As Season IV comes to a close, we’ve just over a month until Season V kicks off on 7th October. This gap provides an opportunity to not only hone our rosters and team choices ahead of Season V but also to explore other games as a bit of a ‘palette cleanser ‘.
On the Forge Breakers Discord server, we have a ‘General Hobby’ section which contains many ‘opt-in’ game-specific channels. Over the past few months, these channels have been very active, so I wanted to take this chance to cover what’s happening, with a view to encouraging all our members to get stuck in if they fancy trying something which doesn’t involve Block dice 😊
Needless to say, players involved in the games detailed below welcome anyone keen to explore new systems. Armies, terrain, rules, dice, etc can usually be provided.
So, without further ado, let’s dive in!
40k and Kill Team
What is it?
Warhammer 40,000 is a sprawling sci‑fi tabletop wargame set in a brutal far‑future galaxy where countless factions battle endlessly for survival. Armies of soldiers, vehicles, and monsters fight large-scale battles. The setting is famously grimdark: humanity’s decaying Imperium faces threats from aliens, daemons, and traitors across a million war-torn worlds. It’s the biggest wargame in the world.
Kill Team is a smaller, faster skirmish game set in the same universe. Instead of commanding full armies, each player controls a handful of elite operatives – usually 6–14 models – on tight, tactical missions where every individual action matters. Games are shorter, more cinematic, and focused on stealth, positioning, and objective-based play, making Kill Team an accessible entry point into the Warhammer 40k hobby.
What’s going on in the channel?
At the end of last year and early this year, lots of focus was given to Kill Team. With the recent release of 40k 11th edition, focus has since switched to smaller-scale games as an entry point to the new rules whilst building up armies. That’s not to say Kill Team is dead! There’s clearly a fair few members of the community interested in both these systems, so I’d imagine we’ll see games being arranged soon.
Age of Sigmar
What is it?
Age of Sigmar is Games Workshop’s flagship fantasy wargame, set in the Mortal Realms – vast magical worlds filled with gods, monsters, warriors, and sorcery. It’s the fantasy counterpart to Warhammer 40k: mythic, heroic, and full of epic clashes between factions like Stormcast Eternals, Orruk Warclans, Nighthaunt, and more.
Spearhead is a fast, streamlined game mode within Age of Sigmar. Instead of building full armies, each player uses a single Spearhead box – a fixed set of models with simplified warscrolls and faction rules. Games take place on a smaller 22″×30″ board, last around 45–60 minutes, and focus on quick engagement, accessible rules, and tight tactical play. It’s designed as both an easy entry point for newcomers and a fun, fast format for veterans.
What’s going on in the channel?
The focus of this channel has been on Spearhead, which is a fantastic system. 5 or 6 members of the community have been involved in organising games recently, and this looks set to continue. Some of us have multiple Spearhead boxes and are more than happy to lend these out to help new players get involved. As for AoS, again a few have full armies and are keen to play more games!
Bolt Action/Konflict ’47
What is it?
Bolt Action is a World War II tabletop wargame where players command infantry squads, tanks, artillery, and support teams on a 28mm battlefield. It uses an alternating activation system driven by order dice, creating a dynamic, unpredictable flow of play. Armies represent real historical forces – US, UK, Germany, Japan, USSR, and many others – and battles focus on tactical movement, suppression, morale, and combined‑arms strategy. It’s accessible, fast‑paced, and designed to recreate cinematic WW2 engagements.
Konflikt ’47 takes the Bolt Action ruleset and pushes it into Weird War territory. Set in an alternate 1947, the discovery of dimensional Rifts introduces strange technologies, mutated horrors, diesel‑powered walkers, tesla weapons, undead shock troops, and pulp‑style superscience. The core gameplay remains Bolt Action at heart – order dice, pin markers, tactical movement – but layered with Rift‑tech units and faction-specific weird war capabilities. It’s pulpy, cinematic, and blends WW2 aesthetics with sci‑fi and horror themes.
What’s going on in the channel?
Alex and Darcy from BGs, along with Ryan are very active in this space. 2 fab games, closely linked – they’d be thrilled to get more involved!
Burrows and Badgers
What is it?
Burrows & Badgers is a narrative‑driven skirmish wargame set in the ancient realm of Northymbra, a land where mice, badgers, toads, foxes, and dozens of other animals don armour, wield weapons, and cast spells. Each model represents a single character, chosen from a wide range of species and equipped however you like. Battles take place across ruined villages, forests, marshes, and other wild terrain, with scenarios linking into ongoing campaigns where heroes grow, villains scheme, and mercenaries can be hired to tip the balance. The tone is equal parts cosy and perilous: a world of anthropomorphic beasts facing political turmoil, bandits, Wildbeasts, and factional strife.
What’s going on in the channel?
B&B is probably the most popular game in the community (after Blood Bowl ofc!). We’ve just started a 7-player campaign. That’s not to say new players can’t join in at this point; there are balancing mechanics for new warbands. Great game, fantastic models, deep warband progression. Get stuck into this one!
Gaslands
What is it?
Gaslands: Refuelled is a post‑apocalyptic tabletop miniatures game of high‑speed vehicular carnage. Players convert and customise toy cars – typically Hot Wheels or Matchbox – into armed death‑machines, then race, ram, skid, and shoot their way through chaotic scenarios. The game uses manoeuvre templates, hazard tokens, and a unique gear phase activation system to simulate drifting, collisions, and explosive wipeouts. It’s fast, cinematic, and embraces a full Mad‑Max‑style aesthetic, with scenarios ranging from death races to arena battles.
What’s going on in the channel?
Maybe the game with the lowest barrier to entry? Grab a car, stick some guns to it… and off you go! We’ve had 3 Gaslands evenings so far, with more on the horizon! Be sure to hit up KingBarrington for further info. Another very popular game.
Marvel Crisis Protocol
What is it?
Marvel Crisis Protocol is a tactical skirmish miniatures game set in the Marvel Universe, where players assemble teams of iconic heroes and villains and battle across interactive urban terrain. It’s designed for two players and focuses on objective‑based play rather than simple brawling: characters throw cars, leap off buildings, unleash superpowers, and fight over mission goals to score victory points. Games typically last up to six rounds, with players alternating activations – each character can move, attack, or use powers, all powered by a resource called Power that builds as they take damage.
What’s going on in the channel?
Probably the quietest channel. Col and Paul are keen to get more involved though, so give them a poke to channel your innermost Batman. 😉
Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game
What is it?
Middle‑earth Strategy Battle Game (MESBG) is Games Workshop’s tabletop miniatures wargame set in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle‑earth, drawing from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. It’s a character‑driven skirmish/warband game where players assemble and paint forces of heroes and warriors, then fight objective‑based battles on scenic terrain. The rules emphasise individual model actions, priority rolls each turn, and the influence of powerful heroes who use Heroic Actions and resources like Might, Will, and Fate to swing key moments. Armies are divided into Good and Evil factions, each with numerous lists representing the cultures of Middle‑earth – from Gondor and Rohan to Mordor, Isengard, Moria, and beyond.
What’s going on in the channel?
Very popular back at the start of the year. Has been a little quiet whilst other games are explored but no doubt will see tabletop time at BGs soon. Fantastic system, often cited as ‘the best GW have ever made‘. Always willing to teach the rules and share armies.
Moonstone
What is it?
Moonstone is a whimsical, tactical skirmish miniatures game set in the fantastical land of Tauber, where goblins, faeries, humans, gnomes, trolls, and many other creatures compete to harvest magical moonstones that sprout from the earth under bright moonlight. Each player fields a small crew of 4–6 characters, each with unique abilities and personality, and battles across a 3’×3′ board to gather moonstones before sunrise. The game stands out for its bluff‑and‑guess combat and magic system: instead of dice, players use shared Melee and Arcane card decks, playing cards face‑down to outwit their opponent in duels and spellcasting. The result is a highly interactive, cinematic, and often hilarious experience full of trickery, daring plays, and colourful characters.
What’s going on in the channel?
A group of 4 are currently playing this regularly. Moonstone is a great game with very interesting mechanics and some of the best models out there! A game everyone should try.
The Silver Bayonet
What is it?
The Silver Bayonet is a skirmish wargame of Napoleonic Gothic Horror, blending historical warfare with supernatural threats. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, the immense suffering across Europe has weakened the veil between worlds, allowing monsters such as vampires, werewolves, ghouls, and other horrors to emerge and prey on soldiers and civilians. Nations secretly form elite units of specialist hunters – riflemen, sabreurs, mystics, occultists, engineers, and even controlled supernatural allies – to investigate strange occurrences, battle monsters, and compete with rival factions for occult knowledge and artefacts.
What’s going on in the channel?
6 of us are partway through a narrative campaign. Officers from various nations are helping the mysterious Bargh-hamon retrieve a powerful artefact to help in the fight against the Harvestmen! Great game, simple system and very interesting setting.
The Old World
What is it?
Warhammer: The Old World is Games Workshop’s revival of classic Warhammer Fantasy Battles, bringing back the iconic rank‑and‑file style of massed combat. Set centuries before the End Times, during the era of the Three Emperors, it explores a rich period of political strife, rising Chaos, and legendary factions like Bretonnia, Tomb Kings, Dwarfs, High Elves, Wood Elves, Orcs & Goblins, Warriors of Chaos, Beastmen, and the Empire of Man.
The game emphasises large regiments, tight manoeuvring, flanking, and a dramatic Winds of Magic system. Units move as blocks on trays, making facing and battlefield positioning crucial—very different from the free‑form movement of Age of Sigmar. It’s designed as a modernised but faithful continuation of the classic fantasy wargame experience, offering grand battles, deep tactics, and a nostalgic return to the Old World’s lore.
What’s going on in the channel?
There are a few who actively play at BGs on Tuesday evenings. George is especially interested in new fresh meat to quish under the hooves of his Bretonnian Knights!
Turnip28
What is it?
Turnip28 is a wonderfully strange, mud‑soaked, post‑apocalyptic Napoleonic parody wargame created by Max FitzGerald. It blends black humour, grim satire, and deliberately filthy aesthetics into a skirmish game where players command ragged regiments of Tubs – malnourished, downtrodden soldiers obsessed with root vegetables. The world has collapsed into perpetual trench‑rot, superstition, and incompetence; uniforms are tattered, banners are pathetic, and everything is caked in mud.
On the tabletop, Turnip28 uses small warbands of infantry, cavalry, and bizarre contraptions. The rules emphasise morale, disorder, and misfortune, with units often blundering, panicking, or failing spectacularly. Armies are highly customisable, encouraging kitbashing and creativity – players build their own weird regiments with root‑themed heraldry, improvised weapons, and grotesque conversions.
The tone is intentionally absurd: part Napoleonic warfare, part folk horror, part vegetable‑cult nonsense. It’s a hobbyist’s dream – light rules, heavy flavour, and endless opportunities for modelling, painting, and storytelling.
What’s going on in the channel?
There’s no game out there quite like T28. Scott and Dan2 are well-versed in the rules and possess various armies. If you ever want a game just to roll dice, have a laugh and not care about the result, this is the one for you!
The 3 of us are heading to ‘Tunripcon’ in November, so we will be playing games over the coming months. Always happy to get more involved in this one!
Anything else?
Whilst the above are the games we have channels for on Discord, there are, of course, loads of other games out there. If you’ve a game you want to play, post in the General Hobby Chat channel.
Remind me how to access the above channels?
Access to the channels are restricted to ‘reaction roles’. See the Reaction Roles channel, click on the reaction icon which matches the game(s) you’re interested in, and that will unlock access.
No responses yet