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 filbert wrote:
Anecdotally speaking, at least here in the UK anyway, Space Crusade and Hero Quest were responsible for introducing what seems like an entire generation of gamers into the hobby. All of my gaming peers that I am acquainted with started with these two games before moving into GW and beyond.

That certainly matches with my experiences; most of my gaming group are in a similar age group to me (late 20's to 40's, with jobs, kids, etc) and all of them that I've spoke to are familiar with most of the Specialist/Crossover games, most still have them too. I got in via HeroQuest, the kid across the road got in via Blood Bowl, and then got me hooked on 40K (2nd Ed - which I only got after showing my parents I would take it seriously by painting a box of Airfix Napoleonic French) which I then got a few of my friends into for 2nd/3rd Ed and then dropped out until 5th Ed launched.

Between my gaming buddy any myself we've owned (and since sold off) HeroQuest, Space Hulk (a couple of editions), Gorkamorka, Necromunda, Epic, 40K 2nd-6th Eds and a couple of WHF editions. But without the starter games I've no idea if we would have gotten into the core games. For us we'd probably buy any re-launched specialist game that came out for the Nostalgia kick, unless they pull a Dreadfleet.

 Paradigm wrote:

 carlos13th wrote:
The battle games in middle earth magazine as a child.

This for me too. Got into it right from the start and still have every issue bar 1 special edition (because I'd already got the model). Damn, those magazines werea good deal, .£3.99 for 12 plastic (identical to the sprues GWnow sells for £16.00 a pop)/1 metal mini (now around £10 each), rules, hobby guides and scenarios in every issue and generally awesome content like campaigns and stuff. Possibly, all things considered, the best hobby-related deal I've ever had.

From there it as 40k (introduced by a friend), got into WFB just as IoB came out, and then Warpath/Deadzone when I discovered Mantic.

I wasnt exactly well of as a kid so I couldn't get every issue but I got a good few of them. They were a bargain. I wold probably collect something similar of it was out again certainly More so than I would buy white dwarf.

For me:



I got Battlemasters for Christmas one year. I can't remember if I'd asked for it or not. A few years later, for some reason I can't remember, I tried painting some of the figures. Then I think I used my Christmas 1996 money to get the 40k 2nd ed. starter set.

My friend had a Commodore 64 that we used to play Space Crusade on (A LOT) There was also Space Hulk (Deathwing version) video game. Then my brother got Dark World (I think that's HeroQuest isn't it?)swiftly followed by 2nd Ed 40k with the monoposed Orks and Space Marines as well as a cardboard cutout Ork Dreadnought and ruins scenery.

A buddy of mine from across the street started getting some models, and we eventually picked up the 3rd edition starter set. Branched out to Imperial Guard and took off from there... Most of those old models are now painting experiments gone wrong or have just disappeared.

The GW in town got me into it around the time of Rogue trader, same for most people I know as well.

I actually wrote a boardgame for my roomates in college after they got tired of playing Zombies!!! for the hundredth time. While looking for suitable beasties for them to encounter, I stumbled across the Harbinger of Menoth and Deathjack.

Several hundred models later...

I was actually brought into the game by Edward Snowden. It was 1996 and another friend if mine invited me over to his house to play some games. When I got there Snowden was there with some of his Dark Angels. I enquired as to what these awesome miniatures were and he and my other friend played a game while I watched. The rest is history.

Fun fact: If Snowden were playing warhammer today, he would be called a WAAC gamer. He was all about min/maxing power lists. His usual army consisted of as many 5 man tac squads with plasma cannons as he could get and he was the biggest rules lawyer I've ever known.

Many many years ago... nearly two decades ago now. I was in Japan and their was a small convention being held on the military base we were on, basically a net collection of nerd-dom that the base had to offer.

One guy was hosting a game of Epic, and that was my first taste of it. I played a Squat force, and the other players had Eldar and Space Marines I believe, we were trying to dig some orks out of a hive. At a certain point in the game, an overwhelming chaos daemon force busted out of the warp to signify the "end" of the game. I turned at fought it as well, cause I figured what the hell. It was a lot of fun.

I got to know the local playing group a bit more over the coming weeks, and I was eventually able to talk my parents into letting me buy a small ork army for 40k. This was back when the prices were to the point where a kid could actually buy his own army if we worked hard enough at it.

Been playing since. 40K since 2nd Edition, Fantasy since 4th. Also have dabbled in Flames of War for the last two editions.

 Wolf wrote:
For me it was my cousins,

Same story. Cousin came over and brought this magezine. Saw the pics, and it looked legit. Cousin let me paint an ork, and i was hooked. Bought tau battle force then, but switched to eldar soon after.

It was 1980something... I had just read Starship Troopers, so the powered armored, jump capable Infantry were fresh in my mind, when waiting for school to start I noticed a kid looking through a book then I saw it, the schematic of a MK6 Space Marine armor set. He (Warren T.) let me borrow it, like two weeks later he asked for it back. So I then went and got my own. Then the box set of 30 Marines, think it was 30.Then two Dreadnaughts, Umberhulk, and others. Anyway Crimson Fists were my first army. Then some Orks, next came Epic, and so on and so forth. Great times!

 filbert wrote:
Anecdotally speaking, at least here in the UK anyway, Space Crusade and Hero Quest were responsible for introducing what seems like an entire generation of gamers into the hobby. All of my gaming peers that I am acquainted with started with these two games before moving into GW and beyond.

It would be interesting to see just how many people got their break with Space Crusade and Hero Quest. Someone should do a poll. I personally think GW are doing themselves a massive disservice by not having similar gateway games that grip the imagination like SC/HQ did back in the day.

The killing of Specialist and those dip-your-toe games was what convinced me that GW are on a path to well-deserved but entirely avoidable ruin.

I was another kid who started with HeroQuest. Anyone remember the TV ad? ("I'll use my Broadsword!" "Fire of Wrath!"). I moved onto Warhammer Fantasy between about 1997 and 1999, but quit when I went to university. I came back in in 2010, though the shock of the increased prices meant I didn't stay with GW for long. Coincidentally, that was the year that Malifaux and second edition Warmachine came out, so I picked a good time to restart.

Wandered into a gaming store in Jacksonville, North Carolina while I was stationed there in the USMC.

Saw a lot of good minatures and some guys playing the game. Started collecting shortly afterwards.

That was like... 14 years ago.

Was browsing TVTropes and I read an article on Warhammer 40,000. I vaguely remembered the Battle for Macragge boxset from childhood and the rest is history.

I started with magic in 96-97 (10ish years old) and then discovered mageknight in highschool around 01. Played that for a short while but didn't get anyone else into it so they started collecting dust. I also played lots of allies and axis, risk, and a bunch of other war boardgames (still do). I kept up with magic and started dnd in 05ish. I had always seen the battletech and warhammer models at the local shops but never got into them for lack of friends who played and money. In 2009 I had a few friends through my now wife who played 40k and several shops where there was a good following. I got into 40k with guard just as their 5th edition codex was released. Now I have 8000ish pts of guard with a warhound titan, 3k of grey knights, and 3k of nids. I just picked up their latest codex Saturday and I'm happy with it.

I got into Miniatures war gaming a long time ago.

A little game called "Caverns of Doom." It was a paint and play game from Heritage miniatures. They had a smaller set, with around six or eight figures named "Crypt of the Sorcerer".

At the time, Heritage was a pretty big deal in the miniatures scene, and Ral partha, Grenader, and Heritage were the big boyz on campus for minis needs.
IIRC, Reaper was only a itch in someone's pants, and a little game called Dungeons and Dragons from a little compnay called TSR was on everyone's table, without the minis to compliment it.

I just picked up a gak load of the stuff on the cheap over on feebey.

Its as good a game as you'll ever get, and timeless. A game is as fun now as it was when I got the game new for selling greeting cards out of the back of the Boys Life magazine that I did to get the game.

My very first game, that I bought on my own. The paint was crap, but damn did those first minis fit the bill. We didn't really know any better, or care. It was just a completely different time to be a kid.

There might have been more to the deal, but the best thing about these minis is that the game complimented the whole range. If you had the gas, you could easily drive this car for miles.

Toyz R Us had literally ROWS of games, Marx army Men play sets, action figures, micronaughts, etc. for you to cut your teeth at. I think the Miniatures wargaming ended up being the capstone event of those times.


One of my NEW projects is to take those Hurst molds and make a Caverns of Doom 3d BOARD.

FYI-

http://www.miniatures-workshop.com/lostminiswiki/?title=Dungeon_Dwellers_Paint'n'Play_Sets

http://www.dndlead.com/dungeon-dwellers/boxedsets.htm

http://ns1.argontech.net/~kaptain1/paint%20&%20play/knights%20and%20magic%20collection/caverns%20of%20doom/Caverns%20of%20Doom.htm

http://ns1.argontech.net/~kaptain1/paint%20&%20play/knights%20and%20magic%20collection/crypt%20of%20sorcerer/Crypt%20of%20the%20Sorcerer.htm


look for yourself, see what you think......

Lots of different things:

*Apple 2e games including Ultima series and an ASCII
graphics turn-based WW2 skirmish game.
*Heroquest
*Necromunda
*Old Fantasy box with goblins and elves
*Dakka Dakka

I wanted an addiction that was more expensive than cocaine.