If you've ever wanted to try a wargame but bounced off a rulebook the size of a phone directory, Relicblade is the antidote. It's a fantasy skirmish game by Sean Sutter at Metal King Studio: two to four players, a small party of models each, and a game that runs about half an hour. You can learn it in one sitting.

"A great concise and beautifully illustrated rule book, and a fantastically well paced skirmish game. The creator has managed to avoid the trap that a lot of game designers fall into, which is mistaking complexity for depth. Relicblade is detailed and allows for tactical role playing while not getting you bogged down in the rules."

Joseph C., verified review on The Seeker's Handbook

What you need

A game needs a handful of models (four to six a side), their character and upgrade cards, a few six-sided dice, a tape measure, and a two-foot square of table. Terrain makes it better but isn't required.

• Starter set: the Storms of Kural Two Player Battle Set gives two players everything to start.
• Rules: Relicblade: The Seekers Handbook, 2nd edition, for when you want to go deeper.

How a game works

Play runs in rounds, and each round has three steps.

1. Initiative: decide who goes first.
2. Activation: take turns activating one character at a time. When a character activates, it gets a pool of action dice to spend on moving, attacking, and everything else. Each action is a dice roll against a target number.
3. Recovery: knocked-out characters get a chance to come back.

Combat is quick. Roll to Attack with a melee or ranged action (your character’s card will tell you what you need to roll), the attacker rolls damage, and the defender rolls to soak it, and any leftover damage fills the character's health boxes. Fill the last one, and they're disabled, though they may recover the next round.

Try it before you buy anything

Metal King Studio put out a free quickstart, so you can play a game before you spend a penny. Grab that, set up a small skirmish, and you'll have the loop down in a game or two.

→ Official learn-to-play and quickstart

Why we stock it

I stock Relicblade because Sean Sutter has created a world filled with incredible miniatures and art and has managed to design a game that's easy to teach and quick to play. A small warband is far less daunting to paint than a full army. The models are a real pleasure to paint, too: characterful sculpts with enough detail to be interesting without becoming a chore. Painting the Lone Guard Faction was the first time I actually enjoyed painting a face! If you want a reason to pick up a brush, this is a good one.

What next?

• Want to paint your warband first? Never painted before.
• Browse the range: Relicblade.

Grab the quickstart, rope in a friend, and see if it clicks. What would your first warband be?