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Miniature wargaming is a form of wargaming designed to incorporate miniatures or figurines into play, which was invented at the beginning of the 19th century in Prussia. The miniatures used represent troops or vehicles (such as tanks, chariots, aircraft, ships, etc.). The games may reflect historical situations and armies, or may be futuristic or fantasy-based.

General overview

Miniature wargaming is a recreational hobby where players simulate a battle, which is played out using small figurines to represent the units involved. Many miniatures games are played on a floor or tabletop, with terrain represented by miniature scenery (hills, forests, roads, fences, etc.). Movement of the miniatures is regulated using a tape measure. However, like boardgames, miniature games can also be played using gridded terrain (demarcated into squares or hexagons) or even gameboards.

One of the main reasons for playing miniature wargames, in both these respects, is because it offers players more freedom of play and a more aesthetically pleasing tactical element over traditional games or computer games. Additionally, many hobbyists enjoy the challenge of painting miniatures and constructing scenery. In many ways, miniature wargaming may be seen as combining many of the aesthetics of tabletop train modeling with an open strategy game predominantly, though not exclusively, with a military theme.

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. The miniature figures are typically plastic or metal and are often sold unpainted. Scenery is often home-made, and figures are painted by the players, who will sometimes even "convert" shop-bought figures to better represent the units they are trying to depict.

There are any number of sets of miniature wargaming rules, some of which are available without charge on the Internet. Scenarios may depict actual historical situations and battles, or they may be hypothetical "what if?" situations. There are also fantasy and science fiction games with attendant wizards, spacecraft and other genres. Rules also vary in the scale they depict: one figure to one soldier is the most common for fantasy and some historical rules, but many historical systems presume that one figure represents a platoon, regiment or even larger formations on the tabletop.

Some miniature wargames have achieved widespread popularity. Of particular note are the three core Games Workshop games: Warhammer 40,000, Warhammer Fantasy Battles and The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game. These games are popular enough that Games Workshop retail stores can be found in many cities in the United States and Great Britain. They have spawned a historical variant, Warhammer Ancient Battles. A number of historical rules sets have also gained considerable followings.

See also Concise history of historical miniatures wargaming

Scale

Scale is generally expressed as the approximate height of a humanoid figure from base of foot to eyeline (though some count to top of head - hence the possible confusion) in millimeters, as opposed to the ratio values used in scale modeling. Popular sizes include 54 mm, 45 mm, 28 mm, 25 mm, 20 mm, 15 mm, 10 mm and 6 mm. These roughly equate to ratios of 1:32, 1:35, 1:64, 1:76, 1:87, 1:120, 1:180 and 1:300, respectively.

"HO" (1:87) and "N" (1:160) scale are popular among model railroad hobbyists. Some model railroad scales are close enough to the smaller-scale figures to provide usable structures and/or vehicles, possibly requiring some modification. Some wargamers use card model structures because of their economy and the ease of scaling them to appropriate sizes, and many wargamers scratchbuild their structures.

Part of the reason for the profusion of miniature sizes is the need for manufacturers to differentiate themselves in what is a niche market. This results in what has been termed 'scale creep' where miniatures listed in a catalogue may be identified by a measurement, but in reality may vary significantly from that advertised size. This is to encourage the purchaser into brand loyalty based on the aesthetic desire to maintain a look of uniformity on the tabletop.

Also, choice of miniature scale is a direct reflection of the scope of the game to be played. Larger scaled figures (25 mm and up) tend to be used in skirmish games where the single miniature represents (or signifies) a single man/animal/vehicle. This is for reasons of artistic sensibilities - a few single models do not capture the impression of many hundreds of individuals as if seen from a distance, and also for economic realities - larger figures are more expensive and consume proportionately more room on the playing surface.

Smaller scaled miniatures are typically mounted in groups and moved as groups. This creates the visual effect of a large mass of combatants, allowing games simulating platoon, company, battalion, and even corps level actions.

Historically, the perceived and agreed ratios of representative models to represented 'real world' objects was explicitly stated. This was particularly true of rules systems that claimed some form of historical authority. However, with the growth and popularity of fantasy games such as Warhammer Fantasy, model to man ratios are now predominantly left implicit in most modern commercial rules.

Notable miniature wargaming organizations

  • Historical Miniatures Gaming Society (HMGS) is the collective name for several regional miniature wargaming societies/organizations. Each HMGS chapter holds its own wargaming conventions. The largest group, HMGS East, holds three major conventions: Cold Wars, Historicon, and Fall In!. HMGS East also supports several smaller conventions. There are chapters of HMGS in most regions of the United States. *.
  • Wargame Developments (WD) was founded by game designer and author Paddy Griffith in 1980, and is an international group dedicated to developing all types of wargames. It publishes a journal - The Nugget - nine times per year and holds an annual 3-day long conference - COW (The Conference of Wargamers) - every July.
  • Games Workshop often organises tournaments, competition events and "worldwide campaigns" for its own games via Games Workshop Stores and the Internet. Online events such as The War of the Ring Online Campaign resulted in the expansion of the online community and the formation of fan forums. *

Notable miniature wargamers

Role-playing games

Main article: Role-playing game During the 1960s and 1970s, two new trends in wargaming emerged: First were small-unit rules sets which allowed individual players to portray small units down to even a single figure. These rules expanded the abilities of the smaller units accordingly, to magnify their effect on the overall battle.

Second was an interest in fantasy miniatures wargaming. J.R.R. Tolkien's novel The Hobbit and his epic cycle The Lord of the Rings were gaining strong interest in the United States, and as a result, rules were quickly developed to play medieval and Roman-era wargames, where these eras had previously been largely ignored in favor of Napoleonic and Civil War gaming.

The two converged in a set of miniatures rules entitled Chainmail, published by a tiny company called Guidon Games, headquartered in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Later, in 1974, TSR designer E. Gary Gygax wrote a set of rules for individual characters under Chainmail, and entitled it Dungeons and Dragons. Further developments ensued, and the role-playing game hobby quickly became distinct from the wargaming hobby which preceded it, developments which are not within the scope of this article.

Rulesets

There are many miniature wargaming rulesets, including some which are available free on the internet. Most rulesets are intended for a specific historical period or fictional genre. Rules also vary in the model scale they use: one infantry figure may represent one man, one squad, or much larger numbers of actual troops.

Wargaming in general owes its origins to military simulations, most famously to the Prussian staff training system Free Kriegspiel. Consequently, rules designers struggle with the perceived obligation to actually 'simulate' something, and with the seldom compatible necessity to make an enjoyable 'game'. Historical battles were seldom fair or even, and the potential detail that can be brought to bear to represent this in a set of rules always comes at the cost of pace of the game and enjoyment. Most rules aimed at the non-professional hobby market therefore inevitably contain abstractions. It is generally in the area of the abstraction liberties taken by the designers that the differences between rules can be found. Most follow tried and true conventions to the extent that a chess player would recognise wargaming merely as a different scaled version of his or her own game.

Some miniatures games have achieved widespread popularity. Of particular note are the Games Workshop games - Warhammer Fantasy Battle, Warhammer 40,000 (science fiction), and The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game. Games Workshop stores are open in most larger cities in the US and the UK. There is also a historical variant, Warhammer Ancient Battles.

Notwithstanding Games Workshop's success in attempting to drive a worldwide standard, there are dozens, if not hundreds of other manufacturers of miniatures and rules, each trying to carve out a portion of this niche market. Some are short lived. Others, such as Privateer Press's Warmachine, build 'steam' and market share through multiple media and distribution methods.

On historical wargames, the most popular Ancient-Medieval rulesets are De Bellis Antiquitatis/De Bellis Multitudinis and Warhammer Ancient Battles. For World War Two, the five most popular rulesets are: Command Decision, Flames of War, I Ain't Been Shot Mum, Rapid Fire, and Spearhead.

See List of Miniature Wargames for a more complete listing.

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Miniature wargaming".

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