"5 Tabletop Game Alternatives to Warhammer 40,000" Topic

Warhammer 40,000 and its fantasy equivalent Age of Sigmar are dominant in the tabletop miniatures space. They've remained popular for decades thanks to the evocative settings, high-quality miniatures, and comfortable rulesets -- not to mention the seemingly endless series of video games, books, and other media. But we're not wed to Warhammer. Tabletop gamers have other options…

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You forgot how its easy to find 40k and WH players. I'm not sure why one couldn't play 40K and play other miniature games.

IDK but I disagree with all 5 suggestions. (I wish I could find someone with whom to play WoW WWII!) I only ever see Core Space used as terrain, for which it's awesome. Marvel: Crisis Protocol is just as expensive as 40K.

I would put Star Wars Legion at the top. X-Wing 2nd Edition or SW Armada for ship games.

Play games in that list and you will be a solo gamer in no time. MCP might have a few players but the rest?

The obvious thing is to go with One Page Rules. That way when you have no opponent you can go back to GW.

I'm curious how those games made the list, are they more "commercial"? There's 1000's of rule sets out there, not all have mini lines though. But there's probably 10 in my house right now that could use 40k minis with no problem. Don't forget once you dump that money in 40k unless you play it that's a lot of ducats thrown away.

I would not call the games presented "alternatives". I would call them "completely different games being pitched". I have a number of 40k minus and I use them with a number of different rules that I would call "alternatives to 40k". They are all squad based, skirmish level, 25mm, scifi rules… You know, somewhat similar to 40k.

Wings of Glory vs. 40K??? How? One is a rules-light historical air combat game with no need for terrain. The other is a rules-heavy gonzo far, far, far future SF fantasy groundbound slugfest meant to be played in a heavily cluttered battlefield of blasted buildings/crashed spacecraft/bizarre alien landforms. They are absolutely nothing alike, and thus are not comparable, and the one is not a substitute for the other.

Now, I would gladly play WoG/WoW, and do so all the time with my gaming group. I've suffered enough playing 40K one time, and will not do so again, even though I like gonzo SF fantasy as much as the next guy.
(I love Space Hulk and Ogre/GEV, both of which I would classify as being better as replacements for the 40K itch… and yes, I know Space Hulk is by GW and uses 40K figures and background.)

A "replacement" for 40K for me would be a game that plays quickly, costs less, and scratches that SF fantasy itch… so the above mentioned Ogre/GEV is indeed rather obvious (and much cheaper).
Another, though I have no experience with it, is obviously the new Mechwarrior minis game, which falls into the same far future gonzo science fantasy milieu as 40K, with a lot less silly to it.
And Mantic is of course doing its own version, as one would expect.

Suggestion like those or at least similar to them is what I hoped to see in the link. But that's not what was there.

We use our GW minis with the Grimdark rules

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Works well – and quick too!

The most puff article I've read this week. None of the games mentioned are alternatives to Warhammer 40K. They're just different games entirely. IGN is a media/online gaming site. They should stick to that.

Agreed. Why would someone who enjoys playing 40K get into a WWI air war game? The alternatives listed at not even close to what 40K does or is as a game.

Strydberg for the win. Please post advertising as such, and not as a message.

Well, if one wants an alternative to current WH40K, I say try the original Rogue Trader (even though the rules may be older than the players… ;-)