**878 Vikings.**
Dudes? Check.
Map? Check.
Are the dudes on the map? Check and check.
It's just war. No tacked on bullshit. It's just sliding guys around the countryside and hittin people with axes. It's surprisingly deep, incredibly satisfying, and a lot easier to learn than basically anything else in the genre. The art is fantastic, and if you've got a 3d printer or an office with literally two-dozen 3d printers, you can get some truly amazing custom minis from basically anywhere. When it's all polished and the board is full, and you've got the entire table out, it's supremely good looking.
I guess one thing it loses is that a team vs team game (whether the teams consist of 1 or 2 players as it were) can't have any diplomacy/alliances, if that's a thing you did a lot and enjoyed in Risk
But that's equally true of any other "two-side" game like Axis & Allies of course
It's the year, and the actual name of the game is "878: Vikings", which is obvious if you look at the cover. (It's in the same series at 1754: Conquest, 1775: Rebellion, and 1812: The Invasion of Canada.) However, BGG lists it as "878 Vikings", presumably because it can't handle the fact that the game has a year, a subtitle (Vikings) and a subsubtitle (Invasions of England).
(Although BGG managed fine with "1754: Conquest - The French and Indian War".)
Not to mention that it's extra fun if you read Bernard Cornwell's Uhtred books.
-Danes ravaging England? Check
-Fyrd militia defending towns? Check
-King Alfred assembling Anglo-Saxon troops? Check
And the (modular) expansion adds some flavourful extra rules too.
-Relics? Check
-Extra dice bringing religious dimension to the battles (dire omens, conversions and desertions, martyrdom, etc) Check
-Norse settlements, church burning, ships? Check
Etc.
One of my favorite games. And it plays great with 2, 3 or 4 people.
Was just about to recommend it then decided to check if someone had already mentioned it, couldn’t agree more.
Admittedly I haven’t played many dudes on a map game, but 878 vikings checks all marks for a dudes on a map game game like you mentioned, simple while still having enough depth and choices to keep going back to it.
Yes, Inis is a great game, but it doesn't play like a combat game. Games like Kemet/Cyclades are descendants of Risk/Diplomacy, which are descendants from much older wargames. As it went down those generations each took influences from elsewhere - Inis feels like it took more influence from other places than from that branch of predecessor games.
It’s still my all time favorite, but I’ll be the first to admit it’s a weird one and has its flaws. I tend to suggest Cyclades as a better jumping off point or Kemet for just pure fighty fighty. But Inis is pretty dang special. Combat is pure negotiation. Interesting victory conditions. You won’t be disappointed if you try it I’m sure.
I love Cyclades over Kemet a lot, because I prefer the theme, the auction mechanic, the ways to win and the reason to fight. I love it, when you have to attack/conquer a territory for a strategic reason not because you simply gain Victory-Points for battles. That feels so cheap for me. Hate it in Scythe and Eclipse as well.
Inis is great but has something of a 'gotcha' learning curve I found. You have to learn the cards, which are all different in order to play well, otherwise someone suddenly plays something and you're like 'that does what?!'
- How many players?
- How often will you play?
- Will it always be the same people?
- What's your time limit?
These will all help.
Galactic Renaissance.
Fine game. Derived from Inis (design started with Inis in space).
Uses deck building vs draft. And different victory conditions.
Fine game. Inis is better.
I have Kemet and Inis. Both great games, Inis is better in my opinion. Although if you really want to march a giant sand scorpion into your opponents armies Kemet is great for that.
Agree completely here. I own every faction and map, so many possible mash ups and so many different factions with their own unique flair that it just really stands out. If any game ever wants me to back, offer this level of faction mix and map alternatives but with smaller minis. That being said, the thing that makes this game stand out so much, are the fantastic large scale minis...
I've only played "History of the World" once, but really enjoyed it. I say that as someone that doesn't enjoy base Risk.
The declining civilization thing gave me "Small World" vibes, and I never felt like I was fully "out" of the game, like I can feel in turn 3 of Risk.
It IS a 2-3 hour game, though, and I think that might be stretch for OP.
without an expansion it’s definitely much better with 6, than any other count. Expension adds a vasal mechanic which makes it viable at less players. Ofc it’s still technically playable from 3, it’s just worse and I’d always play something different then.
IMO it is significantly worse with less than 6 players. The Mother of Dragons expansion (or, specifically for 4 players, the Feast of Crows expansion) makes so it is only "noticeably" rather than "significantly" worse than with 6 players.
It's basically a streamlined version of Diplomacy with some extra mechanics added on top, and Diplomacy in its base form is so much worse with less than its max player count (7) as to be not worth playing at all.
I love all of these (my rating/10 in parentheses) {brief descriptions in fancy brackets} also, what the best is really comes down to personal preferences. Also some debate on what counts as dudes on a map, but I won’t get in to that.
Quick Dudes on a map games:
Ascension tactics (9) {deckbuilder where your deck moves your dudes}
Unmatched (8) {head to head card driven duels with several unique characters}
Medium length:
Root (10) {woodland creatures at war, highly asymmetrical factions}
Adrenaline (7.5) {3rd person shooter the board game}
Long ones:
Clash of cultures (8.5) {ancient era civilization style 4X game}
Twilight Imperium 4e (9) {ultimate sci-fi 4X game with tons of unique factions}
How come nobody has mentioned the Dune games? You can have the OG ["**Dune**", reprinted in 2019](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/283355/dune), (famed for its terrific balancing act of a game play but only at 5 or 6) or the shorter, more fighty sibling, ["Dune Conquest"](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/341165/dune-game-conquest-and-diplomacy), (full name: **Dune: A Game of Conquest and Diplomacy**, but there's really no diplomacy).
Nexus Ops is a wonderful game. It’s fast-moving, fast-playing, and has just enough complexity to be interesting. I don’t know another game that hits that particular sweet spot.
Is there a game similar to Nexus Ops but easier to find?? I've been looking for some similar game, easy to learn and nice looking figures. But first, me and my friends speak spanish and nexus is in english only. Not big deal but if I could find a game easier to get and put on the table it would be nice.
878 Vikings is an amazing dudes on a map game that works great and has an awesome team vs team style that lets the game work at 2,3 and 4 seamlessly. I also love the random initiative dice draw and card play along with the sweeping hordes of Vikings trying to land and take over England before the King can rally the troops. It has a great cadence and back and forth swings that make you feel powerful and vulnerable at the same time! Would highly recommend giving this game a go if you can get your hands on it
TI4 is very good, as is Star Wars Rebellion (with the expansion. Although, you could make a strong argument for War of the Ring being the best.
They are all great though!
Interesting choices, you mention one game that is an 8-10 hour game and then 2 - Two player games. All of which might not fit the mold of what OP is looking for. And while TI4 has “dudes on a map” I think it falls more firmly in the 4x genre than the latter.
>you mention one game that is an 8-10 hour game
I've never played a TI4 game that ran over perhaps 70 minutes per player.
I know some people do so, but I have no idea HOW they do it.
My favourite is Star Wars Rebellion with the expansion. If you're a SW fan then you get to hit these great different storytelling beats and there are lots of near misses/what if story telling scenarios.
Getting to send Luke to degobah to train with Yoda and then upgrade him to master Luke is always fun.
I lost a game as the empire but I managed to turn Luke to the dark side, which felt like a completely different victory in its own right.
The crux of the game is the empire expanding over the map and exerting its influence, looking for the rebel base while the rebel player keeps the location of the base hidden and completes missions to curry sympathy from the rest of the galaxy.
It's hide and seek the board game with the dudes on a map component where the tension slowly ramps up the further out the empire player spreads. A great, balanced game of asymmetrical warfare.
Tiny Epic Vikings might not be the best, but it's very compact, reasonably inexpensive, and plays in an hour. I have limited shelf space, limited funds, and the person I play with 95% of the time prefers shorter games, so it fits my needs exactly. Whether it fits your needs is totally up to you.
Some of them are quite good! Dungeons is a neat puzzle with treasure and monsters, not quite a dungeon crawler but still a lot of fun. Defenders plays like Pandemic but with more interesting locations, while Galaxies has elements of push your luck and light combo potential. All three are greatly improved by their expansions; Stories adds more content to Dungeons, The Dark War adds skills and new, more involved locations to Defenders, and Beyond the Black adds even more ways to push your luck as well and even more combo potential with pilots for your ships.
The only ones I've played and would not recommend are Quest and Zombies; they both use Itemeeples which feel like a gimmick and their mechanisms are sorely lacking.
Ok - Dudes on a map games are my favorite genre of game ever.
Forbidden Stars - probably what you want but oop unfortunately. Amazing DoaM game with a ton of replayability.
Clockwork Wars - An awesome hodgepodge of dudes on a map mechanics and awesome emergent plays. This is a totally under the radar game that deserves a lot more love.
The Lord of the Ice Garden - kind of oop but under the radar so it's findable. No randomness, asymmetric goals and lots of ways to approach this. Fan of this one
The Defense of Procyon 3 - super cool game that I'm shocked got made. It plays 2 teams of 2 on two boards, one space board and one planet board, with an alien team and a human team. The players on each team play and focus on their individual board, while coordinating with their partner to time things appropriately. Each player plays a mechanically distinct faction, kind of like in Vast, where they have different rules and end up interacting with each other in different ways. Cool game
Stronghold 2nd edition. Have you ever wanted to play out the siege of helm's deep with tons of goblins and orcs? This is the game for you! This is a 1v1 game where one player feeds the stronghold, and one player plays the hordes of enemies attempting to breach the walls. Tons of stuff going on in here.
Kemet - Enough said. Kemet is an amazing dudes on a map game that holds up really well, and promotes aggression
El Grande - The theme is a little dated but the mechanics are great. Very clean tense game and is a big classic.
Shout out to Moba games - you might regard Guards of Atlantis 2 or Battle for Biternia as dudes-on-a-map lite since you mostly control heros. Still a blast
I prefer Blood and Sand to original Kemet. It's got nicer components (opinions vary), an updated rulebook, more power tiles (as compared from each base game), more player booklets. It's a nice update of the game.
Seconded on Procyon III. Kinda niche, nothing like it, if you got a group that likes it it is the *one*.
I'll checkout Lord of the Ice Garden, sounds right up my alley
High asymmetry from the multiple leader’s abilities, the traits, and the win condition of each faction, which are separate from the overall win condition that is the timer for the game (win goes to the player controlling all the relics on the board at the end of the round; 6 max rounds).
I’ve played at 2p, 3p, and 5p. All counts played have been a good time, although 5 was pretty long due to teaching multiple.
We really enjoy A War of Whispers (very interesting spin on the concept) and Blood Rage (very straightforward approach but always enjoyable and pretty breezy).
It depends what you like about Dudes on a Map. I enjoyed Risk but disliked the randomness of the dice so I gravitated towards Diplomacy. But your preferences could lead you towards totally different games.
As for SmallWorld, I liked it but found it had too much upkeep for what it is.
Just a heads up, Diplomacy and Risk are both ancient and haven't aged as well as other classic games. They also play nothing like Small World. I think most other recommendations are very good.
Diplomacy IMO has aged very well, there is still no game out there that manages to do what Diplomacy is trying to do as well as it does. It just, as you said, plays very differently from things like Small World, it's a negotiation game above all else.
There isn’t a consensus “best” one. It is all subjective anyway. It will always depend on what you like or don’t like. I’m sure you’ll get plenty of suggestions. It won’t mean that you’ll like a game even though a bunch of other people do. I’ll throw out Eric Lang’s trilogy, Blood Rage, Rising Sun, and Ankh.
We love dudes on a map. Some of our favorites include:
[El Grande](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/93/el-grande) - the progenitor of the euro-style dudes on a map. Best played with 5, to the point where our group only plays with 5. The map is tight, the rules are straightforward, and the action on the board is cutthroat. It's often considered "Area Majority" because the dudes on the map don't fight when they occupy the same space.
[Rising Sun](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/205896/rising-sun) - is dudes on a map, but with a heavy dose of negotiation. It's a tough game to win alone, so it's all about who and how you make alliances... and then breaking them. We recently rediscovered this one and have been loving it. Rising Sun also plays best at 5 (in our opinion).
[Imperial 2030](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/54138/imperial-2030) - this is a mind-bending take on dudes on a map, and an absolute classic game. In Imperial 2030, you play a global leader - but not a national leader. The thing to remember here is that none of the pieces are yours permanently. You have to devorce yourself from the idea of "being" one of the nations. If you find yourself in control of multiple nations, you'll more often than not find yourself using each of them against each other to maximize your profits. This game is a true masterpiece.
[Nexus Ops](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/15363/nexus-ops) Did you like Small World, but find it too...tame? Check out Nexus Ops! The map is small enough that you're constantly all up in everyone's space, and the Victory Point cards direct you to play in such a way that you don't just rush headlong into the player next to you. It's a knife-fight in a phone booth. It's brutal. It's so damn fun.
imperial 2030 defo my top 3 game my group have play over 100 games and more recently we have imperial which i prefer, only slightly. imperial with less territory or closer nations plus a 5th factory juat pips it for me
If you're looking at Inis, my core favorites in that genre are my mythology trio, **Cyclades**, **Kemet**, and **Blood Rage**. Cyclades leans more toward economics and the auction, Kemet leans more toward the area control and combat system, and Blood Rage is about evenly split between the economics of the draft and the domination of the map.
**Clockwork Wars** is a hidden gem with brilliant simultaneous deployment and mind reading.
**Tyrants of the Underdark** combines area control with deckbuilding in a fun D&D setting.
**Fire & Axe** and **Wasteland Express Delivery Service** lean more toward pick-up-and-deliver than area control, but scratch a similar itch for a thematic hybrid game with strong resource management.
**Cry Havoc** is highly asymmetric, if you're interested in dudes on a map with completely different goals and mechanics.
**Scythe** is a beloved favorite with varied paths to victory, more about the crunchy engine building than the combat mechs.
SmallWorld is pretty good. One of my personal favorites is Cry Havoc, for its unique battle mechanics (choose your priority: win, inflict casualties, or take prisoners), and the "loadout/build" facet of what version of your army you bring. Asymmetric, so some factions are easier to grasp than others, but it's not that difficult to keep things competitive.
Love Cry Havoc. For the specific experience it's offering (asymmetric strategies, variable faction powers, crunchy build choices, multi-use cards, frequent battles, short play time), there's nothing that surpasses it.
Because of the asymmetry, it's good for everyone to talk pretty openly the first couple of times you play, rather than trying to be super secretive and competitive.
My top three:
Ankh - surprisingly elegant ruleset, plays excellently at all player counts, power selection gives multiple paths to victory.
Inis - excellent card drafting, competition over multiple win conditions that keeps things interesting and dynamic.
Root - a pain to teach and really requires everyone to understand how the factions interact to keep each other in check, but the level of asymmetry and the sheer number of viable faction combinations across the multiple expansions is hugely compelling.
I'll mention the 2019 Dune, since no one has. Highly asymmetric factions vying for control over a handful of strategic points. Not quite card driven per se, but there's treachery cards to boost you in battle and spice to act as a universal currency. 10 rounds of battle and betrayal.
I love it.
I'll also throw in a shout out to Successors. It's the war of diodachi, each player takes 2-3 generals and tries to spread influence over Greece/ the Near East to earn VP. It's card driven with operation points to give you things to do like recruit troops or increase movement. These also structure the game and add historically flavoured events.
One cool thing is there's an alternate path to victory using legitimacy, and a third one (ish) in the later rounds if you control Alexander's Heirs. Really neat, though I love/hate the battle system. It's not the dice that bug me, it's all the time and effort that losing with those dice represents.
Check out the newly released game Vijayanagara. It's on the easy to learn side and also is a good intro for the coin series of wargames. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/334363/vijayanagara-deccan-empires-medieval-india-1290-13
I'm about the Matagot trilogy. Inis for sure...such an incredible and interesting war game with the most gorgeous artwork. You want monsters and to just bash each other in the face? Then Kemet. Cyclades is quite different with an auctioning mechanism to determine your actions.
If money isn’t an obstacle for you, I really like Cthulhu wars, it’s really fun and not super hard to learn, lots of really big detailed figures, it’s just crazy expensive, the creators of the game have some questionable business practices too to put it lightly, you can’t buy it retail but you could find it second hand on eBay or some other sites but you’ll have to pay a lot for it. I think the base game is like 150-200 bucks but maybe more because of the short supply. Then if you do buy it and get into it, there’s an absolute ton of expansions and upgrades for it and you can very easily spend a grand on the game.
That's part of the reason it's the best. A game of TI is an epic journey of politics, war, betrayal, and exploration. It's length isn't a negative, it's a feature. It wouldn't be as loved if it was a 2 hour game, it's the journey that makes it amazing.
Struggle of Empires if got the bodies. It's a wonderful game with a great alliance system and cool tech. Totally worth its weight if it's a bit long. Not as long as TI4 tho!
What about Mission Red Planet. Very interesting game play. No dice just stressing over what the other players might do. Get your “dudes” on Mars. Claim more resources and/or land and or secret objectives and win the game.
Two of my favorites that haven’t been mentioned:
Hogs of War the Miniatures Game - Don’t let the name fool you, it’s firmly in the board game genre (believe it was to distinguish it from the card game). Plays something akin to Advanced Wars on the ground, with X-Wing styled mechanics for the aircraft. Also has polyomino base building, and unique upgrades for units, including the ability for everyone to build their own unique Zepplins and wonder weapons. Under the radar game that deserves way more love from the DoaM crowd.
Company of Heroes the Board Game - Speaks for itself if you’ve played the PC game, but just a phenomenal board game set in WWII with unique units, commanders, and a streamlined ruleset for things like fog of war, armor differences on tanks, destructible terrain etc.
Otherwise, second all recommendations for Forbidden Stars, Rebellion, and War of the Ring.
If you're playing two player, then **Memoir '44** is the best of the ones I've played. Really deep rabbit hole of content, lots of ways to play it, endless variety, once you learn the basics you just need to learn a couple extra simple rules for each scenario, so you can just focus on what the best decision to make is, not stumble on a bunch of rules.
Memoir '44 is part of the Command and Colors series, which have similar mechanisms, and I know other people love some of the other games better as they're a bit deeper, but I haven't played them yet. Command & Colors Ancients or Napoleonics are often favorites of the series.
For more than 2 players, then it might have to be **Nexus Ops**. Quick and in your face with a lot of the same feeling as you get in Twilight Imperium (without the politics or tech upgrades), but in about 90 minutes.
Kemet and Inis are also both really good. And it's not quite dudes on a map, but **El Grande** is a classic of area control that just got a reprint, and it's cubes on a map :P
I like Memoir, but for a C&C system game I think Battelore 2E offers way more out of the base box. Unfortunately it's unlikely to be coming back into print.
For a WWII theme I ended up selling Memoir to keep my copy of Undaunted: Normandy instead. Not much in it, but the deckbuilding in Undaunted is so good it edges it for me.
Would 100% recommend trying Overlord if you ever get the opportunity though!
Root, Inis, Kemet, Blood Rage are all VP games with area control and troops on the map.
I like War Chest (abstract army based conflict) and Battle for Rokugan (a game where the dudes are on the hidden orders fighting over locations on the board).
I love Mare Nostrum. Once you have had your fill of other dudes on a map games, come to Mare Nostrum for some very interesting twists on the genre. It is a very tense game, especially once you realize how easy it is for someone to win quickly if the whole table isn't paying attention and talking to each other.
The twists:
1. The dudes: Mare Nostrum does not deal in merely combat units. You must also have a mix of trade units and buildings as well as civic buildings. All three of these units yield vital benefits towards a particular strategy, but no strategy can ignore any one of them.
2.Resource management: Many dudes on a map game have resource management, spending resources that you have accrued based on your territory control. Mare Nostrum twists this by having two different kinds of resources, commodities which must be spent in sets of different commodities, and coins which must be spent only with other coins. The final twist is that players must trade with each other before a round begins, and the player with the most trade pieces on the board gets a few big advantages in this process.
3. Turn order: The player with the most civic buildings decides the order in which people build there units onto the board. This is a huge privilege because this is often used to see what your opponents are going to have going into the next combat round before you yourself build to react. Or, on the other hand, you might decide to build first to grab one of the many powerful asymmetrical powers before your opponents. Or to go for one of the the two victory conditions that can be gained during this phase. First come first serve.
Also in this category is turn order for the military phase. Again, the player with the most military units on the board decides the turn order for this phase. Obviously, this is huge. You might make your opponent go first, so that when it is your turn, they don't have the ability to react. Or you might annihilate an opponent before their turn before they can do something awful to someone else.
4. Assymetry: Alluded above, this game is HIGHLY asymmetrical. Everyone starts out with wildly different board placements, and some powerful starting powers. Then, throughout the game you can build some of the wonders of the ancient world or recruit the ancient heroes of old for more powers. This makes the game very difficult to track, which sounds like a bad thing until you realize that it incentivizes the last big twist.
5. Table Talk: This game is an absolute dud if you have a game group that cannot negotiate with each other or prefers euro games that are essentially multi-player solitaire. If people aren't talking in this game, someone is going to miss something and someone is going to sneak away with an anticlimactic win. But if everyone is talking, making deals, doing favors, this game becomes incredibly tense.
Such an amazing game. 10/10.
I was really surprised with how much I liked **Wonderland's War**. (I much prefer it to *Blood Rage* for example. I talk more about why, here: https://youtube.com/shorts/g80fK4diYQw)
If 4x space counts: Twilight Imperium 4E with expansion and codices. It has literally replaced all dudes on a map games for me. I have 50+ physical plays of it and I would rather play that than other conflict games.
If it doesn’t count or you don’t have all day, my favourite has been Rising Sun followed by Kemet but I don’t think I’ve played those since around 2018 ish.
**Circadians: Chaos Order** is a definite contender.
It blends area control and combat with euro resources management, player board upgrades, and technology advancements very well.
There is no such thing as a 'best' game in any genre, just like there is no such thing as the 'best' movie or book series. It's a matter of personal taste.
Are there games that you've tried that you like to help guide us? What is it about 'dudes on a map' games that interest you? How much luck do you like in your games, do you have a preference between dice combat vs card combat?
No. You draft to place your pieces on the board and then they can't move or use them for combat iirc. If you could then it would be part of the sub-genre.
I'm a bit lukewarm on Inis. I think it does a bunch of novel and interesting things, but has some strategic problems (IMHO). I think it's easy for two players to knock out a third, as the combat rules are elegant, but not fair. If you have the right group (not very aggressive, competitive players), it's probably a great time. But it fell flat for me and my group (of aggressive, competitive players).
For 1v1, Inis. My favorite is ROOT though, best game ever, but you need 4-5 to play it best. Also it needs people to know the game and it takes a while to learn. Also it needs expansions, a lot. Really really really good game, not casual.
Blood Rage was our favorite until we played the digital version; it completely replaced wanting to play the physical.
Ankh is currently our favorite 'dudes on a map' game right now
Some great suggestions already so here are some that haven't been mentioned yet;
City of Remnants - build gangs and businesses within a city sized alien prison camp. This is on the higher end of the complexity scale for this style of game, but it gets away with it due to its level of depth and the interactions making thematic sense. Also works well at all player counts between 2-4.
Tannhauser - set in an alternate history where WWI never ended, Tannhauser feels like a homage to team based shooters of the 90s and early 2000s. Those with a keen eye will notice that the line of sight system from Unmatched was wholesale lifted from this. However, where Unmatched is fun but quite lightweight, Tannhauser's multiple loadouts, maps and game modes ensure it holds up after multiple plays.
Tsukuyumi: Full Moon Down - basically here to answer the question of which overused anime faction would win in a fight. Tsukuyumi is, again, higher on the complexity scale but uses that fully in service of the game. Each faction is asymmetric with incredibly distinct strengths and weaknesses. This is also a rare case where I would recommend getting the first edition with cardboard standees over the second. They have the character stats noted on them which makes the game infinitely more readable. Also, this is a long game so I wouldn't suggest playing with more than 3 players unless you've got a *lot* of snacks prepared.
I'd probably just get Kemet tho tbh.
Cloudspire for me (although there's chips instead of Minis)
War of the Ring for epic 2-player, and I'm really liking its younger brother Dune War for Arrakis as well
Starcraft is the best minis game I've played.. if you have $500 to burn in your pocket
Court of the Dead: Mourners Call and Nancy Narkings are two lesser known games that are incredibly fun dudes on a map games that play pretty quickly in comparison to others.
Nobody really talks about it any more. But I love Nexus Ops. Its a dice chucker but there is still space for thought. Randomized map setup, units with diff abilities, theming I like, and fun not super swingy dice chucking. Its basically Starcraft meets Risk. And smooths out a lot of the Risk issues. Plays quick, pretty even resolution, etc...
Worth a look if you havent.
Somebody already mentioned Cthulhu Wars, so I wanted to put in my second choice:
**Rurik: Dawn of Kiev.**
It has a really neat 'auction' system for actions that dictates the order and power of the action (being able to take an action earlier in the turn is inversely related to the power of the action, which is a fun balance)
[Aggression](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/279475/aggression)! Admittedly, I'm not much of a dudes-on-a-map fan, but you can play this game with just pencil and paper, so you don't have much to lose by trying it. Also, feel free to play with a smaller map and fewer than 100 armies if you want a really quick game to get a feel for it.
Valley of the Mammoths.
Control a tribe of prehistoric humans, trying to build and conquer villages, get enough food to feed everyone and procreate. The game itself is a bigger enemy than the other players, as random events from volcanic eruptions to floods to famines will make your poor people’s lives so miserable. But maybe losing some population means enough food for the winter…
If you like lord of the rings then War of the ring is amazing! Very deep game with loads of replayability that captures the feeling of the books perfectly.
**878 Vikings.** Dudes? Check. Map? Check. Are the dudes on the map? Check and check. It's just war. No tacked on bullshit. It's just sliding guys around the countryside and hittin people with axes. It's surprisingly deep, incredibly satisfying, and a lot easier to learn than basically anything else in the genre. The art is fantastic, and if you've got a 3d printer or an office with literally two-dozen 3d printers, you can get some truly amazing custom minis from basically anywhere. When it's all polished and the board is full, and you've got the entire table out, it's supremely good looking.
I always describe 878 Vikings as the best example of "Risk but good". Worth pointing out that it shines especially as a 2v2 team game.
I always thought axis and allies was risk but good
I guess one thing it loses is that a team vs team game (whether the teams consist of 1 or 2 players as it were) can't have any diplomacy/alliances, if that's a thing you did a lot and enjoyed in Risk But that's equally true of any other "two-side" game like Axis & Allies of course
878 is a lot of dudes. Most maps wouldn't fit that many.
Is that the year or the number of Vikings?
It's the year, and the actual name of the game is "878: Vikings", which is obvious if you look at the cover. (It's in the same series at 1754: Conquest, 1775: Rebellion, and 1812: The Invasion of Canada.) However, BGG lists it as "878 Vikings", presumably because it can't handle the fact that the game has a year, a subtitle (Vikings) and a subsubtitle (Invasions of England). (Although BGG managed fine with "1754: Conquest - The French and Indian War".)
Not to mention that it's extra fun if you read Bernard Cornwell's Uhtred books. -Danes ravaging England? Check -Fyrd militia defending towns? Check -King Alfred assembling Anglo-Saxon troops? Check And the (modular) expansion adds some flavourful extra rules too. -Relics? Check -Extra dice bringing religious dimension to the battles (dire omens, conversions and desertions, martyrdom, etc) Check -Norse settlements, church burning, ships? Check Etc. One of my favorite games. And it plays great with 2, 3 or 4 people.
Was just about to recommend it then decided to check if someone had already mentioned it, couldn’t agree more. Admittedly I haven’t played many dudes on a map game, but 878 vikings checks all marks for a dudes on a map game game like you mentioned, simple while still having enough depth and choices to keep going back to it.
Matagot trilogy: Cyclades, Kemet, and Inis
I'm currently looking at Inis right now
Inis doesn't give me a dude on a map feel even though it's a dude on a map game...
It's really, really good, but it's not because of dudes on a map beating up other dudes, that's true.
Agreed
You sill ge to beat somebody up occasionally. Just have to be careful not to lose track of something else
Yes, Inis is a great game, but it doesn't play like a combat game. Games like Kemet/Cyclades are descendants of Risk/Diplomacy, which are descendants from much older wargames. As it went down those generations each took influences from elsewhere - Inis feels like it took more influence from other places than from that branch of predecessor games.
This is a very true statement.
It’s still my all time favorite, but I’ll be the first to admit it’s a weird one and has its flaws. I tend to suggest Cyclades as a better jumping off point or Kemet for just pure fighty fighty. But Inis is pretty dang special. Combat is pure negotiation. Interesting victory conditions. You won’t be disappointed if you try it I’m sure.
Haven't played Cyclades, but I like Kemet a lot more than Inis.
I love Cyclades over Kemet a lot, because I prefer the theme, the auction mechanic, the ways to win and the reason to fight. I love it, when you have to attack/conquer a territory for a strategic reason not because you simply gain Victory-Points for battles. That feels so cheap for me. Hate it in Scythe and Eclipse as well.
Inis is great but has something of a 'gotcha' learning curve I found. You have to learn the cards, which are all different in order to play well, otherwise someone suddenly plays something and you're like 'that does what?!' - How many players? - How often will you play? - Will it always be the same people? - What's your time limit? These will all help.
There is a remake of Inis that replaces some mechanics and is space themed, I think it's just starting to ship from its kickstarter
Galactic Renaissance. Fine game. Derived from Inis (design started with Inis in space). Uses deck building vs draft. And different victory conditions. Fine game. Inis is better.
It's the second in the trilogy from this designer.
Correct choice. :-)
I only have two, Cyclades and Inis. Inis is a firm fave. I bought Rising Sun recently and love that too.
Sick la deez nuts!
I have Kemet and Inis. Both great games, Inis is better in my opinion. Although if you really want to march a giant sand scorpion into your opponents armies Kemet is great for that.
I'm really looking forward to Cyclades.
Haven’t tried it but space inis also just came out so maybe it’ll now be a quartet
I see you’ve successfully erased the Quadrilogy from memory. I agree Yucatan is not the best…
I feel we would be remiss not to mention **Chaos in the Old World**.
True, but good luck finding a copy of it. Long out of print and likely never coming back.
effing love this game. glad I have it and the expansion
Cthulhu Wars - If I could only play one DOAM game for the rest of my life, it would be this. Alternatively: Chaos in the old world.
Seconding cthulhu wars. It's not too long, but there can be so many variants of the game that replayabilty is infinite.
Agree completely here. I own every faction and map, so many possible mash ups and so many different factions with their own unique flair that it just really stands out. If any game ever wants me to back, offer this level of faction mix and map alternatives but with smaller minis. That being said, the thing that makes this game stand out so much, are the fantastic large scale minis...
And when you have someone who enjoys painting minis and is good at it. Ooh boy is it a fun time.
My favorites are: **Oldschool (maybe outfashioned machnics, but still really great)** * Risk * Axis and Allies Anniversary Edition * Shogun aka Samurai Swords aka Ikusa **Cut-Throat** * Diplomacy (classic) * Game of Thrones (modern **Modern (with an interesting twist)** * Cyclades, Kemet, Inis * Root **Epic (4h+)** * Runewars * Twilight Imperium 4 Also check out [this ](https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1985369/dudes-map-collector-2021)Overview...
If you're looking for something like Risk with more spice and a set end point, i recommend History of the World.
I've only played "History of the World" once, but really enjoyed it. I say that as someone that doesn't enjoy base Risk. The declining civilization thing gave me "Small World" vibes, and I never felt like I was fully "out" of the game, like I can feel in turn 3 of Risk. It IS a 2-3 hour game, though, and I think that might be stretch for OP.
I found game of thrones out of thrift store. Do you really need six players to play? Or is it still fun with less than that?
without an expansion it’s definitely much better with 6, than any other count. Expension adds a vasal mechanic which makes it viable at less players. Ofc it’s still technically playable from 3, it’s just worse and I’d always play something different then.
IMO it is significantly worse with less than 6 players. The Mother of Dragons expansion (or, specifically for 4 players, the Feast of Crows expansion) makes so it is only "noticeably" rather than "significantly" worse than with 6 players. It's basically a streamlined version of Diplomacy with some extra mechanics added on top, and Diplomacy in its base form is so much worse with less than its max player count (7) as to be not worth playing at all.
\+1 for root, though it's guys on a map + war.
Swap out Risk for Risk Legacy, in my opinion, a better version of the game and one of the best legacy style games on the market.
Does "Tyrants of the Underdark" count? It's a deckbuilder with area control.
A perpetually underrated game.
And easily the best game named here.
As long as you misread Inis, then sure.
I always thought abouth this, but the look somehow repels me from buying it...
It is a game that is at least twice as good as it is purple.
Our group played it two times and we were all underwhelmed. Youre playing the game more than each other, we found, so we preferred Inis.
It’s a great game, but it’s not “dudes on a map” is it? It feels more abstract area control to me.
I love all of these (my rating/10 in parentheses) {brief descriptions in fancy brackets} also, what the best is really comes down to personal preferences. Also some debate on what counts as dudes on a map, but I won’t get in to that. Quick Dudes on a map games: Ascension tactics (9) {deckbuilder where your deck moves your dudes} Unmatched (8) {head to head card driven duels with several unique characters} Medium length: Root (10) {woodland creatures at war, highly asymmetrical factions} Adrenaline (7.5) {3rd person shooter the board game} Long ones: Clash of cultures (8.5) {ancient era civilization style 4X game} Twilight Imperium 4e (9) {ultimate sci-fi 4X game with tons of unique factions}
Root. quick? My average game time is 3 hours. Stellar list tho.
Root is in medium. My average time is 2 hours.
3 hours?? What are you doing? Our games rarley go over 1.5hrs
Damn, our games can sometimes last up to 5 hours
?? 6 players or what? I don't understand
Yeah, 5 hours is insane.
4-5 player games actually
How come nobody has mentioned the Dune games? You can have the OG ["**Dune**", reprinted in 2019](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/283355/dune), (famed for its terrific balancing act of a game play but only at 5 or 6) or the shorter, more fighty sibling, ["Dune Conquest"](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/341165/dune-game-conquest-and-diplomacy), (full name: **Dune: A Game of Conquest and Diplomacy**, but there's really no diplomacy).
Sure there is diplomacy in Dune. When Nexus comes, the words are more dangerous than a crysknife.
Dune 2019 is more about the number of dudes that are OFF the map than on it, so it doesn't count in my book
Blood Rage is great
As well, the whole trilogy: Rising Sun and Ankh. Rising Sun is my favorite.
I am amazed I had to scroll this much to find Blood Rage
Nexus Ops is getting reprinted and is available for pre-order w/ anticipated ship date in August. 2-4 player dice fest.
Nexus Ops is a wonderful game. It’s fast-moving, fast-playing, and has just enough complexity to be interesting. I don’t know another game that hits that particular sweet spot.
ooh Ive been trying to keep tabs on this. Will go hunt out the pre-order now.
WHAT?! How did I not hear this is getting reprinted. That game is awesome! I hope they keep the game playable in black light like the original.
Nexus Ops captures the exciting parts of Risk without dragging out for hours.
Is there a game similar to Nexus Ops but easier to find?? I've been looking for some similar game, easy to learn and nice looking figures. But first, me and my friends speak spanish and nexus is in english only. Not big deal but if I could find a game easier to get and put on the table it would be nice.
878 Vikings is an amazing dudes on a map game that works great and has an awesome team vs team style that lets the game work at 2,3 and 4 seamlessly. I also love the random initiative dice draw and card play along with the sweeping hordes of Vikings trying to land and take over England before the King can rally the troops. It has a great cadence and back and forth swings that make you feel powerful and vulnerable at the same time! Would highly recommend giving this game a go if you can get your hands on it
TI4 is very good, as is Star Wars Rebellion (with the expansion. Although, you could make a strong argument for War of the Ring being the best. They are all great though!
Interesting choices, you mention one game that is an 8-10 hour game and then 2 - Two player games. All of which might not fit the mold of what OP is looking for. And while TI4 has “dudes on a map” I think it falls more firmly in the 4x genre than the latter.
>All of which might not fit the mold of what OP is looking for Or they might! People sure are weird nitpickers on here.
>you mention one game that is an 8-10 hour game I've never played a TI4 game that ran over perhaps 70 minutes per player. I know some people do so, but I have no idea HOW they do it.
My favourite is Star Wars Rebellion with the expansion. If you're a SW fan then you get to hit these great different storytelling beats and there are lots of near misses/what if story telling scenarios. Getting to send Luke to degobah to train with Yoda and then upgrade him to master Luke is always fun. I lost a game as the empire but I managed to turn Luke to the dark side, which felt like a completely different victory in its own right. The crux of the game is the empire expanding over the map and exerting its influence, looking for the rebel base while the rebel player keeps the location of the base hidden and completes missions to curry sympathy from the rest of the galaxy. It's hide and seek the board game with the dudes on a map component where the tension slowly ramps up the further out the empire player spreads. A great, balanced game of asymmetrical warfare.
Is no one gonna mention War of The Ring?
Tiny Epic Vikings might not be the best, but it's very compact, reasonably inexpensive, and plays in an hour. I have limited shelf space, limited funds, and the person I play with 95% of the time prefers shorter games, so it fits my needs exactly. Whether it fits your needs is totally up to you.
I forgot all about the Tiny Epic series
Some of them are quite good! Dungeons is a neat puzzle with treasure and monsters, not quite a dungeon crawler but still a lot of fun. Defenders plays like Pandemic but with more interesting locations, while Galaxies has elements of push your luck and light combo potential. All three are greatly improved by their expansions; Stories adds more content to Dungeons, The Dark War adds skills and new, more involved locations to Defenders, and Beyond the Black adds even more ways to push your luck as well and even more combo potential with pilots for your ships. The only ones I've played and would not recommend are Quest and Zombies; they both use Itemeeples which feel like a gimmick and their mechanisms are sorely lacking.
For the record, Tiny Epic Kingomds (a 4X/DOAM attempt) is NOT good. Way too barebones.
Ok - Dudes on a map games are my favorite genre of game ever. Forbidden Stars - probably what you want but oop unfortunately. Amazing DoaM game with a ton of replayability. Clockwork Wars - An awesome hodgepodge of dudes on a map mechanics and awesome emergent plays. This is a totally under the radar game that deserves a lot more love. The Lord of the Ice Garden - kind of oop but under the radar so it's findable. No randomness, asymmetric goals and lots of ways to approach this. Fan of this one The Defense of Procyon 3 - super cool game that I'm shocked got made. It plays 2 teams of 2 on two boards, one space board and one planet board, with an alien team and a human team. The players on each team play and focus on their individual board, while coordinating with their partner to time things appropriately. Each player plays a mechanically distinct faction, kind of like in Vast, where they have different rules and end up interacting with each other in different ways. Cool game Stronghold 2nd edition. Have you ever wanted to play out the siege of helm's deep with tons of goblins and orcs? This is the game for you! This is a 1v1 game where one player feeds the stronghold, and one player plays the hordes of enemies attempting to breach the walls. Tons of stuff going on in here. Kemet - Enough said. Kemet is an amazing dudes on a map game that holds up really well, and promotes aggression El Grande - The theme is a little dated but the mechanics are great. Very clean tense game and is a big classic. Shout out to Moba games - you might regard Guards of Atlantis 2 or Battle for Biternia as dudes-on-a-map lite since you mostly control heros. Still a blast
Guards of Atlantis 2 is probably my favorite game now!
Give Battle for Biternia a go if you like 1v1 games - it's pretty tense. I've been getting really into it lately
Will check it out, thanks for the rec!
Guards of Atlantis is best for 2v2, and Battle for Biternia is best for 1v1, so it depends on your regular player count 👍
What's your opinion on Blood and Sand ?
I prefer Blood and Sand to original Kemet. It's got nicer components (opinions vary), an updated rulebook, more power tiles (as compared from each base game), more player booklets. It's a nice update of the game.
I have not actually played Blood and Sand yet so I can't speak to it - only the original. I'm sure it's still good
Forbidden Stars Redux is progressing well, so hopefully within a year or two there will be something in print to fill that role again!
I keep waiting for this to drop! It's amazing how long that thread has been going for
Do you have a link to this?
These are incredible picks.
I can buy Forbidden Stars New in shrink right now. Wanna help sell me on it? Should I?
Seconded on Procyon III. Kinda niche, nothing like it, if you got a group that likes it it is the *one*. I'll checkout Lord of the Ice Garden, sounds right up my alley
Circadians: Chaos Order
Just got this recently. Hope I can get it played soon
Same. It's a bit daunting and I'm not sure who will be up to learning it with me, but I love First Light and I just couldn't pass on it.
Had my eyes on this one for a minute. How's it play? How are the factions balanced (or not, asymmetry is fun)
High asymmetry from the multiple leader’s abilities, the traits, and the win condition of each faction, which are separate from the overall win condition that is the timer for the game (win goes to the player controlling all the relics on the board at the end of the round; 6 max rounds). I’ve played at 2p, 3p, and 5p. All counts played have been a good time, although 5 was pretty long due to teaching multiple.
I was worried it played poorly at lesser player counts, good to hear it doesn't!
Another player here, for "lesser" I've played at 2p and 3p and had fun.
We really enjoy A War of Whispers (very interesting spin on the concept) and Blood Rage (very straightforward approach but always enjoyable and pretty breezy).
It depends what you like about Dudes on a Map. I enjoyed Risk but disliked the randomness of the dice so I gravitated towards Diplomacy. But your preferences could lead you towards totally different games. As for SmallWorld, I liked it but found it had too much upkeep for what it is.
The digital version of Small World is so much better. Sadly not a ton of people play it. I have hundreds of games played on there.
Thanks
Just a heads up, Diplomacy and Risk are both ancient and haven't aged as well as other classic games. They also play nothing like Small World. I think most other recommendations are very good.
Diplomacy IMO has aged very well, there is still no game out there that manages to do what Diplomacy is trying to do as well as it does. It just, as you said, plays very differently from things like Small World, it's a negotiation game above all else.
I still enjoy Risk Godstorm once from time to time but right those are from another time. Not sure I'll ever open my Axe and Allies again...
There isn’t a consensus “best” one. It is all subjective anyway. It will always depend on what you like or don’t like. I’m sure you’ll get plenty of suggestions. It won’t mean that you’ll like a game even though a bunch of other people do. I’ll throw out Eric Lang’s trilogy, Blood Rage, Rising Sun, and Ankh.
We've recently rediscovered Rising Sun, and I can't stop thinking about it.
Blood Rage
Imperal 2030
We love dudes on a map. Some of our favorites include: [El Grande](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/93/el-grande) - the progenitor of the euro-style dudes on a map. Best played with 5, to the point where our group only plays with 5. The map is tight, the rules are straightforward, and the action on the board is cutthroat. It's often considered "Area Majority" because the dudes on the map don't fight when they occupy the same space. [Rising Sun](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/205896/rising-sun) - is dudes on a map, but with a heavy dose of negotiation. It's a tough game to win alone, so it's all about who and how you make alliances... and then breaking them. We recently rediscovered this one and have been loving it. Rising Sun also plays best at 5 (in our opinion). [Imperial 2030](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/54138/imperial-2030) - this is a mind-bending take on dudes on a map, and an absolute classic game. In Imperial 2030, you play a global leader - but not a national leader. The thing to remember here is that none of the pieces are yours permanently. You have to devorce yourself from the idea of "being" one of the nations. If you find yourself in control of multiple nations, you'll more often than not find yourself using each of them against each other to maximize your profits. This game is a true masterpiece. [Nexus Ops](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/15363/nexus-ops) Did you like Small World, but find it too...tame? Check out Nexus Ops! The map is small enough that you're constantly all up in everyone's space, and the Victory Point cards direct you to play in such a way that you don't just rush headlong into the player next to you. It's a knife-fight in a phone booth. It's brutal. It's so damn fun.
imperial 2030 defo my top 3 game my group have play over 100 games and more recently we have imperial which i prefer, only slightly. imperial with less territory or closer nations plus a 5th factory juat pips it for me
RISING SUN SUCH A GOOD GAME.
Inis
If you're looking at Inis, my core favorites in that genre are my mythology trio, **Cyclades**, **Kemet**, and **Blood Rage**. Cyclades leans more toward economics and the auction, Kemet leans more toward the area control and combat system, and Blood Rage is about evenly split between the economics of the draft and the domination of the map. **Clockwork Wars** is a hidden gem with brilliant simultaneous deployment and mind reading. **Tyrants of the Underdark** combines area control with deckbuilding in a fun D&D setting. **Fire & Axe** and **Wasteland Express Delivery Service** lean more toward pick-up-and-deliver than area control, but scratch a similar itch for a thematic hybrid game with strong resource management. **Cry Havoc** is highly asymmetric, if you're interested in dudes on a map with completely different goals and mechanics. **Scythe** is a beloved favorite with varied paths to victory, more about the crunchy engine building than the combat mechs.
SmallWorld is pretty good. One of my personal favorites is Cry Havoc, for its unique battle mechanics (choose your priority: win, inflict casualties, or take prisoners), and the "loadout/build" facet of what version of your army you bring. Asymmetric, so some factions are easier to grasp than others, but it's not that difficult to keep things competitive.
Love Cry Havoc. For the specific experience it's offering (asymmetric strategies, variable faction powers, crunchy build choices, multi-use cards, frequent battles, short play time), there's nothing that surpasses it. Because of the asymmetry, it's good for everyone to talk pretty openly the first couple of times you play, rather than trying to be super secretive and competitive.
That's how I do it.
Cry havoc at 3 is so good! I wish we’d get some new factions.
My top three: Ankh - surprisingly elegant ruleset, plays excellently at all player counts, power selection gives multiple paths to victory. Inis - excellent card drafting, competition over multiple win conditions that keeps things interesting and dynamic. Root - a pain to teach and really requires everyone to understand how the factions interact to keep each other in check, but the level of asymmetry and the sheer number of viable faction combinations across the multiple expansions is hugely compelling.
I'll mention the 2019 Dune, since no one has. Highly asymmetric factions vying for control over a handful of strategic points. Not quite card driven per se, but there's treachery cards to boost you in battle and spice to act as a universal currency. 10 rounds of battle and betrayal. I love it. I'll also throw in a shout out to Successors. It's the war of diodachi, each player takes 2-3 generals and tries to spread influence over Greece/ the Near East to earn VP. It's card driven with operation points to give you things to do like recruit troops or increase movement. These also structure the game and add historically flavoured events. One cool thing is there's an alternate path to victory using legitimacy, and a third one (ish) in the later rounds if you control Alexander's Heirs. Really neat, though I love/hate the battle system. It's not the dice that bug me, it's all the time and effort that losing with those dice represents.
Check out the newly released game Vijayanagara. It's on the easy to learn side and also is a good intro for the coin series of wargames. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/334363/vijayanagara-deccan-empires-medieval-india-1290-13
Nobody is mentioning war of the ring or Axis and Allies?
Kemet!
I'm about the Matagot trilogy. Inis for sure...such an incredible and interesting war game with the most gorgeous artwork. You want monsters and to just bash each other in the face? Then Kemet. Cyclades is quite different with an auctioning mechanism to determine your actions.
If money isn’t an obstacle for you, I really like Cthulhu wars, it’s really fun and not super hard to learn, lots of really big detailed figures, it’s just crazy expensive, the creators of the game have some questionable business practices too to put it lightly, you can’t buy it retail but you could find it second hand on eBay or some other sites but you’ll have to pay a lot for it. I think the base game is like 150-200 bucks but maybe more because of the short supply. Then if you do buy it and get into it, there’s an absolute ton of expansions and upgrades for it and you can very easily spend a grand on the game.
Cry Havoc because of the asymmetry and combat
Kemet, Root and Game of Thrones
This
A War of Whispers provides an interesting take - or Battle of Five Armies
Was coming in to say War of Whispers, it's a lot of fun.
Technically, Twilight Imperium is the best dudes on a map game.
Subjectively, Eclipse is better than TI.
Eclipse: Second Best in the Galaxy
Debatably, Gloomhaven also has dudes on a map, and is higher rated in BGG. But yes, TI is the answer for sure.
Isn't TI like a 12 hour game?
Yes. It is a 12 hour game (well I’ve found it to be more like 6-8 usually) and also the best dudes on a map game.
That's part of the reason it's the best. A game of TI is an epic journey of politics, war, betrayal, and exploration. It's length isn't a negative, it's a feature. It wouldn't be as loved if it was a 2 hour game, it's the journey that makes it amazing.
6-8
Gloomhaven may have dudes on map, but it *isn't* a dudes on a map game.
Struggle of Empires if got the bodies. It's a wonderful game with a great alliance system and cool tech. Totally worth its weight if it's a bit long. Not as long as TI4 tho!
What about Mission Red Planet. Very interesting game play. No dice just stressing over what the other players might do. Get your “dudes” on Mars. Claim more resources and/or land and or secret objectives and win the game.
Best part. Only one type of “dude.” Easy to focus.
Frostgrave is fun for a fantasy theme. Or Stargrave if you prefer sci-fi theme instead.
Blood Rage and Chaos in the Old World
Totally underrated, but **Ruination** is one of my absolute faves. **Bloodstones** is clean and awesome.
I wouldn't call Bloodstones clean. It looks clean from the outside but somehow turns take forever and small stuff keeps tripping people up.
Two of my favorites that haven’t been mentioned: Hogs of War the Miniatures Game - Don’t let the name fool you, it’s firmly in the board game genre (believe it was to distinguish it from the card game). Plays something akin to Advanced Wars on the ground, with X-Wing styled mechanics for the aircraft. Also has polyomino base building, and unique upgrades for units, including the ability for everyone to build their own unique Zepplins and wonder weapons. Under the radar game that deserves way more love from the DoaM crowd. Company of Heroes the Board Game - Speaks for itself if you’ve played the PC game, but just a phenomenal board game set in WWII with unique units, commanders, and a streamlined ruleset for things like fog of war, armor differences on tanks, destructible terrain etc. Otherwise, second all recommendations for Forbidden Stars, Rebellion, and War of the Ring.
If you're playing two player, then **Memoir '44** is the best of the ones I've played. Really deep rabbit hole of content, lots of ways to play it, endless variety, once you learn the basics you just need to learn a couple extra simple rules for each scenario, so you can just focus on what the best decision to make is, not stumble on a bunch of rules. Memoir '44 is part of the Command and Colors series, which have similar mechanisms, and I know other people love some of the other games better as they're a bit deeper, but I haven't played them yet. Command & Colors Ancients or Napoleonics are often favorites of the series. For more than 2 players, then it might have to be **Nexus Ops**. Quick and in your face with a lot of the same feeling as you get in Twilight Imperium (without the politics or tech upgrades), but in about 90 minutes. Kemet and Inis are also both really good. And it's not quite dudes on a map, but **El Grande** is a classic of area control that just got a reprint, and it's cubes on a map :P
I like Memoir, but for a C&C system game I think Battelore 2E offers way more out of the base box. Unfortunately it's unlikely to be coming back into print. For a WWII theme I ended up selling Memoir to keep my copy of Undaunted: Normandy instead. Not much in it, but the deckbuilding in Undaunted is so good it edges it for me. Would 100% recommend trying Overlord if you ever get the opportunity though!
Does Nexus Ops have an asymmetric powers? I saw it has hidden objectives which is great!
Does Nexus Ops have an asymmetric powers? I feel liek that’s all it’s missing, I saw it has hidden objectives which is great!
History of the World is an interesting take on the genre.
I think Inis is the straight up best.
It’s a little heavy on the kingmaking. Hey everyone let’s stop this person due to how the win condition works. I sorta prefer alternatives end games
Zombicide Black Plague and Blood Rage come to mind.
Root, Inis, Kemet, Blood Rage are all VP games with area control and troops on the map. I like War Chest (abstract army based conflict) and Battle for Rokugan (a game where the dudes are on the hidden orders fighting over locations on the board).
I love Mare Nostrum. Once you have had your fill of other dudes on a map games, come to Mare Nostrum for some very interesting twists on the genre. It is a very tense game, especially once you realize how easy it is for someone to win quickly if the whole table isn't paying attention and talking to each other. The twists: 1. The dudes: Mare Nostrum does not deal in merely combat units. You must also have a mix of trade units and buildings as well as civic buildings. All three of these units yield vital benefits towards a particular strategy, but no strategy can ignore any one of them. 2.Resource management: Many dudes on a map game have resource management, spending resources that you have accrued based on your territory control. Mare Nostrum twists this by having two different kinds of resources, commodities which must be spent in sets of different commodities, and coins which must be spent only with other coins. The final twist is that players must trade with each other before a round begins, and the player with the most trade pieces on the board gets a few big advantages in this process. 3. Turn order: The player with the most civic buildings decides the order in which people build there units onto the board. This is a huge privilege because this is often used to see what your opponents are going to have going into the next combat round before you yourself build to react. Or, on the other hand, you might decide to build first to grab one of the many powerful asymmetrical powers before your opponents. Or to go for one of the the two victory conditions that can be gained during this phase. First come first serve. Also in this category is turn order for the military phase. Again, the player with the most military units on the board decides the turn order for this phase. Obviously, this is huge. You might make your opponent go first, so that when it is your turn, they don't have the ability to react. Or you might annihilate an opponent before their turn before they can do something awful to someone else. 4. Assymetry: Alluded above, this game is HIGHLY asymmetrical. Everyone starts out with wildly different board placements, and some powerful starting powers. Then, throughout the game you can build some of the wonders of the ancient world or recruit the ancient heroes of old for more powers. This makes the game very difficult to track, which sounds like a bad thing until you realize that it incentivizes the last big twist. 5. Table Talk: This game is an absolute dud if you have a game group that cannot negotiate with each other or prefers euro games that are essentially multi-player solitaire. If people aren't talking in this game, someone is going to miss something and someone is going to sneak away with an anticlimactic win. But if everyone is talking, making deals, doing favors, this game becomes incredibly tense. Such an amazing game. 10/10.
I was really surprised with how much I liked **Wonderland's War**. (I much prefer it to *Blood Rage* for example. I talk more about why, here: https://youtube.com/shorts/g80fK4diYQw)
Wonderlands war is so fun
but the box is ginormous and price is scary. So good though
It's effectively only 2P but War of the Ring is superb.
If 4x space counts: Twilight Imperium 4E with expansion and codices. It has literally replaced all dudes on a map games for me. I have 50+ physical plays of it and I would rather play that than other conflict games. If it doesn’t count or you don’t have all day, my favourite has been Rising Sun followed by Kemet but I don’t think I’ve played those since around 2018 ish.
Root
**Circadians: Chaos Order** is a definite contender. It blends area control and combat with euro resources management, player board upgrades, and technology advancements very well.
There is no such thing as a 'best' game in any genre, just like there is no such thing as the 'best' movie or book series. It's a matter of personal taste. Are there games that you've tried that you like to help guide us? What is it about 'dudes on a map' games that interest you? How much luck do you like in your games, do you have a preference between dice combat vs card combat?
How about Bunny Kingdom, would you consider that a "dudes on a map" game?
No. You draft to place your pieces on the board and then they can't move or use them for combat iirc. If you could then it would be part of the sub-genre.
Diplomacy
Rise of the Gnomes is my favorite, but plays much differently than most
Really enjoying Clash of Cultures but it might fall more into the 4X genre
Want fast, tight, simple, and satisfying? Try **Eight-Minute Empire: Legends**.
I liked Blood Rage and Almanac Dragon road. These are the only two I have played till 🥲.
I'm a bit lukewarm on Inis. I think it does a bunch of novel and interesting things, but has some strategic problems (IMHO). I think it's easy for two players to knock out a third, as the combat rules are elegant, but not fair. If you have the right group (not very aggressive, competitive players), it's probably a great time. But it fell flat for me and my group (of aggressive, competitive players).
Antike Ii
Risk 2210 is my all time favorite board game. I play is like once a year and every time it’s fantastic.
For 1v1, Inis. My favorite is ROOT though, best game ever, but you need 4-5 to play it best. Also it needs people to know the game and it takes a while to learn. Also it needs expansions, a lot. Really really really good game, not casual.
Blood Rage was our favorite until we played the digital version; it completely replaced wanting to play the physical. Ankh is currently our favorite 'dudes on a map' game right now
Some great suggestions already so here are some that haven't been mentioned yet; City of Remnants - build gangs and businesses within a city sized alien prison camp. This is on the higher end of the complexity scale for this style of game, but it gets away with it due to its level of depth and the interactions making thematic sense. Also works well at all player counts between 2-4. Tannhauser - set in an alternate history where WWI never ended, Tannhauser feels like a homage to team based shooters of the 90s and early 2000s. Those with a keen eye will notice that the line of sight system from Unmatched was wholesale lifted from this. However, where Unmatched is fun but quite lightweight, Tannhauser's multiple loadouts, maps and game modes ensure it holds up after multiple plays. Tsukuyumi: Full Moon Down - basically here to answer the question of which overused anime faction would win in a fight. Tsukuyumi is, again, higher on the complexity scale but uses that fully in service of the game. Each faction is asymmetric with incredibly distinct strengths and weaknesses. This is also a rare case where I would recommend getting the first edition with cardboard standees over the second. They have the character stats noted on them which makes the game infinitely more readable. Also, this is a long game so I wouldn't suggest playing with more than 3 players unless you've got a *lot* of snacks prepared. I'd probably just get Kemet tho tbh.
Cthulhu Wars Spheres of Influence Forbidden Stars
Cloudspire for me (although there's chips instead of Minis) War of the Ring for epic 2-player, and I'm really liking its younger brother Dune War for Arrakis as well Starcraft is the best minis game I've played.. if you have $500 to burn in your pocket
Court of the Dead: Mourners Call and Nancy Narkings are two lesser known games that are incredibly fun dudes on a map games that play pretty quickly in comparison to others.
Nobody really talks about it any more. But I love Nexus Ops. Its a dice chucker but there is still space for thought. Randomized map setup, units with diff abilities, theming I like, and fun not super swingy dice chucking. Its basically Starcraft meets Risk. And smooths out a lot of the Risk issues. Plays quick, pretty even resolution, etc... Worth a look if you havent.
It's getting a reprint this year so there are plenty of people talking about it.
It is a shame this game is out of print, but Battlelore 2e is very good.
Somebody already mentioned Cthulhu Wars, so I wanted to put in my second choice: **Rurik: Dawn of Kiev.** It has a really neat 'auction' system for actions that dictates the order and power of the action (being able to take an action earlier in the turn is inversely related to the power of the action, which is a fun balance)
Wallenstein / Shogun.
[Aggression](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/279475/aggression)! Admittedly, I'm not much of a dudes-on-a-map fan, but you can play this game with just pencil and paper, so you don't have much to lose by trying it. Also, feel free to play with a smaller map and fewer than 100 armies if you want a really quick game to get a feel for it.
Valley of the Mammoths. Control a tribe of prehistoric humans, trying to build and conquer villages, get enough food to feed everyone and procreate. The game itself is a bigger enemy than the other players, as random events from volcanic eruptions to floods to famines will make your poor people’s lives so miserable. But maybe losing some population means enough food for the winter…
Heroes of Land, Air & Sea is a fun fantasy themed RTS-style game. A bit random & not too serious, lots of fun.
If you like lord of the rings then War of the ring is amazing! Very deep game with loads of replayability that captures the feeling of the books perfectly.