Fallout: Wasteland Warfare — Seven Years Later

In 2018, Modiphius Entertainment released the Fallout: Wasteland Warfare Starter Set, a 32mm miniature combat game set in the world of the Fallout game series. Since then, Modiphius has added ten waves of expansions, including content from Fallout 3, Fallout 4, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 76, and even most recently a ‘Hollywood Heroes’ set from the Fallout TV Show. So, is the game still good?

Why, yes, yes it is. 

I also can’t believe I have let seven years go by before I played it fully.

I know next to nothing about Fallout. I played some of Fallout 3, have seen tons of videos and memes, and have a general idea of it from random Fandom page reads over the years. The TV show I’ve been told is fantastic, so it’s in the queue but that’s as far as my fandom extends.  Despite my limited fandom connection to Fallout, this game got me more interested in the lore and world than anything else has previously. The co-op game mode and AI mechanics are shining jewels in today’s miniature game industry and it is what ultimately hooked me.

Let’s open the Vault (Starter Box)

Fallout: Wasteland Warfare Starter Box Contents

The two-player starter retails for just over $90, although you can find it on sale quite often. For that large sticker, you get the following:

• 13 Pre-Assembled Multi-Part Hardened PVC Miniatures!
  • 1x Aviator Head Super Mutant
  • 1x Super Mutant Brute
  • 1 x Standard Super Mutant
  • 2 x Super Mutant Hounds
  • 1x Nora (the Sole Survivor)
  • 1x Dogmeat
  • 1x Enslaved Tech Survivor
  • 2x Settlers (one male, one female)
  • 1x Brotherhood of Steel Aspirant in T-60 Power Armor
  • 1x Alien Zetan
  • 1x Deathclaw
  • 13x scenic bases (will be affixed to models)

• Over 120 cards, including: Unit, AI, Reference, Items, Boost, Heroic, Quest, Perk, Leader, Explore, Event, Wasteland and more!). Large (poker) size cards are 63.5 mm X 88.9 mm; Small (mini) size cards are 67 mm X 44mm.
• 10 custom dice, including: 1x White Skill dice d20, 1x Red Armor d12, 2x Black Damage d12, 2x Armor Reduction d12, 2x Green Accuracy d12, 2x Blue Special Effect d12
• 20 Scenarios: 5x Training missions following the Survivors and Super Mutants, 5x Tournament Missions, 5x AI Missions, 5x Narrative Missions
• Two die-cut counter sheets, including over 260 small counters, 60 large counters, two full sets of 6 cardboard range sticks, 
• 1x complete Rule Book (not just a starter rulebook!) and 1x Ways To Play Book including the Settlement, AI, and Campaign rules.
• A 3ft x 3ft two-part paper gaming mat of the area around the Red Rocket diner. (NOTE: the paper mat is only one-sided)
• Handy-dandy resealable plastic bags for storing your tokens (We used different storage for play purposes)

That is more than a good deal. You can get a lot of replay time out of just the starter set, extended by the different game modes, campaign, customization, and, of course, expansion packs. It’s designed for two players, but with the campaign mode, you could make it work with more players (although expansions are recommended). 

Fallout: Wasteland Warfare - Two Player Starter Set

Start a random mission with narrative-style objectives in this RPG wargame, search the wasteland for gear, weapons or caps. Miniatures, dice and the cards are fully assembled in the factory.

Modiphius EntertainmentModiphius Entertainment

I would also recommend watching any number of the ‘How to Play’ videos on YouTube. I watched about 5 or 6, and they were all good, each highlighting something the others missed. There are a lot of rules in the book, and the book is decently laid out, but it helped to watch playthroughs and the flows of turns and actions.

Token & Card Storage

Having your tokens organized definitely makes gameplay smoother and clean-up faster. While the baggies are nice, we opted for small bead and fishing containers to store our tokens. The bead organizer is really handy as each container can be taken out of the main holder.

I rarely don't sleeve my cards for games, and this game is no exception. The larger cards are standard card size (so like Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon, etc.), so any of those sleeves will be fine. The smaller cards need Mini Card Sleeves (45mm x 68mm). Once you sleeve the cards, however, they don't fit into the plastic tray, so I had to do some rearranging.

Fallout: Wasteland Warfare Companion App

One important game piece that’s not in the box is the Companion App. It serves as a user-friendly way to build rosters, keep track of expansions, and stay up-to-date with card errata. There is a lot of content on there, and it is basically required if you want to play with anything beyond the starter. 

You can either subscribe to the app on a monthly basis, or you do a one-time purchase of the cards for each wave release. I’m not the biggest fan of having an added cost above and beyond the expansion packs, especially since you have physical cards, but it does make sense if you have people just 3D printing pieces at home and using the app in lieu of box purchases.

Fallout: Wasteland Warfare Game Modes

PvP

To get a general idea of the game mechanics and rules, I played several games with my friend (who is a huge Fallout fan and had played the game previously). We started off with the combat arena mode, where you build a force, choose a scenario with an objective, and then go fight. This is a quick and easy way to just jump into the rules. 

Using the app, I built myself a 500-point Mutant force and my friend built a 500-point Survivors force. It was quite the game, and here are some of the highlights.

Survivors vs. Super Mutants Game Highlights

Using the tutorial scenario 2, Fort Davis, we had a fairly straightforward mission. The goal was simple: eliminate all opposing models or have the most collected items by the end of round 4. We set up the table to be the ruins of a small town and placed the tokens according to the scenario rules. Once the battlefield was set, we deployed our forces and jumped right in. 

As the mutant player, I opted to go for kills over tokens because, well, mutants. The Mutant Hounds immediately took off and tried to take down some survivors early, while the other mutants tactically moved up to try and get some shots in before engaging in close combat. While the strategy was sound, I erred on the assumption that Dogmeat was going to be easy to put down. My dice rolls were okay, and I survived some hits, but with the sharpshooter support of the Lone Survivor from a covered position, the dog was able to close the distance quickly and tear the mutant gunner to shreds. What a Good Boy!

By Round 3, some lighting appeared from the Event deck and some zapping helped the mutant dogs fell their quarry. The most uneventful/hilarious showdown was between the T-60 Power Armor and the Sledgehammer mutant. Failed charges and failed hits were the result of some gloriously awful dice rolls. It wasn’t until the Lone Survivor moved over to support the Power Armor that the mutant was finally killed. Dogmeat, the true MVP, met its end in Round 4, but it did some amazing work and kept the Mutant Pilot from doing anything productive.

The game ended in Round 4 with the survivors not only collecting the most items, but also putting down the most enemies. The Lone Survivor was a true kleptomaniac, collecting a total of six items. Only a few bad rolls (and a poorly timed move on my part) really affected the outcome; the game was engaging and exciting right through to the end of Round 4. 

Solo Play/Co-Op

This is what makes this game still shine after all of these years. While I do enjoy a good skirmish game, there are so many out there already that I just wouldn’t reach for this game for that mode. Back in 2018, I demoed the PvP mode at GenCon, but I also demoed Marvel: Crisis Protocol. I was able to get into the tactics of Marvel: Crisis Protocol faster than I was with Fallout: Wasteland Warfare, and so I just never gave it a second thought. However, I wasn't aware of the campaign/co-op mechanics, and it wasn't until much later that I learned of its inclusion into the game.

Co-Op (and Solo play) is one of the most streamlined co-op mechanics I’ve seen since I played Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures fan-made Heroes of the Aturi Cluster. If you are a Fallout fan, or even if you’re like me and not, the AI mechanics for the game are clever, simple, and logical. 

Co-Op Mission #3: The Water Treatment Plant

After my friend deftly defeated my super mutants, we decided to put aside our differences and instead join forces against the Super Mutants. Going off of the tutorial missions, we chose Mission#3: The Water Treatment Plant. Our objective was to defend a water pumping station against the mutant horde and here’s how that went.

It sounded simple: all we had to do was pump 30,000 gallons of water. The mutants needed to capture four survivors, which was a scenario-specific action. It seemed too easy...

The mutants bunched up at the bonus pumping station and we spread our survivors out to keep as many stations occupied as possible. In the first mutant move, the poor raider closest to them got swarmed. Now, because the raider was the poor worm on the hook, this freed up the rest of our survivors to go after the objectives which worked in our favor. The raider held out for a while actually, but when a spray-and-pray incident went horribly wrong, our Lone Survivor managed to (accidentally) put him out of his misery. Oddly enough this worked in our favor because it meant that there was one less model for the mutants to capture. 

The survivors played some zone defense and moved around the board to stay away from the mutants and keep the pumps running. Dogmeat jumped into the fray, held its own for a bit, but got the beatdown within a turn. We decided we wanted to keep the mutants locked down in their corner, so we threw yet another body at the problem, leaving the raider and Lone Survivor to finish the pumping. 

A last-minute dodge by the Lone Survivor and a powerhouse swing by the surviving raider allowed the Survivors to activate the last pumps of water they needed in Round 5. The action happened immediately due to the placement of the mutants, and honestly made the mission that much more challenging and exciting!

Fallout: Wasteland Warfare Campaign

Even further beyond the solo/co-op play is the Campaign. Within the campaign, players gain weapons, objects, and upgrades throughout their missions, which they can manage through their Settlement between turns. Either solo or co-op, you can play through a series of missions, tracking the outcomes, and determining what happens next and which missions are played based on the previous game’s results. 

While we did not get around to playing the campaign, this looks like a fantastic way to get more mileage out of just the starter box. It does seem to play more like a combat-driven RPG, so if that’s not really your brand of Nuka-Cola, you can always check out the Fallout: Role-Playing Game.

Fallout: Wasteland Warfare Painted Miniatures Showcase

I would like to take just a moment to showcase the amazing painting that my friends have done for their Fallout: Wasteland Warfare miniatures. We were able to play with the painted Raiders as proxies for the core set figures (because painted minis are always cooler). Ronn did a fantastic job capturing the dust and grime of the Wasteland on these pieces. 

While she didn't get play time on the table time , another amazingly painted piece is the super-mutant Tabitha. An amazing sculpt, but the paint work done by Allie on this piece is absolutely superb. She stands out so well on the board, and not just because of her beautiful golden orange locks. 

Beyond the Fallout: Wasteland Warfare Starter

You may have noticed a lot of sweet-looking terrain on the board we played on. Anytime you can immerse yourself more in the game, it’s going to make for a better experience. There is a massive amount of terrain out there, free and for sale, that fits perfectly into the atompunk wasteland of Fallout.

A quick Google search will show you some of the amazing maps and play areas that players have created, using 3D printers, MDF terrain, and even some grimdark set pieces to accent the desolate feel of the Wasteland. 

Additionally, Modiphius has its own licensed terrain that you can purchase, which is frankly just amazing.

3D Printing and STLs

Whenever possible, I try to print off terrain that fits the game I’m getting into. Fallout: Wasteland Warfare allows for a pretty broad range of terrain to be printed and used, including things like piles of tires, barrels, corrugated metal walls, junk piles, brick walls, and concrete barricades… You get the idea. 

The generic, post-apocalyptic stuff can be found on your favorite .stl download site (usually free, too). Modiphius has its own licensed terrain, which you can buy directly from their site. You will need a 3D printer, or have a friend with one, to print off the pieces. They have a free sample pack that you can download and use as scatter terrain, which is what I did.  My friend had purchased the Humble Bundle below, and so I was able to print off a few additional pieces from that. 

More Fallout: Wasteland Warfare content - Free Scenarios, rulebooks, updated cards, and more:

If you want to stretch your starter set even further, Modiphius has free PDFs to download with more scenarios, updated rules, and more in-game content that you can use to extend your playing experience

You can get the updated cards on the app, which display neatly and easily. However, they are free to download on Modiphius’s website and can be printed if that’s preferred. There is also an amazing dice conversion sheet if you need to use additional dice or have some lucky d12s you can’t play without.

Fallout: Wasteland Warfare Second Edition - Coming 2026

So how about this Second Edition? After seven years, ten waves of products, a Vault’s worth of new cards, new rules… yeah, things tend to mucky and need some cleanup. By comparison, X-Wing lasted six years before it got its contested, but much needed, Second Edition launch. Warhammer has new editions every three or four years. So, seven years later is when Fallout: Wasteland Warfare is getting a new edition? Yes, that’s normal, and honestly pretty welcomed.

While the starter box in a vacuum works really well, it was clear in the co-op mission that newer pieces just naturally shine a little more. Older stuff becomes less good in favor of selling newer, better stuff. If you’re just playing at home, this really is a non-issue. But for the competitive PvP world, game balance is incredibly important and has to be tended to and cared for with each new release. 

There is a lot that’s changing in the Second Edition. In June 2025, Modiphius announced the new edition and covered some of what the changes were. You can watch the full announcement here: 

Some of the highlights are: Character Creation and removal of cards, new AI system, no more range rulers (will just be tape measures but I like the range rulers just fine), dice being reworked and red/blue dice being removed entirely, rework/consolidation of tokens (since the the board fills up quickly), and new expansion packs. The old models are still usable, but newer models will be Heroic 32mm, meaning the heads/hands/weapons are larger in scale to accent them more for the tabletop.

Check out our announcement article here!

There are some decent breakdowns and discussions on Reddit and BoardGameGeek if you want to dive more into it.

I am looking forward to the Second Edition because I don’t want to chase down cards, pay for them on the app, or feel like I need to have every expansion in order to have the "complete game." At one point, the Star Wars: X-Wing Miniature Game suffered from a problem wherein players needed to buy an entire expansion pack to get one upgrade card for a ship; that was great for sales, but not great for playing. Especially if those expansion were out of stock. For Fallout: Wasteland Warfare there are several expansions and figures that seem to be out of stock or very hard to find, and so I'm looking forward to their rerelease in Second Edition.

Or maybe we’re going to get the option to buy .stl files of the figures?

Fallout: Wasteland Warfare - To Be Continued

If you haven’t heard of this game, it’s probably because this is a perfect game for at-home play. Unlike Warhammer, Star Wars: Legion, or Bolt Action, this game doesn’t require having a large gaming community at your local FLGS to support it and thus doesn’t get a lot of showcase at the game store. There are probably a lot of friend groups, especially Fallout fans, who own this game and play the occasional campaign or co-op mission when they’re chilling at home. You’re just not going to see it in the store as much because it’s on the kitchen counter.

I demoed this game back in August 2019 at GenCon. There were already a lot of expansions out by that time, but what caught my eye was the terrain. I remember enjoying the demo, but as it is with con demos, you hardly remember the rules, and I didn’t pick up anything there. It was also the same year Marvel: Crisis Protocol was released. Being a huge Marvel fan, I naturally gravitated towards that and passed on getting into Fallout: Wasteland Warfare. 

I am very excited to paint up the 'Hollywood Heroes' expansion, which includes Lucy, The Ghoul, Maximus, and CX404 on scenic bases. The expansion pack includes rules and content for their inclusion into the game, and I can't wait to see how they do!

Fallout: Miniatures - Hollywood Heroes (Amazon TV Show Tie-In)

This miniatures set ties-in to Amazon’s Fallout TV series and includes rules for use with Fallout: Factions and Fallout: Wasteland Warfare! ‘War... War Never Changes.’ It doesn’t matter where you go in the Wasteland, even in the most remote places people of repute can be found carving out their stories amidst the most

Modiphius EntertainmentModiphius Entertainment

Have you played Fallout: Wasteland Warfare yet? Let us know! Follow Gaming Trend for more Learn to Paint and Fallout: Wasteland Warfare articles. We’d love to see how you painted up your models so share your work with us in the comments or find us on Instagram!