Can Wooden Toy Soldiers Get Kids Wargaming?

[@irishmarine3]

Honestly, you can't beat bags and bags of green army men and Risk

[@henryredcoat3522]

That's how I started 8 or so years ago I played the battle of the five armies and blenheim with risk figures Good Times

[@03dashk64]

Army men got me into it

[@kevinoconnor4582]

Yeah I think there are some games you can play with plastic soilders. Prime and paint them and buy dollar store paint. perfect way to get them into the hobby

[@johndhimebaugh9111]

When my son was young, we played “ Roman and Barbarians” with Airfix figures and 6- sided dice.

[@WARdROBEPlaysWWII]

Quick and easy Airfix soldiers is what I started with. There are also flats and plexi/paper stands.

[@kurtl8425]

Plastic green army men, the backyard and dirt clod artillery is all we needed.

[@RLBndR]

Accessability and marketing are the two most important parts of getting young kids involved. Plastic green army men solves that accessibility issue. At $30 a frontage, no parent who doesn't wargame is gonna spend this much on a spring loaded wooden cannon when a star wars action figure is $4. A narrative rule book that can be sold at a book store and comes with green army men for ww2 soldiers is the best bet for kids 8+. Trying to teach wargaming to kids who just want to free play with soldiers is a disaster.

[@drewlogsdon1821]

I respectfully disagree. Consider the wooden pretend playsets sold by Melissa and Doug that run with a similar price point. Certainly, a bag of plastic green army men is the cheapest entry point, but folks will pay money for good craftsmanship. Additionally, I think the benefit of this product isn't that it's introducing wargaming to a 5 year-old, but that it's introducing concepts of wargaming to them. You have spatial awareness (how far away something is to hit it), turn-taking (I fire my cannon then you fire yours), organization (soldiers fit on a block that makes it a unit), understanding losses (two soldiers go down, remove them, now how many are left?), etc. It's the same as youth sports for that age group to a degree. You're not really focusing on the game as much as you're focusing on skills. If they consider this as fun, then they'll have a positive feedback loop as they mature from the experience.

[@stefancarter1]

Drew Logsdon I’m not sure, I think what a lot of kids do want is volume of units. I know when I was a kid a lot of my friends who later got into wargaming had larger quantities of cheap models like plastic army men that they could simulate battles with than a couple of better looking figures. I think it is predominantly adults who then have a greater appreciation for better craftsmanship as they get older and price barrier is less of an issue if you want large armies. Edit. I do get what your saying that these kind of toys are better for a much younger age at teaching the ideas found at the core of wargaming

[@kevinoconnor4582]

I think firing the Canon mixed with dice rolling could be great way to introduce kids to it. Say they fire at the unit. If the leader goes down then the unit moves 6 inches back. Roll a D6 for each fallen soldier. on 5+ the soldier comes back. When units are 30 inches away they can fire their weapons like a regular tabletop game. But without rules I don't see this going anywhere

[@RLBndR]

@@kevinoconnor4582 you are talking about stuff a non-wargaming parent doesn't have any concept about.

[@kevinoconnor4582]

@@RLBndR Well yea but if you want kids to get started in tabletop gaming you need to start them somewhere. If it was pure firing with a canon its not really tabletop gaming.

[@TheEricworthen]

when I was a kid I used nutcrackers as models and now I play nepoleonics

[@Arnkel]

There was a "boardgame" back in the 1990s called Weapons and Warriors that was this for a late medieval setting, but it came with an army, siege weapons, and some terrain pieces.

[@kevinoconnor4582]

AVGN / Board James made an episode about it

[@tabletop.will.phillips]

While I admire Patrick's enthusiasm, I think his business model only works when marketed to an over 50 crowd with a childhood affinity to wooden soldiers. Heck you see it even in his "toys of yesteryear" moniker. Kids these days (heck, even since I was a student, and I'm in my late thirties) expect greater dynamism, detail, and overall theatricality in their toy models. His anecdotal evidence does not equal solid marketing research, even though I'm encouraged his friends' kids like them. The thing I think he does have working in his favor is the large size of his toys. Bigger can definitely be better here.

[@WeLoveGlennMurray]

1/72 is the way to go - huge range of cheap and high quality miniatures

[@GerackSerack]

Yes! My father had a bunch of 1/72 napoleonics and I loved playing with them so much!

[@danmorgan3685]

I agree. For about about $12 to $14 you can get 48 models in that scale. You can paint them but that's not necessary.

[@jamesnailor6789]

Airfix 1/72 are great for getting kids into wargaming, I’m 17 and it got me into wargaming and history in general. £5 for a box of 30-40 troops which you can then expand on with models, a great toy for what is a very small initial outlay - £10 for a kid to start battling with British and German infantry for example.

[@anibalius]

Zvezda 1/72 are great. Cheap and good quality.

[@danmorgan3685]

@@anibalius Check out plasticsoldierreview.com and you'll see how much the quality of 1/72 minis have improved across the board. I think Zvezda was doing really nice work before these other companies emerged or caught up. Caesar is another good company.

[@justMikec]

My son is about the age of the authors of this video, and he began wargaming with Lego figures. Developing a set of rules for Lego figures makes great sense as there are so many of those tiny plastic minis out there already.

[@JMcMillen]

There already is one, BrikWars. It's been around for quite a while.

[@justMikec]

@@JMcMillen Hey thanks!

[@ronaldinglehart2172]

John McMillen - Also a mech game with LEGO builds. mobileframezero.com/mfz/

[@justMikec]

@@ronaldinglehart2172 . . .thanks again!

[@jimreid1511]

Definitely a cool concept! When we were kids, my brothers and I did something similar with our green plastic army men and ping pong balls. Made up our own rules. Some of my best memories with my brothers.

[@lmurp3249]

I used Airfix, Hat, italeri 1/72 mm. My boy loved it when the Romans got painted (Asterix books) and was more interested when the marbles or washers where thrown at the formations. The cannon idea is awesome. Started introducing dice for how many shots you get might move onto movement next. The interest over computer games is the time spent with Dad i think, just be ready to always having to be the baddies.

[@finndevries249]

The problem is is that today you can Just do an amazng wargame on your computer

[@orbitalair2103]

Sure, someone could. I've only seen one that I would call good, and that was decades ago. But its not the same. its just not the same as playing on a table or on the floor with other real live people.

[@3asianassassin]

The total war games are a fairly good example, but they often sacrfice historical accuracy for gameplay. Id love to try historical wargaming

[@oneMeVz]

The appeal of computers is that they give any number of units you need, quick setup, and does all of the rules for you. But I often find they're too rigid and gamey, and you're not getting that sensation of something you can see and touch in a scale that you "god" over.

[@kurtl8425]

oneMeVz computer games are also generally cheaper and take up a hell of a lot less space than miniature games.

[@naganomancer]

kids dont need wooden nutcracker soldiers to get interested. just show them a full table set up mid-game covered in normal wargame miniatures. the idea of an advanced "adult game" that theyre not supposed to touch would be enough to get their interest, and a box of $10 plastic army men will serve as low cost easily replaced/expanded/expendable units to teach them with if they show a continued interest in it. im sure you can make up quick half page rules on your own, they can probably help make them up as you go. if your kids dont have an interest in history, then take them to a battlefield, or better yet, a battlefield during a reenactment. the best way to spark an interest is to give them a tangible connection to an actual event. afterall thats how it worked for me, petersburg, and watching the history channel for the combat footage/reenactment battles while playing with plastic army men.

[@gaslightstudiosrebooted3432]

A return to the good old days of HG Wells (sans les soldats du WM Britains.).

[@mergenmergen]

For a great gateway to get kids into wargaming, Peter Dennis has a fantastic series of books from Helion & Company that are filled with beautifully illustrated armies you can photocopy, cut out and glue up. Once you buy a book, you can create armies if any size for the cost of paper and printer ink. While mainly focused on conflicts involving the British, he had released books covering the American War for Independence and the Civil War. Other eras covered include the Roman invasion of Britain, 1066, the Wars of the Roses, the English Civil War, the Peninsular War, as well as many others. Lots of historical time periods, very low cost of entry, and most books come with simple rules for easy play.

[@septimus64]

I think Legos would be a great idea

[@deepyamandas1192]

Ya

[@davidtoth8975]

There's a ruleset called Brikwars, focusing on Lego as playing pieces. It involves vehicle building rules, and it really emphasizes the modularity and variety of Lego. Really fun!

[@deepyamandas1192]

@@davidtoth8975 ya some months ago i saw it on the beyond the brick channel.

[@gabrielmarquez4029]

Was about to mention Brikwars

[@tidetight]

As a child, I used legos and such as stand ins for troop units mimicking civil war battles. I guess that would be my first venture into wargaming.

[@bpnforsyth]

I remember as a kid back in the 90s the things that got me interested was my love of history from a young age, my uncle who had a huge collection of historical minis and we would go over and fight battles and lastly I had a bunch of toy soldier sets, I don't remember who made them but they were plastic 2 inches tall and I had everything from revolution, American civil war, the alamo, and san Juan hill. between all of those things, I still have a great fondness and desire for the wargaming hobby

[@v.paulbernardinoiii4180]

I have multiple sets of Weapons and Warriors. My son at the age of 8 loved to play it. Fond memories of playing on the carpet in my study with him. He is now in college and he loves playing battletech and will "play with the tanks" when he comes home.

[@PaintedThumbVids]

I donated my remaining BattleMasters box set to a 6yo son of a friend. He was very excited at the little plastic towers and soldiers. He was ready to play and I’m sure a new miniatures gamer was born that day!

[@PaintedThumbVids]

I’m not sure if the wooden soldiers would have gotten the same response. I think 4-5yo is the right age for this. That and possibly 40yo plus market, lol!

[@averypayne9520]

Wait, $32 a box? How the heck are large scale wooden models cheaper than warhammer? Dang GW.

[@wayoutwest7]

"I got the officer! haha" lol. These are great. If I had kids, or were a kid, I would absolutely have these on my christmas list.

[@vincentstella5131]

I normally like Little Wars videos and I know they are trying to make an effort to grow the hobby but I and a number of my friends are not convinced videos like this are the way to go. Essentially, this is taking the hobby back a hundred years to its roots on gaming. You guys might be excited about it and I don't knock the product per se, but there were universal negative attitudes about this very option at our game club two weeks ago. Sorry if I sound like a wet blanket but it's better to hear the truth than pursue a weak course of action. I'm sure I'll be attacked for my/our view but I'm just being up front about it.

[@JamesX-y7d]

My start was in the early 1980s with glorious and beautiful boxes of Airfix "HO Scale" soldiers, my favorite being the American Revolution troops. My painted Grenadiers and Continentals would accompany me to piano lessons and battle on the dining room table as my sister played through her lessons. Later my brother and I would set up American Civil War battles on a painted Styrofoam train scenery that had hills and a little lake. 6 sided dice were used of course. But I like this idea "Little Wars" meshed with wooden toys and appreciate the traditional homage. I will probably buy to play with my young boys.

[@senorsombrero1275]

For me when i was a kid, i had the bright idea to just sculpt a bunch of little men out of clay and give them “spears and shields” (tooth picks and bottle caps).

[@enginetruck20]

This product is an excellent bridge for younger folks (potential gamers) who may get into the hobby. I do think the price point becomes an issue, but as with most things the quality here is sound. So you will pay a little more for that. I will say that I used to use green plastic soldiers and a rubber band gun back in the day.

[@stevensargevertessen7913]

My godson is 6 atm and i'm playing small wargames with him too. We sometimes play on a tiled floor with regular plastc miniatures. We each have a small army and we 'shoot' each other troops down with (a predetermined quatity) marbells. Movement is 1 tile per turn. Great easy start to give them a taste of wargames. I have a decent number of plastic miniatures too. We play with medieval knights at the moment. It's something my dad used to play with me, i'm just passing it on :)

[@dmwiggy7661]

Flames of War and Star Wars legions got my 10yo into wargaming

[@theofficerfactory2625]

If I wanted to field even a company per side, I am looking at roughly the same amount of money plus time for painting and such. These are already painted and come in great looking boxes. Plus they're easier to move around.

[@karstenengelmann925]

I just played a medieval toy soldier set with my three year old niece. And she was drawing battle plans! Start them start I say!

[@Anvilarm07]

I hope they sell extra cannon balls. Seriously great idea. I started playing with my father on the dining room table with simply plastic soldiers that came in cereal bags. We had maybe 20 a side and in place of a cannon we rolled a large marble across the table. You had to leave a "gap" in your line of soldiers to roll through and "friendly fire" was a danger. I remember those games very fondly.

[@michaelnewbanks2569]

My first wargaming experience was at my Uncle's house with my cousin Brian and a box of unpainted 1/72 scale plastic figures. I think we had Gauls, Germans and Celts vs Romans and 1800's British soldiers. We just rolled a die and whoever was higher knocked an opposing figure down. That battle field was littered with dead by the end. I don't remember who won but that started me on my hobby path. Years latter, after my Uncle Raymond passed away, I started making paper minis to commemorate his introducing me to this awesome hobby. Paper minis are a cheap alternative and come fully painted. Look up Peter Dennis on Amazon or Vyacheslav Batalov on Wargame Vault. These are neat looking alternatives and if the kids tear em up just print out more! Couple this with some simple rules and put on an open game at the local library.

[@VityazRD]

The best thing I had as a kid was good old Crossbows and Catapults. Rules were simple models were great. I still have mine and they make frequent appearances in D&D games, and the terrain gets used plenty in 40k

[@rangersoldat]

Looks nice, a nice product better suited for adults recreating HG Wells Little Wars. My sons introduction was 54mm plastics from Armies In Plastic. Great figures for kids, great prices, many different periods and is a great Mom and Pop Company in New York. My son enjoyed years of Gaming with me using AIP until I gave him my vintage Roco collection.

[@Walterkansas]

This really reminds me of weapons and warriors same premise but just with little plastic guys instead of wooden soldiers

[@horseface31]

I already have simple game worked out in my head and I want to get this for my 4 year old son

[@aka5707]

Let us know, I‘m doing the same

[@steveholmes11]

It's beautiful, and looks like immense fun. Downsides. A high entry cost (probably no higher than 40K) and looks as through a large table is necessary. Tactile toys certainly provide a fun alternative to digital screens.

[@slartybartfarst55]

1:51 "They Look really Sharp" Talking about Berdan's Sharpshooters I see what you did there! 😊

[@mjh8247]

These are way too nice and way way too expensive. Parents will freak when they see the figures destroyed, chewed on by dogs, &c. I had lots of plastic soldiers--roughly 28 mm scale--with accompanying vehicles, but what really got me started on the hobby was a gift I got in the hospital when I was in to get my tonsils out. My dad brought me two boxes of AirFix American Civil War infantry (one Union and one Confederate) 58 years later I still have those figures. Thus a hobby was launched Oh, I forgot. We used to flick/shoot marbles with our thumbs instead of rubber cannon balls. .

[@warrenbruhn5888]

One game that's easy to play with kids is Pulp Alley. I would love to see you guys try that one and eventually review it after a few plays.

[@raymondmorehouse]

Two recommendations: 1. Lego is awesome! and 2. Old "Weapons and Warriors" sets. My 5 and 6 year olds love them for simple wargame!

[@LittleWarsTV]

Weapons & Warriors was such a fun game! Loved firing the catapults. But yes, I think Legos would be a really good option as a toy many kids already have available.

[@ronaldinglehart2172]

I agree! LEGO is awesome! There’s actually at least one LEGO-based game system out there: mobileframezero.com/mfz/ Build mechs and have them fight - if an arm is destroyed you could actually remove it.

[@robertmastrud8124]

Im planning on once I have kids around 6 or so making my older miniatures 2mm miniatures available so that if there is an interest in the topic that they can try it but I think having something bigger may work better or catch their attention more effectively.

[@PiperStart]

The cost is minimal when compared to a ‘LEGO’ obsession or an iPhone.

[@turfdorbrittlebeard1674]

Or infinity game figures, amibo, or frickin skylanders.... ughhh how many hundreds waisted on that crap!

[@ADeniz-cm4ge]

What got me interested was that I really liked painting ww2 model soldiers and building model tanks also I loved game series like total war so I really loved this hobby at first sight

[@kodiakwdj]

Fantastic idea. I will be getting some for my grandchildren.

[@clashofminiatures]

We pay $30 us for a box of 32 un-painted 28mm ARW figure!. All this line need is some horses and a limber and a supply wagon.

[@rileyosteen6470]

The price point seems pretty high, like other folks say. The only people who’d buy this would already likely be into wargaming. Perry Miniatures does a napoleonic ‘battlefield in a box’ style boardgame with plastic terrain boards broken into square grids. Just because that’s a smaller, one-off purchase, though perhaps better for a slightly older demographic.

[@gabrielmarquez4029]

Another angle to pursue could be games like Battleground Fantasy (cards as miniatures) marketed at the CCG crowd. A lot of kids are introduced to games through Yugioh, Pokémon, and MtG. A game you could pick up in the card aisle of Target for $10 would be great.

[@gabrielmarquez4029]

Meant Battleground Fantasy Warfare

[@Flamechr]

What about some good old plastic soldier toy set and then applie some easy rules. 10 pages rulebook maybe

[@green6horn]

This is good stuff. I just like more detailed figures and Playschool does a great job with both Roman and Egyptian armies for kids. They even have some Vikings you can mix in there. Anyway, there are more options to help kids play at an early age and, yes, they come with ballistas that take the place of cannons.

[@curtiserlandson5564]

I just started wargaming in high school with Dust, a Sci Fi WWII game. For me, I played with plastic army men when I was a kid, and that is probably what sewed the seeds to not only join the Army, but get into wargaming. I went as far as to make a simple war game that is only played by my friends and I in 54mm. Online RTS games like Men of War and even War Thunder were the inspiration to make my game. The rules are free to download on my website, by the way; www.going-hot.com.

[@martinmeltzer2696]

Can plastic BB sized "canister" rounds be far behind? Looks like good stuff for the grandkids (aka "Little Kids")... I won't even mention their Fathers and Grandfather (aka "Big Kids)!

[@saifernandez8622]

Beautiful product!

[@gilmer3718]

What about Fire and Sword? Seems like they have a starter kit to get people started and also that it is gaining in popularity.

[@owowowowowowowowwowowo]

I think this is a good way but the way I came in was though PC Historical Wargaming as nothing beats having your own Battalions of Men . I’m a recent convert I started when I was 14/15 and I’m 16 now

[@davidbailey3748]

Reminds me of the Crossbows and Catapults game. Who can resist the allure of knocking down soldiers with artillery? Not even Napoleon.

[@acsmith70325]

Very good entry level wargaming crack.

[@JMcMillen]

It's kind of expensive though. $40 base price for a squad of 10 and $60 for a single cannon. That's pretty expensive entry for an entry level game. An entry level game should be 2 player playable for $50 at most.

[@LittleWarsTV]

Totally agreed. The price tag will steer many parents away. It is a pretty cool product, but it will be hard to reach a large audience.

[@get_the_lead_out]

Those look beautiful. However, I think it would be better for young kids if they were plastic instead of painted wood. You made a good point about the price being a little high for a first game. Plastic would be a lot cheaper, and more forgiving in case the young lad tosses it across the room and hits that antique lamp!

[@thomasrichardson9581]

I have been teaching five plus young teenagers to play COC, Warhammer historical and Kill team. Teach the history, teach the reason. Also give them models and show them how to paint. Give stuff away!! We all have mountains of lead sitting doing nothing. Find a home for it!!

[@joshelguapo5563]

This reminds me of atacktix which got me into miniature wargaming

[@NoobNoobNews]

What would have gotten me into wargaming would have been having more toy soldiers. A lot more. Ten is fun, but... Ten thousand would have me occupied for years. That aside, for such a young audience, the cannon needs to have balls that you cannot choke on. I would not have choked, but I know kids who would have. Little children with toy soldiers and wooden block castles are an excellent. The problem is cost. Having a large number of toy soldiers for a low price would get children into war gaming because the *parents* would look at it as a good "many toy, low cost" deal. Having a booklet with game rules for the children to open when they get older and more interested in playing a real battle would be nice. Furthermore, having these soldiers be compatible with modern wargaming rule sets would be good, as you don't need to buy new miniatures. But in short, the largest barrier is the parents. You need to sell the parents on the idea of toy soldiers. Specifically, budget minded parents. While I appreciate the historical aspect, having color-units with no historical context is very good. Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Etc. "I want to place American Revolution Today!" or "I want to play Civil War today!" or "I want to play a war between the kingdom of plooply and the President of Happystanistan at Waterloo." is something that children would do. I know because i did it. Bulk soldiers with only colors is a good start. The themed sets are also excellent. You can have Union themed sets, but also BLUE sets for bulk sale to fill out the army. You can buy a short variety of themed sets, but then also have a large number of matching bulk color sets that cross themes. Since you don't have to worry about detail on the color sets in particular, they have wider appeal and can overlap different themes.

[@sumerandaccad]

Perhaps half the size and twice as many would work

[@notentirelyanon6902]

OK, first, these are a very cool product, and I reckon one could *easily* use them to play HG Wells's Little Wars game directly with no modification. Particularly since the Parrott Rifle actually shoots. Second, while these are certainly an easy way to get kids into gaming if you're wealthy enough to own your own dedicated converted barn solely for wargaming, the price point here is still far too high to create a mass appeal for these. I'm not in any way the price isn't *justified*, only that the VAST majority of wargamers can't drop ~$200 for a couple each of Union and Confederate regiments, each with artillery support. Lots of possible alternatives in the comments here (Lego and Green Army Men being the top choices, and hard to disagree with based on price/durability/accessibility). Third, I'd really watch out on the necessity of imposing rule structures. Especially on younger children (

[@ronaldinglehart2172]

Nice video! Given the name of your channel, I’m surprised you didn’t bring up the Little Wars rules from H G Wells, which were intended for use with wooden (or lead) soldiers like those ones. They even had rules for using cannons like that one - the number of figures they knock down is the number of casualties that a shot caused. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Wars

[@astolbro7183]

I wish we would get more battle reports instead of people whining about a problem that doesnt actually exist

[@jonathanpickles2946]

When I was about 10 I used to shoot up my Airfix 1/72 Napoleonics with matchsticks from my 1/48 25 pounder.

[@jasonb1776]

That's pretty well the same with me. And good fun it was too.

[@JONFATSARNOTT]

It would've worked with me. A game with plastic army men?

[@orbitalair2103]

Neat product, hope he does well. but are these made in CA or chynah?

[@LittleWarsTV]

They are stamped "Made in America"...hence the steep price!

[@julsd6009]

this hobby is really expensive. but i like lil games like this they fun

[@oneMeVz]

American Civil War isn't exactly marketable outside of Dixie. And those chunky figures might be suited for toddlers, but I think (a kid's) finger-length height would work better and get more figure inside the box and make the price reasonable.

[@tomdesjardins6778]

An unpainted option may be the way to get more troops on the table.

[@deepyamandas1192]

As a kid,I prefer both wooden and plastic and other miniatures. but fr children,I wish legos could do good too,but wooden miniatures might be cheaper. And the thing is the children or teens many spend time playing,age of empires,Cossacks and total war,so that is good,that they could also learn tactics or have some idea,of war. But that's just my idea.

[@deepyamandas1192]

And by my account image,I really like the Napoleonic age,big battles of tens of hundreds of thousand soldiers. And great generals and leaders. And no one can forget colourful uniforms. Just the thing is that my country,india doesn't even have video game communities,wargamming is an even far expectation.

[@thewarroom9028]

Its all fun and games until someone loses an eye!

[@MrCABman1972]

To be honest I don't think anything like this will appeal to a personality that are later in life going to necessarily enjoy historical wargaming. In my opinion historical wargaming have always and will always be a maturity thing that comes as people get older, some get the interest for historical wargames earlier than others and some never do. I also don't think that the age of historical gamers are getting older either... it always was the old geezers that played historical even 30 years ago for the most part. I rather see historical gaming taking up more space at conventions than they used to, so I don't think the hobby is shrinking. I do think that maybe some developers or makers of models might see it differently but that is just because the world are more diverse and have more manufacturers than ever before of all sorts of miniatures, scales, ages and types of historical periods. The important part is to get young people into the modelling and gaming hobby to begin with and that will naturally fill up even the historical side of the hobby. Fantasy and Sci-fi simply appeal more to young people as it fills the imagination more than historical stuff. I also think that many if not most historical gamers enjoy both fantasy/sci-fi and historical gaming at the same time. My 12 year old is very interested in all thing history and old stories but in the table top he want fantasy and magic. This simply tickle his mind in a way "boring" historical thing don't to a child's imagination. Children at 10 and up is all about the story telling and imagining the things that happens and get very excited to immerse themselves. It is very hard to do with historical settings in the same way, it is way easier with fantasy and sci-fi. My son really like games such as Frostgrave, Star Wars armada and a bunch of other miniature games but don't want to even try my historical stuff even though he is very interested in the history itself as facts.

[@sweatt4237]

You know us fathers are going to buy all of it anyways.

[@rojorosa]

Those are slick.

[@roblocman6898]

Cant you use amazon army men and paint them?

[@roblocman6898]

I mean like green vs tan army men

[@emanuelgonzalez3600]

Can you do a battle with these wooded toys

[@LittleWarsTV]

Oh yes. They come on unit movement trays and I think the intent is very much that you'd fight a battle with them!

[@emanuelgonzalez3600]

@@LittleWarsTV can you guys do a review of the rule book

[@greysongaming0845]

coming from a twelve year old i think the problems are not enough people are interested in history and its expensive

[@GerackSerack]

I think paper minis would be a better bet: they're waaay cheaper than anything else, and it can cost cents to get started. The problem is the lack of good, available paper miniatures.

[@deepyamandas1192]

Yup,that's the problem,parents think their children will not like them,and will be bored fast and it will be expensive.

[@deepyamandas1192]

Nowadays most children are just like first person or third person shooter games(pubg,fortnite)even roblox and minecraft are not that famous anymore. 😕😕😕

[@michaelfurlanic3505]

Peterspaperboys are great you can even order them in book form from amazon I believe. peterspaperboys.com/

[@2smallbros711]

I am 10 and answer is yes

[@LittleWarsTV]

Haha good to hear from someone in the target age demo!

[@2smallbros711]

I wish they had a bit wider range but I will have to buy some for my club

[@steveballinger9643]

No. That’s the answer to your question.

[@grimdesaye6534]

Try shooting the ones in Blue next time:(

[@RockinL7BuckingBulls]

Marx Blue and Gray play set and a couple Daisy BB Guns. We would set up our armies across from each other digging trenches in earths works at about 1015 feet and then we would commence to shoot BB guns at said armies. Yeah occasionally you got a ricochet on in the cheek but ,that’s war and war is hell.

[@RockinL7BuckingBulls]

10 to 15 feet it should have said.

[@Corvinuswargaming1444]

Why are there comments on this that are borderline hostile and saying to give up and play video games? Wargaming offers a totally different experience and gives people a real world social outlet, which is dramatically different even from online multiplayer games. Kids will be naturally drawn in to wargames if they see adults playing them. I also see no evidence for "greying" the Team Yankee/FoW community in my area, there are people from their 20s to 30s involved

[@generalhelstrom6743]

Aren't there plenty of kids coming into miniature wargaming already? GW seems to be bounding from one record year to the next. I think the kids are alright! Instead I believe we need to focus on the thirty-somethings that we can draw over to historicals.

[@LittleWarsTV]

My feeling is that a product like this is aimed at a younger age group that those getting started in GW. But no question GW is doing a great job pulling in teenagers and above.

[@elsopas8967]

looks like something from the 20's

[@Oblomovrising]

Solution in my opinion is good quality paper soldiers.

[@ninevanillaninjas1018]

These are too large. Make them smaller and you could field both sides @half the price. My boys 7-8 yrs.old make up their own war games all the time and smaller cheaper figures is the way to go so they can create the grand scale

[@llewev]

Nope. What is needed is a more traditional teaching of battles and heroes in the school history class. That is where our generation learned about warfare so that when wargames became available, we had some idea about what historical battles were and how they were won. The woke, lefty, c**p they are taught today gives them no feel for what historical battle has been, its drama, victories and defeats. I will never forget the lessons we had in school about the Spanish Armada where the class made English and Spanish fleets out of modelling clay with masts from cocktail sticks (pre-blunted of course) and were told the story of Drake and Howard and Queen Elizabeth's speech at Tilbury and how eventually the fireships and winds battered the enemy fleet and saved our country. When you have been taught that at 10, then repeating the experience through a wargame becomes a a natural follow on.

[@geebards]

I believe this set is what seeds the idea of playing with toy soldiers and is the step before rules. You fellas are leaping too far ahead with your assumptions. I'd say this lot is for under 8 year olds. Rules and greater numbers of soldiers comes next with slightly smaller toys like 1/35 scale for example. These sets might also make for a fun muck-about 'pub' game.

[@pi8chyt]

Nice, but the question is if it does not attract older audience more out of nostalgia. I think the way to go for kids is rules to work with action figures, Legos ...

[@deeganse7961]

I want to shoot that cannon too. Love it. 😊

[@DjigitDaniel]

Why is there no conversation over the past several videos of simply developing simple rules in an appealing book that use cheap dollar-a-bag plastic figurines and other generic toys? There's no need for "miniatures". Army Men and Legion figurines, guys.

[@warrenbruhn5888]

Can anyone buy 10 painted and based 28mm figures for $32? The price of a pack of 10 unpainted and unbased 28mm figures is a substantial portion of that price. And I haven't even looked at 40mm figures. Certainly this would be aimed at the sort of people who would buy Lego or Playmobil figures, or 54mm plastic soldiers, or pre-painted Britains knights, etc.

[@wesdyer9085]

My son played endlessly with green army men and an airsoft gun in the backyard between ages 5-10, but he also played endlessly with Axis and Allies on the provided map at first with no discernible rules and later kind of following the rules. Side note -- selling confederate flags to kids and families not steeped in history might not go over well in the US in this political climate.

[@naganomancer]

if the parents would be upset over a confederate flag then they wont be buying wargaming teaching aids for their kids in the first place.

[@commanderboreal1343]

Just like HG Wells did it!

[@cosmoknight5385]

I think toys are missing the mark. Why is Historical gaming dying off? Look to how schools are no longer teaching history and even worse painting the military in a bad light. Kids are very impressionable. Something like Warhammer is probably the last hope and we have to hope they want to expand into other areas later. Sadly most know nothing of history in general let alone war so its hard to imagine them getting interested in something they have no idea about. Want to make a difference? Organize field trips to places like Gettysburg and give them knowledge. Then you can show them war gaming afterwards and they will have familiarity with the subject matter. Maybe this may spark something in them?

[@Corvinuswargaming1444]

Military history courses at universities often have to turn students away because the enrollments fill up extremely quickly. There is a great interest in military history from young people which you can see from the sheer amount of history channels on YT as well as interest in historically themed video games.

[@MrCABman1972]

Where I live history in school seem to be taught in the same manner as when I was little, at least from the books my children bring home... are you sure this is just not a gut feeling with little facts behind it?!? Schools never teach specifics anyway, you need to read thing privately or go to university and be interested in the subject to get a much in-depth knowledge of history. The responsibility if basic schools is to provide a basic understanding of history. The curriculum of school are pretty broad...

[@cosmoknight5385]

This coming from someone who is best friends with a teacher. History department is constantly on the chopping block to be defunded or cut all together. They spend 3 days on WW2 but 2 months on the 1960 cultural revolution. Maybe you should check into your schools a little more. Oh and the books mostly are assigned but rarely used other than cherry picked sections. Check out the works of Howard Zinn and the revised history they are being taught or maybe the 1619 project as well.@@MrCABman1972

[@cosmoknight5385]

From a large pool of people who paid to go not the average . Only 18% are proficient in US history and among Stanford students a whopping 88% require remedial education regarding US History. From 2012 a survey by North Carolina found 88% of teachers found history to be among the lowest priority classes they had to teach. Part of this is common core where teachers are teaching them for a test. It is so sad my friend has to teach the kids how to use a paper map, they don't understand what the symbols mean and these are 8th graders. They might like Call of Duty because its a shooter game but know little behind the reason for it.

[@MrCABman1972]

@@cosmoknight5385 First of all I don't live in the US and I have children in the school age and I have access to the books and know full well what they are taught in school and where I live it is pretty much the same thing I learned 30-40 years ago... ;) I actually have my old history books from when I was little in my attic and know. Sadly they don't get to keep books today, but most is online through computers anyway. In terms of WW2 they usually spend a few weeks or month on both great wars and the political fallout that lead up to and became of it afterword's. At least they do here. They obviously are going to be very brief in all historical periods as history is very long. Every country also have a much higher emphasis on its own country and surrounding area which make sense too. Outside Universities schools don't really teach "military" history, they just teach history which are allot more broad in its concept.

[@thilistine]

Still going to be cheaper than your standard 40k army. . .

[@LittleWarsTV]

Haha sadly true.

[@shadowtiger6956]

It’s how I started

[@mattmorin2588]

It’s less expensive than warhammer.