"Playing kings of war?" Topic

who out there is playing or has played mantics Kings of War? Just looking to get some opinions on it. I've downloaded the free rules but wanted to hear from people who have given them a run through.
I enjoy large fantasy battle games but WHFB changes too often and too drastically for my tastes.

Kings of War is okay for huge battles with 10+ units per side. But smaller games just play too quick to really be enjoyed.

We tried to make it our "go to" fantasy game, but for me it just felt too lite. After games it just kept feeling like there should be more to it.

I would probably continue to play it, but won't be my first choice. Hoping the next release has some more "meat on the bones".

Oh, this is my opinion after playing about a dozen games ranging from 4 units to 15 units per side.

Played this with my 10 year old about 3 times. I really liked it, but he did not (he's played a lot of Warhammer 40k mods (Star Wars), Savage Worlds, and other wargames since he was 8). Mostly I think it was because he thought heroes should be more powerful than they are (great attacks, but little staying power), but I thought they were just right.

If I could get a group to wargame around me regularly, it is definately something I would try to push.

A group in Montgomery Ala is playing it.

I play it quite a bit. My friends and I have armies in 10mm, 15mm and 28mm. I find the rules fast, easy to understand and enjoyable. Interestingly when I first read the rules I didn't like them. A friend of mine badgered me into playing them a few times. Now that I've played a few dozen games I really like them a lot. Especially when we play using timers (which I hated when I first read about the idea) but it makes the games a lot more exciting, especially in our homebrew scenarios where one side has a little more time than the other.

I do agree with Tinyminis that they play better with larger games. Small games can be over very quickly. I also agree that the game still needs a little more "meat on the bones" but I think this will probably be addressed later this year.

It's a good beta, but not ready for general release.

Cheers, Xin

Ive played quite a few games and we've found the bigger the games the better. The biggest weve played is around 4000pts although we usually play more like 2500-3000 pts.
We were looking for a simpler game to play after WHFB8th was released and this is it
I'm not keen on mixing my races(using allies) however my regular opponent swears by it to give him a very flexible ( and formidable army). This is our "go to " game for large scale fantasy games, we like really really big games and this suits us perfectly as despite there being literally hundred of figures on the table it is a simple game to remember the special rules for every unit (if they have any) and we rarely have to look in the book for details of special rules. The game gives us a good 3-4 hours of playing time(sometimes more). The heroes are not too overpowering but still have a good punch , the magic and artillery is simple and keeps the game flowing. If you're into WHFB then you more or less have an army for this so it is worth a go although it will be a slight adjustment from playing WHFB. We like to play games where we are constantly reacting to each other and this game allows it without one person waiting for the other to finish his turn.
I am hoping the new hardcover book later this year will have more units in it , looking forward to its release.
We've also played an Ancients version of KoW (free online as well)and it worked fine , played very well and got two newcomers instantly hooked on collecting two opposing armies.
Give it a go , for a free download it a pretty good deal if you already have WHFB armies. cheers Tom

It's a good beta, but not ready for general release.

I don't agree, at least not completely. It is a good (but not perfect) beta, but it's also perfectly fine as a general release as long as people understand that it isn't a finished, set-in-stone game. It doesn't cost you a penny to get the rules as they are right now, and the feedback from the general player base is helping make the next version better.

Sitting on it for more in-house testing wouldn't have helped much, and unlike some companies they aren't charging you for the dubious privilege of editing, proofing, and playtesting an incomplete product that was rushed to market. They also aren't claiming they're perfect and refusing to make changes when flaws are spotted, which again is better than (for ex) the GW codex model of doing things.

I like it. I also like warhammer, but KoW is just easier all round. less faffing with details. It is what has been said a hundred times before, warhammer but ten times simpler.

And like has been said, if you already have a warhammer army, you have a KoW army. It is my 'go to' game for large scale fantasy, and I use songs of blades and heroes for skirmishes.

I'm even thought of collecting some fantasy in 10mm scale for epicly huge battles.

Ralphio – We use it with 10mm for some truly epic battles. We maintain the unit footprint stated for 28mm figures. Then we cram loads of 10mm miniatures onto it instead of the 28's. So a unit that should have 40 x 28mm figures has 120 x 10mm figures. It really does look epic.

Pics, Hybrid! Pics! :)

thabear, what do you mean by "We like to play games where we are constantly reacting to each other and this game allows it without one person waiting for the other to finish his turn."?

The KoW games I have played in are pretty much I do everything during my turn and opponent does nothing except watch my dice rolls. I move, I roll to hit, I roll to wound, and I roll to break your morale.

We end up with lots of down time during the opponents turn.

Hey Rudy who's playing in Montgomery? I might want to check it out.

thabear, what do you mean by "We like to play games where we are constantly reacting to each other and this game allows it without one person waiting for the other to finish his turn."?

Sorry i may have written it down wrong , i meant that as i know the break point for my units i am calculating how long they can stay in combat/shooting range before breaking.
My opponent successfully wounds my unit and we work out the combat resolution together for that unit then the result. As i play Undead quite a bit and i am able to remove these wounds once i inflict some damage on my opponent in my turn i am calculating whether it is worth pulling a unit out of danger or copping it in the face and continuing ( shambling ) into H2H combat. I find it more inclusive for both players than some other games ive played.
We've also played with the chess clock and it encourages you to be watching the opponents manouvering so when your turn come up no time is wasted in planning a move, its just a matter of moving the pieces on the table . Hopefully in line with the plans you just made during your opponents turn.
cheers Tom

Pedrobear- I will take some photos the next time we play with 10mm figures. Which should be on the last weekend of May.

thabear – I understand what you mean. I find that although I don't physically have to do anything in my opponents turn, mentally I'm planning ahead for my turn. This is especially true when the chess clock (we use timers on our phones) is used.

Well I guess my expectations were greater. I knew that it was a simple set of rules. What I didn't realize that it was Warhammer Light. If I wanted to play Warhammer, I'd play Warhammer. I'm not trying to knock them, and am glad guys are playing them. Just was looking for something new.

Cheers, Xin

yes we play and we like the rules a lot. simple and tactical in the same time. we use the chess clock. we use 10mm Pendraken miniatures on 40mm x 20mm bases using a 60x90 table, a standard unit is 40mmx40mm.
the final rules will be out in June with more units, army lists, magical items, siege rules, scenarios. just check Mantic site for these news.
is our mass battle game of choice.
Paolo

edit:
Xin: yes in the game there is a lot of warhammer flavour but without all the odd things that made warhammer un-playable for us :)

I am a friend of thabear and assure you when he says "hundreds of figures", that's no understatement
The report he mentioned about the "newcomers" (me being one of them) can be found here link

We also played another battle (with Tom's Orcs posing as Skaven, which is the other army I'm collecting) and that can be viewed here link

Another blog dedicated to my raising of a KoW horde is greenwrath.blogspot.com.au

Me, I feel KoW MUST be played with a chessclock and, as someone else mentioned, I too look forward to the 3rd ed hardback rules bringing even more depth and character to the game

My two of the proverbial
PS