I'm looking through the starter set for AT-43.
For the money (and I think a fair price should be just under $100), you do get what you pay for. The AT-43 Initiation Set comes with a multi-language book of rules and introductory scenarios, dice, a retracting measuring tape, an assortment of terrain pieces, a double-sided map to play on, and a selection of troops for the United Nations of Ava and the invading alien Therians.
Is it worth it? I would say, "it depends." Like all starter sets for any given game, you do get value. This many troops (plus the mecha) could easily retail $100 if purchased seperately. So if you rationalize it, you are getting all the accessories in the box free.
So what do you get that's "free?" You get dice, measuring tape, a play surface about 2'x3' in size. The box is exactly as the title suggests: a basic initiation into tabletop miniature gaming. It is however, beautifully illustrated. The book comes with 6 simple missions, starting from the most basic scenarios. Each mission, progressively more complex, introduces players to more rules.
I wish Warhammer40k had something laid out like that when I started. Instead my brother taught me using a scaled down army but with
ALL the rules in play - indeed, jumping me in with both feet... This will most definitely come in handy for me to demo the game to other n00bs. Will I play it with my brother? Unlikely, but it could help get us up to speed with the game system. Thankfully, each mission is described as lasting no more than 30 minutes.
A final note: one thing that irritates me about the set is that a set of dice and measuring tape are also the exact contents of the first AT-43 accessories set... except there is no "indirect fire template" (indirect fire only comes into play with the advanced rules so you wouldn't need it for the Operation Damocles box). But this also means the only way to get the template later is to buy the damn dice and measuring tape again. Although... in my experience with tabletop gaming, you can never have too many dice.
For the money (and I think a fair price should be just under $100), you do get what you pay for. The AT-43 Initiation Set comes with a multi-language book of rules and introductory scenarios, dice, a retracting measuring tape, an assortment of terrain pieces, a double-sided map to play on, and a selection of troops for the United Nations of Ava and the invading alien Therians.
Is it worth it? I would say, "it depends." Like all starter sets for any given game, you do get value. This many troops (plus the mecha) could easily retail $100 if purchased seperately. So if you rationalize it, you are getting all the accessories in the box free.
So what do you get that's "free?" You get dice, measuring tape, a play surface about 2'x3' in size. The box is exactly as the title suggests: a basic initiation into tabletop miniature gaming. It is however, beautifully illustrated. The book comes with 6 simple missions, starting from the most basic scenarios. Each mission, progressively more complex, introduces players to more rules.
I wish Warhammer40k had something laid out like that when I started. Instead my brother taught me using a scaled down army but with ALL the rules in play - indeed, jumping me in with both feet... This will most definitely come in handy for me to demo the game to other n00bs. Will I play it with my brother? Unlikely, but it could help get us up to speed with the game system. Thankfully, each mission is described as lasting no more than 30 minutes.
A final note: one thing that irritates me about the set is that a set of dice and measuring tape are also the exact contents of the first AT-43 accessories set... except there is no "indirect fire template" (indirect fire only comes into play with the advanced rules so you wouldn't need it for the Operation Damocles box). But this also means the only way to get the template later is to buy the damn dice and measuring tape again. Although... in my experience with tabletop gaming, you can never have too many dice.
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