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The quickstart guide for Fallout Factions have arrived, and I'll admit that the news took me by surprise - somehow, I missed its original reveal years ago. That means this Fallout fan is losing his mind just a little over a quicker and more focused
tabletop wargame. I'm even more excited to see that the rules are reminiscent of a certain Warhammer title, too.
Announced back in 2022, Fallout Factions is a small-scale skirmish game that pits gangs against one another in the remains of Nuka World. (A theme park that was introduced during Fallout 4's final DLC pack.) A couple of years on, our first look at the rules just dropped via the wargame's official website. These reveal a streamlined system where players take it in turns to activate highly personalized gang-members and use up their two available actions each round – normally, moving or attacking. This sounds easier to get to grips with than the game's predecessor, Wasteland Warfare, and appeals to my current love of quick matches that don't last all afternoon.
Anyway. For anyone that knows Games Workshop's products, this will sound familiar; it's very, very similar to Warhammer Necromunda, another post-apocalyptic wargame that also has you activating warriors one at a time for two actions per turn. While there are obviously some mechanical differences (you're allowed to measure distances in Fallout Factions before firing, and the attack system uses a handful of 10-sided dice dictated by stats or circumstance), it's the promise of customizable gang-members that makes the comparison stick. That's Necromunda's calling card, differentiating it from the likes of Kill Team: Salvation (which allows some customization, but not to such a great extent).
This is to be expected, though. I know I'm late to the party, but I was pleasantly surprised to find out (via the rules themselves and this interview by Polygon) that Fallout Factions has been designed and written by James M. Hewitt. Besides being an ex-Games Workshop staffer, Hewitt worked on – you guessed it – the rules for Necromunda itself.
This makes my antenna perk up even more than they already were, particularly because Fallout Factions is being published by Modiphius. For context, this is the outfit behind the previous Fallout wargame, not to mention The Elder Scrolls: Call to Arms. Seeing as Factions will differentiate itself from both by being a more 'pick up and play' system with competitive matches in mind according to the Polygon interview, that's music to my ears.
Basically, I'll be keeping a close eye on this wargame in the run-up to launch this April. I've got to make up for lost time, after all...
For recommendations of what to play in the time until Factions comes out, don't miss our guide to the best board games and best card games.
