Flames of War?

[Jack7]

Anyone play Flames of War? The World War II era miniatures Wargame?

If so, then what do you think of it?

I ran into a couple of guys playing it (one British, one American) at my local comic book/gaming store. They were playing it, and Blitzkrieg. I observed, talked to them awhile, shook hands, and they invited me to return and play them.

I used to play Blitzkrieg all of the time but really haven't played a new wargame, not a miniatures one anyway, in a long while. So I'm interested in thoughts and experiences you guys might have had regarding Flames of War and the new Blitzkrieg. Any good? You like them?

I'd like to return to regular wargaming once my weekend schedule clears and would like some opinions. Also my oldest daughter wants to take up wargaming (she's about 16) and does it seem like a good game to you to get her started in it? (Her favorite era of war-history is WWII).

Also do any of you ever mix wargames with Role-Play? (Such as role playing specific Commanders or Officers, or role playing small, special forces teams or espionage agents?)

I started doign that when I moved from playing wargames exclusively to RPGs.



Finally, I wasn't sure which forum to post this in. Didn't see a listing for discussing wargames. So if you mods need to move this post then please move it to the appropriate forum.

 

[Jack7]

Forgot to mention, will Flames of War be coming out with a new or updated rulebook soon?

If so I'm gonna wait to buy the new rulebook.

 

[Stormonu]

I've only played once, but it was enough to inspire me to get the books (I just don't have anyone to play it with around me ). It used a ruleset that seemed very similar to GW's rules - the backbone mechanics reminded me in many ways of 40K, as if it were set in somewhat modern times, instead of the far future.

 

[Matt James]

I'm fairly big into FoW and WHFB. It's a fun game but be warned it can come with a big investment in both cash and time.

 

[mhensley]

I played it a couple of times at gencon last year and had a great time. Now if I just wasn't so lazy, I might actually paint the minis I bought for it.

 

[mhensley]

Oh, and if you want to mix roleplaying with wargames, the game to play is Squad Leader. It had some great campaign rules that amounted to a rpg with really simple character creation. You start with a 7-0 corporal and try to level him up to a 10-3 major.

 

[Pramas]

Forgot to mention, will Flames of War be coming out with a new or updated rulebook soon?

Yes, the third edition is about to come out. This month you can bring your 2nd edition hardback rulebook to a participating retailer and get a softback small format version of the new rulebook for free. Then next month the full on 3rd edition set comes out. It's three books (rule book, army list book, and hobby book). The good news about third edition is that the existing army lists still work with it, so it's more of an update than a total reset.

 

[possum]

I got into the game by watching it being played at the FLGS while waiting for my D&D or Pathfinder game to start. I also likely had one of the best intros to the game as well on Jan. 7th when there was a huge (and I mean huge) Market Garden-inspired game at the FLGS that went from about 1-7.

It isn't as expensive as some other wargames, but it's still a little up there in prices. Individual tanks cost about $12.50 at my FLGS and the Starter Set (that comes with 3 Sherman tanks and 2 German StuG assault guns) is certainly worth the money.

That said, the 3rd edition of the game is coming up, like others said.

 

[WizarDru]

I've only played a few times, but I do posses a decent sized German army and am currently painting an American army. Some thoughts:

It is NOT CHEAP. Even if you have the paints and other equipment, the miniatures can start to hit serious money. Battles are waged on the company level, but purchased at the Platoon level. You can purchase an infantry company for around $50...but the cost of an armored platoon can also be in that range (or more). What isn't clear at first is that you need specific platoons for your army in specific lists....this may be intuitive to long-time wargamers, but was not to me when I started.

It plays fast, IMHO. Once you get some players who know the basics, you'll spend more time thinking on strategy than worrying about details on the rules. It is focused more heavily on tanks than infantry, generally and designed to be pretty accessible. While there are multiple game types, the ones I've played have always been either capturing objectives or escaping a battlefield.

I haven't heard of anyone really doing any sort of RP-ing within the system per se...while there ARE individual 'hero' units you can get (usually specialized command/Ace units like Hauptsturmfuhrer Wittman aka The Black Baron, for example), they are excpetions and still fairly expendable. Individual units take a pounding in FoW, which I think would present a problem for an RP experience.

 

[Gerrin]

I have been playing FoW for several years now and enjoy the game immensely. What I think is that the game has a lot of good tactical strategies to use.

As for the models don't let that scare you away. I started my first army as armor using Command Decision miniatures (if you want the website you can get them at pm me) and for 12 tanks it only cost me around $60. This was enough to field a 1500 point German army. I bought most of my original stuff as Command Decision because it is a fraction of the cost. Also Battlefront is ok with players using minis outside of their line.