Wargaming Recon

After an interlude of a few years the annual CWF Holiday Gift Guide has returned. This year my co-host Tom Barbalet, for our restarted podcast, and I decided to do the gift guide differently.

We each have placed items on the gift guide. Instead of merging them into a single guide we have divided the guide into two parts. The first is mine in the traditional price structure. The second is Tom’s.

Shopping for others is never easy and even more difficult when shopping for gamers. Perhaps you don’t play the game(s) they do. Perhaps you don’t even understand gaming. Or perhaps you can’t keep track of what the gamer in your life does and does not own. We hope to remove the mystery with our annual Holiday Gift Guide. Picking anything from this guide is sure to make any gamer happy.

Jonathan’s List
Under $15

1. Zombie Dice. This is our #1 overall pick for this gift guide. FLGS, online vendors.
2. CCG Boosters. Magic and World of Warcraft are most popular. FLGS, online vendors.
3. Basing Material. Static grass, Woodland Scenics Field Grass, flock, pebbles, etc are heavily used by all miniatures gamers regardless of game or setting. FLGS, online vendors
4. Chessex 16mm D6 . You can never have enough dice. Chessex makes aesthetically pleasing sets and you can also use them to play Farkle. FLGS, online vendors.
5. Zap A Gap Glue. All models need glue for assembly. This is a perfect stocking stuffer. FLGS, online vendors.

Under $50

1. 3D Historical Island Set 1. Custom made 3D islands for War at Sea or any other WWII naval miniatures game. Includes Wake, Midway, Bouganville, Iwo Jima, Guadalcanal, and a shoal. Waterline Miniatures & More exclusive.
2. Axis & Allies Token Set. Custom made tokens from Litko Aerosystems are the perfect replacement to the ones from Wizards of the Coast and even better than Gale Force 9’s. Litko Aerosystems exclusive
3. Flames of War Army Books. Most army books are under $50 but some are $50 or more. The new gift box set covering D-Day is a great buy. FLGS, online vendors.
4. World of Warcraft. You can get earlier releases for under $50. Cataclysm, especially collector’s edition, is more. Don’t forget the playing time with a prepaid game card. Blizzard’s online store, EB Games, Gamestop, Best Buy, online vendors.

$100 and Up

1. eReader or iPad. The easiest way to carry electronic formats of sourcebooks, FAQs, rules updates, and light reading. I use my iPad to look up rules, blog, share pictures, and much more. The Barnes & Noble Nook (Color if possible) is our choice for eReader. Apple stores/online, Best Buy, Barnes & Noble.
2. Rule Book. All of the rule books for the major games are at least $50. Flames of War, Warhammer 40k, and Warmachine all fall into this category. FLGS, online vendors.
3. Xbox 360/Game Consoles. Best Buy, Toys R Us, Amazon, etc.
4. Professional Paint Job – Price varies. Have your army professionally painted. Check out Blue Table Painting for an example.

Tom’s List

Some Chechens and some Russians;

http://www.redstarminiatures.eu/shop.html

Some figures for a similar game themed around the Iraq theater;

http://www.stanjohansenminiatures.com/jihad.htm

Similar figures from Eureka Modern;

http://eurekamin.com.au/index.php?cPath=87_126_150&sort=3a&page=3

Alternative FoW figures;

http://www.forgedinbattle.com/index.php?cPath=22&osCsid=aa93c6e89d0421b3c99352dc7f384e29

KR Multicase;

http://www.krmulticase.com/aboutus.html

If I’m looking for slightly more sensible WWII figures;

http://shop.warlordgames.co.uk/germans-108-c.asp

Oh… thanks to General Splatton for the reminder;

http://www.youtube.com/user/Generalsplatton#p/u/28/OCTQ_eufw6Y

… Anything from;

http://www.gamezoneminiatures.de/index.php/language/en/XTCsid/fb2638db7ba680ee4c57fc24ea46771a

Here’s where I put my money last year;

http://renegademiniatures.com/ww1.htm