Miniatures games are a form of wargame in which a battle is played out using small figures to represent the units involved. However, the defining feature of a miniatures game as opposed to a board game in which the pieces are miniatures is that there is no board. The game is played on a floor or table surface, movement of the pieces is measured using a tape-measure and the scenery in the game is represented by actual model scenery. In this respect miniatures wargames theoretically offer players and spectators more freedom of play and a more spectacular visual spectacle over traditional games. Whether all the game rules achieve this is debatable. Wargaming can be one of number of ways of exploring the effects of warfare without actual combat. ... A board game is any game played with a premarked surface, with counters or pieces that are moved across the board. ...

The miniatures and scenery used vary greatly in scale, from 10mm figures up to more conventional modelling scales. Usually, 15, 25 and 28mm are the most popular scales. Miniatures are either plastic or metal and are often sold unpainted. The scenery is often home-made. In this respect, miniatures gaming has a lot in common with the modelling hobby since participants usually like to paint their figures and will sometimes build their own scenery or even "convert" shop-bought figures to better represent the units they are trying to depict. Model may refer to more than one thing : For models in society, art, fashion, and cosmetics, see; role model model (person) supermodel figure drawing modeling section In science and technology, a model (abstract) is understood as an abstract or theoretical representation of a phenomenon,see; geologic modeling model (economics) model... Model may refer to more than one thing : For models in society, art, fashion, and cosmetics, see; role model model (person) supermodel figure drawing modeling section In science and technology, a model (abstract) is understood as an abstract or theoretical representation of a phenomenon,see; geologic modeling model (economics) model...

There are any number of sets of miniatures wargames rules, some of which are avaialable free on the internet. Board wargames often involve playing out historical scenarios and although some miniatures games encourage this, a more common approach is to depict historical troops fighting a made-up battle. There are also complete fantasy and science fiction games with attendant wizards, spacecraft and other cliches. Rules also vary in the scale they depict: one figure to one soldier is the most common, but many presume that one figure represents a platoon, squad or sometimes even larger formation on the tabletop. Jump to: navigation, search Look up fantasy on Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Albus Dumbledore, from the Harry Potter series, is a traditional wizard. ... Ariane 5 lifts off with the Rosetta space probe on March 2, 2004. ...

Some miniatures games have achieved widespread popularity. Of particular note are the Games Workshop games Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer Fantasy Battle and their miniatures game based on the popular Lord of the Rings licence. These games are popular enough that Games Workshop stores are now open in most big towns and cities in the US and UK. They have spawned a historical variant, Warhammer Ancient Battles. Also of note are the historical game De Bellis Antiquitatis aka DBA and it's associated games which have in turn given rise to a fantasy variant Hordes of the Things. Jump to: navigation, search The style of the Games Workshop logo is copied in the titles of many of their games Games Workshop is a British game production and retailing company. ... Jump to: navigation, search Example of Warhammer 40,000 miniatures Warhammer 40,000 (informally known as Warhammer 40K or just 40K) is a science fiction tabletop miniature wargame, produced by the British gaming company Games Workshop. ... Warhammer Fantasy Battle 6th edition rulebook Warhammer Fantasy Battles (often abbreviated as Warhammer or WHFB) is a tabletop wargame created by Games Workshop and set in the Warhammer Fantasy setting. ... Dust jacket of the 1968 UK edition The Lord of the Rings is an epic fantasy story by J. R. R. Tolkien, a sequel to his earlier work, The Hobbit. ... Jump to: navigation, search The style of the Games Workshop logo is copied in the titles of many of their games Games Workshop is a British game production and retailing company. ... De Bellis Antiquitatis or DBA is a fast play set of rules for the hobby of historical miniature wargaming, particularly medieval and ancient wargaming in the period 3000 BC to 1485 AD. These rules allow entire armies to be represented by less than 50 figures. ... DBA has several meanings: database administrator (or analyst) De Bellis Antiquitatis, a tabletop wargame. ... Hordes of the Things is a BBC radio comedy series parodying J. R. R. Tolkiens The Lord of the Rings, and the fantasy genre in general, in a style similar to The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ...