Thinking of getting back into FoW or TY

[Atules]

I’m thinking of getting back into one of these games but I’ve been out of it so long and not sure how the community is. Can someone tell me which of the two games are the most popular and where are people planning on playing after Covid?

[Brother Glacius]

From my observations, I might say TY is more popular, but honestly, I've been out of the loop for so long I have no idea. 4th ed just did not click with me. I know the intent was to make it an easier game to get into, but it seemed they alienated many existing players, or at least me. Then again I'm a big infantry player. I think Geeks and Games has a solid community, so you might also want to check there. Guardian has dropped all FoW and I don't know of another Portland store that carries it anymore.

[Atules]

Awesome, appreciate the info!

[jesselowe]

If Guardian has dropped it, then your best bet is Geeks & Games in Oregon City. Last I was in there (October) they still had it, and the owner is a long-time player.

[Ish]

I suspect the decision to drop TY/FoW at Guardian was probably connected to the recent change in ownership. They seem to have cut out almost all of their miniatures lines around the same time.

They’ve just got Games Workshop, Corvus Belli (Infinity), WhizKids (D&D), Reaper, and Asmodee (Star Wars, Marvel) now.  That’s it.  No more Mantic, Warlord Games, Battlefront, Ral Partha/Ironwind, et cetera.

[jesselowe]

The new owner does seem to be narrowing their focus considerably. I think all their Adeptus Titanicus was on the clearance table this past weekend. I suppose it's a better business decision, but it does give me fewer reasons to go there...

[Ish]

Specialty hobby retailers have to thread a very tight needle.

“Shelf rent” can be an absolute killer for a small business, if it costs you the same X dollars to stock products from Company A and Company B, but you know the turnover rate on products from Company A is twice that of Company B... Well, that means Company B’s products cost you marginally more. You could be using that shelf space for more stuff from Company A, or C, or D, or E... 

So there’s an incentive to drop products that don’t sell with the same rate of turnover. On the other hand, sometimes you want to have the reputation of being the “go to” spot that have some really obscure specialty item from Company Z, because that can build a strong loyalty from dedicated hobbyists.

Of course, ever since the Nineties, specialty hobbyist stores have had to compete against the Internet... and Amazon never runs out of shelf space.

Guardian Games compounds this difficultly by being a very large store in what I can only assume is an expensive rental market. There’s a reason the stereotypical hobby shop is a tiny hole-in-the-wall and not a big box store.

I like Guardian, but the do kind of have to cater to the general market (of our little niche market).

[jesselowe]

To be absolutely fair, while I'd really like my FLGS to stock what I want, expecting them to carry several lines of historical miniatures in (minimum) three different scales and five different time periods is probably a little unreasonable...

At some point, I imagine we'll get to the point where niche markets like that really do get taken over by 3d printing in some form or another; whether that's personal ones, small point of sale operations, or the ones we already have like Shapeways. 3d printing is probably never going to be great for mass production on the scale of Asmodee or GW, but if you just need five or six obscure models on a monthly basis, it's starting to look really attractive. BattleTech springs to mind as one product line that could switch over from casting to 3d printing for quite a few units, for example.

[taran.shannara]

I've been painting 15mm FOW in prep for when it opens up again and trying to relearn the rules with family after sitting out for over a year.  I'm looking forward to playing in an in-person tournament eventually wherever it is in the PNW but probably won't be until mid/late 2021.  Not sure if Enfilade was happening in May or moved to September for 2021 but there was some talk last month about this.

[Atules]

Yeah, that’s what I was thinking of doing. Prep for when the pandemic is over. I was hoping to connect with people here and start getting to know the community a bit.

[Ish]

I’ve been sorely tempted to buy an Israeli army for TY ever since they announced Oil War a while back.  BattleScribe doesn’t have anything for any of the Middle East forces, unfortunately... Now, obviously, I will need to eventually buy the dang book myself, but I’m trying to figure out what I’d need to budget as a buy in.

They offer an “army deal”, with two AH-1 Viper helicopters (a.k.a Cobras in yarmulkes) and three Merkava MBTs (either Mk.1 or Mk.2) for $55; and a “Merkava Tank Platoon” box of five tanks for $45.

If 1d4Chan’s write-up is accurate and Merkava Mk.1 are six points and Mk.2 are seven points... Then those two boxes are ~63 Points. (~98 Points if I double-up on the five tank box).
 

Standard game play size is 100 Points, yeah?  Any ideas of what else could be added? 

[Atules]

Yeah, I have no idea! I'm still trying to figure out which nation to go with. Leaning towards Brits perhaps?

 

[barca]

1) First of all, where to play when things open up again:
PORTLAND: GG (Guardian Games) will prob have more tables, being the largest store, but they got rid of all FoW and TY merchandise.

OREGON CITY: G&G still carries both:
G&G: Geeks and Games (a.k.a. "Oregon City Geeks and Games")
https://ocgeeksandgames.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ocgeeksandgames/
1656 C Beavercreek Rd, Oregon City, OR 97045

VANCOUVER: F&F had TY product, but I don't know if they still carry it.
F&F: Fate and Fury Games
https://www.fateandfurygames.com/
https://www.facebook.com/fateandfurygames/
11017 NE Burton Rd, Vancouver, WA 98682

SALEM: WT carried FoW, but a few months ago they were having a clearance sale. You would have to contact them.
WT: Wild Things Games, Salem
241 Commercial St NE, Salem, OR 97301
https://www.wildthingsgames.com/
https://www.facebook.com/WildThingsGames/

2) Is anyone gaming in person?
I am not organizing anything currently.
However, here are some casual games at G&G on Tue evening. Check their Web site or FB.
Don't know about F&F. You should contact them.

3) Conventions / tournaments:
None organized by me, for a while. I previously organized events and tournaments for FoW and TY in the PDX area, and participated in ENFILADE FoW tournaments, and ran TY events at ENFILADE.
Given the likely schedule of vaccine distribution, I do NOT expect to participate in nor organize/run a FOW tournament at ENFILADE, if that convention is planned for MAY 2021.
No word yet whether or not ENFILDE 2021 is happening, and whether it will be in May, or later.

4) Team Yankee: Take one of three paths:
a) All comers. Regardless of your faction or paint scheme, all TY forces can be your foes or allies: Middle East AND Europe
b) Focus on Europe. Only NATO and Warsaw Pact forces and paint schemes. US and Soviet have the best Tech. Brits have the best Infantry. French are quirky but some of their lighter stuff could end up in Bush Wars.
c) Focus on "Oil War" /Middle East. Israelis have best tech. Egyptians have the most choices. Iranians have quirky units and rules. Syrians are like early TY Soviets.  Iraqis are a mixed bag.

[barca]

On 12/9/2020 at 10:02 PM, Ish said:

Standard game play size is 100 Points, yeah?  Any ideas of what else could be added? 

Flames of War website tournament level for TY in 2021 will be 105 pts.

Add infantry. Since tanks cannot go into buildings, and shooting infantry out of buildings takes a long time, take infantry to hold objectives near buildings, or to take objectives near buildings.

[fingolfen]

My participation in FoW / TY has been way down, but that being said I'm hoping to finish painting my East Germans for when the Pandemic is over, and I'm messing around with some Soviets as well.

I also have some Israelis for Oil War and FoaN, but they're a ways away from being ready to go. 

[ZEKE]

Oregon City Geeks & Games has been running only 2 tables for FOW / TY on tuesday nights usually about 6 to close.  They've had to curtail the in-store gaming for the short term.  When the tables are available its usually FOW one week and TY the next, unless somebody requests something else.

 

I'm still collecting and painting. I now have a British MW tank army beautifully painted, working on Polish Team Yankee along with AUS/USA TY and German LW Armored PanzerGrenedier co.

[Atules]

awesome! Sounds like everyone is in painting mode!

[Atules]

Another question, which is the most popular in the community.  TY or FoW? I'm looking at the FoW and it's reeeally tempting too. I'm having some decision paralysis right now.