Looking for historical/modern skirmish game options

[bali 3441xp 3]

Hello all,

I’m looking to get a regular game night going with some family who would be fairly new to mini gaming and want to give some options as far as game goes.  I’d like to stick to skirmish size games (<25 minis or so) to keep the time and effort level reasonable (let’s face facts I’m probably going to be building/painting all the forces :).  Classically I’ve played fantasy/sci-fi games so I’m fairly well versed in the options there (for reference I’m looking at games like  Infinity, Frostgrave, MERCS, Marvel Crisis Protocol).  I’m not nearly as knowledgeable on the historical and modern game side and  so I was hoping you could help me out.

What would your thoughts be for good skirmish games in these genres?  So far I’m looking at Test of Honor, Clash of Spears and (of course) Saga even though it sounds like it will run a bit higher than my intended model count.

On the modern side are there any good skirmish size games?  I’ve heard Bolt Action and Team Yankee mentioned a lot but I get the feeling they’re larger scale (need to do some more research).

Generic rule sets might work but I’d prefer a game supported with mini’s or at least with a strong tie to minis.  I don’t really want to take on figuring out/tracking down the mini’s for every force.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[scribbs 14509xp 4]

Ravenfeast is designed as a beginner friendly Dark Ages skirmish game.

Mortal Gods is another possible ancients system.

[somegeezer 18431xp 3]

+1 for Ravenfeast. Beginner friendly, a handful of minis each, Vikings and it’s free!

Here’s an article on this fine website.

[somegeezer 18431xp 3]

Coming back to this, you could use Zona Alfa (Osprey Games) as the basis of a simple modern skirmish. It’s not overburdened with detail (an automatic rifle is an automatical rifle, an smg is an smg, etc).

You’d just need to skip anything too Post Apoc (or leave the radioactive zombies in – your call ?) and come up with a few scenarios and away you go.

[scribbs 14509xp 2]

And I’ve also just remembered about the Baron’s War – have a look at this project for more details

PanzerKaput Goes To Barons’ War

[oriskany 60771xp 3]

Modern War Skirmish games:

Skirmish Sangin (starts in Afghanistan, but applies to other theaters as well).

https://www.skirmishsangin.com/

 

UltraCombat Modern (Just released)

https://www.skirmishsangin.com/

 

Battlespace (solitaire, great for COVID lockdown gaming):

https://www.wargamevault.com/product/314447/BATTLESPACE-ULTRA-MODERN-SOLO-SKIRMISH-GAME

 

Contact Front from Godseye Games:

Contact Front

[limburger 21704xp 2]

I know ‘Spectre Operations’ is supposed to be good for moderns.

Spectre: Operations

Skirmish Sangin was another system I’ve seen mentioned.

Skirmish Sangin

Force on Force has been mentioned in the past, but you may have trouble finding hardcopy.

Force On Force

@oriskany is part of a team that runs the SitRep podcast about modern games, so they know this era better than I do.

[oriskany 60771xp 2]

Good call, @limburger , I forgot about Spectre.
GhostOps by Feral Games is a good one for Modern-era RPGs if that’s your thing.

Sitrep Podcast is a team I belong to with some other former OTT team members and community members that handles military historical gaming (all eras) although yes, we focus at least 50% of our coverage on post-1945 Modern Era wargaming.

We talk about systems like Contact Front, UltraCombat Modern (book review), and Battlespace (demo game video) if it might be helpful finding what @bali is looking for.  🙂

Sitrep Podcast YouTube

[jemmyParticipant 2428xp 2]

For a change and quite different from the games mentioned so far I suggest “Dead Man´s Hand”.

The Wild West is something most people have heard about and it is a genre anyone can familarize with rather easily. This could make access easier for the new gamers.

Furthermore, warbands or better “gangs” are not more than seven figures per side. If you raise interest and the newbies want to have a go at painting, the job is not too overwhelming and they won´t be put off the whole affair right away.

[crazyredcoatParticipant 13642xp 2]

The really nice thing about historicals is that if you’re playing, for example, a WW2 game, then a Warlord Tommy is the same as a Perry Miniatures Tommy is the same as a Victrix Tommy and so on. So while I personally use Warlord minis for Bolt Action, there’s nothing saying I have to. Even the scales in some games can be a little more free a lot of the time. If you look at particular periods, quite often it can be a single box for both sides. The US Civil War, for example, usually has a single box of Infantry for the North and the South. A lot of medieval stuff is the same. In that regard, historicals give you more space when it comes to mini selection.

Typically, Bolt Action is a little on the larger scale than a skirmish game, but you could play the game with smaller numbers of guys and, if anything, the game becomes a little simpler, but the mechanics are unit based whereas most skirmish games are individuals.

[torros 23816xp 2]

Also I 48 tactic and although designed for large figures I’m sure it could easily played in 28mm

http://1-48tactic.com/

[limburger 21704xp 2]

Bolt-Action has the ‘firefight’ rules with only a single squad per team.

1:48 Tactic may be an option for a really small scale skirmish game.

http://1-48tactic.com/

(disclaimer : I backed the kickstarter and am still waiting for the final bits of my pledge to be delivered although I do have the initial ‘starter sets’ … )

///

@jemmy There is also Tombstone by Black Scorpion Miniatures is game set in the Wild West with small gangs.

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[bali 3441xp 2]

Thanks for all the great input all, it’s of great help.  Once I get some opinions back from the group on genre I’ll do some digging into the suggestions that fit.

Also thanks for pointing out SitRep, I threw it a sub and look forward to poking through the content.

[nighthaunter666 3309xp 2]

Deadzone is a cinematic, compact, visually attractive skirmish game. It’s set in a sci-fi background, but you could easily adopt/adapt the unit profiles for modern or historical units. I’ve been building British Army and Taliban models from White Dragon Miniatures to use to play Deadzone.

[oriskany 60771xp 1]

Thanks very  much @bali for the sub!  😀  Hope you like our content.  😀

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