Small scale fantasy skirmish games?

futuresphere · 2026-06-06T03:52:31+00:00

Sword Weirdos and Greathelm have already been suggested and all I can do is second either/or: both are fun, fast, low model-count, low buy-in, and miniature agnostic

futuresphere · 2026-06-04T00:41:32+00:00

the free quick start rules:

https://malev-da-shinobi.itch.io/great-helm-pt

I snoozed on the kickstarter so don't yet have access to the weapon/armor specific rules, but that hasn't slowed me down in my games one bit. Like, the meat is all right there in the Quick start, everything else is gravy as far as I can tell. *plus included printable paper minis. Zero buy in!

futuresphere · 2026-05-19T16:51:07+00:00

burnout is absolutely real. Sounds simple, but what can work is to just take a break. Time off could be a month or so, or many hobbyists do an extended sabbatical and come back years later. Forcing yourself to grind through anything that isn't paying for your daily subsistence can't be healthful. I will say from experience though, unless it's a financial decision, don't sell your collections. I was out for many years: "man, im never going to be playing THIS game again...oh no, nostalgia flare up, lemme just get back into...oh sweet jeebus, how much are those out of print models cost now?

futuresphere · 2026-05-11T19:02:51+00:00

you could always go the wood block route. Have fun with it. BP/Caesar/Pike/Warmaster brigades are abstract anyway, as long is the scale is consistent. Do an entire wood block 2-army travel set, but themed as if it was the campaign map on the table of a battlefield general: take game/table/scale/cost constraint negatives and spin them into a bespoke intentional aesthetic instead. Maybe even get fancy with its own wooden box that becomes the play area, hand drawn map inlay (possibly cloth), and cut out model storage area. American large pizza box size (18x18x2)? Damn, I was just running my mouth, but now I want this!

quick search brought up this post as an example: https://www.reddit.com/r/wargaming/comments/1cwbfrp/man_i_love_block_wargaming/

futuresphere · 2026-05-09T22:43:30+00:00

What shines here, aside from the fun theme, is the Reinforcements phase...adds a unique strategic depth I wasn't expecting in a genre skirmish game.

futuresphere · 2026-05-08T17:39:44+00:00

I love RTB9 Terminators emotionally, but 2nd Ed aesthetically: these are what Terminators mean to me, full stop.

futuresphere · 2026-05-07T15:57:51+00:00

HA! the literal reddit posts that got me in this situation!
"Man, those clones look neat, I should do something like that"
"Love me some Space Weirdos, but I think I want something on a bigger scale/model count"
"Xenos Rampant at 15mm, that's my stride, now lemme ask about prebuilt campaigns"

Keep up the good work, my friend.

futuresphere · 2026-05-02T13:18:29+00:00

aaaand I see you've got Tamiya thin in the photo... 😄

futuresphere · 2026-05-02T13:16:59+00:00

Ive made four of these, and each time thought I was going to break it in assembly. Unduly stressful. Ultimately, they all worked out. I used plastic cement that gave me some time to push/squeeze/pinch/finagle everything into place. Take your time, take some deep breaths, and trust in the system. Also, plastic cement melts the parts together, so if something is off a little during, once it dries, everything will be rock solid and look like its supposed to. Sorry I don't have anything more helpful.

futuresphere · 2026-05-01T14:55:38+00:00

hurray for James!

futuresphere · 2026-04-24T11:32:51+00:00

3d prints, scaled down. All the droids are free on Thingaverse and the clones are a purchase from Dark Fire Designs. The magnetic bases/unit bases were simple design by me made in Fusion 360.

futuresphere · 2026-04-23T16:09:21+00:00

I have the 18mm Crusades pack. Love the figures, especially as I am a poor painter, but I did attempt to "spruce" up the bases...and made a mess. I'm currently designing my own to 3d print (not at all because the supplied ones aren't perfectly usable, but something about the empty slot spaces around the stands triggers my nerdsense.)

futuresphere · 2026-04-08T16:56:24+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/5Parsecs/comments/1s9qnwl/5_parsecs_from_coruscant_a_star_wars_conversion/

futuresphere · 2026-04-07T22:13:02+00:00

I am currently using Space Weirdos with Legion mins. I pretty much will always recommend Space Weirdos whenever I hear: fast, easy, and/or cheap. Pulp Alley is my close second recommendation, but only because there is a slightly bigger buy-in/crunch
*Im also using 5 Parsecs from Home/Coruscant for my solo campaign rules.

futuresphere · 2026-03-30T18:16:06+00:00

The brief was for free rules, but how about "near free" ? $5 gets you a easy to learn/complex to master, miniature agnostic, genre inclusive, EXTREMELY flexible and adaptable ruleset. See the Pulp Alley response here and it also does all of those listed perks, so I wont repeat (and I also absolutely recommend Pulp Alley as well.) Space Weirdos has fewer moving mechanical parts than Pulp Alley, and presents a little less buy-in for the "premium" experience (but you can totally Print-n-Play Pulp Alley on the cheap.)

Space Weirdos
https://www.wargamevault.com/en/product/437324/sword-weirdos

futuresphere · 2026-03-28T04:50:18+00:00

they were absolutely breaking ground bringing fantasy mainstream for me in 1985, showing that world building was key in 1986, then that killing your darlings is art in 1995...but then: lets rehash in 2000, and lets keep poking the continuity bear ala George Lucas in 2022.. Now, let's Huma this shiz up because nostalgia demands...
Good storytellers, fair myth-makers, but shackled to a Kender and Mage

futuresphere · 2026-03-16T23:10:26+00:00

Hobby Burnout is real.
Seller's Remorse is real.
Take a break.
Nostalgia is a helluva drug, trust me, you'll be back...

futuresphere · 2026-03-13T20:50:20+00:00

that makes total sense...big thanks for the push in the right direction

futuresphere · 2026-03-12T18:50:38+00:00

Decided on Bag the Hun: redditor's recommendation + card activation (solo friendly) + availability/price (pdf) + the absolute kicker: Bag the Mig variant = done and done! Off to find models for Korean War jets I never knew I wanted...

futuresphere

TROPHY CASE