Top 10 best osprey wargames
Finding the best osprey wargames suitable for your needs isnt easy. With hundreds of choices can distract you. Knowing whats bad and whats good can be something of a minefield. In this article, weve done the hard work for you.
Best osprey wargames
1. Dragon Rampant: Fantasy Wargaming Rules (Osprey Wargames)
Feature
9781472815712Description
Whether you're a nameless Dark Lord looking to conquer the known world, a Champion of Light holding out against the forces of evil or a Northern barbarian facing claimants to a stolen throne, Dragon Rampant allows you to bring those battles to the tabletop. Developed from the popular Lion Rampant system, Dragon Rampant is a standalone wargame that recreates the great battles of Fantasy fiction. Scenarios, army lists, and full rules for magic and monsters give players the opportunity to command unruly orc warbands, raise armies of the undead, campaign across an antediluvian world as the warchief of a barbarian tribe, or exploit the power of mighty creatures and extraordinary sorcery. An army usually consists of 6-8 units comprised of 6-12 individually based figures. These small units move and fight independently, assuming that they follow your orders rather than just doing their own thing. Command and control is just as important on the battlefield as the power of a troll chieftain or the magic of an archmage.2. Ronin: Skirmish Wargames in the Age of the Samurai (Osprey Wargames)
Feature
Product Number: OSP OWG004Description
Ronin is a set of skirmish wargame rules set in late 16th century feudal Japan. Players build small warbands of models and battle each other as well as non-player factions in duels and skirmishes. Ronin is historically accurate, but also pays tribute to the films of Akira Kurosawa such as Seven Samurai and Yojimbo.
Despite the enduring popularity of this period, there are very few widely available historical samurai skirmish wargames rules sets. Figures for the period are increasingly available, particularly from Perry Miniatures (very high quality 28mm metal), Wargames Factory (plastic 28mm box sets) and Zvezda (1/72 plastic). Ronin seeks to fill this void with an enjoyable system that is easy and cheap to take up. Gameplay is based upon a d6 system that forces players to make tactical decisions about attack and defence, simulating the cut and thrust of hand-to-hand combat.
There are numerous player factions, from Samurai and Ashigaru, the professional soldiers of the period, to Buddhist warrior monks, martial arts schools, and bandits.
There are also swords for hire such as Ronin and ninja that players can hire to augment their warband.
Players design their warband using a points system, and assign each model weapons, armour and martial skills. Weapons include the yari (pike/spear), naginata (pole arm), yumi (bow), arquebus and of course the katana and its variants. Specialist skills allow a model to undertake various special actions (for example, arrow-cutter provides additional defence against bow fire) or increases the proficiency of the model with a specific weapon.
As well as straight warband-on-warband battles, there are specific scenarios, some of them linked to provide a loose narrative. Gameplay is based upon a d6 system that forces players to make tactical decisions about attack and defence, simulating the cut and thrust of hand-to-hand combat. One scenario features the warband defending a notable person from attack by ninjas, another the defence of a village against bandits. There are also campaign rules that allow for the development of a warband in terms of gaining new skills and equipment and planning on-going battles against other players. Finally, very simple guidelines for running a tournament are included.
3. Rebels and Patriots: Wargaming Rules for North America: Colonies to Civil War (Osprey Wargames)
Description
From the first shots at Jumonville Glen to the surrender at Appomattox, Rebels and Patriots allows you to campaign with Wolfe or Montcalm, stand with Tarleton at Cowpens or Washington at Yorktown, or don the blue or grey to fight for Grant or Lee.
Designed by Michael Leck and Daniel Mersey, with a core system based on the popular Lion Rampant rules, Rebels and Patriots provides all the mechanics and force options needed to recreate the conflicts that forged a nation. From the French and Indian War, through the War of Independence and the War of 1812, to the Alamo and the American Civil War, these rules focus on the skirmishes, raids, and small engagements from this era of black powder and bayonet.
4. Dux Bellorum: Arthurian Wargaming Rules AD367793 (Osprey Wargames)
Feature
New Supreme Hobbies itemDescription
The Dark Age of Britain, from the middle of the 4th century to the end of the 8th, was a time of violence and warfare, when charismatic warlords such as the fabled King Arthur could gather together armies and carve out their own kingdoms. With this new set of wargames rules, players can take on the role of these warlords and command their own armies on the tabletop. Written by the author of the popular Glutter of Ravens rules set, Dux Bellorum is an element-based system, where each base of figures represents 50 fighting men. Each player has a specific number of points with which to construct his force and can choose to a Late Roman, Romano-British, Welsh, Saxon, Pictish, Irish, or Sea Raider army. The game is then played out following a set of simple, fast-paced rules. A completely self-contained gaming system, Dux Bellorum is perfect for gamers who are looking for a way into fighting Dark Age battles without investing a lot of time or money in larger rulesets.5. Gaslands: Post-Apocalyptic Vehicular Combat (Osprey Wargames)
Description
Shoot, ram, skid, and loot your way through the ruins of civilization with Gaslands, a tabletop wargame of car-on-car destruction in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Players control small fleets of armed vehicles in battles for resources, dominance, and survival. With rules for multiple vehicle types (from motorbikes to big rigs), varied special weapons and accessories (including oil slicks, caltrops, and nitro boosters), and a host of options for scenarios, environmental conditions, crew, and campaigns, players can tailor games to match their own visions for an anarchic future.6. Poseidons Warriors: Classical Naval Warfare 48031 BC (Osprey Wargames)
Feature
Osprey Publishing LtdDescription
Poseidon's Warriors is a set of wargaming rules for large-scale naval actions between fleets of Classical galleys, from the Greek and Persian clash at the Battle of Salamis, to the Battle of Actium that decided the fate of Rome. With so many of these battles taking place around islands or in narrow channels and shallow waters, sneaky tactics and cunning maneuvers are a hallmark of the era's warfare. The rules use an integrated turn system to allow a commander to position ships to go in and ram without being rammed in return, or to employ feints and traps to tempt the enemy out of position and leave his ships vulnerable to a follow-up strike.
With data for ships throughout the period, rules for famous admirals, historical scenarios, a campaign system, and a brief historical summary for those who wish to refresh their memory of the era, Poseidon's Warriors offers everything players need to equip themselves for the battles and campaigns of the first great age of naval warfare.
7. Kobolds & Cobblestones: Fantasy Gang Rumbles (Osprey Wargames)
Description
Ordinsport was a backwater on the vast Ordin River before the Council of Wizards chose it as the site of their grand experiment. After a near-catastrophic war that saw orcs, elves, dwarves, and many other traditional enemies fighting alongside each other as uneasy allies, the Council intended Ordinsport to symbolize the new peace as a shining example of old enemies living and thriving together in a new era of hope and prosperity.
While the treaty has held, Odinsport itself has fallen some way short of these lofty aims. With so many races living side-by-side, and the potential for smuggling presented by the great river itself, Ordinsport has become home to an immense black market, with an underworld dominated by a vast array of criminal syndicates, all vying for territory and influence. Crime bosses have their pick of mercenaries, and hire ruthless gangs of goblin grunts, human thugs, dwarf barbarians, and lumbering trolls. Orcs and dwarves still may not get along, but it's amazing what a cunning crime boss can achieve by greasing a few palms with a few gold coins.
Kobolds & Cobblestones is a skirmish wargame for rumbles between gangs in Ordinsport's seedy underbelly. Players hire gangs of criminals, thugs, and enforcers from a number of classic Fantasy races, and attempt to take control of the underworld and establish themselves as the city's kingpins. Playing card-based mechanics and a cunning bribery element keep players on their toes, as a one-sided battle can turn around in a flash.
8. Black Ops: Tactical Espionage Wargaming (Osprey Wargames)
Feature
9781472807816Description
Black Ops is a skirmish wargame of tactical espionage combat for two or more players. It recreates on the tabletop the tension and excitement of modern action-thrillers such as the Bond and Bourne films, The Unit or Burn Notice TV shows, and the Splinter Cell and Modern Warfare series of video games.
The fast-play rules use regular 6-sided dice and a card-driven activation system to keep all players in the thick of the action, while the mission generator provides a wide range of options for scenarios, from stealthy extraction or surveillance missions to more overt raids or assassinations. Stealth, combat and technical expertise all have a role to play, and players may select from a number of different character types - spies, mercenaries, criminals, hackers, special forces and many more - to recruit the best possible team for the job. Players may also choose to join a faction - powerful organizations, intelligence agencies, criminal syndicates, militaries or rebel groups, each with a stake in international affairs. By doing so, their team may receive certain benefits, but may also find itself limited at a crucial time. With the variety offered by the characters, factions and scenarios, no two games of Black Ops should ever be the same!
Although the standard Black Ops setting is an ultra-modern world just a hair removed from our own, the rules are versatile and adaptable enough to suit OSS operations behind Nazi lines, Cold War-era infiltration missions in Moscow or Berlin, or sabotage runs against a rival corporation's interests in a cyberpunk dystopia, and the rulebook will include a guide to running games in such settings.
9. On the Seven Seas: Wargames Rules for the Age of Piracy and Adventure c.15001730 (Osprey Wargames)
Feature
9781472801401Description
On the Seven Seasis a set of wargames rules covering the high adventure and low morals of the world of the pirate. From Drake and his sea-rovers to Blackbeard, the Barbary Corsairs and the Wo-k'ou of the Far East, pirates have haunted seas across the globe, preying on port and vessel alike. Now you too can recreate the exploits of pirate captains or the naval commanders that hunted them. Whether you want skirmishes between crews on uncharted islands and in the alleyways of Caribbean ports or ship-to-ship duels that culminate in bloodthirsty boarding actions, the rules offer a quick-to-learn basic game. These small forces of buccaneers, commanded by captains and kept in line by trusted lieutenants, can also be scaled up with ease for larger engagements. Gameplay centers on two driving motivations that epitomize the pirate life Fear and Greed. Cunning captains will have to balance these two elements, instilling fear in their opponents with bloodthirsty reputations, while keeping their own crews in line with the promise of loot and wealth.10. Honours of War: Wargames Rules for the Seven Years War (Osprey Wargames)
Recent Comments