I bought both the bundles - M&M and HoMM - in the last hour of the sale and have done some superficial research into how these games and their worlds are related. Now that I have all these games what would be the best order to play them in and how much does it matter which order I play them in ? I've read somewhere on GOG that M&M 6-8 take place in the same gameworld as HoMM 2-3 but that all the other games, for various reasons, don't belong in this category. I may have already got this muddled up in my mind but there are a lot of games to play here and since I'll be starting at the beginning with no prior experience it would help to have some guidance.

I don't intend to play M&M1 or 2 or HoMM1. I feel bad about this but from what I've read it isn't necessary to play these games in order to enjoy all the sequels.

Take a look at this post at Celestial Heavens - it explains a history of series and shows the order of the games.

Thanks, much appreciated. i really want to play a HoMM title first because I usually play one "adventure" type game (whether this be an RPG or an FPS or whatever) plus one strategy game at any given time. This is just how I like to play games, but if playing a HoMM game is going to spoil playing the early M&M games (i mean 3,4 &5) then I won't do it.

There isn't really much to spoil. The story is not all that important in the games; the gameplay is. It's really up to yourself how much emphasis you will put on the story.

MM3-5 are the most accessible of all the games in the bundles. They have a nice, crisp graphics, a good UI and combat is simple and quite easy. So MM3 is a good start, although I personally prefer MM1-2 for their superior tactical combat and higher difficulty.
You don't miss that much by skipping HoMM1, so HoMM2 is also a good start.

Okay thanks, this information all helps me. I don't know what to expect really (I'm a gamer since '79 so I'm ready for the kick in the eyes I think) but I know how much this series is loved and decided to go for both bundles just before the sale ended. I don't know if I'll get round to playing them all but the fun people have obviously had with them sold them to me (plus the ridiculous sale prices and the general DRM-freeness of course). I installed HoMM2 (DOSBox version) last night and it runs fine but then I've seen folk saying that the Windows version (also included by GOG) is better, so maybe I'll have to install that instead. I'm thinking of asking God whether he can give me an extension to my time on earth - maybe 50 years - so that I actually have a chance of playing all the games I've bought :)

From what you've said, I would suggest playing:

Heroes 2 (expansion optional, it has no plot connection)
Might and Magic 6
Heroes 3 (Restoration of Erathia)
Might and Magic 7
Heroes 3 (Armageddon's Blade)
Might and Magic 8
Heroes 4

That gets you a nice sequence of alternating games, in chronological order. Two notes to make. First, I have skipped the Shadow of Death expansion for Heroes 3, which takes place before Restoration of Erathia. However, it is the hardest expansion and was released last, so I wouldn't recommend playing it early on. Second, Might and Magic 7 in particular makes some references to Might and Magic 3 and 4&5. I do like the alternating setup, though, and I don't want to break up the 6-8 trilogy only so that you'll recognize some of the names in 7.

So if I wanted to start by playing HoMM2 would this potentially spoil M&M 3,4 or 5 for me ? I'm playing FNV at the moment and intend to play Thief Gold next, so ideally I would prefer to start with HoMM rather than M&M, but if playing HoMM2 (for instance) would ruin or spoil my experience of playing M&M 3,4 or 5 then I would embark on M&M (3,4 or 5) before HoMM. It's a tricky situation, not knowing the history of the series in advance (at least in outline). I thank you for your list, I may well follow that order :)

Edit : FNV = Fallout New Vegas. I mentioned it because I'm playing it at the moment and I prefer to play only one RPG / adventure type game at the same time. I don't mind playing two strategy games at the same time, however.

Sorry, double edited : I got my logic confused. I hope my edited post makes sense.

Frankly, between M&M and HoMM, the order doesn't really matter. They are two entirely different styles of games. You can think of Might and Magic as your classic first-person RPG in the genre of Eye of the Beholder, or Baldur's Gate or Ultima where you take a party of adventurers through a world and dungeons. Basically a computer simulation of Dungeons and Dragons.

HoMM is a different animal. Its more of an army/resource building series of games. More along the line of the original Warlords or Warlords II Deluxe (of course its also very similar to the original King's Bounty - created by the same creator, I think of them as sequels). In some ways its like Civilization only considering the army building and war aspects. More of a strategic war game with fantasy heroes.

The M&M RPGs have much more story to them while HoMM is the story is more of a patched explanation between scenarios. Although for the most part, the stories of each game are self-contained and are separate from the rest of the series. I can't think of anything at all that would spoil any previous game if they were played even completely out of order.

Hope this helps!

Message understood. I think I now have enough information to go on. Thank you very much :)

Just to clarify, I'm fairly certain that the Heroes series will not spoil anything from MM3-5. It wasn't until MM6 that the RPG games were set in the same place as the Heroes series, and while MM6 does have a few references to some of the earlier RPGs, there aren't any spoilers. They're more like little bonus details that you'll notice if you've played the earlier games.

Having said that I've only played some parts of Heroes 2 so I don't know the full stories of the Heroes series.

This all helps, thanks. I've read number of threads on this but I wanted to be sure that I wouldn't be spoiling the experience for myself by playing HoMM2 before M&M 3,4 or 5. I just wanted an idea of where to start. From what I've read HoMM2 + 3 and M&M 6,7 and 8 take place in a different world than M&M 3,4 & 5. It's pretty confusing to the uninitiated to be honest !

The joy of the Might and Magic series is that your characters are Joe Schmo from the backwoods barbarian people on a planet that isn't very civilized or cultured. But your characters are so great that they get involved in things going on between ultra-awesome-space-faring-super-beings. That's why things happen on different worlds. They're different worlds, but the same universe. The sci-fi setting stuff is what connects them all together.

If you play HoMM, you'll be playing in and around events of M&M 6 and 7. But if you play them out of order, you'll be able to fill in the gaps.

I wasn't so hot on MM1, 3, 4 or 5. I loved 2, 6 and 8. (i'll probably like 7 -- it's my next game on my Might and Magic list). Even though I've played them all out of order, the things spoiled aren't that big of a deal. The games really are more about the gameplay and the experience than the plot twists.

I'd recommend starting wherever you feel like starting (you said M&M 3 and HoMM 2). And if you get sick of a game, move on. I spent 11 years with M&M2 on and off. I did end up finally beating it, but it was a joy just playing it and finding all of its secrets. Some of the M&M games are really, really long (500 hours). And like you said, your time is limited on this earth. So if you get tired of it, look up its ending and move on.

It's a great series. I hope you enjoy it.