Battles of Westeros vs miniatures

Started by Toonces, January 16, 2013, 12:37:45 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Toonces

Real quick.  I've been wanting to get into miniature gaming for a while now.  What's holding me back is picking a genre and rules and all that.  I think I want to get into something medieval-ish.  But I've also considered going fantasy ala Lord of the Rings/Hobbit by GW.

Anyway, in addition to all of that I've been looking at Battles of Westeros for a while too.  It sounds like an interesting game, it is sort of medieval, and I think I'm more likely to play it than if I just go buy a handful of minis at the FLGS.  As a plus, maybe the Westeros minis would work with a miniature ruleset and could be supplemented with real minis...or with the multiple Westeros expansions?

This is all very difficult to sort out.  I kind of know what I want, but not really full-on.  As always, cost is a factor as well.

What do you guys think?
"If you had a chance, right now, to go back in time and stop Hitler, wouldn't you do it?  I mean, I personally wouldn't stop him because I think he's awesome." - Eric Cartman

"Does a watch list mean you are being watched or is it a come on to Toonces?" - Biggs

LongBlade

Several thoughts, not in any particular order.

Generally speaking I have not heard great things about GW's LOTR game. Can't speak to the Hobbit game, but in general GW is better at making cool minis than they are in creating a good-to-great gaming system. GW manages to succeed despite their best efforts.

As for what to play, my advice is to hit the FLGS and find out what is being played there. Nothing will suck more than for you to find the perfect game, paint some rockin' minis, and discover no one else wants to play it. Better to find out what they're playing, get used to the minis hobby, make some friends, and then ask around if anyone wants to try something new (that you like better).

Also, some communities stick to the same ole same ole, while others will churn through games like nobody's business. I've seen games explode on the scene and then dwindle as interest moves on. Get a feel for who is in your community, how that community treats games, and use a jaded eye to figure out who is going to be able to afford to buy another minis game. Some minis games can be bought into for as little as $50, but generally you're going to sink more into them. GW is probably at the high end. $1000 - $1500 wouldn't shock me. Other games, for instance my Dystopian Wars navy/army probably has about $350 in it.

Keep in mind you're also going to need all the accoutrements: paint, brushes, files, trimmers, a light, magnifying glasses, carrying case. Figure another $150 for that, but it should last you over a number of minis armies.

How's that for a start?
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

DV8

If cost is a primary factor go with BoW.

I do have a few questions for you.

- Have you played a miniatures tabletop game before?  If so, which ones?
- Do you like a free form-ish game or a highly structured game?
- Do you like painting?
- What does your local gaming community or FLGS support?

~DV8
"Most of my cliches aren't original." - Chuck Knox

Great Ajax

I got BoW for Christmas and have only managed to play a couple of games so far but my impressions have been very favorable so far.  There are canned scenarios of probably all of the battles depicted in the books and a mechanic for skirmish games.  What I really like is the importance of your leaders for mass movement and combat and an activation system/card system that allows for pulling off some impressive combination moves or having your best planned moves turn to crap.  If you really like the Westeros setting and are a big fan of the books, you really can't go wrong with picking it up.  Board Game Geek is full of comments on the game.  I am a big fan of the setting and the rule complexity is just the right combination of complexity and simplicity.  The only thing that I didn't care for in the base set is that there is no real counter for cavalry other than more cavalry.  There have been a couple of expansions that corrected that with polearm/spear infantry.  I hear that the Baratheon expansion gets a little too "Magical Fantasy" for my taste.  Overall, I wish I had some local friends to play this as I would be playing it a lot more.

Trey   



Quote from: Toonces on January 16, 2013, 12:37:45 AM
Real quick.  I've been wanting to get into miniature gaming for a while now.  What's holding me back is picking a genre and rules and all that.  I think I want to get into something medieval-ish.  But I've also considered going fantasy ala Lord of the Rings/Hobbit by GW.

Anyway, in addition to all of that I've been looking at Battles of Westeros for a while too.  It sounds like an interesting game, it is sort of medieval, and I think I'm more likely to play it than if I just go buy a handful of minis at the FLGS.  As a plus, maybe the Westeros minis would work with a miniature ruleset and could be supplemented with real minis...or with the multiple Westeros expansions?

This is all very difficult to sort out.  I kind of know what I want, but not really full-on.  As always, cost is a factor as well.

What do you guys think?