Miniatures skirmish games have exploded in popularity these past few years, and with nearly a dozen high-profile titles currently in active development, the genre is poised for a breakout year in 2025. But what makes these wargames so sticky with fans?
Most mainstream miniatures wargames require dozens, sometimes a hundred or more miniatures to be present on the table all at the same time. Games like Warhammer 40,000, Flames of War, and Conquest: The Last Argument of Kings fall firmly in this category. But many modern gamers simply don’t have the time to paint all those miniatures, or the space in their home to store them. That’s where skirmish wargames come in.
Skirmish games only require a handful of miniatures on either side of the table, often from six to 12 for each battle group. That makes the games easier to set up and tear down, and easier still to store on a shelf or in a closet. The genre thrives on collectibility, with small unit counts making it easier for players to own and field multiple factions. But they also encourage customization, with kitbashing and exotic paint jobs turning heads online and in person.
Here are our picks for the nine best miniatures skirmish games on the market right now, with details on what to expect from them in the year ahead.
BattleTech
Catalyst Game Labs is just one of the modern stewards of the combined BattleTech/MechWarrior license, and the team there has made incredible strides at reviving the beloved tabletop game from the 1980s. With dozens of different models of mechs available for purchase online and at your local game store, it’s among the least expensive ways to enter the modern tabletop hobby. Miniatures always come fully assembled and ready to paint, and the game has multiple styles of play. Whether you’re into fast and punchy or slow and crunchy, these big stompy boys have a lot going for them — including the new BattleTech: Mercenaries boxed set arriving at retail early next year.
Cyberpunk Red: Combat Zone
Monster Fight Club licensed the Cyberpunk Red intellectual property from R. Talsorian Games, whose original work on Cyberpunk 2020 became the foundation for CD Projekt Red’s epic role-playing video game Cyberpunk 2077. That partnership directly led to the launch of its skirmish miniatures game, Cyberpunk Red: Combat Zone, in 2023. Thanks to an affordable starter set, easy-to-assemble miniatures, and a dirt-simple ruleset, the experiment was an instant hit. Expect the latest entry, Cyberpunk Edgerunners: Combat Zone, to be another winner when it arrives at retail early next year.
Halo: Flashpoint
Mantic Games revived the Halo franchise on the tabletop in 2024 with Halo: Flashpoint, a small-unit skirmish game with loads of style. While the game draws its lore from the classic video game series, the gameplay is truly unique. It uses a cube-based movement system that encourages fast, fluid traversal of in-game terrain. It teaches incredibly quickly, and I can’t wait to see how the British company expands the franchise in 2025.
Infinity
Spanish gamemaker Corvus Belli spent the last few years trying new things in the board gaming and 3D printing space, only to return to the venerable Infinity line late in the year. It posits a near future dominated by powerful megacorporations, and its punchy and strategic style of gameplay will appeal to fans of turn-based tactical games like XCOM 2. While the latest ruleset, known as Infinity N5, was a bit late to market, a lavish new boxed set titled Operation: Sandtrap full of gorgeous miniatures dropped in December. It features units from Panoceania and the Japanese Secessionist Army, so if you like lithe warriors with longswords you’re in for a treat. Beware, though, that Corvus Belli is still making white metal miniatures, which require different tools and skills than more modern plastic miniatures.
Necromunda
I honestly thought that the Necromunda franchise was on the way out in 2024, but the game received an excellent new starter set this year. Representing the warlike state of what amounts to civil society in the dark and distant future, it’s a breeding ground for bloody, unbalanced narrative campaigns among friends as well as some of the most stunning artwork in the miniatures space. A newly published rules compendium puts everything you need to learn the game in one place. If you’re looking for a crunchy and rewarding new hobby, there’s never been a better time to dip in.
Star Wars: Shatterpoint
Atomic Mass’ latest Star Wars license, Star Wars: Shatterpoint, burst onto the scene in late 2023. Its larger-than-usual 32-millimeter “heroic scale” miniatures are a joy to work with, and they take modern materials like contrast paints with ease. For newcomers, it’s also nice that you only need three or four miniatures for most factions to get started. Add to that the fact that there are currently 30 (!!) different squads to choose from, and you have one of the most diverse and competitive games on the market. Expect Fantasy Flight Games’ miniatures imprint to double down on its advantages in the new year.
Stargrave
Joseph A. McCullough’s Stargrave is a miniatures-agnostic small-unit skirmish game that continues to earn new fans thanks to its battle-tested, highly flexible rules system. If you have some little dudes that you’ve previously painted for any other game system, they are more than welcome to participate in this skirmish wargame. And that’s not all: Osprey Publishing also publishes McCullough’s fantasy-themed Frostgrave and the horror-themed Silver Bayonet. Between these three games there is likely a setting to suit you and your gaming group.
Trench Crusade
Bloated with incredible art from prolific concept artist Michael Franchina (Diablo), with rules and lore co-developed by Games Workshop veteran Tuomas Pirinen (Mordheim), Trench Crusade is perhaps the biggest success story of the year as far as miniatures gaming goes. It posits an alternate historical take on World War I where the Crusaders unlocked an actual portal to hell, turning the “war to end all wars” into a fight for the soul of… well, everyone on the planet, basically. The Kickstarter campaign, first previewed here at Polygon, earned the pair more than $3.33 million and a throng of more than 20,000 players. The rules are available now, with physical miniatures on the way to backers in the new year. Meanwhile, 3D print files can get you where you need to go in a hurry.
Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team
Following an excellent reboot in 2018, the fourth edition ruleset for Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team was released in 2024, much to the joy of fans and critics alike. It draws its tiny little warbands from all across the franchise’s fictional universe, so you can collect T’au, Sisters of Battle, Orks, and more in addition to the traditional Space Marines. An excellent new Starter Set found its way to store shelves in the fall, and new faction boxes have begun to crop up at retail. Expect this well-regarded game to continue to thrive into 2025 and beyond.
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