Miniature Wargames are kinda neat, don't you think?
It's alright if you don't think that (yet,) as more likely than not, I (ben) have that thought enough for the both of us. Its my job as the Wargames Manager of Pandemonium to be excited and informed about the upcoming happenings and doings within the miniature wargames hobby. If you're new to this genre, it boils down to building and painting toy soldiers, and then using them to play out a little game, with narrative tension and strategic thinking, all to prove that your little guys are the best little guys, hands down, full stop.
Hark is a new kind of article, where I'll talk about upcoming releases, but this month's HARK is special because its the first, and because it has a common theme! Trench warfare was all the rage at the end of 2024, and 2025 has lost none of the fervor for that genre, and thus all of the games and figs we'll discuss in a moment are themed around that World War 1, grimdark surprise kind of vibe. So find your foxhole and check your clip, because without further ado, we present to you the future at the speed of now!
FIDWOG INFANTRY
In the last year, Wargames Atlantic began partnering with a company called Zombiesmith to bring the wonderful world of QUAR to plastic model kits for a mass-producable skirmish game. What are the Quar you might ask? Well, imagine if you Jim Henson-ified Anteateres, and made them fight in World War One because someone called your Grandma the wrong name 200 years ago. Its silly, its dire, and its absolutely adorable.
Anyhow, the game has vehicles now (or "tractors" as they're called in-universe,) and this new friend of ours looks like a metal egg with tank treads, which is probably endearing if you're not in its immediate line of fire. Apparently the Fidwog Fynrydhad Tractor is the heavy hitter for this new faction, who's infantry members are much smaller and squishier than other Quar (but twice as brave if not moreso!) I'm interested to see how this new unit will be implemented into the skirmish game, and likewise I'm curious about what other tanks might appear now that we've got the ball egg rolling. Its an extra dimension to some already tight gameplay, and I'm looking forward to seeing what dynamics will develop now that squads have access to some extra oomph!
(Maybe we'll get a Tsar Tank for the Quar, and bicycle deathmatch minigames will come into vogue? We'll have to wait and see!)
DEATH KORPS OF KRIEG
We've been waiting ever since the launch of Kill Team 2021 and we got our first ever plastic Death Korps Veterans. This fan-favorite army basically cosplays WWI Germans, smacking their enemies with shovels and surprising everyone else their absolute lack of self-preservation. While this army has been available in metal (well, they were actually Steel Legion with a different paint job) and later resin, the convenience and flexibility that injection molded plastic can offer is second to none, which will only serve to increase the faction's popularity.
This box is just the first volley, with updated rules for the Astra Militarum as a whole, and a slew of new models at a discount, all of which will be made available individually at a later date. I'm personally partial to this force composition, of shock-cavalry with heavy weapons support, and to me it seems like a great "answer" detachment. Whatever your opponent puts down and sends out will be hard pressed to outmanuver, outgun, and outshovel this opposition. Plus, they've got horsies in gas masks for your post-apoc MLP fanfic... Wait... what's going on with their hooves?
Oh. Hmm. Nope, don't like that.
TRENCH CRUSADE
What if the Holy Crusades mutated into an 800 year war, and the arms race between heaven and hell has led to modern warfare with martyr-mechas and demon-tanks? New indie darling Trench Crusade asks these questions and more after a 3 million dollar kickstarter and an unstoppable hype train have made it the most talked about wargame of 2025. Created by Mike Franchina (Blizzard Art Alum) and designed by Tuomas Pirinen (the guy that made Mordheim,)Trench Crusade feels like the whole package with moody art, small bespoke forces, and a visceral and highly narrative gaming experience. Also, if you're a fan of sacrilege, boy howdy are you in the right place.
At time-of-posting, the rules are free online and the game has pledged to stay model agnostic, making Trench Crusade a veritable playground for creative expression. This is the kind of carte blanche that hobbyists like me love; being empowered with the creative freedom to carve out your own slice of hell, specific to your vision/interpretation of the source material. I'm going to be elbow deep in my bits bin before the year is out, scouring it for anything that longs to be remade as a Brazen Bull or an Artillery Witch.
Sometimes everything become crab.
And that's good.
Long story short, it's a good time to be a nerd about trench warfare, since everything this year is about trenches and warfare and the little guys who fight in them. Since all of these factions/games are trench adjacent, making terrain/scenery for one of them is kind of the same as making your board suitable for all three games.
Four if you count Forbidden Psalm: The Last War by Kevin Rahmen, which is Mork Borg translated into a Weird WWI skirmish game, and is super brutal and thrilling for all of you grimdark-enjoyers out there. (If you want to see Forbidden Psalm elevated to the tens, check out Ana Polanskac's Blog and the battle report (game highlights) in the corresponding issue of 28mag.) Its also miniature agnostic, so you can use whatever figures suit your fancy (even if they're anteaters.)
The important part is that with this much overlap (and with this much free content), it feels like your hobby time and hobby dollar are going to go a lot further. Games and factions that are playable with the same terrain, and maybe even the same models are few and far between, so this early volley of releases feels like a perfect storm for those curious and cash-conscious. Whether you play Mainstream or Indie the year is 2025, so grab your trench spike and take a deep breath: we're going over the top, so you might as well have fun with it.
Honorable Mentions for Fans of the Weird World War Genre
Like what's cooking above, but none of them hitting the spot? Check out these recs for some differently-flavored inspiration.
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Ben Doane has been a member of the Pandemonium Team since 2019, and has been playing wargames, rpgs, and tcgs since 2004 and earlier. When not blogging, Ben runs the wargames and mailing departments, and also puts together the store's newsletters. Her current favorite game is Pokemon Pocket TCG.