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So I've really hit my wall with GW, as i have other commitments that i must spend money on, and have just been priced out of spending money at GW anymore. I was thinking of starting up a new hobby game, preferably cheaper in the long run then any of the GW games.

My only needs are:

Cheapish (dropping 200 dollars to start the hobby is fine, 250 for 2 player boxes also acceptable)
Lasting appeal, it can't be something which is on the verge of bankruptcy or has been dead for years

Im good with any settings, historical, modern, fantasy, space. I like to rate all the systems separately, and ill give any game a fair shake.


Thanks in advance for your help!

Off the top of my head:
- Malifaux / Infinity / Guildball small skirmish games; or
- Zombicide / X-wing / Mice & Mystics miniatures boardgames that don't require hobby work

Tanks had a rough start due to GF9 not anticipating its popularity, but is taking off. 15mm WWII Tank skirmish game (folks are comparing it to X-Wing). $25 USD for starter set with 2 US/1 German tank, plus all the bits you need to play (including cards for tanks not yet released). Expansions ($10 USD) include a tank (which can usually be assembled as one of two tanks), stat card, Hero, 2 crew, and 2 upgrades (the heroes are exclusive to the expansions). The models are the same tanks Battlefront produces for Flames of War/Open Fire, so you can reuse if you want to move from skirmish to full war game. A 100 point standard platoon is 2-5 tanks.

Open Fire is a 15mm WWII game midway between Tanks and Flames of War. $70 USD start set includes rulebook, force book, 11 tanks, 105 infantry, 2 guns, tokens, cardboard terrain... the usual stuff.

Deadzone from Mantic: again skirmish scale. $80 USD gets you two basic forces - Enforcers (roughly 40K Imperial) and Forge Fathers (squats, but better) - terrain, rules, tokens and dice (D8s and D6 command dice). Multiple factions with both Starters and Boosters running $40 USD, and Armies (basically a Starter and Booster with a special character) running $80. Includes campaign rules in the rulebook. Models can be reused in their Warpath sci-fi war game.

You could try Frostgrave, which does not require much investment (you can potentially use your existing collection and only need the rulebook).

I also recommend historicals. Unlike Fantasy gaming miniatures and rules do not come hand in hand. Vikings will be always Vikings, so you can play any game with them that comes up in the future.

There are always some trends for specific games and it also depends what scale you are looking at. 15mm historicals is quite common especially if you want to play DBA, DBMM, Field of Glory etc. but 28mm historicals is obviously also a thing: Hail Caesar and Black Powder comes to mind or if you are looking for Skirmish battles have a look at SAGA.

Here is a YouTube video that gives you a rundown, which might be good to get an idea:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72J7Z-9qcpU

Well, you know what they say.

They wrote:Always be yourself. Unless you can be Batman, then always be Batman.

Or, if that's not compelling enough (hehe, I made a pun). How about?


HULK SMASH PUNY SPACE MANS!

With the Marvel Universe Miniatures Game.


Those are both skirmish games, so won't cost you a lot of money. In fact, the Batman game rules are available online in a wiki format for you to have a read through.


If I want to go for a more... epic... scaled game, Dropzone Commander is my go-to game.



Dropfleet Commander is out very soon, which is made by the same company and is Battlefleet Gothic style spaceships, with rules cowritten by Andy Chambers.


People have already mentioned X-Wing, which is one of the top miniatures games out there now. - You're almost certainly going to be able to find a game of that wherever you are. - The other ones I've mentioned might be harder outside the United Kingdom.


That's what a relatively typical X-Wing game looks like.

Truth is, you pretty much could play X-Wing *and* two sides of most of the games mentioned here for the price of a single GW force. :p

This is the one you want. Lots of hard plastics for reasonable prices.

https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?sshr=3

250 to start a hobby? Thats the GW mindset lol

Infinity or Dropzone Commander (if you have a buddy to game with)

I second whoever mentioned Infinity. It doesn't take much to play and looks fairly interesting. Plus basic rules are free online so you can try it out with some warham models if you wanna see if you wanna commit money to it.

Marvel miniatures game by Knights Models. A starter set will run you between 35-50, depending where you buy it, each expansion character is $20 (before discounts, and excluding big guys like Hulk and Hulkbuster). Each starter (except Brotherhood, I hear) contains the full rulebook. And since it's still in its early stages, just over $100 would complete an X-men force, which is the largest; it's $150 before any discounts, and eBay generally has the individuals for $3 off, and the starter for $35 on the regular.

Warlord games, mantic games, x-wing by FFG, there are a ton of companies..just look around and find what floats your boat

 timetowaste85 wrote:
Marvel miniatures game by Knights Models. A starter set will run you between 35-50, depending where you buy it, each expansion character is $20 (before discounts, and excluding big guys like Hulk and Hulkbuster).

Yeah, I'd say overall, right now Marvel is currently my game of choice. Just a pity I don't have any pictures of a game in play right now.

I say try Dropzone Commander just on the basis of Hawk's willingness to actively balance their own game. Also helps that it's a good way to scratch that old Epic itch.

Awesome game with models that are a breeze to paint while still having great detail.

 Compel wrote:

 timetowaste85 wrote:
Marvel miniatures game by Knights Models. A starter set will run you between 35-50, depending where you buy it, each expansion character is $20 (before discounts, and excluding big guys like Hulk and Hulkbuster).

Yeah, I'd say overall, right now Marvel is currently my game of choice. Just a pity I don't have any pictures of a game in play right now.

I don't have any pics of a game (yet: I'm playing on Sunday). I do have a ton of X-men team pics in the finished painting and modeling thread though! (Shameless plug)

Osprey games.

Crooked dice.

Salvage Mogul.

Golgo Island.

Fantacide.

Pulp City.

There are a few out there with a couple of figures, and some easy stuff...

 Ketara wrote:
This is the one you want. Lots of hard plastics for reasonable prices.

https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?sshr=3

I concur. Great value, great reviews, and lots of fun!

Thanks for all the good suggestions guys! Im going to look further into Tanks, Infinity, and the Knights miniature games and proxy a bit and see what I like.

If you want some scifi in a different scale, I'm looking at Horizon Wars by Osprey Games, and it seems pretty cool. Between a decent deal for some Heavy Gear mechs on Amazon, and an order from Brigade Models in the UK for two factions worth of infantry and vehicles, I spent $100 and have 72 points each for two sides.

For reference, a "large" game of Horizon Wars that takes 2 hours to play is 25 points!

 luky7dayz wrote:
So I've really hit my wall with GW, as i have other commitments that i must spend money on, and have just been priced out of spending money at GW anymore. I was thinking of starting up a new hobby game, preferably cheaper in the long run then any of the GW games.

My only needs are:

Cheapish (dropping 200 dollars to start the hobby is fine, 250 for 2 player boxes also acceptable)
Lasting appeal, it can't be something which is on the verge of bankruptcy or has been dead for years

Im good with any settings, historical, modern, fantasy, space. I like to rate all the systems separately, and ill give any game a fair shake.


Thanks in advance for your help!

Ummm, no. You really have no criteria for us to realistically do anymore than tell you our personal favorites.

At this point just go to the Dakka link that has a list of all alternate games out there.

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/369662.page

Realistically, go to where your local gamers play and see what they play and pick it up. No point starting a new game that no one else in the area plays.

I'm very fond of Malifaux, but I'd also like to suggest This Is Not A Test. It's a model neutral game, it's a little loose rules wise, but it's d10 based and a lot of fun.

I'd go for historics - base them sensibly and you can use them with any of dozens of rulesets. Bolt Action is great for smallish forces of WW2, and is regarded as what 40K should have become, but cheaper and better.

Doing the same with generic fantasy like Frostgrave.

 luky7dayz wrote:
So I've really hit my wall with GW, as i have other commitments that i must spend money on, and have just been priced out of spending money at GW anymore. I was thinking of starting up a new hobby game, preferably cheaper in the long run then any of the GW games.

My only needs are:

Cheapish (dropping 200 dollars to start the hobby is fine, 250 for 2 player boxes also acceptable)
Lasting appeal, it can't be something which is on the verge of bankruptcy or has been dead for years

Im good with any settings, historical, modern, fantasy, space. I like to rate all the systems separately, and ill give any game a fair shake.


Thanks in advance for your help!

I'm definitely going to follow in the suggestions of Infinity. I'm going to spoiler the images as they are very wide.

In August, they release their second 2 player starter box; both of which tend towards the $100(USD) range. Each 2 player box has a different set of factions within it as well.
Operation Icestorm(which is currently available) includes the following:



Their new set is called Operation: Red Veil. Here's what you get in that:


In each case, you get two fairly small and ready to play forces to start out with. They both tend to be fairly balanced as well.

If neither of those two player starters tickle your fancy and you want a box with a ready to play army at a fairly large point value?
The Onyx Contact Force 300 point army box might be the ticket for you. Same price point as the 2 player starters; but it's all goodies for you.

That set does NOT include terrain or dice though, as it was kind of their first attempt at creating something like this.

There is also the USAriadna Ranger Force(USARF for short) Army Pack; however I do not suggest that one as it is (in my opinion) not a good value compared to the others. USARF is very light on points for their models and as such the Army Pack is a lightweight in terms of points values.

As mentioned, the rules are free. The fluff however is only in the books, so to really learn the universe you might be interested in the books.

Also:
There is a free Army Builder that you can use which is a great tool to plan out a force you want to build. If you're thinking about Operation: Red Veil and wanting to flesh it out from there, the Ahl Fasid has not been updated in the Army Builder from his previous incarnation(which is a very small model compared to the behemoth he is now). He will be updated when Red Veil comes out at GenCon most likely.

 luky7dayz wrote:

Cheapish (dropping 200 dollars to start the hobby is fine, 250 for 2 player boxes also acceptable)
Lasting appeal, it can't be something which is on the verge of bankruptcy or has been dead for years

How important is being able to find opponents? You're mention of "appeal" suggests that it might be a priority for you. No matter how great the game is, if you can't get a game, it won't be played.

If that's the case, before you dive into a game, I'd call your local game stores and find out what games are most popular. Around here, it seems like most of the major games have a reasonably good following. Based on FLGS game schedules I know for sure that I could find a game of Warmachine/Hordes or X-wing almost any night of the week. It'd also likely also to possible to get in a game of Infinity, Bolt Action or Flames of War once or twice a week. There's also moderate, but regular support for Battletech, Dropzone commander, Kings of War and some others.

All this to say, those of us who don't live where you do might not be the best folks to ask what your next game buy-in should be.

That said, if you have some friends who are up for anything, I always suggest Song of Blades and Heroes. A simple, well-supported (expansions and company followup) ruleset that will give you the justification to buy and paint virtually any fantasy miniature that catches your fancy because it's unit creation mechanic allows you to stat up almost anything you can think of. I've played alot of games since I came back to the hobby about 7 years ago but SBH has been a near-constant.

Another fun thing to do is if you want some hard-scifi feel for a game, grab some rules you like from an indie publisher, and then buy a copy of Sedition Wars for 25-30 bucks nowadays. Tons of miniatures for two forces that can be quite different in playstyle.

For example, I am painting up the two forces from my copy of Sedition Wars for the Rogue Planet ruleset, and adding in a third faction of severely small numbers of severely powerful troops by using the Ghar battlesuits from Beyond the Gates of Antares. Not tying specific miniaturea to a specific ruleset opens up your choices exponentially.

Also probably just as likely using the same minis for the upcoming Rogue Star ruleset from the guy who does Song of Blades and Heroes.

Eagerly awaiting Dropfleet as well.

Would strongly suggest also looking at your local scene - no point getting into something if you can't find anyone to play it with!

Otherwise would say go for Malifaux, depending what faction, crew boxes run <$55 usually, that and maybe one or two others will get you going. Again depends on faction. Although there is also Vassal, as a way to get games in if you're desperate (online).

Talked to some of our local players, tonight actually, good bit of Xwing going on here. One of the guys said for $100 you can get a good number of models to play with.

 luky7dayz wrote:
Cheapish (dropping 200 dollars to start the hobby is fine, 250 for 2 player boxes also acceptable)
Lasting appeal, it can't be something which is on the verge of bankruptcy or has been dead for years

Im good with any settings, historical, modern, fantasy, space. I like to rate all the systems separately, and ill give any game a fair shake.

You might notice you're getting lots of replies. Like, everyone is suggesting something different. Because your criteria matches basically everything outside of 40k and Warmahordes. It also suggests you either have never looked outside of 40k, or haven't in a long time. The days of competitors popping up and dying in a couple of years are long gone. GW's own actions have created a very diverse and lively industry with many different games in different genres and settings that are all very much alive and supported as regularly as GW supports their own games.

My own recommendations are Infinity, Malifaux and Dropzone Commander.

Infinity is a sci fi skirmish game. Complex but fairly intuitive rules with a rapidly growing tournament scene (if that's your thing) that focuses on ultra lethal gunfights rather than hitting each other with swords. You can do that too, but need to actually get there first which is more difficult than you'd think coming from 40k.

Malifaux is another skirmish game, but Victorian era steampunk set in an alternate 1900's Earth with magic, monsters, cowboys, mad scientists, kung fu and anything else you can think of. Uses a deck of poker cards instead of dice and you get a hand so you can cheat a limited amount of times per turn. More narrative driven, with the game being won solely on objectives (though killing enemies certainly makes it easier to accomplish those).

Dropzone Commander is another sci fi game in the style of Epic. Small models, lots of them. Movement is dominated by getting your troops around be aerial transport rather than foot slogging.

One other thing to note about X-wing, the core boxes seem to go on sale at "regular" outlets all the time. Right now the starter kit is 40% or 50% off at Target. I almost bought it, but I need another wargame like a hole in my head and my friends have all I would ever need if I decide to play someday.

X-wing is almost the only game (possibly Warmachine and Infinity also) that I would recommend without reservation soley because of the likelyhood that you can find a game almost anywhere in America.

I still recommend checking the local scene first though to see what's being played actively.

I'd go for Necromunda and Mordheim.

Rules are free, a dozen models for each side from whatever source you like (if you don't have them already and the right size terrain) and a GW feel/background.

It's a testament to that these games are still popular years after they were discontinued.

Cheap as chips and great fun.

Go with Frostgrave. Buy the book. use any minis you want, or may already have.

All the games listed are great recommendations, low model count and low entry cost.
Consider your play style and finding opponents.

With some historical battle games, they tend to be rules heavy and will have long game times
no matter how small or large of battle.. some people love that...others just want a fast beer and
pretzel game

But if you have a FLGS, check out what is hot there.. because even if you find a new game to play,
you may not find an opponent.

I feel the same with GW, its in a slump here but War machine has three game nights at one local store..
Plus my financial situations doesn't allow me to change game systems, most gamers will let you borrow figures
to try the game out..

 Genoside07 wrote:
But if you have a FLGS, check out what is hot there.. because even if you find a new game to play,
you may not find an opponent.

I agree with this. Even if you find a great game you love, you're not going to get a lot of mileage out of it if nobody else in your area is playing.