I have recently taken an interest in the Might and Magic series, 6-7-8 in particular, but I was wondering if I should start with M&M8 and then progress through the games in backward order. I did the same with the Elder Scrolls series, starting with Oblivion, then Morrowind, then Daggerfall and greatly enjoyed that series as a result. Would that idea also work with Might and Magic or is there a reason to play them in chronological order?

not really there isn't much need to play them in order, while M&M 1-5 have a connecting story it's fairly bare and is just there to tie them together and Might and Magic 7 does reference Might and Magic 3 but the game fills you in on it when you reach that point. From a Gameplay standpoint when it comes to 6-8 they play the same so no need to worry about it.

from what I remember of my sojourn through the M&M games many years ago... There's not a lot that would require you to play in any specific order... 1-5 have an overarching story arc, but it's fairly weak... in fact, I generally forgot that the stories were connected by the time I moved on from one game to the next...

I'd recommend 7. 6 is a bit bigger and has larger dungeons, but it also has really tedious encounters where it throws tons and tons of enemies at you, 7 hits the sweet spot better imo. I wouldn't start with 8, as it's kind of a different twist on the series.

Like yyahoo, I don't think that you should neglect the earlier games--I know a lot of people consider 6 and 7 to be true classics, but I've always felt that it was all downhill after World of Xeen. But if you must, probably just start with 6. 8 is a poor starting place; it's not a great game (not terrible, but not great), and its class system is different from the system in any of the other games, so it's not going to give you a good taste for the series.

Start with the Mandate of Heavens (Might and Magic VI)

otherwise , the Episode IV and V offer a very long experience (the story is connected iirc)

I would play World of Xeen plus Swords, that's it. 6 onward were meh

^This

Thank you all for your input. It's greatly appreciated. Now where did I put my wallet? :)

Why?

I would recommend starting with 3. It is quite easy to get into, and still very fun. I found 6 to be the weakest game in the series, of the ones I've played (except for possibly 1, which I could not get into. Not played 2 or 9)

WHY

From these three, I'd recommend starting with MM6, as it offers the most, I think.