Board military-tactical games. Board military-tactical games Board game World War II

The best strategy board games are good because in them individual ability and intelligence are decisive in determining the outcome of a particular game. Today you can order abstract strategies that are distinguished by artificial rules and the absence of a pronounced theme, and military strategy games.

Many modern war strategy board games have clear and transparent rules. They are often more difficult than in other board games, but perhaps this is their main advantage, because as the complexity of the game process increases, the guys need to show more and more patience in an effort to bring the matter to a victorious end.

We offer to buy strategic board games for children. They are able to make children's leisure time more diverse, teach them frugality and responsibility for the team. Games are good because luck plays a minor role in them, and a lot depends on the intelligence of the participants. Therefore, strategies will become an invaluable contribution to the education of a purposeful person.

Military strategy board games

Order board strategy games about war, and they will teach your little one how to effectively plan the situation, deploy troops for a grand battle. With the help of such games, the child realizes the cost of a mistake in protecting his fortifications from enemy attacks. The kid will have to make serious efforts to become a knight and defeat all enemies.

Almost any modern military strategy board game teaches children to be bold and inventive. In addition, strategies are an excellent guide to different countries and nationalities, which also contributes to the accumulation of important information for children. Here you can order the following types of board strategies:

• "Khans of Tarkir: Booster";
• "Exlibrium";
• "Evolution. Continents".

The Russian language does not have a well-developed and standardized terminology for various game genres, which is present in the West. Therefore, to begin with, we will define what will be understood in the article by the word "military-tactical".

Military means that the action takes place in a certain war. Tactical means that the action is carried out not at the strategic, but at the operational level. We do not capture countries and continents, we do not plan wars and campaigns. We take part in operations (battles) that begin with a predetermined alignment of forces and require the completion of certain tasks, that is, they are only part of the war, the causes and main actions of which remain behind the scenes.

There are war games that are not tactical, such as global wargames. There are non-military tactical games such as "shooters" ( "Doom: The Board Game") or "dungeon crawlers" ( Descent: Journeys in the Dark). Therefore, both definitions are important for designating the genre in question.

The action is carried out with the help of combat units, symbolizing detachments from several people to large military formations. The number of these units (units) is usually from 10 to 20 pieces. Troops are usually determined from the start, but reinforcements are possible as the game progresses.

The playing field is usually hexagonal, that is, divided into hexagons. Hexes are much better for tactics than squares. The board is either modular (composed of several small boards) or standard size, but with the ability to model the landscape with cardboard hexes overlaid on the board depicting forests, hills, villages, rivers, etc. Why does the field need to be custom? Because tactical war games are usually not simulations of one specific combat, but entire game systems with multiple scenarios in the base box and extensive expansion options.

There are a decent number of military tactical board games on the market, and it is difficult for an unprepared player to make the right choice. And the choice is important, because unlike ordinary board games, the games in which, as a rule, fit into an hour and a half, even the simplest tactical military board games can be played for several hours in a row. Only the base kits can contain 6-10 scenarios, one hour or more each, not including add-ons. And additions to tactical war games are usually released a lot.

I’ll make a reservation right away that the topic is too deep for one article, so we will set certain limits for the selection of games in the article. The game should be well known, popular, not too old. The review will include games with difficulty from beginner to medium and beautiful design with plastic miniatures of troops - “hardcore players” who prefer to move pieces of cardboard in games with monstrous rules, and so they themselves know what to play.

The first representative of the genre - . A very popular game, largely due to its simplicity. Released in 2004 by Days Of Wonder by Richard Borg. The theme of the game is World War II. Based on the system Command & Colors, which served as the basis for a total of five games. Features of the system - ease of rules, a field of 9 x 13 hexes, divided into the left flank, center and right flank. Orders are given by choosing one of the cards in hand. In most cases, cards make it possible for one or more units of a certain sector to be like.

Detachments are divided into infantry, tanks and artillery. To increase entertainment, as well as to conveniently calculate the "lives" of the units, the figures are placed in groups. 4 each for infantry, 3 for tanks, and 2 for artillery. The unit is removed from the field when the last figure is killed, but the unit's attack power does not decrease with a decrease in numbers.

The advantages of the game are in its beautiful (albeit slightly caramel) design and accessibility to everyone. You can explain the rules even to a preschool child, if he knows how to count at least a little. At the same time, many add-ons have been released for the game, which significantly complicate the gameplay. Even in the base set there are as many as 16 scenarios.

Flaws. Too much randomness (cards multiplied by dice) makes it impossible to make clear plans for several moves ahead. The goals of most scenarios are simply to score points by knocking units off the field. Even where there are additional tasks in the form of capturing certain hexes, it is easier to shoot down enemy troops in an advantageous sector of the front. Since the turn consists of playing one card, the player with the numerical advantage cannot really use it. In a word, everything is done so that the child has a chance to defeat his parents.

But in general, the game is very successful. What is important, with a large selection of no less successful additions, the number of which has long exceeded all reasonable limits. , probably the most popular among the games of this review. But let's move on.

The game has an interesting history. Released in 2006 by Days Of Wonder like a fantasy "Memoirs", the game was later bought out by the company Fantasy Flight Games. But the new owner, for various economic reasons, was unable to re-release the base version of the game in the required quantities and floods the market with add-ons in conditions where the base is almost impossible to get.

It's been two years since Fantasy Flight Games acquired full rights to the military-tactical game. A lot of small expansions were released over the previous year, but the long-awaited return of the game's core set never materialized. Chapter FFG Christian Petersen explained that with the same composition, the new basic set will rise in price. Since you can't get new players without him, FFG decided to take a desperate step: to invest in unsold French copies of the game English-language maps and memos, and release them on the market. Such French sets will be supplied with a special sticker. The French edition of the core set, which has been repackaged for further sale to English-speaking players, will be joined by several rare game expansions today: Goblin Skirmishers, Goblin Marauders, Dwarven Battalion, Scottish Wars And The Hundred Years' War. As in the case of the base game, part of the expansion materials will be posted on the official website FFG in electronic form, and the boxes themselves will go on sale with a sticker reminiscent of this.

Based on the same system Command & Colors, but slightly more complicated. Since the action takes place in a fairy-tale world, hand-to-hand fighting took the place of the skirmishes. The types of units, and hence the variety of plastic figures, have become noticeably larger. Heroes and hard-to-kill mythical creatures appeared. As if to compensate for the reduced randomness, additional optional rules of magic were introduced into the game. For those who do not like it when a fiery whirlwind that suddenly appears suddenly mows down half of the troops, it is better to play without it. In general, if simplicity suits you "Memoirs", but tired of World War II, this is what you need. Of course, if you can find the game in stores...

And if the Second World War is not tired, but tired of primitiveness and abstractness? Then, if you are not afraid of complicated rules and long games, you should take a closer look at Tide Of Iron.

2007 release, publisher FFG(the same one that bought). The founder himself worked on the game FFG, Christian Petersen, along with the best designers of the company. The essence of the game is to convey the tactics of the Second World War as realistic as possible, but without overcomplicating, and to lure players with magnificent miniatures of military equipment.

In general, everything worked out. This winter will be the third major expansion of the game, and ToI will boast a rich set of Russian troops - in addition to the Americans, the British and the Germans. There are already more than a dozen types of German tanks alone! And then there are jeeps, trucks, artillery, heavy machine gunners... Equipment differs not only in appearance, but also in performance.

How is it all played? The field of the game is modular, up to 12 parts, larger than in "Memoirs". Tactics and planning in the game are deeper. During the course, you need to walk with all your units - a cardinal difference from and Battelore. The infantry still consists of units of 4 figures, but the vehicles are represented by individual miniatures. The detail of the battles can be assessed, for example, if possible, not only knock out, but also damage an enemy tank, which will affect its combat effectiveness and maneuverability.

The larger scale and detail affected the length of the scripts - up to three hours each. Unfortunately, there are only 6 scenarios in the base set, and not all of them are well balanced. In additions, the scenarios are more thought out, and a certain amount can also be downloaded from the official website of the game. Summing up, we can say that - the best combination of spectacular appearance and elaboration of the tactics of the Second World War.

It remains to mention two novelties of this year from Fantasy Flight Games- And .

Replaces itself as the flagship of tactical war games in the fantasy world. Postscript on the box "A Battlelore Game" misled many that the game is based on a system Command & Colors, but it is not. The game has a different developer, Robert Koba, and completely different mechanics, more similar in complexity to than to.

The plot of the game is based on the works of the writer George Martin from the cycle "Song of Ice and Fire". Late Middle Ages in a fictional world where magic is present in strictly homeopathic doses (which is actually good, if you remember the unbalanced magic from). Variety of infantry and cavalry units, mostly hand-to-hand combat, 11 x 15 hex non-modular map, 10 scenarios. In general, the equipment is poorer than that of, but two additions have already been announced with new figures, tokens and other things. But the miniatures themselves are more detailed. Unfortunately, the figurines have to be glued to the bases themselves, which greatly increases the time required to start the first game.

So far, there are only two opposing armies in the game, the Starks and the Lannisters. But surely in the future there will be new warring parties. An interesting opportunity to set fires and the presence of Heroes in the form of independent units with command abilities.

Filling the gap between the hand-to-hand combat of medieval battles and the mechanized battles of the 20th century. There is close combat involving infantry and cavalry, but there are also skirmishes and artillery salvos. The game is made by the Italian developers of the company Nexus Games, but it is published in English FFG. The advantage of the game is wonderful 1:72 scale miniatures produced by the famous Italeri. Unfortunately, as in all other games, for the real entertainment of the gameplay, it is desirable to paint them. Well, at least you don’t need to glue it to the coasters. But the guns before the first game will still have to be glued together from parts.

The game has everything that is expected from Napoleonics - formations in a line and in a square, famous commanders of that era, exact historical correspondence in the units presented on the battlefield and their uniforms, and much more. All this is played on a modular map: there are only 4 parts of the map, but the dimensions are already quite impressive. And they promise to become even more impressive with the release of additions (we are waiting for the Russian army with Kutuzov and Bagration). There are 10 scenarios in the base set. Some of them are combined into 2 campaigns. They play, perhaps, longer than in, approximately at the level.

Final word

Thus, it turns out that each of the games described above has its own bright advantages. It all depends on the preferences in the theme (who is closer to the volleys of tank guns, and to whom - furious sword battles) and the complexity of the rules. But in general, all these games are able to deliver a lot of fun and brighten up the long autumn and winter evenings.

You can end with words that complete the description of each scenario from the games in the series Command & Colors:

The battlefield is in front of you, the paths of advance are drawn, and you are in the lead. The rest is history.

The article uses promotional illustrations from the official websites of Fantasy Flight Games and Days of Wonder. Article writtenMaxim Simonov (ColdFire)especially for Tesera.

"Generals: World War II" is a historical military strategy about the great confrontation between the powers participating in the Second World War: the anti-Hitler coalition and the Berlin-Rome axis. Taking command of the army of one of the parties, the general seeks to de-energize the enemy by blocking access to resources and force the opponent to leave the occupied territory both at sea and on land.

Prestigious awards and nominations

• Best Historical Simulation (Wargame) - International Gamers Award nominee (2015).

Deep military strategy for the company

The board game "Generals: World War II" involves a team confrontation for world domination. Rewriting history in your own way, using logic and diplomatic skills, and ruining the enemy is the main goal of the game.

Gradually occupying territories and cutting off the enemy from supply, the player goes to a brilliant victory, but left without a fleet, equipment and supplies, the general will have to surrender and capitulate. A cooperative game requires coherence of actions and a clear distribution of tasks - to cut off support at all possible locations and isolate armies.

Wargame for two

In the game "Generals: World War II" you can fight together, simultaneously controlling several powers, disposing of geographically scattered armies and blocking enemy sources of resources one after another.

Each country has at its disposal several armies and a fleet (its own deck of cards and a discard pile), the location of troops is clearly visible on the playing field (wooden pieces of armies and fleets), and large-scale battles unfold on land and at sea separately.

Throughout the game (20 rounds), both sides of the confrontation score victory points for controlled supply sources. So, which of the coalitions is more influential in terms of support, that one wins the war. The game also provides for a more aggressive option to suppress the enemy - occupy 2 enemy home sectors and win!

Who will like

The board game "Generals: World War II" is, first of all, a war for resources, requiring cold-blooded calculation and strategically adjusted interaction of teams. Suitable for both cooperative competition and a duel between two military strategists. An excellent gift for all connoisseurs of the wargame genre and thoughtful historical strategies.

Briefly about the article: Fun of the commander Almost everyone played military-tactical games, which are also known as wargames: we move armies of soldiers in childhood, we collect models of tanks and aircraft in our youth. And some, like the author of this article, continue to engage and live in wargames, having already graduated from the institute. Fans of military tactical games fall into another dimension, another world. The purpose of this article is to introduce readers to this world, which is closely related to both science fiction and fantasy.

Board military tactical games

Toy soldiers or a way of life?

In military tactical games, which are also known as wargames (eng. war game), almost everyone played: we move armies of soldiers in childhood, we collect models of tanks and aircraft in our youth. And some, like the author of this article, continue to engage and live in wargames, having already graduated from the institute. Fans of military tactical games fall into another dimension, another world.

Headquarters games

The prototype of modern desktop wargames is staff tactical exercises. For the first time they began to be held in 1860-70. At this time, the size of the average European army exceeded the mark of 200,000 people, and from a financial point of view, to carry out real exercises involving a real army in them was tantamount to a real war for a period of 2-3 weeks. No country was ready for such expenses.

At the same time, it was necessary to work out various options for invasion, counter-offensive and interaction of fronts, because without such studies it is impossible to study the methods of waging a global war.

The exit was obvious. The army headquarters, which is responsible for military planning, was divided into two groups. These groups isolated themselves from each other for a week or two and took part in team military-tactical games. One group thought for the enemy, the second - for "their country." The functions of the arbitrator were taken over by intermediaries - the most experienced military officers. The mediators explained the introductory situation, followed the decisions being made, answered the questions of the game participants. They described the development of an imaginary situation based on tables of movement of armies, corps and divisions, tables of supplies and weapons. The mediators even took into account the probable weather, flooding of rivers or drought, tracked the imaginary movements of regiments and divisions on a real map, and figured out possible inconsistencies. They always had the last decision - who won in each case.

Doesn't this remind you of anything? I dare say that the mediator officer is an indirect predecessor of the master leader in a high-level role-playing campaign. And all the reference material used by the intermediaries is nothing but a set of rules. With tables, but so far without beautiful pictures.

Wells is not only the author of "War of the Worlds"

By the beginning of the 20th century, the industry for the production of soldiers (or, more correctly, military miniatures) had grown so much that you could buy a box of tin warriors in any large store in London, Berlin, Paris, St. Petersburg or New York. The so-called "German", Nuremberg figurines, depicting soldiers of the Thirty Years, Seven Years and Napoleonic Wars, were in fashion. But there were no rules for playing soldiers, at least in the form in which they exist now.

England is traditionally considered to be the birthplace of military-tactical board games. Despite the fact that many great people played "soldiers" - Napoleon, Alexander Suvorov, Winston Churchill, Hans Christian Andersen - it was the Englishman who summed up the theoretical basis in the early 1900s. published two books devoted to table battles: "The War on the Floor" and "Battles of Soldiers".

This Englishman's name was Herbert Wells - you know him well from the landmark science fiction novels The Invisible Man and The Time Machine. It was Wells who used an ordinary six-sided die for counting hits and misses, armor and psychological tests of tin armies. 70 years will pass, and his system will become the basis for the famous "Battle Hammer Universe" - the worlds Warhammer English company games workshop .

America as the birthplace of table wars

Two world wars buried the toy soldier games - there were too many real battles and deaths. But the gaming industry resumed work in the 50s - at first they were the simplest models of World War II soldiers, made of cheap plastic. They were intended for children, but there were still no sensible and capacious rules.

In its current, modern form, wargames became widespread in the United States in the mid-1960s. In the 70s, the craze for wargames sold in "boxes" (large boxes) became so massive that since then "wargames" have been a kind of hallmark of the "traditional" lifestyle for the Yankees. Along with Hollywood, baseball and Broadway musicals.

Young people, keen on modeling and military history, united in interest clubs. This movement, at first spontaneous, and then organized, supported by the state, gave impetus to the emergence of firms engaged in the production of exclusively board games. The American industry has put the production of "tabletop" games - first of all, it was wargames - on stream, and now dozens of companies and thousands of people are involved in this type of business.

In the nineties, the boom of wargames began in Europe.

How is wargame played?

Speaking further about wargames, I will be referring specifically to commercial military-strategic board games from Avalon Hill, GMT Games, SPI and some other companies. Their main difference from professional staff games is the absence of an intermediary. Instead, there are rules: from 4 to 300 pages of documentation, which usually should be carefully studied before starting the game.

Opponents use chips placed on the table as armies. Chips can look different in different games: from primitive cardboard circles to detailed tin miniatures depicting a warrior with a high degree of realism. One chip can represent a military formation (from a platoon to an army group) or a single fighter.

Opponents move in turn, adhering to the instructions of the rules. The manuals describe the special abilities of representatives of various types of troops on the game table, their characteristics, the rules for moving, shooting, hand-to-hand combat, and causing damage. The probability of an action is calculated using dice rolls.

The weakest point of all wargames is the volume of rules. To claim to be "realistic", a set of rules must operate with hundreds of parameters, take into account thousands of little things, and all this has to be crammed into one book (sometimes this fails, and full rules take up several volumes). A practical person will not throw cubes twenty times and carry out differential calculations to find out whether the "faustpatron" hit his "KV" or ricocheted off the tower. He wants to play! However, there are also super-complex systems that fit on a computer, and they are designed for obsessed, "hardcore" wargamers.

All wargames have one thing in common - they marching. But this is obvious - "real time" can only be simulated on a computer. For convenience, moves in board wargames are divided into phases: movement, shooting, melee, etc.

What is in the box?

Wargames are often compared to chess, but this comparison is far-fetched. The prototype of wargames is the ancient Indian tactical game Chaturanga, which was fought by Indian Rajas. Each chip denoted a certain detachment - and looked like it. The cavalry was depicted by a figure of a horseman, war elephants - by a figure of an elephant; chariot, infantry - similar figures. The weakest figure was the lone figure of the raja, and the strongest was the figure of his guard, mounted veterans, clad in armor and dashingly rushing across the battlefield. The game appeared around the 5th century. AD and displayed a counter battle for the province. It was played by four people with four armies, each starting on their own side of the board. Actually, that's why it was called that - "chatur" in Indian - four, "anga" - part. The Iranians, who played the late version of chaturangi (for two, on a field of 64 cells) called it "shakhturang" - and then simply "chess" ("kill the shah" - simply and clearly, reflecting the tactics and purpose of the game: who will destroy the first the enemy commander - he won.) The Iranians, like great mathematicians, took and threw out of the game the die that each player threw before his turn to determine the number of chips that he could move. According to the Iranians, the random factor only interfered with the game and spoiled it. This is how chess appeared - and the first wargame perished. Indeed, on the battlefield, the factor of chance decides a lot (and makes the game unpredictable and interesting) - the wise Indians knew this.

History or fantasy?

Warhammer Fantasy: black orcs on the attack.

All modern wargames are divided into two groups: historical and non-historical, and the latter - into fantasy, sci-fi and ... humorous.

Tabletop battles were originally conceived as a simulation of historical processes. Anyone could imagine themselves as Napoleon or Zhukov, and at the kitchen table experience a unique moment of glory when the enemy is running and trumpeting victory!

It goes without saying that a person who plays wargames is interested in military history and knows the details of their favorite battle. The converse is also true: interest in military history can come from playing with a friend. Usually, the game rules provide a brief historical background, but you always want to know more about the battle being played.

"Robotech": the first domestic sci-fi wargame.

Then a person may think: what if? At first, the questions are of a completely historical nature: what if Pears could have been on the Waterloo field before Blucher? The French knights would not have flogged a fever and attacked the English at Crecy not in the evening of the same day, but the next morning? Wise board game designers usually include a few "What if?" scenarios in their rule set.

For many fans of wargames, such answers were not enough - the question arose: "What if everything happened in another universe?". In the late 60s, Tolkien broke into the world of historical wargames, and then science fiction, and non-historical games appeared, although the rules themselves did not really differ much from historical ones. But the game worlds differed strikingly!

In the wake of the popularity of orcs, elves and dwarves, the range of toy soldiers has seriously expanded. As a result, companies producing miniatures and war games also developed. These are no longer small firms of two or three people (with circulations of 100-1000 copies), but corporations like WizKids or Hasbro (with a circulation of 100 thousand-1 million copies), which are selling the rights to the worlds and game mechanics to computer publishers and Hollywood film studios with might and main! Sophisticated market research is underway, games are tested in closed clubs before appearing on the shelves.

Fantasy and science fiction are traditionally intended for young people from 14 to 30 years old (and older), we are the leader and giant of the modern industry games workshop . Well, the older generation continues to darkly storm the Shevardinsky redoubt for the hundred thousandth time, paying tribute to tradition.

One box or several?

The second sign by which wargames are classified is equipment. Games are divided into "boxed" and "collectible".

Boxed offer the player everything they need to play in one box ("box"): rules, card, chips, dice and tables. Such a product is usually dedicated to a single battle or military campaign. The most successful developments are later accompanied by the release of new battle scenarios and maps, in which case they are often distributed free of charge to people who bought the box. Boxing cost (from leading companies like GMT Games or Avalon Hill ) - from 35 to 65 dollars. Boxes are convenient in that you immediately get a ready-made game in your hands.

Collectible wargames are sold "in parts". Separately - a book of rules, separately - a box with a detachment (or even a bag with a lone soldier). According to this principle, the already mentioned games workshop . The convenience lies in the fact that the player is offered to purchase only the components of the game that he himself needs. If you are not going to fit into the shoes of an elven commander, why would you pay for an elven army? It is enough to acquire the troops of the dwarves. But your friend can go broke on the guards of the Emperor, and another friend - on orc units ...

Platoon commander or commander?

The third and most important feature by which wargames are divided is complexity, depth of coverage of events and the level of command.

Conventionally, wargames can be divided into three levels of command: at the level of a detachment and subdivision, at the level of a battalion, regiment or division, and at the highest level, when the player controls an army or a group of fronts. The highest level does not mean "the most difficult" or "the most interesting", on the contrary, for the convenience of the game, this level is maximally simplified. But the level of a detachment or platoon in terms of the total volume of various factors taken into account can be very difficult. It is he who is optimally suited for playing with miniatures, when each fighter is indicated on the table by a separate figure.

Wargames as an everyday hobby

A huge layer of wargaming hobby is the work of creating your own army of "soldiers", which are called miniatures.

Collectible wargames use plastic or metal miniatures. Figures can be of different scales: 1/72, 1/300, but miniatures with a height of 25-32 mm are most widely used. They are mounted on 3-4 soldiers on one stand and depict, depending on the rules, a company, battalion or regiment.

They play miniatures or on special tables with plastic hexagons (if the rules introduce a conditional division of the territory into "hexes"), or on layouts of the terrain, using various versions of the rules and rulers to move figures and determine the range of gun and small arms fire.

Anglo-American factories for casting miniatures, such as Foundry Miniatures or Old Glory Miniatures . They are engaged in the production of soldiers from "white metal": it is metal, and not plastic soldiers, that are valued higher for the richness of detailing. Of course, collecting an army of soldiers is a long and expensive business (a particularly rare figure can cost 50-100 dollars), but impressive. An English military historian, chairman of the British Military Historical Society, David Chandler, a Napoleonic specialist, has assembled one of the largest collections of military miniatures. The French army assembled by him consists of 9 corps (Great Army of 1805) and is more than 30 meters long - this is with the growth of a soldier of 25 mm! Real collectors collect their armies all their lives.

An enthusiastic wargamer is a historian, modeler and artist rolled into one. In order for a soldier in your army to impress the audience, the miniature will first have to be assembled, primed and carefully painted. There are many model painting competitions (for example, golden demon). Despite the appearance on the market of war games with factory-painted robots and soldiers, hand-painted, all kinds of conversions (altering the appearance of a miniature) and original, piecework are still highly valued. For most wargamers, collecting and painting armies is akin to art. A medium-sized army in a store costs about $300, and two or three times more if it is of high quality and beautifully painted.

A guide to choosing a wargame

The most massive wargame among the representatives of the fantasy genre - Warhammer Fantasy Battles(production games workshop ). At the moment, the 6th edition of the rules has already been published, and a Russian translation is also available. The detailed world of Warhammer appeared in 1984 as a tabletop role-playing game. In terms of harsh military history, WFB More of an adventure than a war. Designed for young fans WFB strikes with the richness of colors, eras, races and ... the tactical simplification of warfare on the table.

On the one hand, 288 pages of rules will introduce you to the course of the game in a very detailed and sensible way. , but get ready for the fact that a hero riding a dragon is much more dangerous than a thousand soldiers, as it should be in fantasy. The rules are balanced, moreover, WFB- this is the richest selection of miniatures and armies. 15 different sides and accordingly 15 "books of armies" (including vampires, dwarves, forest and dark elves), 3-4 special characters for each army, the widest choice of combat operations - from throwing stones and darts at the enemy to shooting him with cannons and magic . Rules for magic, by the way, are the most thoughtful of all fantasy wargames. WFB lived, lives and will live - you can safely join its ranks! You can easily find opponents, since there is massive support for tournaments.

For beginners and for those who cannot afford an army of two or three hundred miniatures, as in WFB, I can recommend another game from games workshop : Lord of the Rings(Yes, yes, it is based on exactly those books and films that you thought about). Easy rules are in many ways reminiscent of the combat part of the role-playing game, and beautiful miniatures accurately depict the characters in the movie. For the game, two dozen miniatures are enough, since this is a "skirmish" game (from the English "skirmish" - skirmish). This moment is indirectly a minus: if there are more than 200 figures on the table, the game "slows down". There are only two sides in the conflict - the Light and Dark Forces, and you know all the combat units from Tolkien's books: from the Balrog to the elves and from the Rohans to the goblins. games workshop will support the system for another five years - quite enough to enjoy playing enough. Rules in Russian are already on sale.

The young game MageKnight also exploits the now fashionable genre of skirmish fantasy. MageKnight is designed for fans of Magic The Gathering and other card games, because it is sold in "boosters", where already painted miniatures are placed randomly. The rules take up a couple of dozen pages and are available in Russian. The main feature of the game is that "army sheets" are not used in it, during the battle you will not have to write down anything. All characteristics are changed on the built-in counters in the figure stands. The world of MageKnight is reminiscent of the fantasy universe of Arcanum: gnomes are armed with gunpowder guns, humans produce technolemes... An ideal wargame for those who don't like to write a lot and also paint figures.

Russian firm Star last year released the Ring of Power - an attempt to cross the "Lord of the Rings" with "Warhammer". But since most of the sets of the system are still listed as announced for release, and full-fledged rules with color covers and illustrations, as well as the history of the world, are still in layout, we will assume that the "Ring" has everything ahead. So far, the main plus of the game is its price and availability (you can buy "Ring" in almost any toy store).

Fantastic

Battletech from FASA - on the one hand, a classic of the genre, a legend that has sold millions of copies and is known from numerous computer incarnations. On the other hand, classic BT no longer produced, but took over the baton WizKids with his new walking robot game mechwarrior: Dark age. The design of combat vehicles has been changed, and the miniatures themselves, like the game MageKnight, are randomly packed into boosters and painted on the conveyor. Many, however, were pushed away from the game by the simplified combat mechanics. But there are rules in Russian!

Russian games are currently represented only by Robotech, a technogenic game from the company Technologist. A player who is assembling an army can include various types of vehicles in it: robots, tanks, flyers. The game is only at the beginning of its development, and therefore there are only a few sets on sale. As usual, the big plus is the low price and availability.

And finally, Warhammer 40k. Despite the fact that this is not exactly science fiction, but rather a space opera with baroque elements, flowing against the background of a distant gloomy future, I would venture to call W40k the most beautiful fantasy wargame. And it's not that the sword here is sometimes worse than a laser gun, and easily slashes tank armor. Warhammer 40k uses the scenery of the first and second world wars (there are even diamond-shaped tanks here!), Has a wealth of choice of miniatures, weapons and tactics. Oh yes, this is the most tactically rich massive wargame!

World Warhammer 40k it is currently in development, it is constantly maintained by the developers, and the worldwide Eye of Terror campaign that took place this summer had a profound and immediate impact on future events in the game universe.

Historical wargames

There are so many historical wargames that their review, perhaps, can take a separate article. Considering that games based on real history lie somewhat outside the interests of our publication, we will note here only the very best : DBA/DBM, Pike&Musket, Advanced Squad Leader, Platoon Leader, Combat! Warhammer Ancient Battles and a beautiful performance by Rick Priestley "1644" dedicated to the English Civil War. In Russia, the only leader - Age of Battle from Stars covering human history from Alexander the Great to Napoleon.

Why do people play wargames?

The most important thing in a wargame is a touch of military history, real-historical or fairy-tale (fabulous military history for wargames sometimes exceeds in detail what scientists write about real events). Wargame is both a duel of minds and communication.

To play you will need opponents. A kind of interest club is formed around a certain gaming system. As a rule, upon seeing a miniature, for example, a medieval knight, a dark elf or a space marine, a person falls in love with it and the game to which it belongs, and begins to collect information - the selection of rules, reading fiction and "army books". Then up to $100 is spent on the starting army, paints and brushes, and in a month or two the troops begin their combat journey. Over time, the army will grow and will no longer fit on one regiment.

The skill of the commander is polished in tournaments that take place in clubs or at a friend's house. In addition to one-day tournaments, long-term campaigns are organized, participation in which is comparable to experiencing for your own troops in a real war. Each battle turns into a unique epic battle.

If you decide to become a wargamer, get ready for the fact that your family may not understand your "hobby for soldiers", and constant trips with suitcases full of miniatures will teach you not to be sad at the sight of a split figure ... But all the misfortunes are more than offset by the joys of victories , gaining experience and interesting meetings with like-minded people. Such is the life of a wargamer!

What is in the box?

The kit of almost any "boxed" wargame necessarily includes a map, as a rule, depicting a real area of ​​\u200b\u200barea ranging from a dozen (Waterloo) to a hundred (Normandy) square kilometers, with a grid of hexagons or "hexes" superimposed on top. When creating maps, the authors of the game use aerial photography data, historical archives, so you can study military history using the map. In addition, the set necessarily includes cardboard or plastic chips representing real combat units that participated in the battle or campaign. The chips indicate national affiliation to a particular army, the total strength of the detachment (expressed in one figure, taking into account the size of the detachment, its type of troops, type of weapons, quality of command personnel), movement (also in one total figure, taking into account the method of movement of the unit), the ability to organize march or deployment. The unit's morale is also usually stated. The main connecting link of this system is the rules, it is on them that the complexity and realism of the game depend, as well as the detail of information on the chips. The box also contains dice and modifier tables. Different systems also use different dice - from d100 (stohedral) and d30 (thirty-sided) to d10 (decahedron) and d6 (ordinary die) - the last two are the most common. The tables are divided into the three most common groups - unit movement across different types of terrain, the fire table, and the melee table. Usually a player rolls a die and looks in the melee table for the intersection of two columns - the ratio of the forces of the attacking and defending units (6:1, 5:1, 3:2, 1:1, 1:4, etc.) and what fell out on the top edge. The table contains the result thought out by the game developers in advance: the attacker is destroyed, the defender is disorganized and runs, etc. Different variants and editions of the same game may contain different clash tables.

Board game "Sea battle"

For children 5-6 years old, it is worth buying the Sea Battle game with a visual colorful design. It is better if it is a game with large cells and voluminous figures of ships, convenient magnetic boards. On a trip, buy a board game "Battleship" in a road format: small in size and with grooves on the playing field. So that nothing falls and does not scatter, even when shaking.

Classic versions for schoolchildren and nostalgic adults are released by The Tenth Kingdom.

Win the battle? Turn the history of Europe upside down? Yes, easily! It is enough to buy a strategic board game of the desired theme. In the catalog, everyone will find a strategy to their taste. Let's go over the section and sort everything by hobbies.

To plunge headlong into the world of the Middle Ages, take the board strategy game of the Carcassonne series. This is a classic example of a strategic-economic game in the entourage of France in the Middle Ages. It's best to start with the core set and work your way through the incremental ones.

Fantasy worlds and battles

Hobby World has the largest selection of fantasy and combat strategies. The brand has both classic military board games and popular computer and fantasy strategy games in a new format. Most of the games in these series are designed for 2-6 players over the age of 9.

To make it easier to choose and buy a strategy board game for a specific age, use the age filter. You can also sort games in the catalog that are interesting only for girls or only for boys, or choose a compromise option. Dare!

Board game "Sea battle"

One of the most famous and popular strategy board games is Sea Battle.
Did you know that "Naval Battle" in the form in which it exists now is more than half a century old? In 1930, the Starex company in the United States began producing two-player notebooks. The task was simple - to sink the battleships and destroyers of the enemy before he sinks yours. But they started playing Sea Battle with tiny boats on plastic boards only in 1967.

Since 1967, the rules of the game have remained the same. Only the design has changed. Modern board games "Sea Battle" are released in large dense boxes, in suitcases with a one-sided and two-sided playing field, as well as in the format of travel mini-versions.

For children 5-6 years old, it is worth buying the Sea Battle game with a visual colorful design. It is better if it is a game with large cells and voluminous figures of ships, convenient magnetic boards. On a trip, buy a board game "Battleship" in a road format: small in size and with grooves on the playing field. So that nothing falls and does not scatter, even when shaking. Classic versions for schoolchildren and nostalgic adults are released by The Tenth Kingdom.

Historical, fantasy and military strategy board games

Win the battle? Turn the history of Europe upside down? Yes, easily! It is enough to buy a strategic board game of the desired theme. In the catalog, everyone will find a strategy to their taste. Let's go over the section and sort everything by hobbies.

History, biology and others

To plunge headlong into the world of the Middle Ages, take the board strategy game of the Carcassonne series. This is a classic example of a strategic-economic game in the entourage of France in the Middle Ages. It's best to start with the core set and work your way through the incremental ones.
Build, create and manage in a big way in the family games "Settlers" and "Colonials Junior". Also classic strategies, but Settlers is a little more complicated, so it’s better to buy them for family gatherings with children over 10 years old. "Colonialists" is simpler: children of primary school age can easily figure out the rules.
If you cross history with biology, and all together with the theory of Charles Darwin, you get "Evolution" - one of the best teaching strategies. Created, by the way, by a biology teacher. By playing Evolution, you will learn to grow gills, change color, shamelessly devour rivals, shed your tail - do everything to survive and expand your food base.

Fantasy worlds and battles

Hobby World has the largest selection of fantasy and combat strategies. The brand has both classic military board games and popular computer and fantasy strategy games in a new format. Most of the games in these series are designed for 2-6 players over the age of 9.
To make it easier to choose and buy a strategy board game for a specific age, use the age filter. You can also sort games in the catalog that are interesting only for girls or only for boys, or choose a compromise option.