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I was chatting with someone the other day about how 25mm+ scale models are impractical for mass combat due to the amount of painting and the cost. I like to dabble in multiple systems, so I stay away from having a million mans all wearing the same uniform. Lately I've been feeling the itch to see a battlefield arrayed with massive armies, and I wanted to know what you think would work. I've been looking for a hex and counter game that I can take with me instead of loading up the foam case.

Does Mayhem support smaller scale models/tokens or counters? I'd prefer a ruleset that isn't historical/WW. Bonus points if I can buy it for cheap and play with tokens or counters.

Well, King of War from Mantic uses fixed base sizes for regiments rather than basing individual models, so you could print some templates of the right size (with maybe pics of the minis or some relevant artwork on) and use those. The rules are free, so the only cost would be the printing of the templates (and rules if you want to print them).

Not sure if that's what you're after, but it's a great mass battle ruleset that would take up minimal space and cost done this way.

I thought about printing tokens for KoW, but it's still in that 25mm+ scale. Might still be worth a go.

Well, you could just convert inches to cm and treat it as 15mm scale or smaller, if you really want a ton of units.

Okay that's awesome. Does anyone have a recommendation for a portable counters based game as well? I know, I'm getting greedy...

Basically, I have SJ's Ogre pocket edition, but the rules are bad bad bad. I'd like something in print if possible. This is my backup if I lose interest in Chits of War.

I don't know of a great portable game (maybe something like battlelore?). Are you more interested in chits or small scale soldiers.

I don't know much about chits but there are a wealth of games and miniatures for large-scale combat in 6, 10 and 16m sizes. The difference is that they aren't usually sold in one package. You pick the minis you like best and then you pick the rules you like best.

You'll probably find some great suggestions over at TMP. There's lots of folks playing in smaller scales over there.

A few other suggstions.
Have you considered Warmaster? The rules are free online (somewhere) and there are plenty of fantasy forces being made in all 3 of the small scales.

For sci-Fi, another option would be Future War commander. It uses the Warmaster command mechanic but for sci-fi.

Our club does 10mm sci-fi using mostly rebased mechwarrior figures. We've tried the following rulesets
-Future War Commander
-Panzer 8 Sci-Fi. Free rules for really fast play with lots of unts
-Mech Attack: Battletech'ish feel, but faster play for 4-10 units per player
-Alpha Strike: Official Battletech large battle game. d

Have you tried any of the Block games by Columbia Games?

The units are on one side of an upright wooden block - the enemy does not get to see what the unit is until it is engaged - making reccon forces vital.

As units take damage the block is rotated - as units are replenished they are rotated the other way.

Expensive, portable, and awesome games - the feeling of a fog of war makes it much more suspenseful than is typical of a counter game. (My favorite is Quebec 1759 - The French & Indian War seems sadly neglected, and this is an excellent game.)

*EDIT* Expensive means around $50 or so - but it is a complete game, though some of the ACW ones can be combined to cover the entire war.

There is also a fantasy version - Wizard Kings, which has free rules. (Despite the free rules, I have never played Wizard Kings - looks good, but folks seem to prefer having minis....)

The Auld Grump - fought all through this wilderness in '59,
still fancy I see shadows movin', time after time.
Still fancy I see shadows movin', time after time.
If it doesn't lift your spirits, well it leaves you numb.
Best cure for the shadows is a bottle of rum.
Only cure for shadows is a bottle of rum....

The Auld Grump always makes my day...

I'm pretty stuck on the idea that mass combat games are just too clunky for me at 25mm and up. I'll go check out TMP as well.

If I can find a game that is basically Ogre but fantasy themed and more concise rules, I'd be set. The idea is to bring a wargame with me to parties and stuff so I don't have to play Cards Against Humanity. Plus I've been obsessed with microgames lately.

Thanks for suggestions!

 melkorthetonedeaf wrote:
The Auld Grump always makes my day...

I'm pretty stuck on the idea that mass combat games are just too clunky for me at 25mm and up. I'll go check out TMP as well.

If I can find a game that is basically Ogre but fantasy themed and more concise rules, I'd be set. The idea is to bring a wargame with me to parties and stuff so I don't have to play Cards Against Humanity. Plus I've been obsessed with microgames lately.

Thanks for suggestions!

Hmm. For parties it's hard to say. If you're partying with wargamers you've got alot of options. If not however, I wouldn't go for anything more complicated than a box of 6mm units and Panzer 8, a fast playing 2 page ruleset. You can get the rules here which include variants for many different periods.
http://panzer8.weebly.com/rules.html
Our very slight modification (mostly a cleaning up of the format) of the sci-fi version and a larger unit list is here:
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/504811.page
Some batreps are here:
http://chicagoskirmish.blogspot.com/search?q=panzer

If you want to play a mass army game without having to handle all the miniatures, I would start checking out local gaming conventions and groups. You can try out all sorts of different rule sets in different genres and someone else gets to deal with handling the miniatures and terrain.

Within a two hour drive of where I am at, there about eight conventions a year where these types of games are played and you can usually get in two or three games a day.

Unfortunately, I have found the non-wargaming game nights that I often attend have little interest in anything beyond Apples to Apples, so I have not had any luck introducing these people to anything more complicated.

I have a friend who plays WHFB and blood bowl, but we don't play those games at parties because the other game is usually over by the time we've set up. I was mostly tossing the party idea out as an example.

Looking over PZ8, there doesn't seem to be an Ancients/Fantasy version, and I don't need another SciFi game at this point. I should have clarified that Ogre comment. The microgame feel is what I'm looking for.

Wizard Kings looks pretty awesome, I'll admit. I also like the idea of packing a little box of 6mm up, but I need to get some rules. I suppose I could just make them up or use Warmaster....

Okay, so I have looked into Avalon Hill games and they seemed pretty fun. I also got some 6mm models and have finally had fun playing Kings of War.

However! I also decided that neither really brought what I wanted, so I started making my own. How do you dudes feel about a print and play battles game that uses graph paper as it's game board?