Miniatures wargames have been an incredibly popular hobby for decades and still remain so today. These games use figures of varying sizes to represent units and characters in armies battling it out in tactical engagements. Some of the most popular wargames include the Warhammer franchise, both the fantasy line Age of Sigmar and the sci-fi line Warhammer 40k, and Star Wars: Legion.
Unfortunately, these games carry hefty price tags, with starter sets running between $50 and $100 and expansions running a pretty penny as well. For players who want to get into the tactical wargaming hobby but can't afford to buy into the more popular games, there are plenty of indie rulesets that are designed to be extremely accessible.
5 Space Weirdos Is An Exceptionally Easy To Learn Sci-Fi Game
Billed as a "skirmish heartbreaker," Space Weirdos from Garske Games is an extremely rules-light system that seeks to pull the best features from years of miniatures rules and combine them in a sleek, easy to play game. It encourages players to use figures they already have lying around, from other miniatures games, from board games, or even from the toybox.
The rulebook is a scant 16 pages, and it also includes a fully-fledged solo mode with random tables to govern enemy movement. Space Weirdos is the perfect system for anyone who has been curious about miniatures games, but never really knew how to get into the hobby. It is extremely easy to build small warbands with the intuitive point-buy system. For just five bucks, Space Weirdos is a perfect low-budget miniatures game to keep on hand.
4 Grimdark Future Offers A Satisfying Amount Of Crunch
Though a bit more mechanically complex than other indie wargames, Grimdark Future by One Page Rules is a great option for those who might have some experience with wargaming or who feel like they want a crunchier experience. The basic game assumes large units of five to ten models per unit, meaning that players will need to have quite a few tokens of some kind on hand. Fortunately, One Page Rules offers a starter kit with small paper tokens to represent characters, terrain, and the various status effects used in the game.
There are 28 different army lists to choose from, from the Robot Legions to the Battle Brothers to the Ratmen Clans. These armies are intentionally analogous to the factions in Warhammer, making it easy to use any models from that game that players might have lying around. The rules for Grimdark Future and its smaller-scale counterpart Grimdark Future: Firefight are available completely for free on One Page Rules' website, making them a great way to dip a toe into the hobby before making an investment.
3 Five Parsecs From Home Is A Solo Narrative Experience
This "adventure wargame" takes a step closer to RPG while still being firmly rooted in the wargaming genre. Unlike many other miniatures games, it is designed with solo play in mind. Players create a band of scoundrels and underdogs trying to scrape out an existence on the fringes of galactic civilization. Random tables help generate missions, adversaries, and rewards, allowing the player to string together a series of encounters into a loose storyline.
Since it is designed with a campaign in mind, the gameplay in Five Parsecs From Home is less reliant on pushing blindly towards victory, and the player will sometimes find it more prudent to run and fight another day than to risk it all. Like man indie miniatures games, it uses any kind of figures the player has on hand. Five Parsecs is a sci-fi game, but for the fantasy fans out there, Modiphiüs entertainment has published Five Leagues From the Borderlands, a similar premise in a fantasy setting.
2 Mobile Frame Zero: Rapid Attack Lets Players Build Their Own Mechs
RPG fans might be familiar with the Mobile Frame Zero name from the narrative game Mobile Frame Zero: Firebrands, but Rapid Attack by D. Vincent Baker is a tactical miniatures game set in the same universe. It is a game about mech battles, and it uses building toys like LEGO, Mega Bloks, or model kits to help create an exceptionally modular experience.
Players can design their mechs down to the exact loadout of sensors, communications, armor, shields, and weapons, as well as their company. Since it is played with buildable models, combat can actually remove parts from the individual units, resulting in a battlefield scattered with damaged mech parts. In addition to exceptionally in-depth combat rules, Mobile Frame Zero: Rapid Attack features a wealth of setting information and lore that will help satisfy those who want their minis games to have a little more story.
1 Gaslands Is Post Apocalyptic Vehicular Chaos
While many miniatures games feature armies engaging in person-to-person combat, Gaslands from Osprey Wargames pits drivers against one another in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. In a world where Earth is has been ruined, the wealthy living on Mars tune in every Saturday to watch the televised competitive driving show Gaslands, with drivers competing with one another for corporate sponsorship and the chance to escape the dangerous life.
Players are encouraged to customize toy cars, like Hot Wheels or Matchbox cars, and add all manner of guns, armor, and accessories. In addition to playing out individual scenarios, Gaslands and its several free supplements include rules for playing out a whole season of television, with audience votes and winnings contributing to a team's performance across the season. Gaslands is a frenetic game that handles vehicular combat extremely well, allowing players to shoot, smash, and ram their way to victory. Since toy cars are incredibly easy to get ahold of, the bar of entry for Gaslands is next to nothing.
NEXT: 10 Cheap Board Games To Play If You're On A Budget
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