"How to get WH40K players interested in ACW" Topic

First, I'm new to ACW miniature gaming. I have always been interested in ACW, but never played any games. Except for a board game called "A House Divided" by Phalanx Games, which I recommend, BTW.

No one in my small gaming group has ACW miniatures, and most of them know how to play WH40K (sadly, almost no historical gaming), so they are experience miniature gamers.

I would like to see if I could get some of the WH40K players interested in something like ACW miniature gaming, so if I may, I have a few questions:

1) What scale would be best to attract players? 18mm figures or 28mm figures. I like the look of Perry Miniatures' ACW range, but the 18mm ACW figures from Eureka Miniatures look good too. Then there is the Epic ACW line from Warlord Games, which might be a good option, though, seem small.

2) What would be a good rule book? The rules need to be more or less easy to learn for WH40K players, play smoothly and quickly, and finish a game in a few hours. More importantly, they need to be entertaining. Otherwise the players will loose interest. They are WH40K players after all.

3) Has anyone else tried doing something like this before, and if so, what worked for you to pull in WH40K players?

Before you ask, yes, I play WH40K, but to be frank about it, I tire of it. Historical gaming has more appeal, and I don't need to worry about Games Workshop constantly changing things.

Chosen Men from Osprey seem like a good candidate. Yes, it's Napoleonic but it should work. Napoleonics are ACW adjacent, right?

I would be careful about the rules; pick the wrong set and you could be scuppered. (Too hard, need lots of figures, players doing nothing, basing too big/small, not quick enough)
Have you considered writing your own set of rules and keeping them simple? Movement, firing, combat, morale could be done on a couple of sheets of paper.
Or, keeping with the GW influence, a skirmish set from MESBG. I think the first one was Fellowship of the Ring and the skirmish rules are great, easily adaptable.

cheers
Jon.

Firelock games blood & steel would also work.

Thats true; a user friendly set of rules is Blood and Steel.

Do you think they would want to command regiments, brigades, etc., or would they be more inclined to want to command several small groups of figures? Battle or skirmish?

I would look at Rebels and Patriots.

The big choice is whether you want to
(a) be as close as possible to something they're familiar with--in which case add "Brother Against Brother" to the list, and stick with 28mm--or
(b) show them something completely different--in which case 15 to 18mm, and probably "Fire & Fury" basing. Or whatever Warlord's using. But do a small complete set yourself--both sides and terrain--with a stripped-down version of the rules. If they're interested, they can build more and you can go on to the full set of rules. If not, you've still got something you can use or sell.

For myself, I'd opt for the "completely different." ACW skirmish is going to look too much like WH40K with a more limited range of weapons and armies.

I would see what games they like so would ACW skirmish work with 28mm as it's closest to 40K or are you looking for a completely different game?

Another thought I would have is to maybe try the 15mm paper soldiers as it gives you a cheap way for your group to try rules and the different game without investing too much time and money.

I would ask them over to watch Gettysburg….then start a conversation. You may want to start off with a couple of boxes of Perry plastics, not a big investment and go from there. Don't start off with big battles, try skirmish games first…just my thoughts.

More than anything else, for this to work, you're going to have to find some way to ignite their imagination. For SO MANY historical gamers, our initial gateway drug was the movie Zulu. Bless you Cy Enfield.

More than scale, or rules, or anything else, firing the imagination is key. Sadly, there is no proven ACW entry drug. That your targeted audience are already tabletop miniature oriented gamers is a big plus. They have a preexisting predilection to all this nonsense.

How to fire the imagination?

Tell some gamer buddies that you're going to a hobby store to buy some paint and invite them to come along. Make sure the store you bring them to has a big, front end, display of painted 54mm ACW figures. drip

Acquire copies of Coggins', Arms and Equipment of the Civil War. Paper and hardback copies can be had off Amazon and eBay for less than $15. USD "Accidentally" leave a copy at your game room or a friend's house. This book is marvelously seductive. Just one copy. More than that will make them wary, but have spares if asked. drip

Tell your friends you're going to a "Little Soldier Show" in search of terrain pieces and materials. What they see in passing won't hurt them. drip

Give them contact information on local Historical Miniature Tabletop cons. Suggest they scan thru the events list as 40k events sometimes turn up, and the vendors often have useful stuff. drip

Don't bother suggesting they look into local Fantasy/SciFi events. They're probably going anyway. Historical events at such cons tend to get lost in the sauce. Moreover, at such shows you're more likely to lose an ACW prospect to Frostgrave than set a hook.

Don't bother with reenactments. The heat and the bugs are too much of a turn off.

Don't bother with museums. Too static.

Battlefield tours are hit or miss. Go with a guided tour. While some Guides are limp noodles, you might just catch a LIVE one. Those theatrical Guides can reach straight thru your eyeballs and put a vise lock grab on your IMAGINATION.
BOO YAH!!!

Now for the bad news.

This almost never works. If you think you're going to supplant their 40k focus to ACW. Not happening. Trying to get 40k players to cross the Rubicon has been tried a 1000 times in 1000 ways. It just doesn't work.

You may be able to establish an ACW beachhead as a 2nd front with some, but it's not likely to ever really thrive. To succeed you need to get the interest to catch on and then find a mirror. Unless your prospect QUICKLY gloms onto some like minded ACW gamers who aren't 100% A holes, the books will lay unopened and the figs get pushed further and further toward the back of the painting table.

It is to your credit that you want to try this. Do try. Just try not to get your hopes up.

Better you cast your net in search of a reasonably local group already playing ACW and try to dovetail in.

:》

Firelock games blood & steel would also work.

Yes I forgot fire lock. Good choice, available for sale, points based, etc

May your efforts be blessed and successful!

Cater BBQ and free beer?

pjm

I would suggest looking at some free rules (that can be downloaded) from either Wofun (which I would rank higher) or Valour & Fortitude (Perry Brothers) to see if the internet can be built before expending a lot of cash. Likewise I would suggest maybe just trying out a game using your 40K figs as a starting place. Miniatures are really just markers on the tabletop, Don't spend any money on anything until you feel it is the way you want to go. If I can be of any further help just email me at info@bmhga.com and I will do what I can to be of help.

GamerJeff, don't let them harsh your mellow. People have walked away from WH40K before now, and if figures were really just markers, none of us would need more than two or three armies. There are a dozen ways to raise ACW armies on the cheap, and if you'll tell us how cheap, we'll get you there.

But there's a question I should have raised earlier: what about the ACW attracts you? Uniforms? Tactics? Particular battles? We're bouncing all over the place in our suggestions, but it's no good us plotting out how to fight Pfizer's Woods on a 5'x9' table for $1,000 USD if your goal is Pickett's Charge on a card table with a budget of $200. USD

Think about what draws you to the ACW. Then at least one person will be happy, and we might have some ideas about how to make it attractive for other people.

Still brooding. GamerJeff, and I've got no more information to work with. If you want a whole ACW battle, your cheap solution is printed out "top down" cards--probably on a 1" frontage, maybe another set at 60mm--while you try various rules and build up troops. If a skirmish set is more your ideal, there are things you can do with paper, but 7-8 boxes of 1/72 plastics would be more than enough troops, look like an ACW army, and probably not break your bank.

@hms

Zulu – brilliant inspiration!

Put the Yanquies on the hill with hasty barricades.

All they can hear is the Rebels drumming, and drumming.

The inaccurate rebel artillery fire overshoots and skims the backside of Cemetery Hill and kills all the horses tied up outside HQ building.

More drumming, drumming, and drumming

The pastor admits to sharing chewing baccy with the rebels, before leaving hastily – You're All Going To Die

More drumming, drumming, and drumming

The Yanquies sing a song – Yankee Doodle Dandie?

Yet More drumming, drumming, and drumming

Drumming ceases.

Big-style Rebel Yell

The rebels zerg-rush up the hill

Valiantly mown down by Union artillery volleys.

Pickett's survivors do a bit of hand-to-hand on the barricades.

Close, but what you really want is "Three against a Thousand."

link

@Stoppage

The only thing I disliked about the Gladiator flick was the distracting use of the Zulu "usuthu" chant in the beginning. Fortunately, there was too much else to like for that bad taste to long linger.