Sunday, September 12, 2010

Impetus Gaming on the Rise

Ken and I played a game of Impetus last night, my Free Company against Chris's borrowed Milanese army. The Italians ran my mercenaries off of the table, and although it was a little too dark to get any good photos, the game put me in the mood to babble about my favourite mass battle rules.

My cavalry getting bashed by the Italians - what an embarrassment!

After a short hiatus, Impetus has made's it way back into strong circulation in the group. Although there haven't been as many photos as of late, Marc and I often play 6mm Roman vs. Parthian games while he prepares to paint his 15mm English army. Chris and I have played 15mm games with me forgetting my camera on a couple of occasions. Furthermore some of you have no doubt noticed that the group is getting started with 28mm Fantasy Impetus as well. It is a good time for Impetus fans!

All the while Chris and I have started the painting ball rolling with our 15mm Dark Age armies and the word on the grapevine is that Stu is asking Santa for a 15mm painted Crusader-era army for Xmas. Just what I need - an excuse to start painting another army. Which leads to probably the only point in this pointless thread...

I really enjoy painting 15mm Impetus units, and here's why:
  1. I can select, clean, file, prime, paint, and base the models for a unit in a reasonable time period. When I'm done, as I proudly hold the unit up, I feel a real sense of geekly achievement.

  2. Selecting the models for a unit and planning the diorama fuels my creative drive, so I find that I can finish a unit before the sense of excitement grows stale.

  3. The rules don't tell me how many models I must use per unit, or what type of models, or where they should be positioned on the base, or much else for that matter - I am free to plot and plan with very few limitations.

  4. When the unit is finished, I get to use it on the table by playing a game that I really love. For me, Impetus balances intense game play with a relaxed tea-drinking attitude. Not many rule sets accomplish this symmetry in my experience.
Anyway, I'm currently staring at a couple of primed 28mm Chaos Knights and a unit's worth of 15mm Irish javelinmen . These models lay scattered across a sheet of looseleaf that is scrawled with possible future armies - Fatamids, Marian Romans, Medieval Byzantines... enough typing, the paintbrush is calling me.

Thanks for reading,
JET

6 comments:

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BaronVonJ said...

Iimpetus seems to be the game of choice these days, but I can't seem to get behind it. Maybe too DBA-ish to me? I get the attraction. You don't have to commit to painting a lot of figures, but still get the "army" feel.Your posts make me want to try it.

Monty said...

Love the figures and scenery...

JET (aka Jason) said...

Thanks for the comments folks.

@BaronVonJ,
I've never played DBA before, but from my very shallow understanding of the game, I think that the only real similarities are the element bases and perhaps the abstract/universal unit types.

Andrew said...

I've never played Impetus, but I get the appreciation of the limited scope of mini-painting. Heck, I haven't played much DBA, but I keep building the armies. The elements just look so nice, they're quick, and you're on to the next one.

Galpy said...

I'm one thats hooked on this rule set its a great set of rules and a fun time for all, great to see others enjoying it