|
|
Post by pointdefence on Sept 20, 2011 16:44:59 GMT -5
Hi All,
Need a bit of help from what looks like a very friendly board! Just signed up to the board, and about to wander over to to the wargamevault to take a gander at the downloadable rulebooks.
Ramble mode engaged. I'm a total naval wargaming noob from the UK. I've played various other wargames before, primarily 28mm and 6mm land based games before, as well as some Battletech and some space based games like Full Thrust. My gaming buddies and I often play general PC strategy games too, and we always like a bit of naval combat (nothing like an good offshore bombardment to warm the heart and punish the unwary). So we thought 'Hey, table top naval game!'. And here we are!
I was aware of NT through CBF, so we came here first. NT looks like a pretty concise game, which is good as we're looking for something that plays fairly swiftly over an afternoon. Vaguely remember what looked like terrifyingly long naval games with clipboards and phone book sized rules going on at various conventions and what not.
I've seen some helpful threads recommending models, and the Panzerschiffe ones are looking like a good low(er) priced but good detail collection. Additionally, we just don't have the room to game with larger models. Plus our various partners would kill us. You know the drill.
Now, as a general group rule, one of us generally introduces the others to a new system before wide scale group investment, so I'm looking at some sort of demo game, hopefully as a basis for expansion! So, my query is this, can anyone recommend a good demo battle/setup to me, and any info on the models/ships I'll need? Also, is period going to be an issue? Am I better off with WW1 or WW2 era in terms of ease of play?
I had considered something set piece like Battle of The River Plate, but as a group we generally preferred balanced scenarios...
All help appreciated.
PointD
|
|
|
|
Post by regiamarina on Sept 20, 2011 20:32:03 GMT -5
Hey PD,
welcome aboard. You'll find the board friendly and very helpful especially with technical questions, someone on here always knows the answer.
As for miniatures Panzerschiffe are ok. I've had some nice ships from them and some bad ships, the bad ones tend to be ones with extra detail like cranes on the Astoria which were badly miscast and broken. Others like the Graf Spee are very nice and clean. If you are looking for a balance between quality and price in 1/2400 scale CinC Soft Metal Castings are quite nice casts and he gives discounts on bulk orders. My mate recently picked up a large British and almost complete German fleet for $150. Another option if price and space are an issue might be to look at smaller scales like Navwar Miniatures in 1/3000 or Hallmark in 1/6000. I have heard good things about Navwar and can highly recommend the Hallmark figures though I do only have their modern ships not WW2. The 1/6000 are quite small though.
As for an intro/demo game I've always found the River Plate scenario or the Bismark vs Hood scenario perfect for new players to get to know the rules as there are minimal ships in the game. Though they may seem unbalanced points wise the German ships are individually better than the British so can make for interesting play. I'd learn on these smaller scenarios first just to learn the basics. You should get two of these scenarios in in an afternoon pretty easily.
Martin
|
|
shigure
Commander
IJN Shigure
Posts: 356
|
Post by shigure on Sept 20, 2011 22:25:33 GMT -5
Cheers Pointdefence,
Welcome to our new member from the UK. Having lived in the Northeast UK (Newcastle - Geordi's ;D) during 2008 and 2009, I was able to visit many of the historical sites and ships that the UK has preserved as part of their proud heritage.
If you are interested in WWI, there are any number 'what-if' scenario's that can be played out with good balance. If you substitute the German BC Von der Tann for the CL Breslau you can have a nice little Battlecruiser action with the British battlecruisers HMS Indefatigable and Indomitable vs. the German Battlecruisers Goeben and Von der Tann in the Mediterranean Sea.
No matter what scenario(s) you choose we hope that you will post the results with pictures.
|
|
|
|
Post by TheDreadnought on Sept 21, 2011 1:05:16 GMT -5
Welcome!
In response to your other question, WWI is actually a little simpler than WWII, but both are designed to be taught and played at conventions - so you'll have no problems from a complexity standpoint.
Really just comes down to which era you prefer. WWI lends itself more to larger actions, while WWII is more focused on the type of smaller battles seen during that period.
|
|
|
|
Post by robertthedamned on Sept 21, 2011 6:51:56 GMT -5
Hey PointD, Nice to see another Brit on here. I'm sure you'll be pleased with NT, its a great rules set. I get most my ships from Skytrex, they're not as detailed as the GHQ equivalents but are about 1/10th the price and I reckon with postage they're cheaper than Panzerschiffe ships when you're in the UK. They've also just introduced some new 'battle packs' which have a good mix of ships for £20 a time. I've got a couple of photos of some of my ships here on the forum. I'd also recomend the 'Battle of Denmark Straight' (aka Hood vs Bismark) scenario as a good starting point. |
|
|
|
Post by pointdefence on Sept 21, 2011 16:24:02 GMT -5
Thanks for comments so far all!
Shigure > No way! I'm a Geordie myself, I live in Newcastle and was born in South Shields, a local lad born and bred!
Robertthedamned > Thanks for the pointer dood, had no idea about Skytrex! They are right in my cost and postage bracket! Your ships look awesome! I'm totally inspired to get the ships for Denmark Straight! Did they take much painting? I'm not much of a painter myself. The bases are epic!
For the cost, I might get Battle of River Plate AND Denmark Straight....
Is it worth mixing in destroyers at this point, or worth left out?
|
|
shigure
Commander
IJN Shigure
Posts: 356
|
Post by shigure on Sept 21, 2011 18:02:24 GMT -5
The Newcastle area was a great place to live. The people were friendly, although I can't imagine why they said I had an accent...  It had one of the nicest shopping malls I've seen in Europe (my wife appreciated that) and my grandkids were facsinated by the pictures of Alnwick Castle and the Harry Potter stuff that goes on there. I actually lived in East Boldon just south of Newcastle and of course had to pay my taxes in South Shields. Except for driving on the wrong side of the road, the UK is easy to navigate with a Tom Tom (GPS). How is the football team in Newcastle doing this year? When I left they had been relegated down, so I hope they made it back up to the Premier League. I worked in Peterlee and the rivalry at work between Newcastle and Sunderland fans was interesting to say the least. It was amusing to visit some of the pubs who had signs up saying no one with an athletic jersey was allowed inside. As for starting with destroyers, if you read some of our gaming results you'll see that many times the destroyers get chewed up fairly quickly and easily if not handled with care. So I would recommend leaving the destroyers out first until you get a feel for the game. |
|
|
|
Post by ckosacranoid on Sept 21, 2011 22:08:57 GMT -5
if nothing else, a basic idea would just toss out everyone with two battleships on each side and in a line and then go from there. dont really need anything beyond that. the russion japan war i played last year at a small con and it was the line of fleet and it was a cool game.
|
|
|
|
Post by warchariot on Sept 21, 2011 22:14:16 GMT -5
Welcome Pointdefence!
You said you came by way of CBF so must like it well enough. Most of us here have played other systems also, but Dread has come up with something we all like very much. iIcan't add anything on where to start, so good luck with the intro and let us know how it went...with pictures please.
|
|
|
|
Post by TheDreadnought on Sept 21, 2011 23:44:22 GMT -5
if nothing else, a basic idea would just toss out everyone with two battleships on each side and in a line and then go from there. dont really need anything beyond that. the russion japan war i played last year at a small con and it was the line of fleet and it was a cool game. Yeah the key in introducing new people is just to get them some cool ships to play with. I'd focus less on a historical battle, and more just on a simple fun game. Either battleships. . . or a heavy cruiser action or something. |
|
|
|
Post by stenicplus on Sept 27, 2011 16:59:12 GMT -5
PointD, You don't specify Pre-dreanought, WW1 or WW2 as a preferred era if any. I would say whilst WW1 is probably simpler the historical battles are less balanced... unless you try Jutland :-) Mainly becaise they tended to avois each other if there was a danger of them losing, too much pride to lose etc... But since you can make up battles it matters not  We've been playing NT:CoD for about 6 months now after trying the Mongoose set first and necer looked back. For cheap 1/2400 ships check out stonewall miniatures who do a selection of British and German ships. Steve P |
|
Bluebear
Commander
He who laughs
Posts: 405
|
Post by Bluebear on Sept 30, 2011 2:08:04 GMT -5
stenicplus mentioned the Russo-Japanese War . . . the Pre-Dreadnought gaming has some very nice nearly even pure surface action fights. If you have a few guys, the main ships of the Battle of the Yellow Sea is great if you just use the six capitol ships of each side. . . . and, of course you could always build to the full scenario (included in the "Rise of the Battleship" expansion of the WWI rules (Clash of Dreadnoughts").
So if it was me, I'd suggest you start with WWI over WWII unless you really lean toward the latter. And with these earlier conflicts I would not think of going to 1/6000 scale ships . . . they are too tiny. I personally chose 1/2400 (Panzerschiffe); but there are some good 1/3000 manufacturers as well . . . but for the Pre-Dreads and WWI I would not go smaller than 1/3000 scale ships.
But whatever you choose, enjoy it!
-- Jeff
|
|
