Max Army Size

[chispito]

I prefer 300-600 point armies and appropriately sized maps (similar to tournament sized maps, unless we are playing 3FA or 2v2). 600 would be a "larger" army with my group, while sometimes we only have time for a 350 point game or two.

In my opinion, you have to alter the rules to make 1000-plus-point games enjoyable. Otherwise, you're spending so many turns just moving troops out of your start zone, and even when you do engage the enemy, most of your army is dormant.

[TREX]

I found if you have a map that is too large, you spend too much time moving towards battle. If you have an army too large, you do not get to enjoy all of the units. They are just waiting to die in the start zone while you end up playing your favorite units first. We generally just go with the standard 500, depending on how much time we want to use.

[Marro_Warlord]

I once tried 1000-1500 because my brother begged me too, but we never finished a game. I find 500-700 on a smallish map to be the best. It has fast, quick, and intense battles.

[yamissflash]

I find anything over 600 to take too long. I personally prefer to play smaller armies with lots of players, as it adds more strategy to the game. It also gives new players a chance, as in my experience they tend to be targeted less frequently.

Anyway, smaller maps are good. I find bigger maps to be more epic, but they do take longer. Perhaps we should play it where range and movement are doubled...

[kolakoski]

Well met!

There are a couple of other threads that address this topic. Among the Gang of Four, outside of Supers games, 750 is about as high as we go. Maps at chas' place tend to be big - we've played a few times on Nadi maps. At my place, I build on 2 coffee tables, usually leaving room for cards, dice, etc.

There is a point of diminishing returns for map size and army size that, I feel, is roughly 2 coffee tables (up to no space for cards and/or a bit of hex over flow) and the aforementioned 750 points. This allows enough distance between Start Zones, and enough points to throw in a few complementary units purely for fun, while fielding a solid, competitive core.

[TheAverageFan]

I enjoy the larger 1000+ point games because they allow more room for otherwise discouraged units like Kato Katsuro and Sir Dupius whereas 500-ish point games are a bit more cramped as to your choices. Still, unless you throw in an extra set of Order Markers or add in some bonus stats or rules to account, these games take forever.
So basically, as long as you're willing to bend the rules a tad, I prefer bigger games.

[Seraph]

I think we could say that Heroscape is fine tuned for battle combat, not large scale war.

[lefton4ya]

For home games, I like doing 400 + 10 * 20 sided die roll, so 410-600 point games that are different point values each game. For a more controlled value you can do 450 + 5 * a 20-sided die for 455-550 point armies.

For tournaments, 500 used to be the norm, now it is closer to 400.

[nate the dawg]

Originally Posted by lefton4ya

For home games, I like doing 400 + 10 * 20 sided die roll, so 410-600 point games that are different point values each game.

Our gaming group has used this method on Heroscape nights before. It seemed to work well enough.

Of course, no matter what point total you use, there will be some build that has you itching for just 5 or 10 more points!