Tabletop wargames have all the genre appeal of the greatest TTRPGs, but they get right into the heart of the action and 🦩stay t൲here all session long.
Classic games like Warhammer 40,000 are always going to be available at a local gaming shop, but it’s never been easi💞er to make your own custom minis and create the wargame of your dreams. If you’ve got access to a 3D printer (and even if you don’t), then these games can offer you a unꦛique experience for your party’s next session.
Bloodfields
is a relatively new addition to the tabletop wargaming scene. Created by Titan Forge, Bloodfields began on Kickstarter, and it’s continued flourishing since its initial funding campaign ended. This is a perfect place to start for people who want to jump into printing their own 3D wargame figures. There are over 100 Bloodfield units, and a wide array of landscapes, that you can purchase and print at a reasonable cost. Plus, with streamlined rules and an average playtime of 60 minutes, Bloodfield doubles as a great intr🎃o for wargamers in general.
World War Tesla
There’s no shortage of high fantasy and outer space wargames, so is ideal for players looking to shakeꦇ up their usual genre. This is an alternate history game set in a world where Nikolai Tesla helped invent giant robots and ultra-destructive 💞laser weaponry. There are a slew of STLs available for the game, and publisher Fat Dragon Games specifically designed the minis to be as affordable to print as possible.
Grid Wars: Age of Cyberpunk
Looking for a game with smaller-scale battles and some role-playing elements? , another Titan Forge game, might be the system for you and your table. Instead of pitting armies against each other, Grid Wars focuses on street-level skirmishes in a classically cyberpunk world. The game is scenario based, so individual characters can progress the more you play – though with as many incredible print-and-play minis as there are for Grid Wars, y🀅ou might want to change characters regularly.
1775: Join or Die
Educational is probably a stretch, but is certainly historical. This game pits revolutionaries against redcoats as players fight their way through the war for American independence. Players can print their own armies, but there are also terrain pieces and unique dangers like roaming black bears available as STL files. Whether you’re looking to reenact The Patriot or The Revenant, this game can help transport you🌊r table back to the late 18th century. ;
Modulorka
, as the name might lead you to guess, is a modular wargame focused on pitting armies of orcs against each other. Technically, your army can be composed of any kind of creature because Modulorka is basically mini-agnostic, but there are plenty of orc STL files ready for you to print. This is a game fo𒈔r players who prefer less crunchy games and enjoy prioritizing tactics above strategy, and it has a unique single-player ruleset that lets you play alone or with an AI opponent.
Battlefront Valkyrie
If you tried and enjoyed World War Tesla, then you should put next on your to-play list. Also from Fat Dragon Games, Battlefront Valkyrie takes the print-and-play format to🦂 the stars. The game pits fleets of starships against each other and also has them contend with environmental hazards l꧑ike asteroids. In addition to the basic rules and STL files, there are also three full expansion packs for players who really want to expand their starfleet.
Gridrunner
Titan Forge and Cyber Forge worked to create , a really unique tabletop skirmish game with a cyberpunk setting. What sets Gridrunner apart from so many other games is that it’s entirely designed for solo play. Players print their own scenery and minis, and they work through multiple different scenarios and story arcs laid out on the Gridrunner web app. Sometimes, you can’t get a group together, but Gridrunner can still get you that wargaming fix.
Reign in Hell
Take command of a cabal of demons and war for control over the fiery underworld in . The game is designed for fast-paced, action-packed battles, but the rules also contain a campaign system that helps you link your battles together into epic narratives. Reign in Hell is meant t🅰o be used with any minis, and while there aren’t any official STL files for the system, there’s no shortage of fan-made minis available online.
Gaslands
brings the energy of a Mad Max movie to your gaming table. Set in a post-apocalyptic hellscape, Gaslands entirely focuses on vehicular combat. Gear shifting becomes an initiative-like mechanic as you control a fleet of cars racing and gunning each other down through the barren wastes. Like Reign in Hell, Gaslands is designed to be used with any kind of mini – even Hot Wheels cars – but there are plenty of apocal🔯ypse-ready vehicles available as STLs online.
OnePageRules
When in doubt, really can be your one-stop shop for all things wargaming. Under the OnePageRules banner, you’ll find systems like GrimDark Future and Age of Fantasy. These are ridiculously simple rulesets that can get your game up and going in minutes, even if you’ve never played a tabletop game before. OnePageRules also has a treasure trove of STLs for minis that will fit into any game you might run with either system. In terms of pure simplicity, OnePageRules is easily the best resource for wargamers looking to get into print-and-play – there’sꦿ even a set of paper print-and-play files for people looking to start a game without a 3D printer.
Published: Jan 29, 2025 05:45 pm