Paper Tiger Armaments offers Paper Tigers, a set of World War II skirmish rules. The author writes:
Paper Tigers is designed as an introduction to miniatures war gaming for the beginner. It is intended to be played with paper miniatures printed in 1/72 or 1/76 scale. To that end, the rules are kept deliberately easy to learn. This does not mean the rules are unsophisticated. Players will find that good tactics are generally rewarded. Paper Tigers uses a standard deck of playing cards to generate an interesting and sometimes surprisingly tense turn sequence. Higher value cards allow you to act first, but they are more difficult to successfully use. Lower value cards are easier to use, but with them, you are more likely to act after your opponent.
Most players! initial games are likely to be solo efforts. This does not pose a problem as Paper Tigers is purposely designed to work well in singleplayer games. The card-driven turn sequence combined with other mechanisms that limit player control make Paper Tigers highly suitable for solo play yet still provide an enjoyable multi-player game
Muskets and Moustaches (sic) is a set of miniatures rules for the Napoleonic era. The author writes:
It is a very simple game to play, all based on a handful of dice and rolls of 1-3 and 4-6. Obviously there is a bit more to it, but that is the essence!
The Fates is the name of Tim Connolly’s epic scale miniatures combat game. Tim writes:
The Fates is a fast-paced, epic-scale mass-combat miniatures game for two or more persons. Players command large armies across the battlefields of Europa.
Rationale
The gist of The Fates is simple. Our local gaming community needed a quick, flexible set of miniatures rules that would be cheap and easy to grasp for the new-comer while still providing enough nuance and flavor for years of play by veteran gamers. Also we needed something that we could control the evolution of - a game that didn’t leave us at the mercy of company X or Y.
The Fates as is a skeleton on which each individual player can hang as much detail as they wish in the form of flavor text. While the rules reflect human armies of identical capabilities, distinctions between your force and your opponents’ will emerge based on each individual’s tactics and style of play. How else could your Space Bugs be a match for your opponent’s Zombie Hordes or Hittite Army?
Miniature Wargaming is part of the "adventure games" hobby, which includes r ole p laying and board games. Wargamers recreate battles on the tabletop with toy soldiers, like a more complicated game of chess. Models range in height from 6mm to 28mm tall, with 15mm and 25mm being the most popular. There also is a growing interest in toy soldiers and military models, such as the 1/32 and 1/35 scale plastic soldiers from Conte, and Marx.
The most popular miniature wargames are fantasy and science fiction based, such as Warhammer, Warhammer 40K, Warmachine and The Lord of the Rings. World War II games such as Flames of War and Axis and Allies are new favorites. Other favorite historical periods include Napoleonics, the American Civil War, and ancients, such as Romans or Greeks. Other gamers enjoy miniature naval wargames, recreating battles like Trafalgar, Jutland and the Coral Sea.
Hobbyists research historical periods and paint their tiny soldiers in accurate uniforms. Others develop "historically realistic" rules sets or build scale battlefield terrain using model railroad techniques.
For pictures, visit the gallery.
Some of the bigger hobby companies are Games Workshop, which produces Warhammer, Wargames Foundry and Old Glory Miniatures. Wizards of the Coast produces several lines of pre-painted miniatures games, such as the Star Wars and Dungeons and Dragons miniatures games, and a historical game with pre-painted miniatures: The new Axis and Allies game. Wizkids produces a fantasy collectable miniatures game, such as the Mage Knight and Heroclick fantasy games, the science fiction games MechWarrior and Rocketmen, as well as the quasi-historical Pirates of the Spanish Main.
