Finding New WarGames

[Mulsiphix]

Alright I've been doing much research into Warhammer, Warhammer 40K, and Vor The Maelstrom. It would appear that my true love is wargaming. I love a game that allows you to role play when you have enough people and/or a talented DM/GM but given my current living situation such things are very limited.

A great example is BattleTech. We can just play the standard tabletop strategy game or we can use the MechWarrior RPG book to bring the world alive in a fashion very similar to a standard D&D game.

Other than BattleTech, WarHammer/40K, and Vor The Maelstrom, does anybody know of any other WarGames? I'm not interested in flat out board games like Risk which is technically a war/strategy game. I think at the very least a game like HeroScape would suffice. Technically it has some background but the universe(s) the master and expansion games exist in just aren't fleshed out enough to really be enthralling. Anybody have any suggestions on other games that would be worth looking into?

[Digital Arcanist]

Well, I'm really surprised you missed Heroclix, Chainmail, D&D miniatures, and MageKnight. There is also Star Wars miniatures and now Star Wars Fleet Battles where every piece is a ship. I play D&D and Star Wars Fleet Battles.

There is also Pirates and Star Wars Build-A-Ship games where you buy cards and use the pieces contained on each card to construct a ship or group of ships to battle. I used to play Pirates and it was fun but everyone moved on to other pursuits.

[Mulsiphix]

I recognize several right off the bat. Isn't Chainmail almost identical to HeroScape? Heroclix is sadly just like MechWarrior Dark Age. Its a pathetic successor to BattleTech. I know Classic BattleTech is currently in development but MechWarrior Dark Age is nothing like the original and its existence limits the current Classic BattleTech from advancing the BattleTech universe's timeline. D&D Miniatures and Star Wars Miniatures are something I've only glanced at but from taking a quick look at the flash demos available on wizards website, it appears they are very similar to DreamBlade. DreamBlade is a pathetic excuse for a wargame. It seems these days all Wizards and WizKids are interested in doing is nickle and diming everybody by turning some existing franchises and just about any new franchise into some form of lowly collectible game.

I'm unfamiliar with MageKnight and Star Wars Fleet Battles. Regardless of the collectible nature that I'm complaining about the main problem I have with most of these games is they have virtually no universe in which to exist in. Collectible games are awesome in many forms but what Wizards does with the majority of its collectible lines is just sad. Overly simple games that cost ridiculous amounts of cash to stay current on. They are ridiculously poorly defined like HeroScape or they just lightly cash in on existing universes like D&D and Star Wars. Those universes are obviously awesome but my complaint with them "cashing in" is that they really don't sell any kind of material to teach new players about the rich and diverse universes these new games are based on/exist within.

The great thing about WarHammer/40K, Vor The Maelstrom, & BattleTech was they all created universes of their own. They distributed sourcebooks, scenario books, novels, etc... to help players become enthralled in the universes. Even when FASA cached in on Start Trek (the original) they distributed plenty of source material for players to be educated with and to expand upon. From what I can tell WizKids and Wizards of the Coast aren't doing this at all for most of the games they put out. The pure RolePlaying games like Star Wars RPG and classic D&D get that treatment but games like MechWarrior Dark Age, DreamBlade, Heroclix, etc... just don't get the same treatment.

Basically a "WarGame" that fits what I'm looking for will have its own source material published along with it, regardless of whether that universe is a classic like Star Wars or brand spankin' new. Anything simple enough to not need sourcebooks or codex's is probably not something I'd enjoy.

[Digital Arcanist]

I played Warhammer for a long time but it got too expensive for me, especially when you had to have new sets that were "properly" painted to compete in any tournaments. I enjoyed the game but it became too much of a hassle. Now I just focus on painting historic figurines and getting together with my friends to play or replay historic battles. Right now its my turn so we are playing with Roman centurians.

Warhammer is the only game I know of that fits your parameters. I feel the same way with regards to collectible games. Dreamblade is a horrible game and I don't really like the miniatures either. You might like Heroclix, the newer stuff, as it has sets to re-enact big battles like Dark Phoenix, Apocalypse, and my favorite is the Fantastic Four fighting Galactus (who is several feet tall if you buy the limited edition one or like a foot tall if you buy the set).

[Mulsiphix]

I guess HeroClix has a strike against it right from the beginning for me. It uses the clix system that was invented for MechWarrior Dark Age. I was so upset when the owner of the BattleTech IP rights decided to turn what was one of the most complex strategy games I had ever had the pleasure of playing into a system that was friendly to very young children. Ahh well. At least I've still got four extremely awesome universes at my disposal. Hardly something to complain about :D

[Skunkape]

While I have never played it, Savage Worlds is supposed to be a set of rules for both RPG and Miniatures. I've got the rules and they look like they might work for what you want to do. They used to have a jump start (lite) version of the rules, but I couldn't find it on their site anymore, so I'm not sure what they've done with it.

You can check it out by going here (http://www.peginc.com/).

[Mulsiphix]

Savage Worlds is something I considered earlier but after reading some reviews, like this one (http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/9/9798.phtml), I learned the game is streamlined to be quick. I enjoy a very long and drawn out experience. Savage Worlds whole selling point is that an RPG doesn't have to take forever ^_^.

[Grinnen Baeritt]

Full Thrust is one of the best Sci-fi starship figures wargames out there...

by Ground Zero Games...

they also do a small scale Sci-fi grounds battles called Dirtside...


http://www.groundzerogames.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=81&Itemid=51

If you can get a copy, then I would also reccomend Krymek (sp?)

which has a very effective "Aliens" feel to it.. and is a 25-28mm wargame a bit like (but better) than WH40K.