Does anyone here play "Chainmail"?

[Green Knight]

I ask because I bought it in the first week it came out, but have yet to play a game. It seems as if I'm the only gamer in all of Miami who bought a copy of it.

So for those who have it and have played it, what's your opinion of it? How does the gameplay go? Do you like it?

And what's your opinion of the miniatures line? Thanks.

 

[Kaptain_Kantrip]

The figures are pretty good, but too expensive, IMO. I might've bought some (although I don't own Chainmail), but I could get 2 Reaper minis for the same price... Also, the way Chainmail minis are packaged may be beautiful, but I can't see the actual (unpainted) mini inside. This means I would have to buy it sight unseen, with no way to determine exactly how much assembly is required or if the figure is all bent up (which sometimes happens during packing/shipping).

I did download the "Chainmail monsters to DnD 3e" stats off of WoTC's site and found several of them quite useful for regular D&D (love that Abyssal Maw!).

 

[Speaks With Stone]

I'm still building my orc/goblin army for Warhammer, so I haven't looked into chainmail too much. I have picked up some of the minis through eBay and they look real good.

I hope someone has played and can comment and maybe compare/contrast with Warhammer.

 

[DMaple]

Pretty sure its yet to come on sale over here at least I've yet to see it anywhere.

UK that is.

 

[BButler]

I bought the starter set a few months ago, and I've really enjoyed the game. I'm not a tournament or league player, so I'm not sure how big the game is in my area. I play with my gaming group (when we're not roleplaying.

I managed to get my roleplaying friends hooked by loaning them my rulebook, then playing using the minis in the starter set. It only took me one game to get them ready to buy their own minis and start playing. I think that's an advantage of the Chainmail game: if you have the starter set, you and a friend can play without having to purchase anything else. Its easier to get non-players to try the game if there's no cash outlay required on their part to start out. The addiction comes later . . .

As far as the gameplay goes, I like it. The rules are relatively simple and easy to understand. Get a copy of the errata and FAQ from the website, though. There are some adjustments to the standard D&D combat system, but its close enough that, if you play 3e, you'll pretty much know what's going on.

Now, I'm not a Warhammer gamer or anything, so I don't know the joy of painting and setting up huge armies of minis and playing epic battles, but I like the fact that Chainmail is a "skirmish" game. Games seem to move along pretty quickly; you might end up playing several games in an evening rather than a single extended game.

All in all, I'm giving the game a thumbs up.

 

[Furn_Darkside]

Salutations,

I bought the starter and played it a bit, and it was fun.

However, the only way to get the rules is to buy the starter which has armies most of my group is not interested in-

WOTC said they might place the rules online- so our group has put it on hold until then. *shrug*

The miniatures are rather nice, but some are too much of a hassle to put together to be worth it. (Gnoll zombie comes to mind.)

FD

 

[UniversalMonster]

Chainmail rules

Chainmail miniatures are really about the same price as Reaper miniatures (probably slightly more expensive, but not 'double the price'. I spent around $200 on Reaper miniatures at Gen Con last year so I guess I bought the right to compare.

Anyhow, the Chainmail guys I have are without a doubt the best looking figures I have, barring my Rackham Confrontation figures.

Chainmail: I think it's usually 2.99-3.99 for a single figure, 5.99 for a package of two (like I just got a Glaiver and a Marine and the box was 5.99). Some of the larger, more dynamic figures are slightly more expensive. I recently got a Bugbear trooper that is without a doubt my favorite figure that was $5.99. He's leaning forward, charging with this crazy mace looking thing.

With the starter kit you get 'not quite 50 points each' of the Thalos and Naresh core figures. Enough to skirmish with, definitely. I bought a single Drazen's Horde combo box (Ogre trooper, hobgoblin fighter, and a goblin scout) and a $3.99 box of two more goblin scouts and spent around $20 when the game first came out on special. Since then I've added the Orc Druid ($3.99) and 2 more goblin troopers (I think that was $5.99) and the aforementioned Bugbear trooper. Thats enough for several combinations of 50 and 70 point warbands which you need for league play.

I JUST NOW got around to painting the Thalos figures that come with the starter box and I loved them so much (especially the Paladin) that I went ahead and put together a 50 point Thalos band. I snagged the marine/glaiver box for $5.99. Thats enough for a 51 point warband. I'm waiting for the warriors of Thalos to come out because they are super-cool looking. If I sub in a human warrior instead of a Marine I'll have an even 50- legal for the league.

I could have bought just one more de-lovely Thalos Paladin for $2.99 and probably had an even stronger warband (with 10 command points to throw around!) and had an even 50, but I've gotten really attached to my one Thalos Paladin. She's like.. special.

As far as gameplay- Chainmail is less expensive, faster and more fun than Warhammer and Mage Knight. It's more of a skilled game- you have to use your command points wisely, you can't just ram your armies at each other. (Well, you can...but you won't win that way). The rules are basic d20, so if you understand a concept like flanking and attacks of opportunity, tahts a major part of the strategy.

Example: The glaivers have reach with their glaives, so you can put two or more together and make sort of an advancing wall of pikes. The enemy has to spend command points to keep his guys from charging you, so if you have him on command points he'll eventually lose a guy to your wall of pikes.

Another time honored technique is the feint. If you keep making the enemy blow his command points, you can end by sending out some 'cannon fodder' troops like my 3 point goblin troopers. The enemy is forced to charge when he can't command any more for the turn, which usually draws him into my goblin scout ambush and the rampaging Ogre trooper hiding behind a wall.

It's gameplay like that, + the figures are awesome that make chainmail so fun.

I dunno. I like it.

 

[Rune]

You should also check out Kesh's site, Chain of Command, if it's still up. The EN World site should link to it.

PS. I've only played Chainmail casually (with the afore-mentioned Kesh, as a matter of fact), but I enjoyed it a geat deal. Command points do make the game a lot more fun than Warhammer.

 

[Kobold Curry Chef]

Chainmail is fun and addictive. I really didn't think I'd like it, but the designers did a great job of taking the D&D combat rules and turning them into a fun wargame.

The packaging does the figures no justice. In every case, I have found the miniatures inside the boxes looked far better than the photographs on the packages. So I wouldn't worry much about that.

Price? Very reasonable. You can field a Chainmail warband for a tiny fraction of the cost of any Warhammer army. And it's not difficult to adapt your current collection of D&D and other fantasy miniatures to use in the game (though not in the tournaments). Finally, Wizards is releasing only about one new model per faction per month--it will be very easy to keep up with your favorite faction.

My biggest gripe with Chainmail is that some of the miniatures seem to be designed specifically to come in pieces, where perhaps they don't need to be. The figures holding two-handed weapons, where you must glue both hands to both wrists simultaneously, are a particular problem.

Chainmail deserves your consideration if you enjoy D&D or miniatures wargaming.

 

[Scarab]

I bought a Drazen's Horde army box today - Orc Druid, Orc Berzerker, Ogre Trooper, War Ape, Goblin Scout, Hobgoblin Fighter. Really awesome minis. And I already bought the starter set with Thalos and Naresh.

With this I have enough to play with myself (Not like that, you perverts!) and with friends who don't have any minis of their own.

Well, so far I've only used the minis in our D&D campaign, but I'll give Chainmail a shot soon.