Add "wargaming" under video games

[sunnyside]

I think a lot of us are sci fi wargamers. In fact there are actually Trek wargames out there. Maybe those people would like to come chat. (Though the Trek wargames take so freaking long to play).

On that note if you wargame give a shout out here.

I've dabbled in many wargames. Particularily oldschool ones, i.e. classic battletech. My "main" game which I don't really have time for is WH40K where I had a very winning Eldar force. The new edition/codex stomped all over it. But mostly I play online via a PBEM system I worked out or through VASSAL, so in those things I was able to try out newer forces as well as experiment with what I could have my army as is stand in for.

[Sionnach Glic]

Never knew there were any Trek wargames.
40K, BFG and Inquisitor for me.

[sunnyside]

Yup. Star Fleet Battles
http://www.starfleetgames.com/starfleetbattles.shtml

It took some heavy damage in the big cannon fight. The "basic" rules are there online so you could actually play without paying. However its problem is that it chose to do an alternating move method. It'd be like if in 40K instead of moving all your guys their full distance all at once you move all of them one inch. Than the other guy moved his all one inch. And so one with troops firing at any point in their movement.

That works OK if you're doing one ship vs one ship but I hope you brought sleeping bags if you want to do a fleet action.

EDIT: On that note if people want to throw down in some PBF games here's my general take.

Warhammer 40K: Works well. The reason being that unlike the vast majority of wargames there is no reaction to be made barring special rules. This means that each post can often be a whole turn. So a battle can be finished in maybe a dozen or so posts total.

Star Fleet Battles: Eahc post is something like 1/20th of a turn. A full game would take pages and pages. No go.

Battlefleet Gothic (which could, I suppose, have custom Trek rules made up): Not too bad. Primary problem being that after every single thing that happens the other guy has the option to brace for impact. In theory however this might be managable because much of the time either bracing doesn't affect how the aggressor would fire (they'd just pour plasma on the target braced or not) or their choices are obvious and formulaic. (I pour fire onto ship A until it braces and then fire on ship B) However for this to really work smooth you need some kind of way to conceal orders and tell if the other person looked. Or you could just use spoiler tags if this forum has them and trust the other guy.

About every other wargame I can think of has reactions as standard and frequent. That is after every declared charge your target has a couple options to choose from. Worse yet these options could result in big changes. For example you might charge some archers, take some incoming hits, and then have that unit turn around and run away.

[Reliant121]

I've looked at WH 40K before. never really had the money or the patience to try it. every now and then i get the urge to give it a try.

i'd be interested in a star trek based one. But starfleet battles does look a little....advanced

[Mikey]

How would Inquisitor work? Similar in nature to WH40k, but smaller in scale, so it might be easier in a PBF/PBE type of format. Plus, the rules are available for free online.

[Jabber Swarky]

Hmm, seems im the only Warhammer Fantasy player here, then xD

I allways rather liked the Mordheim WH game - a group of 12 or so (well, 16 for me since im a Skaven warband) People duking it out in ruined city. Its interesting, because often the objectives are more complicated than just "Kill more of the enemy than they do of you"... though, that helps. And because its designed to be played as a long running campaign and because your warband is so small you can really write a backstory for them.

Though i guess thats kind of unrelated at the mo xD They do a 40K version of it, though, Necromunda...

[Sionnach Glic]

How would Inquisitor work? Similar in nature to WH40k, but smaller in scale, so it might be easier in a PBF/PBE type of format. Plus, the rules are available for free online.

Inquisitor is basicaly a more detailed version of 40K, and usualy deals with teams of less than half a dozen characters per player.

[Jabber Swarky]

The peices are bigger and more detailed, too. A space marine is about 12cm's tall.. Uh.. I think.

[Sionnach Glic]

Something like that. I'm not about to go measuring.

[sunnyside]

How would Inquisitor work? Similar in nature to WH40k, but smaller in scale, so it might be easier in a PBF/PBE type of format. Plus, the rules are available for free online.

Inquisitor actually seems more like a D&D type RPG except that the focus is on combat and you always have to use the figurines. They use the term "narrative wargame".

I don't know the system, but it seems elaborate.

With 40K you could scale it down by just doing a combat patrol instead of a "full" army battle.

[colmquinn]

I'm more of an AD+D style paper based gamer to be honest, tried the classic Star Trek stuff but it was only ok to be honest. Ship combat in that wasn't very well exicuted though I streamlined the rules a bit to make large conflicts bit more like the old ship v ship combats used to happen here tween Deepcrush and others.
I've been meaning to try the warhammer stuff but haven't got the patience to get models etc.

[Mikey]

I've never played Inquisitor but the rules seem like they could be used either for more of an RPG-type OR for a more combat-oriented game with the addition of some minor character continuation/advancement.

Colmquinn - is that a Cthulu av?! I love it!

[colmquinn]

Ia Ia Cthulthu fhtagn,
It was a toss up between an image of mighty Cthulhu or of good old H P Lovecraft himself but went with the sleeping evil in the end

Spelling edit
(damit no wonder my chanting to summon the evil from deepest reaches of time and space failed, I was saying it wrong)

[Mikey]

Cthulu fhtagn indeed.

[sunnyside]

FASA also made a trek wargame.

Looks like the let some people continue it for free
http://sporadic-enterprises.net/PhaseII/rules.htm

Looks to be heavy inspired by starfleet battles. But notably faster in play.

However it also would be brutal to play by forum. But hey if you've got some friends in RL who are into Trek and gaming.