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I've made up an army list and I'm about halfway through assembly and painting. I have a rulebook, which honestly bores me a little, and I want to take my little 1000 point army out and see how I fare. Advice?

Funny, not everyone likes the same aspects of the game. Maybe you're just a haptic learner and prerfer learning by doing. In which case, just go to a gaming store, or whatever place has games going on (check online helps).

Find the oldest people to help you, because they will know the most tricks and will likely be more sympathetic to your learning curve insteading of trying to ground you to dust. Though be sure to tell them you're 100% new. Cuz some might want to only play fellow vets.

Best way to learn it is to play with an experienced and friendly player who hopefully knows your army and is happy to help you learn.

At least that's how I got started.

Definitely agree with the above. If you have a local gaming store ask around for experienced players who wouldn't mind giving you some games focused around getting you used to how the mechanics of the game works and take it from there.

Don't play. First you need to read the 8th edition rulebook back to front. Then get a hold of the seventh edition rulebook, and read that back to front. Quiz yourself on the rules changes. I prefer using note cards but that's personal preference. Edit: Repeat this step for the earlier six editions.

Next, track down some archived White Dwarf magazines. Read them - all of them. You can ignore the 40k and Lord of the Rings articles, but definitely read the Blood Bowl articles.

Then, track down battle reports on YouTube. There's hundreds of them. Watch them all, twice. Just the Fantasy games, and Space Hulk, because it looks like fun.

Repeat these until a tournament opens in your area. You're ready - to watch. You'll need to keep track of every game going on. Keep a pen and paper handy, and write down the key strengths and weaknesses of every player. You're almost ready.

Next step is to comb these forums, and match it to your own research to determine the cheesiest tactic available to you in the game. Compose your army using nothing but THAT.

It's important that you don't play socially at all until the next tournament - people will learn your strengths and play against them. Only you can sabotage yourself!

Trust me, this is the ONLY WAY TO LEARN.

Squash wrote:Don't play. First you need to read the 8th edition rulebook back to front. Then get a hold of the seventh edition rulebook, and read that back to front. Quiz yourself on the rules changes. I prefer using note cards but that's personal preference.

Next, track down some archived White Dwarf magazines. Read them - all of them. You can ignore the 40k and Lord of the Rings articles, but definitely read the Blood Bowl articles.

Then, track down battle reports on YouTube. There's hundreds of them. Watch them all, twice. Just the Fantasy games, and Space Hulk, because it looks like fun.

Repeat these until a tournament opens in your area. You're ready - to watch. You'll need to keep track of every game going on. Keep a pen and paper handy, and write down the key strengths and weaknesses of every player. You're almost ready.

Next step is to comb these forums, and match it to your own research to determine the cheesiest tactic available to you in the game. Compose your army using nothing but THAT.

It's important that you don't play socially at all until the next tournament - people will learn your strengths and play against them. Only you can sabotage yourself!

Trust me, this is the ONLY WAY TO LEARN.

You want her to learn 7th edition AND 8th editions rules? Why do that when it sounds like its her first outing into fantasy. No need to make it more work to remember what edition has what etc when most people will be playing 8th. Also not everyone goes straight for tournaments right away. There's nothing wrong with learning to play socially.

Lexx wrote:
You want her to learn 7th edition AND 8th editions rules? Why do that when it sounds like its her first outing into fantasy.

Whoops. You're right. I re-read what I wrote and see how ridiculous it sounded. I've edited my post and corrected it.

Squash wrote:Don't play. First you need to read the 8th edition rulebook back to front. Then get a hold of the seventh edition rulebook, and read that back to front. Quiz yourself on the rules changes. I prefer using note cards but that's personal preference. Edit: Repeat this step for the earlier six editions.

Next, track down some archived White Dwarf magazines. Read them - all of them. You can ignore the 40k and Lord of the Rings articles, but definitely read the Blood Bowl articles.

Then, track down battle reports on YouTube. There's hundreds of them. Watch them all, twice. Just the Fantasy games, and Space Hulk, because it looks like fun.

Repeat these until a tournament opens in your area. You're ready - to watch. You'll need to keep track of every game going on. Keep a pen and paper handy, and write down the key strengths and weaknesses of every player. You're almost ready.

Next step is to comb these forums, and match it to your own research to determine the cheesiest tactic available to you in the game. Compose your army using nothing but THAT.

It's important that you don't play socially at all until the next tournament - people will learn your strengths and play against them. Only you can sabotage yourself!

Trust me, this is the ONLY WAY TO LEARN.

I assume this was pure sarcasm or a troll post, because I disagree strongly with... well, everything, everything ever.

I suggest knocking your list down to 500 - 750 points (try to include some missile troops and a low level wizard) and just play some very small games to begin with.

Tips to keep it simple...

Play on a 4' by 4' board
Only roll a D3 when rolling for spells thereby avoiding the game breakers (nobody wants to see Transformation of Kadon come off in a 500pt game)
Keep magic items to a minimum (e.g. choose a single 25-50 item for your general or wizard just to see how it can effect the game)
Choose a simple game objective e.g. kill the opposing general, control table quarters etc
Avoid some of the dafter rules like mystical terrain for the moment

Flashman and Amaya nailed it, really. The only thing I have to add is:

- Actually get 2-3 friends to help you learn. When you only have one "tutor" you basically learn how THEY like to play. When you have several points of view, you learn how to PLAY.

- When not actively playing, sit and watch other people play in your FLGS. I don't think I've ever met a gamer who didn't want an audience for a tight match. Just be sure not to be intrusive or loud.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I am lucky that my FLGS will happily run demos for people as long as you call ahead and let them know. I've decided to go ahead and to that, and I will probably go ahead and try and watch a few games if any are going on as well.

I don't think the size of the battle really matter UNLESS your playing a horde army with a high model count. If you're playing a smaller army (model count wise) such as Ogres, playing at 2000 points or more to start out is probably because better because it allows you to fit in the characters that are key to your force.

The key to learning the game IMO is to play games where every phase comes into play but isn't gamebreaking or tedious.

1000-1500 points is best for this. Small games that go fast but allow you to fit in magic casters as well as shooting, artillery, cavalry etc.

When I teach games I use lists that have a presence in every possible aspect of the game without relying on them to win. So no gunlines or magic spam, but enough shooting and magic to learn how they work.

I try to fit in fast cav or other special units like hydras to get as broad a scope of the game as possible without being overwhelming.