Been a fan of x-wing for almost two years now. I would say it's the longest any "hobby" or game has held my attention. Also was the first game to bring me into a LGS = FLGS to play with people I didn't know who ended up becoming friends and a consistent player-base.

As we have been playing x-wing in the store, there are tables nearby where people are playing or have setup up other miniature wargames like warhammer 40K, etc.

All this has made me interested in miniature wargaming but between career and young kids i don't have the time to do time-consuming tasks like painting models.

Is there a mini-wargame set that plays well with pre-painted models where all i have to do is buy the game, read the rules, then play (like x-wing)?

bonus if the game is actually fun and popular.

Thanks for looking!

I'd say the most obvious choice is the WW1 or WW2 version of "Wings of Glory". It is sort of like a simpler version of X-Wing...kinda.

There is no concept of pilot skill, nor 'actions', and you plot your maneuvers using cards (which also execute the maneuver) rather than dials+templates. Also, you have to plot your maneuvers several turns in advance (the cards make a 'maneuver queue' easy to use). Oh, and no dice.

So...not really much like X-Wing at all, but they have as vaguely similar feel to the play, more or less.

And, yeah, both versions come with pre-painted models.

(There is also a more complex naval game "Sails of Glory" by the same designer as "Wings of Glory". Pre-painted minis, there, too.)

STAR TREK ATTACK WING is very good if you love X-WING. The models are not as nice and not in scale, but the actual game is fun. Just keep it at home or with good friends and you will have a ball with it.

Imperial Assault might fill the niche for what you are looking for. The minis aren't painted but you don't need to paint them to play with them. There are also two modes to play the game in, Campaign and Skirmish.

Skirmish is the version of the game most like X-Wing. Campaign is kind of like playing D&D where one player runs the scenario and all the bad guys and the other players (up to 4) run Rebel heroes. The nice thing about Campaign is that only one person needs to own the game.

Wings of Glory ( WW I and WWII airplane dogfighting game) uses the same mechanics as X wing. X wing was an offshoot of this game.

Sails of Glory is a 18th century naval combat game that uses the same movement mechanics as X wing. I am very interested in this game though I haven't gotten any pieces yet.

Star Trek Attack Wing - Basically the same game as x wing but with different flavor. Attack mechanics are different and most people see this game as unbalanced due to Wizkids lack of concern for game balance.

Dungeons and Dragons Attack Wing - Same mechanics as X wing but with D&D fantasy flavor. Dragons, hobgoblins etc... I enjoy this game very much and Wizkids has not screwed overall game play up yet. Wizkids has this annoying thing were many models are released only at organized play events, so that can make keeping up with collecting an issue.

Edit Note - These games all have prepainted figures. Their top selling point for me.

Like Xanderf said, there are Wings (and Sails) of Glory, which are historical wargames very similar to X-Wing in a lot of ways. good quality miniatures and pre-paint jobs, but they come at the hobby from a historical perspective. There are no point values or the like nor rules for defined factions (although that is obviously easy to determine) for creating balanced game matches. Players are apparently expected to be familiar with the historical setting and capabilities of the craft and be able to construct scenarios on their own. Its always been one of the major reasons I don't like historical wargames, but if that doesn't bother you...

Fantasy Flight, of course, has Star Wars Armada in addition to x-Wing. It is a much bigger, more complicated rules set for capital ship engagements. Has a bigger start up cost than X-Wing but probably won't be much more expensive in the long run.

There is also DUST. FFG published it for a while. Alternate Weird World War setting. I'm not sure what the current status of it is right now.

Wizkids does Star Trek & D&D Attack Wing and assorted HeroClix games. The problem here is that Wizkid's models tend to be mediocre to horrible and their rules start out OK but rapidly degenerate due to power creep and bad playtesting. They also hand out prize support at tournaments that are deliberately overpowered, so that someone who doesn't regularly make the major tournaments has very little chance against someone who does. Also, Attack Wing is basically just a clone of X-Wing with some tweaks

Privateer Press used to have Monsterpocalypse. A fantastic game of giant monsters rampaging though a city. PP still have it listed on their web site, but nothing has been done with it for years and it is basically dead. Lots of fun though. If it is just you and some friends that will play, might be worth picking up discount stuff. It really was a fun game.

The basic rule set for Sails of Glory are really easy. The advanced rules add more depth.

It's no where near as popular as xwing but the first run sold out, and the minis are prepainted.

Dust is done. Miniature market had them all 80% off to close out and FFG is dropping the game.

Crimson Skies - The classic Version (FASA), if you can still find it.

Dieselpunk. Hexfields. Instead of a Maneuver Wheel you have a template to choose your maneuvers from. Lot's of planes with distinct characteristics. Pilot creation. Different weapons and ammunition. Air Mines. Harpoons. Blimps. 10sided dice. Simultaneous movement. No out of activation movement. Also quite balanced.

Come to Armada (we have prepainted star destroyers )

i.t.o just buy the game, read the rules, and play; Armada has everything you could ask for

it plays pretty dang differently from X-wing, though.

The basics of 1.) maneuver in specific, template-restricted ways and 2.) you can't stand still without losing something are still there. There are also firing arcs (there are four arcs per capital ship, but they're differentiated by the number of dice they pack and what range you can use said dice in; so a Victory Star Destroyer is monstrous from the front and at close-medium range; but a limp willy at long range or from the sides; especially from the butt) and ship customization through upgrades (with unique titles largely taking the place of Named Pilots for capital ships)

apart from that, though, the game is substantially different (especially when you factor in squadrons and their mechanics). Mechanics such as captial ships shooting before moving, and alternating activation (players take turn activation capital ships, starting with the player that has initiative; pilot skill does not exist) really stresses forethought/out-predicting your opponent. This contributes to a wildly different atmosphere than X-wing, but hey you gotta expect that out of a different game.

if there is one change that can be marked as an objective improvement, however, it's the omission of green dice for reliable defensive tokens

Dust is pretty much done, but it was still worth playing. You can pick up a ton of models really cheap, it's fast, and the story is good. You could also give Malifaux a look. It has mini's to paint, but just a few per army, plus there are no dice, you use cards.

Space Hulk (board game version of aliens the film)? BloodBowl (fantasy board game version of American football with orcs/elves/dwarves/humans etc)? Imperial assault (see other posts above)?

None takes long to play and with limited numbers of miniatures needed won't cost a lot either. Although not pre-painted this isn't essential...

There are dozens more of which I have much more limited experience such as dead of winter, zombiecide etc again which may be of interest.

If lack of required painting/speed of play are actually more important than miniatures check out card games (LCG's like 40k conquest and the Star Wars LCG are both great and the artwork is excellent-enough not to miss painted mini's in my opinion...)

Dang! Can't believe I missed Armada!

Not gunna re-hash posts above like fickle's post but Armada is also a great game and can have an x-wing feel if you involve enough fighter squadrons whilst being a completely different game to play. As with x-wing you can play effectively buying everything or being very selective and buying very little... Another great playing FFG game

Wings of War, now Wings of Glory, is, as mentioned above, pretty close. With the World War One version each player plots three maneuver cards that are played out in sequence during a turn. Some cards restrict what maneuver can follow, so there is a bit of guessing and planning involved. In the World War Two version, you plot a card, play a card, then move the plotted card into space one, and repeat. An interesting twist to the WWII version is speed change, with each card having two arrows, one for slow speed, and one for fast.

The WWI version has a pretty big following (though no where near as large as X-Wing), and a really helpful forum where people show their repaints and their Shapeways minis and come up with scenarios, campaigns, et cetera. There is even one guy who builds zeppelins (though at a slightly different scale so they'll fit on a table).

There are also really big bombers, both German...

British...

and Italian,

as well as flying boats!

While there isn't an official point value scheme, the game's author has posted one on the forum. For more info check www.wingsofwar.com.

The game is a step or three above a beer and pretzels game. It's fun, and has some detail and optional rules, but the basics can be grasped quickly. As an added bonus, a one-on-one dogfight can last as little as a half an hour. At the game store where we play, we usually have about four on a side, and can get in about three games in three hours.

Dust is cool if you like WW2. The Miniatures are amazing for the price poi t in plastic. Game is simple and easy to pick up and like Xwing Squad building is the emphasis.

Star trek attack wings is...well just awful. Stay away from it unless you like playing an unbalanced mess of a game. It looks like Xwing but it is not, it is inherently broken, which is fairly typical for a WK game. If it had been done like Armada it could have been a decent game, but as is, it's a trap!

Imperial Assault is awesome. It plays fast and dirty, and the more you play it the more you really love it. Squad building and command deck construction make that game crazy, love it!

I wish we had a non-collectible pre-painted minis version of BattleTech.

I wish we had a non-collectible pre-painted minis version of BattleTech.

WK had one; the minis were ok, but rules degenerated into a horrific morass of 'retired' and legal minis.

One of the things I love about x-wing is that they aren't retiring models, and keep them relevant with upgrades

There were a number of collectable miniatures games that came with pre-painted minis. Most of which are now defunct but you may be able to pick up sets on ebay etc.

MechWarrior: Dark Age. Giant robots and combined arms set in the battletech universe.

Dungeons and Dragons Miniatures. Fantasy grid based skirmish game

Star Wars Miniatures. The same thing but in star wars.

Lord of the Rings tradable miniatures game. The same again but in LotR and hex based.

Crimson skies. Has been mentioned and has both a foot and plane based component.

Other ones that are still around

Car Wars. A classic but uses cardboard cut-outs rather than full minis.

Hero Clicks: various genre

Also, don't rule out other great board games such as Talisman.A great game with minimal start up cost or painting time. I'm sure the lads and lasses of these forums could recommend a plethora of other board games which are great.

If you liked older games like Hero Quest and Space Crusade, Imperial Assault might be a good game for you.

There are simply so many good games out there .. and so little time to play them.

Hawkstrike, on 29 Jul 2015 - 5:43 PM, said:

I wish we had a non-collectible pre-painted minis version of BattleTech.

Yes to this.

You also have the old standby, D&D (Dungeons and Dragons). Or any of the dozens of RPG type games. A starter runs 20 bucks or so and has everything needed to get you going. And since the game runs with generic types (human fighter, Elf Wizard, Dwarf with Axe, Thief, etc) you can use ANY miniature you want to represent your characters.

Many good suggestions. I'll echo a few:

Wiz Kids has Star Trek Attack Wing, and DnD Attack Wing - both are very similar to X-Wing, in fact they use the same flight path system. They are made by Wiz Kids though, so don't expect game balance to last very long.

From FFG you have both Imperial Assault, and Armada.

Imperial Assault doesn't come pre-painted, but it's such a high quality game and you can run a campaign OR do skimishes - and the core game comes with SOOOO much stuff you can make TONS of different lists without having to buy any expansions. It's EASILY the best value for how much variety you get.

Armada is a huge improvement over many parts of X-Wing. It's more expensive though, and the squadrons aren't prepainted, though the huge capital ships are. Armada is more strategic than X-Wing, at least from the perspective of being a fleet commander vs doing dogfights. It is different enough from X-Wing though, that you can own and LOVE both games. (I do, and I love to play both for different reason - and get generally the same quality from both).

Thanks for everyone's advice/insight into all these great games. As much as I love all-things-star wars. I was thinking of trying something in a different flavor. Will definitely look into monsterpocalypse (though seems less popular these days) and maybe sails of glory. Armada may pull me in once I have the option of commanding a super star destroyer -though that model may be bigger than the play mat...

Privateer Press used to have Monsterpocalypse. A fantastic game of giant monsters rampaging though a city. PP still have it listed on their web site, but nothing has been done with it for years and it is basically dead [*]. Lots of fun though. If it is just you and some friends that will play, might be worth picking up discount stuff. It really was a fun game.

Will definitely look into Monsterpocalypse (though seems less popular these days) and maybe sails of glory.

*That conclusion and attitude of the default gaming society always annoys the heck out of me, as this is pretty much an ouroboros: a snake eating its own tail. ("Producer announces no NEW items, community says: "Oh it's dead" and leaves for another fix, producer thus reduces output due to lower sales!").

Privateer Press is still producing the items listed, it just considers the game with all its elements as COMPLETE!

Which is a good thing, if you ask me, because it prevents toppling over a working game system with a release bloat and weapons arms race just to satisfy the consumers greed for some new shinies.

Sometimes it's nice to buy into stuff by knowing you can complete your collection - especially if that system you want to buy in, is designated to be just a side-system or extended boardgame...!

*That conclusion and attitude of the default gaming society always annoys the heck out of me, as this is pretty much an ouroboros: a snake eating its own tail. ("Producer announces no NEW items, community says: "Oh it's dead" and leaves for another fix, producer thus reduces output due to lower sales!"). Privateer Press is still producing the items listed, it just considers the game with all its elements as COMPLETE

Oh, and when asked about the game, PP employees say "I'm not allowed to talk about that"

The common hypothesis is that, when the property was licensed by new line for a movie deal, that the fine print in some way screwed over PP or somehow torpedoed development and the decided to let the game lie fallow until the license expired. Been a long time since then though.

It's a fantastic game, one of my all time favorites, and I absolutely love the little buildings, but as far as active support goes, there isn't any, and that is most certainly not because players left. There was still a community clamoring for them to finish the second block for years after the last product was released.

Doesn't mean you can't play it with friends though, your just unlikely to get a pick up game with strangers unless you work to build up a player base.