Flames of War Inquiries

[Lord Cedric]

I am very interested in possibly collecting and playing FoW, however have no knowledge of any historical gaming other than playing 2 long games of Napoleonic Wars at a friends house (which was great and had loads of fun!). And, other than playing WWII first person shooter games, don't know much about that aspect of history (other than the basics tought in general studies at college). My interest stems from really liking to play Axis and Allies but want to experience it with terrain boards and.. well.. models. Friends in my local gaming group are also big into WWII, so thought this would be something fun as an alterior game to play when we want a break from Warhammer Fantasy (not sure if that's possible as we are addicted to Fantasy.. but I love collecting anyways! hehe). All in all, I would be bringing this game to my area for others to experience too.

Ok, so browsing the FoW official site, I came across their intro to the game box set called Achtung! wich comes with (copied from official website):

■ Flames Of War full-colour mini-rulebook; 296 pages (this is the same full rulebook we gave away free to existing Version 2 rulebook owners!) of clearly laid out rules with plenty of diagrams, including:
■ Rules for tanks, infantry, artillery, aircraft, snipers, reconnaissance, night fighting, fortifications, street fighting, and more.
■ Special rules for the nation involved in WWII.
■ 16 page full-colour introduction booklet to walk you through your first Flames Of War battles.
■ 3 detailed plastic British Sherman tank miniatures.
■ 2 detailed plastic German StuG G assault gun miniatures.
■ 6 Rare-earth Magnets.
■ 5 dice.

My question - would this box set be ideal for a person like myself? Or would this money be better off spent on getting the main book and a starter set? What would be the best value starter set in your opinions?

I know that it would help if you knew which country(s) I am interested in and to be frankly honest I am unsure on definates other than: USA, Germany, Great Britian, Russia, and Japan (same countries in the Axis and Allies game). I have interest in not only land battles, but also air and naval ones as well.

Also, any other advice, websites, download links etc. offered will be greatly appreaciated. I know that there are a couple other FoW "I want to get started" threads (and I've read them), but didn't want to hijack theirs and also didn't see anyone ask about this Achtung! beginners box either.

Thank you for your time.

- Lord Cedric

[calnen]

I've recently started Flames of War.
I think the main rulebook is more useful, since it comes with a basic set of army lists for each faction as well. If you buy Achtung, you'll need to go out and get a book like Red Bear as well before you can start playing.

Having said that, the Achtung set is cheap, and the models in it are worth most of it's purchase price on ebay if you decide you don't want to use either tank.

[Lord Cedric]

Thank you very much for your input and suggestion, Calnen. I was on the fence with going to either Achtung! or the main rulebook and a starter set because in-part of the reason you brought up. I have an opportunity to purchase an Achtung! set (opened box, but complete) for only $33 shipped and thought that was a decent deal, but it only comes with 5 tank models to start and no army lists. I would have hoped a starter set would have a small mix of tank and infantry, but guess I'll need to go with a faction box.

That being said, are the Battalion boxes worth their price? Or would I be better off to get smaller Company box sets? Im not looking for a specific Scenario type other than being able to play multiple ones and also pitched battles as well.

Thank you, once again, for all you help! It is much appreciated.

- Lord Cedric

[6mmhero]

Plastic Soldier Company are worth looking at if you are going to start FOW. All plastic and you get a lot of models for your money.

Which Nation/style of force are you thinking of?

[Omniassiah]

Confused on the Battalion and Company box sets here, BF sells box sets based on the entry in the Army book. They'll be labeled Army, Company, and platoon. . The Company box sets contain all the stuff that is required to have a legal force for that company and possibly some extras. Platoons are the individual platoons that make up companies. Generally speaking you'll only find infantry in company sized box sets. Tanks are usually sold in platoons. The army box sets are hit and miss whether you can find them or not as they are usually only one shot releases. For value if you want what is in the box the larger box sets are usually worth it compared to buying piece meal. But besides that but what you are interested in.

[Lord Cedric]

Thank you both for your help!

I will check out Plastic Soldier Company and see what they have to offer. As far as Nations, I am looking at getting two opposing ones as I am bringing this game to my area and want enough for two players to enjoy. I thought that the information on FoW websites Hobby tab "Making A Good Stew" article was great! Thus I am basing what I'd like from that article. So from that, I'd like to start out at Mid-War with Americans and Germans. Eventually I'd like to branch out with Britain and Russia and possibly Italy. I know it's not available yet, but am eager to see what they do with the Pacific Campaign as I'd like to get some cool Naval battles in from that region.

Now, as far as what type of army, I am on the fence with both. If I could find them, I'd really like to get the full army box for both (Omniassiah - I checked out an auction site and seen they had "Batallions" listed on some of them which is an incorrect term/name used for box sets from BF. Thank you for pointed that out to me. I'm still learning the terminology. Sorry for the confusion !). But If unable, then the Company box sets would be my next choice.

I kind of like the idea of large infantry-based with some tank and mechanized mixed-in. I don't really want an all tank or all infantry etc. type of army. But I'd rather have a mix of everything with the heavy concentration on infantry. So roughly a 45%- 50% infantry mixed with 20-25% tank and 25%-30% mechanized. So I guess this is where I am having the most trouble.. trying to find the best value with this type of army setup. Any suggestions?

Thank you everyone, once again, for all your help! I appreciate it.

- Lord Cedric

[colhodg]

Honestly? i'd pick a nation i like the look of and just buy a single infantry platoon and see whether you enjoy painting them up and have the enthusiasm to take it further. The box sets are good value but not so much that you'd regret spending on one platoon and they are a big investment. One proviso is Russian armies do tend to be bigger and require a bigger investment of time and money - elite armies less so in general (hence their comparitive popularity)

Also you can have a reasonable game with three or four small infantry platoons (600pts) but the same points (and cash) spent on tanks are unlikely to give a good small game imo. The nice thing about this game as there are no bad choices - each army can be made to work despite it's relative strengths and weaknesses, infantry and a lot of equipment can be used in different army builds or even periods of the war. Most armies benefit from a balanced approach of infantry and tanks as you described but some people enjoy the challenge of specialising to a degree.

[Omniassiah]

I tend to suggest you skip infantry at first. While they are extremely useful and enjoyable to play, two inexperienced players can end up performing a very boring form of WWI trench warfare. Tanks tend to give you a solid base of how FoW plays without bogging down from dug in infantry. One of the things you'll have to learn how to do is push dug in infantry off an objective which must be done with an assault, since it is rare that you will be able to shoot them off.

[Lord Cedric]

Thank you all very much for the great advice! Going with the looks of the armies, Im most certainly going to start off with Americans (Mechanized most likely with infantry support to start) and Germans (tanks with infantry support to start) both at Mid-War. Like it was suggested, I will play with these styles first to try it and if I wish to stick with the game, then I'll progress into my earlier statement of having a larger "stew" army with mostly infantry.

Once again, thank you and I'll keep this thread updated of my progress with the game. Also, any more advice is greatly welcome!

- Lord Cedric