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People are going to have opinions, lol. Here's mine: Army painter sucks, vallejo is good, most GW is good, most P3 are good.
As for what colors you should buy, I think I would start with a vallejo model color starter set. There are many, but maybe something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Vallejo-Basic-Colors-Paint-17ml/dp/B009162PWU/
It's not quite what you're asking for, but I would recommend a couple of specific books. I'd also recommend learning a little bit about chess, which is a pretty good introduction to concepts like attacking with support, how to set and recognize traps, and effective defense.
"The Art of War" - NOT the Sun Tzu one, but the one by Antoine Henri Jomini. He was one of Napoleon's celebrated generals and this book provides a lot of tactical-level information for horse and musket games.
"Strategy" by B. H. Liddell Hart. Provides analysis of battles throughout history, but with the intention of developing his main hypothesis which is that the keys to victory are the "indirect" approach, and the selection of routes of march that threaten multiple objectives.
Something that might be more what you're looking for are a series of books by Stackpole Press that cover armored warfare in the 20th century. They provide several maps, diagrams, and blow-by-blow and strategic analysis of various campaigns. Two that you might like are "Rommel's Desert War" and "Tank Tactics."
"Strategy & Tactics" magazine, as well as its sister publications "Modern War" and "World at War", offer detailed analysis of various campaigns and battles across history, with beautifully drawn maps. Also, they're written by military historians AND wargamers so the insight is particularly apt. "Armchair General" also has a monthly tactical puzzle in the back where you're placed in the role of specific commander and are presented with multiple options to accomplish your mission, with a pro-and-con analysis of each.
Sorry for the wall of text. Read, and play!
A really amazing game, with awesome minis and really interesting game mechanics. You can see Jim's opinion on the game here : http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/1188332/jims-impressions-on-drakerys
There's big discount to do during the kikcstarter campaign (last week of it since it ends the 25th of june), so come an join us here : https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dontpanicgames/drakerys-the-miniature-game you won't regret it ;)
Well, depends on the wargame. Forming a standing line napoleonic style in front of an actual machine gun will end badly.
The general ideas? The Art of War by Sun Tzu. When you attack, do it fast and decisive in a weak point, as it is always expensive. Use the terrain. Make his strongest point useless by deploying far from it or in a secure area. Use confusion if the game allows it, like Hidden Deployment mechanics.
We will be rebooting this in a couple months. Take a look at the upcoming changes and revamp that we have been working on here. Thank you!
https://www.amazon.com/Tabletop-Wargames-Designers-Writers-Handbook-ebook/dp/B08BZTTVNB
"Tabletop Wargames: A Designers’ and Writers’ Handbook" by Rick Priestley. He's the guy that wrote Warhammer Fantasy Battles, 40K, Warmaster, and Bolt Action, to name a few.
Or have a read of this:
One of the key elements most designs do not cover is fog of war.
I expect the practice games were a bit too deterministic and did not provide for F-ups.
That is essentially what the Twin Cities Gamers in the 60's were trying to simulate when they somewhat accidentally invented Role Playing Games.
Can I interest you in a documentary that spends over an hour talking about fog of war in war games?
Stuff like this. Just punch in 'custom mousepad' or 'custom wargame mat' or that sort of thing into their search engine, and make sure to set the 'minimum order' box to 1. http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/custom-game-mats.html
Stuff like this. Just punch in 'custom mousepad' or 'custom wargame mat' or that sort of thing into their search engine, and make sure to set the 'minimum order' box to 1. http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/custom-game-mats.html
Tournament kicks off this Saturday (June 13) at 2pm NY/ 7 pm London. Sign up: https://discord.com/invite/aDkNjuV to guarantee a place in the tournament and more info!
Would there be money involved somehow, or would it be more like open source? In the latter case you are very welcome to join the conspiracy over in the bgg Open Games Guild. We could sure use some new blood (and more games).
EDIT: Of course Open Games do not imply "no cost" or the other way around. But the two are often combined in practice.
I saw some of these boards at Historicon, they were phenomenal. Here's a good pic. Close up.
Acrylic paints all day everyday. They don't give off strong fumes and you can use water to clean up your brushes. They dry faster too which is both good and bad. You can get cheap craft paints but I don't recommend it. Acrylic paint is a pigment suspended in an acrylic medium. If you get cheap craft paints the pigment grains are too course. Get dedicated miniature paints. For my money Vallejo is the best. Not too expensive, available and a huge selection. I would say stay away from Games Workshop paints. The pots are designed to leak air which causes the paint to dry out. Vallejo starter sets also come with regular sized bottles:
https://www.amazon.com/Vallejo-Basic-Colors-Paint-17ml/dp/B009162PWU
Another good brand is Tamiya. I think they are alcohol based so the fumes can get to you. Not as bad as enamel based paints. Tamiya has a HUGE selection to choose from as well.
The Empire will do well as pretty much any 16th century western European army - German, Swiss, Italian, French, etc.
Rules wise, I suggest Field of Glory Renaissance as a very enjoyable non-skirmish game
There have been a lot of good figures suggestions, I'd like to add Foundry to the list of good places to buy historical supplements to the army if you want.
Before jumping in I would look at a few games reviews and videos on the net to see if the game suits you as everybody has their favourite set.
Mine for example are the One Hour Wargames by N Thomas set of rules as they are clean, fast and low cost (i.e. low figure count). There are a set of Napoleonic rules by the same author here on Amazon UK that have had good reviews But I've not tried them.
Also, this period has many many free rule sets by folk who have played for years - why not download a couple, use paper figures and try them out?
Look for the intro game of a series you find interesting. Especially one that doesn't have hidden information so you can just play both sides (ie play against yourself).
For example, if you want WW1 you could go with this (but it might be too complex, don't know what you want)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UW455Z4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_bfhWFbATP75TW
Hollandspiel is having their annual sale, they have some great options. I really like Great Heathen Army and have played all the scenarios solo
Take a look at Dust 1947.
The Battle for Babylon 2 Player Battle Box is $150 on Amazon, gives you 2 units, one hero and one vehicle for each army (USMC and Blutkreuz), along with 12 dice, 2D and 3D terrain and, exclusively in the US, two neoprene mats. Everything you need to start playing right out of the box, miniatures are pre-built and ready to paint.
the classic text on this is Don Featherstone's 'Wargaming Campaigns, but that may be a bit too much complexity- although there are definitely elements you can pick and choose. If it's just you and a friend playing, you have the added challenge that whichever of you designs the campaign has an advantage. I did see one brilliant way round this. Make the country you are fighting over into a map divided into squares. Each have a copy of the map. Work out how far and what route you are each going to take to your next destination. Make a note of each square you pass through, and which edge (N, E, S or W) you enter the square from. Get a neutral party to look at your lists of grid references. The first time both armies occupy the same square, that's where you fight. The map tells you what the terrain is and who deploys where.
You can make it more sophisticated. If one side enters a square first and stays until the other enters, he risks the other army reaching an objective first, but he gets a reward if he has anticipated his opponent. He has had time to build and occupy a fortified position, or set up an ambush, so he gets a bonus in the game to reflect this stronger position.
This still keeps things fairly simple, but encourages players to look at the map strategically, and anticipate movements. Maybe that's more tactics than you want, but it is a LOT of fun.