Three player games

[Soap]

Does anyone have any three player scenarios? Forces playing at the moment are IG vs Eldar vs IG (one IG will be changing to ork soon though). Each force will be 500pt too 1000pt.

Any surgestions will be appretiated. Thanks.

[Lt. Erwin]

Well, the obvious answer would be to team up two of you, and let the 3rd have twice as many points. Another idea-

2 players fight a regular battle with larger forces, while the 3rd tries to achieve his own objective(such as capturing one particular point, or making sure both side's HQs die/survive.)

[Kommissar Orren]

You can have just a 3-way battle. 3 commanders with 3 forces of equal points, dividing the table in some new way to allow this. Maybe some sort of triangles? Or dividing it into 3 equal sections? It won't be perfect, and one player may be stuck in the middle, but it will be 3 players.

[The Envoy (AWOL)]

Wasn't there an old 3 player scenario in one of the rulebooks? It was actually kind of interesting because it had rules for firing into combats not dealing with your own troops and other such things.

[Rolling Thunder]

If you have 3 good players, it's class. Just ask Lupus. Anj, he and myself wound up fighting a massed 1,000 points each game on a 4' by 4' table, resulting in a glorious slaughter of men and capricious destruction of material on all sides. In short, it was class.

[Adam Selene]

Try this: get a 5 by 5 table and put a big fort ect in the middle have at least three players all with 2,000 points (you can have more players, I've been in a battle that had five).

All players roll off, whoever rolls highest sets up anywhere on the table (though i suggest in the fort).

At the start of the first turn all other players roll a D6, 5+ and their whole army comes on from any side they pick (deep strikers and infultraters go now but can be on the opposite side as normal), next turn a 4+ then a 3+ ect.

The game ends when only on player has any models left or you run out of coffee.

[Soap]

Thanks for the ideas guys. Think I'll try that fort idea.

We had a 500pt game the other day, but terrain was a problem. Ended up with my two mates shooting each other with me in the crossfire but in cover. Happy to say I killed the most troops with least losses lol. Victory by my standards

[fortytwo]

The problem I've noticed in a 3 person game is that a player usuaully gets screwed on the first turn. For example, player one and two focus on player 3, and by the time his turn comes around half his army is gone. Also, if you stick to a normal turn rotation, by the time player 3's second turn comes around, he's doubly screwed.

I've been thinking about a way to have all players act at the same time, like everyone shoots at once, then figure out wounds. But there's plenty of problems with that, too. If two people want to move at the same spot, how do you work that out? Is running done before, during, or after shooting? Who gets priority during assaults?

Also, a hexagon table would work well for 3 people, each taking a triangular wedge and leaving a wedge between armies.

[Gabriel Lupus]

I heard me mentioned... (don't worry, I'm just as confused as to how I 'heard' it...)

RT is absolutely right - three ways work splendidly. Granted you would generally need 'good' (sportspersonly and fun) players. Then you'll find that there is very little if any "ganging up" and it'll be arguably one of the most fun games you'll play.

As for combat, just conduct the combat if the person who's turn it is is involved in it.

*goes glassy eyed as he reminices over the slaughter that unfolded...*

[hudderschris]

I hosted a 3 player game the other night...

It wasnt great tbh.

Assaulting 3 way seems impossible so shouldnt be allowed. We allowed firing into assaults if not involved with hits more likely to go on the unit with more models - dreads counted as 4.

Outflanking wasnt allowed

We tried doing it dawn of war style but you do need a bigger table than the normal as it was too easy to get close to the enemy in the 1st turn.

We wont be trying it again tbh

[Rolling Thunder]

Yeah. We managed it on a 4' by 4' table with 3 1,000 point armies. A collective total of two Valks, a Vend, and between 5-6 chimeras if I remember correctly. We didn't come across any three-way assaults or tried to fire into assaults, we didn't really have any problems at all.


Basically, it's about having decent people to play with.

[Soap]

With reference to ganging up...

Maybe after each player has had a turn players should re-roll to see who begins the next turn. Damage limitation if the the one who is being ganged up on gets to begin the following turn and gets a unleash some fire power.

[WestRider]

Make a marker for each Player. Put them in a cup or something. Draw for Turn Order each Turn, re-drawing if you end up with someone getting two Turns in a row.

Assaults are only resolved if the acting Player has a Unit involved in them. I.e. on Player A's Turn, a Close Combat that only involves Units from Players B and C wouldn't be worked out that Assault Phase.

Working out the Deployment Zones is really the tricky part, and I've not yet seen a truly good way to do it. In almost every case I've seen, one Player gets either double-teamed or left almost completely out of the action.

[Inquisitor Macala]

I ran a three way scenario, between my Guard and Inquisition, versus Orks, and Chaos Marines. We deployed with The Orks and My Imperials on the short board edges, and had the Chaos Space Marines deploy in the center of the mess in heavy cover. It worked really well, prolly because despite the fact that the CSM were in the middle, my Guard were forced to get in the CC with the frakkers, and the Orks were actually forced to shoot at them, because the CSM stopped up the gaps with termies. xD

It really depends on who the players are, what armies they have, and what the advantages and disadvantages are. Try forcing the players who would end up teaming up into deployment zones that handicap them. Put Guard and Tau in open ground, with whoever's in the middle in the best defendable zone.