Introducing new players

[1Mmirg]

Last night I introduced some new young players to Heroscape--and it went really well. There have been a lot of threads related to this, but I wanted to share a few of my thoughts and some specifics that I haven't seen elsewhere.

First off, I decided to create some pre-fab armies for the event. I chose 250 points, to ensure quicker more simple games. I think this actually works pretty well (whetting their interest to try more options and units in the future).

Here are some I had available for them to choose between (I tried to offer a balance of heroes and squads, range and melee, etc. though with only a few cards each):

Mimring, Marro Warriors, Vikings (or MBS)
Krav Maga, Q10
Syvarris, Arkmer, 2xWarriors of Ashra
Deathwalker 9000, Zettians, Deathreavers
Alastair, Knights, 4th Mass
Kaemon Awa, Gorei-Oni, Guilty
Cyprien, Shades
Drake, AE, Eldgrim

For the most part, as you can see, I chose a unit from the RotV and thought of balancing units to create the rest of the team. I kept some theme (without that being a priority) just for aesthetics, but the focus was on playability and diversity of options, abilities, etc.

The kids absolutely loved it.

I threw together a small RotV map (I just brought one set, added in some trees to the box and one extra set of ruins--enough to make two small maps easily), put on two glyphs (to teach them how they work), and went from there.

I don't think it matters a lot what the map looks like, as long as there are some LOS blockers and some height. I would reserve special terrain for another time.

Here are several other threads related to this one:

PK's Heroscape Class
Great Scape Demo Afternoon
School HS Club
HeroScape for Older People
Best units to use when demo-ing for new players
Using RotV to Introduce Heroscape - Army Ideas?
looking for demo advice - Rev's famous small map is in here
Best Armies to hook new players with
heroscape family - great ideas to get people to try Heroscape
Mmirg's Mini-Mighties: Quick, Pre-Fab Armies

Please feel free to share ideas you have used or other threads we can add to this one.

[markwars]

I've shared this before, but it seems appropriate here...



Let me start by saying that I am lucky enough to live in the DFW area, so I do get my chances to play other adults on orderly maps from time to time. But on a day to day basis my only HS partner is my seven year-old son. He loves this game. It has cool figures (which he likes regardless) and buildable terrain (which he also likes regardless of the game) so he's going to want to play with the pieces no matter what. Sure sometimes the terrain is hosting a Hotwheels gathering or Su-Bak-Na is off fighting Star Wars figure, but the important thing is that he likes this stuff.

As a dad my wish is that by the time he's 9 or 10 he'll be a competent player that can at the very least hold his own against other kids his age. And my dream is that he will love to play this game with me even when he's visiting me in the nursing home. So I have had to strategize about my day to day approach to Heroscape.

There are two things that I am really really trying to avoid. Number One is making my son hate this game because of the way I play it. Number Two is giving him a bad attitude about winning or losing. It's a double edged sword. On the one hand I can teach him by example and dust him game after game and tell him "that's life". On the other hand I can let him beat me to give him that carrot while foregoing any real life lessons thus indulging my desire to have someone to play. Neither of those seemed like much fun so I've taken a different approach. There are ways to show kids the nuances of the game while letting them feel in control.

Here are some of the ways we play with the express purpose of keeping his attention and interest...

Unit vs. Unit play - This way of playing came to me after participating in Kentak's awesome "last man standing" event on the old HQ. What we do is simply play one card vs one card. It's very useful when we get new figures to just try them out and see how they work in game play. It's also very quick and if my son loses there's twenty more matches within an hour. As long as he is occasionally winning and we keep switching up units his attention is locked on.

He Drafts Both Armies- This way of playing has taught me more about the game than him. I always let him know that he better give me a crummy army because when we play this way I give no quarter. Typically he will select about 800 points worth of large figures and heroes and I'll be stuck with about 200 points worth of figures he doesn't particularly like. This method has taught me how to utilize figures I myself would never choose and how to capitalize on better figures' weaknesses. By letting your kids decide on your army they can also learn that perceived crappy figures can sometimes be really good and that the figures everyone likes have problems too. After almost two years of this kind of play I know he is getting smarter because he's making better and better decisions about which figures to give me to ensure a win for himself. He may not be making macro-level strategy decisions yet, but having a good knowledge of which figures do what is paying off for him.

Scenario play rather than Match play - This is a way to play that both of us enjoy. We build a huge map, place all sorts of baddies on it, and then let him choose a force to achieve the objective. The good things about this...it teaches him how to build good maps, it teaches him how draft an army based on his opponent, and it never puts me in the villain's seat. I'm merely the Dungeon Master (so to speak) and he's the only participant. If he loses he doesn't feel like Dad beat him, and if he needs advice along the way he feels like it's fair to ask me.

These are the three most effective ways I've found to keep his interest and ego intact. These types of play also serve my own selfish desire to train my son to be a Heroscape master. Having said all that there are still times where I feel like it's appropriate to play my son straight up draft matches and either beat him or let him win. It's my job as a parent to know when the appropriate type of play is needed. Heck sometimes it's best to not even use the rules and instead chuck marbles at figures in his sandbox.

[CheddarLimbo]

Originally Posted by markwars

Scenario play rather than Match play - This is a way to play that both of us enjoy. We build a huge map, place all sorts of baddies on it, and then let him choose a force to achieve the objective. The good things about this...it teaches him how to build good maps, it teaches him how draft an army based on his opponent, and it never puts me in the villain's seat. I'm merely the Dungeon Master (so to speak) and he's the only participant. If he loses he doesn't feel like Dad beat him, and if he needs advice along the way he feels like it's fair to ask me.

This is a great idea! I'm going to incorporate this with Mrs. Cheddar in the future.

[1Mmirg]

CheddarLimbo, I recommend you try some of the ideas in the heroscape family link above and Gomolka's Game Night thread (you can find it in my Index, see my sig).

markwars, thanks for posting that here--I love that post and have it marked in my Index (as an important part of the heroscape family thread). Glad to have it here as well!

[scottishlad5]

My little brother recently had a party, and when they came down to my scape room, they couldn't keep their hands off my little plastic pieces, I spread it to 3 people!

[Snoop Greyjoy]

We played on a large map at the Origins Gaming Con last month and the kids were absolutely fascinated with the game. We actually played with one young man, maybe 8 or 9, and he did very well.
We had a lot of kids bring their parents over who asked a lot of questions about where to get the sets, how much it cost etc. I know we introduced a rather large number of people to the game that day!

This game definately has real appeal to a younger crowd, and we should definately foster that interest. They will be tomorrow's players and game designers!!

And anything that gets them out from in front of the TV is a good thing as far as Im concerned

[1Mmirg]

FWIW, here are some army lists that I use as I introduce new players to Scape: Mmirg's Mini-Mighties: Quick, Pre-Fab Armies

I've got about 10 mostly new players coming over tonight--going to use the 440 mini-mighties. Will be fun!

Any other recent experiences with spreading the Scape Virus?

[badgermaniac]

I am on lunch break right now, in the middle of a mini-course day at a middle school. I have introduced the game to about 75 kids already and it is a HUGE hit.

(I will post some pics later if I get a chance.)

The hardest part to deal with is the deluge of "Where can I get this?"

Only to be followed with...ummmm....here is the deal.

It is very frustrating that availability is so poor for such a great game. The audience is there once kids (and adults) get to play it, but it is tough for your typical 12 year old to get their hands on it.

Oh, here is what I used...

Trolls/Wyvern vs. Orce/Hydra/Krug on a castle/forest map.
Marvel set on a city/street map.
D&D set on a dungeon map
Gorillas/Blastatrons/Braxas vs. Greenscales/Protectors/Theracus/Chardris

I think my army size is 360 points each. I have about 50 minutes per group, which means about 10 minutes for instruction and about 40 minutes for playing.

[Nickp]

Introduced three new (plus one that has played a few times prior) players to it lastnight. Luckily they were of the "gaming stock" so it went smoothly. Pre-made 400pt armies and everyone just built the field together (wasn't too worried about fairness of the field). I picked my army last. Everyone stayed alive until the end and they're keen to play against next week. Pre-made armies were generally by army ie orcs, romans, knights, and of course two armies to choose from with dragons (after playing with the dragons people usually never play with them again, haha).

[NovaRaptor]

I've only introduced people my age to game with 90% success. But after reading this tread i want to give HUGE props to everyone here that has taken the time to teach the younger generation. I read this thread and found it incrediblly helpful on how i should approach different people about heroscape. So BIG thanks to everyone that posted.

[badgermaniac]

Originally Posted by badgermaniac

I am on lunch break right now, in the middle of a mini-course day at a middle school. I have introduced the game to about 75 kids already and it is a HUGE hit.

(I will post some pics later if I get a chance.)

The hardest part to deal with is the deluge of "Where can I get this?"

Only to be followed with...ummmm....here is the deal.

It is very frustrating that availability is so poor for such a great game. The audience is there once kids (and adults) get to play it, but it is tough for your typical 12 year old to get their hands on it.

Oh, here is what I used...

Trolls/Wyvern vs. Orce/Hydra/Krug on a castle/forest map.
Marvel set on a city/street map.
D&D set on a dungeon map
Gorillas/Blastatrons/Braxas vs. Greenscales/Protectors/Theracus/Chardris

I think my army size is 360 points each. I have about 50 minutes per group, which means about 10 minutes for instruction and about 40 minutes for playing.

Never did get around to posting pics. Anyway, here are some pics of kids learning to play Heroscape. As you can see, there were also a fair number of females, which was good to see (kids got to sign up for what they wanted to learn/do...about 40 difference choices throughout the building).

Spoiler Alert!

[badgermaniac]

Oh, and a quick thanks again for those that (without knowing it) provided some map ideas, brief cards, etc.