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Reply To: Too many games with miniatures in it?

February 8, 2019 at 3:21 pm #1345815

oriskany

60771xp

People on this site probably know that I enjoy command tactical or operational level wargames (usually but not always hex-and-counter) as well as miniature wargames (usually tactical, but some command-tactical like GHQ Microarmor, there are many Napoleonic / Black Powder examples as well).

The point is, I enjoy both. I see the design merits and shortcomings of both.

Mixing the two often seems misguided. I know the designers are going for the “best of both worlds” mentality, but too often I feel they wind up with the “worst” of both worlds.

Now games have had 3D PLAYING PIECES since Monopoly or even before that. I’ve never had a problem with that. But when people start building and painting armies of miniatures for wargames, I feel you run the risk of adopting all the worst qualities of both paradigms.

Boardgames: No visual impact, no terrain, no “wow” factor.

Miniature games: dozens of hours dumped on building and painting before play, no realism, no scale, storage issues, expense, no portability, easy of portability, etc.