Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Getting Bit by the Infinity Bug


Okay, so perhaps "Bit by the Infinity Bug" is a bit of an understatement. Since I finished the Hatail Spec Ops figure for Casey last November, I have only dove deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole. I believe that it actually may have devoured me whole and spat out a truly devoted fan of both Corvus Belli and their game, Infinity.

Considering I try and maintain an unbiased attitude on this blog though, I thought I'd actually bring you into my head (slightly scary thought), and show how and why I reached the conclusion to invest in this game and it's community.


Maybe a very brief history is in order, especially considering my love for Infinity didn't just spontaneously come into being yesterday.

I'm not one for playing a bunch of different games. Not only do I not have the time to do so, but there is only so much space in my head to remember multiple rules systems and be proficient in them. Because of that, I analyze and weigh the pros and cons of each game to see if I truly want to devote the time and money necessary to playing each one. I've ran Warma-Hordes, Malifaux, Firestorm Armada, Uncharted Seas, Dystopian Wars, and X-Wing all through this little gauntlet in my head as well…and so far Infinity is the only one to win out. Though to be fair, I do like Malifaux, and X-Wing is very appealing because my son is loving Star Wars right now and I've liked what I've seen and read on it, but that's another article.

My very first exposure to Infinity was a local shop starting to stock it, years back, called Miniature Market. They had a decent sized community for the time, and if this is any indication of time period, the very first Aleph starter had just been released. I bought that, and then proceeded to let it sit idle on my shelf for a while until it sold as a part of a gaming auction at a different store. I thought I just didn't have time for it. Fast-forward to November of 2013, and Casey, a fellow blogger and co-host to the Live Cast show Atomic Salt, commissioned me to paint the Hatail Spec Ops figure. If you're curious, see this post HERE, and then the second one HERE. Then another blogger needed to liquidate some of his own unused stock at a good price, so I decided to seriously give thought to starting Infinity again.

So here's the first step: Let's analyze the Pros and Cons to investing time, money and head-space to Infinity.

Pros:
Skirmish-level game
Low model count
Beautiful models
All metal figures
Active tournament system, actively supported by Corvus Belli
Helpful and friendly community
Ability to play multiple factions for minimal investment (compared to other games)
Action-Reaction style of gameplay, so you're never bored during a game.
3-turn tournament games means fast gameplay
Reminds me of Necromunda (which still is to this day my favorite GW game ever produced)
Free download of rules via PDFs on CB's website
Monthly release schedule of new miniatures
Encouragement for conversions
Terrain-heavy
Smaller playing board

Cons:
Smaller community (for now), both locally and nationally when compared to other games
All metal figures (yes, this can be a con as well)
Smaller scale than I typically am comfortable with
Completely new ruleset to learn
Conversions will be difficult
Possibility for repeated models in a singular list
Terrain-heavy (yes, this goes in both again)

Two points cross each list. An all-metal range can be a Pro at times for the strength of the figures themselves, but can also be a Con when it comes to pinning and assembly at this scale. The game being terrain-heavy can be a Pro when it comes to the sheer impressiveness of the look and play of the games, though it can be a Con as well considering I'd rather be painting models than buildings most of the time.

Even when you take those two points into consideration for both lists, you can see that the Pros far outweigh the Cons. At least in my opinion. After I took all of the above into consideration, I did end up buying 95% of my fellow blogger's Yu Jing models as my first official foray into the game.  Since then I've gotten a few games under by belt and listened to hours of podcasts from MayaCast, The Krug, and the newly-minted Totally Crit. I've even entered a new-army style contest that MayaCast put out in their last episode, which isn't nearly as intimidating as it sounds considering there are only 11 models total in the list!

Have you tried Infinity yet? What about the other games I listed?

How do you figure out if you want to try a new game or not?

- Tim

10 comments:

  1. I am very tempted by infinity. the minis are just so sexy from a painting perspective. If I ever have the time to get back to gaming it would be the first game i try. I love skirmish games. Can't stand something that takes half a day to play. I'm a parent so i choose not to invest that much time away from family. Of course, the agent of chaos is showing an interest in dice more and more...

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    1. Hah! Zab, I completely understand your dilemma for getting back into Gaming. thankfully my boy is also showing an interest, and I have a very understanding Wife. I only get in a couple games a month, but still. I would definitely recommend giving it a shot!

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  2. Infinity has looked pretty alright. Have been tempted to just pick up models I like for painting purposes, even though I'd never get to play the game. (Mates aren't miniature gamers.)

    Necromunda IS the best game GW ever made hands down, yes.

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    1. If you're looking purely for models to paint, Dai, I can't recommend the newer lines that Corvus Belli is putting out for Infinity enough. Some of the older sculpts can be a pain, though there are some serious gems in there as well.

      And yes, Necromunda is the best game GW has ever put out :)

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  3. It is a subtle lure.
    Con: The rulebooks aren't well laid out and can be confusing.
    Pro: The models are amazing. The Caskuda sold me on which faction to play and I am a little obsessed by the model (http://www.spruegrey.com/tag/caskuda/) but kind of intimidated at the same time.
    Infinity is slowly gaining ground locally (Melbourne, Australia) and it's a fast game despite the complexity of the rules at time. The models are getting more and more amazing. From a Warhammer background, the sculpts are more fine meaning that even as painting projects they are great fun. It's worth investing some time in the game. Its rapidly becoming my second game after Warhammer 40000.

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    1. It truly was a subtle lure. I say "was" now instead of "is" because the translation within Operation Ice Storm has given me serious hope and encouragement for the 3rd edition coming out this year. I think this is the serious push the game needed to reach a much wider audience.

      I completely agree that the sculpts can truly help push a painter become better, while still not really being too intimidating to tackle.

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  4. OK I swear I've written this 4 times arleardy and either something crashes, my kid hijacks the computer... ok let'smake this one stick.

    First off, I've talked witha few people over at CB and N3 will be happening this year! The goal is Black Friday but it is possible that might slip just a bit. But it will be this year.

    Second, I may or may not know someone people who have seen the new book and it is exponentially better this time around. Expect about the same level of English as what you see in Operation:Icestorm. The book is also being competely reorganized so the rules are in more logical places.

    Third, Tim! We keep hearing about these YuJing (going on a year now?) When are we going to see some pics of those bad boys??

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    1. 1st: Huzzah! You and I have heard the same things :)

      2nd: This is GREATLY help the player base expand. I think that the success of Op Ice is a huge indicator of things to come for Infinity and it's community both.

      3rd: ...why do you think I entered the MayaCast contest? :P I bought new models and came up with a completely new list to go with for it.

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  5. I've got a small aleph force (ok, maybe it's just over 300 pts now) and I love the game, the models are great (though the metal is a pita to glue without pinning and I hate pinning), the only downside for me is the lack of player base. I know 4 or 5 people in my area that play, but only sporadically. THen again the 40K crowd is also pretty week lately. But all in all I think it's a great game and a nice change of pace from 40K when I get the chance to play.

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    1. There's the kicker for a lot of folks that are interested in the game I think, Yancy. Great game, small player base right now. Smaller than we are used to for sure. I really think social networks and CB's warcor program they started will help this, along with the 3rd edition that's coming out. The other thing that will help? Getting the handful of people who we all play with to play in a store rather than basements. If we want more people to play the game, we have to expose more people to it.

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