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If you were going to pick one of these sci-fi war games to introduce young teenagers to, and you wanted a break from GW products, a break from GW rulesets, a game with plastic (rather than resin) miniatures and a little simpler ruleset than say, the current 40k ruleset, which of these games would you pick and why? Love the 40k universe but a little grimdark and complex to navigate youngsters through, I think. Any games I have missed you would like to suggest would be appreciated. Thanks.

Hey Dragonbreath! Welcome! All the games you listed are great for different reasons and vary in complexity and universe. If I may suggest a game (a ruleset really), I would highly suggest looking into Starfall: starfalltt.com.
A few reasons:
1) You and your students can use any sci-if models you’d like. Starfall has 20 uniquely designed warbands for players to choose from, covering literally every popular sci-if motif imaginable. As long as the scale is 28mm, all sci-fi models are welcome! I think teens will love the idea of using models and warband themes from any number of their favorite sci-if universes.
2) The games are scalable to meet your needs and timeframe, but there is also a built-in tournament mode or campaign mode. There is also a massive scenarios pack that includes game set-ups for 2-6 players. Something none of the games you listed (nor hardly any tabletop games) can provide in a well balanced and thought through manner.
3) Most intruiging, Starfall is completely free to play. All the rules are free. All the supplements are free. For teens, FREE is a big deal. And for you, if the game is a flop (and I can almost garauntee against that), then no harm done to your wallet!

Whatever you go with, very excited to hear you leading the next generation into the fantastic world of TT gaming! Keep in touch if you go with Starfall and have any questions!

Thank you for the suggestion. I will get a copy and give it a read. Hadn't heard it before. This is actually for grandchildren that visit our ranch and help out. They like my WoC, Ultramarines and Tyrannids and we have even played Kings of War. They help out when they stay so I was hoping to build and paint each a not too costly army. 4 armies total I think, but not GW. I think I have given them enough of my money for now, as the people who got my son and me started were pretty much GW people.


Sooo, any suggestion on the scale 15 or 28mm or non GW models that would work great for this little project? Will Starfall work for kids on the preteen newteen cusp? If not, and other suggestions?



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I guess I should say specifically a little simpler ruleset and cool models probably 28mm will suit this project's success best given my painting talents, such as they are, and the age group. Suggest away!

I would get the plastic minis from Gates of Antares and Warpath that I like the most (be careful because some of it is hybrid metal and resin) and cobble together some armies out of them.

Then I would find some simple free online rules and use them.

One Page Grimdark Future looks simple enough, but I have not played it.

@StygianBeach Thanks for the advice. As I started this project, I was basically looking for something to keep three boys busy. My girls, alas, are a good bit older and more interested in horses,dogs and boys now, but we used to play a lot of games together. Such is the way of things. I looked at both Mantic and Warlord for minis and found things I liked. I will check out the ruleset you mentioned. I liked the Starfall ruleset that was recommended but it might be a bit fiddly for 10 and 12. Thanks again. Anyone who quotes Babylon 5 must know what they are doing...

Mantic's plastics tend to have more options, but are more complex to assemble. Their GCPS troops are the best non-GW plastic sci fi miniatures on the market in my opinion, and Mantic also sell them as pre-assembled boardgame pieces if assembly is an issue.

The Antares minis are also smaller, except for the Algoryns, which are good models if you don't mind the lack of diversity in posing and weapons options. The three legged armor suits are my favorite minis in the Antares range and are really poseable yet easy to assemble.

Maelstrom's Edge produce some great robots and drones in plastic, and their Broken range has a great post-apocalyptic/scrappy rebels look, although they are even more fiddly to assemble than Mantic's minis.

Mantic in my opinion is your best bet if your going be wanting to run games with the companies models versus a universal rules set. Don’t do BTGOA it a great game but the reaction system is to heavy for beginners.

@Bob and Back: Thanks for the suggestions. I am thinking also that Warpath minis will work best for this little project, I enjoy designing and building armies anyway and have several Mantic KoW army sets I am going to put together for my son. I even enjoy painting until I get the twelfth model or the eleventh....

Has anyone played the One Page Grimdark Future ruleset yet? It looks like it might fit the bill nicely (looks vaguely familiar) with old 40k models or the Mantic sets.

The only worry I have is that if these boys could keep me up half the night playing Uno and Star Wars games, I might not get much sleep this summer if I get them hooked on true tabletop wargaming.

Thanks again to all!

The Mantic Deadzone boxes are great for skirmish level gaming. Tons of unique models for super cheap. If they like Starwars, the Legion game just came out and Imperial Assault as a series has a ton of great models as well. You can mix all those models together for some epic SW gaming!

Yeah, Starfall is fantastic, but you know your own boys. Mechanics wise though, the rules are pretty much as simple (while still being as balanced and thorough as possible) as it gets. Any less, like a one page ruleset, and you may run into a lot of making up rulings as you go (which might be fun or might be a huge turn-off to your boys depending on their disposition). If you scale the game down to only a couple models per player instead of 10-12 models (which is part of the game set-up mechanics anyway) building Starfall warbands can be great fun for any age. A skirmish game will be better for their age than a full blown pitched line, me thinks. Also, Starfall covers factions/motifs from every sci-if universe imaginable...including the beloved Jedi/Sith/Empire/Rebelion factions from SW. So Jedi vs Veer-Myn is totally possible in Starfall (and not really anywhere else)!

But, all that to say, you know your boys and what’s going to be the most fun for all! Hope you have lots of fun!

@burma44 I have to admit, after watching all the Starfall vids I could find by the writer, it is pretty good stuff. Busy time here at the ranch and family is coming to visit soon, but the boys won't be here until fall now. My problem is living in great white north, tough to find folks to playtest new systems with, but I am working on that.


I think you are right about skirmish but I still need to incorporate tanks and flyers into the game. Boys like the hardware! It probably seems a little extravagant for boys this age but these are great kids who have helped me on the ranch most every summer even after their folks moved away. I really like the Mantic line, but I am also thinking of getting some rough painted 40k armies off eBay and patching them up, too. Amazing lot of stuff out there. Good thing I am going through my second childhood, or maybe third according to my wife.


Thank you again for your time and suggestions. My buddy made me a great sturdy table 4x6 and I will start acquiring terrain as well. I would like to have the table all set with terrain and the painted armies when the boys arrive and lead them down to my office after morning chores to show them something and voila. it will be great!

That all sounds great, Dragonbreath! And I’m glad you found the Starfall videos helpful in explaining the game and whetting the appetite for giving it a try. I am Elijah, the writer of the game, so I appreciate the encouraging words!


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Oh! And if you’re on FB, Starfall has a great group of players there as well: https://m.facebook.com/groups/198523234074229

Oh, if people are just going to shill their own products here. I might as well jump in on it too!

Rampant Stars is designed to be model agnostic and is simple to learn. It uses easy to grasp mechanics that create the friction of war. You can play games from any universe by using a simple Sci-Fi traits systems added to generic unit types. It works with squads, vehicles or individual multi-hit models. Each game lasts 1 hour or less of game time, but none of your games are the same because the mission, complication and location set-up are randomly determined pre-game by 3d6 rolls.

http://www.wargamevault.com/product/209268/Rampant-Stars?src=newest_recent



Here is some battle reports using the system to see how it plays:
http://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2017/02/rampant-stars-battle-report-battle-at.html



http://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2017/04/rampant-stars-battle-report-star-wars.html



http://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2017/10/rampant-stars-battle-report-ambush.html

For one page rules, it's hard to beat FUBAR.
Free, lite, and easy to stat up whatever models you have for use.
https://fubarwargames.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/fubar-core-rules-4th-edition.pdf

@Easy E Thanks. I have been putting together quite a list of generic rules for sci fi and fantasy massed battle. I will add yours. Appreciate the time and the pitch! LOL

@privateer4hire Admittedly I am a gaming noobie in many ways but I found
FUBAR a while back along with One Page Rules. FUBAR seems to have quite a following. Thanks

I have played multiple games of the One Page Stuff, both Grimdark Future and Age of Fantasy (their Age of Sigmar version). While I play mostly the skirmish versions, the army-scale versions play with 99% of the same rules, and it's great fun!

Obviously geared towards using GW figures, but with imagination other can definitely be used, especially as Imperial Guard. The biggest hurdle of the two games is remembering which army is which from the One Page lists, as they intentionally use generic names as stand ins to avoid GW's legendary IP anger.

Just a quick follow-up and thanks. Been travelling a LOT.

Three starter forces of Warpath did the trick for one pair of boys and their father, but I think they are thinking of switching to OnePageRules from the Mantic ruleset.


Star Wars Legions was a hit for the other pair of boys, but I had to kind of help them get started playing, though they assembled them all by themselves.


All these boys are good workers and very bright so I think that helped a great deal and especially the pair of boys whose father took an interest have become quite exceptional game players.


Thanks again for your help.

Gates of Antares, for a few reasons:

1. It's based off of the Bolt Action ordering system, which is an incredibly fun and refreshing way to structure a turn in wargaming. Rather than "you go I go", the turn is taken simultaneously as both players draw dice out of a bag and assign them to different units.

2. It's designed by Rick Priestly and Alessio Cavatore, masterminds behind Warhammer 40k Rogue Trader and 40k 4th and 5th edition, respectively.

3. Models are cheap and decent-to great-quality depending on your tastes (Ghar ftw!). Some kits are metal though.

4. If you're interested there is a series of stories and novels being released to add to the flavor as well. Check out Open Signal, Dimensional Gates, and Markov's Prize! (more to come later)

All of this is assuming there are people around for you to play with. Where I'm at there is much going on at all that isn't produced by Games Workshop. If you're just playing with your local group then this isn't a problem of course.

Drawback is the rules aren't really any simpler than 40k. I'd say it's comparable to 4th edition rules intensity.

I was surprised how much I liked the Antares setting after reading Open Signal. It's a fun place to hang out and has some characters I'd want to follow. I might like the Warpath background slightly more due to the satirical edge that Dreadball gave it, but there's a lot to explore there.

Antares went from something I kinda snickered at to perhps my favorite sci fi setting.

Here are some links ...

Background info:

https://www.gatesofantares.com/category/resources/background/

Fiction:

https://www.gatesofantares.com/category/resources/fiction/

The game is getting its second editiom this coming fall, which will likely be a tightening up of existing rules in line with Bolt Action 2E.

FYI — Don’t let the upcoming second ed dissuade you from getting started. Just get the smaller starter set without the big hardcover ruleset. You can access all the updated army lists for free online (the lists in the HC are full of mistakes anyway).

 Manchu wrote:
The game is getting its second editiom this coming fall, which will likely be a tightening up of existing rules in line with Bolt Action 2E.

Oh, I didn't know that... looking forward to it!

 Manchu wrote:


The game is getting its second editiom this coming fall, which will likely be a tightening up of existing rules in line with Bolt Action 2E.

Hey, ho, wait, what?

I had no idea! Sound cool tho. There's sections that definitely need to be tightened like you said.