"Latest And 'Greatest'" versus 'Tried And True'?

[eilif]

I

I really liked how MESBG worked, with it's Priority, low key magic and heroes doing heroic things other than just killing MOAR! but I wanted it in a larger battle so War of The Ring is a natural fit for me. It is definitely not WFB. Also, since all the army info and stats are in one book there is no need to purchase different books. I picked it up years ago, played a bit but opponents were hard to come by so it's been probably been almost a decade since I played but just this past winter I have returned to painting LOTR minis with a goal of getting it back on to the table.

Thanks for that.
Truthfully I'll probably stick with KOW  for now, but I've stashed away a fair bit of LOTR figs for someday, and it wouldn't hurt to look over the WOTR rulebook.  Really, I'd just like to find someone to play ROTK SBG.  Bought a few of the ROTK Blue rulebooksa few years back to pass out and try to convince my group to give the rules a shot but no one was interested.

[Codsticker]

Thanks for that.
Truthfully I'll probably stick with KOW  for now, but I've stashed away a fair bit of LOTR figs for someday, and it wouldn't hurt to look over the WOTR rulebook.  Really, I'd just like to find someone to play ROTK SBG.  Bought a few of the ROTK Blue rulebooksa few years back to pass out and try to convince my group to give the rules a shot but no one was interested.

That's a shame. Most of the guys I gamed with on a regular basis weren't interested either; I am attempting to return to it now. Is there any reason you couldn't use your LoTR figures with KoW? Elves are elves and dwarves are dwarves etc.

[Elbows]

LOTR minis from GW are proper 25mm (or something similar) and really didn't scale well at all with normal Warhammer Fantasy style miniatures which are more 28-32mm heroic, etc.

I know it technically doesn't matter with regards to rank-n-flank if they're on the same base, but the scale difference is quite noticeable.

[eilif]

That's a shame. Most of the guys I gamed with on a regular basis weren't interested either; I am attempting to return to it now. Is there any reason you couldn't use your LoTR figures with KoW? Elves are elves and dwarves are dwarves etc.

I've got a Chaos/Varangur army and half of a Kings of Men army for KOW. I've played against LOTR forces in KOW though
I actually never painted up most of the LOTR figures. I was intending to use the rules for LOTR and other figures though if it had caught on I would definitely have painted more LOTR.  I don't mind the difference in size as long as they're not mixed in the same unit. However, it was actually the rules themselves I was most interested in.

The one game we did play, we used Celtos Orcs vs historical Celts.
https://www.chicagoskirmishwargames.com/blog/2015/05/game-report-lotr-strategy-battle-game/

Would love to play it again someday.

[NotifyGrout]

I'm a bit of a Wind Sock, then. Well, sort of. Maybe one of those free-standing promo banners? On occasion something new will get me interested, but usually I fall into my own rabbit holes that no one else cares about, or a new miniatures line will get me thinking about an older game.

I like trying lots of different games, and I definitely don't like the idea of playing one game to the exclusion of all others. That just seems sad to me, and the most obnoxious people in the hobby seem to be the ones that play one game exclusively. Indie rulesets that put fun over competitive balance tend to attract more casual players. Tournament/serious league play feels too much like work, so that's a scene I usually give a wide berth.

I don't mind dropping $20-50 on a new rulebook every few years, as long as the revisions are substantial enough (and improve the experience enough) to warrant the cost. Frostgrave's 2nd Edition, for example, was definitely worth it. I want to support Joe's work and the new edition was a marked improvement over the original.

If a game offers free rules and updates for download, or isn't free but offers revised PDFs so one doesn't have to lug around extra stuff, I have no problems with using the current edition then, either.

The funny thing is that most of the games I want to play are a mix of new and somewhat old. On one hand, I want to get Space Weirdos on the table and it's pretty new (even though it has an old-school feel), but I'd also like to give Rezolution and Combat Zone a spin too, and they are relatively old in comparison.

...and I still want to play a proper game of Wrath of Kings, even if it's "dead" and likely never to return.

[Aethelflaeda was framed]

Tried but rarely “True”. All games are subject to a need for tinkering, particularly if purporting to be a simulation because getting it right on the first try is not easy.  Fashion trends affect gaming just like wearing ties and the lapels on a jacket. Even chess evolved.

[eilif]

Tried but rarely “True”. All games are subject to a need for tinkering, particularly if purporting to be a simulation because getting it right on the first try is not easy.

Brilliant turn of phrase, and I completely agree.  Even simple beer and pretzel games like Song of Blades went through several iterations, notably all were free for those who had purchased the rules already.

"Getting it right" is such a relative thing anyway. Indie rules do seem to come with the built in expectation that you can modify then as needed. This is of course true for any game, but with an indie set your not pushing against the an established player base.

[Easy E]

I like to put that in Black and White in my rules that house rules are encouraged.  If you paid the money for the game, you can do what ever you want with it now!