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How are things going in Fantasy Wargaming? What are people playing and what do you like about your game?

If you don't like a game, explain why in a matter of fact way please. We don't need this to go toxic.

Please remember that different people want different things from their wargames AND just because YOU don't enjoy it doesn't mean others can't.

I've tried to be as broad with the definition as I think appropriate and add all the games I know of. Let me know it I missed something.


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I'm enjoying Mantic's games.
Mantic games are designed to be easy to learn but difficult to master. Which is what I look for.
The miniatures are good enough for me and Mantic allows a lot of freedom regarding what you use.

Malifaux is fun too, I don't like buff bubble and activation chain mechanics (which is why I didn't get into Warmahordes), but the unique card mechanic, feel and the horror theme make up for it.

I love WM/H as it’s a very tight game developed and run by a good company. While there is some disquiet in the WM/H community atm im very positive that we can get over it as the actual game is in the best place it has ever been.

I also love Malifax for its depth, the fact that terrain is impactful and plentiful. I love the card mechanic rather than using dice. It’s a totally different way of approaching a game. The models are sooo nice. I hope that M3e gives the game a big boost in terms of its visibility. My only criticism of the game is actually the company who produce it. Wyrd are really good at writing rules and producing great models. They are awful at advertising their products.

I have played AoS in the past and was actually pleasantly surprised by the demo games I have been involved with. However, compared to WM/H and Malifaux, with AoS I feel like I have been handed a pack of crayons rather than the set of precision tools that WM/H and Malifaux provides. That doesn’t make AoS a bad game. I just want something different from my wargame.

I also feel the same with 40K. I get why it is the most popular game out there. The models are pretty sweet. The lore is amazing (mostly). I just want something different from my game time

Recenetly been playing AoS and Skirmish, LotR and Mordheim.
Personally speaking, I just really enjoy the AoS ruleset and how the models look. Was (and still am on occasion) a WFB player and it's nice to be able to switch the models between the rulesets.

LotR sbg is a real love however. Both for the setting and the mechanics not to mention the models. I'm still of the opinion it's the single best ruleset GW has ever put out and it's my go to for more strategic play and for scenario play.

Mordheim is my groups campaign game. Been playing it constantly since it first released way back when and still do. Just a highly fun and customizable game.

Still playing Warhammer Fantasy 8th with my group. Still enjoying it. Did a triumph and treachery 3 player game Friday and had some good fun.

Kings of War during first edition with some homebrew rules worked great! Small local community but I bowed out when I also quit Warmachine.

Lord of the Rings is going on locally and awesome! I just dont have a force.

Frostgrave is the strongest "play in my house" type games but my group is now going to start playing D&D regularly instead. I will come back to it and prefer it over Mordheim

7th edition was the best WHFB but I quit during 8th and end of times. I've read over the community Old Hammer rules and it's a solid read but I havent not tried it personally.

Runewars was a baaaad joke listing it here. Had a cool concept and could have worked

I've been playing kings of war on and off, which i like quite a bit, but i don't have much of a group to play the game with.

I like AoS but I play it the way that I'm told nobody plays it, which is with the narrative rules. Honestly it's just a lot of homebrew rules overall, I'm playing it with my friend, my sister and my nephews and we're just messing around and having fun.

Frostgrave I wish I could play more often. I like the idea but it's been rough getting any games started and keeping them going.

I'm really excited for 3rd Edition Malifaux. The interconnected crew design makes for a lot of unique playstyles and makes collecting and painting up crews a lot more interesting. Been playing basically since it was announced and really looking forward to seeing it launch.

My excitement for Warmachine is largely back as well. Getting my Doom Reavers back certainly helped and I also got a stack of gift cards that I put towards starting Crucible Guard as something of a replacement for my Mercs. Clearing up some heavy painting backlogs for other games has given me time to get things up to date again.

AoS hasn't really worked for me yet. I felt like too much was up to the D6 and too many abilities that were just kind of binary random success needed to form any kind of plan. The game just felt entirely too dicey to me, which caught me off guard as I haven't felt that way with 8th edition 40k. I want to give it another try at some point, but I was really taken aback at how frustrated I got with the game.

In addition to the couple I checked (AOS & AOS Skirmish, BB, Frostgrave), I've also been poking around with A Song of Blades and Heroes, Dragon Rampant, Moonstone, and Burrows & Badgers (for fantasy, anyway; similar kind of multi-game list for sci-fi. )

I have been playing Dragon Rampant as well as Vanguard quite alot recently.

While I agree that Mantic games are easy to learn, I am not sure I would say they are hard to master.

I am most looking forward to Saga Fantasy.

I'm currently playing in a Mordheim campaign, and I'm painting a Dogs of War army for an upcoming Warmaster: Revolution tournament.

I've also been playing a lot of Warhammer Underworlds. It's a pretty fun game, and at least GW is trying to keep the scene updated with its Banned and Restricted list, erratas, and FAQs (although it's still up in the air as to whether or not the people designing the game actually play. Some of those cards are just... ugh).

I've also got a bunch of miniatures for Frostgrave that I'd like to play with at some point, especially since there's all this Mordheim terrain sitting about.

Blood Bowl is always fun, and I'm probably going to run another tournament at PAX Unplugged this year. Maybe I'll make it so that Gritty is a Star Player everyone can take if they make a character for him...

I'm also kind of curious about Warlords of Erehwon, Warlord Games' new generic fantasy warband ruleset. But I'm holding myself to no new games this years, so I'm staying away at the moment.

Kings of War continues to be brilliant. I'm in a lull right now since I'm sick of my 2017 army and it takes a while to build a new one That and US Masters just happened, so now my club will be catching up on COK19.

I'm pretty interested in returning to WMH, have only played 3E a few times. I continue to be drawn to the Cryx army I started building years ago ... but will no doubt run another iteration of my Skorne. Naaresh always attracted me and seems to have more going on now, plus my darling Makeda2 lost some of the tools that made her sing for me.

When Malifaux 3E hits I've got a lot of people ready to charge back into it, and my commission-painted Brewmaster crew should be pretty far along at this point, I just told the guy to have them ready for whenever 3E drops. I'm not sure I love MFX entirely, because it like WMH it resists flow stats and involves a LOT of thinking, which isn't 100% what I'm after in gaming, particularly in a game that isn't my main one. But I really like tightly designed games, which is also why KOW and WMH are on my list

Speaking of loosey goosey dice rolling, I'll give AOS a fourth shot once the Gutbusters book drops. But until them I'm happy doing Kill Team and small-scale 40k when it comes to GeeDub.

EDIT: I only voted for KOW, since I'm not actively playing any other fantasy games.

Voted:

Kings of War - technically I haven't played in about a year because AoS draws in more people locally (3 people vs KoW's 2... that's the state of my group ) but I consider myself an active player and I build 1-2 new armies a year. I love how clean and simple the system is while allowing deep play and meaningful choices in list building.

Kings of War Vanguard - I was sooo afraid this would be one of Mantic's low-effort projects but it's a great book with a lot of work poured into it (and my name in the credits). Have 2 warbands built, hope to play soon.

AoS - our go-to game since 2nd edition hit. Great minis and lore, easiest one to find opponents for. Gameplay is alright for a casual game of pushing dudes around and throwing dice at each other.

Frostgrave - starting our first campaign next month. Looks like a clunky system and the rules are explained poorly, but it's the closest you can get to Mordheim with current rules and miniatures support.

lord_blackfang wrote:

Kings of War -... I love how clean and simple the system is while allowing deep play and meaningful choices in list building.

Kings of War Vanguard - I was sooo afraid this would be one of Mantic's low-effort projects but it's a great book with a lot of work poured into it (and my name in the credits). Have 2 warbands built, hope to play soon.

AoS - our go-to game since 2nd edition hit. Great minis and lore, easiest one to find opponents for. Gameplay is alright for a casual game of pushing dudes around and throwing dice at each other.

Agree on this.
It's GW that put me of their games in general. AoS is still good fun with good people.

AOS is fun with the right people.

As a competitive pick up game, its the most god awful creation that exists today.

Currently on a fantasy hiatus, but if I do decide to get back into it, it will likely be 5th edition WHFB.

Working on my neverending Mordheim project as usual, and trying to collect a full set of WHFB 6th Edition books in spotless condition without giving up any organs or limbs. I played a little Kings of War late last year and it was decent, but I think it's a game I'll play in future because a given group may prefer it rather than one I'll be evangelising for myself.

I continue to bounce right off AoS, even as it introduces stuff I quite like, and I suspect it's simply the case that the End Times soured the idea of it for me personally for good.

I’m all in on AoS, have been since day 1, though I almost quit wargaming altogether because of how disastrous the launch of AoS was, and how the community fractured (and still is in some cases). The “silly” non-gaming rules were damn embarassing, but make for a good laugh now that its in the rearview mirror. Had it not been for some of my favorite podcasters hitching their wagon to AoS very early on and rebuilding the scene and growing the game, I’d probably have sold my stuff off.

Its definitely not perfect, but I have great fun more often than not. Make terrain more meaningful fffs!

I also like that I have front row seats watching GW building a fantasy world. I disliked some aspects of The End Times but approved overall, and for close to 20 years I enjoyed the fiction they developed in the World that Was, so I trust them to give me a wild ride as the Mortal Realms take a more clear shape. The fiction since City of Secrets has been top notch, imo.

No other fantasy game really grabs me like AoS does.

I checked Kings of War, Vanguard, and Frostgrave, but each comes with an asterisk.

*Kings of War-- I have yet to actually play a game, but I have four armies ready to go. After two decades (give or take) of WHFB, I like how the rules fit together, instead of having stuff bolted on with each new edition and the accompanying new models.

*Vanguard looks sweet, and as a KS backer I got enough of the bespoke power dice that I can provide for anyone I play with. Also, I can just take models off their KOW movement trays.

*Frostgrave is probably my favorite game of the last decade. In the last month, though, I've been putting all my energy into Rangers of Shadow Deep, which has the same basic ruleset but is meant to be played coop. The AI for the monsters is a little clunky, but a little common sense easily makes up the difference.

Kings of War and Vanguard for me. I can't go back to individual basing in a army-sized game, KoW has ruined me for other wargames

Blood Bowl and Frostgrave as that is what my family likes to play!

dyndraig wrote:
Kings of War and Vanguard for me. I can't go back to individual basing in a army-sized game, KoW has ruined me for other wargames

All my KoW stuff is individually based, and has been since the late 80's when I started. They are, however, magnetized to stick to their movement trays.

Warmahordes, the core rules are good but the game seems to be dying. Some negative stuff popping up on several large fb groups as the community confronts the fact that the game isn't getting new players and that local stores aren't supporting it. Still a fun game though.

None?

AoS is intriguing now that its wandering out of the dark and starting to develop a setting and armies beyond Sigmarines and Khorne Blood Blooders. But... there isn't much going on locally.

Warmahordes took several bad turns from the old GW playbook, so I left with third edition. Regardless of my views on it, it also went splat in the local scene with 3rd

The rest... are entirely non-existent locally, and largely aren't particularly interesting to me.

Big fan of Kings of War, so Vanguard was a no brainer to me and it's great, even better than KoW.

I've played Warmachine, and it's too much for me. Too many nutty combos, you really need to play it constantly for it to be fresh and fun. It was fun the few times I played, but I feel like you need a phd to really grok it, and if you don't have your guys and your opponents absolutely memorized.... Well, it's easy to screw up!

AoS was fun, but not nearly as fun as KoW and/or Vanguard. I liked Mordheim OK, but it hasn't aged well in comparison to newer games (like Vanguard!)

I didn't like Runewars. Clunky, fiddly, and weird feeling, it was just not that fun. Nice minis and cool dice though!

I play 6th and 8th WHFB, Morheim, LOTR and Warmachine/Hordes.
Thankfully AoS is dead as a door nail in my group, I play LOTR somewhat regulary and WHFB weekly with several good friends, Warmachine/Hordes are on and of but I always return to it

Warlords of Nowhere from Rick Priestly is pretty awesome. Also not on this poll.

auticus wrote:
Warlords of Nowhere from Rick Priestly is pretty awesome. Also not on this poll.

Probably meant Warlords Of Erehwon? I only know because I was intrigued and google had to help me connect the dots. Smells like autocorrect gone amuck

 Boss Salvage wrote:

auticus wrote:
Warlords of Nowhere from Rick Priestly is pretty awesome. Also not on this poll.

Probably meant Warlords Of Erehwon? I only know because I was intrigued and google had to help me connect the dots. Smells like autocorrect gone amuck

Or he just wanted to point out the silly "dlrow eman si sdrawkcab" thing.

Funnily enough, I have fantasy armies I could use in several games, but haven’t played any fantasy in over a year.

Last I did play was Runewar (Latari elves). Last I collected was the Nighthaunt from the AoS 2.0 release.

Overall, I find myself a fan of skirmish games and less of a mass battle sort of person.