Balancing tips

JamesR · **Posted:** Mon Feb 17, 2014 2:23 am

So my wife has taken up playing SBG with me for a little while now, and of course with her not being the serious tactician and experienced gamer she always struggles.
She plays elves, Galadrihm almost exclusively. Typically she brings, Haldir, Legolas and quite a few elves with varying degrees of armor, bows, spears etc.
My question is simply does anyone have any ideas on how to achieve a more balanced game for her? I'm hesitant to just say "Hey lets add 50-100 points to your side" because I'm more interested in helping to teach her the subtleties of the game long term than that. I always offer advice while list-building and when there's a chance for a key Heroic Strike or the like I present the choices available and what I would recommend based upon the situation, but the games are still always one-sided.

I'm unsure how to help keep the playing-field level enough to not cause her to lean on a crutch so-to-speak, while offering a tactical advantage to give her the edge from the get-go. Any advice would be welcome.

*Note: We always play Death-match type games with at-least 24" apart to begin, gives her elven bows their greatest advantage against any of my regular armies (Harad, Goblins or Dwarves).

Hodush · **Posted:** Mon Feb 17, 2014 4:24 am

Play more scenarios, they are a lot more fun. Giving that 50-100 points more is probably the best option, you can still teach the subtleties that way, particularly if you are using all the special rules and she isn't. Can't think of too much else other than a 6 to hit is an instant or +1 to wound.

Erunion · **Posted:** Mon Feb 17, 2014 4:42 am

I second Hodush's suggestion. Many of the scenarios are quite a lot of fun, and although the forces aren't always evenly balanced, the Victory Conditions make it possible for either side to win the game. Also, you might be able to get her to branch out and try some different forces (and maybe find one that fits her playstyle better) by playing the scenario twice and swapping sides after the first game.

My most frequent opponent is my 10-year-old son, and I often have to dial back my "strategery" to at least give him a chance. I do this by taking fluffy rather than tuned army lists, use troop types that are considered sub-optimal, and whenever he makes a tactical error I explain why it was not the wisest choice and give him a chance to correct this. He's already got the basics of the game down, and is (just) beginning to pick up some of the finer nuances of the game.

Dr Grant · **Joined:** Fri Aug 03, 2012 1:50 pm **Posts:** 1339

Great suggestions above. You could also try weakening your force, if goblins no Gundabads, Marauders or Shamans, if Harad no Watchers, Corsairs, Abrakan Guard, if Dwarves no D7+ models (except heroes), no Durin's folk front line with Warriors of Erebor behind etc. Hell, you could even take your dreaded Grimhammers and see if you can win with them :-)

That way the game's still even (so if she wins it's not because she had more points, your wife will have more chance and you will find the game more challenging, it'll also probably be fun for you to use a slightly different list.

Might work?

Balancing tips

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