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Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut



Minnesota ya

So I'm currently looking for a new table top wargame that isn't "dark" like warhammer 40k (I have a 2yr old daughter that I don't want her to see some of the pics in my rule book or codex) and is decently affordable as I have some college friends that want to get into a table top wargamer but don't really have the cash.

I'm open to any type of setting like sci-fi, fantasy, historical, and etc.

Also want the models to be family friendly as I have a 2yr old daughter so I dont want all my female models to be semi-nude or having massive cleavage (Warmachine I'm looking at you)

Anyone got some suggestions?

Thanks again!

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2012/07/09 02:49:54


 
   
Made in us
Executing Exarch






Odenton, MD

Brushfire!

   
Made in us
Fixture of Dakka






Akron, OH

Totally Biased here...

Brushfire is a Historical Fantasy Skirmish Game, featuring armies based on historical armies but using the local animals as troops. So you get Napoleonic French Badgers, Weasels, and Moles fighting against Feudal Japanese Otters, Tanuki, and Foxes. If your familiar with the Redwall series of novels the setting is like a Napoleonic version of that.

and the two words that generally push people over the edge: Hamster Berserker



PDF Rules can be bought on Wargame Vault for $1, which include eight factions (with all units base sizes listed), campaign rules, and siege rules.

You can also get the Quickstart Rules here for free.

Each faction gets its own starter set that includes a Hero and 25 Resources worth of Troops, with the standard game size being 100 Resources, along with dice and the quickstart rules for $35.

More painted models can be see in Gymnogyps' Painting Blog

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2012/06/29 04:59:47


-Emily Whitehouse| On The Lamb Games
 
   
Made in us
Wicked Ghast





Lake Charles, Louisiana

Battletech all the way in this corner may be hard for her to grasp but i mean heck it would be fun to let her move giant robots around paint a couple neon pink. As for your college friend i think it would work well for free for all nights where everyone on everyone plus it is fairly cheap for the diversity of each mech
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut






Moving flat out..

I've bought into Brushfire as well - Animals in HIstorial Battles? Yes, please. Just waiting on my Gecko Riders and Siege Turtle!

For the Scyzantine Empire!

(though the Mole Tactician s quite cool)

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2012/06/29 05:57:28



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Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut





Two words- Fuzzy Heroes.

Tabletop gaming with stuffed animals/toys/whatever you have lying around. Fast game play and easy to learn rules. You stat out every figure based on color, height and physical characteristics.

In my first ever game my toy Aliens queen was quite the beast but was eventually put down by a 2ft tall stuffed kangaroo..... The guy that won the battle royal we did actually had a styrofoam cup with a face drawn on and a few pencils stuck in it because we were out of toys!
   
Made in ie
Ravager




Gruntz - http://www.gruntz.biz/

It's very affordable:
The rulebook is a 9$ PDF download and you can use minis from any 15mm manufacturer.
Models can be as family friendly or otherwise as you like, as you use whatever 15mm models you want.
Rulebook is family friendly - no gore that I can recall and gruntz are waxed rather than killed.
Mechanics are clear and work well (basic mechanics very similar to war machine).
You stat up units however you like using the unit/vehicle building system - there's a free online builder at http://www.gruntomatic.com
Rewards manoeuvre and tactics imo.

15mm models (and I'd imagine many 28mm models or certainly their components) are a choking hazard to 2 year olds. So do be careful.
Some random 15mm guys
Khurasan Chewk and Felids


Groundzerogames UNSC (thanks to Tiny Solitary Soldiers blog)


This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2012/06/29 08:31:11


 
   
Made in us
Old Sourpuss






Lakewood, Ohio

I'm going to have to second (or is it third or fourth) Brushfire.

I'm a teacher education student, and I've made a few friends in the teaching field through wargaming, and one of my buddies works with students with learning exceptionalities (both on the high and low end of that spectrum). And he uses Brushfire as a way to engage the kids every now and then. They like the animal sculpts, and it's a fun and easy game to play.

I'm going to second the Hamster Beserkers... While I don't play the faction that gets them, they are what got me into the game. Currently I play Aquitar, but when Chugoku comes out, it's Red Claw faction for me

DR:80+S++G+M+B+I+Pwmhd11#++D++A++++/sWD-R++++T(S)DM+

Ask me about Brushfire or Endless: Fantasy Tactics 
   
Made in us
Anointed Dark Priest of Chaos






Is your two year old reading codexes and playing with miniatures? Why not simply play after she goes to bed or if you are thinking of playing with her you could wait until she is a few years older and ask her what she would like to do with daddy? It might not be toy soldiers...

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2012/06/29 12:50:23


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Made in gb
Painting Within the Lines





As an alternative to Brushfire but in a similar vein (furry animal warfare) there is Ganesha Games' Song of the Splintered Lands. That one is an $8 download for the PDF version. It's based on their Song of Blades & Heroes rule system which is extremely simple to learn and is designed for playing with forces of up to around a dozen minis per side.

Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't 
   
Made in us
Frightening Flamer of Tzeentch






New York

Hmmm I'd say go for Brushfire, MERCS, or Dropzone Commander (well when it comes out haha) I'm a huge fan of MERCS.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2012/06/30 00:07:06


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Malevolent Miniatures 
   
Made in gb
Joined the Military for Authentic Experience





On an Express Elevator to Hell!!

I'll put a mention in for Infinity. Some absolutely gorgeous models, and you can start off with just half a dozen a side. Rules are free to download as well.

Another idea, especially if you want to get people into some games quickly, would be to try some board games perhaps? What about Dwarf King's Hold/Project Pandora, or the forthcoming Sedition Wars?

Epic 30K&40K! A new players guide, contributors welcome https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/751316.page
 
   
Made in us
Purposeful Hammerhead Pilot





Pullman, WA

I'd say Kings of War. The models are cheap, the game scales very well but doesn't require an insane initial buy-in (Plus Mantic, the manufacturers, are always running some ridiculous sale or another). If your mates already have Warhammer Fantasy models, they're set there as there's an army list out for 8 official armies and the fan lists fill in anything else you might possibly want to play as.

As for gameplay, it's amazing, almost everyone I've talked to has sworn off WHFB in favor of KoW, and I've read several testimonies of dads able to play with their 6-8 year old kids within half an hour.

Imagine the feeling when you position your tanks, engines idling, landing gear deployed for a low profile, with firing solutions along a key bottleneck. Then some fether lands a dreadnought behind them in a giant heat shielded coke can.

The Ironwatch Magazine

My personal blog 
   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut



Minnesota ya

Thanks for all the responses. I see a lot of people like Brushfire.

CT GAMER wrote:Is your two year old reading codexes and playing with miniatures?


No she is not but as she is getting older I don't feel comfortable having her seeing some of the pictures in the rule books.

CT GAMER wrote:Why not simply play after she goes to bed


Would love to but she is a night owl like her daddy, we just got done watching Sesame Street at 12:15 am plus I work second shift so that makes it hard to do.


This would be mainly around my buddies and brother-in-law and maybe I could get my wife into. (She won't get into 40k ) So the games that are being suggested doesn't have to be something super kiddy and such.

Just something that if my mother-in-law saw me playing she won't drop dead because of some of the models

 
   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut




Chicago

I concur with Brushfire, love my capybara!

Matt Sears
Hyacinth Games- creators of Wreck Age: http://wreck-age.net 
   
Made in us
Stubborn Temple Guard






I'm going to second Battletech. Probably cheaper, since you don't even need to buy minis AT ALL as long as you play on mapsheets.

'Mech creation software is free.

Buy a starter box, learn to play. Buy Total Warfare, and you don't need to invest in anything else (in theory) to get unending and massively diverse amusement from the game.

27th Member of D.O.O.M.F.A.R.T.
Resident Battletech Guru. 
   
Made in us
Calm Celestian





Kansas

When my kid was around that age we just used some Star Trek Micro Machine ships and rolled dice to see if they were hit or not. He would change the rules as we played... kind of fun.

My gaming group has quite a few kids in it and although on the 'dark' side All Things Zombie is a crowd hit.

Saurian Safari is a dino-hunting game, and is a blast. You would just need a few hunters and some plastic dinosaurs. I bought about 200 on eBay for around $30, You could do it in 28mm or 15mm.

You could also try "Pig Tickler" and "Wagers of Sin" from Eureka. The latter is one of my favorite games. While it certainly isn't required, I made a custom board for mine:





This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2012/06/30 12:36:17


   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut




Chicago

That board is killer! how long it take to tile it?

Matt Sears
Hyacinth Games- creators of Wreck Age: http://wreck-age.net 
   
Made in us
Brigadier General






Chicago

larva_uk wrote:As an alternative to Brushfire but in a similar vein (furry animal warfare) there is Ganesha Games' Song of the Splintered Lands. That one is an $8 download for the PDF version. It's based on their Song of Blades & Heroes rule system which is extremely simple to learn and is designed for playing with forces of up to around a dozen minis per side.


I'd second the Song of Blades and Heroes System.

Song of Blades and Heroes is Ganesha's base rules for fantasy skirmish. It's by far the easiest-to-learn ruleset out there and it allows you to use any miniatures you have which can be stated up via their free online unit builder. We've run convention games where kids play and they enjoy it, but it has enough tactics that it's our club's go-to fantasy ruleset and we're currently doing a summer campaign with these rules.

There are expansions for SoBH to cover dungeon crawls, extended campaigns and weather, etc.

There are also a few complete-game versions set in alternate settings. These include the full SoBH rules, but include specific scenarios, charachters and special rules.

It's not exactly what you asked, but here's a few that might appeal to your daughter in a couple years:

Song of the Splintered lands: Talking animals a'la Narnia, redwall, etc. Also, this is supported by a line of 18/20mm animal figures that average about a dollar a piece and are sculpted by Bob Olley. Super cute and super affordable. http://www.splinteredlightminis.com/20wowa.html

Song of Fur and Buttons: British Colonial Teddy bears exploring a wilderness that includes dinosaurs!

Song of Arthur and Merlin: A neat version that includes rules/charachters/scenarios for three different takes on the Arthurian legend: Non-Magic history, Gritty Welsh legend, and Hollywoodized Arthurian fantasy

You can see all these here:
http://www.ganeshagames.net/index.php?cPath=1_6&osCsid=4f6h2sgsr6kamveb2jvqrjcc82

8 bucks for rules and 6-11 figures of your choice (build whatever kind of warband you want) and your friends can try wargaming without having to invest alot of $.

Chicago Skirmish Wargames club. Join us for some friendly, casual gaming in the Windy City.
http://chicagoskirmishwargames.com/blog/


My Project Log, mostly revolving around custom "Toybashed" terrain.
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Made in us
Dakka Veteran






Super Dungeon Explorer. The Chibi characters look funny to kids.

   
Made in us
Fresh-Faced New User




Have you looked at Rezolution or Warlands by Aberrant Games? The games are easy to learn and fun to play. http://www.aberrantgames.com/
   
Made in us
Calm Celestian





Kansas

msears wrote:That board is killer! how long it take to tile it?


Thanks, to be honest I'm not sure. I worked on it sporadically for a couple weeks. Some of the bricks are individually placed, but the majority of the board is placed together Tetris-style using the Keebler Studios 'Small Brick' molds. They're similar to Hirst Arts in that you need to cast them yourself. They're also slightly smaller and much more in scale with 28mm figures than the Hirst stuff.

http://keeblerstudios.com/?product_cat=silicone-molds&paged=3?post_type=product


   
Made in gb
Fresh-Faced New User



England

I would suggest Vortex by Unified Theory Games. It is mulit genre and you can create just about any type of character you can imagine along with designing your own armour , weapons and vehicles. Anything from the stone age to high tech space combat and being a skirmish game you only need a handful of minis. It also has a complete campaign system.
   
Made in us
Posts with Authority





South Carolina (upstate) USA

If you want something 40k-ish try Shockforce/Warengine. Its a 28mm army scale miniatures game, like 40k is. The actual game Shockforce is OOP, but the rules system (called Warengine) is still available on this website: http://warengine.darktortoise.com/index.php?title=Main_Page

The rules themselves are pretty good. It plays faster than 40k, allowing either larger or quicker games than 40k. The biggest selling point is the creation rules...you can create all your own units using any miniatures you want.

Whats my game?
Warmachine (Cygnar)
10/15mm mecha
Song of Blades & Heroes
Blackwater Gulch
X wing
Open to other games too






 
   
Made in us
Lone Wolf Sentinel Pilot





Los Angeles, CA, USA

I am going to suggest Dust Warfare. I know, I know, there are one or two suggestively clad women in the game, but they are heroes and not necessary to play the game. The price point is low, and the universe is super cool. On top of that it has IMHO one of the most forward thinking rulesets I've yet seen.
   
Made in us
Storm Trooper with Maglight






Force on Force


My review of it
http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Force%20on%20Force%3B%20Review

It is an adaptive rules set, you can make up/use scenarios from conflicts ranging from the late 40s up to today. Thy have scenarios for Vietnam, Falklands War, Cold War Gone Hot, and many more. There is no set model range for it. You can chose the models you want, and the scales you want to play at (it has rules for it). I use 1/35 scale Soviet models from my local hobby shop.

A free demo scenario so that you can try out the game and its mechanics.
http://ambushalleygames.com/images/pdfs/fof_qs_rules.pdf


Tomorrow's War


Made by the same company as Force on Force it has similar elements to it, but many new ones as well. Like Force on Force there is no set model range for it. You can chose the models you want, and the scales you want to play at (it has rules for it). You can also make your own factions and alien races. One of my friends made a race base off of the Aliens from the "Aliens" franchise.

A review of Tomorrow's War
http://meeples.wordpress.com/reviews/rules-reviews/tomorrows-war-review/


If you have any questions check out their site, or pm me
http://ambushalleygames.com/

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2012/07/23 02:55:34


 
   
Made in gb
Man O' War






Earth

Infinity or Brushfire

Khador 75p
Menoth 35p
Circle 25p
Legion 25p 
   
Made in us
Incorporating Wet-Blending





Houston, TX

I am going to go +1 on Vortex. It's relatively simple, but gives alot of options and you can use any minis you have or want from sci fi soldiers to animals to ancients.

Check it out:
http://168.144.2.34/utg/default.asp

-James
 
   
Made in gb
Longtime Dakkanaut






Cheltenham, UK

I'd also like to get in and recommend Warheads:

http://www.warheadsthegame.com/

It's a bit of a narrative skirmish game set in a not-at-all-serious version of the Middle Ages and would be popular with all young fans of Mike the Knight (or even King Rollo!).

R.

   
Made in ca
Regular Dakkanaut




Montreal, Canada

Freebooter's Fate :
- A Pirate skirmish miniature game.
- Requires few models. Beautiful art.
- Easy to learn rules.
- No dice

http://www.freebooters-fate.de//Home_en.html

Enjoy !

Marc C

   
 
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