Poll: What are your 3 top rule sets?

[jb]

I thought it would be interesting to see what 3 rulesets others use. Please include a little of what you think of each one.
Mine are:
1) Panzertruppen. This is a game I designed about 9 years ago. It is 1 to 1 scale where each vehicle represents 1 vehicle and one figure eaquls a squad. Seeings how I invented it there is nothing wrong with it... YEAh RIGHT!!!
2) Spearhead (this also includes Modern Spearhead). This scale is platoon or 1 vehicle or base of whatever represents a platoon or equivalent size unit. The rules need some adjustments such as very restrictive facing,spotting regarding hills, and such. The rules are very good regarding unit/vehicle data being concise in relevance.
3) General Quarters 3. This ruleset lets you play the complexities of naval warfare without the complexities of being a math major.Online support is available for current updates and additional game matter.

[Thomaso827]

Hmmmm. Must narrow it down to the top 3, ehhhh?

1. Piquet Point of Attack: Blitzkrieg for a large part of the WW2 gaming at the moment. The one set of rules works for 1=1 (based 3 infantry, 1 weapon and crew or 1 vehicle per base), or 3 bases = a platoon, or 4 bases = a batalion. Currently working up the Invasion of France 1940 scenarios from Piquet with GHQ stuff. Piquet is one of those game systems you either love or hate. I happen to love it, and have many of their era modules. Certainly an update from when I started my micro armor collection way back when with Tractics. I have the Piquet modules for Vietnam and WW1 as well, and have quite a collection of GHQ Vietnam materials for it.
2. Strictly skirmish level game rules, Disposable Heroes rules, for those games where I just want a couple of squads of individuals running around the table. Fast and simple set of rules with good support. Takes new players one or two turns to pick up at convention games, so I think that's a good sign. Has a reputation as being a "very bloody" game, but the system removes wounded figures so players dont have to keep track of wound levels and such. Not all hits result in wounds, and not all wounds are KIAs, so it works out well in the end.
3. Not really doing naval so much at the moment, but I have Harpoon3 and 4 for moderns. I think the main reason I'm not playing is that the rules are a bit too detailed for many players, especially those I play against. Most folks want simple move and shoot stuff, but I still like to learn about weapons systems and platforms in my games. I have Fire As She Bears for Age of Sail fighting, another fairly simple system that gives a good feel on the table, system built around octagon template movement, but options available for hex grid as well, good options for signals and other details. Haven't quit playing, just have too many other games on the table at the moment.

Tom Oxley

[voltigeur]

I'll start with Comercial rules first.

I like WRG both WW when the decided to try again, and modern. Getting aged tho but is a great 1-1 combat simulator and it does infantry well along witht the Armor. I do like the "brush fire" type games being a former Marine.

I'm working on a set of rules with another member of this forum and as we develop the game we may have more reports to do. Right now 30 min of gaming leads to 2 hours of notes and discussion. I think they will be kick *** when they are done. (Hopefully soon)

For Naval and AIR I like Harpoon-Command Decision series and Siekrieg. I like the Siekrieg rules but not so good for modern. My appeal of the Harpoon series is that the same basic rules apply from WW1 to moderns. (Remember Final Count Down? The Nimitz comes the rescue of Pearl Harbor) You could do that with those rules. (Not that I'VE ever thought of it. )

[Panzerleader71]

I have been wargaming for quite a few years now, mainly at conventions. My old group did a bit, but we were more RPGer's who enjoyed a good dust up every so often. I have recently gotten, seriously, into the hobby so my knowledge of rules is a little limited, but this what I have gained thus far.

1) Blitzkrieg and Cold War Commander are by far, IMO, the best set of rules out there at the moment. they are based on the Warmaster Ancients system by GW. The system is dirt simple, and surprising realistic. And is a much better fit for mech warfare then for Ancient in my opinion. If you are looking for something quick and easy I highly recommend them.

2)Sands of War. This is a GDW "board game" that ports well over to the minature table top. Again easy, though it does rely on probability charts for figuring damage (ie damage, surpressed, or eliminated.) Again a very simple system that covers just about every aspect of modern mech warfare.

3)Schwere Kompanie, brought to you by a local here. I have not actually had the opportunity to play the game, but I have read the rules a couple of times and am very impressed with it. It is on a slightly lower unit scale, company, then I prefer ( I like the big battles). It does rely on a few charts, but not overly so, and they are easy to navigate. And I do like the national traits, anything that adds extra flavour, without adding to the over all complexity is a good thing. Another game worthy of a look if you are in the market.

As you can see I go for the quick and dirty way of wargaming. Nothing annoys me most then spending 1/2 an hour of real time to figure out what has occured in 5 minutes of game time.

[ACWBill]

Fire & Fury
Spearhead
Shako

[fullmetaljacket]

My favorite rules well lets see.

For Naval i would have to say Seekreig 5 very detailed, but not overwhelming to learn. Fist time you look at it you may think so, but with in a hour or less most people catch on quickly.

I would love to try Harpoon 4 for modern, but cant find a set to buy.

I just purchased wooden ships and ironmen heard its real easy to convert over to miniture rules.

For ground warfare I would say Panzertruppen by JB. Eventhough he doesnt call or game anymore with us here in Indiana, i know the gas prices kill the trip. For larger scales ie.. 1/72 a gentleman by the name of Jim Clark came up with some great home rules for world war two.

For air combat would say Aerodrome is a good one. Also wings of war its a card game but they make a world war one and two version of it. Its also another game easily converted to minis.

fullmetaljacket

[Harlan]

1. Tank Charts
2. Jadgpanzer
3. Meinpanzer

[stenna00]

1. Firefly (Tabletop games) which I use all the time
2. WRG (my first wargame rules)
3. Panzer Marsch (not used but they look good)

[Mk 1]

1 ) Mein Panzer
This is the ruleset I have settled on. My gaming preference is always towards 1-to-1 unit scale, with 1 model = 1 vehicle, and 1 stand = 1 squad. I also like to field battalion-sized units. My demands on a ruleset are hight. Gotta be pretty fast-play to manage such large forces (several dozens of pieces per side). But I still want realism, at least to the extent that I can look at the way the game flows and see historical parallels. After 30 years I've come to Mein Panzer, and I am pleased with this game so far. The rules are kind of pricey, but worth it for me. The play is fast and fluid, but there is a certain "bite" of realism to it. You definitely see the differences in performance between a T-34m42 and a PzIIIj, but you also see the differences in performance between 1942 Red Army tankers and the vaunted Panzertruppen. Also, I still hold out hope for the long-promised modules for post-WW2 combat. I very much like to play moderns, but have no workable rules right now.

2 ) PanzerWar
This is produced by one of our locals, Mobius. I am amazed at the technical detail of these rules. If you like to play 1-to-1 in company-sized games, I think this is an extraordinary set of rules. For the armor buff, these rules have delicious details. You will see the differences between a T-34m42 and a T-34m41, or between a PzIIIj and a PzIIIL. I played this ruleset with a group of 4 or 5 guys (including Thunder and CGEricsson of this forum) for a couple of years, and while we suffered a bit over the speed of play (mostly because our ambitions for big games) I was always impressed by the quality of the rules and their content. If your taste in gaming takes you along the Tank Charts or Challenger/Firefly route, this is the better choice in my book. Oh, and they're free, too. Quite a guy, that Mobius!

3 ) WRG Armor and Infantry
I started in miniatures wargaming with WRG way back in the mid-1970s. 1-to-1 fast-play rules, but infantry is at the 1 stand = 1 fire team (2 or 3 stands = 1 squad) level. I later made the rounds of half a dozen other WW2 sets, as well as half a dozen moderns, and came back to WRG in the late 1980s / early 1990s. I was never fully satisfied with them. If I want this level of fast-play today, I'll go with a game of JagdPanzer with James (PaloAlto of this forum). But WRG rules have a place in my gamer's heart simply from being my first.

All three of my top rulesets are 1-to-1 WW2 ground combat systems. You think I'm in a rut? Naw, not me. I'd have a moderns set on the list if I had a good playable ruleset in my hands, but I don't. I will happily play micronaughts, or Napoleonics, or even space ships from time-to-time. But that's with someone else's rules. For my own investments I am just a tanks and infantry kind of guy.

[Paul B]

1. Battlefront WW2 from Fire and Fury games - I helped design these.

2. Fire and Fury

3. Flames of War - cause I can get a game done in a couple of hours.

[dougeagle]

Hmmm...this is a tough one...as I have tried a few different wargame rules and found that each one is unique in their own way...but if I have to choose 3 well then here they are:

1) GHQ rules- both sets for WW2 and modern. Found both of these to be fairly simple to understand and play ability is just right as well. At the 1-1 scale, not bad at all either.

2) FFT2- Fistful of Tows 2 to me was the first real micro armour modern combat system that got me hooked into micro armour gaming. I have played many games with these rules before getting the GHQ rules and to this day, I still have a fondness for them.

3) Flames of War- have been playing this since 2003 and have fun with it as well. It is fairly simple with a few exceptions about the ranges of certain guns/vehicles.

As I have said at the start, I have tried several such as Spearhead, Modern Spearhead, Schwere Kompanie, Panzer War, Poor Bloody Infantry, AK47 just to name a few. All are fun but the one thing that I have noticed with all of them...they all use dice and charts. Some are fairly easy to remember what you need to roll while others require the occasional look at the charts for reference and so forth.
So, there you have it folks...my favorite 3 games...

[Hobilar]

1) ASL: I taught myself this in the 80s back in the SL days. I use a 2" hex mat with terrain to do the occasional scenario. Some things need to be fudged. I often have to declare most terrain as inherent terrain for example. But my group gets some really good 6mm plays out of the system, and there are a gazillion scenarios to choose from.

2) Blitzkreig Commander: For when our group feels a little less rules intense. You can fudge ASL scenarios into the game fairly easily.

3) Flames of War: But only if we have to. It works as an entertaining game, but thats about all I can say for it.

Otherwise, we also play a lot of: Fire & Fury, Napoleon's Battles, Field of Glory, GW stuff (Warmaster, EPIC, BFG, 40K, etc), and we are now beginning to dabble in more narrative games like .45 Adventures, The Rules With No Name, IABSM and Sharpe's Practice from Two Fat Lardies.

[intobattle]

Mark (Mk 1), I have a few questions for you. I'm intrigued by your summary of Mein Panzer; I know that Pete (pmskaar) also likes these rules. Do you recall the cost of the core ruleset? (you mentioned it was pricey). Also, would you say the hardware it's printed on is well made and professionally laid out?

Thanks! I've thought about purchasing the rules a time or two and was just curious on those points.

Tanner

[Mk 1]

Mark (Mk 1), I have a few questions for you. I'm intrigued by your summary of Mein Panzer; I know that Pete (pmskaar) also likes these rules. Do you recall the cost of the core ruleset? (you mentioned it was pricey). Also, would you say the hardware it's printed on is well made and professionally laid out?

Thanks! I've thought about purchasing the rules a time or two and was just curious on those points.

Tanner:

They have a website you can check out. The group is called ODGW (Old Dominion Gameworks). Try googling for it.

I think the base ruleset was $27 or $30. Not too terribly bad. But then you want the modules for various timeframes and fronts. If you buy them one-at-a-time a full set for WW2 could cost you something like $120. Or you can buy it as a package for a substantial discount.

I started with the base rules. Pete (pmskaar) helped me out, providing some vehicle data for my first game so I could get a feel for the rules. From that point on I was hooked, and bought all the pieces I thought I would use.

For me ... heck I'll probably buy the whole set a second time, just to make sure I have it all. Not too rich if you know it's the right set for you. But still, at something like $70 for the package that's steep if you don't even know if you like them yet.

I think they still have an introductory set of rules available free to let you try the system out. We played about half of a game with those, and by mid-game wanted to go up to the full rules. There is a write up of our first try at the rules on Thunder's website at: http://www.microarmor.com/images/aar1/aar1.html
Later battles using Mein Panzer have been described on the AAR's thread on this forum.

[added on edit]
Almost forgot. Regarding the production qualities. It is a very professional package. You get the choice of buying it in print, or electronically. If you buy it electronically you WILL need to print it ... it is a paper-driven, not a PC-driven game. If you buy it in print, it comes hole-punched and shrink-wrapped but NOT bound. You'll need to buy your own notebook or whatever to put it in.

Hope that helps. Feel free to ask more questions. I can always be enduced to talk about wargaming...

[intobattle]

Thanks! That is very helpful Mark and answers my questions. I'll take a look at their website and your AAR.

Take care
Tanner