Game Jargon Definition: “Miniatures Game”
Miniatures Game (noun) - min‧i‧a‧tures game / ˈmin(ē)əCHərz gām/
The miniatures game domain of the tabletop gaming hobby is perhaps best differentiated by the emphasis on miniatures assembly and painting as part of the experience. In a given game, a miniature (a model, essentially) may depict an individual, a group or squad of individuals, or a vehicle such as a tank, truck, or spaceship. The majority of miniatures games also utilize model terrain pieces such as trees, buildings, rubble, rock formations, lakes, rivers, and bridges. Miniatures games often have extensive lore, as well as aesthetics of either fantasy, science fiction, or combination of the two to complement this lore. However, there are certainly miniatures games with other themes and settings.
For some who get into miniatures games, the focus (and sometimes only aspect of interest for them) is the model assembly and painting. They will collect, build, and paint dozens or hundreds of miniatures from games and expansions without ever playing the game itself, sometimes entering their painted creations into competitions. For others, playing the game with their miniatures is the ultimate goal, and the assembly and painting process is simply a means to an end. Many miniatures gaming communities and tournaments ban the use of unpainted or sloppily painted miniatures from play because they put a premium on a certain standard of aesthetics at the gaming table.
The construct of miniatures games certainly overlaps with the dudes-on-a-map construct as well as the wargaming construct. Perhaps the best way to make a distinction between miniatures games and dudes-on-a-map games is that the latter commonly use a preconstructed game board and preconstructed miniatures, whereas a miniatures game tends to use a larger battle mat augmented with terrain pieces. Perhaps the best way to distinguish miniatures games from war games is that miniatures games (independent of war games) tend to focus on a deep fictional lore and aesthetics that complement that fictional lore as stated above, whereas war games emphasize historical accuracy.
While miniatures games have their historical roots in war games that focused on faithfully recreating historical battles with units represented by chips, blocks, and other abstract tokens, it was the melding of war games with early role-playing games in the 1970s that ushered in the modern area of miniatures games with fantasy and science fiction themes, truly allowing miniatures games to become their own distinct category. At a result of the rise of customizable card games in the 1990s, it was not long before collectible miniatures games made their debut in the marketplace. Available in randomized or single model packs, collectible miniatures games were designed to appeal to those who enjoy the game aspect but not necessarily the assembly and painting aspects of miniatures gaming. Thus these collectibles typically came preassembled and pre-painted, ready for table play. Today, the miniatures gaming scene is a diverse one, with historic simulation games, historic-themed games, science fiction and fantasy games, and preassembled and pre-painted games (as well as all assembly-required games).
Examples of miniatures games include: HeroClix (2002), Wings of Glory (2012), Star Wars: Armada (2015), The Walking Dead: All Out War (2016), A Song of Ice and Fire: Tabletop Miniatures Game (2018), DreadBall Second Edition (2018), Ogre Miniatures Second Edition (2018), Star Wars: Legion (2018), Star Wars: X-Wing Second Edition (2018), BattleTech: A Game of Armored Combat (2019), Core Space (2019), Gaslands: Refuelled (2019), Malifaux Third Edition (2019), Marvel: Crisis Protocol (2019), Warhammer 40,000 Ninth Edition (2020), World of Tanks Miniatures Game (2020), and Warhammer Age of Sigmar Third Edition (2021).
