I hadn't played Warhammer for years, so to begin with we played through some of the tutorial games suggested in the Skull Pass set so that we could get used to the basics of the game - movement, shooting, close combat etc. These initial mini-games were quite good and were a nice way to ease us into Warhammer since the full rulebook is quite daunting. For those who've never played, I would certainly suggest starting with small tutorials such as this.
Having played through the initial games quite successfully, we set up all of the forces for a full-scale battle. Now, it must be said that this first full game involved a heck of a lot of pausing to consult the rulebook and the army stats, but I guess that's par for the course. My feeling is that things will always become quicker and easier with more experience of the game and also with a better knowledge of one's own army.
While the basic rules are pretty easy to get used to, some of the more complex stuff relating to characters and so on took some time to get the hang of - in fact, we're still trying to get the hang of them properly. Nonetheless, it was a most enjoyable way to pass an afternoon.
On the day, my goblin horde was soundly beaten by the smaller force of dwarfs, thanks in large part to the goblins' tendency to turn tail and run at the first sign of any danger and the ridiculously good saving throws which reilly2040 tends to make!
Overall, the first battle certainly whetted our appetites for the game and prompted more forays into GW games including Warhammer 40K, Space Hulk and Blood Bowl. More on all of those to follow!
Its certainly one thing to get used to during games, is that there's a lot of time spent pouring over the rule books. Its also worth flat out ignoring parts of the rules in the name of simplifying things. At least initially.
ReplyDeleteAs we've discussed ourselves, at the end of the day, as long as all players have a set of rules they've agreed on and are happy with, that's the main thing.