Memoir 44 fans

[JudgeDredd]

I'd love to go back to boardgaming....but I don't know anyone who would be into it. [:(]
 
I had Red Storm Rising (my favourite), The Hunt for Red October, A Line in the Sand and a Pacific War one, but it wasn't any fun (as much as I tried) to play them on my own...especially The Hunt for Red October....how do you manage to hide the location of the Red October when you are playing on your own!!

[Neilster]

ORIGINAL: JudgeDredd

I'd love to go back to boardgaming....but I don't know anyone who would be into it. [:(]

I had Red Storm Rising (my favourite), The Hunt for Red October, A Line in the Sand and a Pacific War one, but it wasn't any fun (as much as I tried) to play them on my own...especially The Hunt for Red October....how do you manage to hide the location of the Red October when you are playing on your own!!

It's like dancing with one's sister. One goes through the motions but the interest isn't there. Thanks Kevin Sheedy [:D] [:'(].

Cheers, Neilster

[Arctic Blast]

ORIGINAL: JudgeDredd

I'd love to go back to boardgaming....but I don't know anyone who would be into it. [:(]

I had Red Storm Rising (my favourite), The Hunt for Red October, A Line in the Sand and a Pacific War one, but it wasn't any fun (as much as I tried) to play them on my own...especially The Hunt for Red October....how do you manage to hide the location of the Red October when you are playing on your own!!

Wow, I still have every one of those games, as well. Red Storm and Hunt made for a fun combined game. I've still got a couple buddies that I can drag those out of the closet to play against on occasion. the best part of A Line in the Sand was...it's been awhile, I don't remember what exactly it was called...but when you got to posture to try and pull things more to your favor. We got right in to it, and started shouting out these epithet-laced speeches. Made for a fun time. [:)]

[TheHellPatrol]

ORIGINAL: ravinhood

Actually as I look through all the Warhammer series games there was one I did like. "Dark Omen". Had a fantasy setting to it.

[X(]Well ravinhood, you have excellent taste. I loved Dark Omen, only good one, the Warlords series until 4...yuck! (#3 Darklords Rising ruled) and Tropico +expansion was my biggest time killer until Witp. I also believe some of the older Slitherine games to be the best...scary, isn't it?[:'(]

[105mm Howitzer]

According to the Memoir 44 forum, there DOW apparently is working on the PC version.There certainly seems to be vast support for that. On the other hand, players are clamoring for other expansion packs, carrying cases, diverse card decks, etc..So as to what will be coming out next, it's anyone's guess.[>:][>:]

[cdbeck]

I am reviving this old thread to save space and ask a question.

Recently, I have gotten my previously gaming phobic wife into boardgames. It all started with a Eurogame gem called Puerto Rico, an econ sim that is brilliant and full of great strategy. From there we moved on to a cardgame called Race for the Galaxy and the cardgame version of Puerto Rico, called San Juan.

But Son of Montfort thirsts for blood. All of these Eurogames, made by Germans trying to put WWII behind them, all forget that war is the best game subject. So I am looking for a simple game that can get my now wife with an early gaming addiction into the genre. It is mostly the two of us, and from the reviews I am reading, it seems Memoir 44 might fit the bill - fast paced, simple mechanics (she gets a bit bogged down by rules), unpredictable dice rolls, and moves that are not overwhelming (you only move a few forces per turn, right). Am I crazy, or will this work out? Now she already said she would try the game, and I think she will like it (once her tanks blow up my Germans, she will squeal with glee).

While I am ording though, I thought I might piggy back this in with getting one of the expansions. I read that the new Air expansion is good, but acts really to tie all the other expansions together under some more complicated expanded rules. The Pacific theater looks good too, but all signs point to the Eastern Front as the highlight expansion, if you can only get one. What say you fine people on this board?

So is this a good plan? I KNOW I will like Memoir 44, and I hope the wife can pick it up quickly. The other games of the same system look neat, BattleLore and the ancient game... forgot the name, but I think the wife will like the WWII stuff best (despite the fact that I am a medievalist and BattleLore is probably the most familiar to me). What do you all think?

SoM

[leastonh1]

My wife, who's NOT a wargame fan at all, loved Memoir '44. It took us around 30 minutes to learn the very simple, but elegant, rules and the game itself is an absolute blast. We both love it.

Battlelore is on my wishlist at BoardGameGeek, as is Commands and Colors: Ancients. This is the ruleset that Memoir is based on and has proved to be a hit with most people who buy it. I'm a certified fanboi hehe!

If you buy Memoir '44 and my advice is no good, I'll buy it off you and cover postage to send it over to me in the UK. [:D]

[ravinhood]

ORIGINAL: Jim_H

My wife, who's NOT a wargame fan at all, loved Memoir '44. It took us around 30 minutes to learn the very simple, but elegant, rules and the game itself is an absolute blast. We both love it.

Battlelore is on my wishlist at BoardGameGeek, as is Commands and Colors: Ancients. This is the ruleset that Memoir is based on and has proved to be a hit with most people who buy it. I'm a certified fanboi hehe!

If you buy Memoir '44 and my advice is no good, I'll buy it off you and cover postage to send it over to me in the UK. [:D]

I don't even own it Jim, but, I know already it's a great beginner wargame. If I had someone here to play it with I might buy it. Is it vassalized by chance? I've never really played a vassal game, never could get the darn thing to work for me. I'd want to go into a room and watch/observe and nothing ever happened except the JAVA bs made my computer run like molassas. Plus I rather like my computer games to do ALL the processing and maintaining the rules. If it ever comes to PC though I'll be one of the first inline because to me it's NEW and INNOVATIVE and quite different from the monster headache too much detail wargames that have been being put out over the years. I really enjoy 2-4hour wargames that can be played online tcp/ip in that time period. Too bad most turn based wargames aren't able to oblidge me. Good ole Combat Mission can with the right quick battle setups. I'd recommend Memoir 44 to just about anyone entering the board wargame playing field. Games like Memoir 44 remind me of the minature wargames that were simple an easy to play in my youth like "Broadsides", "Battle Cry" and "Dog Fight" the American Heritage games by Milton Bradly. There was another one I think 'Hit the Beach" that I never got. Fun 2-4hour board wargames ahhhhh those were the days.

[cdbeck]

Ha! Thanks Jim! I did get it, and I got the Eastern theater expansion so we could have the Ruskie's too. It should come in the mail next week, and I am pretty excited.

My theory about wives and gaming is this - you go to get them hooked with Eurogames that anyone can play, like Carcassonne, Puerto Rico, San Juan and the like. Eventually, after they take enough of these "gateway drugs" you lead them to the "coke" of fast hex based wargames like Memoir 44. Give me a year and I'll have to pause our War of the Ring "heroin" so that she can send of her WitP PBEM turn. [;)]

Thanks for the offer to buy too. I'm pretty confident we will like it, but I'll keep it in mind.

Anyone play Memoir solo at all? I was thinking about trying my hand at that when the wife is busy or away. I know it is hard to not learn toward one side or the other, but are there any tips for solo play?

SoM

[ravinhood]

I just cannot play a solo wargame. I just can't stand to defeat myself.

[junk2drive]

Years ago my nephew had Axis and Allies but no wife and kids, lol. He, I, my son, future son in law, daughter's ex boyfriend, would get together Saturday night and play till dawn. My neohew then got an unofficial expansion with a better map, French forces and a few other optional tidbits and rules. Good fun.
 
A few years ago he got M44. He painted the figures and made styrofoam hexes for hill markers, etc. Great fun game that you can have a few people take turns at playing one on one without falling asleep waiting for your chance.
 
Simple enough for younger people to understand and play well. I'm sure that it could be modified later into something more complex before moving on to another game title.

[leastonh1]

ORIGINAL: ravinhood
I don't even own it Jim, but, I know already it's a great beginner wargame. If I had someone here to play it with I might buy it. Is it vassalized by chance? I've never really played a vassal game, never could get the darn thing to work for me. I'd want to go into a room and watch/observe and nothing ever happened except the JAVA bs made my computer run like molassas. Plus I rather like my computer games to do ALL the processing and maintaining the rules. If it ever comes to PC though I'll be one of the first inline because to me it's NEW and INNOVATIVE and quite different from the monster headache too much detail wargames that have been being put out over the years. I really enjoy 2-4hour wargames that can be played online tcp/ip in that time period. Too bad most turn based wargames aren't able to oblidge me. Good ole Combat Mission can with the right quick battle setups. I'd recommend Memoir 44 to just about anyone entering the board wargame playing field. Games like Memoir 44 remind me of the minature wargames that were simple an easy to play in my youth like "Broadsides", "Battle Cry" and "Dog Fight" the American Heritage games by Milton Bradly. There was another one I think 'Hit the Beach" that I never got. Fun 2-4hour board wargames ahhhhh those were the days.

It is great for beginners, but it also has enough variety and depth to keep experienced players happy too. The scenarios included are very well designed and have enough randomness to make it more interesting. Putting two boards together for one of the uber scenarios would be amazing too. Plus there are quite a few freebies to download from the Days of Wonder website.

I've played Memoir via Vassal and it was fantastic fun. There were a couple of people watching and all chipping in with help and comments when we got a bit stuck. It's not the best interface, but once you figure it out it does work very well. You do need game rules though as Vassal does no processing at all. It's just a virtual recreation of the board and pieces. Rule interpretation is up to the players.

If this game does ever get ported to the PC, and IF they follow the design closely, it will be number one on my purchase list! The thing is, it's not that complex a game compared to many/most of those released by the likes of Matrix, so I doubt it would be a huge task for a good team of devs.

[leastonh1]

ORIGINAL: Son_of_Montfort
Ha! Thanks Jim! I did get it, and I got the Eastern theater expansion so we could have the Ruskie's too. It should come in the mail next week, and I am pretty excited.

I'm glad you bought it SoM, you'll enjoy the game. Wait until you see how much stuff they pack into the box! Awesome quality.

It's good solo too. I was a bit dubious at first, but took the plunge and enjoyed myself. As there's no fog of war anyway, there's not much of a problem playing on your own and the mechanics are very well suited to it. I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was to play solo. The only real potential drawback with solo is the card system. Each player has a hand of action cards to play each turn. Obviously, the cards are kept secret as they can have a huge bearing on the gameplay. It's not as hard as it sounds to ignore what each player holds when you take solo turns. Just play the best card for each player, each turn and it will work well. Some solo players have also suggested keeping the cards secret and picking one at random each turn. The problem I have with that is that on some turns, you may only have one card in your hand that's suitable to play. If it's a random choice, you could end up not having a card to play at all. Not to mention that you're introducing more randomness into a game which already has dice rolls for combat outcome. All that will make more sense when you've played the game [:)]

[cdbeck]

Jim,

As an aside, I love the fact that it feels like I have John Locke (or Terry O'Quinn, if one likes "reality") telling me about playing a WWII boardgame! [;)]

You mentioned a Vassal version? I guess that is free to DL as a module? I'm thinking, once I get the board and can basically set that up in front of me, it might be fun to play a Vassal or two. Does anyone around here still do that? Might be a great way to play, in lieu of live opponents.

I've seen the pics on the amount of stuff you get. So cool! Any links to a good type of plastic containers to hold all the pieces? Remember the classic versions of risk, that came with plastic piece containers... those were the days (or course the boxes were always like 3 feet long).

SoM

[leastonh1]

ORIGINAL: Son_of_Montfort
Jim,

As an aside, I love the fact that it feels like I have John Locke (or Terry O'Quinn, if one likes "reality") telling me about playing a WWII boardgame! [;)]

You mentioned a Vassal version? I guess that is free to DL as a module? I'm thinking, once I get the board and can basically set that up in front of me, it might be fun to play a Vassal or two. Does anyone around here still do that? Might be a great way to play, in lieu of live opponents.

I've seen the pics on the amount of stuff you get. So cool! Any links to a good type of plastic containers to hold all the pieces? Remember the classic versions of risk, that came with plastic piece containers... those were the days (or course the boxes were always like 3 feet long).

SoM

Hehe! John Locke, what a guy! It's ironic that your post has reminded of a scene in season one (iirc!) where he was sat in the company canteen across the table from a colleague, playing what looked a lot like a wargame!

Yes, the Vassal version is free to grab, as are all their modules. Without the games, most of them are useless anyway. When I play (rarely due to time), I have the board set up next to the pooter as if I was playing a rw player. It's much easier than relying on the Vassal screen alone and looks better.

The problem I have with the stuff in the box is the sheer amount of it. I really struggle to get all those pieces back in again after a game. Our local supermarket has some nice sandwich boxes that work perfectly for keeping all the bits in.

Regards,
Jim

[105mm Howitzer]

Actually Son, I learned the game solo playing. IT IS a great entry level game, you might try Tide of Iron for greater realism ( about 3x more rules though)
The beauty of M44 solo mode, is that the card deck you hold determine your moves.
Kind of hard to be biased in that case. ( although I had games that one side was so unlucky with the card draws that games wqere over quick)
The expansion packs are good too ( just picked up the Pacific expansion, and now they've introduced Air War pack, somehow including a Fieseler Storch in the mix ?????!!!??? I don't understand their choice, but there ya go)

[Warfare1]

Memoir 44 looks like a game I could get into.

How is solo play?

Has anyone tried the expansions?

[Warfare1]

More pics of M'44

[jhonnysmith]

Great work you can get it all in these platforms