Goonhammer Historicals

Credit: Robert "TheChirurgeon" Jones

Welcome to Goonhammer Historicals. We're your guide to the massive, varied and fascinating world of Historical wargaming. Whether you're an experienced Historicals player with too many armies to count, or you're just starting with the best part of the miniatures hobby, you'll find content here to help you get started, build collections and choose rulesets. It's a massive, wild world of history out there - we've selected some core articles to help you dive in below, but you can find all of our Historicals content here, or search for the era you're interested in above to find kit reviews.

The Historicals Team and Editors are dedicated to making positive, open and inclusive Historicals content. You can read about our approach and commitments to this principle here.

Historical Gaming

These articles the different ways Historicals games approach different aspects of gameplay and contain suggestions, recommendations and ideas for your games.

Historical Portrayals in Wargaming Scale Asymmetric Conflict Force Selection Deployment Activation Movement Running the Perfect Demo game The State of Historicals: 2022

Historicals by Period

Alt/Weird History:

Turnip 28 Turnip 28 Interview with designer Max Fitzgerald Turnip 28 Cults Dracula's America Zone Alfa The Silver Bayonet

Ancients:

Ordered ranks of Romans engage the mass hordes of the Britons - credit Lupe

Getting Started Ancient Rome Infamy, Infamy! Review How to Paint Everything: Romans

Medieval:

On the tabletop, some Norman warriors face off against marauding Vikings. Or perhaps forces loyal to King Chafin the Third of Rethem do battle with Ivinian mercenaries in the employ of the Earl of Tormau! Either way, these dudes look sweet on the table! (credit: Ilor)

Getting Started Medieval Getting Started Viking Age/Early Medieval Lion Rampant Review Never Mind the Billhooks Review Painting Colour in the Medieval

Feudal Japan:

smaurai skirmish village

Getting Started Feudal Japan Test of Honour Review Ronin Review How to Paint Everything: Samurai

Pirates/Age of Sail:

The finished product! The iconic rat-lines add a ton of visual interest to the model. Note that the rearmost mast has shrouds (also modular) but no rat-lines - that's because it's "spanker-rigged" with a jib and a boom, raised and lowered from lines on deck. This removes the need for sailors to climb up into the rigging, which in turn removes the need for rat-lines. Turns out, sailing vessels are complicated! (credit: Ilor)

How to Rig Everything - Modular Masts for Blood and Plunder

Napoleonics:



Getting Started Napoleonics Getting Started with Sharp Practice Soldiers of Napoleon Review Lenoon's Road to Austerlitz - French Enzo's Road to Leipzig - Austrians The Silver Bayonet

American Civil War:

Captured Confederates escorted by a Federal soldier, and Confederate soldiers bringing up ammo boxes. Credit: Mugginns

Getting Started: American Civil War Pickett's Charge Review Creating a Campaign Mugginn's Road to Adepticon Naval Wargaming with Ironclads Ironclad Rules review Unique ACW Units

WW1:

WWI French Infantry. Credit: HardyRoach.

French Infantry Review

WW2:



Battlegroup Rules Review Bag the Hun Review The Eastern Front North Africa What a Tanker Review Campaign Stalingrad Review Soviet Women's Rifle Brigade

Moderns:

Black Powder Red Earth Part 1 Black Powder Red Earth Part 2 Black Powder Red Earth Models Review

Game Guides

Guides to playing your best in the top Historicals games

Sharp Practice:

Rules Review Getting Started with Sharp Practice Sharp Practice Era Guide Movement Firing

Bolt Action:

Getting Started with Bolt Action Your next steps with Bolt Action Army Special Rules Guide

Chain of Command:

Ilor's North African Campaign

The Flower Wars

The Flower Wars is a Goonhammer project to design a skirmish game set in the Aztec Empire. Currently in development, you can participate in playtesting through signing up for our Patreon and joining the Discord server.

An assembled Aztec warband, featuring warriors of a variety of different ranks. (credit: Ilor)

Introducing the Project Game Design Principles Combat Mechanics Researching Mexica History Wargames Atlantic Aztecs Review and Flower Wars Building Guide