Grimdark Future redux | Fortified Niche playtest!

Back in 2021, when me and Cassa were still dangerously wet behind the ears, we started Fortified Niche with an episode on Grimdark Future. It was done without any playtesting – something that may actually be useful when you’re judging rules for tabletop miniature wargames. That’s why we made a redux episode to check out the game with more expert eyes.

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Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader preview | Profit factor go up!

Fantasy Flight Games’ Rogue Trader TTRPG looked beautiful but was mechanically terrible. And that was only partially due to the Warhammer Fantasy RPG engine not being able to handle automatic firearms. However, with the license now in the claws of Owlcat Games, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader the CRPG seems like it’s going to both look cool and play well.

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Xenos Rampant | Fortified Niche playtest!

When worlds collide, new rulesets emerge! Such is the tale of medieval Lion Rampant getting adapted into fantasy Dragon Rampant which in turn evolved into Xenos Rampant, a skirmish miniature game of sci-fantastic battles for nearly any miniature that you have!

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Muskets & Tomahawks 2E | Fortified Niche playtest!

What if you set out to make black powder game that isn’th set during the Napoleonic Wars OR American Civil War? Then you’d get something like Muskets & Tomahawks 2E, a title concerned with small skirmishing actions in the French-Indian War, American War of Independence, the War of 1812 and… damn it, it does have a Napoleonics supplement!

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Warhammer 40,000: Tacticus review | The Grind Darkness

When I finally got into the Warhammer 40,000: Tacticus beta pre-launch, Snowprint Studios hadn’t yet replaced their standard intro. So my GRIM DARK tactics were always preceded by a cheerfully smiling snowflake accompanied by a fairy-like “ding!” I thought that was funny.

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Reality’s Edge | Fortified Niche Playtest!

What if the Goons4Hire4U gig economy app from the third season of Westworld was the premise behind a whole game? That’s what Reality’s Edge tries to tackle by updating the cyberpunk future to match more modern depressing trends.

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Pulp Alley | Fortified Niche playtest!

I was born too late and in a country that never had a tradition of pulp fiction. Most of the Lithuanian writing at the time was focused on being depressing, mourning the decline of countryside and/or (later on) Soviet propaganda. This explains why I mixed up pulp and men’s adventure magazines while reviewing Pulp Alley!

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Infamy, Infamy! | Fortified Niche playtest!

TooFatLardies loom large in the indie game scene, relentlessly producing games that scratch the historical itch without devolving into rivet counting. And with Infamy, Infamy!, the Lardies take their talents to Rome!

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Cold War Commander 2E | Fortified Niche playtest!

There is a real scarcity of Cold War models on Tabletop Simulator, so a couple of podcasters had to make do. Especially since they’re reviewing Cold War Commander 2nd edition, a game that demands you bring post-WW2 kit to the field!

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