"Not-so-obvious Advice for a First Game" Topic

Hello! I hope to host my first game of Fire and Fury ever within a month or two. I'm looking at a small scenario so one or two others plus me can learn the game.

What are some "not-so-obvious" tips and advice you can give me to pull off a successful game day and promote a fun time for all? I suspect that much of the advice would be rules-agnostic, but if you have advice specifically for Fire and Fury (2nd Edition Regimental and/or Brigade), let me know!

Win by small successes – don't set overly ambitious goals, have games that are readily playable and GMs who know the rules well – pick easily playable rules (F & F is a good start) – nice figs and terrain if you can – but first and foremost, make sure people have fun!

Best wishes

Relax, don't sweat the small stuff and have fun. It is a solid rule set and gives a good game. (Insert your version of a Rebel Yell here)

A great set of rules. If your other players haven't played Fire and Fury before, I suggest that you try a solo game or two first. You can take your time with that and you will not be under pressure as you inevitably have to look some stuff up again.

Best recommendation I can make is to not get pissed when the newbies ask questions that should be answered by a glance at the cheat sheet.
Also don't be afraid to make a GM decision THAT MIGHT BE WRONG, to move the game along. And then be consistent with that decision for the life of that game. Let them know that you're new at this, and be kind.
Don't let That Guy grab the rules to tell you what you're doing wrong.

As for tactical advice, just tell the players to follow logical battle tactics. You know, protect your flanks.
Also remind them that in 1861 and 1862, every general was a newbie, and didn't know the rule book like the back of his hand.

Brigade and Regimental F&F have similar heritage (i.e. 1st edition Brigade), but they differ significantly in some aspects, particularly in command. My recommendation would be to start with brigade level as IMHO it's a bit simpler. Regimental introduces some additional rules which might add realism (opinions differ) but which could steepen the learning curve.

Use the Support pages and Forum on the publisher's website (http://www.fireandfury.com/index.shtml) as research before the game (For example, if you are unsure how to interpret a rule on reading the rulebook).

Download the relevant Quick Reference Sheet for your figure size and templates from the Support page and ensure every player has one. Encourage players to use it as their main prompt.

Assign an infantry brigade (Regimental Fire and Fury) or a division (Brigade Fire and Fury) to each player, with perhaps a single artillery section/battery on each side. Do not introduce cavalry until you feel confident with the rules.

All the above is good advice.

I agree with Eumelus that BF&F is a better first game, but I'll go a step further and advise that you run BF&F a lot of times in a row, and don't switch to RF&F until you're ready to stop playing BF&F for a while. The two games are based on similar mechanics, but differ greatly in important details; the similarities are a benefit once you know both by heart, but extremely confusing when you're still trying to learn either system.

Some things to add:

• Make sure every player or pair of players has a little box with all the markers and some dice in it. Nobody should ever be waiting for the box-o-markers to come around, they should have them immediately at hand to keep the game moving.
  
• Bring dozens of dice. They're cheap, and it really holds up the game badly when players are hunting for a die to roll.
  
• Get lots of rulers, and spread them around all the table edges at the start of the game. There should always be a ruler in reach of every player.
  
• Make more cheat sheets than you need. Every player should start with one, and there should be extras floating around. Make sure you have one in hand at all times.
  
• Don't choose battles with severely constricted or challenging terrain for your first few games (e.g. The Wilderness, Chickamauga, Chancellorsville).
  
• Don't use any special terrain rules for your first few games. Know the game really well before you try that.
  
• Put lots of small bits of constricting terrain on the table – fences, small hills, copses, small swamps, fordable creeks, a rail embankment, small collections of farm buildings that block LOS/LOF, etc. – separating the game into a lot of small clear areas (varying from a square foot to several square feet in size). A totally open battlefield is too chess-like and too easily dominated by concentrations of firepower; a choked battlefield (a la Chickamauga) can slow the game badly; a battlefield with lots of small/medium terrain bits turns into a maneuver fight between anchor points.
  
• Start with smaller games (4-5 players), and work up to larger games (6-12 players) when you know the game system so well you don't look in the rulebook anymore. (I used to run 10-12 player games, but I have gone back to capping my games at 6-8 players. I have more fun.)
  
• Give all players at least one unit just outside shooting range at the beginning of the game, so the action gets started right away. BF&F commands are big (divisions, corps), so each should have enough units for every player to have a lead unit or two near the enemy, a middle unit or two in support, and a rear unit or three "coming up" in reserve.
  
• On occasions when I feel there must be entire commands in reserve, I give them all to the C-in-C. Since the C-in-C is busy commanding the entire army (and usually a command up front as well), nobody feels like he got stuck "not doing anything" by commanding the reserves. It also puts the decisions about where the reserves will go in the right hands.
  

For Brigade F&F keep it to a Union Corps/CSA Division per player. 6-8 Brigades and 3-5 batteries.

echo a lot of the above

To the extent possible, test drive your game with friends or your local gaming group several times. You'll discover minor defects/foibles in advance and be able to sand down any non-obvious rough stops.

My advice is go with a regimental set of rules. There are way more regimental scenarios to choose from. Know your players. Make sure that your two best players are not on the same side.

Guys, thanks so much for the feedback!! You all are gems! This is fantastic and more than I could have hoped for! Invaluable!