Recruiting Gamers

[bangorstu]

Well here in the outer reaches of the Kingdom there has been an exciting development.

Some bright spark is trying to start a new club in Bangor! Not only that but it's at the Community Hall about 30 yards from my front door.... so it would be rude not to attend.

So they all seem to be much younger than me (inevitably), enthusiastic and all WH40k/ Star Wars Legion/ board game players.

But they seem happy to give anything a go and so my question is.... what are good simple rules/games to get people into historical gaming that fits into a club night of around 3 hours?

I can probably do SAGA but thought I'd tap the hive mind's greater knowledge.

[Peeler]

Dbn gives a swift game, Volley & Bayonet, anything DBish really.

[Penda]

Rapid Fire Reloaded is brisk to play and WWII is a period most folk have a vague notion of? I'd suggest that keeping it small is vital for player involvement and reaching a definite conclusion.

[BaronVonWreckedoften]

I'd start with something that has few rules - easily learned, but difficult to master, and small initial outlay in terms of figures and scenery. How about SAGA with 4-point armies to start with, then move onto DB-summat as Peeler suggests, or maybe What A Tanker, which can allow them to use some of their existing 40k/Star Wars kit?

Given that almost everyone likes cowboys (I don't, but then I'm weird), move on to either Dead Man's Hand or What A Cowboy. If they've taken to your earlier suggestions, maybe devise a locally-set shoot-em-up game using one of those two sets and some of the many Victorian/Dystopian figure ranges now out there.

[Essex Boy]

And they could use their fantasy stuff with WAC

[BaronVonWreckedoften]

Gun-fight at the Mos Eisley Cantina.....

[Paul]

Obviously Lion Rampant/Pikemens Lament/TMWWBK for a simple historical hit.
Much easier to get into than SAGA and scaleable both on figure count and complexity.
Also ease them in with the fantasy set Dragon Rampant if need be.

[tim.w]

Ravenfeast for small figure count fun accessible game?

Any of the one hour wargames books? I bought the Ancients skirmish one at Christmas.

[Spanner]

I can probably do SAGA but thought I'd tap the hive mind's greater knowledge.

We have a hive?

Do you have any Wings of Glory/Wings of War stuff, Stu? It always drew the odd teen and Magic fans at my old club, for something different, and at CanCon. The aircraft were colourful and the rules very simple, especially if you ignore the altitude rules.

[Willz the Wargamer]

Use these rules if you wish to go down the 18th century route.
They fit on 2 pages.
Two small armies of 3 inf battalions ,1 cav regiment, 1 gun you will get a game in 2 hours with these rules.

“Your a card” an adaption Paul Robinson Rules

INITIATIVE. Roll 1D6 to determine who goes first. Winner has the choice of going first or second.

MOVEMENT.
Units have the following options, may carry out two actions only.
Infantry move six inches once, Fire, Reload.
Horse move six inches (up to two times), Fight
Artillery Fire, Reload, manhandle two inches, Limber/unlimber.
Move limbered six inches.

Any move resulting in a change of face for foot or horse counts as two actions.
Units forced to retire may still move in their next turn.
Units may wheel forwards with no movement penalty.
Difficult terrain deducts 1D6 from movement distance.
Walls are only passable by foot and count as two actions.
Hedges are only passable by foot and account for three actions (place unit behind for two actions and one in the next turn).
Occupying a built up area is only permitted to foot and counts as one action.

FIRING AND FIGHTING.
Musket range is twelve inches.
Artillery has no terminal range.
Each unit rolls 2D6 to fire or fight modified as below. Target rolls 2d6 unmodified. A natural 1 cannot be decreased further and a natural 6 cannot be increased further.
Modifiers.
Prussian foot adds +1 to one of their two dice when firing.
Prussian / British grenadiers add +1 to both of their dice when firing.
Militia -1 to both of their dice when firing.
Cuirassiers and heavy horse add +1 to one of their dice when fighting.
Horse add +1 to one of their dice if charging into another horse unit.
Horse deduct -1 from each of their dice if fighting infantry to their front.
Infantry units may only fire at units to their front.
Units firing/ fighting against enemy flank or rear add 1 to both of their dice.
Units in hardcover -2 to hit, units in soft cover -1 to hit.
Artillery.
Artillery may fire 22.5 degrees left or right.
Artillery adds +1 to each dice if the target is less than six inches away.
Artillery deduct -1 from each of their dice if the target is over twelve inches away.
Artillery deduct -2 from each of their dice if the target is over twenty four inches away.
Artillery does not fight in a melee and is deemed to be overrun and removed from the game.

Firing.
Infantry who are loaded may fire at a charging enemy horse unit before the melee commences. Should the horse win then a melee is fought subject to the above modifiers and conditions.
Players compare the dice rolled and the loser retreats the difference in inches.
Infantry firing at an enemy but losing the dice roll ignore this result.
Infantry units firing in column -3 on both D6 firing rolls.
Melee.
Players compare the dice rolled and the loser retreats the difference in inches.
Infantry charging +1 on both dice.

Morale.
Any unit that is forced to retreat more than twelve inches in any one turn is removed from the game.
Any unit forced to retire from the table during any retreat is removed from the game.
Units pushed back over 6 inches, remove one stand.
Units losing 3 stands or more rout.
Units not engaged in combat replace one stand for every turn not in combat. Generals attached to a unit may add 1 to both of the units dice in all circumstances.
If the unit is lost whilst the General is attached the general is deemed to have been captured by the enemy in a melee or killed otherwise.



Willz.