So there's been Warband, the Specialist Games takeover and loads of new minis out from team Pendraken, but is it just me or is it a bit quiet on the wargaming front?
What's HOT out there at the moment?
There seems to be a multitude of 28mm fantasy and skirmish game appearing on ks,none of which I am interested in.A fantasy version of lion rampant is coming soon and To the strongest is coming out soon as well.
Apart from that nothing out there to interest me at the moment that I have seen
Depends what you mean by 'hot' Nosher?
I'd say wargaming is certainly changing, with the current trend being towards skirmish games.
I'd say the current 'top games on the table' are:
X-Wing (FFG) - really popular with a crossover drawing in card players and boardgamers too. The ability to buy a box, and start playing without having to buy a bunch of extra stuff, or painting the miniatures as a MASSIVE draw for many players who otherwise wouldn't touch a miniatures game. Personal note: this is an excellent little game and i'm playing a LOT of it at the moment.
Bolt Action (Warlord) - this appears to have drawn in a lot of ex-40k players. Lets face it, its basically 40k WWII, created by the designers who made GW the success it is (and who the current management kicked out).
WarmaHordes (Privateer) - this too seems to be mopping up the GW ex-gamers looking for a game that's 'like GW'. I'm just getting into it. Its very fiddly, with steep buy in, both monetary and learning, but does give an interesting game.
On the other hand, at my club, the 'new stuff' that's been seening a fair bit of table time lately has be Dux Britannicum (TLF), Chain of Command (TFL) (TFL is popular with a lot of the chaps), and lately Mauriceand Blucher.
Coming up, i'd say the next big thing will be (if the rumours are true) GWs reboot of their fantasy game along the WarmaHordes line.
Obviously this will have a massive impact on the GW crowd, but if what's being planned is true, it may well tempt me to check out their new game.
Flames
Xwing
FogR
Bloody Big Battles is the new kid on the block for us.
To The Strongest looks interesting. No dice or rulers? Maybe I'll wait for Warbands Historical. ;)
6mm WWII is probably about to be hot as Baccus are about to dive into that range
plastic15's might be at the start of a growth curve as Plastic Soldier start WWI sets (for Commands and Colors) and battlefront are doing some plastic infantry.
A rush of 200th anniversary games for Waterloo in June will likely be getting a lot of forum space
Pendraken will be pushing into moderns
Battlegroup rules seem to be steaming ahead with the Blitzkrieg rules just out, on the back of the Kursk and Berlin sets and the mini rulebook.
I'm just an old-fashioned chap. Hot for me is 15mm ECW, Warr Without An Enemie, Regimental Fire and Fury in 15mm. BBB in 6mm and Black Powder in 10mm. Eagerly awaiting Impetus Baroque. Warband is very much backburner, skirmish games even more backburner and WWII will never even get on the stove.
Quote from: Nosher on 19 April 2015, 05:42:34 PM
So there's been Warband...
Yes, that's super-hot for me. :D
Hot for me is ACW.
It's not new, current or "trending" but I'm really getting into it. :)
At our end, Warband is proving really popular which is good. ACW is leading the historical sales, with Naps picking up some speed heading towards the anniversary. I'd expect the new British to fly out once they're released. WWII is always busy, and we're getting more Moderns sales as we expand those ranges.
In the wider community, there's not a lot that I see as a 'trend' at the moment. The Kickstarter bubble seems to have burst, with a lot less of them appearing and people being a lot more wary of what they support.
There's a lot of kickstarter boardgames coming to fruition lately though, and some of them are pretty darned good.
Roleplaying games too - Joe Dever's Lone Wolf franchise RPG is the one I'm looking forwards to. Great setting for a wargame too. :)
The current hot favourites being played at our club, Redcar Ironbeards, in no particular order are:
X-Wing
Bolt Action
Rapid Fire WW2 with 15mm miniatures
:)
Skirmish games belong in the drear wastes of moderns or pre-history, imffho.
Quote from: FierceKitty on 20 April 2015, 11:31:21 AM
Skirmish games belong in the drear wastes of moderns or pre-history, imffho.
Really?
Gladiators?
Iron Age tribal cattle raiding?
Scouts and foragers?
Medieval tournament melees and jousting?
Border Reivers?
Samurai honour duels?
Skirmishers clashing?
Viking village raids?
Pirate swashbuckling?
WWI trench raids?
Etc...
:-\ ;)
What's hot for my little circle -
1:600th scale WW2 and ACW (I just play with other peoples toys, so far)
MDF buildings (including building a Bronze Age city of my own design!)
Skirmish games (Down to most of us reaching an age where we can't be certain of living long enough to finish a full army? :) )
On FKs point - we played a very enjoyable series of games recently, set in the FPW and using "Legends of the Old West" rules and another series using the venerable "Retinue" rules with Rus, Frankish and Byzantine forces.
Quote from: Luddite on 20 April 2015, 12:09:00 PM
Really?
Gladiators?
Iron Age tribal cattle raiding?
Scouts and foragers?
Medieval tournament melees and jousting?
Border Reivers?
Samurai honour duels?
Skirmishers clashing?
Viking village raids?
Pirate swashbuckling?
WWI trench raids?
Etc...
:-\ ;)
Yep. Great cinema, dull gaming.
FK: are you saying skirmish games are limited, without even having the excuse of being linear? ;)
Chris
Bloody Big BATTLES!
https://uk.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/BBB_wargames/info
http://bloodybigbattles.blogspot.co.uk/
Quote from: FierceKitty on 20 April 2015, 12:41:25 PM
Yep. Great cinema, dull gaming.
You are either a very queer fish or you are doing it very, very wrong!
However, if skirmish doesn't float your boat then your posts show you find plenty of other wargaming options, so it's all good.
The world is big enough for all of us. Except religious believers, instant-coffee drinkers, and country and western fans.
Yeeh hah and dozy doh!
Quote from: Leman on 20 April 2015, 02:07:14 PM
Yeeh hah and dozy doh!
You forgot this: <)
Yeeh haw!!! :D
Well dang me! Aw jeez, I left my dog in the pickup down at the railroad tracks where I'd been a-drinking moonshine with Billie Jo and Bobbie Jean. Aww shucks!
QuoteWell dang me! Aw jeez, I left my dog in the pickup down at the railroad tracks where I'd been a-drinking moonshine with Billie Jo and Bobbie Jean. Aww shucks!
You forgot to mention you....
Wus you waitin' for the train to bring your grandma's coffin back from prison where she'd died after killin' the man wot dun her wrong...
I think that's covered just about all the C&W themes covered.....
Unless YOU know different
However in gaming terms I'm playing a lot of Saga Crescent and Cross.
Moreover I'm playing in 10mm with multi figures per base and much bigger armies (10-12 points) than 28mm Saga viking games (4-6 points), and it's very good indeed.
Quote from: DanJ on 20 April 2015, 03:58:50 PM
However in gaming terms I'm playing a lot of Saga Crescent and Cross.
Moreover I'm playing in 10mm with multi figures per base and much bigger armies (10-12 points) than 28mm Saga viking games (4-6 points), and it's very good indeed.
Ive looked at SAGA, can you post a battle report using 10mm ?
The weather outside! 8)
Cats on tin roofs?
Thye hob if a ring is switched on....
ianS
Quote from: DanJ on 20 April 2015, 03:58:50 PM
However in gaming terms I'm playing a lot of Saga Crescent and Cross.
Moreover I'm playing in 10mm with multi figures per base and much bigger armies (10-12 points) than 28mm Saga viking games (4-6 points), and it's very good indeed.
I'm interested to hear more about this. I thought about doing a similar project - my 28mm Saga figures are based on 2p pieces (approx 25mm) and I thought about using the same basing with 10mm, but with a few figures per base.
Some of the best Saga games we have had are with 3 warbands a side, which were probably 12pts a side. So bigger games in 10mm sound good. But I decided that I had too many projects on the go, and it would be hard work to get the rest of my gaming group interested.
But I would like to see what figures you have put together for the various factions.
Magma
Habanero chillies.
Women with nice bums.
Quote from: FierceKitty on 20 April 2015, 12:54:23 PM
The world is big enough for all of us. Except religious believers, instant-coffee drinkers, and country and western fans.
I'm with you on two out of three, but C&W is awesome. At least, when it's not awful.
Speaking of which, it's coffee time!
Same here, a nice black Americano.
I'm suffering from Cappuccino deprivation...
Mug of builder's for me please.
Gingerbread Cream Latte from Costa gets my vote :D :D :D
Coffee with colour and consistency of tarmac for me....
IanS
Quote from: ianrs54 on 21 April 2015, 11:52:59 AM
Coffee with colour and consistency of tarmac for me....
IanS
Uh oh....We agree on something. This bodes some strange irruption to our state.
QuoteI'm interested to hear more about this. I thought about doing a similar project - my 28mm Saga figures are based on 2p pieces (approx 25mm) and I thought about using the same basing with 10mm, but with a few figures per base.
I'm still in the process of rebasing some figures from WMA and painting new figures, I'm amiming to be able to field a Christian force of 8-12 points of Crusaders and 6-10 points of Milites Christi to fight a Muslim force of 8-12 points of Saracens and 6-10 points of Muttawi'ia (sp?). I tried a number of figure/base combinations but after some trial and error I've settled on the following convention.
Generals - 40mm round bases - lots of figures and flags
Priests - 35mm round bases - several figures and banners
Hearthguard (Mounted) - 40mm round bases - 3 figures per base, 4 bases = 1 SAGA point
Hearthguard (Foot) - 25mm round bases - 4 or 5 figures per base, 4 bases = 1 SAGA point
Warriors (Mounted) - 40mm round bases - 2 figures per base, 8 bases = 1 SAGA point
Warriors (Foot) - 25mm round bases - 4 to 6 figures per base, 8 bases = 1 SAGA point
Levy (Foot) - 25mm round bases - 3 or 4 figures per base, 12 bases = 1 SAGA point
These are the same size bases as 28mm figures use but with more figures per base. I don't make any changes to any gaming distances, the 10mm figure bases move and shoot the same as the 28mm but the feel of the game is totally different. A 28mm mounted figure moving 12" looks pathetic, the distance being out of scale for the size of the figure, however the same distance applied to a 10mm figure looks much better. It's a similar thing with shooting, a bow armed 28mm figure only shooting 12", looks and feels wrong, but the same distance applied to a 10mm stand feels like the figures are actually dominating ground. It's purely subjective of course but seems to give a better game.
I'll try and post some pictures as soon as I can.
Here's a couple of Saracen and Crusader 'warbands', 10 points each.
(http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa242/danandsan/IMG_1148a.jpg) (http://s198.photobucket.com/user/danandsan/media/IMG_1148a.jpg.html)
(http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa242/danandsan/IMG_1143a.jpg) (http://s198.photobucket.com/user/danandsan/media/IMG_1143a.jpg.html)
That looks brilliant!
I quite like Saga in 28mm, but I'd be much more tempted by 10mm from those :)
Hmm, this suggests I may be able to use my 10mm Dux Britanniarum to play Saga as well. they look very good.
Very nice, thanks for posting the pics
The 40mm base size for the cav works well
QuoteThe 40mm base size for the cav works well
I tried them on 20x20 square bases, then on 25mm round.then 35mm round and ended up with 40 as the best size.
They offer enough room to get two or three figures on in a variet of positions which looks best for cavalry. The unit sizes also look better in relation to the infantry huddled on their 25mm bases. I'll get some close up posted tonight.
Looking forward to some close up pics. I'm really liking the look of these forces, especially now that I have had a proper look (or three) now that I am home and use a bigger screen.
Can you list which codes you used for the different units.
Quote from: fred 12df on 22 April 2015, 05:44:54 PM
Looking forward to some close up pics. I'm really liking the look of these forces, especially now that I have had a proper look (or three) now that I am home and use a bigger screen.
Can you list which codes you used for the different units.
+1 to that. Awesome stuff. How are the SAGA rules?
Very nice Saga forces, makes me want to do some like that.
Saga is a great game. While it is based on historical eras, its not strictly a historical game.
Its key feature is the battle board. Each faction has one, and they are all different. They are split in to two main parts, about 1/3 are simple activations for the different categories of units. The rest are special abilities - some of which are quite fantastical. You roll a number of dice - the number depends on the number of units you have, so reduces as the game plays out.
The dice are special, with 3 symbols on them, rather than 1-6. There is a common symbol on 3 faces, one on 2 faces and a rare on just 1 face. You can buy the proper dice, and they are very nice but expensive, but they also provide downloads, so you can print these and stick them on the dice - this is cheap, but fiddly - it works OK if you want extra sets of dice, but for your core faction its worth buying a set.
Each ability on the board has a dice symbol on it (sometimes 2 dice) and you can only use this ability if you assign a dice to it during the the initial phase of each turn. Your good warriors are easier to activate than your levy, and powerful abilities cost more dice, or harder to get dice (or both).
Combat and shooting require a roll to hit, and a save. There is a fatigue mechanic that is a good way of stopping units from activating lots of times in a turn, and can be used in combats by your opponent to make your fatigued troops weaker.
The typical game is 28mm Dark Ages - with warbands of 4-6 points. Where a point is a manoeuvre element consisting of 4 to 12 figures each with 1 wound. The elites come in 4s, and have 2 attacks each and better armour. The Levies come in 12s but only generate a melee attack between 3 of them, but usually have a shooting attack too. This version has been out for a good few years now - and has had several army list supplements.
The crusader version is much newer (late last year I think), and is really v1.1 for the core rules. But creates a whole new set of armies with some quite new mechanics for some of the battle boards.
The core game is 1 v 1. But there is a clever scenario for unbalanced sides, and we have played several multiplayer games (3 a side typically) and these play surprising well.
Writing this has made me want to play more Saga!
I resisted getting Crescent and Cross at the start of the year, but may well feel the urge to get it now ;)
Fred 12df has just about encapulated the basic mechanics and troop types.
The strength of the rules is the battle boards, these are efectively a whole set of special rules and abilities which are only available to that army. This makes for a very period and faction specific set of rules which has a great feel and realy diferentiates the various forces.
The 28mm Dark Age games I played were good but not great, 4-6 point armies were IMHO rather brittle and were subject to lucky dice rolls having a disproportionate effect on a game but did mean games tend to be fast, furious and very bloody. This seems to be a concious design descision, however I prefer games with more tactical options and ones where an unlucky dice roll doesn't spoil the game. I'd rather play 1 game that makes me think for 2-2.5 hours than 2 or 3 games with limited options. Others may think differently.
The battle boards for Crescent and Cross are master pieces of game design, I've only played two to any great depth, the basic Crusaders and Saracens but the differences are profound and effect the way the players use their forces. The Saracens' battle board is inclined to subtle effects giving advantages and opportunities, the Crusaders' board is about building up strengths and launching overwhelming attacks before the subtle Saracens overwhelm the them.
My eventual aim is to have enough figures to play multi player games with each player fielding 8-12 points and using their own battle board and dice.
Here are a few close ups of a game:
Pendraken Knights...
(http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa242/danandsan/IMG_1169a.jpg) (http://s198.photobucket.com/user/danandsan/media/IMG_1169a.jpg.html)
OG Saracen Ghulams attack the flank of some OG knights...
(http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa242/danandsan/IMG_1168a.jpg) (http://s198.photobucket.com/user/danandsan/media/IMG_1168a.jpg.html)
OG Infantry...
(http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa242/danandsan/IMG_1350a.jpg) (http://s198.photobucket.com/user/danandsan/media/IMG_1350a.jpg.html)
COR !! :-bd :-bd
Cheers - Phil
Those Old Glory figures look great! Well done, Dan!
Top work Dan! ;)
Lovely looking figures, cracking painting. Not my game or my era but that is lovely work. :-bd
Superb! Simply superb. =D>
Quote from: WeeWars on 23 April 2015, 10:35:15 AM
Those Old Glory figures look great! Well done, Dan!
Blasphemer ;) :D
They all look good
:-bd =D> :-bd =D>
Nice work, Dan. (Even if they are OG) :)