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Just looking for a simple rule set to introduce youngsters to.
Something of a fun, easy, gateway in the the world of wargaming.
Obviously the more generic the better.
I'm not looking to brand these kids, just show them the fun of table top wargaming.
Dunno how that Skeptoid got posted...deleted it.

Heroclix.

It is easy, hard to cheat with, allows them to use both HALO characters and comic book superheroes in the same game.

Every (male, at least) kid knows who they are.

H.G. Wells' 'Little Wars'. You can't get much more simpler or generic than that.

Hordes of the Things.

A little more complicated than heroclix, but the rules are always
the same no matter what models you're using.

Heroscape (the Marvel core set)

Dreamblade (I miss this game)

Pirates of the Spanish Main (simple, and fun)

chromedog wrote:Heroclix.

It is easy, hard to cheat with, allows them to use both HALO characters and comic book superheroes in the same game.

Every (male, at least) kid knows who they are.

I agree. Heroclixs has everything right on each figs base. No tables to look at. I started my five year old on Heroclix and he loved it and now, he's eyeing the 40k figs I'm painting with interest. Just keep buying a couple boosters every set to keep it fresh for him/her.

I've recently gotten my girlfriend (who previously at best tolerated my 'little men') into Dust Tactics.
You get an entire playable game in the starter box: the minis are decent quality, the forces very balanced. A game with this box takes about 30 mins or so, an hour if you've never played a wargame in your life before. The box is very reasonably priced for its contents (13 troops, 1 hero, 1 vehicle per side).

I would have to go with Heroclix too.

Figures are ready painted and there is that collecting mechanism which attracts boys.

Alternatives to Heroclix might include Combat Storm (play with Army Men) or the free set War in Hell. This allows the use of any figures of any scale and period at the same time.

http://combatstorm.com/

http://www.jimwallman.org.uk/wargame/war%20in%20hell.pdf

The next step up might be a skirmish game such as MERCS. By keeping the figure count low, there isn't too much expense or difficulty in assembling an army (painting etc.)

On that last point don't forget there's necromunda.

It's free, reasonably straight forward and can be used as an in to 40k if you so choose. The miniatures are also some of the more cost effective that GW sell; a gang of 8 for about 20 quid.

All those 41st millenium ruined cities finally come into their own!

I recommend introducing them to the joys of wargaming with a ruleset like "Song of Blades and Heroes" . It's a great easy-to-play fantasy skirmish game..
http://www.ganeshagames.net/product_info.php?cPath=1_6&products_id=7&osCsid=pgpbuqrs6io30d3d9agqr7aln1

-3 stats and a couple of special rules per model
-7-10 miniatures per player
-All measuring is done with 3 sticks rather than a measuring tool
-30-60 minutes per game
-all dicing is handled with 3d6
-$8 PDF provides all the rules you need, but there are lots of expansions if you want them.

It's completely generic. Stats are provided for all the basic fantasy races, and there is a free warband builder program so you can stat up any figure quickly.

We ran it at a convention and had players from 6-60 learning the rules and playing quickly.
http://rpgdiehard.blogspot.com/2011/04/song-of-blades-heroes-play-report-from.html

As far as relative complexity It's a far easier system to learn than Necromunda, Hordes of the things and Mercs, but it's probably on par with Heroclix or Heroscape.

As someone who used to play Heroclix, I would disagree on any notion of it being a balanced game. Its got a worst 'New Hotness' creep then Warhammer. This unbalanced nature also prevents it from really being 'fun' if you want to play with your favorite super hero team, and they are not the new hotness.

We took a long look at a lot of the things we hated about Heroclix, Warmahordes, 40k, and other games when making Brushfire so that it is simple, fun, and balanced.

Maybe not a wargame but I still think the best table top game is bloodbowl
1 box set can get you a team.
The rules are free
and most of all it is a good rule set

definitey HG Wells Little Wars. That way, a few plastic army men and a spring cannon or catapult really comes into its own.

I'd like to reccomend Mercs
www.mercsminis.com
Rule book is $35, models are $10, $13 for the biggest one. The rules are intuitive and pretty cool as your characters "snap" to cover and theres cool things like overwatch and suppresion in the advanced rules. Basic rules might even be free on their site, and they have videos on how to play. The games uses d10's and cards. The models are very sexy. It's a game my friend is using to play with his 8yo and having great games(basic rules)

You know, another alternative could be Brick Wars. It uses Legos.

Bloodbowl is good balance, and the nice thing is you can get a bunch of 'armies' for kids to learn with until they get thier own. And if the bloodbowl rumors are true, they will have good model support for a little while.

Bloodbowl is really balanced with the core teams and fun to play. You can even play all human leagues for true balance as it is one of the few games which shines when everyone plays the same team.

Phydox wrote:You know, another alternative could be Brick Wars. It uses Legos.

Suprisingly,Brikwars is a bad option for kids. It's a fun ruleset to read with quite a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor, but for gaming it's a mediocre-verging-on-bad ruleset with too many rules. I've tried it a couple of times and it really bogs down and takes a long time to play.

I've had much better luck playing Song of Blades and Heroes (see my above post) with LEGO figures.

How about the old standby...Chess.

Movement is easy, both sides are balanced, combat is simple, and the tactical depth is unparalleled.

Sure it doesn't have all of the nifty guns and chainsaws, or even particularly spectacular models, but it's a good way to introduce wargames and tactics at a very basic level.

Allow me to shamelessly plug my game, Blackwater Gulch. It's a wild west skirmish game. Designed to be a quick & easy, with as few rules as possible. Rules are free, however I don't have many figures just yet, but that will be changing soon

http://www.blackwatergulch.com

I'd say maybe hero quest if you can get you hands on that. If not, then I vaguely remember a game using a hex system under the name of Heroscape. It was fun when I played it once or twice.

If you just want a wargame that's fun to play, look online for a game called Frontiers, by Asmodee games. Shouldn't be more than 25 dollars US, anywhere on the web, for the complete boardgame.

It doesn't use miniatures, but instead uses card punch-out disks with a really detailed top-view of the unit on them, including all their stats and even their point value. Some units are one-hit kills, but on most, when they are damaged, you flip them over and get a "damaged' side that has fewer guys shown, and lower stats. Vehicles actually have a "wrecked" side that leaves persistent terrain behind when destroyed.

Measuring involves very simple range modifiers and an unlimited range (the game is meant for a 3'x4' area), and you only ever roll a single D6 when attacking other units. Each unit simply gets a +"X" modifier against other light armor, heavy armor and buildings, with one of the three types of armor for themselves as a color-coded number.

Terrain buildings and vehicles are involved in the main boxed game and you could easily expend the two armies by buying another game, and you can get even more buildings, terrain, additional army units and vehicles for the two main armies and even an entire third army as an absolutely free download here:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/29078/frontiers



It is seriously one of the most fun games in my collection. When there's a gaming night where I don't want to get into a heavy game like 40K, I pull Frontiers out. As long as you don;t mind the "miniatures game with no miniatures" format, it is seriously a fun beer and pretzels wargame.

I'd recommend Fubar and whatever miniatures you like.

http://thegamesshed.wordpress.com/category/wargames-rules/sf-wargames-rules/

Fubar is a great option for sci-fi combat.

Also, if they want a more 40k warband style game, there's a variation of Fubar called "In The Emperors Name" that is a pretty cool game. Plays really fast and is easy to learn. It has dozens of faction lists pre-made, or you can customize your own. You can get it at the same site as Frozenwastes has linked too.

Cyporiean wrote:As someone who used to play Heroclix, I would disagree on any notion of it being a balanced game. Its got a worst 'New Hotness' creep then Warhammer. This unbalanced nature also prevents it from really being 'fun' if you want to play with your favorite super hero team, and they are not the new hotness.

We took a long look at a lot of the things we hated about Heroclix, Warmahordes, 40k, and other games when making Brushfire so that it is simple, fun, and balanced.

While what your saying is true I think it had more to do with NECA buying out WhizKids and relaunching the game. New models are tougher than the originals, but the current spead of minis is pretty on par with each other going forward from the Hammer Of Thor set (which was NECA's first set)

Clix is easy to setup, play, and tear down. A game could be as little as 30 to as long as 2 hours. Easy to get in multiple games a night in.

The thing I like about Heroclix is that if you're new to the game and have friends who play you can get started fairly quickly because they'll undoubtedly have duplicates (you only use duplicates marginally in Clix, and Heroclix is like a CCG in that it has levels of rarities so there are plenty of dupes to be given) that they'll just give to you to get you started. For the same reason if you wanted to get a friend into it, you could just dump a bunch of extras on them too. I've only been playing since Oct 2011, I own a 12"x36"x4" box just filled with Clix and I've only bought about one tenth of what I currently have, from recent as well as older sets....It's a real easy startup.

Plus, everyone loves superheroes!!!

Stratego

infinite_array wrote:H.G. Wells' 'Little Wars'. You can't get much more simpler or generic than that.

Ah, going Old School...

MightyGodzilla wrote:

Cyporiean wrote:As someone who used to play Heroclix, I would disagree on any notion of it being a balanced game. Its got a worst 'New Hotness' creep then Warhammer. This unbalanced nature also prevents it from really being 'fun' if you want to play with your favorite super hero team, and they are not the new hotness.

We took a long look at a lot of the things we hated about Heroclix, Warmahordes, 40k, and other games when making Brushfire so that it is simple, fun, and balanced.

While what your saying is true I think it had more to do with NECA buying out WhizKids and relaunching the game. New models are tougher than the originals, but the current spead of minis is pretty on par with each other going forward from the Hammer Of Thor set (which was NECA's first set)

Actually, I was playing long before NECA. I stopped shortly after Fin Fang Foom came out.

Battletech basic, or get the rules off line for the "Green Army man" wargame. They have some buildings and everything to use, as well as get yourself some MArx armymen on the cheap by the box.

http://combatstorm.com/


Very fun little game. NO BS and a lot of fun.


( along with that, you lambs can take note of the downloads section. If you have the time, the buildings and stuff will size to your game.)

As a side note, I found this from a while back. Forgot aout it until the topic came up.

http://www.thortrains.net/armymen/armymen2.htm