The thing I love about solo wargaming is that I can be a bit selfish. I prefer hex maps because terrain gets bumped around and tape measures can be awkward. I also prefer indulging my creativity behind a mouse and keyboard, not so much with a paint brush.
So for my solo wargaming I've been buying Krosmaster Arena figures. I enjoy their design, and my creative impulses are sated as I create new star card designs to replace those that come with them.
I also picked up a space based wargame that came with a very nice blank hexmap sized at about 1.5" per hex. Under plexiglass this has become my dream wargame set up. I may never play the game it came with (the rule book is a bit of a mess), but I use game pieces the way most people use Legos.
The pictures attached shows my current game in process as the Khaotic Rebels push from the right to claim territory from the Ashland Guardians. I also added a photo of the included card art and the new stat blocks I made for them using the new game rules. My preferred card design app is Microsoft Publisher. If anyone is interested I can pass along the pdf for the cards I've made and the Publisher file with the cards and my template.
I had to leave this game in process, which is another advantage to solo wargaming; If I get busy my opponent is always willing to wait.
Nice.
ReplyDeleteHex maps are the greatest!
ReplyDeleteBut then I was exposed to Battletech at the age of 13, which may have coloured my preferences somewhat!
I've never played Battletech, though if I ever find one of the old box sets for a good price I'll certainly remedy that, but we have had a lot of success with another mech rule set which we modified for hexes. Samurai Robot Battle Royale (also by Ganesha Games) is a lot of fun. My son and I have been using old Advance Squad Leader maps to play.
ReplyDeleteEdit: Thought I'd mention that for cheap mech minis we've been buying clearance MechWarrior HeroClix and rebasing them on 1.5" and 2" fender washers.
I can't recommend the game enough. Not very solo friendly due to the system, but with others it's great
ReplyDeleteDo the old sets come with mounted maps like Squad Leader or were they card stock?
ReplyDeleteThe old sets were mostly A2 paper maps, sometimes double sided. The newer sets have thicker card map sheets
ReplyDeleteYeah the old battletech hex maps were great - wish I still had mine for wargaming - traded them away for games workshop stuff - which since got sold :(
ReplyDeleteHow easy is it to do layout in publisher - I've been using PowerPoint recently - once someone showed me you can turn pages portrait !
ReplyDeleteMalcolm Iggleden my BT collection has stayed with me (and grown dramatically with the help of ebay)
ReplyDeleteI wish I still had some of my older GW stuff... The original Mighty Empires was a wonderful game/campaign system that will never resurface now...
Malcolm Iggleden publisher is great, in large part because it's core function is layout. I've been using it for years and often refer to it as Photoshop for people without artistic ability (me). Any gaming or design work I need to do my first instinct is to open Publisher.
ReplyDeleteMatt Quinton Star! Just hit eBay for just the maps ;) Result :)
ReplyDeleteGeoff Osterberg I shall have to give Publisher a try then, getting ready to add a bit more polish to my design /layout work - thanks :)
Are GW minis worth the price of admission? I have one of the older rule books on my shelf, and am unlikely to play the game itself. But my son has been asking about painting miniatures and if I was going to go in for the rigamaroll I'd want the models to be nice. The local game store has a selection of manufacturers, but GW seems to dominate.
ReplyDeleteGeoff Osterberg Yes GW stuff is expensive, but I've always found them to be very high quality, - the plastic miniatures just keep getting better and better. Now I may be slightly biased - Im from Nottingham in the UK - where GW started and still has a massive presence ;)
ReplyDeleteGrab a box of plastic Space Marines or Dwarves etc - loads of cutomasiable bits are included, so the don't all end up the same - and they plastics takes paints really well - If iwas going to tabletop game again, I'd go right back to 40k - no idea what the game system plays like these days but everything they do is quality, if pricey - maybe they are the Apple of gaming companies ;)
I have an embarrassment of GW miniatures. They are highly expensive. As always, start with eBay; their resin cast miniatures are of mixed quality in my book, though it's been a few years since I stopped giving them any money. A lot of their older miniatures
ReplyDeleteI loved their metal and plastic minis the best, but they're out of the metal game.
Privateer Press is the other big player in terms of figures. I posted in another recent comment an engine for solo squad gaming being used called 'five parsecs from home' on a blogspot blog called tiny solitary soldiers.
Geoff Osterberg I know I'm zombie threading this, but it came up in a recent search for something else. Do you still have that Publisher template? I'd love to give it a try if you're willing to share.
ReplyDeleteKarl Hendricks I'm not sure, but if I do it's on my home PC. I'll check when I get home. If you don't hear back on it today feel free to ping me again, I'm prone to forgetfulness.
ReplyDeleteKarl Hendricks it doesn't appear I have e that one anymore. If I recall, I used an image of the back of the cards as a template and then designed over it. The icons always come from game-icons.net - 2930 free SVG and PNG icons for your games or apps | Game-icons.net
ReplyDeleteGeoff Osterberg Cool. Thanks for checking.
ReplyDelete