I love skirmish games. My #1 reason is variety. Since it's typically 5-10 models, you can try out many different warbands and paint so many different things. I love orks and Tau because they're complete opposites!
Very good points Lee! I have another point, which is very important for me and was a big reason why I bought Skirmish. Mobility. It's easy to pack and move arround. I pack all necessary things in a box and lets go. With up to 3 warbands inside. Full game equipment in one box. Warcry for example. So you can play it everywhere. In the kitchen, in the office, GW shop or with your friends at their home or somewhere else, where you find a small table.
My favorite reasons are definitely the smaller play space and play time. Games like Warcry, Underworlds, Frostgrave, or Blitz Bowl, that can fit on my small apartment table, and can be finished in an hour or so (including banter) with friends, is fantastic. Another point I really want to emphasize, is that you don't need to spend thousands of dollars/pounds/euros/etc on each faction you want to try. I usually cannot commit to only 1 faction or team, so these games are awesome to just get a few teams, and lend them to your friends to get them involved if they are unsure about a high initial investment like with bigger tabletop games.
A great thing about small war bands is that you can try out new painting techniques much more easily. Once you started painting your big 40K army you usually don’t want to change your style half way through
When i came back to Warhammer it was for AOS, but only like the smaller 1k games or meeting engagements.....But since Underworlds and Warcry i have never looked back! Thought to myself multiple times that THIS is how a table top game should be played, its just 10x easier and has so much narrative depth to it, like who has space for a 6x4 ? Collecting items, leveling up, guys dying with injuries and cinematic abilities being played out - Not to mention you can go literally wild with the scenery. I find myself constantly having to resist Necromunda as i am already so neck deep in the AOS side of the hobby :)
I love both skirmish games or small scales for bigger games (which doesn't mean I do not collect the odd army at 28+mm scale, but those have become exceptions). Besides not spending as much to get the full game experience it is also the time investment in getting things built and painted. This makes collecting multiple factions as well as multiple games feasible. And I like both the simple and fast games that are more of an excuse to just put some minis on a table and have fun with your friends as well as those that are actually complex and challenging (Infinity comes to mind), though progressively more leaning towards the former.
#1 Certainly that you don't have to paint 100s of models. The cinematic moments are great too. I remember a set of Western rules called The Rules with No Name. In it character activation was random and movement was fixed for walking but 2d6 inches for running. You need to cross the street? Well it's 8" so you might make it... Rolled 3? Then your cowboy is standing in the middle of street! Will an enemy get to shoot him or will he get to move first?! A couple of other skirmish rulesets I like are Mutants and DeathRay Guns by Ganesha Games and Galactic Heroes by WIley Games.
My favorite thing about skirmish games is they are easier to get new players into. I can get most of my nerdy friends into Kill Team, but getting them to buy an entire 40k army is far more difficult.
Really appreciate you show different ends of the spectrum of skirmish games. GW still goes for their book bloat approach even with something supposedly as simple as Warcry, whereas other games may offer the odd expansion down the road but are not bound to the spiral of pushing ever more products to promote growth. You even include a feature about indie games which sadly are still neglected by vast parts of the community. I get the appeal of the big brands and not every small and quirky game is for everyone, but there is so much variety and so much fun to be had...
Fewer models, more character-based play, even the idea that the combatants are personally invested in the fight. Big battles just reek of tyrants sending conscripted/manipulated boys to die, but small skirmishes are villagers defending their own homes, or adventurers seeking their fortunes etc. I'm working on my own skirmish solo game myself, Amazon's self publishing is great for hobbyists!
Awesome! Wargame Vault is great too. You can publish much like with Amazon and their print to order products are great quality. You can also sell as PDF's and a lot of people will give the PDF and Print copy at a discount combo. Good luck with your new game.
You can buy the miniatures made by the creator of the game here: www.oathswornminiatures.co.uk/p/9363669/burrows-badgers-starter-warband-bundle-b.html I love Northumbrian Tin Soldier models (the ones in the video) and you can buy those here: www.northumbriantinsoldier.com/ref/14/ They are some of my favourite miniatures. I made a few videos for the range ... Guardians of the Riverbank set here: ua-cam.com/video/G65VY5EmLKA/v-deo.html The Goblingtons here: ua-cam.com/video/8y_ClhLATxI/v-deo.html Gnomes here: ua-cam.com/video/51zPe04Nm40/v-deo.html Epic Haul here: ua-cam.com/video/PioxiHk6Jko/v-deo.html
Bloodbowl being my only skirmish style game atm is great fun. I do really want to jump into kill team more but local area is all about the big games so it’s hard to find people for it
In general, the skirmish games just seem to be better GAMES. More interaction. More “tactical”. Less about list building and buffing units with special ploys, relics and stratagems. I wish I was in the UK. You seem to have access to a lot more variety of products.
Nothing new to add, just echoing your statements. Not that much to buy/put together/paint, feels more narrative with each model being a character, and-depending on the system-pretty easy to pick up! Great video as always!!
Hi Lee, I've got a strange question to ask you. Do you know of any good skirmish gaming systems that could be good for using the toy transformer figures as play pieces? Maybe in a robots battling robots scenario with arms weapons that can be damaged etc as the game goes on.
There is the Transformers RPG which I am certain covers combat. I have heard of a Transformers/GIJoe homage game but I forget it's name. I would check Wargames Vault and search for robots and/or mecha.
As Thark Warrior said, Wargame Vault is a great place to find something specific. My own game, Weekend Warriors, is designed for any toy or miniature to be used, and you could add a rule into it that covers the damage you'd like to see. We use Lego a lot.
@@tabletopskirmishgames LEGOs are great for trying out different rules without investing time painting models. We played quite a few games of Dragon Rampant (Osprey) and Songs of Blades & Heroes (Ganesha) with Lego LotR Armies.
Oh Gosh oh Gosh, you are so right... I got first in the 40k because it is the most popular... But I don't like it. It takes too much and is too complicated for me. So many books... and the pile of shame... I wish I had started with Kill Team... Thank you for your great content, you desrve much more views and subs. Best regards
I love skirmish games. My #1 reason is variety. Since it's typically 5-10 models, you can try out many different warbands and paint so many different things. I love orks and Tau because they're complete opposites!
Couldn't agree more!
Very good points Lee!
I have another point, which is very important for me and was a big reason why I bought Skirmish. Mobility.
It's easy to pack and move arround.
I pack all necessary things in a box and lets go. With up to 3 warbands inside. Full game equipment in one box. Warcry for example. So you can play it everywhere. In the kitchen, in the office, GW shop or with your friends at their home or somewhere else, where you find a small table.
Thanks. Thats a great point!
The cinematic heroic moments is really true with Warcry
It's so cool when the victory comes in one of the last activations or when a small character takes out a big one. Awesome game.
My favorite reasons are definitely the smaller play space and play time. Games like Warcry, Underworlds, Frostgrave, or Blitz Bowl, that can fit on my small apartment table, and can be finished in an hour or so (including banter) with friends, is fantastic.
Another point I really want to emphasize, is that you don't need to spend thousands of dollars/pounds/euros/etc on each faction you want to try. I usually cannot commit to only 1 faction or team, so these games are awesome to just get a few teams, and lend them to your friends to get them involved if they are unsure about a high initial investment like with bigger tabletop games.
Great points!
I really like how much more accessible skirmish games are to new players, not only in rules but in scope. Snack size gaming just makes sense.
Nice one, the accessibility is a huge pro for skirmish games.
Have you played much Malifaux Lee? Without a doubt my favourite but there is some great ones I’ve never heard of here.
Never played it but I've heard lots of good things about it.
A great thing about small war bands is that you can try out new painting techniques much more easily. Once you started painting your big 40K army you usually don’t want to change your style half way through
Great point!
When i came back to Warhammer it was for AOS, but only like the smaller 1k games or meeting engagements.....But since Underworlds and Warcry i have never looked back!
Thought to myself multiple times that THIS is how a table top game should be played, its just 10x easier and has so much narrative depth to it, like who has space for a 6x4 ?
Collecting items, leveling up, guys dying with injuries and cinematic abilities being played out - Not to mention you can go literally wild with the scenery.
I find myself constantly having to resist Necromunda as i am already so neck deep in the AOS side of the hobby :)
Necromunda is tempting, but I'm holding off too. So many cool models!
I love both skirmish games or small scales for bigger games (which doesn't mean I do not collect the odd army at 28+mm scale, but those have become exceptions).
Besides not spending as much to get the full game experience it is also the time investment in getting things built and painted. This makes collecting multiple factions as well as multiple games feasible.
And I like both the simple and fast games that are more of an excuse to just put some minis on a table and have fun with your friends as well as those that are actually complex and challenging (Infinity comes to mind), though progressively more leaning towards the former.
There area some great skirmish games and its interesting to see the different levels of complexity.
#1 Certainly that you don't have to paint 100s of models. The cinematic moments are great too. I remember a set of Western rules called The Rules with No Name. In it character activation was random and movement was fixed for walking but 2d6 inches for running. You need to cross the street? Well it's 8" so you might make it... Rolled 3? Then your cowboy is standing in the middle of street! Will an enemy get to shoot him or will he get to move first?! A couple of other skirmish rulesets I like are Mutants and DeathRay Guns by Ganesha Games and Galactic Heroes by WIley Games.
I love rules like that. Will check those games out, thanks for the recommend!
My favorite thing about skirmish games is they are easier to get new players into. I can get most of my nerdy friends into Kill Team, but getting them to buy an entire 40k army is far more difficult.
That's a great reason to play them.
Really appreciate you show different ends of the spectrum of skirmish games. GW still goes for their book bloat approach even with something supposedly as simple as Warcry, whereas other games may offer the odd expansion down the road but are not bound to the spiral of pushing ever more products to promote growth.
You even include a feature about indie games which sadly are still neglected by vast parts of the community. I get the appeal of the big brands and not every small and quirky game is for everyone, but there is so much variety and so much fun to be had...
Thanks. There is so many fun games out there, it's awesome learning about them and finding out about new creators.
Fewer models, more character-based play, even the idea that the combatants are personally invested in the fight.
Big battles just reek of tyrants sending conscripted/manipulated boys to die, but small skirmishes are villagers defending their own homes, or adventurers seeking their fortunes etc.
I'm working on my own skirmish solo game myself, Amazon's self publishing is great for hobbyists!
Awesome! Wargame Vault is great too. You can publish much like with Amazon and their print to order products are great quality. You can also sell as PDF's and a lot of people will give the PDF and Print copy at a discount combo. Good luck with your new game.
Great info, I might look into that!
First time I hear about burrows and batchers. The miniatures are stunning, where can you buy them?
You can buy the miniatures made by the creator of the game here: www.oathswornminiatures.co.uk/p/9363669/burrows-badgers-starter-warband-bundle-b.html
I love Northumbrian Tin Soldier models (the ones in the video) and you can buy those here: www.northumbriantinsoldier.com/ref/14/
They are some of my favourite miniatures. I made a few videos for the range ...
Guardians of the Riverbank set here: ua-cam.com/video/G65VY5EmLKA/v-deo.html
The Goblingtons here: ua-cam.com/video/8y_ClhLATxI/v-deo.html
Gnomes here: ua-cam.com/video/51zPe04Nm40/v-deo.html
Epic Haul here: ua-cam.com/video/PioxiHk6Jko/v-deo.html
@@tabletopskirmishgames thanks for the info and video recommendations!
Bloodbowl being my only skirmish style game atm is great fun. I do really want to jump into kill team more but local area is all about the big games so it’s hard to find people for it
Strange isnt it - you would think it would be the other way around.
Bloodbowl is awesome, I can't wait to get hold of those new Norse players!
In general, the skirmish games just seem to be better GAMES. More interaction. More “tactical”. Less about list building and buffing units with special ploys, relics and stratagems. I wish I was in the UK. You seem to have access to a lot more variety of products.
I find I love planning and list building with 40k but you are right, the skirmish games are more tactical when you play them.
I've became a frostgrave junky!
🤣🥶
Nothing new to add, just echoing your statements. Not that much to buy/put together/paint, feels more narrative with each model being a character, and-depending on the system-pretty easy to pick up!
Great video as always!!
Thanks, Cyrus!
I enjoy "sports" games as well like blood bowl 7s:)
Blood Bowl is fantastic fun.
there is only one reason :
because they are Tabletop Skirmish Games ;)
That sums it up! 🤣
Hi Lee, I've got a strange question to ask you. Do you know of any good skirmish gaming systems that could be good for using the toy transformer figures as play pieces? Maybe in a robots battling robots scenario with arms weapons that can be damaged etc as the game goes on.
There is the Transformers RPG which I am certain covers combat. I have heard of a Transformers/GIJoe homage game but I forget it's name. I would check Wargames Vault and search for robots and/or mecha.
As Thark Warrior said, Wargame Vault is a great place to find something specific. My own game, Weekend Warriors, is designed for any toy or miniature to be used, and you could add a rule into it that covers the damage you'd like to see. We use Lego a lot.
@@tabletopskirmishgames LEGOs are great for trying out different rules without investing time painting models. We played quite a few games of Dragon Rampant (Osprey) and Songs of Blades & Heroes (Ganesha) with Lego LotR Armies.
Oh Gosh oh Gosh, you are so right... I got first in the 40k because it is the most popular... But I don't like it. It takes too much and is too complicated for me. So many books... and the pile of shame... I wish I had started with Kill Team... Thank you for your great content, you desrve much more views and subs. Best regards
Appreciate that, thank you 👊