03-04-2011, 12:24 AM
Just thought I'd post some information regarding getting started with Flames of War for WW2.
FoW splits WW2 into 3 main eras:
Unless you have pockets deep enough to buy the figures ready painted (a FoW infantry platoon of around 38 figures will set you back somewhere between £30 and £40 on ebay, armour a whole lot more), theres going to be some serious time and investment in the painting and basing of the models. So you're going to need to decide on an era in which to start playing.
The late era is appealing because it has some of the most popular campaigns to fight; D-Day, Market Garden, Ardennes offensive and the Russian counter offensives in the east.
The mid era is worth exploring as it opens up the battles in North Africa (quite topical at present), which have a more British leaning over late war, and the German offensives in the east.
But don't forget the early part of the war. Here you can let fly with the German Blitzkreig and have fast paced battles with light armour and even horses.
So there are a number of options to consider.
I've started by getting myself the Open Fire starter set. This includes 2 Stugs and 3 Shermans, a paperback version of the rules and some themed dice. Be aware that there are no infantry units in the starter set. So I supplemented it with a platoon each of US and German infantry, both late war. If you're unsure about which units fit into which era Battlefront helpfully label the model packs with the era they are applicable to.
The FoW rules and supplements are all very glossy and photo heavy and the rules are straight forward. There are a number of omissions from the rules with the big one being opportunity fire and it seems that any rules deemed to slow the game down have been removed.
It will be interesting to see if the rumours about GW producing a set of WW2 rules are true and how they match up to FoW.
Si
FoW splits WW2 into 3 main eras:
- Early (39–41)
- Mid (42–43)
- Late (44-45)
Unless you have pockets deep enough to buy the figures ready painted (a FoW infantry platoon of around 38 figures will set you back somewhere between £30 and £40 on ebay, armour a whole lot more), theres going to be some serious time and investment in the painting and basing of the models. So you're going to need to decide on an era in which to start playing.
The late era is appealing because it has some of the most popular campaigns to fight; D-Day, Market Garden, Ardennes offensive and the Russian counter offensives in the east.
The mid era is worth exploring as it opens up the battles in North Africa (quite topical at present), which have a more British leaning over late war, and the German offensives in the east.
But don't forget the early part of the war. Here you can let fly with the German Blitzkreig and have fast paced battles with light armour and even horses.
So there are a number of options to consider.
I've started by getting myself the Open Fire starter set. This includes 2 Stugs and 3 Shermans, a paperback version of the rules and some themed dice. Be aware that there are no infantry units in the starter set. So I supplemented it with a platoon each of US and German infantry, both late war. If you're unsure about which units fit into which era Battlefront helpfully label the model packs with the era they are applicable to.
The FoW rules and supplements are all very glossy and photo heavy and the rules are straight forward. There are a number of omissions from the rules with the big one being opportunity fire and it seems that any rules deemed to slow the game down have been removed.
It will be interesting to see if the rumours about GW producing a set of WW2 rules are true and how they match up to FoW.
Si