With streamlined rules and an all-in-one box set, Fallout: Factions could be a perfect first step into wargaming

GamesBoard GameWith streamlined rules and an all-in-one box set, Fallout: Factions could be a perfect first step into wargamingWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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(Image credit: Modiphius)

A group of Raider miniatures in Fallout: Factions.

Modiphius certainly has experience with videogame adaptations. The company has previously createda Dishonored TTRPG,a Skyrim wargame,a Homeworld board game, and more. In fact, it already has a Fallout wargame calledWasteland Warfare—it’s designed for solo and co-op play, whereas Factions is competitive, but the real difference between them is accessibility.

(Image credit: Modiphius)

The contents of the Fallout: Factions starter set arranged for a game.

“Wasteland Warfare has got quite a high barrier to entry,” says James Hewitt, lead designer on Factions. “It’s very complex, very granular, with a lot of custom dice, a lot of tokens. When you get past that it’s a really, really rich, rewarding experience… But climbing that first hill is difficult for, for example, someone who is a fan of the video games, thinks the miniatures look cool, and wants to start playing a game on the tabletop.”

Hewitt has his own bona fides, too. These days he works in-house as Modiphius' lead designer, with this being his first publicly-released project for the company, but in the past he’s worked at Games Workshop on Warhammer 40,000, Age of Sigmar, Necromunda, Blood Bowl, Warhammer Quest, and more, before pursuing a freelance career that saw him designing board games based on Hellboy, Devil May Cry, and Sea of Thieves, among others. I’ve been a fan of his work myself for years—he’s got a knack for elegant, creative core mechanics, and his adaptations have done a great job of evoking the spirit of the source material.

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You can certainly see some of that in Factions’free quickstart rules. From the clever implementation of the SPECIAL stats, to a versatile action system that lets you set your own pace for how your gang activates, to the quick and decisive damage rules, it’s a game that has a really clear identity without trying to slavishly recreate the mechanics of the videogames. It certainly is quick and simple to learn—just reading the PDF, you end up with a good sense of the rules in just 10 minutes.

(Image credit: Modiphius)

A group of Raider miniatures fighting in Fallout: Factions.

Where normally a wargaming campaign would be played out with a fixed group of people, with much scheduling and organising, Fallout: Factions is “very freeform”, letting you advance your crew through play without being tied to a set structure.

“You’re only ever tracking your own crew’s story,” says Hewitt. “So you’re only worried about you, which means you can play in your group of mates if you want to, or you can go elsewhere, and play a game somewhere else and it still all counts.”

(Image credit: Modiphius)

The Fallout: Factions starter set box.

As you complete quests—performing specific actions in play, such as killing certain enemy warrior types or scavenging on the battlefield a certain number of times—you advance through three tiers of power. Progress past tier three—likely to take “about 15 to 20 games”—and you’ve successfully risen to a seat on the Raider council. It’s time to either retire your gang and start over, or pick one of your high-ranked warriors to become your new leader and build their own crew.

“It gives a really clear breakpoint,” says Hewitt. “Which I think is so important for a game like this, because knowing there’s an end point helps you push towards it, and it doesn’t just fizzle out.”

(Image credit: Modiphius)

A group of Raider miniatures looking out at Nuka World in Fallout: Factions.

But that name, Fallout: Factions, is intentionally broad, and Hewitt is quick to confirm this is only the beginning. Already there arefree WIP rulesfor bringing the Brotherhood of Steel, Super Mutants, and more to Factions as playable gangs using Wasteland Warfare miniatures, “and we’ve got plans to keep on going.”

“Even though this box set is all about Nuka World and the Raiders, there are big plans afoot, and we’ve got years of releases planned for this game.”

Fallout: Factions is planned to launch in mid-April this year.

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