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Doctors n Nurses

MVBrandt wrote:
Malifaux

It's played sitting down on a 3x3 surface.

It uses poker cards and a "war" like mechanic at a fundamental level (the simple kids card game war that nearly everyone understands) instead of gobs of dice, which doubles as a way to connect to something more mainstream.

It has very strong female characters and leads, not all of whom are busty crazies (and some of whom are downright cool like Perdita Ortega), and a VERY diverse set of themes (Western, Horror, Zombie, Steampunk/Victorian, etc).

It uses a very low model count, but there's a lot of depth and room to expand, as the full game is played "Faction vs Faction" and not "fixed list vs fixed list," so you don't have to rush her out of it if you want to up the ante and she's getting into it.

It's in a more refined, simplified 2nd edition that is far less complex than it used to be, and far less complex than at least several other skirmish-sized competitors.

It's awesome!

My concern about Malifaux would be that it is very game-y. The rules are not overly complex, but the system is also not overly forgiving of mistakes. If you don't know wargaming, there would be a learning curve. There's lots of combos and powers and lots of different model stats. If one approached it with an I'm-not-sure-I'm-going-to-like-wargaming attitude, Malifaux would provide plenty of fodder for confirmation bias.

weeble1000 wrote:

MVBrandt wrote:
Malifaux

It's played sitting down on a 3x3 surface.

It uses poker cards and a "war" like mechanic at a fundamental level (the simple kids card game war that nearly everyone understands) instead of gobs of dice, which doubles as a way to connect to something more mainstream.

It has very strong female characters and leads, not all of whom are busty crazies (and some of whom are downright cool like Perdita Ortega), and a VERY diverse set of themes (Western, Horror, Zombie, Steampunk/Victorian, etc).

It uses a very low model count, but there's a lot of depth and room to expand, as the full game is played "Faction vs Faction" and not "fixed list vs fixed list," so you don't have to rush her out of it if you want to up the ante and she's getting into it.

It's in a more refined, simplified 2nd edition that is far less complex than it used to be, and far less complex than at least several other skirmish-sized competitors.

It's awesome!

My concern about Malifaux would be that it is very game-y. The rules are not overly complex, but the system is also not overly forgiving of mistakes. If you don't know wargaming, there would be a learning curve. There's lots of combos and powers and lots of different model stats. If one approached it with an I'm-not-sure-I'm-going-to-like-wargaming attitude, Malifaux would provide plenty of fodder for confirmation bias.

That might be true, though again M2E literally cut all the special rules / etc. in half. It's dramatically more simple now (and, also is a recent example case to this very point for me personally).

Robo Rally is fun.

If Song of Blades and Heroes looks interesting to you, take a look at Songs of Our Ancestors. The creators have licensed the rules from Song of Blades and Heros and provided some background and minatures.

http://www.zombiesmith.com/products/songs-of-our-ancestors

Warmachine? Seems pretty simple to me, and the minis are alright. Cards make for easier remembering of stats, but the combos are hard to figure out.

My wife loves Settlers of Catan.

I just got my girlfriend into gaming. For years she just looked at me like I was crazy. Then I took her to my FLGS and showed her some models. She instantly fell in love with the Widow Weaver from Malifaux. The best thing about that is that everyone is just starting out since it's a new rules set. She also loves painting the minis.
In fact, she won't let me paint my minis any more. She insists on finishing them so I'm only allowed to do the base color scheme.

Does she actually want to learn how to play one, or is this somethig you're going to "push" on her?

How about one of these?

Super dungeon explore from soda pop sounds like a good option. Its pretty easy to learn, fun to paint, and the minis are lil chibi warrior dudes.

 Grey Knight Luke wrote:
Hey All,

I am looking for a rules light system that can get my girlfriend onto the path of minature gaming. I was thinking Heroclix or Malifaux.

The bonuses for this are:
-cheap entry into the hobby
-Low model count
-Limited rules

I personally don't mind a heavier ruleset but I don't want it to be so overbearing that it takes away from the initial, ooh this is fun, part that I love about minatures. Anyone have any game suggestions or reasons for either system?

Thanks!!!

I'd certainly recommend a Heroclix starter set; gets you up and running, minimal special rules, quick to pick up and harder to master, and a pretty decent game for the investment level.

Honestly, a question that none of us has asked (which would really make answering the OP's question easier) is this:

Are there any genres or tropes in fantasy or science fiction that your girlfriend already likes?

Once we know that, we can find a game that matches those things she's already into.

Similar to Zombicide, I know my wife has had a lot of fun playing the "Last night on..." series of games. There is some miniature aspect tot eh game, but it is cooperative too. The players vs. the GM.

Saldiven wrote:
Honestly, a question that none of us has asked (which would really make answering the OP's question easier) is this:

Are there any genres or tropes in fantasy or science fiction that your girlfriend already likes?

Once we know that, we can find a game that matches those things she's already into.

There was a post on page one from the OP about what she's into. It's not much on the geekiness scale.

Then there's the Spartan Games games. Uncharted Seas has some very pretty and characterful ships that I can see girls liking. (Mah grrrl doesn't, but that's not the point )

It's not dirt cheap, but not super expensive either.

 Alfndrate wrote:
There was a post on page one from the OP about what she's into. It's not much on the geekiness scale.

Which is a big reason I posed my question about whether she's actually interested or if it's being 'forced upon' her.

 cincydooley wrote:

 Alfndrate wrote:
There was a post on page one from the OP about what she's into. It's not much on the geekiness scale.

Which is a big reason I posed my question about whether she's actually interested or if it's being 'forced upon' her.

I agree, we'll just have to wait and see.

From experience, my wife hated minis and the games played with them. I would show her models from different games all the time that I thought she'd like and it didn't strike gold until this year with malifaux. She liked the models and the stories that went along with them. Another plus for her was the deck of cards mechanics replacing dice and the low model count (funny though she owns more than I do now). She still hates painting and actually had me get hers commissioned by a talented friend of mine.

Tl;dr find something tht catches her eye because we could spout hundreds of possibilities off without hitting a lucky one. Also models look better in person usually so if you have a lgs with display cases that really helps. DO NOT PUSH!!!

 cincydooley wrote:

 Alfndrate wrote:
There was a post on page one from the OP about what she's into. It's not much on the geekiness scale.

Which is a big reason I posed my question about whether she's actually interested or if it's being 'forced upon' her.

Again in a previous post I noted that this is not about it being forced upon her, its about us finding something fun to do that she might like for the cold Wyoming winter. Honestly I just want to spend the money on something that will be played, not something that is going to be put on the shelf and never used.

She isn't interested in playing 40k or getting heavily involved, but she isn't disinterested either.

My wife likes Malifaux. It is character driven, which, she likes, and, it is cheap to get into. Just cost us another faction, just a few models.

Malifaux would be the way to go if you also want to get her to enjoy the models / painting side too

I'd actually start with Puppet Wars - I know quite a few Malifaux players who have got their WaGs playing Puppet Wars and then shown an interest in malifaux too as the figures are so good and have such variety

X-wing is OK but it's then just the game an nothing else.....

 SoulDrinker wrote:
X-wing is OK but it's then just the game an nothing else.....

MajorTom11 would disagree with you on that
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/60/432632.page?userfilterid=22687

After having multiple significant others who were into gaming.. I'm going to go with none unless already interested prior to relationship :p

It's extremely tough to get a non-miniature inclined person to enjoy miniature games. Often you just waste money and end up with more models for yourself. Which is okay if you understand that's what is going to happen.

For the most part I've stuck to fantasy flight style board games, card games, video games and roleplaying games for the kind of games I play with GF or wife. That has tended to have the best outcome.

 Grey Knight Luke wrote:

 cincydooley wrote:

 Alfndrate wrote:
There was a post on page one from the OP about what she's into. It's not much on the geekiness scale.

Which is a big reason I posed my question about whether she's actually interested or if it's being 'forced upon' her.

Again in a previous post I noted that this is not about it being forced upon her, its about us finding something fun to do that she might like for the cold Wyoming winter. Honestly I just want to spend the money on something that will be played, not something that is going to be put on the shelf and never used.

She isn't interested in playing 40k or getting heavily involved, but she isn't disinterested either.

With that being the case, I would strongly suggest starting with a series of board games or card games. They're much more easily accessible, they're less intimidating (don't have to assemble and/or paint pieces), and easily allow you to add friends to playing if you have company.

Oh, and Kirasu is accurate that RPG's are a good option, too. That's especially a good choice if your RPG gaming group already has 1+ women involved in it.

Oh, what about the Pathfinder card game? Is one of the most popular games out there it seems, hard to come by the cards though.

 Kirasu wrote:
After having multiple significant others who were into gaming.. I'm going to go with none unless already interested prior to relationship :p

It's extremely tough to get a non-miniature inclined person to enjoy miniature games. Often you just waste money and end up with more models for yourself. Which is okay if you understand that's what is going to happen.

For the most part I've stuck to fantasy flight style board games, card games, video games and roleplaying games for the kind of games I play with GF or wife. That has tended to have the best outcome.

I agree. The OP has said that she is interested in miniature gaming to a degree, but you're never going to be successful trying to push someone into liking something that they don't have a genuine interest in, and you can sour a potential interest in something by foisting it on someone. I think the problem has a lot to do with confirmation bias. If you go into something thinking you aren't going to like it, well, you'll probably find that you don't like it.

This does not mean you shouldn't try to spark or nurture interest, but a soft hand and no expectations is a good idea. It is natural to want a significant other to share interests, but there are lots of different ways to approach that. When I ran a LARP back in college my wife wouldn't play, but she would help out because the game was important to me, it took a lot of effort, and my staff was insufficient. But she also enjoyed helping out. We got to spend time together, she enjoyed working on various related craft projects at home, and helping me when I needed it was fulfilling. At the end of the day, I think that was a much more rewarding experience as a couple than if she had played the game.

If you want your partner to be involved in your hobbies, it has to start from a place of genuine interest, like Boblogik's wife with Malifaux. An interest in Malifaux might grow into an interest in wargaming in general, who knows? But ultimately it grew from an interest in the artwork and the stories of Malifaux. I started wargaming after a long time of reading Gaunts Ghosts novels, but I was very reluctant to get into wargaming due to some bad experiences with painting models when I was younger. Now I love the Hell out of wargaming. Painting is low on my list of desired activities, though I am developing an appreciation for it, but for a long time the prospect of messing with models really put me off, which you might not expect if you poked your head into my hobby room.

My wife actually started with us doing some painting together. Since I hate painting, she soon was outdoing me, and it was fun to do together on cold nights.

 fishy bob wrote:
Song of Blades and Heroes. She can use whatever models she wants, and she can stat them up how ever she wants. The average model count for my games have been six or seven models. Also, the rules are 5 dollars.

This is my suggestion also. Unless she is really taken with the look of a certain game, SBH is a great option for new (or experienced gamers). It allows her to pick out the figures she likes best from any range and use them, and the buy-in is very low. Also, the rules are very fast moving, but still keep players interested.

If she ends up not liking gaming, you're only out a little $, and if she likes it, there are some great supplements available (8 bucks each) and the possibilities for warbands are endless.

 Eilif wrote:

 fishy bob wrote:
Song of Blades and Heroes. She can use whatever models she wants, and she can stat them up how ever she wants. The average model count for my games have been six or seven models. Also, the rules are 5 dollars.

This is my suggestion also. Unless she is really taken with the look of a certain game, SBH is a great option for new (or experienced gamers). It allows her to pick out the figures she likes best from any range and use them, and the buy-in is very low. Also, the rules are very fast moving, but still keep players interested.

If she ends up not liking gaming, you're only out a little $, and if she likes it, there are some great supplements available (8 bucks each) and the possibilities for warbands are endless.

Skulldred is pretty cool and also offers a similar customization.

I played the last beta of skulldred and it's a good game, but I would NOT recommend it to a beginner. It just isn't finished yet. Also, SBH has the advantage of including a pretty big list of pre-made stats and an easy to use free online unit builder for stating up your own figures.

When finished, Skulldred might well be a great step-up from SBH, but at this point, it's free beta isn't yet a rival to $8 for SBH which is extensively playtested and well supported.

Here's the links to SBH...
http://www.ganeshagames.net/product_info.php?cPath=1_6&products_id=7
...and Skulldred
http://skulldred.blogspot.com/

Thanks for the posts everyone! It has been incredibly enlightening.

Now, it is interesting how life tends to work some of these wrinkles out for you. I was out with the girl and she happened to find the game that she wants to play. At the store all I heard her say is, " They have a Firefly game?!!" and that was that. Not quite minatures, but definitely a step in the direction of more complex games. So for now that is what we are going with. I am sure eventually we will get tired of playing it, but hopefully by then we can move on to something else.

Thanks again for all the advice, especially the parts about going slow. I forget sometimes that I have been doing wargaming for the better part of 10 years and it took me a long time to commit, why should I expect anything less from someone else?