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Wargames for casual newcomers?

Korgoth

First Post
Thanks everyone for the responses.

We're more interested in a board game kind of deal, I think. I mainly don't want us to have to buy a lot of crap, I'd rather just buy a box and maybe some expansions and then be able to roll with it. I think my hierarchy of needs in wargames would probably be simple fun first, followed by simulationism.

I'm thinking about Combat Commander Pacific, because it looks pretty cool. And, if not that maybe Commands and Colors: Ancients. Both of those sound better than my original idea of memoir '44. Really, I'm not interested that much with miniature armymen, tanks an so forth; I don't want to feel like I'm playing with toys.

I'm also kind of looking at the Federation Commander games because... well, because I'm a huge nerd. Does anyone know if they're that great? I'm more interested in having an excellent and fun game than in setting and theme.

Commands and Colors: Ancients is excellent if you want a card driven game like Memoir '44 but want more depth and tactical complexity. It's my favorite of the Borg card driven wargames. Also, war elephants.

Federation Commander is superb. It's SFB lite, which is a good thing. It plays fast, has a good deal of tactical depth, and doesn't require you to memorize a bunch of fiddly rules. I suggest starting with "Klingon Border". It gives you a nice mix of ships, including some classic ones, and in general serves as an excellent introduction to the worlds of FedCom / SFU. And the Klingons are real Klingons: dour Mongolian Communist Klingons. Those are the best kind.
 

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jdrakeh

Front Range Warlock
So while it might not be as expensive as WH40K, it certainly isn't a cheap game.

Well, it's all relative. I'm building a 2000 pt Ultramarine army for 40k, which looks like it's going to cost me just about $500 after it is completed (this includes the cost for the rulebook, dice, etc — but not for the troop carrier that I ordered to store the minis).
 


bento

Explorer
C&C:A, Battlelore, and Memoir '44 use the same basic system, so depending on your tastes, these are a great place to start. You said you don't want to go down the slippery slope of expansions, and all three of these games have them. The basic box can be enough, but if you're like me and have an itch to play a slightly different campaign, you'll be buying additional boxes.

I'd recommend checking out GMTGames.com, the manufacturer of C&C:A which publishes board wargames on just about every period and campaign. Some are rather complex, while others are less so.
 

Ahzad

Explorer
There's been some good suggestions already.

I can also recommend Federation Commander as an easy to learn space combat game. I also like the Babylon 5 A Call to Arms box set, no minis just a bunch of cardboard counters.

For WWII I like Tide of Iron and it fits as your request for everything in a box that only one person needs to buy and you can play it with 2-4 players for I think it cost me $80. There's is an expansion for it called Days of the Fox dealing w/ Rommel and North Africa.

I've heard nothing but good things about Memoir as well but have resisted the urge to pick it up so far.
 

Imperialus

Explorer
It really depends on what you mean by complexity...

My personal favorite for an 'intro' wargame is L2 Design Group's The Russian Campaign. It's a classic, operational level wargame originally published by Avalon Hill back in the 60's or 70's but L2's version is still in print.

No step loss, supply and re-enforcement rules are very simple, not very many special units, Combat is a breeze as long as you can calculate odds, (CF 18 vs. CF 9 = 2:1) and it does a good job of simulating the campaign without getting bogged down in a lot of detail.

As an old game it also uses a lot of the more traditional mechanics that make their way into more modern games.

However, a couple nits to pick.

The OB (Order of Battle) for both sides may as well be based on fiction.
The Guards units make an appearance, but there is no mention of the assault armies, no NKVD divisions ect.
The Supply rules are perhaps too simple
There are a lot of double counters... You can use NATO symbols, or pretty pictures of tanks, and of course if you're playing as the Axis there is the option of having censored counters that do away with those nasty SS symbols :erm:... Seems a little redundant IMO.

Also keep in mind that although the rules are simple, it is still a hardcore wargame, expect to spend 40+ hours playing. The last playthrough I did we played for about 4 hours 3 Sunday's a month and it still took us almost 8 months to finish. A lot of this was due to the fact that we had to go through the setup/breakdown process every week which took about an hour total, but each turn still took 45 minutes to an hour and a half each.

However, all that aside The Russian Campaign has stood the test of time remarkably well, and if you can look past the ahistorical stuff it's a good introduction to more complex games.

Bento's suggestion is good too, GMT games produces some very consistently good games incorporating some very innovative mechanics for wargames. They're probably my favorite publisher overall though their complexity tends to range from the medium to high end. I'm very intrigued by Blood and Sand as a possibility for a more casual 'pickup' wargame. It looks like it might your needs fairly well too, though keep in mind it isn't out yet so I can't exactly give it a real endorsement.

*edit* Another note on GMT games. If you want to give a tactical scale (commanding a single battle) a try, you can't possibly go wrong with their Musket and Pike series based on the 17th ca. Kicks off with This Accursed Civil War and there are 3 others in the series so far. Not a beginners wargame though (though the tactical ones rarely are) so might want to hold off on it for a while.
 
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FriarRosing

First Post
Thanks everyone for the responses. I decided to get Memoir '44, and just picked it up yesterday from a local game shop. They ha Tide of Iron, but I didn't know anything about it, and in hindsight wish a little bit that I had gotten that instead. But whatever is cool.

The rules seem pretty cool, and I like the little miniatures. I'm pretty pumped to play. Also while we were there my friend got Arkham Horror, so I think this weekend will be bad ass.
 

FriarRosing

First Post
Well, last night we played a couple games of M44 and had a blast. If we continue to like it as much as we do, I may consider buying some of the expansions. Reading about the Campaign Book has me a little interested. I like the idea of a ton of new scenarios that actually influence each other. I'd have to get 2, and possible even 3 of the expansions to enjoy the entirety of that book, though, so I don't know about.
 


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