| Shawnzeppi | 03 Aug 2007 5:05 p.m. PST |
I tried this at Historicon last weekend and it was a lot of fun. The rules are very simple, but make physical sense in a Gnomish kind of way. Even the players who lost (those on the offense) who included many kids and tween' types had a great attitude and just were enjoying the figures and absurdity of the scenario. All the players, newbies and veterans were really nice guys with a great attitude. The miniatures were outstanding – highly amusing and easy to paint up. I really enjoyed the game; kudos in particular go to Jim Stanton who wrote the rules. Although a very popular scenario on Saturday Night, he made room for me and a friend to play even though we had no ticket and no figures of our own. This brings up an interesting marketing ploy that Jim and BrigadeGames are using: If you paint up a unit and bring it to an HMGS game that they are at, you are in (without waisting that precious 1 ticket/day you get)! Sounds kind of GW*-ish, but somehow I doubt that they will come out with new figures that supercede those previously in production, and rule that the older minis are not allowed into the mix (only the evil ones could devise such a despicable plot)! The only drawback to this is that they won't exactly mix well with my existing Tolkienesque armies, and they are kind of pricey in 25 mm (necessary for the full effect). Maybe after my current Tolkien project, I'll buy some of these cool figures. link * In this case, GW stands for He Who Remains Nameless and not Gnome Wars |
| the Gorb | 03 Aug 2007 5:12 p.m. PST |
The kids & I had a great time playing it at Origins.
I like the Swiss Gnomes with the cheese grenades. Regards, the Gorb |
| Charles Marlow | 03 Aug 2007 7:01 p.m. PST |
Yes, those are great figs… I've admired them on numerous occassions. |
 John the OFM  | 03 Aug 2007 7:52 p.m. PST |
The table set up in the Distlefink was superb. |
| artslave | 03 Aug 2007 8:31 p.m. PST |
I liked the French Cavalry on snails! I took many pictures. Very lovely. It was true to the theme as well! |
| mrwigglesworth | 04 Aug 2007 7:18 a.m. PST |
How many minis do you to get started per side? |
| SultanSevy | 04 Aug 2007 8:28 a.m. PST |
Awesome figures. I have about 50-60 of these little devils in the cue to paint up. Anyone try out the newly published rulebook yet and have any review of how the game mechanics work? |
| Shawnzeppi | 04 Aug 2007 9:42 a.m. PST |
Wigglesworth, The game is skirmish level at 1:1 scale. So I'd say you'd want at least 2-3 regiments per side to make a fun game. Sultan, I am no expert having just played once, but the rules we used (1st edition I assume since the cover matches what you see on the Brigade Games site) incorporated a card based moving system with one unit moving at a time. A unit was a regiment of ~10-18 gnomes. Each type of unit seemed to have a special ability that it could use to get an advantage in combat. Most but not all regiments incorporated special characters such as medics and grenadiers that also had special abilities. The game uses the move and then shoot method, based on when a player's card comes up, so you can have a unit get 2 actions in a row if your cards comes up that way. There were no morale rules; gnomes will fight to the death and are as brave as the player who operates them! Cavalry is deadly if it gets in close, but in our game, they were almost all killed by the shooters before they came into contact with footgnomes (these are your garden variety gnomes – sorry could not resist). The game uses 6 sided dice with modifiers, incorporates direct fire and indirect fire weapons, and there is a technology akin to fansaty WW1-like period, so we had amusing tanks, morters, and machine guns. |
Lord Billington Wadsworth  | 04 Aug 2007 11:21 a.m. PST |
Yes, I find if you close your eyes – or disregard the fact the combatants are gnomes – the game is indeed very WWI like. I really enjoy the game, personally. I've got some germans I am working on. I like the randomized card activation as well – over "Igo-Ugo" |
| Charles Marlow | 04 Aug 2007 12:53 p.m. PST |
The Gnome army packs seem like a good deal… |
| acantor17 | 26 Sep 2009 5:15 p.m. PST |
The Gnome packs are a great deal. You can buy a whole regiment of men for alot less than buying single gnomes. I have the Swiss regiment, but they also make a German regiment, and Germans on rabbits which are really cool. |
| BarmyBob | 24 Jul 2010 7:38 p.m. PST |
I bought the Orange Order Gnomes…..12 of them on Bonfire night (11 July) just in time for the Glorious Twelfth. Ordered a Sikh infantry regiment and a Sikh cavalry regiment along with the new rules just today. Gorgeous minis,fun rules, and a great time had by all. What's not to like? |
| pushingtin | 15 Aug 2010 1:43 p.m. PST |
Gnomes:-) I'll have to at least buy some of the minis! Anyone making a Travelocity scenario? |
