Budget Games to start?

[Doant1946]

hi all
I wanted to get in to war gaming..i'm really ancient 65 though,,

I was wondering about cutting my teeth on a cheapo to start like BOA or Napoleons campaigns .....Are they very difficult to learn....?,,thought of Spartan or Troy but the reviews around the net ain't to great..

any suggestions for a cheapie to start/
Tom

[junk2drive]

How about free? Steel Panthers WAW is free. Board game style with hexes and turns. Several tutorial scenarios to get you started. WWII

Others would advise you better on your other choices.

[hgilmer3]

ORIGINAL: Gorland

hi all
I wanted to get in to war gaming..i'm really ancient 65 though,,

I was wondering about cutting my teeth on a cheapo to start like BOA or Napoleons campaigns .....Are they very difficult to learn....?,,thought of Spartan or Troy but the reviews around the net ain't to great..

any suggestions for a cheapie to start/
Tom

I think you can get AACW for something like 8.99 from Newegg, someone said. AACW is the same engine (mostly) as BoA. It can be a little hard to learn, but I don't think it is too hard. If you put "a little" time into it, you can understand it fairly easily.

And a lot of people really like it. AACW = Aegod's American Civil War.

[hgilmer3]

And free shipping.

[Doant1946]

That sounds great
Thanks

[RangerX3X]

This is just my 2 cents but I would suggest either Highway to the Reich or Conquest of the Aegean. HTTR is cheaper as it is an older game of the two, but both are within reasonable price points and are easy to learn if you follow the tutorials.

There is a free demo for the newest game, Battles from the Bulge which will give you a very good overview (includes video tutorials) of the latest game as well as COTA, not so much HTTR but very similar nonetheless.

BftB is currently overpriced at the moment in my opinion, however HTTR and COTA are excellent values that if you get into them can provide many hours of gaming enjoyment, regardless of age.

[Doant1946]

I'm getting highway to the Reich right now..also ordered the americas cilvil war from Newegg

[V22 Osprey]

ORIGINAL: RangerX3X

BftB is currently overpriced at the moment in my opinion....

Ah, didn't you hear? There was a permanent price reduction and Now BftB costs no more than CotA's original price.

[JWW]

I thought Spartan and Troy were great games. Simple to learn but very interesting. Just my opinion.

One other thing for someone new. Be sure your computer system supports the game. If you have an older system, some newer games may not run or may not run well. If you have a new system, Win 7/wide screen, etc., some older games may be balky. Read the forums. If you have a problem or question with a game, ask on the game forum.

[diablo1]

....?,,thought of Spartan or Troy but the reviews around the net ain't to great..

Say what?! Spartan is an excellent game and a great starter game also. It has hands off combat and command control much like the beefy Battles from the Bulge. Those reviews you read are probably from rts fans who couldn't get into the true command & control of the combat engine. Spartan & Troy are grrrrrrrrrrrrreaaaaaaaaaaaat!

[ilovestrategy]

ORIGINAL: diablo1

Those reviews you read are probably from rts fans who couldn't get into the true command & control of the combat engine. Spartan & Troy are grrrrrrrrrrrrreaaaaaaaaaaaat!

I cannot stress enough how true this is. I run into the same thing with Lord of the Rings Online. World of Warcraft players come over, don't find magic users and warriors in bikinis and bash the game.

We are a niche base. People look at our basic graphics and charts and say "whaaaaaaaaat? No 3d?"

[diablo1]

I really don't like 3D in wargames or strategy games much except like Combat Mission or Panzer Command. I didn't like it in Civilization or that new Elemental game from Stardoc. I don't like my cities to spread all over the map when I'm building. The total war game Empire Total War is doing that as well. Please leave cities as popup windows and quit ruing the maps.

[andym]

Gorland have a look at John Tillers Napoleonic set.Easy to play and great games.

http://www.matrixgames.com/products/321 ... eonic.Wars

[NefariousKoel]

I would think that the AGEOD engine games and HttR, etc. are higher on the learning curve.  I don't think I'd suggest those as a first game for a beginner, even though they're good games. 

However, there are plenty posts for helping out with learning them, especially on AGEOD's forum so buying AACW for $9, you can't go wrong.

If you get the civil war grand strategy down, and want something on a more tactical level, go pick up Scourge of War, or it's older predecessor, Take Command 2nd Manassas. I believe the latter can be had for about $6 - $10 from Gamersgate. Amazing wargames.

[hgilmer3]

ORIGINAL: NefariousKoel

I would think that the AGEOD engine games and HttR, etc. are higher on the learning curve.  I don't think I'd suggest those as a first game for a beginner, even though they're good games. 

However, there are plenty posts for helping out with learning them, especially on AGEOD's forum so buying AACW for $9, you can't go wrong.

If you get the civil war grand strategy down, and want something on a more tactical level, go pick up Scourge of War, or it's older predecessor, Take Command 2nd Manassas. I believe the latter can be had for about $6 - $10 from Gamersgate. Amazing wargames.

Yeah, I kind of thought about that after I mentioned AACW, but since it was 8.99 I thought, well, you can't hardly go wrong with 8.99.

[NefariousKoel]

I think the games that have a lot of focus on command structure should always be considered at a Difficult level because not everyone can dive right into organizing Corps, Divisons, Brigades, Regiments, Battalions, yada yada without taking a lot of time to wrap their brain around it.

Though it may come naturally to some after a time, and seem as nothing. [:D]

[RangerX3X]

ORIGINAL: V22 Osprey

ORIGINAL: RangerX3X

BftB is currently overpriced at the moment in my opinion....

Ah, didn't you hear? There was a permanent price reduction and Now BftB costs no more than CotA's original price.

As I said, it is currently overpriced. I've played COTA and I have played the demo of BftB. It is not worth $59.99.

I paid $49.99 for COTA for the download and the physical shipment and never received the game. So for the $39.99 I technically paid for the download COTA is a good game, however I know enought about BftB to know it is not worth $59.99.

[Nistenf]

Wait was it really $90?!

[RangerX3X]

ORIGINAL: Nistenf

Wait was it really $90?!

My understanding was BftB came out and just until recently when they announced the price drop for Panther Games was priced at $69.99 for the digital download and $79.99 for the physical shipment.

[pmelheck1]

Well, My first question would be what are your interests as far as history goes.  What era interests you most?  I don't worry to much about reviews of wargames as most reviewers are not war games and try to compare them to more mainstream games.  If you are looking for good reviews of war games I would look to war game sites and even then you may like a title other people hate.

Are you looking for free or inexpensive?  Free their are Steel Pathers World at War someone mentioned.  Their is also free matrix editions of PACWAR and War in Russia (not to be confused with the new release).  Titans of Steel if your into Mech combat.  Under products on the main page their is a budget subcategory you can look through to see if anything suits your tastes.  Some of the titles are not exactly budget price wise however showing War in the Pacific: Admiral's Edition.  While not cheap I will say in terms of play time it has without doubt been the best investment of a game I have made.