Ganesha Games

[Arrigo]

One thing worth to mention is that, as far I can glean, the majority of the ganesha team came from DBx series. They want a simple low level and  baseline approach to wargaming.

I am not saying they are bad, they are definitely not my coup of tea, and what I call "borderline wargamin", where the rules are more important than the period. (To be quite honest I have even difficulties in suing the same rules for WW2, vietnam  and Contemporary, thus go figure...)

Arrigo

[Onebigriver]

It's not like Andrea has produced one rulebook to fit all , each rulebook is tailored to the genre or period, I think suggesting that all he does is change the nametag is unfair.

I've found the rules for SBH and SDS to be good fun, they're not "serious" rule sets but overly simplistic either, and the fact that you can play with almost no terrain is a good thing, it gives you chance to build up your terrain collection and have games in the meantime. For me I've also found that SDS has motivated me to get on with painting all the Naps figures I've collected for Sharp Practice, but these rules are more than filler, I think I'll be playing them  for some time.

Arrigo, have you actually played the game or at least read the rules, or are you simply taking that as Andrea suggested that SP lacks elegance, that the rules don't suit your philosophy?

[twrchtrwyth]

I suppose they could appear simplistic, I thought they were when I heard about them. Then someone at the club showed me how to play. There is a lot of hidden depth to these rules. Seeing heavily armoured chaos warriors trying to catch lightly armoured elves in a forest opened my eyes to the tactical subtlties of these rules. The different rules do share a common engine, but saying that, how many games do you know where you don't have to roll to hit. They provide a quick and easy to learn, but not easy to master, game.

[Onebigriver]

I suppose they could appear simplistic, I thought they were when I heard about them. Then someone at the club showed me how to play. There is a lot of hidden depth to these rules. Seeing heavily armoured chaos warriors trying to catch lightly armoured elves in a forest opened my eyes to the tactical subtlties of these rules. The different rules do share a common engine, but saying that, how many games do you know where you don't have to roll to hit. They provide a quick and easy to learn, but not easy to master, game.

Well said!

[ZenWired]

I do not like to put something or someone down, but I think people has to be warned.

I can understand not agreeing with the design philosophy or liking the games/system, but I think feeling the need to warn people away may be a bit severe - especially if one hasn't played them.   

While the core rules of the games are basically identical, from what I've seen (with SBH, F&F, & MDRG) there's enough differentiation to make it so that they don't all seem the same. Aside from the genre-based changes, there are rules variations between them that make each game its own. (For instance, the force creation and campaign systems in MDRG - something SBH doesn't have in its core rules - make it seem more like a Necromunda-style game than SBH's Warhammer-style point-buy system. Oops - sorry for the GW game references.  )

Certainly, they're not for everybody. But if you're interested in small-scale skirmishes, easy rules that still manage to require a bit of strategy and that allow you to use just about any minis at hand, and games that are quick enough to throw in between sessions of your usual games, you could do far worse.

I'm just sayin'... 

[dexter]

No rules will please all the people all the time.  The 'song' engine works well for small skirmish games which is what i believe it was designed for .

[nb246]

I love Song of Blades. It was all the positive reviews that really sold me. I took my time to check it out and was totally convinced. Even more happy when I purchased it. It does exactly what is says it does. Andrea is one of the coolest guys out there. I HIGHLY recommend his games. The extremely active Yahoo group was, to me, a sign that I needed to buy this game. I not only enjoy the game, but the community as well. For every one person who doesn't like his games, it would be interesting to see how many DO love his games. I bet the ratio would be convincing! Check out his blog and his game sites. The reviews speak for themselves. The only warning I'd give is this... It is such a GREAT game, you might find ALL of your free time spent playing it.

[El Grego]

I have yet to try SBH but hope to soon.  The Ganesha Games title I am really waiting for is the army-level fantasy rules - could be great fun!

[Rich J]

I had them on my hard drive for ages and dismissed them as 'childish' and too much like a single based DBA ... we tried them one night just to see if they would suit my kids at school and discovered that the mechanics were actually very subtle and not like DBA at all really (although they read like it). Then we introduced them to our club who are mainly hard core gamers who playtest for a wide range of 'companies'. They were an instant hit for club games and campaigns.

I liked them so much and was impressed with how easy they were to pick up that I actually wrote the new shooty set 'Flying Lead' for them as I was keen to get the mechanics into the genre of WWII and beyond - this meant changing the mechanics slightly to give overwatch, suppression etc.

They are not as simple as they first seem but do give a good feel and fast game and of course are only £5 - not for every one, not for every game but most people who play I have found are very happy to play again.

Rich J

[joroas]

I'm glad I started this off.  As said, they are nice rules and very cheap.  He has also kept up the quality and quantity of production.  A quick glance at his forthcoming books impressed me enough to post it, and, unlike another big company that keeps adverting upcoming rules, we will see these.
Considering a main stream WWII game costs nearly£100 for the rules and two army books, I think for a few quid/Euros/dollars, these are cheap. 
There is at least one free magazine on his site too.

[Banderium]

There are 8 members of my club (included myself) that are playing Ganesha rules  now (Song of baldes and heroes, Mutants and dead ray guns, Song of drum and shako). So far, with full satisfaction. Having bought Flying lead, I think we are giving it a try soon.

[Pentaro]

When I mentioned I was playing Sharp Practice, the replied "old school". I think Sharp PRactice is proably the best gunpoweder skirmish I have ever played with plenty of opportunity to cater for small skimirhes or large ones, role playing and fun.  His main point agaisnt it was "it uses different mechanics it is not elegant".

That's very interesting. My favourite game is Mud & Blood which is very similar to SP, and I also love SBH. M&B isn't as "elegant" as Flying Lead but it's easy, fun and a much more realistic.

Ganesha's games, on the other hand, have very clever mechanics; I never thought that SDS or FL could work but they're surprisingly good. They're easier to learn and faster, and you can use them for many different things because they have less detail.

They are different philosophies, but if I had to choose, I'd choose Too Fat Lardies. Anyway, their games are completely different and there's a moment and a place for all of them.

[Arrigo]

What I have potinted out, and someone seems to have missed, is that I do not subscribe the basic philosophy. Played once and said "doh" in my perfect (ok almost perfect) homer simpson imitation.

I understand where the author was driving, but I do not want to drive there too.

I have warned people abut the game beacuse, from personal experience, too often people start a skirmish game and then end in a giant mess (oh, we could just add another pack... happened to me... small We Can Be Heroes game with a couple of squad per side transformed in a company slugfest! Rule #1, of the hobby, never heed to your cousin advice about number of troops!) outside the scope of the rules.

Also to be quite honest I was not impressed by that comment, especially considering AFTEr having tried the rules. If that is elegance I prefer to be an unelegant guy! 

And also, someone would finally decide what elegance is in wargaming? I was thinking it was all about how fancy dressed are your officers! 

Arrigo

[Onebigriver]

These games are designed for small skirmishes, 7-10 models per side, requiring little investment - the SBH rules are only $5 US and the other sets $8 - I really don't see how you can end up in a "big mess", it's not like you have to buy expensive shiny rulebooks and hundreds of miniatures.

Personally I like Sharp Practice, and I'm using it for bigger Nap skirmishes, but there's room for both rulesets and both philosophies.

[comet5]

Can the rules be used for Old West scenarios at all?