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Hello,

Trying to choose between 40k, Legion and Crisis protocol - any advice which to choose?

Standard dad with young family, limited time and limited money.
Kids enjoy painting models and like games so want to make this a shared hobby. I got some paint and a couple of free/old 40k models and we started painting, enjoy it.

Played 40k 2nd edition years ago and a big fan of lore (read most of Horus Heresy series) so 40k seems like a good choice. But of course, its really expensive, I don't like their consumer practices (being aggressive to the fan art community, box sets with unique characters, takes a while to build up an army, lots of rule books to buy etc) so I am considering other options.

Looking for Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Also, how easy is it to find games for Legion and Crisis Protocol? Are the user bases growing?

Great question, here's my advice:

In terms of being able to find a game and an active community GW games are often the best way to go. You are right to be warry of the expense but there are ways to mitigate that.

1) Kill Team: All you need are two squads and the rule book and some home made terrain and off you go.
2) Other GW skirmish game: Lots options here both in the 40K setting and Age of Sigmar.

GW's skirmish games are cheaper (relativley) to buy into, don't suffer the same kind of Meta chasing that full 40K gets stuck in and its a way to slowly build up a faction over time. My friends and I play Necromunda and really enjoy it.

They also play quick, which as a fellow dad I can appreciate as my gaming time tend to be limited.

I don't play the other two games so can't speak to rules orcommunity. From what I've seen both games have a range of models and if your a fan of Star Wars or super hero's both could be fun to play.

There are lots of rule systems out there to try. If GW rules bloat is a turn off try One Page Rules. If other periods or setting strike you fancy Osprey publishes a war games rules serries that touches on some intresting subjets with each book being about $25 USD a pop. I play a variety of their rule sets with my kid (age 12) and we have a blast.

Depends on what you want AND what your local players also want. I recommend finding out what the locals play if gaming is your focus. In many, even most, areas, 40k is the answer.

It’s well and good to have what you personally prefer on your shelf but if all the other potential opponents turn up their noses at anything that isn’t 40k, you either have a potential diorama or a solo gaming experience in store.

I have moved all over the country and been all over the world. 40k is the only thing I could get a game of literally anywhere on Earth. We played with poker chip bases and cardboard silhouettes in a command tent in middle of nowhere Africa. I've moved to a new state that I never even set foot in and had a whole group of people I could meet up with for games by 1-2 weeks after moving. Anything else I've tried to play has been a huge struggle to find games unless I was playing with my gf or roommate. I've done Warmahordes, Titanicus, Infinity, Necromunda, Blood Bowl, AoS, and looked into a bunch of other games. The one thing they all had in common was that I had a hell of a time finding opponents for casual pickup games because there aren't enough players in my area. 40k is probably my least favorite ruleset out of everything I mentioned above, but I would rather actually play a game of 40k than sit around the hobby store for 3 hours not playing because the 1 other guy in town that plays had something else to do that day.

Marvel Crisis Protocol is spectacular.

Kids can pick up the rules easily enough and adults find depth to dig into.

It is well balanced without being an overly competitive game.

It feels like you are in a comic or one of the marvel movies.

The earlier models had some odd design choices like 3 pieces for heads and tiny pieces, but they are much better now in design.

Cost. If (like me) you buy everything, this is more expensive than 40K or legion.
However, you can buy certain factions to keep cost down, and they are even doing boxes at a reduced price containing core models of factions with the cards that came in the original boxes for those models.
So much better for people starting the game.

They have narrative games of characters run by essentially and AI system vs players (Thanos, Dormamu boxes come with them).

And the models are awesome and full of character. Note She-Hulk's toilet is a conversion.

MCP is easily my favorite game at the moment. It's just a spectacular experience with a ton of variety and opportunities for both competitive and casual play. The rules pull together aspects of a good number of my favorite rule systems and the models are a joy to paint.

We've got a thriving community locally, but you'll need to find one for yourself to know for sure. Often just asking at the local card shops can clue you in where people play. 40k is often more of a sure thing, but funny enough in my town its actually harder to find games for simply because the community is more organized around basement gaming than stores. Asking around for local Facebook groups or Discord channels is often the best way to find players these days.

Thanks for everyone's advice - it's very useful. I think this will be my modus operandi

I'll research the MCP group in my area (KW, ontario) and if it looks like its significant enough, I'll go with that. My kids like Marvel characters, rules easier and the core set at ~$120 CAD is runnable game.

See if wargaming interest contines.

From there either continue with MCP and/or 40k through thriftier means (second hands, proxies, etc)

Thanks everyone

I'd say go with whichever game you can find folks to play. I live in stratford, and work in kitchener, and I know there is a big 40k scene, but I've not heard of anyone playing mcp. I do know some folks play starwars.

My son got the 40k bug and we've been having a great time playing Grimdark Future with my old 40k armies.

If you already have a few free 40k figures, I'd at least head over to the One Page Rules website and check out "Grimdark Future Firefight".
https://onepagerules.com/portfolio/grimdark-future-firefight/
It's an excellent set of simple skirmish rules for low model count games and there are army lists to cover nearly any 40k model so you can start playing right now.

Over a couple decades of looking at free and indie streamlined rulesets, I can say that the One Page Rules Games I've tried are well produced, incredibly easy to learn and as playtested and balanced as anything available commercially.

Hi Ellif, great idea - thanks!

Do you have money?

Would you like to have no money?

If so, then 40k is for you

rutledge wrote:
Hi Ellif, great idea - thanks!

You're very welcome. I'll add that -while GW will always get you on books (Factor in a $100 rulebook plus $50 codices for each army every few years)- it is possible to seriously lower the cost of 40k minis via the used market, alternate miniatures (Wargames Atlantic a notable recent addition among many others) and 3d printed miniatures. I still prefer the One Page Rules (Grimdark Future) route, both for it's affordability and ease of play. However, if somewhere down the line you reach the point where you and/or your kids would benefit from the built-in playerbase (possibly the best thing 40k has going for it) of 40k, know that there are affordable ways for the savvy and patient player to funciton in the "40k hobby".

Lastly, remember also that you can still pull from the well-established lore and printed materials of 40k. My son and I read last edition's codicies for fluff and ideas for our Grimdark games. . Previous codices can usually be gotten for $10-15 or less. Gives us our fill of inspiration and any unit or option in a GW codex is also in a Grimdark future army list.

Buy models you like, but use different, variable rules with them. There are tons of options and many of them are easier to learn and teach to kids than others.

Some example rules:

Rogue Stars
Blasters and Bulkheads
Fistful of Lead- Galactic Heroes
Grimdark Future
Restless Stars
Restless Sun
Rogue Planet
Spaceport Scum
Stargrave
Planet28

A quick glance at Wargame Vault and you can find dozens of cheap sci-fi games to try....

https://www.wargamevault.com/index.php

Wow a ton of information - thanks everyone