I’m exaggerating with that title and yeah, it’s a little clickbaity.
We all know about the issues with Warhammer 40K and they just got worse. For those of you who say “3D Printer Go BRRRRRRRRRR!” I want you to know that I agree with you. I even condone it but I’m going to ask you to put that down to the side for a moment because last night, something came to mind and it has me a little excited.
Some of you out there are Tabletop RPGers. Some of you out there are Tabletop Wargamers. While, you’re respectively dyed-in-the-wool in your camps, I’ve found some Middle Ground and the best part is, you’re not going to have to spend much.
Small Niche Games, the people who have brought you White Star, James Spahn and crew, wrote this gem and it came highly recommended with one sentiment being echoed…this is the only WWII book you’ll ever need.
WWII Operation: Whitebox is a tabletop roleplaying game using 1974 D&D rules. There are even rules for mass combat as exhibited here…
This game is compatible with Swords & Wizardry White Box Rules. This book isn’t available anymore, however, there’s a version which is only available in PDF through the site because the rules have been updated. Not to worry, it’s the same game, same idea. Just click the picture below to be taken to the site.
This version doesn’t have rules for Mass Combat. For a fully-fleshed out version of this game, I recommend you check out Wight Box by The Basic Expert as it’s closer to the original 1974 D&D rules by Gygax and Arneson or Swords & Wizardry Complete Rules. I won’t go into details, because that’s not the focus but you can see all the news fit to print right here at this link that will help you in your decision on which version of the Original D&D Rules Clones to purchase.
Wargaming and Tabletop RPGs, those go hand-in-hand. For whatever reason, the two have experienced a schism in the past few decades. For some, they’re just unaware of it. That’s okay! That’s why we’re here discussing it! Now let’s get back to why WWII: Operation Whitebox is the only WWII RPG and Miniature Wargame you’ll ever need…
For starters, the book gives rules for players to play Special Forces units. U.S. Army Airborne and the S.A.S., they’re covered. Alternately, you could play as a guerilla fighter that makes life hard for German Nazi forces behind enemy lines. You could play a covert operative working for the S.O.E. or O.S.S. Whatever you’re playing, you’ll have missions to complete behind those enemy lines in order to make way for the advancement of Allied Forces. That’s pretty cool, right there.
Bein a huge fan of how Original D&D Operates, I couldn’t pass this one up. I bought the PDF first and then the physical book off the strength of the PDF. I know many of you are looking at Warhammer 40K and going “but it’s not the same!” and you’d be right, however, I want you to consider something that perhaps you haven’t yet.
In this book, yes, it’s a historical RPG and Wargame if you choose to take it in that direction…but there’s so much more to it than simple history.
This book will give you settings for Nazi Superscience, Nazi Occultism and even…yep, a Nazi Space Program…
Your WWII game can pack a lot more punch and there are many supplements available on Lulu and other places you can check out yourself.
Imagine that all the nations of the Allied forces get a hot lead on some Nazi Superscience project that could turn the tide of the war and every nation is racing to that location. Some will want to claim that bit of science for themselves, others will want to destroy the research so that it never falls into the wrong hands and some will want to turn that science for good and use it to help others. Could make for a fun adventure. That’s almost exactly the plot of Captain America: The First Avenger.
Now, I’m going to crank that dial to 11 and break the knob off. How does this translate at all to a Wargame? Well, it’s simple. The Mass Combat rules do allow you the option of using a table top, terrain and miniatures. While you could just opt to play Bolt Action, instead, the problem with Bolt Action is that it’s both pricey and time-consuming and that’s what I’m trying to help you save; time and money. Warhammer 40K is even more egregiously expensive given the quality of people and product that we all know now what to expect moving forward. What would you say if I told you that you could get your hands on roughly 300 minatures for less than $20?
Would you scoff? Well, scoff, no longer…
This group of small toy soldiers and This Battle Mat is your entire starter kit. All you’ll need from there is a ruler and a little ingenuity and if you want to craft terrain out of paper and cardboard, you’re absolutely 100% well within your rights to do so. To some, this isn’t perfect but it’s serviceable. You’re essentially spending less on this stuff than you would on Warhammer 40K or Bolt Action. It’s wargaming on a budget. If you can find printable paper minis or you want to make the battle mat from Dollar Store wrapping paper, do it! Go for it! Make it a cheap arts and crafts thing with the kids and get them to play. If you want, you can even call it Tabletop Call of Duty and you’re fine. You can even start playing from just the book, character sheets, pen, paper and RPG dice as you get the supplies you need before unleashing hell on the tabletop.
As you can see, the sentiment of WWII: Operation Whitebox being the only book you’ll ever need, it’s absolutely true. If you wanted, you could even include the Code Talkers and the Night Witches (Nachthexen in German) and there’s a Powered by The Apocalypse game that focuses just on that unit of the Soviet Army simply titled Night Witches by Jason Morningstar. Something like that could make for a great supplement. Also, rigging up some small flags out of bottlecaps for hexcrawls over a map makes hexcrawling a lot of fun and, should a random skirmish happen, that’s when you break out the minis, roll out the grid and start fighting like you’re the third monkey on the ramp to Noah’s Ark and, brother, it’s starting to rain.
The thing is, it doesn’t have to be perfect for it to work and when paired with Mythic GM Emulator, you can try it out for yourself before unleashing it on your kids, your friends and/or your own gaming group.
For my dedicated wargamers and tabletop RPGers out there, we’ve long said that these companies are creatively bankrupt, well it’s time to prove to them that they are and show them that we can have fun without them. We solve problems, we make our own and we always keep moving forward. Any suggestions, comments or even stories of your own games? Drop them in the comments, I certainly look forward to them.