Did You See These Wargame Deals for the Holidays?

"Run for the hills! The Holidays are upon us!" No need to panic. I've been keeping an eye out for hobby game specials and deals, especially around the Black Friday to Cyber Monday crunch and collected them here.  Have you seen any other great gift ideas to add to my suggestions?

Black Friday and Christmas Deals

• Miniature Building Authority (Ends Nov 23): A few items are on sale at Miniature Building Authority, Black Friday only.
• Osprey Publishing 25% Off (Ends Nov 23): Black Friday only, Osprey is offering 25% all of their titles, but I think Amazon offers a similar discount every day plus grants free shipping on orders of $25 or more.
• Mantic's Christmas Crazy Box (Ships Late November): Mantic has thrown a grab bag of plastic sprues including orcs, zombies, skeletons, sci fi terrain, vehicles and more for only 25 pounds (about $40 US)
• Brookhurst Hobbies Black Friday to Cyber Monday Sale (Ends Nov 26): Wow! Tons of stuff slashed for online orders. Tumbling Dice, Peter Pig, Xyston 15% off or more. Rules of Engagement 28mm WWII figures 40% off, Clash of Empires rules, SHQ, 50%, plus more on sale. Check it out!
• The Warstore Black Friday Sale (Ends Nov. 26): Enter the code "Black Friday" and receive 5% off all orders at the Warstore, plus tons more on sale! Free sprues and tanks on Battlefront orders! Free figures with MERCs orders! Bits Bags! Tons of stuff!
• Brigade Games 10% Off Orders of $30 or More (Ends Nov 26): Just enter code "TURKEY" on online orders through Brigade Games site, plus FREE shipping on orders of $100 or more.
• Cool Stuff Inc, 10% Off (Ends Nov 26): Enter promo code BF2012 on Cool Stuff Inc for 10% their card, board, and collectible miniatures.
• Indus 20% Off (Ends Nov. 30): Indus produces 28mm figures from India's 15th to 19th centuries, now on Black Friday discount.
• Army Transport 10% Off (Ends Dec 1): Army Transport carrying cases are snug homes for your little men. 
• Newline's Pre-Christmas Sale (Ends Dec 1): 25% off all Newline Designs ranges, Outland Miniatures Figures and 19th Century Miniatures. (Excludes Army and Bargain Packs.)  Some good looking Dark Ages, Late Roman and Biblicals.
• Fantasy Flight Games Holiday Sale (Ends Dec 3): Lot of stuff on sale, but in particular, Wings of War planes $5 each, Tanhauser prepainted figures $5 each. Tons of games including Battlelore expansion, Letter of Marque, and Tide of Iron on sale.
• Architects of War Free Shipping (Ends Dec 25): Free shipping on orders over $50 to continental United States. Lots of great terrain, SAGA armies and rules, classic DnD figures from Otherworld, Warlord Games, Perry, you name it. If you need Warlord items, this deal is better than Warlord's Free Worldwide shipping which is only available for orders over $75. 
• Ebor Miniatures Free Shipping (Ends Dec 21): Not my periods (WWI and War of Spanish Succession), but Ebor produces handsome figures, and you can't beat FREE international shipping.
• Legio Heroica 20% off orders of €40 (about $50) or more + shipping (Ends Dec 21) : Great little 15mm figures, lots of late medieval and renaissance miniatures, now 20% off. 
• Wargames Foundry Christmas Special! Is Canceled!: For years I've heard of Foundry's legendary Christmas specials. I was finally ready to take advantage of it this year, but Foundry is under new management and they've decided to cancel the special in favor of lowering the prices of their figures year round. They ARE having a Warhammer 40K Rogue Trader tournament on Dec. 15, with free "alpha 40K" sci fi fishmen with laser guns figures for participants. There will even be tea and biscuits. It all sounds lovely, but I do not live in England.

Big Box Wargame Gift Guide

There's something nice about finding that big box of goodies under the tree at Christmas (even if most gamers need to put that box there themselves).  I've found a handful of boxed sets that any hobby gamer would be happy to open up. Even if these aren't your usual cup of tea, there's no better way to start a new period than a big box of two opposing armies and rules.

Bolt Action: Assault on Normandy ($96 + Free Shipping): Warlord Games 28mm WWII set includes 20 U.S. Army figures and 20 German Heer, the Bolt Action rules in hardback, a ruined farmhouse, and dice. Great deal for a fun set of rules and great miniatures. Outside of the UK you'll want to get your orders in by Dec 4th - 6th depending on where you are in the world. UPDATE: The Warstore is offering this for $73.99, with an additional 5% off during their Black Friday weekend sale (coupon code "Black Friday").

Flames of War Open Fire! ($68 + Free Shipping from Amazon) : The new Flames of War plastic starter set is by all accounts a great way to get into 15mm WWII gaming. 118 miniatures (U.S. and German), V-1 flying bomb, a quickstart guide, Flames of War rulebook, dice, tokens and cardboard terrain.

For King & Country Pike & Shotte Starter Set ($96 + Free Shipping) : Includes the "Pike & Shotte" rulebook adapted from the popular Black Powder rules, and 82 miniatures - including 12 cavalry.

Hail Caesar Conquest of Gaul ($96 + Free Shipping): Man, I love Hail Caesar. This is a great way to pick up the rules and get into the game. The boxed set contains 94 miniatures, 30 Romans plus a scorpion and crew, and 60 celts. I really like the Warlord celts, and you can never have too many.

Samurai Battles ($49.99 from The Warstore while supplies last): A big box chock full of miniatures with two rules sets: Zvezda's Art of Tactics plus Richard Borg's popular Command and Colors rules. The 20mm scale figures could also be used as the basis of a tabletop samurai army. Also available from Amazon for $59 plus Free Shipping.

DARK VENGEANCE Warhammer 6th Edition Starter Box ($87 + Free Shipping from Amazon): A friend of mine picked this up and I was able to take a look at this newest Warhammer 40K boxes set. Say what you will about Games Workshop's corporate practices, they know how to make a mean wargame. This set is chock full of minis: Dark Angels space marines, bikes, characters and their enemies, chaos cultists and marines plus an enormous chaos beasty. Plus, rules, dice, markers and other goodies. Great stuff, and like catnip to younger wargamers who've been raised on sci fi and fantasy movies and comics. Also on sale for $89 from The Warstore.

X-Wing Miniatures Game ($29 + Free Shipping from Amazon, but you'll want two sets so more like $58)  : X-Wing seems to be the new hotness this year. I've noticed the same sort of buzz for X-Wing that I saw a few years ago for SAGA. The rules seems simple, fun with enough tactical decisions to make it interesting. The miniatures are detailed, and there are expansion packs with new ships and cards to expand the game. From whatI understand you'll want to copies of the core set though, both for the extra ships as well as the bonus dice. It's also more cost effective to buy a second core set rather than bonus packs for an X-Wing and Tie Fighters.

Mantic Starter Paint Set (£9, about $14 + 20% shipping to U.S, 10% Europe from North Star) : This isn't a Holiday special, but a great deal on 9 paints from Mantic, plus 6 plastic miniatures for £1 per bottle! This is an awesome way to get a new hobbyist a set of basic paints.