Games We Love

Hordes of the Things

 

The first two wargames I ever played are Hordes of the Things and Warhammer Epic. I can't quite remember which one I played first as it was over thirty years ago now. For those who don't know, Hordes of the Things (hereafter referred to as HOTT) is a miniatures wargame from Wargames Research Group that uses a single D6 to resolve combat. As it says in the rulebook One Die to rule them all, one Die to line them, one Die to move them all and in the melee try them, on the wargames table neath the players eye. I'm sure we can all take a moment to appreciate the reference there. HOTT turned up roughly around the time that a lot of wargamers started putting away their Roman Legions and started breaking out fantasy miniatures including Wizards that can turn into frogs. Yup that is what can happen in HOTT if a wizard fudges an attack roll.

 

Anyway back to the description. In simplest terms it is a wargame of two opposing fantasy armies duking it out until destruction or submission. Movement is measured in inches on a open battlemat (No grids etc.). Terrain can help or hinder movement, normal wargaming stuff really. What sets HOTT apart from other wargames is that the army can be made out of quite literally anything. Paper clips, cotton buds, drawing pins, cocktail sticks. If you can think of it you can use it. As long as the units you build fall into the categories outlined in the HOTT rulebook and can be visually distinguished from each other then you may use them. This open ended approach to getting armies onto the field is, as you can imagine, very cost effective, and promotes a lot of creativity. Plastic and lead miniatures can also be used. One friend of mine used 20mm Afrika korps troops but with the heads removed and replaced with a 6mm plastic air-soft ballbearing painted as an eyeball, he likes eyes.

 

Hordes is a great game for starting ones wargaming journey, the rules are easily comprehensible, the game play straightforward, the mechanics simple, the playing area will fit on most coffee tables and crucially the financial outlay is minimal. Which is always a good thing when trying out a new hobby, how many people do you know who have sunk a bunch of money into a new hobby only to find that they didn't enjoy it? I've known some and heard about a fair few others.

 

Anyway if you've any interest in fantasy wargaming and like absolute freedom in building an army then please look up Hordes of the Things. The ruleset can be found and purchased online easily. If you do try it then we are sure you'll enjoy it at least as much as we here at Tabletopiary Games have.

 

One thing to warn you about though, building armies for HOTT is nearly as much fun as playing the game and slightly addictive. It must be so as the rulebook confirms it.

 

Thank you for reading

 

Roll Play Repeat

 

David

 

Founder and writer: Tabletopiary Games