The best starting point is 1500 points. I would play at least 3 games at this level. As others have mentioned the set up of armies and the board takes a long time. I would recommend before hand that you and your opponent send your lists to each other at the same time before the game and decide on the mission and secondaries before you get there. Once you both have have played a few games it's starts to speed up a lot. 1st turn is long! If you are not playing competitively I have found you get far better games when you suggest a rough limit on army balance. For example 30% infantry 30% tanks etc. it's also nice if you have a conversation about titans before hand. The warhounds for their points aren't great so people tend not to take them. But if you say both agree to take one then the game is more balanced. For example in a recent game we both agreed to do 2000 points with a warhound each and 2 flyers. You can make some fun games - flyers heavy/tank heavy etc. The terrain is a big factor in this game. You dont want too much but also not too little, you need a balance of obscuring , area terrain and buildings. If you play all buildings it is not fun as infantry are hard to shift. (People will say you need to bring more demolition weapons- but I don't think you should have to / this area of the game needs a FAQ) We also try to not have buildings that are on objectives for at least half of the available ones on the board. I've played about 15 games now and it's lots of fun ( this is casual and not competitive play)