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So I want to get into the hobby but want to find the right game, so:

1. What are the most popular games? Games I can find people to play with at almost any hobby store.

2. Any miniature games that capture the feel of Magic: The Gathering with models?

Thanks

Nice! I am relatively new also, compared to others with only playing for 2 years. It is always nice to see another person become interested in wargaming.

One question before i go off on my rant though, are you interested in fantasy? Sci-fi? any?


I play a sci-fi table top game called Warhammer 40,000 (40k). in my opinion it has a wide variety of styles and armies to choose from, there are a lot of possibilities for customization, and making your force your own. the hobby of Warhammer 40,000 does not just encompass tabletop itself, there is also a wide range of different media such as: video games, books, painting contests, role plays, etc. Games can be played at any Games workshop store pretty much. Be forewarned that this hobby can become expensive over time, reading dakka can give you advice on how to save money though.

i thoroughly enjoy playing 40k because tons and tons of people play it, and with that there is a connection between you and other players even if you are just starting out the hobby. the painting varies with each army, but i find it relaxing and its good for calming down from time to time.

hope this helps, good luck in finding the game that is right for you!

As a former warhammer 40k player who started in the late 1980s until 1997, took 10 years off and came back to it in 2007:

Wahammer 40k is still the more well known game, but warmachine/hordes is quickly catching up. I would recommend warmachine over 40k as generally a better and far more balanced game.

Army building in 40k is an excercise in picking the perfect list off the internet for whichever army was the most recently updated to be the strongest WM/H's is all updated with relatively balanced new releases for all army's.

WM/H is also much more intricately balanced for competitive play in terms of list building versus knowing how your list interacts versus player tactical skill. From a magic the gathering standpoint there is no perfect deck that beats all others regardless of skill.

IMHO games workshop being publicly traded with investors really doesn't give a F about the players (hence the new shiny of the sales quarter to unbalance the game), but cares only about sales. Privateer Press cares about the game and their players.

Unlike magic where the random factor is from a deck of cards most table top games use dice. I believe Malifaux may use cards for the random factor though. You may want to check it out also.

I would second Warmachine and Hordes for a Magic-esque experience. It's very much about combos and knowing your opponent's combos. It also happens to be very popular as well.

Warhammer (both 40k and Fantasy) are also very popular, more so than Warmachine and Hordes, in some cases, but is not as combo reliant, with less interaction between units and the like. Nevertheless, still a fun game if that's what you're into.

Malifaux would be my recommendation, cheap to get into and does use cards instead of dice. The Steampunk/Weird Horro feel to it is also great IMHO.

I also rec. Warhammer 40k, Warhammer and Warmachine/Hordes. Warmachine/Hordes has a much more MtG feel to it with combos and army building.

You are likely to get any number of repsonses since you are mostly asking a very opinion oriented question.

Hordes will probably be the best MtG fit imo though. I don't play it personally but many of my friends do. Your leader is like your "Mage" that leads his army of creatures (like summoned creatures from MtG) and so on.

Dystopian Legions in great but also steampunk and not fantasy like the MtG setting.

You should probably get a feel for your local area's mini gamers and see which games are played. It would not be fun to buy into a big mini game and find out nobody for 100 miles plays that game.

 Leprousy wrote:
As a former warhammer 40k player who started in the late 1980s until 1997, took 10 years off and came back to it in 2007:

Wahammer 40k is still the more well known game, but warmachine/hordes is quickly catching up. I would recommend warmachine over 40k as generally a better and far more balanced game.

Army building in 40k is an excercise in picking the perfect list off the internet for whichever army was the most recently updated to be the strongest WM/H's is all updated with relatively balanced new releases for all army's.

WM/H is also much more intricately balanced for competitive play in terms of list building versus knowing how your list interacts versus player tactical skill. From a magic the gathering standpoint there is no perfect deck that beats all others regardless of skill.

IMHO games workshop being publicly traded with investors really doesn't give a F about the players (hence the new shiny of the sales quarter to unbalance the game), but cares only about sales. Privateer Press cares about the game and their players..

That is so extremely bias i want to cry.
I agree that WM/H Is catching up and everything you say.
GW are greedy, and dont give a rats arse about its players (anymore) But its the community of players that make the game worth playing.
40k will never be about picking the best list off the internet, Unless you are a power gamer.
It all depends on your setting, Will you be playing tournaments? and if so do you want to win them at all costs or have fun? Many people play for how models look, and fluff.

Hordes and warmachine have the more MTG feel.

 Papaskittels wrote:

 Leprousy wrote:
As a former warhammer 40k player who started in the late 1980s until 1997, took 10 years off and came back to it in 2007:

Wahammer 40k is still the more well known game, but warmachine/hordes is quickly catching up. I would recommend warmachine over 40k as generally a better and far more balanced game.

Army building in 40k is an excercise in picking the perfect list off the internet for whichever army was the most recently updated to be the strongest WM/H's is all updated with relatively balanced new releases for all army's.

WM/H is also much more intricately balanced for competitive play in terms of list building versus knowing how your list interacts versus player tactical skill. From a magic the gathering standpoint there is no perfect deck that beats all others regardless of skill.

IMHO games workshop being publicly traded with investors really doesn't give a F about the players (hence the new shiny of the sales quarter to unbalance the game), but cares only about sales. Privateer Press cares about the game and their players..

That is so extremely bias i want to cry.
I agree that WM/H Is catching up and everything you say.
GW are greedy, and dont give a rats arse about its players (anymore) But its the community of players that make the game worth playing.
40k will never be about picking the best list off the internet, Unless you are a power gamer.
It all depends on your setting, Will you be playing tournaments? and if so do you want to win them at all costs or have fun? Many people play for how models look, and fluff.

Hordes and warmachine have the more MTG feel.

I may sound biased, but it's based on experience my local Meta has both big groups of GW and PP followers. With the exception of a small group of older guys like myself I play with once a month the GW players invariably trend towards WAAC, and I found their community very unwelcoming. Of course there are exceptions. The Warmachines crowd on the other hand has been incredibly welcoming.

Papaskittels wrote:

Leprousy wrote:
As a former warhammer 40k player who started in the late 1980s until 1997, took 10 years off and came back to it in 2007:

Wahammer 40k is still the more well known game, but warmachine/hordes is quickly catching up. I would recommend warmachine over 40k as generally a better and far more balanced game.

Army building in 40k is an excercise in picking the perfect list off the internet for whichever army was the most recently updated to be the strongest WM/H's is all updated with relatively balanced new releases for all army's.

WM/H is also much more intricately balanced for competitive play in terms of list building versus knowing how your list interacts versus player tactical skill. From a magic the gathering standpoint there is no perfect deck that beats all others regardless of skill.

IMHO games workshop being publicly traded with investors really doesn't give a F about the players (hence the new shiny of the sales quarter to unbalance the game), but cares only about sales. Privateer Press cares about the game and their players..

That is so extremely bias i want to cry.
I agree that WM/H Is catching up and everything you say.
GW are greedy, and dont give a rats arse about its players (anymore) But its the community of players that make the game worth playing.
40k will never be about picking the best list off the internet, Unless you are a power gamer.
It all depends on your setting, Will you be playing tournaments? and if so do you want to win them at all costs or have fun? Many people play for how models look, and fluff.

Hordes and warmachine have the more MTG feel.

Leprousy wrote:
I may sound biased, but it's based on experience my local Meta has both big groups of GW and PP followers. With the exception of a small group of older guys like myself I play with once a month the GW players invariably trend towards WAAC, and I found their community very unwelcoming. Of course there are exceptions. The Warmachines crowd on the other hand has been incredibly welcoming.

I agree with Leprousy. Gaming depends on the group around you. If you believe that the game you play is the best, and that having fun and welcoming new people is the most important aspect of playing that unfortunately doesn't make everybody else the same. It's a sad trend when people believe that winning is the only point of a game. If you want to know what playing a game would be like in your area, definitely go see what the players are like in a hobby shop. Watch them play a game. If they joke around and are a little loose with the rules, if they let you watch with no complaints you are probably seeing some nice and friendly people. If they are rules lawyers, or don't even want you watching them you might not really have fun trying to join their group or groups.
But that is not the end of your interest in the hobby, check the forum. I'll bet you can find plenty of people who are nearby that you didn't even know about. You'll be able to get to know them from their posts, and you might find that they are more in line with your playing style.
As for what game to play, my suggestion is to actually look at the miniatures, and watch some battle reports. You'll never find a game that captures whatever you feel about MtG just based on other people saying a game is like something else. You have to find a range of minis that speaks to your imagination, and a game that you find compelling and fun. Anyway, that was just my two cents worth.

I would agree with everyone's suggestions here.

I defiantly feel strongly about going to your local gaming store and see what they play. Talking to the store owner is always a plus cause he knows what tournaments he runs and what people normally come in and buy.

Magic the gathering is awesome and I think Warhammer Fantasy is pretty close (not exactly the same) but its a really popular one and that's how I got into the game.

If you have any friends who play or are interested in playing its always good because then you can buy a starter pack that has 2 armies and the rulebook and is nice because you can split the armies and then share the rulebook (to start).

Personally the local store where I go to college plays warhammer 40k almost exclusively but in my home town they play everything but it just depends on your local gaming store.

I have never played warmachine/hordes before but I was going to get that before I got 40k. But I know that its more of a skirmish type game while warhammer is a unit type game.

Bottom line in my opinion is try and go to your local gaming store and talk to the guys there (and view a game if there's one going on) and find out what appeal to you most. Maybe you will like warmachine/hordes or maybe warhammer fantasy or 40k or maybe something else like firestorm armada. If you can get a friend playing with you though that's always good too