And Now For Something Completely Different

You want to try something a bit different? It’s fine! Sometimes, you just want to try a new game, and I don’t blame you! Today I’m going to talk about all the games that Jon and I have been playing recently, venturing out of our Infinity comfort zone and gave a bunch of other systems a solid try. Some were games that we had on our shelves collecting dust, while others were totally new releases that neither of us saw coming. In our recent adventures testing various games, we’ve played: Age of Sigmar, Aristeia!, Dropfleet Commander, Warhammer Underworlds, Aeronautica Imperialis, Warcry, Blackstone Fortress, Blood Bowl, and Battletech, as well as Infinity.

While I’ve written articles covering my first impressions of a few of these, I have not written about all of them entirely. Today I’m going to share with you my brief opinion about each system, from the perspective of someone looking for a new game. So here they are, in no particular order.

Infinity

I’ll start with the game I know the best, and enjoy the most, and generally the benchmark of comparison for the other games in this article. If you haven’t played Infinity before, it’s a science fiction skirmish (10-20 models per side) game, taking place 175 years in Earth’s future. The factions are based on real political entities, with a cyberpunk corporate layer on top.

Of all mini games I’ve played, I think it offers the most provocative turn-by-turn tactical decision making, with incredibly tense and cinematic moments. Even when things are going tits-up, you can often find some Hail Mary maneuvers to pull out a win. The miniatures are just superb, and don’t suffer from the “you bought the wrong toy” syndrome that plagues many other games, every single unit is totally viable and effective on the table, if used properly. I honestly can’t recommend it enough, but you probably know that just by reading my blog.

Pros

Amazing miniatures, some of the best in the industry.
Very friendly and overall positive community.
Deep tactical engagement.

Cons

Steep learning curve.
Metal minis are difficult to work with for beginners.
Not a lot of fluff, what’s there is good, but there aren’t any novels to deep-dive into the background.

Battletech

This game has been around for AGES. The rules are largely unchanged from the original, meaning some of the veterans fo the community have decades of applicable experience (unlike my 2nd edition 40k experience which has no relevance today). It is the grand daddy of stompy robot games, with simulation-level rules, keeping track of the amount of heat generated by weapons, damage to systems, subsystems, armor, structure, and the ability of the pilot to remain conscious. There are charts for charts, rules for adding aerospace fighters, traditional ground forces, and a potentially unlimited map-size. Not a game for the faint of heart when it comes to reading vast quantities of rules. The upside to all this madness is that the game really does let you do just about anything you can think of with a big robot.

Pros

Incredibly detailed rule system.
Unbelievable amounts of fluff, well over 60 novels.
Stompy robots firing giant lasers. PEW PEW!

Cons

Many minis are old and derpy, though are getting updated soon-ish.
Charts for charts for charts, the rules are the most complex of any game I’ve played.
Not well balanced for competitive play.

Blood Bowl

I’ve played this game off and on for decades, every time there is a new edition, I come back and pick up some teams. The best way to describe it is it’s a football board game, written by a bunch of drunk brits who watched precisely one game of football ever, and filled in the blanks with what they know of rugby, sprinkle in some fantasy races, and call it a day.

The game was played for many years without proper GW support, there are dozens of small vendors who make various “fantasy football” teams which match the official game races. Since coming out with a new edition, GW has not only been updating old teams, but they’ve been working with the community to ensure that the game, while close to the original, still feels fresh and exciting. I consider this the ultimate casual yet competitive game, the dice rolls can be incredibly punishing, but if you learn to laugh at your blunders, it is a ton of fun. Crack open a beer, get the pretzles, and play some Blood Bowl.

It’s also worth noting that you don’t need to buy a single mini to play Blood Bowl, there is a fantastic video game rendition available on Steam, that is a perfect interpretation of the rules of the board game. But let’s face it, it’s way more fun to play in person so you can watch your opponent’s hopes and dreams die with a double-skulls dice roll.

Pros

Low model count (11-16 players per team) and initial investment.
Very robust rules with no ambiguity, it’s been around long enough to answer all the questions.
Incredibly devoted community for both the minis and video game.

Cons

Teams are not all on the same level (though that is by design).
If you tilt when rolling unlucky dice, you will hate Blood Bowl.
Can be too random for many, with all the hallmarks of classing GW gaming.

Blackstone Fortress

I’m a huge fan of the original Warhammer Quest, but with that game long gone, I had to give Blackstone Fortress a try. Unlike Hammerhall, you can play this game cooperatively with only 2 players, against a random assortment of small dungeons and events. The game is just as ruthless and unforgiving as I remember the original being, which makes it both very difficult, and very rewarding to beat. Blackstone Fortress has received a lot of praise, not just from me, or the miniature gaming community, but from the board game community at large.

Pros

Very fun cooperative play, you really feel like you’re in it together.
Assemble and go, since it’s not a competitive play, you can quickly assemble minis and get to playing.
None of the models are potato, they are some of the newest, best looking GW minis around.

Cons

Very restricted on what models to use.
Gets expensive with all the expansions.
Limited replay after main story.

Warcry

Warcry was an unexpected hit this summer. I’ve tried the previous incarnations of skirmish-scale Age of Sigmar, and was not impressed, which made me naturally very skeptical of Warcry. As more of the game was shown off, I discovered that the game is not at all a rehash of AoS Skirmish, but a totally new system from the ground up. My interest piqued, I ended up with the starter pack, a Legion of Nagash Warband, a few allies, and even a Chaos Gargant… needless to say I’ve been enjoying the game.

Similar in scale to Infinity, with low model counts, the games rules couldn’t be more different. The system is very streamlined, which means you can spend less time looking up rules, and more time delving into the tactical nuance of the game. At first it seems very shallow, but after playing a few games, things like order of activation, when to use special abilities, and even which models to bring to a fight, all become very technically complex decisions. As a side-game to a more complex system like Infinity, I’ve found Warcry to be very refreshing, while still checking all the boxes of being a rewarding gaming experience with gorgeous miniatures.

Pros

Very low model count (8-15 in a warband), great for collecting small groups, instead of full AOS armies.
Extremely easy rules, learning takes a few minutes.
Surprisingly complex tactical decision making.

Cons

Not all AoS armies are in Warcry, which is a shame, because so many AoS armies look great!
The game is likely to continue to have rules expansions, meaning there is a fairly consistent investment to stay up to date.
Campaign progression is very limited.

Aeronautica Imperialis

Yet another totally unexpected release from GW, a new edition of Aeronautica Imperialis hit the shelves, and my wallet. I managed to keep myself from going whole hog, but I did get the starter set to give it a whirl. Playing Imperials vs Orks with Jon, after we got done making zooming and machine gun noises with our mouths, we realized that we were on to something special. First off, I can’t get too far without saying how incredible the art direction for the game is, it’s perfectly calibrated to nostalgic dog fighting stories and movies, but with a 40k undertone.

The rules were very easy to pick up, and it was immediately clear how much of a game of risk + poker we were playing. Really, the game plays a lot like X-Wing, but with much more refined feeling movement, thanks to being on a hex-grid, and with very fun and well designed scenarios. My only real complaint is the lack of more races, the Orks and Imperials do offer some diverse gameplay, but there’s a lot to be said of launching a game with 3 factions to draw in more players and keep the game momentum going. That said, when Eldar, Chaos, and hopefully Tau do land, I fully expect this game to explode in popularity.

Pros

The art direction of the game is absolute perfection.
Rules are super tight and easy to learn.
Low buy-in, buying a starter and trading factions gets you a very sizable fleet.

Cons

Only 2 factions available at launch, so I hope you like Orks, Imperials, or both.
Slow release cycle, so far there hasn’t been any new releases after launch, though one new plane is coming next month…
Requires a 4x4 game board with 2” hexes, which is very hard to find, and critical to play a “normal” game.

Warhammer Underworlds

I haven’t had a chance to play Beastgrave, but I think I’ve played enough of Underworlds to get a solid feel for it. Unfortunately, when compared to Aristeia!, I found the game lacking, and as both games have developed, I’ve only felt that Aristeia! kept improving, while the flaws of Underworlds kept growing.

As far as game balance and fun goes, Underworlds is fine, it plays fast and is fairly easy to learn, the downside is that as you grow beyond casual games, you end up needing to buy A LOT of expansions, just for the cards. As time goes on, certain cards may be restricted or banned from the format, or cycled out of the game entirely as they release new seasons. That right there is a HUGE buzz kill for me, but if you’re into playing Magic competitively, it might not bother you. The game does enjoy having GW’s fantastic miniature design department, meaning the models all look spectacular, but there is zero warband customization, just your deck.

Pros

Gorgeous minis, every model in the warband comes together in a box.
Fast to play, with experience a single game may take 30 minutes or less.
Designed for competitive play.

Cons

You have to buy most sets, even if you don’t want the faction, for the generic cards.
Amount of randomness means the game is intended to be played best 2 of 3 (random ability cards, random objectives, and then random combat dice to resolve combats).
Annual cycle means older factions become unavailable and older cards cycle out.

Dropfleet Commander

This venerable game keeps chugging on. Jon and I played a demo of Dropfleet a while back at Adepticon a few years back, and went ham buying massive fleets. After learning the game mechanics and scenarios, it became apparent that while the space combat is very multi-dimensional, the method of accomplishing objectives is very specific, and doesn’t involve much of the coolest parts of the game. Fortunately, the community, while small, is very dedicated, and has been working with TTCombat to improve it, which has led to a Community update of the game, vastly improving the scoring parameters, and making the whole game more exciting.

The models for the game are really quite nice, each faction has a distinct look and feel, and unique game mechanics. Playing the game really does invoke the feel ok massive ships lumbering through space, blasting each other with incredible ordinance. The latest edition of the rules, the Battle For Earth, also allows you to run campaigns combining Dropzone Commander and Dropfleet commander games, so you could play the combat in space, followed up by the individual ground assaults, which is pretty neat.

Pros

Written by Andy Chambers, author of Battlefleet Gothic, it feels more like an update to BFG than an entirely new game (which is a good thing, BFG was awesome).
Pairs with Dropzone Commander for multi-theater combat.
Models are easy to paint and get on the table.

Cons

Too much emphasis on ground combat makes a lot of the bigger ships redundant, without the community update.
Small community sadly makes it hard to find opponents.
Slow release cycle.

Aristeia!

The arena combat game by Corvus Belli, makers of Infinity. You battle with your team of Aristos in an American Gladiator meets MOBA arena. I was cautiously enthusiastic when this game came out, it’s by the same company who makes Infinity, but is a totally different game system, using bespoke 6-sided dice, and all new game mechanics. After the first few expansions came out, the game really started to build momentum, each single new fighter is useful in it’s own right, but when you carefully select a team, you can combine their abilities and cards to really play a deep tactical game.

Since there are no factions or points, your team can be any combination of 4 of 30 fighters, meaning there are 27,405 possible team combinations, and growing. Despite having many expansions, the balance of the characters and deck building mechanics means you won’t need to buy any characters if you don’t fully intend on using them yourself, and the core set of 8 in the starter set is perfectly competitive. Finally, it wouldn’t be a MOBA without alternate skins, Corvus Belli has been releasing pewter versions of many fighters, with new costumes, that look fantastic.

Pros

Very fast paced action game which feels a lot like a MOBA.
Every character is unique and adds interesting tactical options.
Easy to learn rules.

Cons

Some of the plastic minis miss out on Corvus Belli’s usual quality or may bend over time.
Lot’s of characters and combos to be aware of.
Small community.

Age of Sigmar

Certainly the most popular game on this whole list, Age of Sigmar is the fantasy combat game by Games Workshop, where each player commands scores of infantry to battle in the Mortal Realms. Most people here are probably familiar with the game as well as it’s more popular cousin, Warhammer 40k. The models are gorgeous and almost exclusively plastic (making them quite durable), and the armies are vast (some can go over 100 models per side). I’ve recently got back into the game, though mostly as a hobby project, but another frequent opponent of mine has bought in as well, so I’ll be getting a few games in. The game has a massive following, though is probably less tactically complex than many others on this list, it has to be to make fielding so many models manageable in a reasonable amount of time. Much of the game has to do with your strategy instead, the plan you make ahead of time to accomplish the mission, and the forces you selected to do so.

My biggest gripe is that with so many models on the table, it can get a bit overwhelming, sometimes looking like blobs or piles of models smashing into each other, since individual model placement is not terribly important. It’s not uncommon to see people grab their minis by the fist-full, removing them in clumps from the battle as they die. The armies in the game all look stellar and play uniquely, which makes it very exciting on the table, and if you’re up for a big hobby project, the models lend themselves well to customization.

What Age of Sigmar does incredibly well is handling mass combat, no other game I’ve played works nearly as well with the model count you see here. If you love seeing large armies of fantasy warriors ripping each other apart with crazy magic, and monsters, then it’s by far the best option out there. It’s just that when compared to the other games, on this list, it’s not more fun than the others, and its downsides can be very prohibitive.

Pros

Armies look spectacular on the table.
Rules are very streamlined and handle the high model counts.
Very large and active community and tournament scene.

Cons

Extremely expensive compared to other games here.
Large model counts require spending lots of time building and painting to play (and most events have a painting requirement).
Rules often change with drastic FAQs, units which are good today could be awful tomorrow.

Feed the Woozle

My daughters favorite game, I thought it would be an injustice to not include it. Even though Jon hasn’t had the pleasure of feeding the Woozle, I’ve spent hours mastering the technique. This game is all about who can feed the Woozle the appropriate treat from a selection of disgusting goodies. Eating everything from baseballs to spider-egg soup, the Woozle seems insatiable. His face is charming and compelling, almost like he’s whispering to you to continue to feed him… sometimes I can’t look away from his gaze, unable to break eye contact as I fill the spoon with tokens. It haunts my dreams.

Pros

Easy enough for a toddler to play.
Everything comes pre-painted with minimal assembly required.
Inexpensive to get started.

Cons

The lack of fluff makes understanding the Woozle’s motivations difficult.
Despite Jean’s disagreement, I think the game has minimal replay value.
No competitive community that I could find.

TL;DR

You want to play all the things, without reading all the things, I get it. If you want a new, competitive game to play with your friends right now, without reading too much of what I put above, I’d really recommend one of these: Aeronautica Imperialis, Aristeia!, or Warcry. These games are all quick to pick up, have easy to learn rules, and fast and exciting gameplay. They’re all readily available at your FLGS and are unlikely to drive off new players due to expensive minis, complex mechanics, imbalanced forces, or aggravating dice rolls.

If you want something you can really sink your teeth into, looking for that dense, tactically fulfilling gaming experience then obviously my favorite is Infinity, though Battletech and Dropfleet Commander can really satisfy that taste for crunchy rule systems.