Tag Archives: Fantasy Wargame

Skirmish Games – A guide to Malifaux

There are a wide array of games, both large battle and skirmish available on the market and while many are familiar with Games Workshops offerings, there are many other colourful games to play.

The aim of these articles is as a taster and guide to help get you into a game that interests you and where better to start than a trip through the breach to Malifaux, Where bad things happen.

What is Malifaux?

Malifaux is a small scale skirmish game played with around 7-10 themed figures. Each figure is individual and has it’s own stat card (no duplicates here!). Players alternate taking actions while trying to score off there schemes and strategies. These can be as simple as “hold this point” or make sure “model 1 is killed by model 2”

Are there any Unique Mechanics?

Rather than roll dice, Malifaux uses a fate deck (fancy name for a standard deck of cards), Players flip cards instead of rolling dice. You also have a control hand of cards which allow you to “cheat fate” for when you really need an action to happen.

Certain characters can also use Soul stones, another resource to boost actions or reduce damage.

How easy is it to get into?

There are many local Henchman (Wyrds demo players) in many countries and can usually be found via the Wyrd forums or running local events and Demo days.

The Rules are available from free from the Wyrd website (listed below) and stat cards can be found there for all factions as well as available on the free M3E app. A standard deck of cards can be used as a fate deck (provided it has a Red and Black Joker) but there are many other variants available with custom artwork.

Crew boxes give you a starting crew and you can usual pick up 1 or 2 more boxes to pad your crew out allowing you to start playing from between £50-£100. Some Masters (Crew Leaders) are classed as Dual Faction, allowing you to easily dip into other factions.

There are also regular updates to competitive play and stat cards to maintain balance.

Pro’s and Cons

Pros

  • Under £100 to get into
  • Every Model Unique
  • Great support from the Community and Wyrd

Cons

  • Helpful to have a lot of scenery
  • Lots of rules interactions which may take a while to master.
  • Some miniatures have very small parts making assemble tricky

Summary

Malifaux is a great skirmish game to get into. The factions and crews are all very different with interesting themes and no two are exactly alike. There is a healthy community, with lots of support from Wyrd. The miniatures are well sculpted and characterful with my only complaints being small parts and occasional thin parts supporting a model.

If you are able to get a demo with a friend or Henchman I highly recommend giving Malifaux a try.

Useful Links

https://www.wyrd-games.net/ Resources section for Rule books and stat cards

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wyrd.m3e Android Crew Creator

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/m3e-crew-builder/id1473771840 IOS Crew Creator

What is Fantasy Battles: The 9th Age?

BOARD GAME GEEK SUMMARY

Rating7.9 (23 Reviews)
Players2-8
Playing Time60-240 mins
Age10+
Complexity4.50/5.00

Fantasy Battles: The 9th Age is an independent table top miniature wargame set in a fantasy world, in which players take control of armies and set them upon one another in conflicts ranging from minor skirmishes to mighty battles with hundreds of models.

The game and all of its rules are completely free to download and use, and consist of a main rulebook and over fifteen army documents, ranging from stoic men and noble elves to the feral orcs and dread worshipers of the dark gods. You can easily assemble your own army using appropriate 28mm miniatures from any manufacturer.

Fantasy Battles: The 9th Age has been created by a group of experienced wargamers, a large supportive staff and continuous input from the wargaming community. We aim to provide a competitive, balanced and fun game, with updates and new rules to be released regularly.

Dark Wizard Gaming has a number of excellent YouTube videos explaining how to play 9th Age these are only up to the Charge phase, after this I’ve included a Battle Report from Guerilla Miniatures showing how it plays.

Episode 1 – Intro

Episode 2 – Models, Units and Line of Sight

Episode 3 – Characteristics

Episode 4 – Building an Army

Episode 5 – Setting up a Game

Episode 6 – Charge Phase

Battle Report

Rules

The 9th Age has a fantastic website where you can download the core rules and read through the various factions.

Miniatures

As for miniatures you can use all your old Warhammer Fantasy battle miniatures and any other Fantasy miniature range as long as they fit within the description of the available armies.

Thanks for reading! – Peter

What is Conquest: The Last Argument of Kings?

BOARD GAME GEEK SUMMARY

Rating8.9 (23 Reviews)
Players2
Playing Time
Age8+
Complexity2.67/5.00

Conquest is a tabletop gaming world produced by Para Bellum Wargames. Our flagship, “Conquest: The Last Argument of Kings” is a Mass Battle game and under its umbrella you will find our entire range of miniatures. Its sister system, “Conquest: First Blood”, is a skirmish game, played with the same minis and offering fast-paced combats. Both systems come with easy to learn rulesets, which also afford veteran players multiple levels of strategy to master. With both rulebooks available online for free and a “Living World” platform which allows the community to influence the lore, the world of Conquest invites you to an immersive gaming experience!

Para-Bellum on their YouTube channel has a video explaining how to play Conquest.

Miniatures

Para-Bellum has their own store for selling all the miniatures and rules you need to play. Army sets are available from €150.00. in my opinion the miniatures for this game are stunning.

Thanks for reading! – Peter