Here's the deal, I was just in the mood to do "something" (anything) boardgame related, I've already been on BGG most of the day, and none of my friends were available today, so I thought I'd look in my game closet, I had forgotten that I have a couple of old AH bookcase games (I have no clue how I got them). Now normally I'm not a fan of combat resolution in hex and counter wargames, but I thought I'd give it a shot and learn how to play one of 'em (besides, I have nothing better to do).
Well, I started out with MBT. Although the theme doesn't appeal to me, I don't think a bad theme can single-handedly kill a game for me. Unfortunately a 52 page rulebook can kill it. Well, MBT went right back in the box. Next up is Guns of August. The 20-some page rules seems a bit more manageable. But then one look at the board, ugh, I've taken craps that are more visually appealing than the board for this game. Bad art + low rank on BGG means back in the box for this too. Anyway, my point being, I'm not normally a fan of hex and counter wargames, but I think they've got some good things going for them (I like the depth in them) so I would like to give them a chance, but at the same time, I don't want to have to take a college level class to learn how to play. If you've got any suggestions.......

(as always, only list a game if it is still possible to get ahold of without having to rob a bank)

Thanks,
Matthew

Well you can try Starfight from BAP games, and Sergeants!

For hex based, take a look at MMP's Fire in the Sky. Beautiful counters and map, Hex based, novel mechanics (manages to elegantly incorporate strategic and operational elements into a single system), reasonably priced, has free pbem support (via cyberboard) and can be completed ftf in a long evening session.
That being said, if you only buy one wargame this year, I would recommend Bonaparte at Marengo for a combination of elegance, simplicity, and replayability.

I'll second Fire in the Sky. It's a great looking game that actually has a lot going for it in the rules.

I also like Lock 'n' Load, if you want more tactical gaming.

Both games have excellent, colorful counters and maps plus easy to learn rules with some depth.

Matt:

Sergeants isn't that bad of an idea, but it is another Taylor game and the one you mentioned is by the same designer, so...

I took a look at my wargames and subtracted all that were CDGs and block games, because there are plenty of geeklists for those games if you were looking for something like that (Quebec 1759 for example has very short rules, but isn't hex based). Then I removed everything that had complex rules (like Eastfront, Rommel in the Desrt, Rise & Decline of the 3rd Reich, Crisis: Sinai 1973, Europa Universalis, GBOH: Alex Deluxe, Carthage, ROTRR, and Fortress Europa). This is what was left:

1776, Blitzkrieg, A House Divided, Panzer Leader, Panzerblitz, Squad Leader (not all that complicated w/o the expansions), and Tobruk. Of these, I think the best looking board is the Phalanx verison of A House Divided, but it's not hex-based - it's point-to-point.

Panzerblitz and Panzer Leader are games I like, but I doubt if they will rock your world. Blitzkrieg is a classic game, but I haven't played it in years except when I was teaching it to my sun as a beginner's game. There are so many better games. 1776 is a very good game and so is Squad Leader. Both are pretty cheap - $10-20.

If you want to try a great Point to Point game that has a simple rule set, you might think about A House Divided. It is a _beautiful_ game. If you want an easy CDG, maybe Age of Napoleon?

Fire in the Sky is beautiful, but I think the rules are too complicated, based on Matt's reaction to the other game. Maybe you can download the rules online and take a look?


I didn't find any on ebay, but it's available from Fine Games, a vendor I've purchased games from before and can recommend:

IRE IN THE SKY 2ND (MMP) $38.50 BC 1.5 NEW
Simpler, strategic level game of the war in the Pacific in WW2. Revised
(into English) from the popular Japanese game. 1 map, 180 1"counters.
3mo/turn, 900km/hex. T.Nakamura'05


www.finegames.com I believe.

Well, why not take the time & effort to ''print & play'' some of these?:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist.php3?action=view&listi...

Check out the ones here, and IF you can, then I exhort YOU & any others to REWARD the 'list-maker' with some well deserved 'Geek Gold' upon this 'matter'.

Bunker Hill games has it for 36.00 (and only charges EXACT shipping!). John and Sam are princes among men; I buy all my non-manufacturer purchased wargames from there and have been very satisfied with them.

I guess I'm an old AH purist who likes a game that's simple to learn and play but also offers several strategic options to keep the opponent guessing and to make it interesting to play over and over. For me that would be AH "Waterloo." I've never tired of it. The SPI Napoleon Quads, especially "The Battle of Nations: Leipzig" is also very easy to learn and play and offers some strategic decisions. For WWII, AH "Stalingrad" is another good old classic, but the dice early on can make you or break you -- still, it's a very fun game to play as long as the dice don't favor one side or the other. All of these games are playable in 2-3 hours. I've always hunted for an easy to play strategic-level American Civil War game but I'm still looking.

Some simple hex and counter games:

Russian Campaign - in print via L2 (4th edition), plus earlier AH editions common on eBay. Basic game has ~8 pages of rules.

Afrika Korps - out of print AH game, but common on eBay. Another short rule book but a fun game.

Waterloo - out of print AH game mentioned earlier in this thread, again easily obtained on eBay and a fun game with a minimal rule book.

Onslaught - out of print SPI/TSR game of D-Day campaign, fairly common on eBay, another simple affair to learn.

A point on these games - none of them are considered accurate simulations, but they are all FUN GAMES. (And, agreeing with a post the other day from a John Patton, even the most "accurate simulation" wargames really don't simulate war very well at all, so don't get hung up on the supposed simulation value of certain wargames. No real commander would ever have the overall level of command and control (not to mention the near perfect information) that wargames allow the players to exercise - just play the game for the fun of playing the game).

"Clash for a Continent", "Memoir 44" and "Battle Cry". "Clash" is probably the most realistic of the 3. Only a handful of pages and easy to get into.

MMP, makers of ASL and The Gamers series (some of the best wargames going around) has a deal you might like:

Target: Arnhem is a FREE (you read right, FREE) wargame they are shipping out to hook people like yourself into the wargaming scene. It's a WWII operational scale (meaning you play with divisions of troops) game that covers Operation Market Garden which was the basis of the book and film "A Bridge Too Far".

From playing it so far it's a kick ass little game for being free, all I had to do was pay for shipping. It's challenging for the Allied player to make it up "Hell's Highway" to Arnhem but they aren't push-overs in this system.

Check it out at www.multimanpublishing.com if it sounds good to you.

Steve