6. How much money?
Even if you buy original Gamesworkshop figures you can get a 300 points squad in a single box. My son got himself a Tau squad with drones and his friend has a pack of tyranids and that's all you need. Also you can use third-party miniatures or even print and play little cardboard standies, which is basically for free.
One Page Rules Grimdark Future FTL Warfleets
1. Planning?
Quite a bit because you'll be customizing each ship you have. In the end you have a fleet sheet with all the info on it and I like it.
2. Building?
If you want, you can very much build everything you need for this game yourself. I myself have made several fleets and so did my kids. It's fun.
3. Painting?
Oh yes. You can and should paint your ships.
4. Actually playing?
It's good. Four turns of intense space battle are fun.
5. How many guys?
Not guys but ships. A fleet will have five to ten ships plus squadrons if you want those. Nothing too taxing.
6. How much money?
None if you make it all yourself. Well you need dice but you get it.
Tonks!
1. Planning?
Not much. Basic tonks are mostly the same. You _can_ do some customization but these are the "advanced" rules.
2. Building?
Fuck yeah! You can (and must!) make your own tonk. If you don't like crafting, you could use a toy or model tank but seriously, it's about TONK. I use wheels from Kinder Überraschung vehicles for turret mechanisms. You can also use bits of soap dispensers or magnets. Have fun making a crazy tank! If you can't do a turret, a Sturmgeschütz will do as well - just have the cannon attached directly to the hull.
3. Painting?
You probably wanna paint your tonk. But its's not a must. Do what you please.
4. Actually playing?
Short, fun, crazy tonk-battles. Very good.
5. How many guys?
The game posits that every player should field only one tonk but you could conceivably go up to three vehicles per player.
6. How much money?
None, if you do it right.
Wasteland Carfare
This is my own home-brew remake of Gaslands. Play the original if you want more in-depth driving mechanics and stuff. I will release this sometime this year (in both English and German).
1. Planning?
You gotta stat those postapocalyptic cars. It takes some planning.
2. Building?
Take toy cars and upgrade them to postapocalyptic war machines. It's a lot of fun and a great way to use surplus parts from other wargames. Or plastic framing. I used plastic frames and parts of food containers to create some vehicles from scratch even.
3. Painting?
Not strictly necessary but if you want, you can make small works of art out of your vehicles.
4. Actually playing?
I love it, my son finds it meh. I guess your mileage varies. A 100-points-battle usually doesn't last longer than half an hour.
5. How many guys?
A 100-points-warband is between three and six vehicles, usually.
6. How much money?
If you already have toy cars, then practically none. If you don't they are dirt-cheap (or search the sand-pit of a playground near you. You're bound to find some that are even pre-aged for more postapocalyptic style).
An unnamed Kaiju game by my son
My son invented a mech-vs-kaiju-game played with legos in a little lego city.
1. Planning?
You gotta stat your mech or kaiju before battle. There are a number of modules/upgrades/skills to pick from. It's quick enough.
2. Building?
Lego it up. If you like it, you like it.
3. Painting?
Nope.
4. Actually playing?
A battle is through in around 15 to 20 minutes. It's fun enough but probably needs more balancing than a 10-year-old is willing to go for.
5. How many guys?
Just two (plus support in the shape of parasites and tanks, if you choose those).
6. How much money?
If you already own Lego, it's free. If not, then not.
An unnamed Star Wars space battle game by my son
Also made by my son. This one is about space battles and involves ship-to-ship boarding actions and lots of shooting.
1. Planning?
You pick your ship classes, you write down what systems they get. It's fairly quick.
2. Building?
Lego.
3. Painting?
Nope.
4. Actually playing?
Space battle lasts anywhere between ten and thirty minutes. It's cool that you can attempt to board enemy vessels and it can even backfire if you lose your crew. That aspect I like most about it.
5. How many guys?
We played with four vs four ships, which was manageable.
6. How much money?
Lego.
No comments:
Post a Comment