It's Time For A Proper Marvel Tabletop Miniatures Game!

It's really about time that the Avengers truly did assemble on the tabletop with the return of a new miniatures based game. There, that's the end of the article...boom, done.

Ok, it's really about time that a company out there looked to snap up the Marvel licence and start thinking about a new miniatures games set within the cinematic/comic book world of Marvel, especially with the resounding success of the Cinematic Universe, End Game and the news of Phase 4 and how massive it's going to be.

Origin Stories

Now, I know that Marvel has existed out there already in tabletop form. Knight Models held the license for a while and developed a fun, if clunky, skirmish game which features lots of characters from the comic books and films.

HeroClix also continues to be a source of tabletop-based Marvel enjoyment for a lot of people, but the blind buy format of collecting heroes and pre-painted designs just aren't really what I'm looking for, and I imagine many others too.

In addition to plenty of miniature-based games, there have also been countless board and card games out there too; the list on Board Game Geek goes on for a while, but once again it's not really what I'm looking for.

With Great Power...

So, where would I like to see things go when it comes to a tabletop miniatures game based on the Marvel universe? Well, I could see something like Batman: Gotham City Chronicles or the Harry Potter Miniature Adventure Game as a good blueprint to start building on.

Keeping the game as a board-base experience removes the need to drop loads of money into developing terrain and makes it a lot more accessible for those that maybe haven't tried tabletop gaming before but are drawn in my the Marvel name.

Additionally, and unlike those games, I think it would be a good idea to focus it towards a cooperative experience where you work together as a team against the main villain and their nefarious goons. This would remove the vitriol that can arise from a one-versus-many encounter on the tabletop and sit right in the wheelhouse of a Marvel-style adventure, cooperative stories where working together is the key to victory.

You could either create this experience with the use of an app-based format like Fantasy Flight Games and now CMON are looking to implement, or use card decks like Gloomhaven to give options to the villains which are then dictated by an in-built AI.

Gameplay-wise, I like the idea of using games like Ultimate Alliance as a guide. You could have it so that each character has a basic attack followed by a series of abilities. Each of these can be used by expending power cubes or cards but they take time to recharge. Successful attacks and ability checks then build up a set of tokens or cards which can be spent to unleash an ultimate ability which gives each player a very cool Hollywood moment packed with cinematic action.

The Avengers?

With that as a basis for a design you then need to think about just how that first set might appear on the tabletop. You could start it off with the first clash between Earth's mightiest heroes and Loki from Avengers Assemble if you're basing this in the cinematic universe. More on this later.

You would have all of the fan favourites, Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Hawkeye, Black Widow and Iron Man going up against the main villain of Loki leading the forces of the Chitauri.

The battle that is played out in that film is ripe for scenarios. You could feature that first battle on the bridge before delving deeper into the various conflicts between the heroes and pockets of enemy forces before a slightly tweaked clash atop Stark Tower with Loki.

You could even change things up and have Ultron as the villain of the piece. Whilst he wasn't as engaging a villain in the movies his horde of robots would certainly make for a neat horde to smash to pieces.

Tune In Next Week!

From there you've got a lot of breadth for exploration. Each band of heroes could be presented as a Hero Pack which offers up the miniatures, enemies and a bunch of scenarios and boards which then allow you to play a series of linked, narrative stories.

Just think! You could have a Guardians Of The Galaxy set, one focused around Spider-man and loads that followed the adventures of the rest of the heroes. Imagine one based around Ant-Man & The Wasp where you actually have little versions of them running through boards which represent the insides of computers and buildings?

Going Beyond The Movies

There's no reason why you have to focus this around the movies either. All I've focused on here does tie you into certain ways of playing out the various scenarios but if you could get access to the comic books then you could really have a lot of fun taking things to the next level.

You're suddenly not tied into particular narrative structures for scenarios and could have any collection of heroes undertaking all manner of different missions, swapping and changing things out to bring in loads of replay value. Whilst the movies might be a good entry point I think unlocking the potential of the comic books and a more forgiving narrative could create a much better game.

Also, you're not paying extortionate amounts for the likenesses of the Hollywood actors, giving you free rein with designers to create unique and interesting takes on the Marvel heroes. Plus, think of the costume packs you could make with alternative models for the likes of Spider-man!

The Miniatures

Now, of course, we come to the miniatures, which is what drove my want for this kind of game, to begin with. Whilst it would be nice to have ways to pose your characters and such, let's leave that out of the equation. Kits are not conducive to making an accessible game for people to dive into right away.

You would clearly run with one-piece sculpts, made out of plastic or a plastic/resin hybrid and packed with detail to show off the power and style of each of the different characters. Captain America in the midst of throwing his shield, Wolverine leaping into action, Thor about to bring his hammer down.

You could have a lot of fun with the miniature design for a game like this and it would have people aching to dive in and collect an expanding range of cool plastic heroes to help supplement the game. As I say, starting with the Avengers is a good beginning but from then on, the world of your oyster.

Who Could Make This Work?

Well, there are a couple of companies I'd trust to make this work. The first is someone like CMON or Fantasy Flight Games. They have big budgets and are tried and tested in creating games which focus on team-based and/or cooperative experiences.

Alternatively, you could look at someone like Steamforged Games taking the reins on this but I think that personally, their rules aren't quite as up to spec as a group like FFG or CMON. Whilst I've also liked the miniature quality coming out of Steamforged for the likes of Guild Ball I think that CMON and FFG have a better handle on creating those one-piece plastics you'd need for the game.

Whoever was able to make this happen though, if done right, could seriously open up a pocket in the market to deliver something epic and very collectable, nevermind a gateway for a whole host of new gamers.

I'm sure that there are lots of whispers and plans going in in the background as people try and get a game like this made. The property is too big for it not to have popped up on some companies radar. Maybe it's just too big?

Whatever the situation, I am seriously on board for someone to give this a go. Just, make sure you give me a credit in the rulebook when you use my ideas, true believers!