This article is for people who have seen historical miniatures games being played and would like to get into this great hobby but are not sure of how to approach it. They have seen tables covered with buildings, bridges, forests, hills, and roads that altogether make an impressive sight. The visual impact of well painted armies marching on a tabletop filled with eye catching terrain has made the even the casual passerby come to the table to get a closer look. How do I begin? The first place to begin is to ask yourself the following questions: 1.What types of battles am I interested in recreating? There are many rule sets out there that cover each of these types or combinations thereof fairly well. 2. What time period interests me? With rulesets ranging from ancient times through modern day there is certainly a time period that will appeal to you. For some people, perhaps one of their ancestors fought in a certain war. Then again, the colorful uniforms of the Napoleonic period could capture one's imagination. Historical movies like Gettysburg or Saving Private Ryan could spark an interest in that time period. What do I need for terrain? The question to ask is, "Is it necessary to have terrain?" Well, a tabletop that has no terrain will not be very appealing to the eye. If you have a table with no terrain setup at a convention, people are less likely to be attracted to your table and the chances of you finding players to play in your game are rather small. On the other hand, if quick and bloody games appeal to you and your friends then by all means, go for it! Generally speaking, the more terrain you have on the tabletop, the longer your troops survive which can make for a more interesting game. Terrain types should include trees, hills and buildings for a start. Terrain pieces can either be bought or made. You can check hobby stores or Internet websites for more information. Two Internet sites worth checking on are Bartertown, www.bartertown.org and Ebay, www.ebay.com. As time goes on, you can add more to your terrain collection. What miniatures do I need? The first thing you have to look at is what scale do you wish to play with. Scale is the size of the miniature with respect to its real life counterpart. For example, a 1/285th scale miniature means that its real life counterpart is 285 times larger than the miniature! There are a number of scales out there in the hobby gaming industry. Popular scales include: 28mm / 25mm, 20mm, 15mm, 12mm / 10mm (also referred to as N Scale), 5mm. / 6mm / 1/285th, 1/300th, and yes, there is even the 2mm scale, but that is less common. How do I know which scale is for me? That depends on the types of games you want to play. If you are playing games where huge armies are clashing, then you might want to go with the smaller scales. If you like the 1: 1 (1 man = 1 figure) ratio for skirmish games, then the larger scales are better suited. Another thing to look at is what scale are the gaming groups around you playing at local clubs, conventions etc.. If you are on a budget, then plastic figures put out by companies like Airfix, Esci and Revell are the way to go. What rule sets are out there? That's a tough question to answer because there are many rule sets out there. Even the author has been involved in designing a ruleset! You can search the Internet for a start. A good place to look is The Miniatures Page www.theminiaturespage.com. Many rules designers have websites where you can check out the rules in a little more detail. Another good place to look would be the discussion groups on the Internet. There is a lot more to this awesome hobby and it is my hope that this can give the new kid on the block some pointers on how to get started. Until the next time, happy gaming! Back to Table of Contents The Messenger March 2002 Back to The Messenger List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2002 by HMGS/PSW. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com