So, my FLGS has the base coffin box on sale for 50% because some clutz knocked it off the top shelf and now the box has a dented corner.

Buy/Don't Buy?

Good/Bad?

I think that would be $50 in the U.S. which makes it cheaper than most current wargames.

I like Tide of Iron and would buy it for fifty. But -- it's a big-ass game to store and that likely would be my biggest concern for buying it. If you have the room I'd say go for it.

Smash-mouth wargaming. Mortars can really ruin your day in this one.

S.

Don't trust me, seriously, don't trust me. I'm very, very biased.

Tide of Iron is the best wargame ever. It can last anywhere from 1.5-6 hours so you can have epic battles or small skirmishes. You get to roll bucketfulls of dice but the luck balances out because you roll so damned many of them, it looks beautiful set up on the table, downtime is minimal, expansions take the game in interesting directions, and the initative/play a command card balance is a blast. It's more a hollywood wargame and less a "look how realistic I am" wargame. It's complexity is about equal to Combat Commander (but with awesome tanks) and a step above Memoir. Nothing like ASL though.

That said, I hate card based wargames. C&C system is ok, Combat Commander is irritating (I hate not being able to move who I want)... the only wargame of this level I think is arguably as good as ToI is Conflict of Heroes.. and that's still questionable. CoH doesn't have the robustness or versatility of ToI. It's sandbox qualities are reduced for me.

The base game is the weakest of all the ToI sets (people complain about balance in that one) but is a really great toolbox, and I didn't mind the scenario's that much personally. But our matches turned out pretty close, I liked them enough to pick up the first expansion day one. If you have a scenario designer in you then it's a must buy. I doubt there is a better tool box for making war game scenario's. There are also a lot of free scenario's on line. Some are great just cruise through the BGG threads on it to find them.

Days of the Fox is an awesome expansion. I love it. Then Fury of the Bear and Normandy are about tied for me. Both are great but DotF is so awesome it gets a special mention.

There is also a designer book that is very cool. Most of the big names in wargaming show up to design a scenario and most of them are designed for just the base game. Theres a lot of game in that book for just 15-20 bucks.

That said, I'm a fanboi of the system, incredibly biased, and aware that not many agree with me.

Fuck them, I'm right, they're wrong!!

JonJacob wrote:


Agreed, I think ToI easily beats Conflict of Heroes. It's more fun: buckets of dice are more fun than 2d6, and I don't like how hits in CoH are almost all-or-nothing. And to me, ToI feel more *intuitive*: the whole action point thing in CoH feels really game-y to me, I don't feel as immersed as I do in ToI. And man do I hate Memoir 44and its ilk.

That said, my main game partner doesn't like either of them, so if anyone wants my ToI for $50 shipped (I can send the Days of the Fox expansion too), please PM me. I know it sounds like I'm just trying to make the game sound good so I can sell it (I've got a C&C:Ancients game I'd like to sell that I'm NOT going to claim I like), but I really think it's fun. It probably is also the smoothest, least-rules-lookup-est of the FFG coffin box games.

JonJacob wrote:


Card-based wargaming sucks because you can't do what you want. In Tide of Iron if you want to suicide your ass right up the middle of the battlefield there's nothing stopping you. Your choices are your own.

S.

A while ago, I asked about tactical wargames because I've mostly played strategic level until very recently. Of those suggested, I found ToI the most fun. It feels like I'm controlling a US army football team, and it's a blast. I prefer campyness in this type of game.

Combat Commander I thought was ok too, but for different reasons entirely. It feels more like I'm putting out minute-to-minute fires rather than planning out an attack. The battle has a bit of a mind of it's own. It thematically felt more like a high-octane gritty documentary than a heroic flag-waving brawl. The gameplay itself felt a bit more 'serious' and not quite fun as ToI. I'd gladly play either of them again, but I'd go with ToI given a choice.

Memoir 44 I didn't like at all, and ASL seems like a bit too much work than I'm willing to put in right now.

If you don't buy it for you, buy it for me and trade me some shit. Or I'll buy it.

I've wanted it for EVAR. Just can't spend 100$ on something that doesn't stop me from puking or spinning, or get me laid.

Sagrilarus wrote:


Just a reminder, in case you have forgotten, Path's of Glory, a CDG, is not only the best wargame but the best game...ever.

Now go to your respective rooms, both of you, and think about what you've done wrong.

dragonstout wrote:
"if anyone wants my ToI for $50 shipped (I can send the Days of the Fox expansion too)"
If only $50 shipped included England... (For ToI & DotF of course.)

In reality, $50 is what it would probably cost to ship!

QPCloudy: Buy it and if you don't like it trade it.

repoman wrote:


In CDGs, you can still do whatever the hell you want, unless you want Romania to enter the war and not be shit. The cards don't restrict what you can do, just how much you can do. CDGs are totally different.