The Wild World of Indie 28 Games
Something I really enjoy doing is reading rules. To me they are all self-contained design systems, creating unique user experiences in the medium of miniatures and dice. Lately Jon and I have started to delve into the amazing community of Indie 28 games. Typically miniatures agnostic (though some have amazing minis as well), they’re rules engines to create unique and niche settings to enjoy miniature gaming.
If you caught our most recent episode of Late Night Wargames, we had a designer on promoting his heavy metal inspired, post apocalyptic biopunk game, Grave Trigger (more on this game below). This has sent me down a rabbit hole to say the last. I’ve always been aware of indie 28mm games existing, and have even picked up a few rulebooks and played some, but now I find myself jumping in with both feet…
The size and scope of these games vary greatly, some are little more than PDFs and zines, while others have been published in lavishly illustrated hardback editions. I don’t really have a hard and fast rule as to what constitutes an “indie” game, but generally they’re small teams and even smaller marketing budgets, largely driven by the community. There are publishers, such as Osprey and Exalted Funeral who provide platforms for a lot of them, while others may be self-published entirely. This article is for anyone interested in taking the plunge, but doesn’t know where to start. I’ve assembled some of my favorites as well as some I’ve been wanting to try:
Gaslands Refueled
Dig out your Hotwheels! Gaslands Refuelled allows players to create post-apocalyptic warbands of combat vehicles and compete in epic battles for survival. The gameplay will be familiar to people who have played X-Wing, but it definitely has a Mad Max twist. I particularly like how they handle the speed your vehicle is traveling at by the Gear they’re in and how it affects maneuvering (or spinning out of control) around corners. The community is quite large, and converting hotwheels with varieties of weapons and bits is really addictive.
Forbidden Psalm
In Forbidden Psalm you will recruit a warband of 5 greedy souls to undertake Vriprix the Mad Wizards’ bidding. But the Mad Wizard hasn’t just bet on you. You will face rivals before you will seen any of his coin. Hunt ravenous monsters and unearth dangerous relics as you search for the Psalm itself....maybe even help the Mad Wizard locate his misplaced socks.
A game of blood. Metal and death. In Forbidden Psalm your warband is disposable. Its members will suffer injuries, flaws and even unleash horrible magic. But for hardened survivors, a wealth of plunder and experience awaits.
Grave Trigger
We were fortunate enough to have the designer behind Grave Trigger on a recent episode of Late Night Wargames. This is a new skirmish miniatures game where players control humans terminally bound to Animus Reactors—sentient, techno-organic armor that feeds on those who wield it in exchange for terrifying power. Jon and I had a total blast playing, while our Animus Reactors torqued apart the poor squishy human hosts inside. It is truly amusing, gruesome and violent.
Tonks!
One of my favorite little games is Tonks! Each player has a tank and are trying to blow up the others. You maneuver the tank, aim your turret and blast away. The rules are really fast to pick up and quick to play, and best part is that you can use literally any tank minis you have around.
Necromolds
In Necromolds players use Spell Clay to summon forces to battle each other, by pressing their clay into molds (which are styled like spell books), the more powerful the creature, the more clay it takes to create. As your forces battle, you’ll squash slain creatures with your spell rings. An absolutely fantastic game for kids, the difficulty can scale up as you get more familiar with the rules. We’ve also had the designer on Late Night Wargames if you want to hear more about what it takes to launch a game, everything from designing to tooling. This is one of my favorites and full of 80’s, creepy-crawler nostalgia.
But Wait, There’s More!
This is really just the tip of the iceberg, but there are MANY small games out there. If you want to break up your competitive gaming, or are feeling burnt out, I’d suggest just looking around on social media, and before long you’re bound to come across a few. It’s easy to get buried, so I suggest just finding a couple that sound interesting and pick up the rules.
Here are a last few that I came across: Turnip 28, Quar, I Bury the Gods.
28 Mag
One great resource for Indie games I found is 28 Mag. This publication shows off all kinds of miniatures, games, lore, etc., mostly centered around indie 28 games.
Be sure to check out their Games tab, you’ll find a handful of free PDFs for some very unique games to play. There’s even a Non-Combat Tabletop compendium where you can enjoy such activities as Fishing 28, DogWalk28, Bug Catching XXVIII, and more.