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When it comes to picking the 20 best miniature wargames, there are a lot of factors to consider, including lore, gameplay, aesthetics, history, and community. In an effort to keep this article brief I’m not going to break down every one of these by every category, but I am going to keep them all in mind.
What I WILL DO is list the games in the list that I find them most appealing. This means that while one game may have a bigger community and lore and be more universally beloved, I may rank it lower. If this is the case, I will always try to justify my decisions.
(And be aware that while it may matter a lot what I choose as #1 and #2, the difference between #16 and #17 is going to be pretty negligible.)
(Also be aware that this list is not going to have any indie games on it. I plan to make a list of my indie best miniature wargames in the near future.)
So on to the list of the best miniature wargames.
#1. Bolt Action
This one is, to me, a no brainer for the best miniature wargame that is currently on the market. It has everything: it has excellent models sold at a decent price (a “starter set” is essentially an entire playable army and will only set you back a little over $100 USD. It has the weight of history that outclasses the lore of every other game.
Warhammer 40k might think that it’s neat that it has 600 books in its Black Library, but that’s peanuts to World War Two. It has, by far, the best alternating rule mechanic–the drawing of a die from a bag to determine which player gets to go. That mechanic alone puts it head and shoulders above most of the other games in this list.
The games are tight and quick, with a 1000 point skirmish game rarely ever taking longer than an hour. Most games are infantry-led, vehicle-supported, which is a lot of fun, but if you really want to play with tanks then there’s the Bolt Action Tank War rules which let you play a vehicle-led, infantry-supported type of game. It leads to enabling you to engage in any scenario you wish.
And that’s to say nothing of the books, which really go into depth about individual armies and their campaigns, telling you exactly who could realistically be fighting in Kursk or Tunisia or The Battle of the Bulge.
There’s little surprise that I own more Bolt Action than any other wargame. Definitely on the list of the best miniature wargames.
Read More:
- Getting Started in Bolt Action: Gameplay
- Getting Started in Bolt Action: Hobby
- Building Armies in Bolt Action: A Primer
#2. Warhammer 40k
Warhammer 40k really deserves a place in the best miniature wargames for two reasons, and one of them is NOT its gameplay. Warhammer 40k gameplay, especially in 9th Edition, is cumbersome at best. But what Warhammer 40k has going for it it has going for it in spades: lore and models.
Warhammer 40k is chock full of lore, and there are endless places you can learn about the lore, whether in the rulebooks, the Black Library, or the many, many YouTube channels. Someone asked me recently if 3D printing was going to take down Games Workshop, and I really don’t think it will, and the reason isn’t because resin printers aren’t becoming better and better.
It’s because Warhammer 40k has such tight control on their IP, and their IP is so well-loved. People love Sanguinius or Celestine or Horus Lupercal or Gaunt’s Ghosts. The IP makes Warhammer 40k what it is, and has made it a powerhouse for 35+ years.
The other thing that makes Warhammer 40k such a powerhouse is that no one can match their models. Other companies try, and there are a lot of companies that get close, and even companies that produce single models that are better than single models from Games Workshop. But no matter how good a single Infinity squad is, they just don’t have the backlog of models that Games Workshop has. For every good Warmachine/Hordes model, there are thirty good Warhammer 40k models.
So while the game might not (currently) be as fun to play, it is endless fun to be involved in.
Read More:
- Getting Started in Warhammer 40k: Gameplay
- Getting Started in Warhammer 40k: Hobby
- Getting Started in Warhammer 40k: Lore
#3. Star Wars Legion
Star Wars Legion is one of the best miniatures wargames because they are able to combine a very good ruleset with a wealth of lore.
The rules are excellent. Not stellar, but excellent. But that’s not the reason that people get into Star Wars Legion and it’s not the reason that Star Wars Legion continues to sell a ton of models.
It’s because you’ve always wanted to lead the Rebels on Hoth against the Snowtroopers. You’ve wanted an AT-ST on the table. You’ve wanted Luke Skywalker–in Luke’s sand speeder.
So you have a ton of people getting into the game and painting the game, and that’s the first and hardest thing that any tabletop miniatures game needs, let alone the best miniatures games. Then, when they play for a while, they get a taste of the rules and find out that it’s more than just a pretty face and that there’s more behind the mask.
(One note: I worry that Star Wars Legion is running out of models to put on the table and that’s the reason that Atomic Mass Games is releasing Star Wars: Shatterpoint–a game that is different enough to get all of the Star Wars Legion players hooked again, buy all of the same models they already have, just at a different scale. This worries me.)
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#4. Marvel Crisis Protocol
Marvel Crisis Protocol is right there alongside Star Wars Legion as one of the best miniature wargames in that it has a really good ruleset and a really great batch of lore that it can lean into. There are so many good mechanics to the game, including strong characters (like the Incredible Hulk) picking up scenery pieces and throwing them across the table, as well as the change in abilities when characters are wounded.
It’s great to see that Captain America gets beat up pretty good, wipes his bloodied lip, and says “I can do this all day.”
I also like this game because the models are a larger scale than some others (at 40mm for the standard human, though hardly anyone in this game is a standard human). It makes them easier to paint, which makes them more fun to paint, which makes them addictive to paint. I admit I don’t play Marvel Crisis Protocol a ton, but I do paint a lot of it.
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#5. Battletech
Let’s flip to something on the opposite side of the spectrum. I will say right up front that I HATE the models of Battletech. I don’t like the aesthetic, I don’t think there’s enough variation, I don’t think they’re, quite simply, sculpted well. But I love the Battletech rules enough to rank it as one of the best miniature wargames.
It takes a lot for me to get into a game with a lot of crunch, but Battletech is the crunchiest and I really dig it. I love the constant worries about overheating, the tracking of every missile and round, the damage tables, the charts that show you how each limb of your mech is faring and what implications that holds for it.
I am a relative newbie to Battletech, but I’ve gotten back into it recently, and you should expect to see a review of it on this site in the very near future.
#6. Aeronautica Imperialis
I used to love X-Wing back in its heyday, but Aeronautica takes everything that X-Wing did, does it better, simplifies it, and puts it in the Warhammer 40k universe. (Admittedly, the Star Wars universe is an excellent sandbox to play in, but they ran into the same problem that I mentioned Star Wars Legion running into: they ran out of ships and had to start makin’ crap up.)
The rules in Aeronautica Imperialis are so simple, but with such depth that every engagement can get your blood pumping. Where X-Wing was bogged down with so many cards and special abilities, Aeronautica Imperialis forgoes all of that in favor of streamlined fun. You still give your planes orders that they’re going to follow, as you do in X-Wing, though you have slightly more control over the move.
But this game is just fun. I haven’t had as much fun playing a game (one that I wasn’t expecting to like) in months if not years. For sci-fi flight combat, there’s none better. If you haven’t tried this, you’re in for one of the best miniature wargame experiences.
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#7. Kill Team
Controversial choice, because there are a lot of people who are still upset to Games Workshop shifting to Kill Team 2.0. And there’s a lot of complaints–legitimate ones–about the fact that they sell you the game in large bundles with rules and terrain and two forces, instead of just a single force.
But the game is fun. And more importantly, it’s narrative, and it’s the narrative aspect that pushes it into best miniature wargames territory. Kill Team is at its best when you have a soldier bleeding out and a medic is trying to run across an open kill zone to get to him, all while someone is planting a bomb while dodging sniper fire. Kill Team is a game that is balanced enough to play, without the rules bloat that Warhammer 40k is currently suffering from, but it tells a story that keeps you engaged from start to finish.
Add to that the fact that the new models for the Kill Team teams are some of my favorite: the Veteran Guardsmen, the Sisters Novitiates, the Tau Pathfinders, the Kroot, the Imperial Navy. They’re all great models (with a few recycled ones thrown in, admittedly.)
#8. Warhammer Age of Sigmar
I’ll be honest: I never cared for Warhammer Fantasy Battles. It wasn’t my thing. I don’t tend to like rank-and-flank games and the fact that the slightest piece of terrain on the board could ruin an entire game was very frustrating.
I also didn’t like–and this may be heresy–how generic it was. There were elves and dwarves and men and vampires and a whole lot of standard fantasy rehashing. (Suffice it to say that I’m not that excited about the return of the Old World.)
So when the Old World blew up and an entirely new world was born, with wood elves that aren’t quite wood elves, and skeletons that aren’t quite skeletons, I was really excited. Because I love fantasy–I just want it to be unique.
And let’s just rehash what I said about Warhammer 40k models: the Age of Sigmar models are heads and shoulders above anything else in the fantasy realm–easily one of the best miniature wargames. The direct competitor to Age of Sigmar (or, the game that is trying to fill the gap left by Warhammer Fantasy) is Kings of War, and they fall short in sculpts and lore–by a mile.
Yes, Kings of War has some very good gameplay, but if you’re in it for the hobby more than the game nights, you’re going to be disappointed.
I am sad to admit that even though I set it as one of my goals this year to complete a 2000 point Warhammer Age of Sigmar army, I got SO CLOSE three times–Nighthaunt, Idoneth Deepkin, and Sylvaneth–but never quite made it across the line. Well, there’s next year.
Read More:
- Getting Started in Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Hobby
- Getting Started in Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Mortal Realms
#9. A Song of Ice and Fire
A Song of Ice and Fire is one my list almost solely for the gameplay, which I found to be a ton of fun. And it’s rank-and-flank, and I don’t like rank-and-flank! There is enough lore to make it fun, even if you haven’t watched the show and memorized the books, and one of my favorite mechanics is that you can have non-combatants taking turns during the battle, doing political machinations, and that feels very game of thrones to me.
My other favorite mechanic in this game is that there are random corpse piles strewn across the battlefield which are demoralizing to people nearby. It reminds me of the Gore mechanic in Sludge War, a game I raved about.
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#10. Necromunda
Necromunda should have been higher on this list of the best miniature wargames, because in models and lore it ticks all of the boxes for me, but it has the current Warhammer 40k problem where I don’t even know what books I’d need to buy if I wanted to get started in this thing.
Games Workshop, for as much as they release amazing new sculpts for Necromunda (including my favorite–the Squats), they simply do not make it easy to play their games. The rules bloat is very real, and even though I love the Ash Wastes models I don’t know what I would ever do with them.
Well, I do know what I’d do with them: I’d paint them, because that’s what I do with all the Warhammer 40k minis that I never intend to play games with.
Best Miniature Wargames — Honorable Mentions
#11. Blood Bowl
Loads of silly fun, and good for a laugh on a Saturday afternoon. Rules are straightforward with some good campaign rules. It’s Games Workshop not taking themselves too seriously, and no rules bloat! Just because something can be silly doesn’t mean it’s not one of the best miniature wargames.
#12. Warcry
Warcry is a game that I love–from afar. I can’t tell you how many models I have bought from Warcry thinking they would be fun to paint, only to be stymied by how remarkably tiny they are (I’m looking at you, Corvus Cabal.) But they’re gorgeous.
#13. Black Powder
I love Black Powder for its versatility. You can play at all scales, in all parts of the world.
My first introduction to Black Powder was American War of Independence, but I fell in love with Waterloo. (13mm. A hard scale to get into.) For versatility alone it is one of the best miniature wargames.
#14. Konflikt 47
This plays almost exactly like Bolt Action (which, remember, was my #1) but it adds sci-fi and horror elements. The only reason that I’m ranking this so far down is because the models are generally metal and expensive. I don’t mind paying GW prices for models, but paying those prices to get fiddly metal models? No thanks.
#15. Team Yankee: World War Three
Another solid game that I have enjoyed a lot (too much). It doesn’t play around with the fact that modern (well, 1980s) warfare is brutal with one hit pretty much guaranteeing a kill. The range is really extensive, and word is that they’re releasing a Red Dawn expansion, which sounds cool.
#16. Flames of War
Flames of War is a World War 2 game that is heavy on the vehicles, but doesn’t neglect the infantry. With the small scale (I think 10mm?) you can get a lot of tanks on the battlefield. Painting the little infantry is a skill I have yet to acquire.
#17. Conquest: The Last Argument of Kings
Another fun game that has good gameplay and interesting lore which I only have a beef with because the models are hard to put together and not terribly fun to paint. They’re big models, too, so I don’t know why I hate them so much. But the heart wants what the heart wants, and it’s not Conquest.
#18. Malifaux
Malifaux is a game with a core mechanic that I really like (the deck of playing cards) and a lot of models that I really like. The only reason I don’t play it more is not because it’s overly expensive but because I don’t really have any scenery for it.
#19. Hail Caesar
I love Hail Caesar, and I have never played a game of it. But I love the model range, and whether I’m painting Praetorians or Spartans, I am always in my happy place. One day I’ll play. Heaven knows I have enough models.
#20. X-Wing Miniatures Game
Yes, after bashing X-Wing when I was talking about Aeronautica Imperialis, I’m still including it on the list. It’s a fun game, and… X-WINGS FIGHTING TIE FIGHTERS!!