well i dont knwo what to do to start i have like 100 bucks to spend so what should i buy?

We need to know more. What part of wargaming are you interested in Fantasy? Science Fiction? Historical?

Are you intererestd in painting, or just playing?

There are a LOT of options ...

Print out a paper army of a period that interests you ($10 if you already have a printer; use this money to purchase Cardstock from your local staples, or officemax type place.)  You can find paper armies on barbarti, juniorgeneral.org and paperworlds.com (Along with a ton of other ones scattered around the net which can be hard to find :\) 

Next find a rule set via http://freewargamesrules.tiddlyspot.com/ (Or this site ofc!)

Learn the rules and play the game a few times.  If its a period you can find yourself playing for a long time then go hunting for a metal (or plastic of course) army.

Fantasy or Sci Fi is my question also. Are you interested building & painting figs, or just want to start with strategy & tactics right out of the box? Do you want large or small battles? Are there other gamers in your area? If so, what games do they play? If not can you get a friend interested?

Freewargamerules is an excellent web source and you can pick up all kinds of prepainted figs on eBay for cheap. You might also look into Rackham’s AT-43 sci fi skirmish game due out this Christmas. Two prepainted forces, terrain, rules, tape measure, dice all ready to go out of the box. If you are in the States I would point you to http://www.TheWarstore.com for excellent service and a good discount. Grab the Game, an IMEX platformer set and have it shipped for under a $100 easily.

My only general advice is to stay focused. Do a little investigating, pick a game or genre and stick with it. Don’t end up with tons of loose ends or you’ll wind up frustrated. Ask any questions here, or on any other gamer forum like TheMiniaturesPage, or MiniRealms. Always plenty of folks willing to help.

Good Luck.

oo my bad i forgot to put what kinda wargames im into. ive done star wars minis for a while and didnt like it very much. i saw this guy and he had samurai minis and well it looked like fun (the painting and everything) also i would like to build terrain. so i think i might get som pendraken minis cause i love design and look of them. and also i live in the dallas texas area and in the mall a few miles away has a mini store and its got alot of stuff there. also i got to paint 1 10mm fig from my friend and it looked pretty good for a newbie, and i did it in about 20-30 minutes (i didnt have a good brush) so whatya think.

For Samurai, you have a variety of figures scales. Typically speaking, you use the larger ones for smaller battles, and the smaller ones for larger battles.

Baccus6mm at http://www.bacdus6mm.com makes some excellent very small Samurai figures. If you head on over to http://www.warweb.com, you can find Old Glory Samurai in 15mm and 25mm. I have used both (have cince cold my figures).

For rules, go to the home page of this site and use the search box in the upper right corner. Type in Samurai. You’ll get nine different rules sets (all free, of course), plus a link to free printable Samurai banners and some photos of painted Samurai you can use as a guide.

What games do they play at the Mall store? Do you want to get involved in their games, or would any of them be interested in yours? Samurai figs are cool and there’s got to be some fast & fun rule sets out there. Smaller scales like 10 or 15mm generally mean larger battles, while larger figs (25mm & up) are usually used in skirmish, man to man combat. (Altho that’s not set in stone… ) What level of battle do you want? The Command & Conquer/Total War size, or the Medal of Honor/Doom size?

If painting & building terrain isn’t a problem, then you can grab any number of Starter sets, (now I’m a 28mm gamer so…) there’s Urban War, Rezolution: Shadow Wars, Battle for McCragge or Skull Pass that offer two forces, terrain, rules, etc… (the last two are GW, so they’re pricey) I think the LOTR sets come in smaller scales.

You could also get a game like Risk 2150 and paint up all those plastic pieces for large scale battles.

well i wanna do some large scale historically acurate gaming. i just obsess over japanese history, this is the website i found that got me hooked http://folk.uio.no/arnsteio/samurai/ (sorry if its not a link just copy and paste) but it looks like a blast! cause ive always wanted to do that exact type of game but never found it until i found this!

whoa… very nice site with excellent brushwork. Noticed he’s got a list of 10mm Samurai companies there. Check them out. Or, try your hand at a couple packs of the larger scale (28mm) Old Glory samurai, paint ‘em up and find a set of free samurai skirmish rules. Then play ‘em with a couple friends and gauge the response. That way you work up the learning curve on your bushwork, maybe some terrain making, and wargame rules mechanics, and generate interest, all without dropping a ton of cash.  Good Luck.

Your poor soul,

Save your money for a moment and listen.

1. Go to your mall or local hobby shop, watch what games and being played and who is playing them.

2. Find a local miniature game convention and do the same.

3. Exchange contacts with other gamers who might game stuff you like.

4. Find out how often and where these gamers meet. Make sure you would like to assocaite with the people that are gaming.

5. Be patient and do not jump in on a whim! Ebay is full of useless junk being thrown away, though it may look good, there is no one to game it with. Be wary of Games Workshop games. They change the standard rule system every 4-5 years!

With all that in mind…......

If you find a bunch who are playing samurai as we speak, you are the luckiest gamer in the world, latch on to that group and never let go!

If not, be prepared to spend a lot of time and money collecting and painting samurai. Then be prepared to make terrain, purchase rules and photocopy them for others use. Find a game location (shop or convention) or prepare for a standoff with your wife/significant other as to gaming in your own home.

Be prepared to do all this and have no one show to play your game.

Either that or select a game that the majority you have seen game use, and go with that. Be prepared for that game system to go defunct or the other players loose interest and you have to start all over again. This applies equally to younger and older gamers as well. Especially those individuals that compete in the hobby (ie tournaments etc).

Most of all, have fun! If you are not, then it was not worth your time and money.

There is only one way to determine if you are allergic to this hobby/addiction. Get bitten and see how swollen your place gets as it fills with figs, rules and terrain that you will never use.  Unfortunately I must also dispell the addicts rationalization, that even if you don’t use it, you will pass it on to your sons (not interested dad) or grandsons (they will all be girls) or you will seel it on ebay for a fortune (most will only go for half the purchase value, if the game is still being played, which does not include materials and time spent)!

Either way, it’s a heck of a ride, if you know what you are in for!

Welcome to the brotherhood of gamers!

AT 43 seems to have a great future.

Really strenght rules, good looking figures…

If S I Game is your choice, and that you don’t really want to paint, you’ll have ? really good game just ready to play.

Trust Rackham french touch

Fey

A game that is a great start with is De Bellis Antiquitatus; it covers nearly every historical army from 3000 BC to around 1492. I have added a Topic in this forum that has more information, a complete army can be purchased for around $30.00; most players have plenty of loaners, so play with other peoples armies until you find which army you like.

The best bet is to find what is played locally that you enjoy. 
Many great games can be played at little or no expense, kinda like a try before you buy.
Play first, buy later…I have hordes of unpainted lead to prove that I have walked the walk.