I had set myself the challenge of creating armies with cheap plastic toys, as the fantasy supplement to the fantastic array of 20mm plastic figures now on the market.
I had thought that HotT would be a great rules system with which to engage young guys: the armies are small, and therefore cheaper to collect than other systems, and also faster to paint.
The armies involve all sorts of fantasy creations: magicians and dragons, orcs and trolls.. they are all there. What's more there are no prescriptive army lists, just a very simple army composition rule to ensure game balance.
Finally the games are simple and quick to play (although they are of course anything but simple in complexity).
Wow!! Was I ever right? The rules system, and my incomplete examples of armies, have engaged a number of boys with an almost religious zeal. Armies have started to spring up, with some boys planning second and third armies when they have still to complete their first (now, does that sound familiar???).
Three of the boys played their second and third games last Saturday. Here are some shots. Their armies are still largely unpainted (something I normally deplore, but to harness their enthusiasm, it was well worth while), but they are alredady learning many of those often quoted subtleties of the system.
Dragons: a nice plastic winged dragon from our local $2 shop, and a nice home-made Chinese dragon - a street parade dragon, complete with legs beneath the cloth. The two armies are fictional ancient Chinese, and semi-historical mediaeval.
A dragon meets its nemisis.
The neat home made stronghold in the background.
You have to forgive them the unpainted figures - they are just so enthusiastic!!
In the meantime, my own 'Lost Worlds' army is nearly complete. I'll post some photos in the next week or so.
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