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I'm curious, what are the best games you ever played, that impressed you with the rules? Not considering the miniatures and lore/setting (which are very important), just from gameplay perspective. Rules that creates a deep, tactical game, or just give you a really fun time.

I think one of my favorite tactical games was Aeronautica Imperialis V1. I have never thought so hard in my life while playing a game.

Another game I really enjoyed because it was such a different experience than what I was used to was Force-on-Force. The action/reaction system made me re-think everything I thought I knew about wargames in order to play it.

I was also interested in Aeronautica Imperialis. Unfortunately, the game was killed before I got a chance to try it.

Over time I've come to appreciate that different rules provide different experiences more than being better or worse. I'll really like how a game does a certain thing, but as part of a greater whole you can't just move that to another game to make it better.

That said, Infinity does what it does nearly flawlessly IMO. It's such a weird game in a lot of ways but all of its elements come together to make terrain and movement and firefights interesting in a way nothing else really captures. It's actually not my favorite game but its rules do something really special.

I loved Adeptus Titanicus.

But the best of GW? That's easy it was . The game no one played.

I've played dozens and dozens of wargames rules over the years. Almost all of my suggestions are about Distilling, Simplifying and Streamlining in order to give the most enjoyable experience. However, most do have something unique mechanically that sets them apart.

Here's just a few of the standouts.

Best of GW:
-Mordheim and original Necromunda. They distilled the 90s Oldhammer rules mechanics down into a skirmish format (the size of game best suited for this level of crunch anyway) that plays easily, drips with flavor and is just alot of fun. Sometimes you want long statlines, dice result tables, and old-school crunch without committing to a 4 hour rulebook flipping experience and both these games deliver that. Both games are great on their own but really come to life with the campaign systems which are fun and flavorful and enjoyable if you're willing to forgo expecting perfect balance and fairness. It's almost magical when you can complete 2 oldhammer-ey campaign games in one evening and see your warband change before your eyes.

I'd eagerly play a campaign or one-off of either game anytime. Doesn't hurt that the games and ridiculous amounts of official supplemental material for both are absolutely free online.

Other great systems:

-Space Weirdos: Unique paired-dice-type mechanics (never played anything like them) and easy-to-use cinematic combat result tables together in a very concise package. It's my go to for Weird Sci-Fi and Rogue Trader Vibes. All packed into a 16 page 'Zine. There's a neat fan-expansion also.

-Grimdark Future and Age of Fantasy by One Page Rules.
Nothing unique mechanically here but they do distill the comic-book-battle feel of the 40k and WHFB universes into a game that moves quickly enough to actually feel as dramatic and fun as the fluff. Won't satisfy those wanting RPG-like detailed representation of units, but when you want a big, fun battle (and isn't that what 40k is all about...) without rulebook flipping, Grimdark delivers. With players who are relatively familiar with the rules, you can complete a massive Apocalypse size game in an afternoon or long evening. OPR is my go-to now for big battles in GW-universes. Also, the online army builder is the best in the industry.

-Mech Attack.
Distills a Battletech-like experience (customizable mechs, heat, damage grid, well-differentiated weapons) into a game that plays in about 1/3 the time with 1/10 of the rules. The abstracted shaped-damage "armor grid" in particular (core to the rules and borrowed from the FASA game "Centurion") is visual, ridiculously easy to use and just "feels right" in terms of representing different kinds of weapon damage. I've had alot of fun playing it in 10mm (with rebased Mechwarrior units) in the Battletech Universe and also running it in 28mm (Doubled ranges and distances with big models) in a homebrew universe at conventions over the past decade or so.

-Void Fighter.
A recent expereince for me. Reasonably simple space combat game that somehow puts all the aspects of movie space combat into the rules. It's just good fun and feels like you're a wing commander in a Star Wars movie. By the same author and uses the same dice-type mechanics as Space Weirdos, but with much different maneuvers and combat results.

-Song of Blades and Heroes.
Doesn't get much press anymore, but it's still my go-to for simple fantasy warband combat. The unique gambling-activation mechanic (which went on to be the core of many games by the same author) means that every choice you make when activating every figure counts and that's a very hard thing to achieve in such a rules-lite package. I still play it from time to time and actually prefer it to the "Advanced Song of Blades and Heroes" version that added a basic reaction system and more magic options.
The expansions for the game are great also, especially "Song of Deeds and Glory" which is an excellent campaign system reminiscent of Mordheim.

1) Space Hulk

2) Starship troopers

Both balanced, fun, fast

Any tactical game with minis - probably Tidal Blades 2. I bought it solely because I had a feeling that putting Gloomhavenesque cards on a grid to activate them in rows and columns for super-creative mind-bending combos is going to be my jam...and it proved to be 100% true. I just wish it was harder.

For competitive/non-board mini games it has to be Warmachine at the end of the 3rd edition. Best balance and clarity of rules in my entire history with that title, the depth of the toolbox and the possibilities of expressing your out-of-the-box problem-solving skills through unique and cool moves on the board - endless! SO. INCREDIBLY. SATISFYING to play.

The same for both GW and non-GW:

Epic Armageddon (Epic 4th edition).

A master piece of wargaming.

A Song of Ice and Fire by CMON.

I've posted at length about it elsewhere, but nothing even comes close to the stomach churning tradeoffs, speed of play, and reward for clever play.

Massive variety in units, attachments, abilities, tactics cards and commanders makes list building very fun as well. Game has been incredibly balanced if you are into competitive play, making casual and narrative gaming easy to do since the point values are pretty good indicators of unit capabilities.

I haven't been satisfied with GW rules since fantasy 6th edition, and I've played many rules over the years since, and nothing does it as well as ASOIAF Tabletop Miniatures Game.

I cannot recommend it enough.

Kings of War for rank and flank. Efficient and fun.

Dreadball for sports gaming. Dice pool mechanic that keeps everyone engaged. Limited actions per turn requires choice and speeds gameplay.

But the absolute best miniatures game I have played is Pulp Alley. A 4+ on any dice type is a success. Adapts to any setting. Play tested to the point of death. It’s hard to mess up the rules if you follow what is written. If you are having a disagreement about a rule, reread it slowly and chances are the light will come on.

The only downside is the title makes people think it’s only good for Indiana Jones/30s/40s. A buddy bought me a pdf copy years back and I didn’t even look at it for at least 6 months. I didn’t want to have to invest in pulp miniatures. We played our first game with the figures we had in a post apocalyptic setting and it didn’t matter. We were hooked. Great game rules.

Lotr was my first love and I still like to come back to it. It works at any scale and is at the right level of complexity and fun. Also rather easy to learn, but hard to master.

Oathmark is my favourite for Rank&File. It has an incredible World building mechanic and tactical depth.

Star Trek Attack Wing for overall ease of play, scenario support and because of my favourite IP. Its weak points are completely on the model side. And availability.

Monsterpocalypse, Deadzone, X-wing

Also we had this thread like a month ago.

It's hard to compare directly. Different games for different itches.

Kings of War was written well, though it got tinkered with a bit too much (IMO). 4th edition looks promising.
I'm also quite fond of Art De La Guerre for ancient and medieval historical.

Space Station Zero has cool mechanics.

Mordheim for me was the peak, great fun and enjoyable RPG elements.

Honestly for me one of my favourite games is Giant Killer Robots. Simple to pick up and play, great fun.

 Olthannon wrote:
Mordheim for me was the peak, great fun and enjoyable RPG elements.

Honestly for me one of my favourite games is Giant Killer Robots. Simple to pick up and play, great fun.

Giant Killer Robots? How have I missed this game?

I honestly think it'd be a tie between Areodrome or Playdough Wars.

GW:
Mordheim skirmish level

40K 3rd edition for larger games.

Non GW Current-
Warmachine 4th Ed.
Smoother than 2nd edition and still the great well written rules.

Non-GW old game: Pirates Constructible Strategy Game. Really enjoyed it and quick to learn with decent depth. Only run 2004-2008.

Overall - King of the Battlefield, 7 years wars rules, extremely simple, provides a fairly historical experience in a short game length for the amount of table coverage.

Mechanic wise - crossfire for being a trailblazer.

GW wise - Epic:A (Epic 4th editon). The only game I have played that captures 40k background and translates into into in game experience.

Honourable mention - Warmaster/Commander. Possibly the most portable ruleset I have played, as it does everything from ancients to scifi, with standouts being fantasy, medieval, WW2 and Cold War.

 Lathe Biosas wrote:

 Olthannon wrote:
Mordheim for me was the peak, great fun and enjoyable RPG elements.

Honestly for me one of my favourite games is Giant Killer Robots. Simple to pick up and play, great fun.

Giant Killer Robots? How have I missed this game?

Kickstarter from WETA workshops of all places, came out in 2017. Don't think you can get hold of retail copies easily so would have to get it second hand which is a shame. Keep hoping they'll do some expansions.

It is on eBay pretty regularly.

1st Edition Space Hulk

It was really challenging for the Space Marine player. Not only did you have limited options per model? But you had a strict time limit to take your turn.

The Genestealer player had more mobile models, and no time limit. But, and here’s the rub? The longer you took? The more time the Space Marine player had to consider their next moves.

Absolute classic of a game.

2nd Ed Space Marine/Titan Legions

I’ll be honest, this is probably more the ol’ Rose Tinted. But such an excellent game. From how you assembled your army, to thinking about Orders, and whether you want to go for Objectives to make up the bulk of your VPs, or outright kill power. And the way the different armies interacted in different ways in different areas was really cool, as it gave each a distinct flavour and challenge for the opponent.

Man O’ War

Again from the ‘classic’ era, another deceptively challenging game. I always favoured an Empire fleet, as they were pretty solid all rounders. Also? When your squadron of beaten up War Galleys ram, and promptly sink, a Black Ark of Naggaroth you kinda get addicted! And that was just my intro game.

Like Space Marine, up to Plague Fleet (which I never had or faced fleets from, so can’t comment) each fleet had a distinct feel. Dwarfs were a sod, as whilst they had tiny crews and could be overwhelmed by boarding actions, you first had to knock a hole in them. High Elves were fast, and used well could nip in and out of firing arcs. They were however fragile, and pretty much boned if you managed to becalm the winds through magic.

I have to give a shout to Warmachine for having the most tightly written rules I've ever seen in a wargame. It's the only system I can think of where I never wondered how a given rule worked or how any two rules interacted.

Yeah, I think as a rules system early Mk2 Warmachine/Hordes was my favourite. I also loved the way they represented the flavour of the 'jacks and 'beasts with the different resource mechanics. Focus and Fury really feel different in play but the two systems mesh together wonderfully.

I also love LOTR SBG, specifically the Big Blue Book version. Great flavour, really strategic, and it can do everything from very small skirmishes of under a dozen figures, heroes vs. hordes or massive engagements. I also love the Dark Ages feel to the ruleset.

And a shout out to Space Hulk as well - tightly designed, does exactly what it wants to do and does it really well.

Another vote for Space Hulk. Good to see others still rate it.

The 3 that come to mind are:

X-Wing - it's a clean simple fast ruleset but with the hidden movement and combinations it remains challenging and fun to play.

Malifaux (2nd ed) - The rules were really clear and everything just seemed to work really well. I really liked the card mechanism to balance the randomness with a bit of skill and resource management too.

Hail Caesar - Pretty clean rank and file game that kept things flowing pretty well in a very narrative way. I like the mechanic where you issue orders and roll to see how well they are followed where one of the options is going too far. So you can issue a charge towards an enemy with no guarantee they'll reach, but you can't have them creep up and stay out of range either because you can't guarantee they won't overshoot.
So it provides a very fog-of-war approach.

Shout out to old school Starfleet Battles. Which had the best organized and cross referenced rules ever. Expansions designed to replace pages in a binder with relevant updates. Living rulebook before pdfs and the internet.

LOTR SBG (again, big blue rulebook edition in particular) seems to be exactly what I want from a fantasy or historical wargame, and its what I reflexively compare to when I'm looking at other games.

I feel like it really nails the small scale skirmish battle with heroes vibe, but in a really grounded way where the heroes are impactful but not over the top or too abstract. Alternating phases is something I wish we'd see more often, it really feels like a good compromise between IGOUGO and AA to me, particularly with heroes being able to act out of turn at key moments (also giving another dynamic other than inflated stats to represent heroes).

Its super easy to reskin to other settings too, and I think it really shines when played as a set of narrative missions. I had a lot of fun using the ranger of shadow deep narrative missions as a framework but just using SBG rules for the combat

Overcast wrote:

Its super easy to reskin to other settings too, and I think it really shines when played as a set of narrative missions. I had a lot of fun using the ranger of shadow deep narrative missions as a framework but just using SBG rules for the combat

This is a great idea. I want to try Rangers of shadow deep, I love the narrative, scenarios and random monsters in Frostgrave but I felt the rules proper were a bit...light. Maybe I could use MeSBG? I need to try it.

A lot of mine have already been mentioned above but bear repeating!

GW
- Original Space Hulk - the game I used to try and introduce people to miniature wargaming, which I think says a lot. The simple mechanics make it easy to grasp, but it is probably the single most tense game I have ever played. The subsequent edition which removed the marine play clock was a step back as the time pressure made the game much more engaging, but I think Jervis Johnson realised this and it was returned in the later edition.
- Original Necromunda/Mordheim - I used to run campaigns for these as a GW & gaming store staffer and I think honestly a narrative campaign is one of the most fun wargaming experiences you can have. Cheers (and tears) around a table as the most loved/hated ganger finally dies, not many other games can create that response.
- Blood Bowl (3rd edition onwards) - perhaps starting to show its age a little as it can be quite crunchy, but an absolutely wonderful tournament game. There were tournaments in Europe with 200+ players more than a decade after the game had gone out of print, which I think speaks volumes, and I loved the NAF network, community and miniature producers that built up around the game.
- Epic Armageddon - the best 'wargame' GW has ever made, in that the player has so much tactical agency, and learning to play this game well can take years, while watching a skilled player is a wonder to behold.

Non-GW
- Infinity - the first time one of your guys gets smoked by a sniper while running between buildings you realise that this is a special game. There is a *lot* of complexity to this game, you absolutely cannot take it lightly, but for anyone willing or able to make the effort it is an absolutely beautifully designed game.
- A Song of Ice & Fire - A masterpiece by designer Eric Lang, a good number of my hobby group moved to this game when WHFB first went the way of the dodo and did not look back. Still very popular as a tournament game, despite the owning company struggling so much.
- X-Wing - along with Space Hulk, one of the best games to introduce someone to miniature wargaming. Deceptively simple, it fulfills one very important criteria (often forgotten) in that it is fun! I think its to the detriment of the industry that this game has fallen out of production, along with 40k it was probably the best gateway for getting newcomers into wargaming.
- Frostgrave - Mordheim for the modern age. Perhaps a little simplistic in places but campaigns which will have petered out for other systems will keep running because of it. Miniature agnostic, endlessly expandable, this is the perfect game for some light Friday evening + beers campaign fun.

Honourable mentions: Epic Space Marine, Moonstone, Battlegroup (WWII)