Please Help Me and my Son

[Fyndal]

First Off apologies as this may be a rambling first post as i feel i must give you some background while asking this question.

Here goes - I\'m 37 and my son is 11, we are currently looking to find a decent tabletop battle game. ( i Used to play and paint years ago, and tbh im looking to find something so we can spend some time together as his mum works away during the week)

The game style im after is probably a fantasy game though i am willing to play a sci fi .

I know Warhammer is the biggie but i really dont want to have to buy a huge army ( make that 2) just to start a game we may not enjoy - so what im looking for is a game you can play with 1 squad/team each but can expand if we like it .

The second criteria is that the game is supported well - i nearly got and still like the look of celtos - the figures are great looking and inexpensive but the thing that put me off was that it has been bought from another company ( i-kore) and it looks as if thats it - ie no new figures have been comissioned for it and no new rule books made for the races since it was bought ( is this right ?)

I also liked the look of warzone and chronopia but they look dead in the water too .

PLease help us !!!

The reason i like celtos is it hase skeletons/barbarians elves etc - quite a bit of variety with excellent looking models at very reasonable prices ie 3 basic troops for£4 and character models at well under a fiver !!!

Reasons i dont like it are that it appears to have been bought and left on a shelf with little or no support to new figures/books.

Thanks in anticipation of your help

 

[Roger Bunting]

Well, first of all, welcome to the forums!

I don\'t know much about different games so I will just mention that there are rules for warhammer that use just 500 pts worth for each army. Of course, that could still mean more figures than you want to buy initially. Also from GW there is Mordheim but you\'d have to buy the figures online as the GW stores or stockists won\'t have them.

Here\'s a link to Arcane Miniatures which carry some fantasy games.

http://www.arcaneminiatures.co.uk/fantasy-ranges.asp

 

[Highbulp Billy]

I have very limited experience of gaming these days but have to say that GW\'s Lord of the Rings could be an option here. You can start playing with very few models, there\'s plenty of relatively low priced plastic troops as well as centrepieces to collect and the rules allow for a wide variety of scenarios with plenty of supplements and the benefit of GW staff to help introduce you and your son to the game. Plus there\'s the benefit of it being tied in with the films and books so lots of interesting scenes to re-enact etc.

But as I say, I\'m far from qualified to advise having no first hand of the other games you mention. Good luck though

 

[Sand Rat]

Have you looked at Warlord from Reaper?

For 70 USD you get two factions (600 pts) and the rules

http://www.reapermini.com/store/customer/product.php?productid=2406&cat=0&page=1

Faction starter kits run in the 40 USD range

 

[freakinacage]

i dont game myself but i have heard a lot of good things about warmachine by prvateer press

 

[Hands of blue]

I would recommend Mordheim, it´s like Warhammer fantasy with warbands of 5-20 models. The bad thing is that Gw does not support it very much any more but the current rules are quite good and you can use Warhammer miniatures.

And all the rules can be downloaded free from Gw website. It however requires very much ruined city terrain so it would be a good thing if you like building terrain.

 

[Naukhel]

I\'d second Warmachine from Privateer Press.
Or Hordes. They\'re sister games and are compatible, though with slightly different
mechanics.
To over-simplify: Warmachine is about resource management and Hordes is
about risk management.
Two starter boxes are all you need for a basic game to learn how it all works.
Those go for about $50 each, here in Canada, and include \'quick start rules\'
which are all you need to run games with the battle boxes.
Then you can build up armies as you like.
A battle box has an average of about 280-310 points in it, and the most common
games played in gaming shops are at the 500 point level. Usually only one infantry unit and a solo model or two to get there.

 

[Fyndal]

thanks for the suggestions - i will check them out post haste

i\'ll also let you know which way we go asap

 

[Stro]

You could try D&D minis they come pre painted (plastic) fairly cheap ... by the booster or by the case (ebay is another option for these) you can use the sealed tourny rules so you wont have to worry about factions or anything but you would want to buy a starter set so you would have a rules book and some maps plus the mnis ....

*EDIT*
here is a couple links:

info on the game:
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/mi/20040520b

game demo:
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/mini_demo/DNDMinis.asp

 

[Godlikebuthumble]

Like the guys above said, Mordheim is a fun game. Lack of support should be no problem, as the current rules are fine enough. Lots of terrain needed, though.

Also worth mentioning (although I\'m a bit biased on this one): Confrontation. Although the firm (Rackham) is recently bankrupt, the main rules are quite solid, and the minis themselves are gorgeous and each comes with its own card of stats and rules. Warbands can be as small as 5 and open upwards. Oh, and since Rackham\'s gone down, lots of stores (e.g. simpleminiaturegames.com) got crazy discounts. May be worth a look.

 

[darkartminiatures]

Battlefleet gothic is a sweet game IMHO. You don\'t need tons of minis and they are really easy to paint for the tabletop.
A GW product by the way...oh and welcome to the forums

 

[demonherald]

I\'ll give a hell yeah for mordheim..very flexible rules system that allows you to personalise it to your own story and tastes.. also just because it\'s by GW doesn\'t mean you have to stick to GW models.. The Models you like can be used to represent the forces in the game without a problem..

 

[Swordwind]

The Lord of the Rings can be applied to any period or setting you like with a few tweaks. Legends of the Old West/High Seas are modified LotR rules and theres unofficial stats for everything from Ancient Rome to Vietnam to Doctor Who.

 

[Modderrhu]

I thought of Confrontation at first, the minis are super-sexy. Support for Confrontation is likely to diminish now that it\'s been abandonded.

So, another vote for Mordheim. It\'s recent enough to be fresh in everyone\'s minds, and still has some support from GW, even though it\'s not mainstream for GW. The big bonus is that the gang/squad individuals develop from game to game, gaining more character and personality.

 

[hubbabubba]

Hi.
Confrontation has been repackaged as a boxed option with pre painted plastics, set for Christmas release if they get it together
See THE RACKHAM SITE
Could be could for you to get the box so you can start playing staright off, and work on painting for the character peices that are still available. However, Rackhams future is far from clear at the moment so that may put you off.
Infinity is cool, although its SCi fi. The rule system is great, and you don\'t need alot of minis to have a good game. What you do need is alot of terrain, but you can start off just using boxes to represent buildings I guess. There is a full rule book, and a slowly expanding range of fantastic minis.
You can down load the free English version of the rules HERE and also check out the minis.

 

[philologus]

Another option is BattleLore. Everything you need comes in a box, you can expand if you like it, and while the minis aren\'t painted you can paint them if you choose to.

LINK

 

[Sand Rat]

Don\'t know how you are set for minis, but you might also see if Iron Winds still has the free rules up on their site - bout 4 pages long if I remember correctly - and as generic as they come.

 

[Swordwind]

www.freewargamerules.co.uk has litterally thousands upon thousands of free rules. Theres bound to be a few good ones in there ( I quite liked a SWAT versus Zombies game they had up but I cant remember what they called it)

 

[Roger Bunting]

Would it be Zombie Sunrise?

EDIT: Actually I think that\'s the name of a spcific game, I think the name is All Things Zombie, or is that the creators of the game. It\'s late, I can\'t think.

EDIT2: The game I\'m thinking of is by THW.

 

[erule]

Well, I do not know if these games are available in the USA, because I live in France, but ... let\'s try... I have two games for you:
-HellDorado (by Asmodée), which is played with barely 15 minis by army. Minis are great, and the factions are superb.
-Anima tactics (Ubik), with 5 minis by \"army\". the BG is still under way, but there is a anime look, which is quite appealing (contrary to HellDorado, which is far more realistic, in a XVIth century way, of course).

You could also try warmachine, which must be strongly supported in the USA, since you do not have to play with a huge army. Btw, if you want to know more on Anima tactics or HellDorado, let me know...