What got you started down the path of miniatures gaming?

[ianediger 1,345]

Just a place to discuss whatever got you into miniatures gaming, whether Armada is your first system, or you're a seasoned wargamers.

For me, I got started down the path of miniatures gaming with the purchase of the HeroScape Master set, second edition, which was the equivalent to a core. Which precluded a lot of purchases, including 3 more Master sets. As of right now, I've gotten rid of most of it, but I still have my Elite Onyx Vipers, which as I understand, are now pretty rare.

[Undeadguy 5,749]

I was like 12 or 13 when WotC released their version of Star Wars Minis. Instantly got hooked on that, and I still have a few hundred laying around. Thinking about getting rid of them because the cards got toasted 

[Norell 1,198]

I love Star Wars, I love grand strategy games. I've found X-Wing and played it once or twice. It was fun. And then I came across Armada and I knew I arrived home

[Mad Cat 2,250]

Casting my own lead Napoleonics.

 

Go Prince August & Newbury Fast Play.

[TallGiraffe 3,447]

Armada.

[Drasnighta 26,831]

I was given a Train Set when I was 6.

[Maturin 1,583]

My second cousin twice removed (really!) introduced me to FASA's 1st ed. Battletech when we were kids.  Played a little bit, but designed about a bazillion of my own designs.  Played a bit of old-school GMT wargames as well.

 

Schooling then got in the way, but I happened across 40k about 9 years ago after I'd just moved to Canada and had nothing to do for a few months due to visa issues.  

 

Various boardgames happened, like Tide of Iron...some passing interest in FoW.......Sails of Glory came really, really close to scratching my itch but didn't have the playerbase or competitive scene......

 

Then Armada came along and I'm hooked for life.  

[tenchi2a 442]

started playing warhammer 40k back in the early 90's when i was in college

[Felswrath 678]

I had seen x wing in stores and wasn't to interested and then I saw adds for waves 2 and 3. "There are more ships! This is awesome!" I thought. Later I sold all my xwing stuff and a bunch of other games for Imperial Assault. The guy at the store got a steal I'm sure, but I love IA so it's all right.

Edited October 15, 2016 by Felswrath

[Vykes 1,927]

I was that 'little Timmy' back in the mid 90's when it came to 40K.  My older neighbor picked up some metal marine scouts, I got a combat squad of Tacticals.  It ballooned from there (slowly, on a grade schoolers budget.  But back then it was doable). I picked up fantasy, returned to even more 40K when 3rd edition was released in 98, and played an absolute metric ton of it.  

 

My tabletop gaming has hit a few lulls, I've played at least a dozen different systems and kicked the GW habit, but I bit the bullet on X-wing when the Y-wings were released, then got into Armada as soon as that was released.  I don't regret it at all. 

 

... I want to paint some blue and yellow marines with red guns now, thanks.  I know I still have a squad laying around somewhere. 

[Captain Gideon 77]

For myself it was partly due to an Avalon Hill board game JUTLAND.

 

I remember finding some loose ship counters from Jutland in a goodwill store and at first I didn't know what they were and then later I was able to buy the complete game.

 

So I played it a few times and after that I decided to buy my first Naval Miniatures which were World War One British and German.

 

And in Sept of 1979 I bought about $100.00 worth of WWI Naval miniatures by CinC and the rest is as they say history and I never looked back.

 

After that I started expanding my miniatures collection and the list is very long but over time I acquired Microarmour,Battletech,more Naval Miniatures(WWII and Modern),Spaceship minis like StarBlazers and more recently FASA Star Trek and Armada,Napoleonic's,Samurai,Ancients and many more.

 

Overall I might've had 2,000 to 4,000 miniatures of all types sadly many of these I no longer have and in some cases I got tired of certain minis so I sold them off for one reason or another.

 

Right now I still have most of my Naval collection,all my StarBlazers minis,as well as Star Trek(FASA mostly),Star Wars(mostly Armada)and other assorted minis and for 38 of my 56 years I've had miniatures of one type or the other.

 

Michael

[Amanal 2,557]

 Tactics II by Avalon Hill, followed by Midway, Squad Leader and other assorted games. I then found Basic D&D, Battletech, Rogue/Rouge Trader.

 

For the most part Battletech was played quite heavily from the day it was discovered as Battle Droids until about a year after the clans came out. We even bashed about the WizKids clickie version.

 

From there a friend discovered WH40K 2nd Edition, and we played a lot until just before 4th came out.

As our interest waned on 40K we started to play FoW and did so until a few years ago.

 

I was looking at interest in other games, I find if you and your friends play you nearly always have a game. War Machine was a turn off as so few players painted their armies, not that we were all great hobbyists but we have found that there is a relationship to paint and fun that goes together.

 

So for a while there it was board games. X-Wing didn't capture the imaginations of my friends and although I collect I haven't played too many games.

 

Then came ARMADA and we had hookage, linage and sinkers. Since the game cam out I have only missed playing a game on all but 5 weekends, which is more a testament as to how much fun my friends are having as we play at my house.

 

@Michael: Seems like you more than anyone else responding will miss Donald Featherstone.

[tenchi2a 442]

I played Battletech,most Avalon Hill games, still own Jutland and every Advanced Squad Leader box (got rid of my basic Squad leader stuff) but, 

I don't see them as mini games.

As for RPGs there is an entire room in my house to hold mine and my roommates RPG collection.

But WH40k was the first true minis game I invested in. before that it was a game here or there with friend minis or at game demos. 

yes Flames of War was a another great mini game for a while.

[Marinealver 8,073]

Battlefleet Gothic but no one to play with so moved to Warhammer 40,000. Then GW got stupid so on to a break then starting playing X-wing. 

[Felswrath 678]

Anyone here ever played Tide of Iron?

[Captain Gideon 77]

Amanal I don't think that I would miss Donald Featherstone too much but I'm curious as to why you said that?

 

Michael

[Maturin 1,583]

Anyone here ever played Tide of Iron?

I've sat down for a few sessions. Found it very well balanced and fun - especially when using the setups out of the scenario book published later. All my games came down to the very last assault to determine game winner...very nice!

Edited October 16, 2016 by Maturin

[Felswrath 678]

I was playing one of the Normandy missions recently and the Americans had to get off the beach in 4 turns or kill all the Germans in the same amount of time. By the end of round two, it was obvious the Americans would not all be able to get off the beach in two rounds, so they all assaulted the North side of the cliff where there were still Germans. At the top of round 4, there are two Germans left in a bunker. Massive attacks are launched against them. At the end of the round there is one officer left in the bunker! One D*** Officer!

[Green Knight 9,732]

Just a place to discuss whatever got you into miniatures gaming, whether Armada is your first system, or you're a seasoned wargamers.

For me, I got started down the path of miniatures gaming with the purchase of the HeroScape Master set, second edition, which was the equivalent to a core. Which precluded a lot of purchases, including 3 more Master sets. As of right now, I've gotten rid of most of it, but I still have my Elite Onyx Vipers, which as I understand, are now pretty rare.

 

The original Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader...Space Marines vs. Orks...these amazing boxes of plastic beaked Astartes got me hooked.

[Amanal 2,557]

Amanal I don't think that I would miss Donald Featherstone too much but I'm curious as to why you said that?

 

Michael

 

The games you were describing were quite in line with his, and as such he was probably involved in many of the rule sets.

[Captain Gideon 77]

Amanal you might be right about that.

 

Also some of the periods that I had minis for  didn't last long for example Modern Naval I had a large US Fleet and also Russian,British,French etc I think I played 1 game and I didn't like it whatsoever.

 

I had my reasons for getting out of it but to me it was a waste of money which I could've used on other things.

 

My interests are wide/varied from Historical to Sci-Fi.

 

The main problem with some of these periods was that I didn't have anyone to game with like Napoleonics most of the people who I gamed with moved on to other things etc but there were exceptions.

 

Michael

[DonKarnage 189]

Warhammer 40k in the 90s. Lots and lots of 40k...

Picked up other games when my gaming group did. Picked up X-wing wave 1 and then Armada wave 1.

About all I play anymore is Armada due to time restrictions...

[somerandomn00b 18]

I was given a Train Set when I was 6.

Same here. Still have one set up (HO scale) and recently joined a club, actually.

 

Other random games came later.

 

Then I got into Flames of War. Most recently got into Armada, 'cause Star Wars, and painting wasn't mandatory.

[Stasy 2,501]

X Wing got me into minis. I played a lot of XvT and those PC games, so we hoped it would get us that feeling again when we found it. My friends chipped in, but we didn't play more than a few games before they either had other things to do or just didn't love it.

Armada was a cheap Amazon purchase. And I'm glad I found it, but other than one of my friends buying in initially, he's lost interest.

Oh well, still fun games to mess with.

[DUR 885]

My first exposure was battletech/citytech, which led to 40k 2nd edition, which led to horrendous cash expenditure (had I think a chapter COMPANY of Dark Angels and enough Eldar to match pointswise), which led to Babylon 5 Wars, Dirtside II (using GHQ Microarmor), and Full Thrust (recycling those AoG minis from B5 wars).

 

Then college happened and everything got sold.

 

Then I watched the tie fighter short film and saw a core set on sale.  "Oh, I'll just play this as a standalone."  Then it began... a dark path...

 

*EDIT*: I forgot that a chapter is the whole 1,000 dudes: I had merely 100 models

 

PS in hindsight, it certainly feels that the Armada movement system was inspired by Full Thrust's cinematic inertia system.

Edited November 3, 2016 by DUR