The Joy of Making “Pew-Pew” Sounds
By Marc Q
I’ve spent some time on The Blue Castle Blog talking about the deep and diverse hobby of painting, but to some extent this was a conscious decision to put the cart before the horse. It’s time to talk about the war horse.
Miniature wargames are a completely distinct genre from “wargames,” despite sharing a common history. Way back in 1913, H.G. Wells, author of the Time Machine, wrote a formalized set of rules for playing with toy soldiers (using a spring-loaded cannon) called Little Wars. It was a pretty basic thing, but was intended very much for adults to play and enjoy. It included artillery, cavalry, infantry, and rules for terrain, charging, and even morale. The idea was to provide a semi-realistic way to push toys around that would be both enjoyable and strategic, and it has spawned hundreds, if not thousands, of games in a huge variety of settings, genres, and levels of complexity!
So with long and noble roots, how do we help people find a game they’re going to enjoy? It’s not an easy task, but there are a few things that can help us steer you in the right direction.
We can’t talk about miniature wargames without talking about the industry’s goliath, Games Workshop. The unfathomable success of their titles, specifically the grimdark sci-fi Warhammer 40K and the grimdark fantasy Age of Sigmar. Unfortunately, due to our rock-bottom pricing, we aren’t allowed to put any of the gorgeous models, rule books, paint, or accessories they manufacture on our website. What I can tell you is that if you want a miniatures game that you can play almost anywhere on earth, Games Workshop has you covered. There are entire conventions dedicated to GW, including painting competitions, skirmish games, and massive sprawling multi-day events with dozens of players on a side. If huge events and complicated rules sound overwhelming, recent pushes towards smaller (and cheaper!) games have made it even easier for new players to hop into the hobby! As a suggestion check out Kill Team (a smaller scale, skirmish based, WH40K game) or Underworlds (a fantasy version of Kill Team).
However, Games Workshop isn’t the only publisher of wargames with tactical maneuvers involving pretty pieces of plastic. Some will focus more on deep strategy, or faster play, or more chaotic combat… let’s talk about alternatives!
One of the best rules for any wargame I’ve played in decades is the spectacular Song of Ice and Fire designed by CMON. The highly detailed, cost-effective models are colour-coded to each faction (the Starks are dark grey, the Lannisters are red, the Boltons are brown, etc) which helps differentiate sides without having to paint your models, and also helps the game look breathtaking right from the get-go. On top of that, the models hold paint extremely well! The game itself has two areas of combat: the field of war, where your Baratheon heavy cavalry will charge Free Folk Giants or attempt to outmaneuver Targaryen dragons, and the political arena. This is where your diplomats, politicians, assassins, and royalty will, in parallel with the battle, impact the war with their intrigue, backstabbing, and deal-making. This additional layer adds enormous variety to the game, as well as some fascinating depth to each army. The design team at CMON releases periodic updates and rebalancing, and there is a small (but growing) tournament scene!
But what if you prefer your wizards to have laser swords, and your heavy infantry to be furry beasts wielding crossbows that fire bolts of pure energy? My personal favourite miniature game these days is Star Wars Legion, one of the many miniature games made by Atomic Mass Games. With five factions, the game oozes with style, and it feels just like your own little slice of the Star Wars universe. The models are authentic, the rules are solid (they just released an updated core ruleset to make the game more streamlined and faster, and they even cleaned up a few rules I thought were clunky!), and the community is friendly and fantastic. Plus, where else are you going to be able to use Ahsoka Tano leading a heroic charge of Clan Wren Mandalorians against Asajj Ventress backed up by a horde of B1 Battle Droids? Or perhaps a little time-warping with Anakin Skywalker and his 501st Clone Troopers against Darth Vader at the head of a swarm of Blizzard Force Snowtroopers?
If anyone is curious, I play Galactic Republic and Rebels.
Other than those, there are a few other popular wargames we carry here at J&J’s. Battletech is a reliable classic with massive stompy robots, awesome miniatures, and rules as light or deep as you’d like (I play Steiner, Aurigan Reach, and Clan Wolf). If you want to smash a hundred tonnes of weaponized robot into your opponent, this is definitely the game for you, and the new Alpha Strike rules let you play absolutely massive battles with tanks, hovercraft, artillery, and air support in a fraction of the time.
Star Wars Shatterpoint and Marvel Crisis Protocol both work on a smaller scale with lighter rulesets. They are designed to be silly, fast, and exciting. Defined by their flexible and well-balanced scenario play, they also have access to some of the biggest franchises in the world. Both Shatterpoint and Crisis Protocol are great for players who want smaller collections of models but who also want to throw cars or drop a building on their enemies.
I’ll do deeper dives on each of my favourites in later blog posts, but for now, that gives you a starting point for getting into the hobby!
Happy gaming, everyone!