New to Malifaux...and Miniatures for that Matter!

[nd23rin]

Hello all-

I am new to miniature games, but very much into tactical and strategy board games...and thus card driven games and hand management are not that foreign to me. However, I saw the Malifaux minitatures and read a few things that appealed to me and made me think maybe I can make the leap. First, the fact that I don't need to rebuild my house to play a game....that I just need 3 X 3 or 4 X 4 is really cool. Second, this being a skirmish game and not needing to have 50 models on the table is a plus as well. Third, the cost is great and the card system seems very interesting...not to mention I have always had a thing for Victorian macabre! Now, that being said, I listened to a podcast review of the game, and I have some concerns:

1. I am not an experience painter by any means....given the fact that you don't really need to paint tons of models for Malifaux....is this going to be super time consuming? What do I need in terms of a starter set to be able to do the painting? I know that sounds lame, but I just don't know.

2. Terrain-wise, in the beginning if I don't feel ready to build something...can this game really be played in a "pick-up game" sense on the dining room table as they say?

3. As far as the mechanics go, from listening to the podcast it sounded really innovative but seemed also like just one guy chasing the other around a just shooting at each other. What are some of the deeper strategy and tactical aspects of this game?

4. This will be the world's dumbest question but when playing miniature games, how do you measure movement from one area to another given the table or terrain is not broken down into squares or hexes. Is it with the tape measure....if so, can you just move in any direction by that amount?

Thanks for all the help, and hopefully you all can help a true newb enjoy this game!

[Sandwich]

You've made a dandy decision, picking up Malifaux.

1. I have never painted or played with Minis before Malifaux, and it took me 4 hours to paint five models, and my girlfriend did 3 out of five, so yes, it's fairly time consuming.

2. Yes, you could very easily use a table. I personally use plates and these stupid ugly green bowls we have as terrain because they look like hills and taste like grass when I eat cereal every morning.

3. This game is incredibly tactical, and very rarely will end in you trying to butcher your enemy. After you play your first official game, you'll see how deep it really gets. That's that core point that drew me to this game, the fact that not all crews were built around straight up murder, and well, undead hookers, dude.

4. Measurement is in inches. You play on a roughly 3 foot by 4 foot table and every measurement from then on is on an inches basis. So yeah, measuring tape is the way to go.

[Chucklemonkey]

1. It doesn't sound lame at all, we all start somewhere. The fact it is normally between 5 and 8 miniatures for a normal 35pt crew means it should not take too long too get everything painted up.

Items you will need include

White or Black Primer to undercoat your models.

Appropriate Paintbrushes, I hear P3 brushes are excellent but I am still using my old GW ones, and paints of the colours of your choice.

GW, P3 and Vallejo all do a range of paints for miniatures and i'm sure others could recommend a few more.

2. Yes it can, I still do. It is recommended - and I concur - that the game is best with quite a bit of scenery but just throw items that block line of sight on the table and you will still get a feel for the game.

3. The core gameplay is very inituitive, the more complex mechanics are mostly in relation to the individual talents and abilities of the miniatures. There are tons of spell, triggers, actions and abilities out there. Depending on the crew you like you may find yourself reserructing hordes of undead, buffing mechanical spiders for attacks, draining blood to use on a spell to grow one of your troops into a nastier one. A lot of the abilites can stack and it is the interaction of all these that provide the strategy you seek. There is plenty of it.

Also, the cheating fate aspect and resource management adds a level of strategy not often found elsewhere.

4. Yes a tape measure will do it. Generally they can move in any direction. There is a section in the rulebook on movement which should clarify things for you but if not come back here and there are plenty of people about to ask on any specifics you get stuck with.

Welcome to Malifaux and the world of miniature gaming, enjoy your stay.

[ddot]

1. I am not an experience painter by any means....given the fact that you don't really need to paint tons of models for Malifaux....is this going to be super time consuming? What do I need in terms of a starter set to be able to do the painting? I know that sounds lame, but I just don't know.

If you buy a Master box that's typically enough to run a 25 pt game. As far as painting, if you're starting, I recommend the following:

1. GW makes some good-quality brushes. Get a standard and a fine detail brush. That'll get you started. And read up as much as you can about brush care.

2. Paints, I use P3 but recommend Reaper Master Series (RMS) paints. They're a bit less fiddly than P3 paints for getting the "cut" proper for layering and blending. I like P3, but I love RMS. Again, read up as much as you can about thinning and mixing paints.

As far as colors, here is a good starting set: Black, White, Off-White, a light Brown, and a couple colors of your choice. Color selection is so subjective I won't even tell you what else to get. Just pick a few you think you'd like to paint and go with it. Also, Liquitex makes Matte Medium and Flow Improver. I swear by both. (Make sure to read the directions on Flow Improver.)

3. Extra stuff: Make sure you have a pallette, some lint-free towels to wipe your brushes, two jars of water, enough light to see what you're doing, and enough space to do it in.

4. I can't stress this enough. Read as much as you can about painting from people who have made these mistakes so you don't have to.

2. Terrain-wise, in the beginning if I don't feel ready to build something...can this game really be played in a "pick-up game" sense on the dining room table as they say?

Any 3x3 area will do, some people have used round tables. If you're playing at home, use what you like.

Don't discount using "improvised" terrain at home... cutting out some posterboard forest areas or hills can be good for starting. Even laying down a bunch of rubble to represent rough terrain can work.

3. As far as the mechanics go, from listening to the podcast it sounded really innovative but seemed also like just one guy chasing the other around a just shooting at each other. What are some of the deeper strategy and tactical aspects of this game?

Read the faction sections... it's insane.

4. This will be the world's dumbest question but when playing miniature games, how do you measure movement from one area to another given the table or terrain is not broken down into squares or hexes. Is it with the tape measure....if so, can you just move in any direction by that amount?

Tape measure... move it (up to) that value.

Thanks for all the help, and hopefully you all can help a true newb enjoy this game!

Answers in purple. Before I get you intimidated, painting can be a lot of fun if you let it, and this game is fun, especially if you have some fun-loving mates to play with/against.

[ispep]

Check out your local game shops, and find out if you have a Henchman in your area. They are Wyrd's Street Team, if you will, and should be able to offer tons of help. And if there isn't a local Henchman, look for other miniature players. More often than not they'll be more than happy to talk to (/at) you about modeling and painting.

[joelmmorgan]

1. I am not an experience painter by any means....given the fact that you don't really need to paint tons of models for Malifaux....is this going to be super time consuming? What do I need in terms of a starter set to be able to do the painting? I know that sounds lame, but I just don't know.

Games Workshop Washes are awesome. Get some paint on a model then you brush on the black wash and it fills in the cracks and gives your paint depth and looks really good.

2. Terrain-wise, in the beginning if I don't feel ready to build something...can this game really be played in a "pick-up game" sense on the dining room table as they say?

One of our local hobby stores carries Pegasus Terrain (http://www.pegasushobbies.com/gm_main.htm) Instead of making things I am buying a few houses, some fences, and some trees and calling it a day. Nice Terrain and not to expensive.

3. As far as the mechanics go, from listening to the podcast it sounded really innovative but seemed also like just one guy chasing the other around a just shooting at each other. What are some of the deeper strategy and tactical aspects of this game?

Each game will play out differently because you will have differenct "schemes" this will drive you to do things differently. That same shooty army next time might have to pickup somthing in the center of the board and run it to the board edge next game. This will force him near you.

4. This will be the world's dumbest question but when playing miniature games, how do you measure movement from one area to another given the table or terrain is not broken down into squares or hexes. Is it with the tape measure....if so, can you just move in any direction by that amount?

Tape measures will dictatate your movement in inches.

I got my first game in and although I am a veteran miniature gamer I am new to Malifaux and hooked. Welcome.