Circus Murderous is a set of free wargames rules for fantasy chariot racing. Ok. Hellish chariot racing, for in this game the players are racing their demons across the plains of Hell. Cool. Or hot. Whatever. You know what I mean.
Majestic 12 Games has these demo rules for their For the Masses Fantasy miniature wargames system. Here's their blurb:
For The Masses is a complete fantasy mass-combat wargame system. But it is also much more: The flexibility of the system allows players to use any fantasy setting and armies to play out famous fantastical scenarios and ancient epic battles. Several sample army lists are included in the book but the real strength of For the Masses is the unit creation system. This system encourages players to be creative, use their imagination and have fun, which is the way wargaming should be.
Just in time for the movie Troy! R.W. Lee has written Wrath of the Gods, a set of free wargames rules for Greek and Roman mythology fantasy skirmish. The rules are simple (a good thing), with combat involving rolling a d6, adding a couple of factors and then comparing scores with your opponent. Any rules set that has harpies, gorgons and gods is a good thing.
Stephan Hess has written Chariotmaster, a set of free wargames rules for playing a fantasy version of Roman chariot racing. What I like about these rules is that they don't require you to play on a gridded board, like Circus Maximus and other chariot rules sets.
Back in the day, I owned a couple of Heritage's Dwarfstar Games. They were a lot of fun. Now, several of them are available for a free download at this website.
Rules Crusade is a complete rewrite of the Warhammer 40K, Mordheim and Necromunda wargames rules to use the old Milton Bradley Space Crusade system. Its well done, but I'm not sure why Sean Patten went to all the effort. I'm also not sure why GW's hordes of lawyers haven't descended upon him and turned him over to the Inquisitors.
From Chris Gilders comes No Quarter Fantasy Rules. These free wargames rules are a massive work, with 83 pages in the main rules book alone. There also are a large number of army lists, which is the real strength of the set. Like many fantasy games, figures are defined by a model profile, detailing combat stats, actions, strength, toughness and wounds. This is an amazingly comprehensive work for a free rules set, covering every aspect of fantasy warfare you could want.
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.
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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.