Buff This 2141! Badass New Brutal Sci-Fi Skirmish Game To Dive Into

April 14, 2026 by brennon

One of the games that I checked out at Salute 2026 was Buff This 2141, a new Sci-Fi skirmish game that comes from Protagonist Games. It is available right now to dive into on itch.io but it will also be coming to Kickstarter soon!

Buff This 2141 // Protagonist Games

Buff This 2141 is a game designed for two players with a maximum model count of one miniature per player. It's a deadly duel between two characters akin to the climactic moment of a movie or video game where the hero and the villain clash in an ultimate showdown.

Games last, on average, somewhere between fifteen and thirty minutes, depending on the way the game plays out. Your typical board for Buff This 2141 is around 12" x 24" but you could play with other dimensions if they work best for you. You are encouraged to play with lots of terrain and plenty of raised sections, emphasising the use of verticality to create dynamic and interesting spaces to fight in and around.

Buff This 2141 - Gameplay // Protagonist Games

The game has been designed with quick and easy mechanics for you to get your head around, making use of Protagonist Games' S.C.A.R.E.D System. Gameplay evolves and changes over the course of a clash with the use of Buff Tokens, which you gain access to, modifying the stat lines for the two combatants.

Buff This 2141 - Gameplay // Protagonist Games

You are encouraged by Protagonist Games to bring whatever miniatures you like best to the game, kitbashing and converting them however you like. The same goes for the terrain and the tabletop that you craft, playing around with fun terrain kits to make something awesome.

Whilst the game is primarily designed for these one-on-one clashes, Buff This 2141 is also going to expand to include rules for solo and cooperative play and you can add in more combatants if you like to make for an utterly chaotic clash on the tabletop.

This will come your way through the Kickstarter campaign!

Buff This 2141 Kickstarter // Protagonist Games

The campaign will come with options for both digital and physical copies of the rulebook (both hardback and wire-bound), plus miniatures, buff tokens and more but that's a secret for now. I love that this might end up with folks breaking out their favourite Necromunda miniatures of old and bringing them back to the tabletop for a scrap.

Don't forget that, if you want to give the game a go right now, you can just go and download the rules for free from itch.io and give the game a go with what you have access to at home.

Will you be checking out Buff This 2141?