What is tabletop wargaming and what are the main types of it?
Have you ever seen a pair or group of guys at your local shopping mall inside a hobby store and wondered: “why are they gathered around a big table just rolling dice from time to time and moving little army men”? Besides the curiosity, you indeed paid attention to how invested and happy these guys were. They just enjoyed their time together. Because that’s the essence of tabletop wargaming - the activity you just witnessed! Believe us. Here, at Kromlech - where our entire team gathers only wargaming fans dedicated to their work and this hobby - we know a thing or two about it.
What is tabletop wargaming?
The short version of an answer to this question is: wargaming tabletop is a game where you build your army from a wide range of resin, plastic, and metal miniatures (or else) of different scales and deploy them on various battlefields to fight against armies of other players. Thanks to the rulebook with specific tabletop wargaming rules, a set of dice, and any measurement tool, you can attack, move, and fulfill objectives with your troops - your main goal is to achieve victory! Sounds easy and exciting? It indeed is so!
Suppose you ever play board games or role-playing games. In that case, wargaming tabletop should look familiar and understandable to you, even if the history of this activity is full of many systems that were (mostly) more complicated than an average board game. Nonetheless, the modern approach to tabletop wargaming games focuses on making the rules shorter and as simple as possible, paying attention to not taking away any of its fun simultaneously. “Easy to learn, hard to master” is a sentence that suits most tabletop wargaming games nowadays. It sounds pretty fair and logical.
The different types of tabletop wargames
What’s excellent about miniature wargaming tabletop games is that when you decide to give this hobby a try (which we highly recommend), the only things that limit you are your interests and imagination. That’s because there is a wide range of different tabletop wargaming games - from the fantasy genre, through historical, to science fiction themed.
Warriors from Gore Legion clash with Sindari Voidfarers
Other various things in the tabletop wargames world are scales. There are many different scales on which people design particular systems. The most popular is a 28 mm, mostly thanks to that it is an official scale of Games Workshop Warhammer models (see below). Most players commonly call it a “heroic scale.” A good thing to notice is that the models dedicated to that scale aren’t always “precisely” in it. Sometimes, their proportions may vary, as the scale is only like a collection of guidance. Nonetheless, if you dig deep into this hobby, you’ll find many more scales - larger and smaller than 28 mm - for example, 10 mm or 32 mm.
One more thing to remember is that people do not always describe tabletop wargames as “tabletop wargames.” That’s right - some other names for tabletop wargaming that you could walk into are: “strategy battle games,” “fantasy battles,” “skirmish games,” etc. Although specific types of wargames could differ (sometimes remarkably), all of them possess the same elements that make them one big gaming family. So don’t worry - you shouldn’t have any problems deciding if you just found yourself in the presence of a tabletop wargame.
The different components of a tabletop wargame
Tabletop wargames aren’t only about miniatures (even though they’re their most vital part, no doubt about it). As we stated earlier, to play wargames, you’ll need more than just the models - for example, dice, measurement tools, tabletop wargaming scenery, etc. Not each of these things is necessary, but adding them to your gameplay will make it even more exciting.
First of all, the rulebook. Every tabletop wargame will have its own. These rulebooks can appear in many shapes and sizes, in paper or digital form, but there is no game without rules. There are many similarities between specific wargaming systems (some are even so similar that you can merge them if you wish). Still, you should read carefully the rules dedicated to the chosen wargame before you start to play. Sometimes, the devil could hide in detail, so do not skip this part.
Secondly, to play most of the tabletop wargames, you’ll need a clean flat space, which most often will be called “the battlefield.” That space could be just your desk or a floor, but it could also be a specially dedicated battlefield built from any wargaming scenery. What’s great about it is that you don’t need to buy anything (even though you can, because there are a lot of companies, such as, for example, Tabletop Scenics, which produce amazing, various wargaming scenery). You can always prepare the battlefield with rocks, plants, and almost everything that comes to your mind. And if you find it enjoyable, you could become a great modeler, building many incredible battlefields, castles, spaceports, etc. It’s a hobby in itself!
When playing wargames, you’ll see plenty of dice rolled onto the battlefield
And speaking about wargaming activities that possess some “autonomy,” there is no chance not to mention painting and modeling. Most producers sell miniatures dedicated to your tabletop wargaming armies unassembled and unpainted, so you will need to prepare them for battle by yourself. Modeling and basing requires work and equipment, like a hobby knife or static grass. Painting could also be challenging, but there are no words to describe pride and satisfaction when you look upon your fully prepared - assembled and painted - army, ready to win battles.
If the subjects are the components of a tabletop wargame, then you can’t forget about what we stated earlier - gaming accessories. To play, you’ll need dice or, more precisely, battle dice. It’ll be standard d6 dice in most systems, but sometimes you could need many other types, from d3 to d20. Also, the measurement tools - handy equivalents of standard measures that guarantee the best tabletop wargaming experience, are battle rulers. And finally, some coins depending on the type of tabletop wargame you’ll be playing. If you’re short on such equipment, it’s good to think about some tokens, markers, and templates designed and produced by many companies specializing in wargaming accessories.
Finally, there is one more (probably most important) element you’ll need to play any wargame - another player. Whether it’s a relative, best friend, or another enthusiast from your local hobby store, there is no good tabletop wargaming game without a competitive opponent. All you have to remember is that it’s just a game, and the most important rule is that everyone should feel good and comfortable playing it.
Popular tabletop games
There are plenty of different tabletop wargaming games. The most known are these produced by Games Workshop, including Warhammer 40,000, Warhammer Fantasy Battle, Age of Sigmar, or even Middle-Earth: Strategy Battle Game - based on books written by J. R. R. Tolkien (as well as movies inspired by them). Many players could label each as one of the top miniature wargaming tabletop games. And, as you can see, even in the orbit of only one company, there already are different settings and genres of tabletop wargaming games - both futuristic and more medieval-themed.
Games Workshop - even if the biggest - isn’t the only wargaming producer, so we can’t forget about many smaller firms that were, for example, capable of getting the rights to transform some of the most memorable pop culture franchises onto the tabletop. Thanks to them, we can play wargames in almost every fictional universe, with the games such as Archon Studio’s Masters of the Universe, Atomic Mass Games’ Marvel: Crisis Protocol and Star Wars: Legion, Prodos Games’ Alien vs. Predator: The Hunt Begins, Knight Models’ Batman Miniature Game or Harry Potter Miniatures Adventure Game.
No matter which game you choose, tokens, markers, and measurement tools are the best companions for your miniatures
Besides them, some companies create (much like Games Workshop) their fictional universes to place their tabletop wargames in a specific, unique setting. Most notable examples of high fantasy wargaming tabletop - one of the many subgenres in which the companies create their sets, but probably still the most commonly recognizable - are the likes of Mantic Games’ Kings of War, Osprey Games’ Frostgrave or Oathmark. If you decide to try them, the rules won’t be everything that will await you to discover. You’ll have a possibility to sink fully into a new, fascinating reality - filled with its facts and history - that, in time, you’ll be able to bring to life by yourself on your table.
And even here, the possibilities don’t end. Because as technology advances, so do the wargames! If speaking about popularity, 3D printing has become a prevalent, standard practice in recent years. Of course, including the printing dedicated to tabletop wargames. As you can see at Kromlech 3D Workshop, there could be plenty of different things you can print that will help you improve your wargaming experience. And as more people can design files and print them on their own, the old wargaming systems get the new, alternative models and - as an effect - the “second youth.” The once-again-expanding cafeteria of models available for the forgotten system attracts new players, and the senior ones give another try their oldest, now refreshed, favorite game. Thanks to 3D printing, the popularity of certain games in this new, ultramodern tabletop wargaming era could be in constant motion, with notable shifts in players’ preferences.
Remember that there are even more wargaming systems besides everything we stated here, with the new ones still uprising. Year after year, new ideas show up, both on the rule side of the hobby and the model side. Some firms may release a new range of modeling paints from time to time, allowing you to prepare your army for battle in new, exciting ways. The wargaming world is ever-expanding, and we believe that’s good. But if we wanted to tell you everything we happen to know about this hobby, then even ten articles could not be enough! That is why we highly recommend not treating this text as a complete wargaming guide - instead, as an introduction.
After all, who knows what the future can bring? No one. But one thing is for sure - tabletop wargaming is here to stay! So please don’t wait any longer and give it a try. Then, in your old days - like a true veteran - you would be able to tell many fascinating and inspiring tabletop wargaming war stories.