A quick Rant...

I had a bit of a blow up in general on Friday with the Baron. Not directed at him, but directed in general about gaming.

I have been exceedingly frustrated by the lack of any interest in playing any full encompassing games(40K, WFB, AT-43, DUST, Heavy Gear, etc.) becasue one aspect of them is always lacking. Ususally it is the rules. Having a crappy set of rules makes spending all that money and time painting even worse. I can't and won't do these games. But I love some of the figs. SO I buy them and paint them and organize them, with a vague future purpose, but nothing really gets done.

The other side of the coin is the kind of rules that we play a lot of as a group. Small publihing house sets that are generic or DiY. And frankly, they all seem to be running together. And I am sick of filing in the gaps. I don't mind on a few games, but it seems like its on everyone.

Some are really great and do a nice job of being innovative and fun. Scott Pyle's work is particularly fun and rewarding for us and our group cause we love the goalsystem stuff as a mechanic and we get to play test a lot of Scott's stuff. But a lot don't go far enough, or some (most) leap past the generic base line stuff and get into tons of detail statting up a bunch of different manufacturer figs and forget the basic generic troops.

The sweet spot right now for me is Black Powder cause its a great set of rules, and army focused books are coming, but I feel like I am painting toward a goal. 1st goal is a Brit army for the Penninsula. I know what that is, I can get that done and stay focused to do that.

But so many rule sets don't even bother to do generic troops or provide lists of troops that the rules were playtested with. anyway. here's the rant below. Again it wasn't directed at the Baron, just gaming in my little circle. And I think some of this is because I am mightily intrigued by Infinity. And I know not one person(well, maybe one) in our group would play this game straight up with the fluff and the figs as written. I thin that's a shame cause its getting crazy good reviews and looks like fun. Imagine a fluffy game, with great gaming rules and beautiful minis and a scifi/anime aesthetic. Hmm too bad DP9 never did all of that together.

Anyway. I feel better now, but I think I need to narrow my focus. Sell a bunch of stuff and have 9-10 things that I love, instead of 30-40 and 30-40 more that I still collect for that are half ideas.

So I see that initial list:

15mm Fantasy for Commands and Colors.
28mm Nappies for Black Powder
15mm Nappies for Black Powder(only because thay are done)
15mm ECW for(well I am not sure now cause Pike and Shotte are not getting the reviews I had hoped for)
28mm ECW (see above)
15mm Sci Fi - fireteam based - the hunt continues
15mm fantasy (skrimish and dungeon bash)
28mm Fantasy (mass battles for HAil Caesar)
28mm Fantasy for Song of Blades
28mm Post Apoc for Warriors of the Wasteland
28mm Sci Fi for Skirmish
28mm WWII skirmish for WWWII

Not on the list but should probably be:
Space Ships
Dystopian Wars
Epic
Dark Ages
28mm Fantasy Warbands (40-50 figs an army - Saga size)
Kaiju/Giant Monsters
Giant Stompy Robots
Heavy Gear

I think that has to be it other wise I am Doomed. Thats a huge sand box and its too big, but believe it or not, that cuts out a whole bunch of stuff for me.

What it boils down to is do I have a set of rules I like and enjoy and just build armies or figs for that?

so I see that list as:
Black Powder
Hail Caesar
Song of Blades(any and all Ganesha games)
Goalsystem
Fistful of Lead(and variants)
Commands and Colors
Full Thrust

that leaves me with gaping holes in stuff I love and not having rules for them.

the Rant:

"I honestly would like to play a good(great, fun, not too gamey) set of rules that actually has a well developed background and is fun and immersive. I don’t want to be a fanboi. But I would like to be invested in the whole thing. Like we were when the first GW stuff came out(1st and secind editions).

All the generic rules sets are looking the same at this point. I would like to have one or two games that weren’t DIY.

Heavy Gear is a great example. I love the background, minis, all of it, but that rule system sucks a$$. So now I have to find a system that will work, convert all the crap to it, blah, blah, blah. Its exhausting.

And no way I am going to find a 15mm game that works with what I want. And if I do, then I have to make my own lists, and units and convert and blah, blah, blah, here we go again.

And I can do DIY on historical like Black Powder and Hail Caesar and be ok with that. But not for everything. For our skirmish gaming its fine. But for anything else its getting old. That may be why I am enjoying the Nappies right now. I am headed some place. With the 15mm Sci Fi. I love the figs, but there’s no goal. Frustrating. I don’t want to be told everything, but I don’t want to create it all either.

Take Gruntz, FUBAR, or even FWC. In any of those sets, there are not ANY generic lists. Why the F would you spend all this time on writing these games and then not provide the players with lists of the generic type troops that the author says ‘this is my base line’, or ‘this is what I play tested with’, or ’I think this is where I think everyone should start with MY rules’. I hate it. Give me a list of f-ing light, medium and heavy infantry, or green , experienced, veteran and expert troops, or a light, medium and heavy tank with 5 generic gun options. Jesus I just want to play, not write a goddamn dissertation or worse, have to buy the troops you have statted out. Which makes you no better than GW.

I’m tired of all the mental masturbation.

Sorry for the rant. "

So there it is. A peek into the continuing frustrations of a gmer who is truly overwhelmed and blessed with riches of being able to play any period he wants, with a full gaming group of 8-12 people, places to play on a regular basis, a full workshop to explore any painting/hobby related thought or idea, and a very understanding wife who knows how much I love doing this, and one of the great conventions around that is held not once but twice a year.

I am embarassed I even mentioned it.

shut up and game...