"Square or Round Bases for Skirmish Games?" Topic

What type bases do you prefer when individually basing miniatures for skirmish games? (This poll assumes you play skirmish games and that you individually base your miniatures. Skirmish is defined however you want it to be defined.)

Round bases
or
Square bases

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Since I primarily have played skirmish-level games, I prefer Round bases. I find that to my mind they aesthetically compliment the figures.

I prefer round bases for skirmish and square for larger formed battles.

My choice is round. But I know people who have both. I think square is the old "standard" and round the new. YMMV

I found it psychologically for me that round bases "meant" skirmish. I have sometimes used round bases for skirmish troops and square bases for formed troops in larger unit games to distinguish them. If you use the figures for both skirmishes and larger formed battles, I would go with square bases to allow the figures to be more flexible in your gaming.

As long as the keep making them, it will be round pennies for skirmish.

My WWII Rapid Fire 20mm armies are on round fender washers. American Civil War 20mm are on square plastic bases.

Can't stand round bases. With square bases, I can tell, at a glance, from 5 feet away (20mm – 50mm sized square bases), whether contact between bases is front/flank/rear.

I play RPG's, with minis (25mm – 28mm sized minis), skirmish games (25mm – 54mm minis), as well as mass battles games (used to be as small as 6mm minis, now exclusively 25mm – 28mm minis).

I am in the super-minority, but that's my peace-pipe that I smoke. Cheers!

For 28mm WW2 skirmish I use round raised bases. I paint the sides of the bases different colors to indicate squad leaders, platoon leaders or special weapons teams. For rank and file I use different colored hash marks on the rear of the base to indicate which squad they belong to. If I had it to do over again I would have used hexagon shaped bases for leaders but too late now

I, too, like square/rectangular bases for the ease of telling if contact is to flank/rear or front, though I am dabbling with round bases for Fantasy and am finding it not too difficult to use.

My Pathans are on round bases and my British/ Indian troops are on square bases 🤪

For me, it depends on two factors:
1) Is it a setting I might want to expand in the distant future for larger battle rules like Black Powder or Hail Caesar? If so (HYW, War of 1812), square bases. If not (AZW, WW2), round bases.
2) Is it a setting with infantry fighting open order? If so (FPW, WW1), round bases. If not (Romans), square bases.

Round, this is the way.

Mostly round, square when facing is important and for urban games.

Hex bases

Gives me more reference points

Prefer round, but I really don't care that much.

How long until we get square with rounded corners?

Neither. Square. Round. Hex. Rectangular. Ovoid. I have mostly round bases because I buy educational counter chips for my 1" bases.

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and 'winks for 15mm

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but go back up to 1" bases for smaller scales. I suppose "they're cheap" is a preference criterion …

WW2 – Round bases
Medieval – square bases because of facings

I prefer fender washers for size, to add weight (particularly for plastic figures) and for use of magnetic storage, albeit they can be a bit more expensive. And you can also find fender washers in varying thicknesses to even out, or create, slight height differences for figures nominally the same size-and in various diameters for over-sized, or under-sized, miniatures. Of course, square or rectangular bases can also be found precut in various sizes (or you can cut your own), and metal ones also add weight to the figure (but generally less than fender washers) and provide attraction by magnetic materials for storage.

In a skirmish game where facing can be very important (depending on the rules, and rule lawyers among the players), the ambiguous facing of figures from some figure manufacturers can create a problem if you use round bases. With fender washers or other metal bases cutting a quick notch in the base with a metal cutting blade on a dremel tool quickly, and permanently, marks the center front of the base, while you can notch plastic bases with a knife. Then a bit of bright-colored paint in the notch can make it very visible.

Clear Square bases from Litco. Let's the mat show through and no carrying grass bases into buildings.

In 28mm, I base infantry who would not normally be formed in the course of a battle on 25mm round bases, and those who might be in phalanx, square, firing line or shield wall on 20 or 25mm square. The correspondence to troops used in skirmish games isn't 100% but it's pretty close.

Whatever is at hand at the time. Though I keep it constant within a range of figures, eg my 28mm WotR are on the square bases that come with the Perry plastic figure sets.

Great question. I use whatever base looks coolest. Lately, I've been using clear plastic squares*, but not going to the trouble of cutting the original metal or plastic off the feet.

*Eyeball squares, not measured geometric squares.

I have moved to oval bases. for 15mm figures, 15mm on one axis, 10mm on the other axis. (Trivial to design and print on a 3D printer).

Oval bases allow figures to stand 'side by side' in a formation, but also allow for the common pose of figures running, or spears / rifles sticking forward.

I base all my 28's on 3/4 inch thin steel cut from sheets. These rank up well on sabots cut from 60 mil magnetic sheet. If round bases are wanted, they go on 1 inch circles cut from the same magnetic material. Best od both worlds

Round for smaller scale skirmish and individual figures. Squares for larger figures and based units.

Square for TSATF and round for Bolt Action. A square formation looks better with square bases.

Alot of my fantasy figs are on round bases as they get used primarily for RPG or single figure activation skirmish games. However, I kind of wish I'd gone square so that as the collection increases I could use them for rank and file games or for games with flank and rear bonuses.

So I'd vote square.

Squares with clipped corners. Easy to rank up or put in sabot bases.

Use both. I've got figures I use for both skirmish & "regular" games on square bases & others on round bases. I'm not too picky on bases.

How long until we get square with rounded corners?

Actaully, that is what I use for my square bases. You can select rounded corners when ordering from Litko.

Both.

I use square bases for both skimishing gaming mass battles. My figure can do double duty. I have spoken.

I actually prefer square bases with rounded corners. I use a green indoor/outdoor carpet for my ground cloth. The fibers usually catch the sharp corners of the bases when moving the figures.

For my 54mm games, I very much prefer 50mm, rounded corner, square bases, as they never catch in the ground cloth. Heck, even when I use a fabric ground cloth, the sharp corners catch the ground cloth when picking them up to move the figures.

Problem I've found is that the super-majority of rectangular bases offered for sale on e-Bay and Pinterest, are sharp cornered. Only the 50mm rectangles are available with rounded corners.

Next time, I will request a custom order, with rounded corners on my smaller bases. Thank you for reminding me! Cheers!

I use both for skirmish. My 18mm Blue Moon AWI is on fender washers and any cavalry or Officers on horse are on square. Larger Fender washers didn't look right.

My 25mm scifi/Zombie figures are on square MDF.

Round bases for me as well -- I usually use US nickels for 25/28mm. I'll use square bases, though, for troops that do double duty in skirmish as well as "rank and flank" games, for same reasons that many folks have listed already.

Round with a movement tray for formations.

I recently saw a Western Gunfight game where the figures were based on clear round bases. Looked really good on the gaming mat.

Round for me always. My only reason being, you can't get a figure lined up at a wrong angle with a round base.

Square for the British.

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Round for their native opponents.

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Round for infantry, some of the older ones are on squares, oval for cavalry.

Octagonal, you can then form up in lines etc. or go more freestyle.

Square.

If you want to use rules with arcs of fire / arc for line of sight, you can.

If you go round, only 180 is easily managed.

Square also conveniently provides a means to measure arc of fire, from the opposite diagonal.

Round… I'm not sure what advantage you get except perhaps they "blob" together well.