I realised a while back that I prefer Skirmish games. I’m enjoying AOS right now because I get to use the big models, but we only play 1000 points. But after trying to play a WFB game crica 8/9e and it taking 5 hours to setup play and put away I started looking for smaller games. First it was Malifaux, then Guildball, then Aristeia, then MCP, then Bushido, then Shatterpoint and now Warcry and Underworlds. And I’ve dabbled with quickstarts and proxies for other games that I’m not going into. Some of these games I have way more playtime with. For both Guildball and MCP I’ve done over 100 tournament games in a year, whereas Malifaux, Aristeia, Bushido and Shatterpoint I’ve done between 1 and 3 events only. So this isn’t an entirely fair comparison, it’s all just my opinion, so take it as you will!
Let’s do this Chronologically!
Malifaux
I’ve talked about this before. Malifaux almost put me off playing mini games at tournaments. I went to a Malifaux event end of 1e and had a horrible experience and stopped playing and swore off events. Years later in 2e I picked up the game again and started playing at the Outpost in sheffield and really enjoyed it. But then I picked up guild ball and basically chose that over Malifaux. I did go to one more event but it was again pretty miserable.
So Malifaux is set in another dimension during end of 18th century. You have cowboys, samurai and arcanists mixing with zombies, gremlins and fae. It’s a great setting with great factions and characters.
The game is very different because it uses playing cards not dice and is objective based. All the rules are now available online.
| Pros | Cons |
| Lore is excellent and the setting is great Models are flavourful Having cards in hand means you always have the chance of improving a bad flip | To play at a tournament level you needs to know all the combos and characters which is very difficult Needs a lot of scenery Some models are a PITA to build |
Malifaux is a great game. It’s the first game i played after Warhammer and warmachine which is all about killing and playing for objectives not just violence was great. But the amount of characters are overwhelming and there are so many traps in play. With a small group of like-minded players this would be fun, but I hated it at a tournament level, I just didn’t play against nice people.
Guild Ball
I tried Guild Ball for one game and within 2 weeks went to my first event, and then my second and then carried this in for a few years until the game died. I played around 40 tournaments from 2017-2019. And my highlight was captaining Wales 1 to the 2019 WTC. My highest rating actually happened after I stopped playing where through some weird fluke of maths I became highest rated Butcher Player in 2020.
Guild ball is simple compared to Malifaux. It’s a human centric fantasy setting where guilds play football with each other. There was some good lore, but its hard to find now. some interesting models, and pets as mascots.
The game itself was excellent. Well balanced with regular updates. And it plays so well. You only get points for scoring or taking out players. You can pass, shoot or attack. that’s about it. But it’s a solid ruleset and the playbook on the character cards means different models and factions play completely differently. Even the fighty teams aren’t all the same. The teams are all well themed and additions like new captains and players kept the game fresh. Until they canned it in 2020.
| Pros | Cons |
| Playbooks Simple to learn, hard to master Good variety in teams and playstyles Excellent community | Not great to look at. Humans, Pets, not much fancy stuff. Playing for goals is much more dice dependent than fighting It died! Although it’s making a comeback it’s still only in it’s early days |
I loved playing guildball and I’m glad it’s back, but I don’t feel the drive to play it any more. I’m going to an event this weekend because I want to see the old crowd, not because I want to play the game. But part of the appeal of guildball was the community. Everyone was great and the events were fun. In the near 200 tournament games I played I had just one bad experience in just one game. Great people!
Marvel Crisis Protocol
MCP launched just as GB was winding down and I loved it. I played in some of the first MCP tournaments and during 2021 and 2022 I played a load of games. I went to almost 30 MCP events, and that’s basically mid 2021 after lockdown to mid 2022. But I burnt myself out. I didn’t play for over a year and I lost the bug. I played one doubles event in 2023 and that’s it.
Marvel is Marvel…
The game is pretty cool. It’s objective based. You get nothing for taking out opponents. It uses funny dice which can make it quite swingy in play. But there are many fun Marvel moments that pop up in games and you can use any model with any model. Of all the games here it has the most open squad building.
| Pros | Cons |
| Excellent models, and they kept getting better It’s Marvel! Characters play like their comic book counterparts Squadbuilding means you can play whatever you want really Interesting missions | The dice can be super swingy Too many models to keep up with Often the newer models are OP |
I loved MCP. I got in on the ground so I knew what everything did and that helped a lot. But I played too much and got burnt out. I’d love to go back to it though, but time and money y’know?
Bushido
When I was considering taking a break from MCP (mid 2022) I looked into Bushido. I played a bunch of games (written up here) with proxies and built some models. Eventually I went to an event. It was Malifaux all over again. The players weren’t unfriendly or rude, but I knew my models and nothing else and just got creamed by people who knew what they were doing. So I quit it.
Bushido is a fantasy Eastern game. So Lots of Samurai, some Ninja, Oni and so on. The factions are quite varied and the models are nice.
The game is objective based but taking out opponents matters a lot. It has a weird combat gimmick where you use dice for attack or defense so your models can die on their own attack actions (which happens to me a lot).
| Pros | Cons |
| If you like the theme, it’s well done Combat is different from other games | System mastery needed Very niche game – not many events Combat is different!! |
I think bushido is a good game, but it’s not an easy game to pickup. There are a lot of models, which means theres a lot of gotchas and combos.
Star Wars Shatterpoint
I was so hyped when this was announced. Star wars, skirmish, from the people who made MCP! Perfect! I went all-in at the start. I played a few games with Brian. I went to an event. And I was bored. Haven’t played since.
It’s star wars…
It’s not really objective based. There are some markers on the board which you use to score. But you also score from taking out opponents. But at the same time you are scoring your opponent is scoring and moving a counter between you. Its possible to just have nothing happen for an hour and then suddenly someone wins 2-1. It uses funny dice but also has a combat result grid sort of like guildball, except you pick every result in sequence. Squad building is really constricted. You want Han and Luke and Leia and Chewie? Sorry 3 of those are leaders, you can only have 2. When it first came out you basically had to take clones with you. So If you only want to play the main characters, tough.
| Pros | Cons |
| Models are nice Moving around scenery is cool Combat trees are good | Pretty dull to play Game plays slow. In some games some models will only get 2 activations across a 2 hour game. Lack of missions |
I wish this game was MCP, but Star wars. It would be so much better. It’s fine for a one-off game. But when I played at an event every game felt the same. There are new missions now, but from what I’ve read Its still stand on a point and push enemies off, every single activation. All of the good stuff in MCP was missing. A complete mis-step IMHO.
Warhammer Age of Sigmar WarCry
That title is too long! I bought this on release, played 2 games and put it away. But I got it back out again for a few more games and really enjoyed it. So no events and not sure I would but it’s what I’m playing now so it gets on the list
It’s set in Age of Sigmar – the slightly gonzo GW Fantasy setting. Originally it was chaos warbands fighting and you could use your other models, but now it’s just small scale AOS with special units.
It’s very quick to play. Abilities work of a dice roll at start of turn so you can only use some abilities as you roll the correct dice for them. So other than that it’s mostly move and attack. I imagine this would get boring if it was the only thing i played, but combined with the other AOS games its good.
| Pros | Cons |
| Can use AOS models Can use Underworlds models Can use Warcry models in AOS Quick to play Great Scenery Easy to learn | Would probably get samey quickly I don’t think it’s overly well balanced |
I like Warcry. It’s nothing fancy, but there are also no real gotchas to look out for. It feels a bit more random than some of these other games but it’s also just good fun.
The last 2 games here are arguably not skirmish games as they use hexes and cards and so are almost boardgames.
Aristeia
During my guildball games, Aristeia came out and I actually managed a few events and they were fun. This is a bit less serious so less pressure.
Aristeia is a gladiatorial sports combat game set in the infinity universe. You can even use Infinity models in the game.
It uses cards for special abilities and has funny dice with symbols. There are different missions which favor different characters. And it all happens on a hex based arena.
| Pros | Cons |
| Good mix of characters It’s like playing overwatch the mini game | Not balanced Only a few Map variations Not being supported anymore so no events |
I really enjoyed playing Aristeia and it’s one of the few games on this list I’ve played with my Wife. But it didn’t last long. I always hope it gets a second edition and comes back.
Warhammer Underworlds
Another hex based game. I picked this up on launch like Warcry but never played it. It became obvious very soon that you needed every release to get all the best cards. But when I got back into warhammer recently I discovered they had changed the card rules and now you mostly take pre-built decks rather than full custom decks. So I bought a few boxes and played with my wife and its good fun. We’ve even had a 3 player game.
Also set in the AOS world but with very small warbands.
It uses funny dice and hexes and you have cards for abilities. But the objectives are also based on cards. It plays quick. A whole game is just 12 activations, but there’s a lot of strategy in that time.
| Pros | Cons |
| Very quick to play Easy to Learn Warbands have massive variety Can use these models in AOS and Warcry Objectives are different due to being on cards | Luck dependent on what cards you get Warbands don’t seem balanced |
This is a nice quick fun game. And I can play with my Wife so bonus!
In summary:
So there’s a bunch of the Skirmish style games I’ve played. There are more, but nothing I feel able to comment on.
Games I Love
Marvel Crisis Protocol. So many models to choose from, but you can build a squad from anything and have fun. It feels like Marvel but is also a good game.
Guild Ball. Just a brilliant game. Even with such limited objectives I never really got bored of it as the characters and factions were so well designed. And a great community
Games I like
Warcry. It’s simple but has variety so isn’t boring.
Aristeia. It’s good fun and has cool characters. 2e please!
Underworlds. Simple to pick up and play and quick to boot.
Game I want to like, but just don’t
Malifaux. I’ll always have a soft spot for the setting and models and I still have some. But I wouldn’t dare go to an event again.
Bushido. Too easy to make mistakes and get punished.
Star Wars Shatterpoint. It’s Star Wars! It’s by AMG. Combat is neat. But the objective play is so, so, so dull. Even with the games I had bad experiences with at tournaments I wasn’t bored. I hope they massively change the whole struggle idea, and the squad building, but I cannot see that happening.
Obviously this was a short review of each game and based on just my personal experiences. If you like the games I don’t, I’m happy for you, I wish I did as well. We’re lucky there are so many cool games to play out there.
that70sgame 
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