Things Newbies Don't Like about Black Powder!

[Alan Charlesworth]

Sorry for the provocative title. I just wanted to get to get your attention

Personally speaking there isn't anything worth mentioning I don't like about BP or its sister rulesets. I could just as easily have posted this to the HC or P&S discussion.

In a bid to expand my pool of players to have games with, I have converted over 20 people so far this year to BP. This has been mostly done through multi-player games that I have put on at two war-game clubs that I attend. The two most common objections I get from newbies, who have played with what we might call more traditional rulesets in the past, are:

1. Don't like the command system. Too much depends on luck. You can move too far or you can't move at all!
2. Movement is too free and easy. What about the deduction for wheeling, turning etc. A real battalion or whatever couldn't have done that!

Ironically once people have played a couple of times and they start to get it, the things they say they like most about BP are:

1. Love the command system!
2. Like the free and easy movement. No messing about!

I was wondering if anyone else had any experiences of what were the sticking points for newbies and how they felt after playing a few games.

[grant]

a lot of people I talk to you about the game can't get the "no points". Some have played Warmaster so the command system is vaguely similar. Movement is awesome! people like the freedom.

[mikeland]

Sorry for the provocative title. I just wanted to get to get your attention

Come on Alan, enough of that, this isn't TMP!

The only grumble I have heard in my very limited experience is the lack of points... people just seem to love 'em for some reason... me I just love the idea of getting as many painted models as I can lay my hands on, shoving them on the table and letting them battle it out... more historically real some how. But I do understand why people want such things.

[grant]

Sorry for the provocative title. I just wanted to get to get your attention

Come on Alan, enough of that, this isn't TMP!

Loved that.

[Big Al]

When I read the title and then Alan's name, I was expecting something else!

The main ones I have heard are "No points or Army Lists? Can't be any good then" and "Movement distances are too great. How can a unit move 36inches?" I only know one person who flatly refuses to play because of this. Everyone else I know who refuse to play can't come to terms with the answer to the first question. Most love the game once they've played it. HC is affected by the first question, too. When you show them the army list, they then complain that the entries are not detailed enough. Can't please anyone sometimes!

[HobbitMiles]

I suspect that we're simply preaching to the converted

I like the command system for its simplicity, but it can lead to players being frozen out of much of the action if they have only a single brigade.

The only other thing that I have any difficulty with is move and then shoot - BUT once players get into it people take it into account. I understand that it is a very deliberate game mechanism to encourage aggressive play.

I actually really like the lack of a points system, it makes people think about scenarios and use historical OOBs. In fact none of my favourite games have had points systems come to think of it.

BP has enticed me back into gaming after about a 15 year break, so it can't be all bad.

[grant]

Just took a look at TMP. HOLY CRAP!!!! I feel 15 years younger - because the site design feels THAT old. How does anything happen over there? I just don't get it.

[armchairsaxon]

The main argument against BP I have heard, is how say an infantry unit could have 3 moves and be on top of a gun battery and volley or charge it without the gunners getting a shot off. Big Al amongst others has explained/defended this possibility. It hasn't put me off I have to say. Some have tried one side moving and the other firing or having firing as needing an additional order.

We haven't tried any amendments yet. It seems to play really well for AWI. So when is the supplement coming out?

[Alan Charlesworth]

Thanks guys for responding to this in the spirit it was meant. I didn't mean to sound like a TMP troll

Other than the two items i listed, being asked about points values and lists does come up, though not as much as I had expected. But there are some people really struggle with the idea of having to think for themselves and design an army and a scenario I can't relate to that thinking because for me that is a big part of the hobby.

I find that with multi player games for newbies it is always best to give them two brigades and 8 rated commanders. That way they have something happening most of the time. A first time experience with BP where you don't get to move for a couple of turns in a row can be a big negative.

I had an amusing experience with blunders in one game. I had just explained that blunders only had a 1/36 chance of happening and that it was unlikely you would get one more than one per game. On the first turn a newbie threw a blunder that would have taken one of his brigades straight of the table. So I told him to ignore it and roll again. He rolled another blunder taking him off the table again! I said ignore it yet again. He finally managed a move then, on his next turn threw another blunder By that point he didn't seem to think much of the game. I've always felt reluctant to exclude blunders form newbie games as for those of us that play know that the blunders whether they happen to you or your opponents are one of the best parts of the game for generating curses, insults and general merriment

[pbeccas]

Blunders are the best feature of the game. A source of fun and amusement for all.

I hope Bolt Action has some sort blunder mechanic.