Has anyone played Twilight?

[grubman]

Yeah, the miniatures are great (if a little pricey), and the game reads OK, but I'd really like to know the level of "fun factor" in actual play before I drop $130 + shipping USD on a game to get a small starter set.

The Game (background and quick start rules):  http://www.worldoftwilight.com/Cultures.html

The Miniatures:  http://www.hasslefreeminiatures.co.uk/range.php?range_id=64 

[matakishi]

Can't help you with this one, saw it played at Salute, bought everything, painting scheduled for this year sometime. Sadly not played it myself yet.

However, over on the Forum of Doom I remember reading a chap's reports of his games, (somewhere in the Twilight section) and they seemed fun enough although they left me with just a few niggling doubts about 'gamey' special rules. I'm assuming this is just my interpretation though as, like you, I've read the rules and they seem open and friendly. I was particularly pleased by the generous movement allowances as I really, really, really hate crawling troops across a table before a game can even start. (Crossfire, you see, ruins you for other games).

Oh, and glad to have you back on this forum Dave

[grubman]

Oh, and glad to have you back on this forum Dave

I go through phases   I went through a long boardgame phase where I spent most my time on Boardgamegeek, then I went througha long RPG phase whre I spend most my time on RPGnet.  Right now I've got a real urge to do some mini gaming...but I want to do something sort of different.  I'm thinking of trying my hand at writing a simple rule set, because I just can't find anything out ther to scratch the goofy itch I have.

[Vinlander]

It looks like a fun game (although I also have not tried it).

I like the visual aspect. It puts me in mind of Brian Froud's style somewhat.

That or 'Conan' meets 'Fraggle Rock'...

[Geckilian]

Hi Grubman. I'm also on the FoD and I currently help playtest the game (as does pretty much everyone playing it currently) since new rules are constantly coming out and being refined. So far I've played as all 3 factions and I find it an enjoyable game, as does my girlfriend. It's not got that much 'crunch' when it comes to the rules compared to some other games (like Mordheim etc) but it's relatively quick and the setting is nicely evocative.

With just 3 starting scenarios it can get a little samey very quickly with just the starting forces, and I use the experimental points costs at the back of the rules to vary the forces nearly every game, making up little scenarios on the fly. In this sense it can take a bit of getting in to, but if you like working out scenarios yourself then I'd guess it's not much of a problem.

Currently the range is quite small but that's something Mike is constantly working on. If you wanted to read a report of a game I have a thread here (may even be the one Matakishi read) - http://forum-of-doom.com/index.php?topic=11923.0. Fair warning though, there's a hell of a lot of unpainted figures shown, heh.

If you've got any specific questions about the game then by all means feel free to ask.

[grubman]

but if you like working out scenarios yourself then I'd guess it's not much of a problem.

Actually I LIVE for this sort of thing.  I know I'm not on this forum near as much as I should be, but I sort of have a reputation for going "overboard" when I get into a game.

A new fresh game with a lot of potential gives me an opportunity to shine at the things I do.

I guess my main question is about tactics and gamishness.  I've really become disenchanted with a lot of miniature game rules because they have all become so same-old-same-old.  I've become terribly bored with the move, shoot, attack, push your miniatures up against mine and fight until someone dies type rules.

That's part of the reason (other than the cool minis that mix bad-assery with whimsy...just my style) this game looked interesting.  The mechanics look to be a good mix of tactics and gamish elements...but without playing it it's hard to tell. 

Since currently I mainly play with a RPG group, that means I do all the purchasing and painting when I want to try a new game I've become a bit more cautious (or nervous) when it comes to making purchases.  Even games I love rarely get the play time I'd like (and in proportion to the amount of money and time I spend), even though I do love the prep time just as much .

Of course one of the really crappy aspects of my hobby is that I live in the USA.  It seems that I almost always have to order from overseas, which costs just that much more and requires me to wait several weeks to get things going.  I’m an impulse guy and my strongest motivation is right at the get-go, so waiting really sucks.

[grubman]

If you've got any specific questions about the game then by all means feel free to ask.

I went ahead and ordered the Large starter set.

Since I live in the USA, it will probably take longer than I like for the miniatures to arrive.  This gives me time to work on a gaming table and terrain for the game…the only problem is that without the rulebook fluff I’m not really sure what type of look I’m going for.

The first project will be the surface itself.  What am I looking at?  Grasslands, desert, swampy?

Then I’ll work on hills, trees, plants, ect.  What type of things will I get the most immediate use out of?  What type of look am I going for to be in sync with the game?

Then a building or two.  I’ve seen a couple excellent examples on the forum of Doom that look fairly similar…are those the houses as described in the game, perhaps inspired by artwork, or should I be going for something else?

Any help will be appreciated.

[Geckilian]

The Fubarnii Empire is located around scrubland and grassland pretty much, as are the Devanu tribes, so that's a pretty safe bet. Trees and plants are currently something of a question, but the Fubarnii do love mushrooms, and their mushroom farmers grow some really, really big ones - essentially trees. The scenery you'll get the most out of immediately then is likely to be gentle hills with maybe a few crags here and there, and large mushroom trees. Unfortunately I can't find a picture of a mushroom, but they look a bit bulbous at the bottom where they touch the ground, like an onion, and grow up and kinda sideways in to a wide branching mushroom cap. Think of a bonsai tree and you're close.

If you take a liking to the Delgon and want scenery for them, they live in a snowy mountanous region - fairly inhospitable and one of the main reason they've not been bothered for so long. As such fairly standard grey rock, lots of snow.

The houses you've seen are vaguely hinted at in the artwork on the rulebook, so if you have a glance through the pdf on the official site you may get some idea. Usually they're cylindrival and multi-tiered, as they're first built small and then over time lots of extra rooms are added and they branch out.

[grubman]

Great!  Thank you for the information.

One more question...could you give me an indication of the size of the minis?  At first I was thinking the Fubarnii were 28mm and the Devanu were large, like Ogres.  Now I'm getting the impression the size scale is more of a Fubarnii = Games Workshop Goblins and Duvanu = GW Orcs?

Hard to tell without any real size comparison pictures.  I'm guessin ghte "small" bases are 20mm, the medium are 25mm, and the large are 40mm?

[matakishi]

The little guys, Militia etc are between 22mm and 25mm tall

[Geckilian]

There aren't any small bases actually, just the 30mm and 40mm ones. It is technically a 28mm scale, but the Fubarnii are small compared to a human-sized figure. They're probably closest to the slightly older plastic goblins, not the Night Goblins who are smaller. The Devanu all vary a bit in size though they don't actually use buildings so there's no real worry there.