Review of Void: Battles With Miniatures

Void: Battles With Miniatures is a tabletop miniature skirmish game by I-Kore. The game has been out for several months and has a well-developed and growing line of miniatures to support it. Players may choose any of five armies, four human and one alien to represent them on the field of battle.

Viridians are the standard human fare and boast a respectable Marine-based military. Junkers are penal legions that feature lizard-riding troops and explosive-carrying suicide squads. VASA is a militaristic government entity with specialized bikers and jet-pack soldiers. The Syntha are machine/human hybrids who excel at biotechnology. Last are the alien Koralon who resemble snake-like amphibians.

The rules are well thought out and provide players with some new twists on miniature games. I-Kore army lists allow different armies to field some basic troops in common, which means that if you decide to go with a particular army, say, after you have bought marines, you will likely be able to use most, if not all, of those troops in your new selection. All human armies may use basic marines, junker convicts and syntha androsynth troops in common.

Second, the game focuses on skirmish battles. This means that you don't have to buy $10,000 worth of figures just to have enough points to play for an afternoon. Starter army boxes contain enough points to field a decent little force for about the same price for a squad in other game systems.

My other favorite point about the game is the game turn sequence. Turns are broken down into phases and players must roll for initiative to see who gets to use a unit (Note: I did not say entire army!) first. Players take turns activating units and this makes for a much more free-flowing game. Instead of watching an entire army moved before your eyes, you can react to your enemy's actions almost as they happen.

Overall, VOID is a great game with a great future. I would recommend it to anyone who is tired of the status quo or who has been reluctant to try mini-wargaming.