I have saving private Ryan, Iron cross, a bridge over river Kwai, dirty dozen, etc, but none of those seemed me appropriate for him. Finally I chose Kelly's heroes and it was a success; he laughed a lot with Oddball, but also knew about artillery support and friendly fire (Mulligan's) as well as troop morale, and also that you need to be real close to kill a Tiger with a Sherman ;-)
Well, after the film we played a WWII game at company level. For this game I chose Five Core Company Command by Nordic Weasel because I think it is perfect to play with kids. All measures are done with a six inches stick, you only activate three or four stands per turn from an army of twelve or less stands, there are no tables or modifiers and you only need to look for ones or sixes on a D6 rolls, and still it allows you tactical decisions and gives some tension, all in less than two hours.
blacksmith It's been a long time since I enjoyed an AAR as much as that, brilliant!
ReplyDeleteGreat to see your son joining in and obviously having a blast. IMO Five Core Company Command is such an excellent set of rules and perfect for introducing newbies. Quick, simple and straight forward without feeling that the game's tactical dimension is been compromised. Just enough friction without ruining the decision making…like a lot of innovative ideas it took me a little while to come to terms with the systems 1 and 6 rule but I now think its brilliant way of adding a chaotic feel while still remaining in command….
Your son shows an excellent tactical awareness already! I've two young boys and I really do hope they'll appreciate their dad's wargaming as much as yours obviously does :)
I really liked your table too. Are the minis 10mm or 15mm? The hills look great. Looks like their simply made but very effective I have to say. If Just Jack is looking on I hope he takes note :)
BTW great choice of film. I just love that movie :)
All the best and make sure you post the next encounter :)
Thank you for your comments War Panda, it's very motivating coming from you! I love your scenery and BATREPS, and in case your children don't wanna play you can adopt me ;-)
DeleteThe miniatures are 10mm Minifigs (good proportions but low detail), and the hill home made.
My son is begging for another game and I'll try on Easter and sure I'll post it.
Best regards,
"and in case your children don't wanna play you can adopt me ;-)"
DeleteLoL...Really looking forward to your next outing with your son in charge of the soviets...he's going to show no mercy this time round :)
All the best
I recently started playing FCC and agree with your assessment: it is simple, yet still makes tough tactical demands of players. I'm pleased your son enjoyed his first foray into historical wargaming!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely game. You might want to try Chain of Command by Too Fat Lardies, as it has a very interesting dice mechanic that governs the amount of men one can activate in a turn, and it has simple D6 to hit rolls too.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Star Wars: X-Wing is a game he'll enjoy and which you'll enjoy too. It introduces simultaneous movement with hidden command orders with a very clever set of rules and game accessories.
Thank you Ashley, I own and play CoC and will playing it with my son in a future; I too love that game.
DeleteI don't have X-Wing but my son and I play Wings of War.
Cheers,
Nice looking AAR, great job!
ReplyDeleteThank you Phil!
DeleteThis is great stuff - very inspirational too! Nice one ;)
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure :)
DeleteGreat stuff and looked like loads of fun! I have always thought that the Five Core (and other Ivan's rules) 1 and 6 mechanism is ideally suited to introduce people to historical gaming. It seems to have worked for you!
ReplyDeleteYes Shaun, 5core is great to introduce new players but it has potential to play serious games :)
DeleteCheers,