The Rune Wars Miniatures Game Coming To Tabletops From FFG!
August 6, 2016 by brennon
It's late here in the UK but I had to get this news out to you. You can follow an interview from Dawn & Gianna above talking to Anton about this but Fantasy Flight Games are heading towards miniature wargaming with Rune Wars...
Yes, you heard it right. Armies of rank and file battling it out on the tabletop in the world of Terrinoth, set within the world of Runebound.
There's plenty more to dive into with this game but right now we're just utterly stoked to see where this goes. The models from what we've heard come in one or two pieces and they go together very easily. You will then be encouraged to paint them up.
Beyond that it looks like it has the usual FFG flare with unit cards, powers and more all in the mix as well as movement templates and plenty of dials.
Bring it on we say!
"Yes, you heard it right. Armies of rank and file battling it out on the tabletop in the world of Terrinoth, set within the world of Runebound..."
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I wonder what kind of plastic these miniatures will be made of?
I thought it was pre-painted….
This shifts the whole thing from OMG I WANT IT to MEH ANOTHER ONE
Really interesting to see this and I hope it does well, but not for me, I dont really have the patience for rank and file games with lots of figures anymore, maybe its an age thing but model counts bigger than malifaux or infinity and I start getting twitchey
It’s not just you, compact game play is where I’m at these days as well.
Same here too. Smaller number of figs and smaller board as well. Games like Bushido give a rich play experience with limited models and a 2′ x 2′ board. I hope this new endeavor does work out for FFG though.
I’m surprised that they have gone for an entry level fantasy miniatures game. Clearly they feel GW are vulnerable in this area so are parking their tanks on Workshop’s lawn. With all due respect to Mantic this could be a serious challenger as they have an excellent worldwide distribution network and lots of trust built into their brand from other successes. As an established fantasy wargamer I can see that trying to swap over to this rule system may be an issue with the specialised movement tray basing and dial-based mechanism. However, as with AoS this isn’t targeted at me.… Read more »
FFG hasn’t had a great history with miniatures other than X-Wing, and that plays more like a board game. Honestly If they would have used the Star Wars IP rather than one of their own, this would have more of a chance.
Yup, the miniatures in Descent are crap
Star Wars miniatures game? Precisely what I was thinking. And hoping for!
FFG game, does this mean you play on a 3′ board and the rest of the table is covered in bits of cardboard?
I can’t decide whether those jigsaw bases are utter genius, or the ugliest thing I’ve seen in ages.
As far as I remember, FFG got the rights to publish games in the Ice and Fire universe (Game of Thrones)… Hence, if they really wanted something that would bring A LOT of new players into the fold, then I wonder why they didn’t choose the Ice and Fire theme.
Just think about it. 7 great houses with distinctive characteristics, Wildlings with giants, the free cities across the sea, old Valyria, the Others, the first men, not to mention all the minor houses playing the Game of Thrones as well.
And then there is of course the gazillion unique characters.
If you are looking for a formula for a fantasy miniatures game that would have the biggest chance of scoring a home-run, then this would surely be it.
They may not have a license to do a miniatures game. They don’t have the RPG license as Green Ronin make that. Dark Sword also already make ASoF&I miniatures, so there could be an issue there with making a miniatures game.
Those look rather good.
Some nice sculpting, but I literally have no idea who this is for! Looks like a very complex system for a simple concept – dials, cards, dice, turning templates… More cardboard than you shake a cardboard stick at!
I want to love those movement trays though. Such a simple fix to a problem. Unsure if because I’m used to straight sided or because it’s horrible that I don’t actually love them.
All of those things are FFG staples. You’ll find some or all of them across their board, card, and minis games. X-Wing, for example, has everything you list in it.
So it’s a fiddly version of Kings of War… Sadly I think it will do well with the non-hardcore. I wonder if it will be supported enough with new miniatures and factions to make it a true contender?
why are you sad that a game will do well? surely getting anyone to try out, play, and enjoy a tabletop game can only be a good thing
Agreed @demyse – I think this game will compete with Kings of War, but interestingly (and this can only be good for customers), I think this will be a very different game.
I’ll be very interested to learn more about it.
Given that it has a manuever dial and such like X-wing I think it might be going after D&D Attack Wing more than Kings of War.
Interesting that the models are not pre-paint though.
sound is all scrambled for me on the vids
Well hopefully is does well for them
I think models look really bland. Just more generic high fantasy with no actual style.
I agree as it has that cardboard cut out feel that smacks of generic. It’s as if everything is one piece cast for mass production.
One piece models attract board gamers and entry level model collectors. One piece models is very common to stuff like Mars Attacks, Descent, UnderCity, Zombicide, etc It’s a feature not a bug.
Good point. The less work the buyer needs to invest in the game the better the odds it will be picked up by the general public.
I’m not blown away by the miniatures, although I think that’s in part because the setting means nothing to me and so I’ve got no context in which to judge them. The humans do look pretty generic high fantasy, but most of the undead stuff looks more interesting and characterful I think. The quality of the sculpts looks to at least match Mantic’s. (Which means, before anyone thinks I’m slagging off Mantic, that it’s at the bargain rather than the premium end of the scale and pretty variable, with some sculpts being actually pretty good and others being pretty poor.)… Read more »
This might also be a safe test to see how people will respond to them getting into tabletop. If FFG could find a way to incorporate a new Star Wars tabletop game with Imperial Assault, that way both games (and miniatures) help each other, the synergy would only bring in more people to it as opposed to people deciding whether or not they should.
Aren’t Decent/Imperial Assault Miniatures a bit too big for this?? But they really should have just made this a Star Wars Mass Battle Game. Though only Imperials, Clones and Confederacy Droids would fit in mass battle rank and file, Rebel Alliance and New republic would be more trench and skirmish oriented. That could be an interesting game some factions ranked up with others fighting a more scattered duck and cover style.
I think that the Runewars miniatures game is a bold and interesting move from FFG. Some people see this game as being a threat to GW, I think not (perhaps wishful thinking from those who doesn’t like GWs modus operandi). I believe that Runewars has much more in common with KoW than with AoS. KoW is an old school rank & file style fantasy game, point systems, tournament friendly. AoS is a new take on fantasy gaming, very rules lite, no points, far from a tournament game. To me, Runewars looks like an old school rank & file style fantasy… Read more »
I think this is one to keep an eye one, looks interesting, and I like the basing concept – a bit visually odd to start but seem good, particularly like the way it bases characters. The rules will be key for me as I don’t know the setting and looks a little generic.
I think the exciting thing for me is its a minis game from a board/card game company – that can always bring fresh ideas, and that is always interesting.
I agree @dags – I like the bases a lot, even if they do look a little weird. And in principle I love the idea of a company taking some very elegant board game mechanics and using them to revolutionise the way a rank and file wargame plays.
I’m less interested in the miniatures or the setting (which I know nothing about), but this looks like it could really open up options for people interested in playing mass battle games.
the minis are so so but the gameplay looks slick.
if the rules are as good as they look and you don’t like the minis ,proxy.
there are some beautiful fantasy minis out there
the figures look great I think.
Nothing wrong with one piece castings. Apart from adding shields and the odd chariot and building mechs I have never bothered, but thats probably as a font like plastic or resin figures
As I don’t I meant
Oh for an edit function
no, thanks
This is an interesting development indeed. I’ll reserve judgement on the miniatures for now, they don’t look terrible in the pictures but neither do Mantic’s in their pictures and they’re really hit and miss. FFG don’t have a stellar record with their miniatures (Descent are awful, Imperial Assault are saved largely by being Star Wars) so they’ll need to up their game a bit.
That said, the mechanics look interesting and I do like the concept behind those movement trays, they just need something to make the edges flat