Miniatures game

Miniatures games are a form of wargame in which a battle is played out using small figures to represent the units involved. However, the defining feature of a miniatures game as opposed to a board game in which the pieces are miniatures is that there is no board. The game is played on a floor or table surface, movement of the pieces is measured using a tape-measure and the scenery in the game is represented by actual model scenery. In this respect miniatures wargames theoretically offer players and spectators more freedom of play and a more spectacular visual spectacle over traditional games. Whether all the game rules achieve this is debatable.

Related Topics:
Wargame - Board game

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The miniatures and scenery used vary greatly in scale, from 10mm figures up to more conventional modelling scales. Usually, 15, 25 and 28mm are the most popular scales. Miniatures are either plastic or metal and are often sold unpainted. The scenery is often home-made. In this respect, miniatures gaming has a lot in common with the modelling hobby since participants usually like to paint their figures and will sometimes build their own scenery or even "convert" shop-bought figures to better represent the units they are trying to depict.

Related Topics:
Modelling

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There are any number of sets of miniatures wargames rules, some of which are avaialable free on the internet. Board wargames often involve playing out historical scenarios and although some miniatures games encourage this, a more common approach is to depict historical troops fighting a made-up battle. There are also complete fantasy and science fiction games with attendant wizards, spacecraft and other cliches. Rules also vary in the scale they depict: one figure to one soldier is the most common, but many presume that one figure represents a platoon, squad or sometimes even larger formation on the tabletop.

Related Topics:
Fantasy - Science fiction - Wizards - Spacecraft

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Some miniatures games have achieved widespread popularity. Of particular note are the Games Workshop games Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer Fantasy Battle and their miniatures game based on the popular Lord of the Rings licence. These games are popular enough that Games Workshop stores are now open in most big towns and cities in the US and UK. They have spawned a historical variant, Warhammer Ancient Battles. Also of note are the historical game De Bellis Antiquitatis aka DBA and it's associated games which have in turn given rise to a fantasy variant Hordes of the Things.

Related Topics:
Games Workshop - Warhammer 40,000 - Warhammer Fantasy Battle - Lord of the Rings - Warhammer Ancient Battles - De Bellis Antiquitatis - DBA - Hordes of the Things

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