Really good episode. Thanks guys.
Its very good to have Raef back. His unique perspective and style are missed.
Great to hear about Craig's growing gaming/writing career. He's living the dream, it seems!
As a primarily historical wargamer, Raef's comments on mini wargames he's enjoying were very interesting to me.
I'm a big fan of BOTH Flames of War (
FOW) and Bolt Action (
BA).
As for Raefs analysis of
BA, I agree that
FOW's rules are more complete and more balanced.
FOW's rules are "tight" in the sense that they dont break under scrutiny. They are much more detailed and that appeals to the "old school" wargamer and the simulationist in me. I also agree that the scale in
FOW creates a table that is more true to the source (longer range killing power of
MG's,
AT guns, etc).
Notice I'm not using the word "realistic"
Bolt actions rules are "elegant" in the sense that there arent many and a few rules are used to sucessfully model a variety of game situations.
Morale and Battlefield Friction are particularly well modeled in Bolt Action, for example.
Unfortunately, many of the unit-specific rules create confusion (and arguments) as they are not clear and consistent (ex. Recce rules, forward observers etc.), there are some range and movement irregularities (short effective ranges for certain weapons) and the force lists dont seem balanced (ex. .50 cal
HMG's, Soviet Armor cost & variety, Force specific Special rules).
However, many of us find more here to like than dislike. Bolt Action has some unique elements (activation dice and pins) which create interesting choices and the game plays very quickly for an army-scale game (platoon size +). Its a quick game to learn and a great game to throw down casually with friends. Also, the scale is very fun to model, paint and collect. I would characterize it as more cinematic than
FOW, which is more crunchy and detailed.
Dont mistake it for a "tight", tournament-ready competitive game. Its not that. But with the right crew playing friendly games, its a perfect fit.
Your mileage may vary.
By the way, I think the skirmish level WW2 mins game Raef was thinking of is "Nuts!" which is low model count (up to a platoon), extremely cinematic, and has
RPG-like development elements for hero characters.
http://www.twohourwargames.com/nuts-ww2-skirmis2.html
Its also possible he meant the "Flying Lead" system from Ganesha Games
http://www.ganeshagames.net/product_info.php?products_id=17
When we want to do highly focused games with an
RPG flavor like this, we tend to just use Savage Worlds, which we know pretty well, and which works well for minis combat and has a strong
RPG mechanic.
FYI, At Adepticon, we played 2 4-person Bolt Action games (Poles vs Germans and Brits vs Germans), and I counted several other 2-person games, so while its not super-popular (
FOW obviously had 100's of players at Adepticon), there is some evidence of growing popularity.
Thanks again for a great show.
Sawtooth
, but I've heard that The Neverhood is one of the best games that a lot of people have played.
