What Games are Good Primers for Heroscape?

[Elginb]

I'm a big tennis player and sometimes I find that other sports can help me play tennis better. For instance, I find that playing racketball can increase my reaction time at the net. Basketball can improve my overall conditioning and footwork.

I was wondering if there were any analogues with Heroscape. Are there any games that build the gamer skills necessary to excel at playing Heroscape? Are there games that help teach you how to draft better? Position your pieces better on the board? Better take into account the statistical probabilities of attacking and defending?

[ezekiel]

chess... any strategic game

[moorific]

I would say basically any other tactical board or video game.

[Aldin]

This may sound strange, but building an army is analogous to designing a Battletech battlemech. Additionally, playing with your own battlemech designs is probably good practice for Heroscape tactics as well. Finally, designing mechs within a system of rules may help you create custom HS units if you so choose.

The reason the design is such a good match for army building is that there is limited space/mass (points) with which to accomplish several goals of power/weaponry/defense/etc (range/melee/speed/etc). Configuring a lot of mechs will give you practice in design balance, stresses and tolerances that carries over well. It also teaches you how to squeeze every last point into an army and let nothing go to waste.

The battles themselves take place on a remarkably similar scale (I still want to play Battletech on my Heroscape maps), but with a different turn concept. I think that it is far easier to use your army (lance) with synergy in Battletech, but that the concept and planning of using that synergy can carry over to Heroscape. Also, the "range rules" concept applies there as well, but crafty use of shorter range stuff is mandatory so if you always have difficulty in incorporating melee troops it might help to reveal their role to you.

~Aldin, House Steiner

[Scapegoat]

I may be shot for this...Risk!

[Dennys]

Aldin has a point.. ANy game wher you have to design your forces within a set series of parameters to accomplish the mission would work. Even the basics of Avalon Hills Gladiator and Circvs Maximvs where you designed your gladiator or chariot for their basic needs, then strategically played each turn out shows the need for both force composition and strategic thought.

Dennys~
Clan Jade Falcon

[OmniMoose]

STARCRAFT!!!!!!

[chief]

Originally Posted by DarkDino

STARCRAFT!!!!!!

ditto

Also Halo or other first person shooters can actually give you a sense of where youre figures need to be on the board in order to exploit their stengths. For instance if you like to snipe in halo then you know where good vantage points are for cover and clear sight so there for you can take that and for instance move deadeye dan to similar areas to get an advantage. Also if you often like to hide in cover until its all clear the games can give you a sense of where youre soldiers in heroscape would want to be so they can be protected.

[Uprising]

Originally Posted by chief

ditto

Also Halo or other first person shooters can actually give you a sense of where youre figures need to be on the board in order to exploit their stengths. For instance if you like to snipe in halo then you know where good vantage points are for cover and clear sight so there for you can take that and for instance move deadeye dan to similar areas to get an advantage. Also if you often like to hide in cover until its all clear the games can give you a sense of where youre soldiers in heroscape would want to be so they can be protected.

I don't think any RTS or FPS would be a really good primer. Heroscape is turn based. RTS's and FPS's are real time. Especially FPS games. If you wanna increase hand-eye coordination, play those games. In a FPS, who ever is the quickest and most accurate with a weapon wins 9 times out of 10, despite what weapons they have.

The only real reason I would list any RTS is because most RTS games have units and counter-units, which Heroscape also has. Some units are just more effective against others.

[Tiberius]

The Heroes of Might and Magic Video game series is pretty good as a turn based stradegy game. It would be a good primer for heroscape.

[MechaBeast]

Has anyone played Shining force for Sega systems. Its one of the main reasons I picked up Heroscape

[yagyuninja]

Originally Posted by MechaBeast

Has anyone played Shining force for Sega systems. Its one of the main reasons I picked up Heroscape

Oh, yes. YES. For whatever reason, Shining Force 1 is my favorite game ever. I played it through so many times, even after the battery died and I had to leave it and my genesis on until I finished the whole game.

With all the stats and damage and such being nearly static, it was awesome that with time and thought you could basically "solve" each battle. I also loved the cool attack animations. And promotions! I love being able to promote units! Man, when Max gets promoted and does that crazy jump/spin attack...super cool when he has the chaos blade. And how the game really rewards you if you work on the guys that appear weak in the beginning (Arthur, Bleu...those guys become so hardcore!). And etc., etc....

Also, see avatar.