# Forum > Gaming > Gaming (Other) >  The Non-GW Miniature Wargaming Thread

## Easy e

Greetings All, 

I have been a miniature wargamer since Reagan was President.  Since RPGs are an off-shoot of wargaming, I figured this board may have a few Wargamers on it as well.  We have a thread for the main GW games like AoS and Warhammer 40K, so this thread is to talk about the other miniature wargames out there!  

This thread is time period and genre agnostic.  It doesn't matter if you are into Nappies, WWII, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, or Ancients; this thread is the place to talk about it.  This thread is also a great place to share pictures too!  

So, to get this thread started here are some of the games I played in 2021: 

- Blood Bowl (GW)
- Blucher (Sam Mustafa)
- Battletech (Catalyst Games)
- Men of Bronze (Osprey)
- Wars of the Republic (Osprey) 


Wars of the Republic


Blood Bowl


Battletech   

What do you play most regularly (outside of 40K and AoS)?  Pictures are always welcome!

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## Thane of Fife

I can say in 2021 I played some

-Perfidious Albion (A&A)
-Song of Blades & Heroes (Ganesha)
-Fear and Faith (Ganesha)
-Broadsword Adventures (Rattrap)
-Heroclix (Wizkids)
-And One for All! (Eureka)

There might have been some other stuff I don't remember, but most of the wargames I play are of the board variety, rather than miniatures games.




> - Blucher (Sam Mustafa)


Blucher is a game I've looked into before but never actually acquired. How is it?

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## Requizen

> Blood Bowl


Those are some great looking Lizards! I've been playing Nobility and Elven Union, though I want to get my Halflings painted as well. In particular, I've really been enjoying Dungeon Bowl and 7s a bit more than full size Blood Bowl, but even the base game is super fun in this edition imo.

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## Easy e

> Blucher is a game I've looked into before but never actually acquired. How is it?


You can find out some of my thoughts about Blucher and a quick review here: 
http://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.c...ng-danube.html

As for your list, I have  not played many of those.  I did read the rules for:

And One For All
Song of Blades and Heroes

But have not got them on the table yet.  I am not a huge fan of Ganesha Games style personally, but that is my own hang-ups!  They are solid rules.

@Requizen- Thanks for the compliment.  I think someday I need to jazz up the bases, but I do not like basing.

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## Easy e

What genre are your Non-GW wargames in?  Do you find yourself focusing on one genre, or spreading out?  

I mostly play: 
Ancients
Sci-Fi
and Air/Naval wargames

I have thought seriously about Napoleonic's, but have not pulled the trigger yet. 

How about you?

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## Bavarian itP

How is BattleTech doing these days?

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## Easy e

> How is BattleTech doing these days?


Still the same basic game, BUT they have released new plastic Mechs that are modern and WAY better than anything they have produced before.  The new Game of Armored Combat boxed set and the Alpha Strike stuff are all pretty popular.  Catalyst Games has been handling the IP pretty.  

If you use to play, I think you would enjoy checking it out.

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## Otomodachi

Battletech seems awesome; also I'm pretty intrigued by Infinity and Malifaux (and the other side, I like the *setting*). If any of you have Tabletop Simulator and are up for being patient with a noob, my discord is Erisian#8252. I'll watch videos and read to learn the rules, I promise.

I am mostly dedicated to hardcore lurking in these forums cuz I think I am a vaguely bad fit and genuinely don't want to be disruptive, but between living in a small island and the pandemic I am really looking for online hobbies. My social skills shine a lot better one on one or in smaller groups. 

Ancient games are interesting to me, too, as well as space armada stuff. I like pushing little things around and making pew pew noises!

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## Requizen

> Battletech seems awesome; also I'm pretty intrigued by Infinity and Malifaux (and the other side, I like the *setting*). If any of you have Tabletop Simulator and are up for being patient with a noob, my discord is Erisian#8252. I'll watch videos and read to learn the rules, I promise.
> 
> I am mostly dedicated to hardcore lurking in these forums cuz I think I am a vaguely bad fit and genuinely don't want to be disruptive, but between living in a small island and the pandemic I am really looking for online hobbies. My social skills shine a lot better one on one or in smaller groups. 
> 
> Ancient games are interesting to me, too, as well as space armada stuff. I like pushing little things around and making pew pew noises!


Malifaux is one that seems really fun, but there's almost no one around here who plays, or even played pre-pandemic. But yeah the setting is great - I love horror and westerns, so it's basically perfect, and the idea of using cards instead of dice is super interesting.

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## Bavarian itP

> If you use to play, I think you would enjoy checking it out.


Honestly, I've never played Battletech. I'm just interested in the fluff. In what year are they now?

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## Easy e

> Honestly, I've never played Battletech. I'm just interested in the fluff. In what year are they now?


No idea.  Never really got into it.  I have the 25th Anniversary Boxed Set, but never really went beyond that. 

Got any War Machine or Infinity players lurking out there?  How about X-wing?

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## Dire_Flumph

> Got any War Machine or Infinity players lurking out there?  How about X-wing?


Still play X-Wing and Armada remains one of my favorite games ever.  Though between a move and the pandemic my playtime has sharply decreased.

Both were handed over from FFG to Atomic Mass Games who seem to be content to let them die.  X-Wing is still getting some releases, but not many (got my pre-order in for the Razor Crest though).

Armada might as well be cancelled even if they won't say so.  At least from a Rebellion vs Empire perspective though, that game is pretty much complete with plenty of options for fleet building.  Galactic Republic vs Separatists still feels very lacking in comparison with a scant 2 waves.

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## Squark

Avid fan of Armada and X-wing, here.

According to AMG, the issue with Armada is that most of the back-catalogue was out of print, which made it very difficult/impossible for new players to get into the game. So they want to focus on getting old product back in stock. Dunno how that will work out for Armada long term, but we'll see.

As for X-wing, AMG is definitely not letting the game die, although a certain subset of the community thinks they're killing it*. AMG's just put most of their efforts at the moment into rules revision rather than designing new ships. They just released a _substantial_ rules overhaul yesterday that amounts to a X-wing 2.5;

-Player Order is now determined randomly from round to round- after dials are set
-"Bumping" was significantly overhauled
-Obstacles were changed to be more impactful but less random
-Scenario Play is now the default competitive mode (although one of the four scenarios is mostly a dogfight with a token objective to discourage camping in the corner or along the sides)
-Squad Building was completely revamped. The new system, while a little more complicated, does a lot to address a number of squad building "traps" that existed.

AMG definitely seems to be pushing the competitive side of the game, hard. There's a lot of discussion on the dedicated X-wing communities about whether or not this is beneficial for the "average" player. Personally, I feel they've increased the initial learning curve slightly, but patched out a lot of design flaws that had been discovered over the years that could be a big problem once you were aware of them.


*I'm not one of them, for the record.

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## Dire_Flumph

X-Wing still has more life in it, sure, AMG just doesn't seem to have as much interest in it as FFG did.  I haven't played the updated ruleset yet, so I can't comment on it, but I'm hoping to get back into playing more regularly in a bit.  Just got my Mandalore card pack in today and it's got me in the mood for some list building.  

Armada though....I will be thrilled to be proven wrong, but they let go of the entire Armada team, admitted last year they don't really have anything new in the pipeline for at least another year with no indication that they are even working on something.  Not even a tease.  What little they did release for Organized play last year didn't even signal that they understood the game very well.  Armada could make a comeback, and I don't mean to be down on AMG who certainly didn't ask to have Armada dropped in their lap, but I find I'm happier to manage expectations, assume the game is essentially done, and any further releases will just be a pleasant surprise (I was sure beyond happy two years ago when the Clone Wars stuff was finally announced).  At least they got Venators out the door first, that was my last must have from the films that wasn't available.

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## Easy e

> Avid fan of Armada and X-wing, here
> 
> As for X-wing, AMG is definitely not letting the game die, although a certain subset of the community thinks they're killing it*.


Isn't there always.  :) 

As a Pro-Am (Professional Amateur) designer myself, I often wonder exactly how important the "competitive" aspect of a game is to its overall success in the market.  I hear a very vocal minority talking about how a "tight" and "competitive" game is better for the tourney player and the casual; but I am not convinced.  

I also have a feeling that a tighter, more competitive game strangles the life out of games.  As you point out, the barrier of entry gets higher.  Once you do that, you then get a ever shrinking collection of players as the barriers are too high/unwelcoming for new players and a percentage of old players leave because you are always "killing" their game.  This leaves the game with either a diminishing pool of players that can not sustain the game, or no further room left to design in as all niches are met.  

Secondly Competitive players really just want to narrow the channel of ways a game can be played into predictable, controllable, and measurable avenues so those knowns can be countered by known counters.  I am again not sure if this is better for "casuals" as once a game is "solved" it is less likely to gain new players.  Do you see a ton of Checkers leagues starting up?       

I have seen War Machine, Guild Ball, and X-wing all struggle with this issue.  I also foresee it happening to Marvel Crisis Protocol at some point as well.  Short term, competitive and tight systems sell.  Long term, they seem to fizzle and die.  Meanwhile, uncompetitive but easy to learn systems like AoS, 40K, etc. continue to carry-on.     

It is better for a casual player to have a larger pool of players, with design space to grow than to have a shrinking game that is competitive?  I am not sure which is better.  I just think there is room to discuss this point further than we normally see online.



Edit: They are changing the X-wing play order to random?  That seems like an odd choice.  One of the best things about X-wing (1.0) that I recall was the pilot rating setting up moving priority for skilled pilots to move second and shoot first?

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## Requizen

Speaking of Armada being put on the back-back-burner (which isn't even lit), I've been reading and doing a couple test games of Warfleets: FTL by One Page Rules and it's a pretty solid little fleet combat system. Like all their stuff, they keep the rules super lightweight, though it's still got everything you want out of a fleet game - various ship sizes, different weapon types, limited mobility and facings, broadside shooting, ramming, and asteroids. I'm enjoying it enough to throw together some 2d printed fleets (still haven't thrown down for a 3D printer yet) and force some friends to play with me. 

Also, 2D tabletop hobby is more fun that I expected it to be, simple but effective:

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## Dragonus45

> Speaking of Armada being put on the back-back-burner (which isn't even lit), I've been reading and doing a couple test games of Warfleets: FTL by One Page Rules and it's a pretty solid little fleet combat system. Like all their stuff, they keep the rules super lightweight, though it's still got everything you want out of a fleet game - various ship sizes, different weapon types, limited mobility and facings, broadside shooting, ramming, and asteroids. I'm enjoying it enough to throw together some 2d printed fleets (still haven't thrown down for a 3D printer yet) and force some friends to play with me. 
> 
> Also, 2D tabletop hobby is more fun that I expected it to be, simple but effective:



Ohhhh that looks cool. I'll have to check it out.

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## Easy e

Elevating them off the base is surprisingly effective!

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## stack

Mostly skirmish scale things for me.

A Billion Suns (Osprey)
Frostgrave (Osprey)
Stargrave (Osprey)
Core Space (Battle Systems, though this is getting out of 'wargaming' into other categories)
Gaslands (Osprey)
D&D Attack Wing
X-Wing (2nd ed.)

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## Requizen

> Elevating them off the base is surprisingly effective!


Yeah, I saw someone else in the OPR chat do it and I like it quite a bit. Only takes a bit of time and a sharp knife, so for poorhammer it's great. I'm gonna do some other 2D stuff for their Skirmish wargames as well, it's a fun diversion away from painting plastic.

I actually have the STL files for all their current FTL fleets, but no printer. Maybe I'll bite the bullet and just get and Ender 3. Not as good for minis as a resin printer, but I'm also a crappy painter so some layer lines won't really kill the overall vibe and I can use it for all sorts of random stuff around the house.

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## Easy e

3D printing is a hobby onto itself!  You have been warned.  :)

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## PraetorDragoon

Somehow I missed this thread.

Currently I'm (semi-)actively playing the following:

Bushido (GCT studios) - Fantasy-Feudal Japan themed skirmish game. 
Moonstone (Goblin King Games) - Whimsical fantasy skirmish game that uses cards for magic/combat resultion and doesn't use points for troupe creation.
Malifaux (Wyrd Games) - Victorian Wild West Steampunk skirmish game that uses a deck of playing cards to resolve actions.
Wild West Exodus (Warcradle Studios) - Dieselpunk Weird West game. Is between warband and skirmish level, as it can vary from small character based posses to larger unit bases detachments. Somehow manages to work decently together. Uses d10s.
Dragon Rampant (Osprey Blue Book) - Quick and dirty way to get a fantasy army game on the table. 
Carnevale (TTCombat) Alt-history Venitian skirmish game with magic. Uses d10s. Has some of the best vertical and water gameplay I have seen, and the upcoming expansion seems to improve on it. Before you ask, yes, you can grapple and throw enemies from the rooftop into the canals below.

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## Erloas

Gaslands is what I've played the most "recently."  It's good and I think it will be good to get my partner more familiar with wargames but something about it just doesn't really scratch my wargame itch quite right.

I really liked the Dystopian Wars models and the game seemed good before, but I never actually got a game in.  I bought pretty big into the kickstarted but didn't get anything from it after Spartan Games went under.  The way the owner (lead designer? PR person?) of Warcradle approached and interacted with the existing community of Dystopian Wars after Warcradle bought the rights really put me off wanting to support the company, so I really haven't looked at it much since then.

What I'm really missing is Battletech.  I think I might actually be able to get some games in fairly soon, but that is waiting to be seen.  I had a lot of 'Mechs at one point but last I looked through my models there were quite a few I couldn't find, but that was only briefly looking after having moved 4 times in the last 6ish years.

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## Easy e

I have been seeing Battletech replacing War Machine as part of the Big Three at many local stores.  Marvel Crisis Protocol also seems to be on the rise, but I do not expect that to last more than a season.   

It used to be GW, X-wing, and then War Machine.  Now, I am seeing X-wing and War Machine decline and Battletech growing.    

I have also seen Malifaux, Infinity, and Batman rise and fall at the FLGS, with spurts of interest locally and then nothing.  Flames of War used to be popular, but now that seems to be dead, dead, dead.

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## Aliess

I loved old dystopian wars, but even by the end of that some of the ship designs were getting a bit wacky for my liking. The Warcradle move killed it for me.
Mostly playing warmaster ancients (still GW I suppose) at the moment.

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## Requizen

> I have been seeing Battletech replacing War Machine as part of the Big Three at many local stores.  Marvel Crisis Protocol also seems to be on the rise, but I do not expect that to last more than a season.   
> 
> It used to be GW, X-wing, and then War Machine.  Now, I am seeing X-wing and War Machine decline and Battletech growing.    
> 
> I have also seen Malifaux, Infinity, and Batman rise and fall at the FLGS, with spurts of interest locally and then nothing.  Flames of War used to be popular, but now that seems to be dead, dead, dead.


This is really what makes me reluctant to try many non-GW games. As much as I'd love to foster more diversity in the tabletop gaming space and try other stuff, I've seen too many communities grow quickly and disappear to really get invested. MCP seems to have some staying power just based on the Marvel license and ease of entry, but I'm not exactly placing bets on its longevity. 

Not to say Infinity, Malifaux, X-Wing, or historicals are dead, they'll always live in their niche, but the amount of community you have available to play any GW game outstrips them. Even the minor ones like Aeronautica and Titanicus would be considered great successes for a lot of these companies. 

Part of the reason I'm enjoying One Page Rules is the mini-agnostic-ness of it. I'm loathe to buy into, say, A Song of Ice And Fire, despite it seeming really fun, because I don't want to build and paint a game whose community I wouldn't be surprised disappeared in a few years time.

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## Erloas

> Not to say Infinity, Malifaux, X-Wing, or historicals are dead, they'll always live in their niche, but the amount of community you have available to play any GW game outstrips them. Even the minor ones like Aeronautica and Titanicus would be considered great successes for a lot of these companies. 
> 
> Part of the reason I'm enjoying One Page Rules is the mini-agnostic-ness of it. I'm loathe to buy into, say, A Song of Ice And Fire, despite it seeming really fun, because I don't want to build and paint a game whose community I wouldn't be surprised disappeared in a few years time.


One of the reasons I started Dystopian Wars was that I really loved the model designs, so I figured it would be enough of a hobby by itself just building and painting them.  Where I was living at the time 40k was essentially the only choice and I had pretty much came to the conclusion that if 40k was my only option for wargaming then I was simply done wargaming.  (I found the design of 40k pretty lacking on so many levels, then combined with GW's actions and the very high cost it just wasn't worth it.)

That is also why I like Gaslands, the rules are simple enough that you can play it at most points where you could play a board games (at least if you put in a little effort beforehand to make lists if some players aren't into it).  With the models being very cheap and the modeling requirements being essentially optional means there is a big investment to play or for new players to start their own collections.

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## Easy e

> This is really what makes me reluctant to try many non-GW games. As much as I'd love to foster more diversity in the tabletop gaming space and try other stuff, I've seen too many communities grow quickly and disappear to really get invested. MCP seems to have some staying power just based on the Marvel license and ease of entry, but I'm not exactly placing bets on its longevity. 
> 
> Not to say Infinity, Malifaux, X-Wing, or historicals are dead, they'll always live in their niche, but the amount of community you have available to play any GW game outstrips them. Even the minor ones like Aeronautica and Titanicus would be considered great successes for a lot of these companies. 
> 
> Part of the reason I'm enjoying One Page Rules is the mini-agnostic-ness of it. I'm loathe to buy into, say, A Song of Ice And Fire, despite it seeming really fun, because I don't want to build and paint a game whose community I wouldn't be surprised disappeared in a few years time.


I am with you.  I never really buy models anymore unless I can use them in multiple game systems.  In your example, if I bought A Song of Ice and Fire, I could still use those models with a variety of games such as Oathmark, Restless Hordes, Hordes of the Things, One-page rules, WHFB (various editions), an Osprey Bluebook, Frostgrave, D&D, and many, many others.  

The challenge is other people willing to play.  To facilitate this, I make sure I have enough for two sides of any game so even if it "dies" I can play it indefinitely.  However, with such an approach I have to be willing to really commit to the games models.  Even if I will end up using them in something else from time to time.  

I bought into All Quiet on the Martian Front and that game is long dead and buried.  However, I still have used my Martian Tripods in various model and scale agnostic games.  They have fought space marines, orks, gangsters, stormtroopers, and more.  Plus, I still have a Martian and American force for when I want to play All Quiet on the Martian Front too!

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## Requizen

> One of the reasons I started Dystopian Wars was that I really loved the model designs, so I figured it would be enough of a hobby by itself just building and painting them.


The painting side of the hobby is less important to me than the gaming side, so I'm kind of the opposite. Lots of cool models for various systems out there (I really dig Malifaux and Infinity stuff), but personally if I paint something and then rarely or never game with it, it feels "wasted" to me as I don't enjoy that process as much. 



> I am with you.  I never really buy models anymore unless I can use them in multiple game systems.  In your example, if I bought A Song of Ice and Fire, I could still use those models with a variety of games such as Oathmark, Restless Hordes, Hordes of the Things, One-page rules, WHFB (various editions), an Osprey Bluebook, Frostgrave, D&D, and many, many others.  
> 
> The challenge is other people willing to play.  To facilitate this, I make sure I have enough for two sides of any game so even if it "dies" I can play it indefinitely.  However, with such an approach I have to be willing to really commit to the games models.  Even if I will end up using them in something else from time to time.  
> 
> I bought into All Quiet on the Martian Front and that game is long dead and buried.  However, I still have used my Martian Tripods in various model and scale agnostic games.  They have fought space marines, orks, gangsters, stormtroopers, and more.  Plus, I still have a Martian and American force for when I want to play All Quiet on the Martian Front too!


Yeah, getting a box and being able to do a random pickup game is a cool way to do things. I think if I scale back my current collection, supplementing it with various starter boxes that I can pull out whenever might be enjoyable.

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## Easy e

I just finished reading the _A Billion Suns_ rule book.  It is full of interesting ideas...... but it feels like it went too far away from what I wanted to play in space.  I do not think this will be the next Gaslands or 'Grave book.  It almost felt more like a "Dudes on a Board" style game, which is a wargame/board game cross over like a Dungeon Crawler or Memoir '44.   

That said, if you have tried it I would love to hear your take on it.

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## Easy e

I just got my copy of Silver Bayonet in the mail.   

Haven't read it yet, but between this, Chosen Men, Rebels and Patriots, Absolute Emperor, and LaSalle I might eventually paint a Nappie miniature and get it on the table.  

Anyone out there try it?

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## PraetorDragoon

Haven't tried Silver Bayonet yet. What do you think of it?

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## Easy e

> Haven't tried Silver Bayonet yet. What do you think of it?


To early to tell, but it feels a lot like a Joseph A. McCullough book.  There are some deviations from his normal formula, but there is also the bones of his work.  If you like Frostgrave, Stargrave, or Ghost Archipelago than this one is much the same with a few twists.  

More to come if I ever get it on the table.....

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## Cheesegear

*Spoiler: Elven Ranger*
Show

[IMG][/IMG]


Please ignore the dirty mold line. I'm notoriously bad at catching them until well into the job - and yes, it does lose me money.  :Small Mad: 

Luckily this isn't for any one of my players, so I wont ever have to feel guilty about killing them.

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## PraetorDragoon

Mold lines are a pain. Nice work. 




> To early to tell, but it feels a lot like a Joseph A. McCullough book.  There are some deviations from his normal formula, but there is also the bones of his work.  If you like Frostgrave, Stargrave, or Ghost Archipelago than this one is much the same with a few twists.  
> 
> More to come if I ever get it on the table.....


Ah, that is regretful. The 'grave series weren't bad, but not my thing. A bunch of small itches that added up.

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## Easy e

For those interested, here is some details about the new upcoming *Castles in the Sky* book from the Osprey Wargaming Series.  

http://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.c...es-in-sky.html

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## PraetorDragoon

> For those interested, here is some details about the new upcoming *Castles in the Sky* book from the Osprey Wargaming Series.  
> 
> http://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.c...es-in-sky.html


Flying WW1 ship combat game? Just when you think you have seen everything...

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## Mr.Silver

I've been following the 'non-GW' miniatures wargaming world for a fair few years, although unfortunately I haven't been getting many games in over the last year or so (for obvious reasons), aside from some practice games against myself for keeping my hand for if/when I will have to introduce other people to things.

In terms of games, my main miniatures collection consists mostly of Infinity, Bushido, and Malifaux, along with some various other miniatures not from specific game-lines, mainly for use in BYOM (Bring-your-own-minis)/mini-agonstic games. In regards to those, it's mainly: (advanced) Song of Blades and Heroes, Starbreach, Kobolds & Cobblestones, Frostgrave, and Rogue Stars, although I am also in the process of getting to grips with some of One Page Rules' creations.

As to potential future miniature lines (when I'm done with the current painting backlog), I've been leaning towards Moonstone, in no small part due to the aesthetic (plus having something fairly light and silly in terms of how it plays doesn't hurt). Carnavale isn't off the table either, although I don't really think I'm fond of the overall range enough to justify getting two forces for introductory purposes. Could see myself picking-up some of the Rashaar faction, since cultists and sea monsters aren't that hard to find uses for, but it's not high priority.
In terms of things that aren't '28-to-32mm scale skirmishes', I have been looking at Dropfleet Commander a fair bit, although I am holding-off on making a decision there until Firestorm Armada's relaunch comes out of beta (just for something to compare it to).




> Ah, that is regretful. The 'grave series weren't bad, but not my thing. A bunch of small itches that added up.


Yeah, to be honest in terms of rules I do find that 'grave seems a bit over-hyped, possibly being carried a bit by the campaign focus. It's not _bad_, mind, just a bit on the underwhelming side, and doesn't really have much in the way of systems or features that would make it stand-out from the crowd. 
The 2nd edition rulebook could probably have benefited from another editing pass in terms of how its contents are laid-out but, to be fair, that's hardly unique when it comes to indies  :Small Tongue:

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## Destro_Yersul

I'm just getting into Star Wars legion myself, after spending many years just painting GW stuff. Haven't had a chance to play any games of it yet, but I did enjoy the process of painting the minis.

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## PraetorDragoon

> As to potential future miniature lines (when I'm done with the current painting backlog), I've been leaning towards Moonstone, in no small part due to the aesthetic (plus having something fairly light and silly in terms of how it plays doesn't hurt). Carnavale isn't off the table either, although I don't really think I'm fond of the overall range enough to justify getting two forces for introductory purposes. Could see myself picking-up some of the Rashaar faction, since cultists and sea monsters aren't that hard to find uses for, but it's not high priority.
> In terms of things that aren't '28-to-32mm scale skirmishes', I have been looking at Dropfleet Commander a fair bit, although I am holding-off on making a decision there until Firestorm Armada's relaunch comes out of beta (just for something to compare it to).


Moonstone is a pretty neat game. Decent fun to play, and interesting and whimsical minis.

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## Easy e

I know nothing about Moonstone, can someone fill me in?

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## Mr.Silver

> I know nothing about Moonstone, can someone fill me in?


Moonstone is a skirmish game, about humans, goblins, faeries, gnomes, and other fairytale-esque. fighting over possession of valuable moonstones. Has a (self-described) whimsical art direction; aesthetically in a similar area as Labyrinth/Dark Crystal-era Jim Henson Company, or Tony DiTerlizzi's fantasy illustrations, would be the easiest way to put it. They're a decidedly indie sized manufacturer, so I don't know what availability would be like outside of the UK (which is where they're from).

Game-wise it's on the lighter end in terms of rules and not too serious in tone. For example, the moonstones are represented by d4s, which are placed on the field at the start of the game dropping all of them at once onto the centre of field and leaving them where they land (after redropping any that rolled out of the play area). The number rolled on each die representing how much digging models will need to do to extract them.
Uses a custom deck of card for RNG, instead of other dice and doesn't have any sort of 'points cost' system for making forces, it's just a model limit, with each model being unique (there are rules for using a draft system for more competitive matches). Does also support 3- and 4-player games, with reduced model counts per player accordingly, fairly easily.

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## Dragonus45

So Conquest Organized Play is starting back up again in my area. Might be the motivaiton I need to finish putting all the 100 kingdoms units together.

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## Easy e

I have been seeing a lot of buzz for the Ancients game Strength and Honor.  It claims to be for 2mm to 6mm scale minis and focus at a higher level of command than many other ancients games.  This intrigues me, but at 2mm scale I wonder if just using Cards ala Blucher makes more sense? 

Anyone tried it out?

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## PraetorDragoon

2mm scale does sound really small to me.

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## Easy e

Warcradle is pushing out a lot of interesting models lately for Dystopian Wars (D-Wars) but I have not had the stomach to give the actual game a shot.  

Anyone have any insights on the new version?

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## Erloas

I would be interested to hear more about it too.  I bought into the Kickstarter a lot before Spartan went under and I didn't get anything for it. The way one of the leads from War Cradle handled the existing community of Dystopian Wars really put me off them as a company. I didn't really care for the directions they were taking the models in the initial concept designs either. So I just haven't been following the progress at all.

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## Easy e

The prologue to a review of A Billion Suns by Osprey Games



This game took a while for me to get.  I actually ordered it about the day it came out.  However, it got hung-up in Brexit and took a couple months to get to me.  By the time I had gotten it, all the hype had died away.  Even for me!  Chances are, if you are interested in this game, you have all ready read plenty of reviews, watched battle reports for this game, painted your own fleets, and even played it by now.  I am sure you all ready have an opinion on it, may even have a copy in your library of games, or even played a campaign of it.  Oh well, better late than never! 

A Billion Suns is a game of Corporate shenanigans.... IN SPACE!  Unlike most spaceship games, you are not an admiral in control of a fleet.  You are a space Consultant.  You get contracts that equal money.  One of the big challenges in this game is making sure you use the right tools for the job and do not break the bank.  You need to operate in the Black.  This is a big change to the usual genre conventions.  

Mike Hutchinson is also the author of Gaslands.  That was a big hit for the Osprey Wargaming Series.  I am sure they are hoping he has put lightning in a bottle a second time.  After all, Gaslands ended up getting re-booted and expanded into a hard back book.     

Let's go into the interstellar board room and see what the R&D coats think of this.....

You can read the full review on the Blood and Spectacles blog here: 
http://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.c...rey-games.html

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## 9mm

> Honestly, I've never played Battletech. I'm just interested in the fluff. In what year are they now?


The map for the latest source book Empire Alone is 3152.

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## Easy e

Despite saying I was NOT going to get into Nappies this year, I ended up picking up this book in order to review it.  Plus, once I do start goofing around with Nappies I will have yet another set of rules to use them with!  Win, win.    

For those not familiar, this is a set of "Gothic Horror" rules set in the Napoleonic era, where bands of monster hunters go out and fight with each other and the supernatural.  There are ghosts, hobgoblins, vampires, werewolves, and other things that go bump in the night.  Your investigators are soldiers and civilians from all walks of life, and could include all manner of adventurers; not just guys in big hats.    

They are written by Joseph McCullough who is pretty well known for writing Frostgrave, Ghost Archipelago, Rangers of Shadowdeep, and Stargrave.  That means this is a book from Osprey Games and it all ready has some built in popularity.  However, being by the author it is you probably also have some built in assumptions about how the game is played.      
Now, let's head into the dark woods of the unknown and see what is on the inside of this book.  

The full review in on the Blood and Spectacles Blog here:

http://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.c...rey-games.html

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## PraetorDragoon

I really love that cover.

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## Erloas

I've been diving back into Battletech recently.  

I'm going to switch to a 2" hex map, I've already got the mat, but need to get terrain made.  I've got some trees and such, but I need to print or make some bases for the trees.  I'm looking at doing 3d printing for buildings, objectives, and that sort of thing.  But 3d printing is a hobby entirely of its own.  I'm learning Blender to make some of it, but still in that process and haven't even picked up a printer yet.

The only unfortunate part is that somewhere in years past a lot of my 'Mechs seem to have disappeared.  It was probably 10-14 years ago, and a lot of moves.  I could only find a few of my already build 'Mechs.  I have no idea where they may have went either, since most of my other models from that time are still around.  The old plastic starter box mechs are no big loss, but I'm not even sure if I still have the classics like the Timberwolf and Warhammer.

I did however find about 20 packs of various models I bought at the time but never got assembled.  Some protomechs, some vehicles, battle armor, and more 'Mechs.

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## Easy e

Battletech is booming right now.  

In the US, I often find fellow wargamers with experience of Battletech before having experience with Warhammer!

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## Easy e

I have heard reports and seen some evidence that *The Silver Bayonet* has some splat books on the horizon.  One for the War of 1812/North America, and one for the Carpathian Mountains.

I have also seen some evidence that Osprey is making a *Dracula's America* Role-playing game, so this is one of the rare times where a successful wargame will convert to an RPG.

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## Easy e

Lion Rampant V2 is out, and it is to be followed by Xenos Rampant in November as the big Christmas release for Osprey. 

Anyone playing Lion Rampant v2, and anyone planning on trying out Xenos Rampant?

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## Dragonus45

Never heard of either of them, are they any good? I'm down the rabbit hole going into Star Wars legion myself right now.

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## Mr.Silver

> Lion Rampant V2 is out, and it is to be followed by Xenos Rampant in November as the big Christmas release for Osprey. 
> 
> Anyone playing Lion Rampant v2, and anyone planning on trying out Xenos Rampant?


I am curious about Xenos Rampant, but then I've been 'planning to get around to' Dragon Rampant for about 8 months and counting so it could end-up being a while before I actually give it a look  :Small Tongue:

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## Easy e

*Lion Rampant* was originally a Osprey Blue Book, so the fact that it is getting an expansion and a hard cover release means that it was popular at least.  It is also the basis for a number of other Osprey Blue Book systems, including Xenos Rampant. 

You can read a review I wrote a long time ago about Lion Rampant here:
http://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.c...y-wargame.html

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## Easy e

You can hear the review here: 
https://manbattlestations.libsyn.com...the-sky-review

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## Blackhawk748

Anyone here play Grimdark Future Firefight? Cuz I've played a few games with my cousin, which we are both enjoying, and while I know his god awful luck on the dice has been a major factor, I also feel like Infected Colonies are just really strong.

Anyone know if Im reading that right?

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## Easy e

There is some big news in the wargaming world: 

1. Atomic Mass Games will be releasing a new Star Wars themed game that is closer in look and feel to Marvel Crisis Protocol.  This game will be called Star Wars: Shatterpoint.  In an interesting point, the new game is a larger scale than the existing Star Wars: Legion and be closer to 54mm than 32mm.  (Yet a third scale of Star Wars as it is different from Imperial Assault too).  The focus is on a hero, sidekick, and a couple of grunts probably all with bespoken special rules.  

2. Xenos Rampant from Osprey will be coming out.  It is the long awaited "Rampant" game from Daniel Mersey that will bring the Dragon/Lion Rampant engine into the Future.  It will face stiff competition from Osprey's own Stargrave and One Page Rules stable.  

3. For historical players, Warlord came out with a Black Ops style WWII game called 0200.  This allows you to do commando style raids behind enemy lines and looks more Spy Thriller than wargame.  

4. Ash Barker's Steel Rift has a new two-player starter for their Mech game.  He is partnered with Death Ray Designs for the release of this game.  

5. Battletech Alpha Strike is also planning a two-player boxed set soon.

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## PraetorDragoon

Xenos Rampant seems pretty nifty. (Kinda shocked its this close already. Where went the time?  :Small Eek:  )

I do like the large amount of toolbox options in there.

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## Easy e

Osprey's latest is out, a game called Pulp!  

However, it is not getting good reviews.  Anyone here try it out?

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## J-H

> 5. Battletech Alpha Strike is also planning a two-player boxed set soon.


Any idea what the play time will be for this?  I really like the BT setting and computer games, but have bounced hard off of "4 hours to resolve a fight at the table."

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## Easy e

> Any idea what the play time will be for this?  I really like the BT setting and computer games, but have bounced hard off of "4 hours to resolve a fight at the table."


I think it is closer to 2 hours, and a lot more mechs as they streamline play a lot in Alpha Strike compared to regular Battletech.

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## tyckspoon

> Any idea what the play time will be for this?  I really like the BT setting and computer games, but have bounced hard off of "4 hours to resolve a fight at the table."


About 1 to 2 hours, I think, depending on how many units you want to use, possibly even sub-1 once you're used to the rules and doing a classic lance fight (ie, 4v4 mechs.) Alpha Strike is dramatically streamlined compared to primary BattleTech, although still does a pretty good job of retaining the feel of most of BattleTech's more distinctive mechanics.

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## Easy e

Just sent off for Pulp!, Xenos Rampant, and Lion Rampant V2 for myself.  More to come about those games soon.

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