It was snotlings who pulled me into this hobby. It all started with a packet of ‘Goblinoids’ Citadel Combat Cards. I loved the look of every miniature in that deck (I’m not even sure I knew that they were miniatures at that point), but I was particularly taken by the loveable trio of Snoti, Fungus, and Bogi Dungbreath.
Fast forward a year or so, and I spot a copy of White Dwarf in my local newsagents. It’s issue 166 (October 93), and I’m excitedly flicking through the pages, wondering what whole new universe I’ve just discovered. I get to the mail order pages at the back and I can’t believe what I’m seeing.
Snotlings!
Ten minutes of pleading with my mum and we’re on the bus home with the magazine open in front of me. It would be a year or two yet before I’d actually own any snotlings of my own, but at least I now knew what they were, where they came from, and that you could collect them.
When I did finally get my own base of snotlings, I probably did the worst ever job of all my childhood miniatures. The base was the wrong way round (it seemed logical because the snotlings fitted into the little holes), and I dunked the entire thing in sand once they were all glued in. It looked absolutely hellish.
I got more of them further down the line, and my job on them wasn’t much better. Fortunately, some of those snotlings survived the sands of time (if not the sands of basing), and I recently had the opportunity to strip them and try to make them presentable for the first time in their long lives.
I’ve been building a goblin warband led by Jareth from The Labyrinth, and these guys will slot nicely into his greenskin ranks.
I also have a Nurgle warband and was happy with the way my Nurglings turned out. It inspired me to get cracking with the snotlings and do something similar.
I’ve used large round bases for them – the entire warband are on rounds – and added some 3D-printed mushrooms and toadstools I bought on Etsy.
There are also a couple of new miniatures in the mix. The two goblins with the standard come from Knightmare. The wee snake-charming goblin was a free gift with an order from somewhere, but I can’t for the life of me remember where. If you know where it’s from, please let me know.
I’m looking forward to finishing off the basing and getting them undercoated. I’ll use this post to provide updates and fresh pictures when I have them.
I got some Armada-appropriate sized MDF bases from Warbases and used Vallejo Plastic Putty to create the sea effect.
I’m using the Asurmen Blue contrast paint on the water, dry brushed with my old pot of Skull White. That’s also a mid-90s Regal Blue around the edge.
Being a narrative gamer, I’m taking lead from Henry Hyde’s Imagi-Nations and creating my own European seafaring nation from the age of sail – Maritonia.
That means coming up with a bit of background fluff and naming each ship. Maybe even the Admiral and Captain of each ship, too.
I have a rival fleet to paint now, alongside my ongoing 15mm armies project. But I’m now more than 50% towards getting a game of naval combat on the table. I am looking forward to it.
We’re over a month into 2024 already, and I managed to get a few things done and finished in January.
Perhaps the most notable was getting to roll some dice and have a game. We played Brutal Quest, using the city of Mordheim as the setting, and adapted a scenario from the excellent Sci-Fi Skirmish Scenarios book to give us something to play for. It was a lot of fun.
I did plan to have an audio battle report on the Tabletop Miniature Hobby Podcast like we’ve done in the past. However, instead of recording a pre-game, mid-game, and post-game chat, I recorded the audio from the entire game. It seemed like a worthwhile experiment, but in hindsight, I’ll struggle to edit three hours of audio into a listenable podcast episode. Hopefully a wee video into and some photos will suffice.
The deadly ruins of Mordheim
The good guys
The bad guys
The Wandering Monster – an idea we pulled from Sci-Fi Skirmish Scenarios.
Baddies’ Hobgoblin Sorcerer Zargul Fireweaver hits a speculative long-range fireball in the 19th minute of injury time.
In 15mm News
My Battlemasters-inspired bad guys 15mm army now has three full units, I’ve added some trolls and Chaos Warriors into the mix, alongside my Orc Warriors and big rock demon-type guy.
I say Battlemasters-inspired because we have greenskins and Chaos Warriors fighting on the same side. And because Battlemasters was a really cool game. My Chaos Warriors (along with my other 15mm units so far) need some decals on their shields, but I’ll get to that when I get to it.
I got some Armada-appropriate sized MDF bases from Warbases and used Vallejo Plastic Putty to create the sea effect.
I’m using the Asurmen Blue contrast paint on the water, dry brushed with my old pot of Skull White. That’s also a mid-90s Enchanted Blue around the edge. I’m going for a bright and bold look with these ships, rather than getting too involved in the smaller details.
She’d been going on about “getting her own toy”, and I found these great wee miniatures on Etsy. They’re made of a very durable plastic, which is handy. I’ve just started to paint them up for her, though she still plays with them in between, and has managed to chip the basecoats a bit. I’m not being precious about it, though. They were bought to be played with by a two year old.
But it’ll be a few years before she gets to push these around…
With the obvious exception of Games Workshop stuff from the mid-90s, Joe McCullough’s games probably get more coverage on the Tabletop Miniature Hobby Podcast than any other. Fortunately, Joe’s a lovely guy as well as a brilliant games designer, and has been gracious enough to guest on the show not once, not twice, but three times!
I used to base my miniatures after I’d painted them, seeing it as a “final touches” sort of stage. But when I started using the zenithal priming approach to undercoat, I decided to try basing them first. I find it gives them a lot more overall consistency and has improved my process.
I’m not going to try and convince you that you should do the same. I just wanted to share a few pics to demonstrate how it’s working well for me.
I glue wee ripped-up bits of notebook to cover the slots, and smooth the area out with plastic putty.
I use Vallejo Ground Texture on my bases, which turns rock-hard after about 12 hours. This can be painted up in any colour to represent any type of terrain.
Then it’s a typical zenithal approach, a black undercoat then a skoosh of Wraithbone from above.
I use the Citadel Plaguebearer Flesh contrast paint on the base. I find this works well with the natural shading from the zenithal spray. Then, being stuck firmly in the mid-90s, I paint the sides with Goblin Green.
Through this site and the Tabletop Miniature Hobby Podcast, I’ve had the privilege to interview some of the industry’s household names. During these interviews, I’ve used some recurring questions, one of which was:
Tell me about a particularly satisfying mechanic you’ve either created yourself, or came across whilst playing someone else’s game.
As you can imagine, it’s thrown up some interesting replies. This post is intended to document them all in one place. It features responses from Gav Thorpe, Andy Chambers, Tuomas Pirinen, Jervis Johnson, Alessio Cavatore, and Joe McCullough.
Alessio Cavatore
In terms of somebody else’s, it was Massimo Toriani who showed this game that he designed, and he was using D10 as scatter dice. All the other polyhedrons are platonic, so they are symmetrical. There is no direction in any way. There’s no arrow, no verse this way or that way. But the D10 is not a platonic solid; it’s artificially made to be ten-faced, but it is not. It definitely has an arrow shape. Each face of the ten faces is an arrow and has a number in it. So it was just like, well, you don’t need scatter dice and distance, et cetera. You just roll a D10, and that tells you distance and range in the same roll. And I was like, oh, my God. Yes, of course. Why didn’t we think of this? So, since then, I have done that as well in games I design, and, yeah, it just works. It’s so obvious.
As for my mechanics, the drawing of the action dice from the bag in Bolt Action, because of the dynamic that creates for the game on the other end. Of course, I hesitate to say that’s a mechanic I created, because drawing chits has been done before. I kind of added the fact that the dice actually have the orders, and therefore, you can then use the same thing you use for the drawing as the marker on the unit. So that kind of does a few jobs together. But, yeah, writing the game and sticking to that logic was cool.
But again, I don’t think it’s as original as perhaps when I invented the rattling gun. The mechanic for the rattling gun, which, as far as my mentors tell me, they hadn’t seen it before. That’s a good thing because, normally, I go, “I have this great idea. It’s completely new”. And Rick goes, “Well, that was done in 1976 in this game.” I was like, oh, it’s not new, right? But this one, now, they went, oh, wow, that’s a cute little mechanic that we never seen. It’s fun.
Basically. Is it like a minigun – a Gatling gun. It’s a rattling gun because it’s a Skaven weapon. But it is the mechanic where you roll a dice, and that’s the number of shots, and then you can stop safely, just basically cranking, doing one turn to the crank. Or you can go, no, let’s have two turns. And so you roll two dice, adding them together, so more hits. However, if you ever roll a double, then something goes wrong, and there’s a chart of wacky nastiness that happens. So basically you can roll maybe up to six dice. If you’re incredibly lucky, you don’t get any doubles, but there is a point where you go, “Statistically, I should stop, but maybe I need one more crank, one turn to this.” That is fun because it kind of challenges your greed towards the potential punishment if you go wrong.
My favourite mechanic is when Jervis created the blocking dice for Blood Bowl. It took a really complicated game with lots of sets of tables and looking things up and modifiers and stuff, and turned it into a really simple roll, one, two, or three of these dice, and then depending on how you roll, something happens. And it was so streamlined and so simple and made the game so much more playable. Yeah, it was just genius. That’s been one of my favourite mechanics, I think, of anything.
And because it was a physical thing as well, it was the idea that we can do stuff with dice. They don’t have to just be D6s. They don’t have to have equal weighting between the six roll results, and actually rolling multiple dice and picking one, not necessarily having to add them all together or all that kind of stuff. Third Edition Blood Bowl is just a beautiful piece of games engineering based around those very simple mechanics. And I loved it when it came out. I loved playing it
in terms of mechanics myself, I suppose when I did Inquisitor. It’s very narrative, and what you do is you nominate what your character is going to do, what you want them to do. You, rather than having a set of action points to spend, then you just go through and do them, you say, “Oh, well, they want to run over here. They’re going to hide behind a barrel, and then they’re going to shoot at that sort of like cultist over there.” And then you roll a bunch of dice, depending on their speed. And each four plus actually allows you to have part of that action. So what you’re doing is you’re never quite sure exactly how much of your intended actions you get to actually resolve. So there’s always a tension between trying to do stuff and playing it cautious. People have spoken to me and said that – that it’s kind of quite core to the game, and that’s one of the things that makes it fun. Again, that plays back into the Blood Bowl idea of the turnover, the idea of the failure.
I think, for me, narrative comes from unpredictability. Sometimes, the things we remember most about the games are the things that we didn’t expect to happen. When units charge in and crush that goblin unit and run them down, you go, “Well, that’s what they were supposed to do.” But when the goblins charge in and crush the knights and run them down, that’s a story. And the same time when your dwarf general flees, or the thing goes bad (or particularly well), that will be remembered.
One mechanic I came across recently and really like is used in a series of games called Table Battles, published by a small company called Hollandspiele. The games recreate various famous battles from history and use cards to represent the major formations of each army.
In your turn, you roll six dice, and then allocate them out to cards in your army; each card needs certain combination of dice to be able to carry out an action. So one card might need a pair of 5s to attack, while another might need you to place a 4, a 5 and a 6 on the card, and so on. Any dice that are placed on a card can’t be rolled again until they are used, so the dice are a limited resource, and you need to think hard about where to place them. At the start of your turn, before you roll the dice, you can carry out an action you have set up with your earlier dice rolls.
What I especially like about this mechanic is that sometimes, when you attack, you will force your opponent to make a reaction, and this will stop them from carrying out their action in their next turn (they are reacting to your attack rather than unleashing their own). These simple mechanics do a lot to represent command and control issues, and they also capture the idea of one side gaining the momentum in a battle, which is something I have read about in lots of historical accounts but very rarely seen recreated in a game.
I’m going to nominate myself for this one, actually. The blast marker mechanic that we introduced in Epic initially, I think. There’s just something about having little explosion markers next to a unit. It’s another stage of damage at its heart, but it’s not removing models; it’s just showing that they’re kind of being suppressed under fire, that sort of a thing. And it’s been used in quite a few different game systems since then. I’ve used it a few times myself, and it’s a good mechanic. It’s a useful tool to have when you’re designing a game, to have that other stage of damage which isn’t actually killing things or knocking off hit points per se, basically like a temporary damage source which suppresses them or whatever. So, conceptually, I think that’s a good one.
The other one I’d nominate is the system that I use in Blood Red Skies for doing three-dimensional combat because that’s a World War II fighter combat game which doesn’t use altitude or anything like that. It uses what I call the advantage system, meaning we don’t care about how high up you are. Basically, it’s like, are you at an advantage relative to the fight? Are you neutral relative to the fight? Or are you disadvantaged relative to the fight?
Being advantaged means that you have more options. Basically, being disadvantaged means you have less, and it’s only if you’re disadvantaged, you’re actually in danger of being shot down. Until that point, you’re just ducking and diving along with everybody else. But in a disadvantaged state, that’s where you’re most vulnerable as well. So again, it’s a way of almost combining damage with other factors at the same time, without it actually being damaged to the unit. So I think that’s another particularly kind of interesting example of almost the same again, if you go on a very meta-level conceptual design mechanic applied in a different way.
There are a ton of great game mechanics I admire, but I’m going to use my own – Mordheim‘s exploration roll. This gives you your income, the ability to modify through the metagame, and helps you to find unusual places. You only need to get a handful of dice, roll that, and all of that happens from there.
I thought the turn over mechanic in Blood Bowl was an interesting way to sequence a game, and I took the idea and adapted it to my Warmaster system. So, to activate a unit you rolled dice to give an order; if successful you continued to move and order units, but if you failed, it’s turn over. It’s interesting because you have to decide which things to move first and which to leave until last and risk not being able to move at all. I later adapted the same mechanic to Black Powder and Hail Caesar for Warlord Games, so it’s had a good run!
Another mechanic that I’ve always thought would be interesting to adapt is the combat mechanism in a game called Warlord. Warlord is a game of nuclear warfare published in the 70s and later re-boxed and marketed by Games Workshop as Apocalypse. Anyway, it works like this:
When making an attack you take a dice and secretly select a number by hiding it behind your palm, you can only choose a number up to the total number of pieces you are attacking with. Your opponent guesses what number you have chosen, and if correct, you lose that number of pieces, if incorrect, your opponent loses one of their own pieces.
The attacker can stop at any point if things are not going well. Assuming things do go well, once an attacker removes the opponent’s last piece, you get to move into the space and take it over, but the number of pieces you move in has to be the number you last selected. Thus, the initial attacks can be random, although choosing a high value risks losing a high number of pieces, which encourages you to choose a low value… but your opponent knows this… and you know that they know… and so on.
When it comes to your last attack, the fact that you take the space with the number of pieces nominated means you want to choose as high a value as possible… but your opponent knows this… and you know that they know… and so on. I just like the element of double guessing and the potential for a lucky guess to unravel an attack.
There are so many, as far as I’m concerned, because, for me, every aspect of a game can have unique and elegant mechanics.
So, like, movement. In most games, movement is a very set kind of thing. You can move your guy six inches. If you are doing a unit, you can move it, and you can make one manoeuvre with it; that’s absolutely fine, but there’s nothing amazing or elegant about it. And then you see something like X-Wing, the miniatures game that has this incredible movement mechanic where you have the secret little spinner, where you decide what move your ship is going to make, and everyone does that for all their ships. And then you reveal it, and they all just go everywhere in a way that fantastically recaptures the look and feel of the movies. And that’s just movement.
My all-time favourite game mechanic is the combat mechanic in a game called Silent Death, which it’s about space fighters shooting it out. Every gun system in the game rolls three dice, and two of those dice are determined by what that gun system is, and one of those dice is determined by the gunner. Like the gunner’s skill, you might have a gun skill, but a gunner with a D8. So you roll two D6 and a D8. And what’s really beautiful about it is you roll those three dice and add them together to see if you hit. But then you look at the dice a different way to determine how much damage is done. So a gun might have a damage level of medium. So you’d roll the three dice, and you’d find the medium die, and that would be the damage done.
And that idea of one die roll serving multiple functions has been hugely influential to me. Obviously, you see it in basically all my games. So Frostgrave has that same idea of making one die roll determine who wins and how much damage is done. And Silver Bayonet has that as well.
So, yeah, that’s a biggie. But there are just so many. I love the way power works in Marvel Crisis Protocol. I love how, as things happen through the game and as a figure gets hit, it can actually gain power. And thus, by having something bad happen to it, it is also given the potential to do more things. And that’s just a beautifully elegant balancing mechanism within the game. But also, again, it really captures the flavour of what they were trying to mimic in that game of superheroes beating each other up. And in all honesty, I could just go on and on. These things are like little bits of art to me, so I do collect them.
I found him to be a fun, novel painting experience. And he’ll fit in well as leader of my growing goblin warband.
Elsewhere, I had a couple of captive/prisoner minis from Midlam.
These will come in handy for story-driven narrative scenarios.
Whilst shopping for 15mm stuff on the Ral Partha site, I couldn’t resist this Kev Adams demon, either.
If you asked Alexa to show you the opposite of a modern-day GW miniature, this is exactly what it would come up with.
Speaking of 15mm, I do have some stuff in the works there, too, including this cannon. I bought the crew separately and found they (and their kit) all fitted nicely onto one 40mm x 40mm base.
I have some chaos warriors and trolls for my 15mm project nearing completion, and I’ll have photos of them in my next update.
I’d already read Tabletop Wargames: A Designers’ and Writers’ Handbook, which was co-written by John and Rick Priestley, so I was familiar with his work. I thought the handbook was decent, but I read it more out of curiosity rather than any serious attempt to write my own game.
Sci-fi Skirmish Scenarios, on the other hand, felt like it was written just for me. I’ve been avidly collecting rulesets and rulebooks since my return to the hobby five years ago. I enjoy reading them and learning the various mechanics and ways a tabletop battle can be fought.
There are more than a few miniature agnostic games I’ve played and grown to love dearly. But I’ve come to realise that, if a game existed which had “the perfect ruleset”, it could only take you so far if you just played pitched battle after pitched battle.
In my opinion, a pretty average set of rules, played under an engaging and compelling scenario, will trump a slick mechanical system where the objective is simply to kill or be killed.
So, finding a book packed full of things todo, obtain, and achieve, was a “take my money” moment. And, it wasn’t exactly “take all of my money”, being priced at only £12. I could see the use-to-value ratio being extremely high, here.
As much as I was almost certain I’d love Sci-fi Skirmish Scenarios, nothing was guaranteed until I had it in my hands and started to leaf through the pages. I wasn’t disappointed. The book really is top-notch, packed cover-to-cover with useful and interesting content. A big part of which is obviously…
36 Sci-fi Skirmish Scenarios
The main event is in the book’s name – there are 36 scenarios here. I’m not going to say that they’re all completely unique, as there is the odd slight overlap or similarity, but it still gives you a tonne of options for moving away from the “let’s try to kill one another” objective we see all too often in our hobby.
John brings a flavour and depth to these scenarios by weaving them into his own story world of The Sprawl, which isn’t a million miles away from the dystopian hive cities of Necromunda. The default narratives for each mission describe how (and why) gangs, cultists, or futuristic squads of “law enforcement” troopers are to face one another, and what needs to be done to win the day.
Is This Only for Sci-Fi Wargamers?
A major reason that this book is such good value is that the sci-fi element is really just a skin that can be peeled off and re-skinned in any way you like. I totally understand why John has opted for this theme, as it would be far too generic and filled with caveats otherwise. But these scenarios and missions can easily be adapted for any fantasy or historical setting. The framework is all there – the hard work has all been done; all the player needs to do is swap out the miniatures, terrain, and ammo for whatever fits with their own preferred sandbox.
Beyond the Scenarios
The 36 sci-fi skirmish scenarios alone are more than value for money. But the book doesn’t begin and end there.
John opens by offering advice on world-building and storytelling in your games. He may have fleshed out his own setting to demonstrate the missions and objectives here, but he’s in no way insisting that you have to play in it.
Towards the end, we also get a random scenario generator, which gives you limitless possibilities. Then, there are a couple of really nice solo scenarios combined with tips for making these games more interesting and thematic.
Finally, there’s a guide on how to tie your scenarios together into a narrative campaign. It’s more than just a guide, really, as there are three blueprints already laid out for you to get started right away.
Key Highlights
I honestly didn’t think there was a wasted page in the book, and it has immediately become my favourite hobby-related book to date. I’ll get years of use from it, setting up scenarios to play everything from Stargrave, Rogue Planet, and Planet 28, to Song of Blades & Heroes, Open Combat, and Brutal Quest. As I say, you’re in no way limited to the sci-fi genre, here.
If I had to pick three notable sections, though, I’d go with:
Drone Dance (Scenario 3.6): This is a really cool idea where warbands compete to catch a drone which is bouncing around the table edges like a ball. This mechanic got me thinking about some ideas for single miniature or arena-based games, too.
Electric Screen (Scenario 6.5): Here, an electric screen has been erected to separate two feuding gangs. The technology controlling the screen is unreliable, though, and a few lucky miniatures might still be able to make it through for some bloodletting. Potential for some fun cinematic moments.
Wandering Monster (p. 126): This one’s a random event for any scenario. The monster is an NPC, but players roll off to control it at the start of each turn. A great way to spice up a pitched battle with no other real objectives or narrative.
Sci-Fi Skirmish Scenarios
Thanks for reading my review of Sci-Fi Skirmish Scenarios. If you’re keen to get yourself a copy right away, you can find it on Amazon or Amazon UK.
I first heard about the concept of “slow hobbying” in a 2021 episode of the Tabletop Miniature Hobby Podcast. During this conversation, guest Rik talked about a blog post on the Ninth Age forums (which sadly no longer seems to be available). The idea struck a chord with me, and it’s always something I’ve wanted to revisit and try to solidify.
With that in mind, here is an (admittedly quite grandiose-sounding) attempt at a “manifesto” for the Slow Hobbyists out there.
In the realm of tabletop miniature wargaming, we, the Slow Hobbyists, proudly declare our allegiance to a philosophy that values depth over breadth, tradition over trends, and the joy of a well-crafted experience over the rush of the new. Our manifesto stands as a testament to our commitment to the slow and deliberate pursuit of the hobby we love.
1. A Miniature-Agnostic Approach
We embrace a diverse array of miniatures, choosing models based on our personal preferences rather than succumbing to the pressure of the latest releases. Our armies are a unique reflection of our individual tastes and creativity.
2. The Art of Patience
We reject the notion of instant gratification and embrace the slow, meditative process of painting. A little progress each week accumulates into a masterpiece over the course of a year. Our armies are not just collections; they are the product of patience, dedication, and love for the craft.
3. Deep Dive into Rulesets
We immerse ourselves in the intricacies of rulesets, delving deep into the nuances of each game system we adopt. We value mastery over variety, savouring the richness of each rulebook and relishing the strategic depth that comes with a profound understanding of the mechanics.
4. Resistance to Hype
We resist the allure of new releases and the constant drumbeat of hype that surrounds them. Our choices are guided by genuine interest and the desire for a lasting connection with our miniatures and the games we play. Trends may come and go, but our commitment endures.
5. Nostalgia as a Guiding Light
We cherish the nostalgia of old rules systems, classic miniatures, and the timeless aesthetic of traditional craftsmanship. Our journey is a celebration of the history and evolution of the hobby, honouring the pioneers and the classics that paved the way.
6. Quality over Quantity in Gaming
We may not have the opportunity to play games frequently, but when we do, it is a cherished occasion. Each game is an immersive experience, and we savour the camaraderie, strategy, and narrative unfolding on the tabletop.
7. Favouring Storytelling and Narrative Experience
We prioritize the narrative experience on the tabletop, weaving rich stories around our armies and battles. Each miniature represents a character with a history, and every game unfolds as a chapter in an ongoing saga. The narrative adds depth and meaning to our hobby, transcending the mere mechanics of play.
8. Rejecting the Notion of Perfect Balance
We reject the pressure for every game to be perfectly balanced and fair. Embracing the unpredictability and quirks of the rules, we find joy in the narrative twists that arise from the unbalanced nature of our chosen games. It is in these imbalances that stories become more vibrant, unique, and memorable.
9. Being Good Stewards of the Hobby
We recognize our role as custodians of a rich and storied tradition. We lead by example, inspiring younger generations to embrace the slow, deliberate approach that defines our passion. We encourage patience, creativity, and a genuine love for the craft, nurturing a community where the values of the hobby endure and flourish, and all are welcome.
10. Community and Camaraderie
We build a community based on shared values, camaraderie, and a genuine passion for the hobby. Our gatherings are not just about the games but also about the exchange of ideas, tips, and the joy derived from our collective creativity.
In embracing these principles, we, the Slow Hobbyists, stand united. Our journey is one of mindful creation, enduring appreciation, and a commitment to the timeless essence of tabletop miniature wargaming. Together, we forge a path that enriches our lives and leaves a lasting legacy in the world of miniatures and games.
How can a “one mini each” pub table game keep things dynamic, and not regress into a sterile dice rolling exercise?
I’ve always been fascinated with the question of “How small could this be?” when it comes to miniature games. In particular, I like the idea of a system where both players control a single miniature each. The reasons for this would need to fit your own preferred sandbox, but an obvious setting would be some sort of gladiatorial or arena combat.
Anyway, the problem, as far as I can see it, with 1v1 games (with the essential caveat that I’m not a games designer) is that the miniatures could simply become an aesthetic, rather than an integral part of the game. If you think about it, it’s likely that they’ll either both find static positions to take cover and shoot from, or, get into hand-to-hand and remain there. In both examples, these become dice-rolling exercises rather than dynamic tabletop experiences.
After a while, I stopped giving the idea any more thought. Then, I had a bit of an out-the-blue lightbulb moment when reading John Lamshead’s brilliant Sci-Fi Skirmish Scenarios.
In the book, John details a scenario where two warbands are trying to catch a drone. The drone is controlled by the game’s AI and is essentially bouncing around like a tennis ball, rebounding off the edges of the table, mat, or playing area.
I thought it was a nice idea, and that there was potential for a mechanic like this to exist that would actually do harm to the miniatures. For example, could it be a drone with whirring blades, a ball of malevolent magic, or some sort of slaver with a range weapon taking aim for a pop at a combatant?
Immediately, this would solve the problem of players keeping their minis in the same place. Their miniatures would need to stay mobile and break from bouts of melee combat regularly to risk being killed. From a cinematic point of view, you might also see a stronger or healthier character trying to hold an opponent in place to use this non-player weapon against them.
As discussed in my musings (ramblings?) on narrative solo and co-op wargaming, fighting the conditions, table, or game can often throw up more interesting situations than a “kill all the other guys” approach.
Back to this concept, though, it’s not necessarily about having whatever tennis ball-style weapon that fits your setting bouncing around the table. It’s about both players having a reason not to stay in one place for long. And that could apply to the entire playing area.
Maybe the arena is built on some sort of irradiated ground, electrically charged sheeting, or enchanted with a dark and cruel magic. Whatever the reason, it might mean that miniatures remaining static for more than one turn take an attack roll at the level of a low or medium-strength weapon. Maybe they wouldn’t simply be hurt, either – what if they were blasted off in a random direction (and range) using a D20 as a scatter dice?
Once you start to give it some thought, there are so many ways turn a low model count game into something dynamic, frantic, and cinematic. It could even work as a solo game using one single miniature.
I’m writing about this idea while fresh in my head and purely from a “this could be fun to try” perspective. For all I know, such mechanics or systems might already exist in games I haven’t encountered before. And, if that’s the case, I’d love to hear more about them!
Feedback on Single Miniature & Arena Combat Game Ideas
Dr Spork said, “My mind was drawn to thinking about Robot wars. The randomly activated hazards and the house robots make things more interesting than one on one battles. Another aspect to consider is giving the combatants extra options/skills that provide some tactical options outside the simple punch or shoot. D&D has a bunch of stuff like this that could be cribbed to make the combat a bit more varied. Grappling, pushing opponents back, rapid fire pinning them down, that sort of stuff.”
Gibby said, “One ruleset for this that I found to be really clever is Red Sand, Blue Sky by 2 Hour Wargames. It’s a game about Roman Gladiators (complete with a campaign about being a Lanista and running a gladiator school, and a campaign where you play as a gladiator trying to survive to retirement). The coolest mechanic in it was each combatant begins with a certain number of dice, which are used to throw attacks or pull off various tricks and such. Thing is if you ever run out of dice, then your character is exhausted and drops to their knees, there to be at the mercy of the crowd (or Emperor). Plus, you could do stuff like kick sand into your opponent’s eyes and such.”
And William said, “Maybe Melee or it’s supplement ‘Wizard’? They are hex-based games with an emphasis on duelling”
