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I play a lot of WM/H and a little Malifaux and Infinity, but I'm looking for a game to teach my wife. She enjoys D&D, especially the combat, but she is intimidated by the size of WM armies. This Christmas she mentioned that she would be interested in learnin minis game if it was a smaller number of models. She thinks she could handle 3-6 models. I think WM is not the game because you lose a lot by excluding infantry and she knows they are there waiting. Malifaux could be an option. She isn't a fan of the fluff, but she might be willing to try. I think Infinity lends itself to a few more models than she wants. I also think she might not think too many of the models are "pretty."

She saw the models for Anima Tactics and thought they looked pretty cool. Is anybody familiar with any smaller skirmish level games that may appeal? When looking at my WM models, she prefers the appearanceofCircle over Cygnar. She complains that the 'jacks all look too similar and boring. She does like Deadlands and the sorta steampunk feel, so she doesn't mind guns in the game.

what about necromunda or mordheim? their all usually 4 - 12 models IIRC and their rules are all free on the GW site.

Song of Blades and heroes. Lots of fast play combat with D&D monsters and tropes she will be used to. The best 8 bucks you'll ever spend in this hobby.
http://www.ganeshagames.net/product_info.php?cPath=1_6&products_id=7&osCsid=2s5vch6i5lpe3boafjqhljuql1
If you enjoy the game there's lots of expansions for campaigns, settings, etc.

Allows you to stat up any miniature you want, so you can just buy whatever figs appeal most to her and stat them up. The average size is 6-10 models and the average game is well under an hour.

If you'd like to see what a SBH campaign looks like, my club did one this summer. Our batreps and pics are collected here:
http://chicagoskirmish.blogspot.com/p/iron-isle-song-of-blades-heroes.html

Eilif wrote:
Song of Blades and heroes. Lots of fast play combat with D&D monsters and tropes she will be used to. The best 8 bucks you'll ever spend in this hobby.
http://www.ganeshagames.net/product_info.php?cPath=1_6&products_id=7&osCsid=2s5vch6i5lpe3boafjqhljuql1
If you enjoy the game there's lots of expansions for campaigns, settings, etc.

Allows you to stat up any miniature you want, so you can just buy whatever figs appeal most to her and stat them up. The average size is 6-10 models and the average game is well under an hour.

If you'd like to see what a SBH campaign looks like, my club did one this summer. Our batreps and pics are collected here:
http://chicagoskirmish.blogspot.com/p/iron-isle-song-of-blades-heroes.html

Agreed 100%, its become one of the house favorites.

Battle tech? Kingdom Death?

Lord of the Rings Battle Companies? You need ~5 models per company, one of the most balanced GW rulesets, and it's based off of The Lord of the Rings!

If she likes Deadlands... why not give Blackwater Gulch a shot?

-P

How about Malifaux. The game is played with about 5-10 miniatures. It is also a Steampunk Western game.

Anima Tactics is certainly a solid pick. The game only needs 2-3 minis to play at its most basic level, and the ruleset is fairly interesting. The models are also beautiful.

I would definitely agree with Song of Blades and Heroes or perhaps Skulldred? (http://skulldred.blogspot.dk/) The latter is a really good fantasy skirmish/adventure game that will allow you to use pretty much your entire collection.

I have not played Anima Tactics, but to me the game look like it could get pretty complex for a beginner.

Another set of options is either Saga Warfare or Muskets and Tomahawks from Gripping Beast/Studio Tomahawk (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/101865/saga and http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/126119/muskets-tomahawks-skirmishes-in-north-america-dur) - two very light skirmish games featuring either early medieval/viking warriors or redcoats, french, indians and settlers in the "Last of the Mohicans" vibe.

Saga uses a system where you have a large-based warlord and four units, each composing 4, 8 or 16 men depending on quality (hearth troops, warriors or levies). It is quick, novel, fun and intuitive, and each unit moves more or less as a "single model" so she might not be scared off by the potential large model count.

Dr. What wrote:
Lord of the Rings Battle Companies? You need ~5 models per company, one of the most balanced GW rulesets, and it's based off of The Lord of the Rings!

And another bonus: if she wants to grow her armies, instead of buying a new game she can continue with the models she already has! What could be funner?

SBH - use the miniatures you want and they're cheap and easy. I ran a game at a local con and made it an all ages game. If 11 year olds can jump right in, it won't be intimidating for a casual gamer of any age.

Reaper Miniatures Bones provide an economical starting point for learning to paint as well. There are only 16 different blisters right now, but it's actually a decent amount of stuff to choose from to get started.

Anima Tactics is really not that complex.

Unlike Malifaux where the complexity comes from triggers and balancing your hand, Almost all of Anima's abilities are manually activated.

The basic way the game works is that you start with a certain amount of actions/tokens and regenerate a certain amount per turn. Then you spend that actions/tokens on abilities. Everything in the game is explained on the cards.
Rulebook is available for free here:
http://cipher-studios.com/uploads/2009/10/Anima-Tactics-EN-Rulebook.pdf

There's also the Anima Tactics Oracle. It has the errata and all the stats for everything, so you could give the game a try with proxies first:

http://atoracle.wikidot.com/

Used to play this game:
http://www.bushido-thegame.com/

It's pretty fun, small model count, rules are free, it's mostly based around strategy and brutal and decisive combats (as in, if you send a peasant against an oni, prepare to be roflstomped, but samurai vs oni, expect carnage on both sides) and to be fair most of the minis are awesome sculpts (particularly the 'evil' factions).

Ruleset is pretty tight, some areas need a little time to fully understand but game is easy to pick up and remember (though the 2nd version of the rules addressed a lot of the tricky areas nicely).

Unfortunately for me I bought into the game (thankfully only a starter set) just as everyone else was going into the 'I've played this so much I'm now bored of it' phase, so now my minis sit unfinished in a box...

I second Mordheim. The rules are free and you could use lots of different minis to make a warband.

Third for Mordheim - low model count, rules are free and relatively easy to understand. You get to grow and improve your warband too, which appeals to some who come from an RPG background (developing more of an attachment to characters/models).

Infinity is my current poison, but I wouldn't recommend it for beginners. The rules are a bit complex and she would get bored with you having to stop and look stuff up all the time.

Last, don't make the mistake I did and try to teach your wife how to play Car Wars as her first game. Sooooo slow!

I think this is a great quick game to learn and play , needs as many models as you have or want to play , and you can develop your own background so the Mrs and you can make it up as you go

Tactical Assault Combat Cards..

from http://www.tacticalassaultgames.com

I'll throw in for SBH and/or Skulldread. These are great places to start miniature gaming. Simple rules, very flexible, use whatever models you want. That's the way to go unless she is very interested in a certain game or genre.

Mordheim can be clunky, so I would watch out for that. Malifaux is easy to learn, but tough to master, and can lead to a lot of early frustration.

I have heard good things about Anima Tactics, but I haven't played it so I don't know. I have also heard good things about Relic Knights. The preview rules are available for free. (http://www.sodapopminiatures.com/content/relic-knights-preview-rules)

Well if she likes deadlands and you don't mind getting old stuff then you should check out Rail Wars (which is the deadlands miniatures game)

I just checked and saw that Pinnicle still sells PDFs of the main rulebook and one other sourcebook.

Technically, Star Wars X-Wing by FFG is a miniatures game.

You might look into it, if she likes Star Wars. There's no painting of the miniatures, so I'm not sure if that's a bonus or not for you.

Anima tactics looks like what you are looking for. It can use very low model counts.

 porkuslime wrote:
If she likes Deadlands... why not give Blackwater Gulch a shot?

-P

Ditto!

Rules are free and you don't NEED to use their models. Of course models won't be on sale probably for at least a few more weeks.

Plus, Reaper makes some very cool official Deadlands miniatures

weeble1000 wrote:
Plus, Reaper makes some very cool official Deadlands miniatures

Cheers for this info. I'm a huge fan of Doomtown (the deadlands CCG) so this is great news.

orkybenji wrote:
Battle tech? Kingdom Death?

If you mean the Kingdom Death Monster game which won't be released for a year and will be over $100 for the base game, I suspect it won't fit what the OP seems to be looking for.

SBH, as mentioned is pretty good, and they have rules based on the same mechanics for other genres of gaming if you want to expand (or start somewhere other than regular fantasy). I like their Flashing Blades for Pirate and Muskateer type gaming for example.

Jake

CptJake wrote:

orkybenji wrote:
Battle tech? Kingdom Death?

If you mean the Kingdom Death Monster game which won't be released for a year and will be over $100 for the base game, I suspect it won't fit what the OP seems to be looking for.

Yeah, KD stuff is great, but it's crazy expensive, and the models are really detailed. As much as I love KD's stuff, I would definitely not recommend them for a beginner.

 kronk wrote:
Technically, Star Wars X-Wing by FFG is a miniatures game.

You might look into it, if she likes Star Wars. There's no painting of the miniatures, so I'm not sure if that's a bonus or not for you.

I'd second that suggestion. As long as she's not purposely playing a TIE spam army, an "average" rebel squadron is only 4 ships. They're pretty easy to tell apart if you've seen the movies and they come prepainted (and look nice too!). The full rulebook is only about a dozen pages (the quickstart is only 2 iirc) as well. Despite all the above, it's still got enough depth to interest more hardcore minis gamers.

I'd try Freebooter's Fate.

(http://www.freebooterminiatures.de/)

Very low model count.(4-6 in a starter box, + 1 -2 addons and you're good to go). Fun, simple rules.

A fun, pirate-y game also makes from a nice break from all the super-serious/dark/grim/post-apocalyptic/death death death/settings of most other games.

Also to that notion - you might want to try Super Dungeon Explore. Very simple rules, very low model count (playing as the hero side she'd be controlling 2-5 models) and again - refreshing change of pace setting.

Thank you for all of the responses. I received a lot more than I expected and it took me a little while to go through them all. After some more discussion with my wife, she is not interested in modern or sci-fi, she does prefer the fantasy or steampunk. Price was also a significant factor, especially the price to just test it out. I looked up some information about what was suggested and came up with this. I listed the name of the game, the price for rules, the price for models, how many models are required, how many factions are available, the fluff or genre, presence of named characters, and price to test out. There were a few suggestions that I did not include on the list. Wild West Exodus, Relic, Rail Wars, and Kingdom Death appear to be interesting games, but they are either not available in the US or not available at all currently. My wife is interested in eventually purchasing and possibly painting miniatures, so we prefer something we can get ahold of. The below games are in a vague order of likelihood to be played, starting with the most likely at the top. I personally like the idea behind Blackwater Gulch where you make you own gang and can level them up.

Unfortunately, I was not able to find much about the fluff of Anima Tactics or Hell Dorado. I was also not able to find out much about how Song of Blades and Heroes plays. Freeblades and Freebooters Fate do not provide enough rules or information to make any sort of decision.

Malifaux
Rulebooks $30 – Have some
Models $5-$15 - available through miniature market
4-9 Models
5 ½ factions
Steam punk western horror mash-up.
Models are about 50% characters
Have enough to play now

Anima Tactics
Free Rules
$7-$10 - available through miniature market
2-5 Models
2 Factions or 8 Organizations
Aime style fluff, can't find much information online
All models are specific characters
Between Oracle and Free Rules, could play and proxy to test

Blackwater Gulch
Free rules pdf and character cards
$30 for 5 model set
minimum 5 in a gang, but can be more
around 10 gangs, but rules to make your own
Wild West gunfighters
Mostly character models, but can create your own gangs
Free rules PDF can play and proxy to test

Song of Blades and Heroes
$8 PDF
None, use whatever
Up to the player?
See above
See above
No models
Requires rulebook, but can use any models around the house

Hell Dorado
Quickstart rules free, rule book $30
Most models about $10 - available through miniature market
?
About 6 factions
? Lots of Demons and Church types
Models are mostly characters
No way to test before buying

Freeblades
$30 rulebook, no quickstart
$5-$10 models – available from miniature market
4 + mercenaries?
Generic Fantasy
Mix of character and generic models
not enough information; fairly generic

Freebooters Fate
$30 rulebook
$10-$15 models – available from thewarstore
6 factions
Pirates!
Models are mostly characters
No way to test before buying

Mordheim
Free online
$30 premade gangs
10 factions
Fantasy gang fighting
models are generic mooks led by a few characters – create your own character gang
could test and play with models already owned

Bushido
Free online
$15 not available in US
5 armies
Oriental/Asian samurai vs oni
models are characters
could test out without purchase

Arena of Death
Free online
$10-$30 from thewarstore
Armies/Factions
fantasy arena combat
models are generic but represent player made characters
could test out without purchase

Dungeon Command
Free but require special cards, etc
$25 Box set, no expansion to armies – available through miniature market
5 Factions
D&D Forgotten Realms, Fluff not a focus
Models are all generic
Have to buy 2 box sets to play