British miniature manufacturer Spartan Games has joined the steampunk trend with the table-top miniatures war game Dystopian Wars. Set in an alternate history version of the Victorian era, the game offers an integrated system for creating battles at sea, in the air, and later this year on land as well.
Dystopian Wars was first released in England late last year, with limited and somewhat spotty distribution in the US during the first quarter of 2011.
The initial release includes a core rulebook, an optional deck of game cards which add random “fog of war” events, and a variety of naval and air ships for each of the four starting factions. A “Battle Group” set provides a starting point for each faction, and can be expanded by adding additional independent models.
Described as “a world similar to our own, but subtly different,” Dystopian Wars joins the growing genre of steampunk-themed games. The backstory opens with the discovery of radically different technology from a secret location in the Antarctic, leading to the creation of massive machines of war. Four factions are currently available: the Kingdom of Britannia, the Prussian Empire, the Blazing Sun, and the Federated States of America. Future releases will present other nationalities, with the Republic of France expected to be the first.
The models themselves are cast in resin with additional metal features. The sculpts have a heavy, industrial look, with a good level of detail and imaginative style. They involve numerous small pieces, so some assembly is required, and come unpainted.
Dystopian Wars is not the first miniatures game released by the young Spartan Games. Their earlier titles include the fantasy naval game The Uncharted Seas, and the science-fiction space combat game Firestorm Armada.
