Pondering 15mm games...

...yes, because the Grymn aren't small enough already.

Actually I've been pondering 15mm games for close to a year now, and yesterday I took the plunge and bought a small (no pun intended) number of minis to try em out. Manufacturers and game systems come in myriad forms, and especially in terms of systems, its hard to know what is good and what isn't (add in subjective, opinionated reviews and it becomes a total mess). The minis themselves (infantry anyways) aren't anywhere near as detailed as their 28mm counterparts, but when they're that friggin' small, does it really matter?

I opted for the Gruntz rule list as the cover art as well as several illustrations inside were created by an artist I like: Jake Parker. Yeah, that's all it took...but, thus far from what I've read it looks kinda fun. There are also images from a wide range of mini companies contained within, which gives more ideas on who to buy from. There's fluff as well, I haven't gotten to that part yet, but that hasn't stopped me from already creating my own, lol. Please, don't tell me that surprises you?

For now I'll save that stuff for a later post.

There's an army/unit creator in the back of the book or if you'd like, there's a downloadable app for $5 that'll speed up the process considerably (and yes, its even Mac compatible, huzzah!). All forces will be built off of the same point values. Whilst that may sound kinda generic, just think of 40k's point system where it often seems like the so-called game designers are pulling numbers out of a hat (or worse yet, marketing is giving you free rules/units if you spend MOAR!!!). Then again there's the Age of Sigmeh designers who couldn't even be bothered with doing even that much, so I guess I ought not complain right?

Here's what I bought (unpainted of course):

Squad Sgts. x4 plus a casualty.

Basic Grunts x6 (even though 7 are pictured).

2 heavy weapon teams and a sniper.

Anyways, another selling point is cost. 15mm minis are significantly cheaper than 28mm ones. I got the 16 minis above from Khurasan miniatures for a mere $18.07! Hell, super heavy tanks run from $18 to $35! (those three anyways) I say that because, there is always an exception...yes the one below is $60, but its HUGE, just look:

lol, I'll wager that a few Tau players' gears will start grinding when they see this!

So anyways, that's my latest side project/folly. Current out of pocket expenses for the PDF ruleset and the minis come to a total of: $15.25. That sum would be a bit higher, but I sold off a half dozen CBT tanks that I never used. Still, even if I ignored that, how often could you realistically get your feet wet in a game system for under $30 (yes, besides X-Wing)?