By Modiphius Entertainment
Photography by Fatima Martin
First up: if you take away a single nugget of information from this blog, it should be this: Wasteland Warfare isn’t going anywhere! Okay. We had to make that clear right at the start. Now, on with the rest of the post!
In 2018, we released Fallout: Wasteland Warfare, which lets you explore the Wasteland on the tabletop with detailed 32mm miniatures. Since then we’ve been steadily releasing wave after wave of miniatures and extra rules, with the most recent wave focusing on Nuka-World, and featuring rules for the Operators, the Pack and the Disciples.
In 2024, we’re launching Fallout: Factions, which lets you fight exciting, fast-paced Wasteland battles on the tabletop using detailed 32mm miniatures. The first wave is centered around Nuka-World, and features rules and models for the Operators, the Pack and the Disciples.
Okay, we’ve made them sound pretty similar there, so we can understand the confusion. But if you think the two games play the same, or that Factions is replacing Wasteland Warfare, you’d be sorely mistaken!
Let’s talk about these two side-by-side: what makes them different, how they cross over, and who they’re aimed at.
Wasteland Warfare was always intended to be a detailed, granular tabletop experience that mirrors the in-depth narrative gameplay of the Fallout video games. You create a group of wanderers in the Wasteland, outfitting each one with a unique set of equipment and perks, and you use a variety of different play styles and scenarios to create immersive tabletop experiences.
You might play narratively, choosing a scenario, gathering terrain for a suitably evocative battlefield, then assembling a force and pitting yourself (and maybe one or more team-mates) against enemies controlled by the game’s in-built Artificial Intelligence. Or you might play competitively, going head-to-head with an opposing player and fighting across a series of balanced battle scenarios. Maybe an ongoing story is more your speed, and you want to focus on building a Settlement and playing a series of linked games.
Wasteland Warfare is a sandbox, where you can craft bespoke Fallout experiences on the tabletop. However, we’ve known for a while that it’s not for everyone.
With Factions, we wanted to create a game that’s still unquestionably Fallout, and still uses the same range of incredible miniatures, but which gives a tighter, more focused experience. It’s a whole new game engine which uses simple mechanics and minimal components, ensuring it’s quick to learn and quick to play, without sacrificing any strategic heft. (If you want to learn more about the gameplay, check out the Fallout: Factions hub page.)
So, in short, it all comes down to what you’re in the mood for. If you want to play an in-depth, granular, narrative-heavy game, with options for solo and cooperative play, Wasteland Warfare is where it’s at. If you want to play a fast-paced, action-packed head-to-head game, you want Factions. And because the models that are being released for Factions already have rules for Wasteland Warfare, we think a lot of players will do both!
So spread the word - Modiphius makes two Fallout miniatures games, and there’s room on your table for both of them.
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