Simplicity, and fun were key (especially considering the lack of sleep the two lads had between them, so Monster Island (by Firefly Games) was pulled out. An introductory game with the 3 of us was played, with the new arrival winning in the end as his Godzilla slugged it out with Arabiansquire's giant spider.
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| Godzilla is entangled in the Spider's steel web |
The end result? Quote: "I would like to try wargaming again".
Simple fun game with friend was key, but I think that the setting also helped with the introduction. We have room to play games here at Arabiantowers, but the club environment adds to what would just be playing a game at home. Other club members coming up to see the game and introduce themselves and a variety of other games being played adds interest one a quick wander. It also helps that there is quite a young membership so it didn't seem like a Dad's club.
As a note to those interested, Firefly games have permanently put their Monster Island downloads are reduced to $1.99 US for core books and $0.99 US for supplements. As you can see from the pictures any toy figures can be used to play with, which can be an advantage.
I enjoyed 'Monster Island', but always found it had balance issues and some ambiguity in the rules. There's a good game there, waiting for a revised edition.
ReplyDeleteRadioactive Press's 'Giant Monster Rampage' is worth a look. The deluxe version is somewhat overloaded with optional rules, but the core of the game is consistent and reasonably balanced, and allows for some really interesting and quirky monster designs.
Kaiju gaming is always great fun and a good hook for the younger gamer - my own lad started out with such games demolishing a lego city!
ReplyDelete"my own lad started out with such games demolishing a lego city!"
DeleteI still do - my Kaiju always prefer to demolish Lego :)
Thanks for the GMR tip. Monster Island is just occasionally pulled out, so I'd have to think about whether to get a new ruleset (cheap though...). I know what you mean about the balance of the game sometimes. The monsters can (and do) end up as single strategy entities, but with most the games being quick and having a large box full of alterntives it's not long for an alternative.
ReplyDeleteDespite having the expansion I've not played with buildings yet, but I did happen upon a bag of old Duplo blocks the other day, so perhaps I should! Maybe even "invest" in some tiny human forces as well...