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Ignoring all the fluff, cool models, interesting art, and the giant horrible beast that is nostalgia...

What is your favorite Wargame ruleset (This includes Wargame Boardgames)?

I'm going to pick a diceless game that I think is the perfect world war 1 simulator.

Diplomacy

Simple rules, and complex negotiations. You need the other players to help you win. The problem is nothing you say to the other players is binding and all moves are made in secret, so you don't know if France is really supporting your invasion of Germany, until the turn is revealed.

Every player waits for what us known as the Great Stab. The moment where you stab your ally in the back in a power grab. Once you do this, no one will ever trust you again. So make it count.

That's what I love about this game, you have to have Allies to win, but there can be only one winner... and everyone knows this from turn one.

And the game is tactically different to play depending on your home nation. Playing England is a totally different experience than playing the more comfortable Ottoman Turks.

Just don't be Italy as a new player.

King of the battlefield.

A very simple way to fight seven years war battles quickly, using reserves and battlefield manoeuvring to get results that are plausibly historic in a couple of hours.

I wouldn't say its the best wargame, but tis the model all others should aspire to in terms of interaction between look, rules, time and result.

https://sgtsteiner.blogspot.com/2015/03/king-of-battlefield-and-minden-rose.html

Overall it may be Marvel Crisis Protocol. It kind of blends my favorite elements from a number of games. There's a resource economy like Warmachine, two layers of scenario elements like Malifaux, terrain distruction like Monsterpocalypse all built on top of a solid little alternating activation, 5ish figure skirmish framework seen in other gems like Guild Ball or Judgement. Any one of those are honorable mentions, but MCP is definitely the combo platter.

Another honorable mention needs to go to Infinity, which is hands down my favorite ranged combat engine. It took me a while to wrap my head around, but nothing else really captures the feel of an FPS firefight as well and makes map design such an interesting part of the experience.

As an aside, 10th Edition 40k is the first time I actually really like 40k. It's not my favorite rules, but its the first time I've honestly enjoyed the game as much as any of the above.

EDIT: As an aside of the aside, Shatterpoint is another system with weird rules that somehow come together to create an experience I really enjoy. Every time I play I'm always a bit surprised how engaging it is.

I quite like Art De La Guerre (ADLG).
If has it's flaws, but it does broad period(s) Ancient and Medieval* well, with some thought given to what makes a game good.

*Which happens to be the style of wargame that I started with, which will therefore always be a comfort to return to.

I haven't had an opportunity to play it, so can't really say yet, but Midgard looks very promising.

I played Diplomacy as a play by mail game back in the day. Plus a chunk of face to face. Played it once with a more recent group, who were more role players then the wargamers back home. They still bitch about it to this day. You need to have the right mindset and detachment. There will be betrayals. You can’t take it personally.

Hard to pick a favorite wargame. I like parts of a lot, and it’s hard to separate the rules from the rose colored glasses of nostalgia.

I’m pretty fond of Silent Death. One of the better starfighter games out there.

Wargames-wise, I'd have to say the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game. It's easily Games Workshop's best ruleset, and it's remained very consistent throughout its 20-some year lifespan. I feel like it captures the feel of combat in the world of Middle-Earth very well. Cavalry feels like it's powerful when it charges into infantry, and the monsters also feel very powerful and deadly. I also like how they handle hero characters and how they are a cut above the troops they lead more than just being a better block of stats (Heroic Actions, etc.).

Epic Armageddon (4th ed Epic): proper tactics, morale, and flavor of the 40k universe.

Followed by Epic 40K (that's 3rd edition): very good mechanic for huge battles.

Yeah, that's a tough one to answer! Probably Chain of Command for me overall though.

Close run others would be the previous edition of MESBG (only because I haven't bought into the new edition, and don't like the changes to army building), Adeptus Titanicus and the first edition of Dropfleet.

Probably the first editions of Monsterpocalypse, Deadzone and X-wing.

Diplomacy has a reputation for being the game you play with people you don't want to be friends with anymore.

Favorite wargame system... that's a good one. The one I enjoy playing most is WFB, but I freely acknowledge it's far from perfect as a system... or even 'good'.

BattleTech is a very solid system at the basic tech level. As you add in more and more levels of technology it becomes overly-complicated VERY quickly. Some people love it that way; I think it quickly starts collapsing under the weight of all the additional tech rules. Case in point: the existence of Clan technology quickly renders light but fast 'mechs almost entirely useless. Those roles have to be taken up by fast but more heavily armored mediums because lights just die too fast when in range of Clan pilots with pulse lasers.

For a simple system just about anyone can learn, but has enough depth to keep it interesting over many repeats, I like Axis and Allies.

 Vulcan wrote:
Diplomacy has a reputation for being the game you play with people you don't want to be friends with anymore.

Favorite wargame system... that's a good one. The one I enjoy playing most is WFB, but I freely acknowledge it's far from perfect as a system... or even 'good'.

BattleTech is a very solid system at the basic tech level. As you add in more and more levels of technology it becomes overly-complicated VERY quickly. Some people love it that way; I think it quickly starts collapsing under the weight of all the additional tech rules. Case in point: the existence of Clan technology quickly renders light but fast 'mechs almost entirely useless. Those roles have to be taken up by fast but more heavily armored mediums because lights just die too fast when in range of Clan pilots with pulse lasers.

For a simple system just about anyone can learn, but has enough depth to keep it interesting over many repeats, I like Axis and Allies.

If you can't break up your friendship with Diplomacy, We can play some Tragic: the Gathering Legacy rules... now where is my sliver deck?

Diplomacy? Try A Game of Thrones, the boardgame Which, btw, has my favourite rules for waging war - with secret orders, bluffing with cards, supporting players in battles. Fully deterministic and at the same time beautifully unpredictable due to player decisions. The game has faults (imbalanced map of the 7 Kingdoms, full number of players required for a solid game) but the core system is pure gold.

For miniature wargames it has to be Warmachine - once again, not perfect (unnecessarily complex, punishing, expen$ive!) but I have never encountered a ruleset that lets players express their intellect and creativity in problem solving in such a rewarding, satisfying way.

Diplomacy is great in its elegance. On the boardgame side I'd also give a shoutout to two of my favourites from the older FFG lineup, Chaos in the Old World and Forbidden Stars. Both nail the Warhammer feel and offer multiple paths to victory without suffering from some common problems in dudes-on-a-map games.

On the miniature side, Epic: Armageddon is likely one of the greatest battalion level combined arms games I've seen. It just clicks on so many levels. For smaller affairs Adeptus Titanicus, Battlefleet Gothic and Rackham's Confrontation 3.x deserve a personal enjoyment mention as well.

But as for serious wargaming, meaning a study of interesting and challenging situations through conflict modeling, it's less about individual systems and more about the methodology one can use to set up a proper Kriegsspiel. I love twisting existing rulesets to task resolution systems in larger wholes, putting together multilayered and cross-system campaigns with heavy fog of war and friction elements and applying a heavy dose of neutral umpiring to let the players go about their command duties as they see fit with incomplete information.

Space Hulk. Like the models, the tiles and the BALANCE. Of all the editions, I've only found 1 unbalanced mission.

The two games that jumped to mind for me were
LOTR SBG - I like the Big Blue Book version before the Hobbit movies came out. A very complete game, dynamic to play, but simple to learn.

Warmachine Mk2, before the theme list stuff caught on - a very interesting, challenging game where positioning was super important, and where your playing pieces could generally do a lot of interesting stuff meaning you could really problem solve your way to victory.

I have a soft spot for Battlefleet Gothic as well because I felt it really plays as I imagine naval battles in the 40K fluff work, but I never played a huge amount of it sadly!

Cyel wrote:
Diplomacy? Try A Game of Thrones, the boardgame Which, btw, has my favourite rules for waging war - with secret orders, bluffing with cards, supporting players in battles. Fully deterministic and at the same time beautifully unpredictable due to player decisions. The game has faults (imbalanced map of the 7 Kingdoms, full number of players required for a solid game) but the core system is pure gold.

Oh that's a good one too. With all the betrayals and stuff happening

Wow this is a really tough one..

As a mechanics/system I would probably say Infinity. It can't be taken lightly and needs a lot of investment from the player, but it's probably the most clever wargame system I've played. And watching two people play that know the system inside out is something to behold.

I love the simplicity of original Space Hulk. Over 30yrs old now, I have an original first edition set and I keep coming back to it time and time again. It's one I use to introduce people to wargames/boardgames as well, it's such a wonderfully elegant and simple system and elements like the Marine player timer add an edge to it.

Finally I should choose an Epic game as I love that scale. I know Armageddon is technically a 'better' wargame as it does things so cleverly and is so well designed, but Epic Space Marine 2nd edition will always be my favourite. So easy to learn, perfect abstraction for the scale, and the different factions are so characterful. Most importantly it is so much fun, which I think is a thing too often overlooked.

My honourable mentions would go to: Saga, Victory at Sea, Battlegroup, Star Wars X-Wing

Non-miniature-wise i'd like to mention 7Wonders, a relatively uncomplex card-based game that's themed after antiquity and has great mechanics for alternative routes to victory (some confrontational, some less confrontational) and works best with 4 or more players to make most of their dynamics. Two great, one good and another quite adequate expansions, as well. It's a fun game for a couple of rounds in an evening, as it has a set number of turns and plays smoothly once you get over the initial learning curve.

Miniature-related, i can't really say, but i have soft spots (ewwww) for Battlefleet Gothic and like to give a shoutout to Chain of Command, especially its patrol phase, which is a real innovation and just rumbles around in the back of my head from time to time, screaming to be made into a too-convoluted homebrew version for 40k...

Hmm...If were keeping it to Wagames (Emphasis on WAR!) I also gotta hand it to the Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game. The way it plays feel much more like an honest skirmish between forces.

And I say this as someone who LOVES WHFB.

bolt action no hesitation, but i play only a few big names and the rest are smaller rulesets that are not as refined or stuff

I'm gonna chime in with WHFB 6/7E. I enjoy the spectacle of large blocks of units mixing it up, in a system where movement is the most important phase.

I have fond memories of my French Claymore army.

Simply point Bretonnian Lance's towards enemy. And hope the charges hit home.

(And always keep the Green Knight around in case your opponent likes to hide in forests ).

Battlegroup for excellent WW2 wargaming - suppression, battle rating, ammo for tanks, scales well, always very close games.

Battlefleet Gothic - haven't found a better ship to ship combat game yet

Mordheim - modeling, campaigns, upgrades for your warbands. Fun with the right attitude and people.

4th/5th 40k for customizing and 'your dudes'

LOTR SBG for fun games and easy to port into other eras (historicals, etc.), and I love most of the models

Necromunda (either is good) as it is fairly quick to play and each match tends to create a fun narrative without being forced. Mordheim is up there as well.

MK2 Warmachine was great rules-wise

Most likely the case of rose-tinted classes, but Dropzone Commander v1.2 was great in my opinion. Fun mechanics, fun faction specific rules, faced paced ... But it was my first ever tabletop game, so maybe I just remember things differently.
Another fun game is 5 Parsecs from Home Tactics, but less because of the mechanics (they are fine) and more because of the scenario building going around it. Combining it with regular 5PFH adds a lot, as well.

I love all the games i play for their own unique game style. because playing the same game all the time would get boring.

In this case 28mm for pure mechanics i have to give it to DUST 1947-
.alternating activation
.reaction mechanic
.good area terrain rules
.unified weapons rules (a machine gun is the same across all factions. for example, only the one superweapon type unique for each faction is different)
.special formations that give minor/not game breaking bonuses and the same time also allowing free form army building without a special formation.
.well balanced hit/damage mechanics
.well designed rules for armored vehicles.
.scaling-the game can be played equally well from 25 points all the way up to 500+ (150 would be around a standard 40K game army size wise).

I've been quite impressed with Armoured Clash so far. It brings across combined arms battles incredibly well, with every unit type feeling important.
What's also interesting is how well they've differentiated factions with what amounts to very similar unit profiles. I think it's mainly due to the game revolving around "How do I get my squishy infantry to the objective" and each faction so far having a different answer to that question.

Currently it's Grimdark Future. I've come to realize that most of the time I really just want to push my pretty figures around a beautifully terrain-ed table and have them fight it out in the easiest way possible. Grimdark Future and Age of Fantasy (The same rules) deliver this in spades. Even though the rules are dead simple, I still feel like it represents a wide range of units well, gives meaningful decisions and works well for custom scenarios as well. I've also ported it to the Star Wars setting and it works great there. Anytime you want big, pulpy, comic-book style battles it's my go-to and it also boasts the best online army builder I've ever used.

Honorable Mentions:
-Space Wierdos. A really engaging dice mechanic, a simlple-but-cinematic attack result table, and an easy to use unit creation mechanic add up to a very fun pulp sci-fi wargaming experience from a very short rulebook.

-Necromunda 1995 (I prefer yaktribe's NCE edition) and Mordheim are both fairly tight, fun and fast games that are probably the most enjoyable and accessible iterations of "oldhammer" mechanics. Doesn't hurt that they both have excellent settings and are absolutely free with years worth of supporting content.

-Mech Attack. A very elegant distilling of everything that is good about Battletech-style mech combat at the lance vs lance level. Similar feel but plays in 1/3 the time with 1/10th the rules.

-Kings of War: Very well-tuned, fast-playing rank and flank game.

-Any of the One Page Rules offering are great. Great mix of streamlined rules, with enough crunch to have nuance. And it's a huge plus to have the army-scale and skirmish-scale rulesets share 99% of the same rules, even between fantasy and sci-fi.

-Sword and Space Weirdos are really, really inspired, and play great, even as "heartbreakers".

-Void Admiral is a great successor to Battlefleet Gothic from back in the day.

A new favorite? Battletech: Override, by Death from Above wargaming. It's their hack of the some of the rules from RPG Mechwarrior: Destiny and Alpha Strike, using the reference sheets from normal Battletech to make a happy medium between the super-streamlined Alpha Strike and the super-crunchy nature of Total Warfare/Classic. Open-table movement and shooting like in Alpha Strike, but putting Classic things back in like location-based damage and falling down, but it doesn't take 4 hours to play a game with 4-6 models on a side.


-Hobgoblin, for Rank n' Flank gaming, by the creator of the car combat game Gaslands. Just an awesome game, where you create every unit from the ground up, with easy rules for both unit creation and play, to keep the action fast and furious, which is definitely not something usually said about rank n' flank gaming.