1490 Doom

One of the things that stopped my in my tracks when I saw this game was the round board.  Very unusual in gaming, and it suits the closed-in intense action of this game.

I sourced a 2ft round MDF board from a seller on EBay, and when it arrived started to mock up some possible layouts.

In the game, the most victory points are awarded for finishing with more models at the highest elevation than your opponent (yes, pushing models off of great heights is a key part of the game – Ben will love this!).  You can equip some fighters with climbing gear (ladders or grappling hooks) but to ensure a fair game you are advised to make sure there is at least one route up that doesn’t need carried gear.  So I will need to build some ladders and platforms.

But for now, it is onto the round board itself.  Broadly following a tutorial from Mel the Terrain Tutor, I used a basic filler-stippling technique to create the texture.

The first layer is a very watery layer of filler to soak into the board.  This prevents warping, and helps the thicker filler stick.  Then a couple of layers of thicker filler stippled on.  In pictures it looked something like this:

I’ve covered the painting of these in my Danchitsu project, but these two models are the first two of the production line for my first Doom Company.  I just need to finish one more model and that’s one ‘army’ done!

The models are all painted exclusively with the Army Painter Fanatic John Blanche Masterclass paints.  I am going to stick with those for my Doom Companies.

The best bit of any new project – the shopping!  Thankfully, when I was starting to think about this, Salute was just around the corner.  I only had a couple of hours to spend there, so I made it my mission to pick up as much as I could to get this game on the table.  It was a bit like Supermarket Sweep, but I came back with quite the haul!

This project will document my exploration of 1490 Doom by Buer Games, a small-scale skirmish game set in a surreal version of late-medieval Europe. The game is due to launch on Gamefound soon, but the rulebook is already available online, so I’ve decided to get started now.

1490 Doom is an apocalyptic game set between 1490 and 1494.  The ‘Creeping Death’ is a murderous fog that has risen from the ground, killing crops, animals and people, gradually rising until the point in 1494 where it has consumed all life on Earth.  The only ’safety’ until then is on the highest man made structures, fighting for the last remaining resources in a vain hope of survival.  Any forays into the fog require the use of breathing apparatus that has been cobbled together from whatever was available in the late 15th century.

Games are played with just three models per side on a distinctive round board, which creates a sense of containment and forces constant engagement. The setting mixes real historical elements with grim, dreamlike horror. It’s not a fantasy world in the traditional sense—it’s more like a warped version of Europe where things have gone badly wrong.

Visually, the game invites comparisons to the “28” movement—kitbashed models, narrative-driven hobbying, and a focus on style over symmetry. There’s a strong influence from Blanchitsu, Trench Crusade, and other grimdark projects that blur the line between miniatures game and art piece. That aesthetic is a big part of what drew me to the game, and I plan to reflect it in how I approach both the modelling and terrain.

This project will cover building and painting models, creating terrain, and eventually playing games. I’ll also share thoughts on the rules and setting as I go. No deadlines—just steady progress through an unusual and creatively interesting game.