If I Was Starting WARGAMING in 2024
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 ก.พ. 2024
- What if I was just starting out in wargaming, but I knew all the things I know now? What would I do? I'll tell you.
Links:
Corvus Games Terrain: corvusgamesterrain.com
Archvillain Games: / archvillaingames
Thingiverse: www.thingiverse.com
Cults3D: cults3d.com
MyMiniFactory: www.myminifactory.com
Only Games: only-games.co
Wargames Atlantic: wargamesatlantic.com
Anvil Industry: www.anvilindustry.co.uk
North Star Military Figures: www.northstarfigures.com
Wargame Vault: www.wargamevault.com
OnePageRules: www.onepagerules.com
Warhammer: www.warhammer.com
Vince Venturella and I made a 'zine! Check out SNARL at www.snarlingbadger.com
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OPR have recently made all of their paper mini army bundles free for all. What a great way to get people into this hobby.
Which is an amazing move from the guy who made the best ruleset
Yep the paper minis are a great easy way to try minis gaming, as long as you have a way to print them!
There are a lot of options for paper minis and terrain too. Free ones are kinda scattered online but paid content is available on places like wargamevault. The things available can be for all sorts of themes or rulesets.
Printable cardstock miniatures are a great way to inexpensively explore the hobby. If the OPR miniatures aren't to your taste, or you need figures they don't offer, there are several other excellent artists creating printable minis on both DriveThruRPG and Patreon.
I'm trying to push as many people to OPR as possible. I'm in love with it, just need to recruit people to play with you!
My advice for people thinking about getting into this hobby? DON’T! For god’s sake, save your money, invest wisely, retire early! I’m 66 and working a part time job to support my addiction to tiny plastic soldiers. It’s too late for me, but you can still save yourself! When you see that Warhammer sign... turn and run. That way leads to financial ruin!
YES!!!! This is correct.
@danacoleman4007 I had a holiday from wargaming where I played once a year and painted for a few weeks before it. Then a holiday when WHFB was Squatted (when GW kill something then bring it back cos they realise your wallet closed).
Now I have got my kids into Necromunda and I'm planning on playing some Linehammer vs Dragonhammer.
I know you were probably mostly kidding, but wargaming is fun as long as you have the ability to stop playing and do other stuff.
My key advice is "Don't let wargaming be your ONLY hobby".
@@W1DO I wasn't kidding. I completely agree with the original poster. It's nice that you've had a good experience, though.
Or or..... maybe you could develop self control at a reasonable age and get financially stable for your situations and then you'd have no issues with the passions you have.... but I could be wrong too.. 🙃
You don’t have to buy Warhammer to be a wargamer. There are dozens of cheaper options out there. I’ve been a wargamer my entire long life and never bought a single GW model!
Buy second hand; go to thrift stores; play historical and skirmish games!
My bit of advice to a newbiew looking to get into wargames is to ask around the local game shops to find out what is being played. You can watch vidoes online about a cool game, buy, build, and paint an army only to find nobody nearby plays it. Which you can maybe fix by being a game ambassador, but is an extra barrier to entry that a new player probably isn't up to.
An *excellent* point.
Buy 2 armies and recruit players
@@mikebaker6804 or make your own players aka kids
Not to mention, is it also being supported? GW especially is super guilty of putting out a lot of hype around new releases, and many people might buy in. They may soon quit after finding everything is almost always sold out till the items just quietly disappear from the website.
@3Xero3 GW is great at making aspiring gamers. People who buy a bunch, plan a bunch, maybe even paint a bit... but never play 😔
Battletech is an incredibly scalable game from 1 on 1 duels to Interstellar campaigns
The rules have more or less state the same since the 80s. And the learning curve is not too steep as the rules themselves are scalable. While catalyst game labs does make and sell plastic miniatures metal miniatures are also available. But the best thing about the game is that you don't need miniatures at all if you don't have any.
To bounce off of this, there's also Alpha Strike. It uses the same minis as BATTLETECH but is intended for larger scale battles so the rules are more streamlined.
I absolutely love Battletech and have been considering getting into the wargame after buying a couple books from DriveThruRPG on the RPG system!
I just saw new Battletech minis boxed sets at a local convention today, the vendor had 5 different sets with him. They're not painted, but you certainly can play the game with them that way if you decide to get involved.
It surprised me because I remember Battletech from the late 1980s and I didn't know they were still going. I actually still have an old rule book from back then.
In 2024, I would go straight to Battletech.
I have three tips.
First, be goal oriented and start with small goals. It's a big hobby and not all aspects of it appeal to people the same. Find what you like and do that.
Second, if your goal is to learn to paint, get a kit that is a basic squad of dudes. It's gonna be your garbage squad. Seriously, you're never gonna use them to game, they're for testing and learning how to play with the paint. Eat the cost, now you're painting with house money. I want to stress that word though so I'll say it again. Learn how to PLAY with the paint. You're doing it for fun, so have fun. It will be SOOOOO much easier to paint when you've figured out what the capabilities of the paint are. It's not JUST about your own talent, it's about what the paints can physically do as well. You want to find that out sooner rather than later. This leads directly into...
Tip three, learn how to strip a model. You're going to mess up. You're going to be unhappy with a paint job. You're going to want to start over. Way better to get that out of the way up front than halfway through a project and decide to learn then. Or worse, to never learn and saddle yourself with being unable to fix a mistake or start over.
Start small is definitely the best piece of advice one can get. It’s going to be overwhelming otherwise.
I'm 40 and just getting into wargaming. While I've been on the periphery for a while (all the 40k videogames and books) I was never in a position to actually buy in as the models were crazy expensive and all the supplies to paint them / etc even more so. Plus I lacked a friend group that was interested in that sort of thing.
3d Printing has changed that for me. The hobby is finally within my price range and I love it. I found a local game shop that is friendly to OPR / 3d printed stuff and suddenly I have a reason to buy paints and brushes. It feels fantastic to finally be able to get into wargaming proper.
When I was a kid, a citadel miniature would cost £1.50 (maybe 99p, cant remember, so long ago) or something like that. I would walk down to the local toy shop each week and buy one miniature with my pocket money. I think the prices today are a disgrace, they're not even metal anymore.
@@RoastLambShanks £1.50 in 1980 is worth £8.06 today. A box of 10 infiltrators today is £37.50, £3.75 each.
And thank F they are not metal anymore.
@@StormcastMarine you’re forgetting the more important issue than inflation: wages in the US and UK have stagnated (moreso in the US). The dollar and pound are worth 8X less, but people are not making more to counterbalance that. People literally don’t have the money they used to have. It’s despicable what GW is doing.
If I was getting into wargaming today, I'd tell myself to stick with Historicals. You don't have a figure limitation by manufacturer.
Historical rule sets have been in development for over 60 years, so they tend to produce a far more satisfying game than, say, 40K, which as a rule set is not driven by the player base but by a corporation that uses it to suck money from its punters.
My wife and I recently got a 3d resin printer and didn't know about one-page rules. Both the rule sets and models seem like a great start for us! thank you for highlighting this!
Best advice I can give, though it may be obvious to us already in the hobby, is to see what games your friends would recommend! Any game where you already have a playgroup willing to help you get in to it will be a smoother on-ramp than solo
Especially if they can run you through a couple of games before you buy any models. Just because lots of people play it, doesn't mean you'll enjoy it.
Best advice I could give: steer clear of 40K/Warhammer.
What many players won’t tell you is that it’s a deeply unsatisfying game. So many better systems out there!
@@sirrathersplendid4825 This on its face is not especially good advice to someone brand new to war gaming. Largely because everyone has their own tastes. many new people might be fine with the idiosyncrasies and pit falls of games workshop games (they should absolutely be warned about them before they cannon ball into it). and as others discussed, if they don't have other friends to try out games with and and GW games are the only ones being played locally except on rare occasion, then maybe it is the what they should steer to until they get enough experience and contacts to be able to bonce to a different option.
@@iankirkland8245 - Well sure, the priority should always be play what your friends are willing to play. No point turning up to a store or club to find that no one wants to play with you!
I wonder, though, how many people get put off by the ridiculous stupidity and overcomplexity of Warhammer? They spend three months painting up figures and the first time they’re deploy them on the table they don’t survive long enough even to return fire! How much more satisfying to play a rules system that is simple, actually works and is fun?
Great video as always. As the resident middle aged gamer, I'm obliged to mention that Bolt Action from Warlord Games has excellent rules and a good value starter set. Also for historical skirmish games, companies such as Grey for Now games have great value starter sets with some of the best rulesets around. Both are also easy to play, and if you want 'lore' there's always history books, YT history videos and museums too!
Bolt Action is awesome, 40k looked expensive, and I like the historical aspect. They will be releasing the 3rd edition of rule book soon - the 2nd came out in 2015 maybe, so the meta doesn't change every month and they won't nerf your expensive army so you have to buy more 😅
One advantage to having a cold is I'm awake when the new video dropped. Maybe a follow up video about where to find people to play these indie games.
I just dont have a healthy sleep schedule
To get others to play, you need 2 or 3 forces and champion the game.@@Half_a_bosco
You build two forces (skirmish games are easier for this, or course) and then convince friends, family, or whomever to try it out with you. Thanks for watching!
@@tabletopminions Ha! "Convince" them to play. I see what you did there. ;)
@@tabletopminions And the easiest and cheapest way to try them out is to make two forces using the printable 2D miniatures from OnePageRules, which are apparently now free, and made specifically to be used to represent the factions in the OPR games--although you could use them to play other games as well, of course.
I picked up all the books for Killteam 2018 for £10 off ebay, some I might not use as much as others but it's now a full self-enclosed game which isn't going to be messed about with balance pat patches etc and I can use random assortments of cool 40k or 40k proxy miniatures that I may have picked up because they're cool or maybe 3d print.
I miss that edition and wish they applied it's approach to Combat Patrol, where only sensible units could be taken for smaller games. Its also annoying that despite launching in 2021, we've only recently got Banshees for the current edition...
I just don't fancy modern killteam at all, it seems far too set in stone that you essentially just take a squad. I like warband creation so the older killteam format suits me far far more! If I want a devastator providing covering fire whilst a Terminator leads some assault marines into combat I should be able to do it.
One thing to add on the $5 rulebooks from OPR - the $5 tier of their Patreon gets you all of the main games for the same price, including the updates when they change the rules. Plus they have an early release for their paper minis as well as scenarios for their main games. (Their most recent scenarios included one where the two opposing forces are protecting each other - I am working that one into a narrative campaign.)
That said, if you DO have a 3D printer, their $10 tier is insanely good.
Thanks for this! Really been loving all the info I've found online since coming back to the hobby. I appreciate that your channel isn't just about painting/making minis, but also being inspired to work on things and ways to get into the hobby at a good pace. Been trying to take your advice of not buying tons of minis and resisting the urge to Necron all over the place lol. But I have spent a decent amount on paints (curse you army painter speed paints and certain technical paints from Citadel and AK terrain paints for being so fun) and some tools (but feel at least those are good long-term investments) as well as some DnD minis to practice and get better with (found a sweet box on Amazon with 36 various DnD type minis for $30). Definitely going to hit up the stuff you talked about here! Thanks again Atom :)
Osprey's series of wargaming rules is also a great place to start as well. They tend to be more historical focused, but there are sci-fi and fantasy rules as well. Xeno Rampant is a great, easy to play rule set for sci-fi and lets you port whatever figures you have into the system.
Agreed. Frostgrave and Horizon Wars got me back into the hobby in 2017 and still playing them.
Absolutely, Lion Rampant is great fun. I'm looking forward to trying Xenos Rapant soon.
I like heroscape. The old version comes with painted minis and interlocking hextiles to build different kinds of maps. The rules are also extremely light and comprehensible but still have enough depht to keep you engaged
I could not have thought of a better more inclusive video. Great job! I might suggest part 2: Where to start with terrain/battle mats.
Great video, really appreciate the good work your doing to bring people to the table (literally).
Personally, despite being a 40k fan boy since '87, I tend to direct people away from GW to start, simply because its the most expensive way to get into wargames and that puts them off once the initial hook buzz wears off.
Mantic, Warlord Games, One Page Rules, all great options.
If you START with the idea in your head that "everything comes from one company and this is expensive" it's very off putting, but if you start with "I can buy what I want from where I want and budget how I choose to" you are more likely to stick arround BUT it CAN be overwhelming at the same time!
I would have to include Mantic's Deadzone Starter Boxes as the perfect, value for money, place to start if a SciFi setting/game is what you're looking for. Great gameplay and no measuring tape required.
Seconded, deadzone is really easy to learn and the grid positioning system makes for well paced exciting games. In fact, every mantic game I have played so far has been excellently paced and exciting.
@@basstedson Yes. I'm backing their Epic-Scale Warpath Kickstarter that's running at the moment, purely because I trust Mantic games to be good fun.
I’m getting back into warmachines with my buddy after a 4 year break. I’m right back to watching your videos, thank you for the content
Yes please keep up the every friday videos! I LOVE these!
Nice video. Very helpful video. That OPR rules and sheet is super helpful. Keep up the good work.
I liked your Innsmouth U shirt so much I tracked it down and bought one for myself. And then I also treated myself to a lovely Pa-Chow! shirt because how could I not?
where did you find the shirt?
Buying a board game like zombicide is a great way to get a large quantity of higher quality minis to practice painting. The price per mini is excellent and the box is easy to obtain with no assembly
Thanks for all the great tips!
Space Wierdos is the best. A fantastic rules light skirmish game with enough tactical depth to keep things interesting. It is model agnostic too so you can use whatever models you like. It has a great warband builder online and best of all it cost $5 on wargame vault. 5 stars
I really can't wait to give it a try sometime, there's even a handy warband builder tool online
Second space weirdos, it's fantastic!
Excellent video detailing starting options for new/returning players. There are a lot of great options for miniatures and rule sets out there these days and having a good starting point for research will help those not familiar with the current gaming landscape.
Have you talked about standees? There's games where you can use standees before committing to big plastic spending. Like the Multi-Award-Winning game Moonstone. Some games even go as far as flat tokens! (Side note it's a like colourful sparkle if I hit like)
Alwys helpful and informative. Keep up the good work.
I love how you are always down to earth with advice to new people, keep up the good content.
I’m not new but this was a great video! It helped to take a step back and look at the whole environment with a new person’s eyes. Thank you!
your voice is so soothing and calming. i love it thank's for being here.
appreciated this video. wasn't aware of Only-Games, that's huge.
Spot on! Particularly the non GW parts. Good stuff as always.
Great suggestions! Thanks Uncle!!
Thanks for all these wonderful recs on minis! I may have to finally try Warcry
I think painting puts me off quite a lot with having a family now and other various adult responsibility things that sap my time. I love tabletop so find myself drawn to ready made painted games. Got very into x-wing and attack wing for that reason. Simply set up and play. Love your videos man, thank you for the insights - some very useful stuff here, as always.
One Page Rules is 100% a fantastic way to start.
I also really like Relicblade by Metal King Studios. Super characterful sculpts, a really simple and fun ruleset, low model count (4-5 models per side) and a 2 foot by 2 foot play area. And anybody coming from RPGs finds a lot of familiar things to like combined with new things to explore.
Thanks for the vidya Uncle Atom
I am getting away from WM40k/WHF I have not played in a long time BUT the OPR sounds like a way I can use my old armies. Keep up the good work you do Sir.
Lending my voice to the growing crew of Mantic recommeders. Great company, great games, and now great models also.
Epic Warpath on KS right now looks great!
Appreciate the mention of Corvus Games Terrain Adam!
100% agree with the Warcry recommendation. Its also nice in that if want to do various types of models you can purchase very few of them and do lots of different types that you can field for a game.
Adam, sir. You forgot to mention Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game. GW's actual best rule set ;) Maybe not, but still, it is a great option for people who love the LOTR and Hobbit franchise, both books and movies and want to bring that experience to the table top. GW has made a great gaming system that is easy to learn, hard to master and plays well in both small scale skirmish style encounters as well as massive battles. One rule book to rule them all. Additionally, MESBG offers really great game play with the best terrain rules in wargaming IMO. Full disclosure, a lot of the GW sculpts are hard to find or often out of stock. But as you mentioned, 3D printing is alive and well. "And the Printing Goes Ever On" has a great collection of Middle-Earth inspired models that fit nicely into the existing model lineup. I know you like skirmish games. If you haven't explored MESBG, and for you, I'd say Battle Companies would be a great place to start. Maybe even do a video on what you think of the game? Thank you again for all your great content. :D
You covered this topic well. Start small, play often, grow your collection with the energy and excitement that you get from being with friends at the table. Thx!
This is definitely the video for me. I haven’t gotten into the craft side yet, mostly playing 5PH on a virtual tabletop.
Loved your video thank you for informing me of so many different things I never knew and also I found out that my best way of being able to do World War II miniature tabletop wargaming is by just getting regular plastic army men from like when you got when you were a child and just painting them it's like a fraction of the price and you get so much more and so much variety and my best websites to get them or Amazon and BMC toys❤
A couple of my friends are thinking about getting back into tabletop miniature games so I’m trying to convince them to try out Forbidden Psalm (as opposed to them getting back into 40k 🤢). FP is a pretty simple game with a good bit of grim humour and it’s miniature agnostic. Need very little to actually get into the game as you can proxy the enemies and your warbands are only 5 models. My favourite game of recent years (coming from a 30+ years hobby veteran and I played 40k for over 20 years).
Interesting video again.
I would check second hand sites/shops, stuff like that too.
And it's definitely fireworks you get.
Space Weirdos and Frostgrave FTW. That's what I have been learning and playing this fall and winter.
I just always love your videos!
I really love your videos, calming and the voice of reason. I absolutely loved warhammer as a teen (i'm from Nottingham). The price is so offputting and having worked at the warehouse, i'm massively disappointed by the companies culture. That said I'd still love to get back into it one day, although it's time and space consuming. Can you do a video on storage solutions at home. All the best.
Fantastic video! I wish when I first started out that I had access to more starter sets. I think they're amazing for those just starting to get into the hobby and it's something that most companies don't do well. They include a rulebook and two armies. What's not to like?!
For people looking at AoS, i would recommend the Harbinger set. Comes with 400 points worth of Stormcast Vs Orruks, a Mat, set of the core rules, set of die. All the basics.
You can also combine it with the smaller 'Warrior' set for 600 point armies. Definitely the most approachable jumping off point for AoS at the moment. Though 4th edition will likely bring some revisions soon.
Watching your video as a dinosaur from One Page Rules 3d prints on my P1S. Glad to know I'm doing the right things as a newbie.
Thabks man. I love your shirt
Great stuff friend 👏 👍
Some of the Mantic starter sets are a fantastic value. Firefight, Dead zone and Kings of War are really great
100% this nothing beats a great starter and Mantic has it down pat. Did you see the Epic scale KS for Warpath! Looks awesome!
I would suggest the Rampant series from Osprey. One of the appeals of Whammer etc is the rules are similar to each other so you can easily learn. The same goes for the Rampant series but they are miniature agnostic and have a great system for fielding any models you like.
I think what is really most curious to me is whatever mic you're using, it sounds great.
Great Video! I think a person new to tabletop miniature gaming needs to look for a game that appeals to their interests. That could be a game derived from a book, a movie, a TV show, or something else entirely. If you already have a friend or two who shares that interest, then all the better. And if you have local hobby or game store that has game tables and an existing group that plays games like the ones you like, that's an added bonus - one that will keep you working on getting your miniatures ready for the tabletop. It also helps to have kindred spirits to bounce your ideas off of, and to get their input, as you do the same for them. I doubt that I would have improved my hobby skills working on my own, and learning about all of the different products being made around the world is so much easier if you aren't doing it all alone! Two companies that I would add to the list of plastic kit manufacturers would be Fireforge Games and Renedra Ltd. Great stuff from both of these companies over the past few years, Fireforge for miniatures, and Renedra for terrain.
Like stompy robots? BattleTech starter box is $60. Comes with 13 unpainted units and everything you need to play right out of the box hour 1. There are two tiers of starter boxes even cheaper and still contains everything you need to go from square one. In depth lore and universe info all free online. 40 years of heavy metal mayhem baby.
These also come with cardboard cutout mechs
This was great. I can see where a gameshop could own some 3d printers and print out units to a couple of miniatures systems, whatever is popular, and run events for it.
As someone new to hobby, perfect video.
For me I got into Warhammer fantasy and 40k by just reading novels and playing video games(not all of them). I watched a friend of mine went broke because he was so addicted in war gaming to the point that he also paid artists to paint his figurines. Oh boy in a span of 30 years he lost his wife home and living in a tiny apartment...and still into war gaming. 🤗
Check if you can afford the hobby before doing ANYTHING. Then check if what game you like is actualy played where you live , assuming you want to play.
Warsurge is a REALLY good set of rules that can use any minis and is as simple or complex as you want to make it.
Have you seen the newly announced Spearhead boxes for AOS? looks like they are preparing for those Combat Patrol equivalents ahead of 4th edition already!
I think we all thought the same about Vanguard, and again with Dawnbringers (but maybe that was more similar to Boarding Patrol and the Arks of Omens?). After seeing the popularity of CP in 40k, seems silly to ignore something similar in AoS.
Great video -thanks
I’d like to quickly shout out a tabletop game that is inexpensive to get into but doesn’t get mentioned much on this channel: BattleTech
You can pick up The Game of Armored Combat Box Set and have everything you need for long time. Lots of nice plastic minis & extra standees, maps, dice, the rule book, etc. Great value.
Agreed! Great all in one starter with enough Mechs to keep you playing at a low price.
Another great game.
The games I would recommend for a new player for fantasy are frostgrave oathmark and warcry for sci-fi based games I would recommend infinity x-wing and the one page rules for 40k. stargrave is also ok but it's not as balanced as it's frostgrave counterpart. Also anyone getting into RPG games I would highly recommend castles and crusades
OPR is really great. I started for the kids, I wasn't a wargamer, but now I've got printers, miniatures, and paints everywhere. Very relaxing hobby and Speed Paints are great for the less skilled.
I got in to infinity recently and played their code one version which restricts rules alot. Slowly added in rules until I was playing with the full N4 rule set.
Quite budget to get in to and not loads of minis to paint which I appreciate!
I just got started with Warhammer 40K over the holidays after lookig from afar for about 2 decades, and I started with the Introductory Box (comes with 5 Space Marines, 11 Tyranids, some paint, a brush, and little intro book) as well as an Army Painter intro set (paints, glue, snips, etc.). There was some overlap between the 2 boxes, but it was a good jumping off point. However, I just managed to get my hands on a Kill Team: Salvation box, which I think if I had to go back, I would've rather had started with than the intro box. The price isn't too outrageous (and 10% less at my local hobby shop), and having the models as well as a full-on game that can be played with them seems like an ideal place to start. The Intro Box I got has instructions for a little game with the minis it came with, too, but it doesn't seem nearly as comprehensive as the Kill Team game. Other than that, I've been definitely going with the build an army piece by piece, route.
As for 3D printing, I'm really kinda on the fence about it. Apart from the cost, set-up, noxious fumes/chemicals, etc., one of the things that really interested me in this hobby was also the modeling side of it and not just the painting and game side of it. And I get the impression that 3D painting is more for the painting enthusiast than the model enthusiast (but I could be completely wrong on this). I can see the value of having something that can print extra pieces or custom bits *for* models, but that by itself doesn't justify a 3D printer to me. I'd rather keep practicing and experimenting with green stuff/epoxy sculpting.
Magic word in all of this: Proxy.
Every mini on the table is a token to represent a unit/model in the rules. Helps bells, you could use dollar store army men to represent terminators if your just getting started.
Go straight for two most fun, accessible versions of historical wargaming out there - What A Cowboy & What A Tanker, by Two Fat Lardies, using 28mm mins from a variety of sources
The Lardies are great. Flames of War 15mm tanks are great for Tanker. And if you want a great WW2 platoon level rule set check out Chain of Command. A much better club/casual ruleset than Bolt Action.
#spreadthelard
I play all of their rulesets in 15mm and they are some of the best rulesets!
@@danitenotes Yes, they’re great - none other so subtle and inventive without being too mechanical, too tricksy. I just like 28s myself, the painting of them, and the way they count as individuals somehow, especially for skirmish games. I only mentioned those two sets ‘cos they are such fun, I think they would encourage beginners, and C of C is really quite a deep dive. Am thankful that I began in the era of Don Featherstone and Charles Grant, ideal to begin with, but now we have all these wonders of rules, and mins …..
@@darklingeraeld-ridge7946 love it. I'm just getting into What a Tanker and I'm excited.
I love D&D and have started a a little hoard of terrain and miniatures that I create/paint.
Wargaming is something that I have wanted to get into but have not really had a lot of luck. I bought 5 factions for an Oop wargame to host games for my friends and it always fell through. That sucked.
There are a few stores that are like 45 minutes away but they are very Warhammer heavy.
Splintered light miniaturea does 15mm D&D compatible minis (orcs, hobgoblins, gnolls). For rules, try either AD&D 2E battle system or its cousin Skirmish - both give a workable rules. You will need army lists though so you'll have to draw on your D&D campaign.
I think a good bit of beginner advice is: wargaming is at its heart, a social hobby (unless you go the solo-gaming only route). So find local players/playing locations, or friends interested in gaming and see what common interests you have. You're more likely to get something off the ground of you're not the only one carrying the torch.
Great big picture explanation
Battletech.
It's a pretty good gateway for beginners, prices to get started range between $20-$80, the rules are hyper modular so you can start with super simple rules (a fan even made a 12 page rulebook for beginners) or play with every possible rule for mass galactic conquest, minis are preassembled but there are options for you to build as well, and the lore is extensive and varied which lends itself well to players coming from RPG backgrounds, and if you're concerned about all this taking up space then you can rest easy because the hex maps that come with it take up a small footprint and when you're done it all can fit back in the box!
Total agreement - *especially* about OPR!
Thanks for the video. The “Made in Wisconsin “ is awesome.
Hey Uncle Atom, have you checked out Fireforge miniatures and Black Scorpion miniatures? They both make fantastic stuff.
Great breakdown. I am looking to get my son into 40k. This will help
From my experience, the most important step is finding a club or group of friends who you like gaming with. Your hobby time is precious. Spend it with gamers who's company you enjoy. The game system is secondary.
I have to shout out War Council free app for ASOIAF miniature game. List building super easy and you can download a pdf with all the unit stats to play with. Also the game itself super accessible, $100 for a starter and often over 50 models.
Opr and 3d printing is the way if you’re starting today for sure
Cool as always. 👍
I think a cool follow up video would be "what kind of gamer will you be?" Now that you've got some models and you've played a game how will you interact with the hobby?
Will you be a tournament player? A pick-up game player? A narrative player? What scale will you play in regards to warband size or in regards to physical figure scale? What do these terms mean? What games fit well into these categories?
Great Video! I see your point here, but IMHO telling a total newbie to try the 3d printing route as an entry point is adding layers of complexity to getting someone into the hobby that most people who are just starting out most likely won't want to be bothered with. I still feel a nice 2 player starter set priced reasonably is the most enticing thing to interest a newcomer. There are starters for any type of size/system/setting that may interest a beginner. Opening a box that includes rules, dice, tools, terrain, and minis is extremely exciting for someone starting out. Deadzone by Mantic is a great example on how this is done. Having 2 forces is a must as most just starting don't have inroads (yet) to the local gaming scene and may be corralling their spouse, sister, brother, children, neighbor, etc. into playing with them to learn the ropes. I do always recommend starting with a skirmish game to wet your feet as the model count is less intimidating to a beginner to assemble and paint. To start in 40k I agree with Combat Patrol, but I don't agree with buying a Combat Patrol box. The Ultimate Starter is 2 combat patrols, rulebook, gaming boards, dice, rulers, etc. This can be found for 178 USD on Amazon (usually on discount at your FLGS as well) so for just a little bit more you get 2 legal combat patrols. Most beginners are going to be interested in Space Marines so unless the beginner just hates both Space Marines and Nids this is the way to go and even better if you find a friend who wants to split the box.
I mentioned a two-player starter in the Warhammer section of the video - the Crypt of Blood Warcry starter. The 3D printing option is just that - an option. Thanks for watching!
one page rules is more than one page of rules
I would suggest the starter box for Battletech. This mech based game that personally love. This is basic set of the rules but enough to play and enjoy. This game has deep strategy style to it were terrain makes a big difference in the gameplay.
If I were staying in 2024, I'd stop immediately, or go 100% 3d printing. The cost of almost everything is ridiculous. $0.56 of plastic goes for $170. No thank you.
3d printing is the way if you have the space and time for 3d printing.
People really need to check out the stls that one page rules make. The latest one the vampiric Undead are just amazing
love the fighting deep ones t-shirt
6:42 I just finished my Bulldogs kit and they're incredible also GET OUT OF MY WALLS GET OUT OF MY WALLS GET OUT OF MY WALLS
The last part you said, about there being other valid options to use instead is the only one that made me pause and consider not downloading stl, appealing to me through gamesworkshop not wanting me to fell on deaf ears. The artist thing I don't know games workshop's not paying them basic per model they create, but the fact that I can find model similar but not quite the same and all it takes is a tiny bit of extra work is enough reason to not use them
If someone is coming into wargaming from TTRPGs, especially D&D, I'd recommend starting out with Frostgrave and/or Rangers of Shadowdeep. Both games are by the same author, and use essentially the same mechanics. Frostgrave pits players against one another in skirmishes between 10-figure warbands, while Rangers is a solo or cooperative game with a strong roleplay/campaign aspect. Both games are model agnostic, and can be played with your existing D&D figure collection. If you've been playing D&D without miniatures, you can use the inexpensive WizKids models made for D&D, as well as the excellent and very reasonably-priced Frostgrave miniatures from North Star Miniatures. And of course you can play either game with 3D printed miniatures as well. The rules for creating warbands in both games are specific about the equipment each figure carries, but vague about what species the figures represent, so you can make your warband all human, all dwarves or elves, or whatever floats your boat. I played Frostgrave a couple of weeks ago against a warband made up of GW Skaven (ratmen). Bottom line, Frostgrave and Rangers of Shadowdeep are both excellent bridge games to help a TTRPG player move into wargaming with minimal stress over rules, play styles, or miniatures.
You're right - Frostgrave and Rangers of Shadowdeep ARE great gateways from TTRPGs. Thanks for watching!
I would get into Pulp Alley. It's the most fun set of rules I've played in 30+ years. And one doesn't need to paint masses of figures. Beyond that, maybe a WW1 naval wargame like Fleet Action Imminent. I use laser cut MDF buildings and ships, and some diecast or plastic toys.
Love the Innsmouth U t-shirt!
Damn, I pressed that like, was scared at first no gonna lie and I was surprised by the feeling of showing my appreciation😮 Interesting🤔😁