I've just seen a lot of stupid shit happen working in a GW store, and worked a a few tournaments, and well, he level of player etiquette is appalling.

Now, I will say, if you want that sort of game, Warmachine and Hordes are great, given a very tight rules set and well developed tournament scene, with a good amount of focus on scenario play. But, tournament play is boring to me. Plus I just don't have the cash for it all. To play in that you need 2 good collection for armies, at least. While I have collected 6 armies that are much smaller (50 pts is standard tournament game size but I play 35 pts because it is quicker). And that means I have a fun collection of models for the rpg.

And given that my regular opponents are those that I have got into the hobby, it means we have developed and fostered a rather relaxed gaming atmosphere. Plus I have, where possible, made terrain, bought good quality terrain etc, which again all lends to making the game more interesting to watch.

Currently I am reading up on the rules for Rackham's game, Confrontation, as it has been years since I played it, and I now have a rather great model collection for those games.

Quote from: Bren;799045Does you spend time looking at the battle at eye level (for the minis)? And if so does that increase your  immersion?

Yes, but I use my 'reverse' periscopes to save my aged back. And yes, I tend to be very immersed in my games.

- chirine

Quote from: Momotaro;799459

• Play with the lights out and the occasional burst of torchlight to reveal enemy units.
• Have a supreme commander on each side play with a map away from the board, and the actual table commanders move on his orders and relay the situation back to him verbally.
• Have games on multiple boards affect each other.
• Or... have multiple players on each side, and give each player different goals/orders/victory conditions.  That can ruin any game from colonial expeditions to bug hunts.  Bonus points for a scenario in which they have to co-operate in order to have ANY chance of winning...

Your list is very good, but it's a lot older then most people might think...
 
1) naval night battles in 1978, and my recent night battle lit entirely by player-character lanterns - photos on my Photobucket page;
2) my space campaign at the University of Minnesota in 1980;
3) Prof. Barker's Tekumel game groups in the late 1970s;
4) 'Braunstein', by that nice Major Wesely.

Great post, too! Thank you!

- chirine

Quote from: chirine ba kal;804620Yes, but I use my 'reverse' periscopes to save my aged back. And yes, I tend to be very immersed in my games.

- chirine

So not just me then. For the looking that is. I haven't played miniatures since my back aged.

Quote from: chirine ba kal;8046211) naval night battles in 1978, and my recent night battle lit entirely by player-character lanterns - photos on my Photobucket page;
2) my space campaign at the University of Minnesota in 1980;
3) Prof. Barker's Tekumel game groups in the late 1970s;
4) 'Braunstein', by that nice Major Wesely.

Oh absolutely, these things go back ages!  In many ways, the older I get the more revolutionary the Braunstein seems...

And I've seen the amazing photos of your games from way back (and am very jealous of your gaming room!).

Quote from: Bren;804624 So not just me then. For the looking that is. I haven't played miniatures since my back aged.

I've found having a higher playing surface really helps. My miniatures table stands 3'8"; not having to half-bend over while moving makes things so much better.  (I'm fortunate that my flgs has six 4'x8' tables at a similar height too.)

Quote from: Brasidas;804661I've found having a higher playing surface really helps. My miniatures table stands 3'8"; not having to half-bend over while moving makes things so much better.  (I'm fortunate that my flgs has six 4'x8' tables at a similar height too.)

This. Being able to sit at the gaming table helps so much, both in terms of aches and pains, posture, and actually have more of a soldiers eye view in between your turns etc.

I put a good deal of work into scenery and paint all of my minis. Generally won't put them on the table unless I have a decent paint job on them. I'm not great at painting precision, but do very well with patterns and work at adding details and this is where the immersion comes in.

I also work at color coordination with wargames try to make the uniforms accurately depict what was really used with respect to color and detail. I also like adding lots of non-military detail.

For example the 1776 Cape Cod Saltbox house is properly grey with yellow lead-glass windows and a grey shingle roof. There are water barrels and chickens right next to the house, along with woodpiles and extra tools. There's a guy that looks a lot like Ben Franklin sitting on a log stump just outside the front door.

Details like this, with split rail fences, and farmland plots around the house really enhance the immersion...

Same with other games... Shots from my Traveller game last weekend for example:



and

Sweet!

Same, I won't play with unpainted stuff typically.

Hey, I see someone I wouldn't expect on this forum. I see you write for FASA now. Are all those books coming out for the Revised line of Fading Suns?

The miniatures look nice btw. A friend of mine maybe wants to get into wargaming, so I thought I might take a look at this topic.

Edit: Forgot to mention my name on Shadownessence was Red Devil.

Quote from: jan paparazzi;804775Hey, I see someone I wouldn't expect on this forum. I see you write for FASA now. Are all those books coming out for the Revised line of Fading Suns?

The miniatures look nice btw. A friend of mine maybe wants to get into wargaming, so I thought I might take a look at this topic.

Edit: Forgot to mention my name on Shadownessence was Red Devil.

Yeah I guessed

All the stuff I have written will be for Fading Suns Revised.

With regard to minis I have a whole load on my flickr (and on the podcast blog). Recently recorded a batrep for the minis board game Hybrid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVQz95ElUOw&list=UUKWD_vN0XRJML_Wt0gw1eSQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NWh2nebksA&list=UUKWD_vN0XRJML_Wt0gw1eSQ

Nice. Well, I see you around. You can ventilate anything on here, because there is hardly any moderation. The most popular games on this forum are TSR D&D, Cthulhu, Star Wars D6 and Classic Traveller. And don't mind the Pundit when he is a bit hyperbole.

Quote from: chirine ba kal;804620Yes, but I use my 'reverse' periscopes to save my aged back. And yes, I tend to be very immersed in my games.

- chirine

Sadly, "immersion" is one of those words with no fixed definition and some very odd assumed meanings.  Some people have said "I literally get so immersed I no longer see the room I am sitting in, I see the actual fantasy world," which sounds a trifle... peculiar.

I myself prefer the term "engrossment."

Quote from: Old Geezer;805602I myself prefer the term "engrossment."

"Engrossment." Well you've made that abundantly clear. But those aren't the sort of games we were talking about playing.