by If you’re like me and have been navigating the wargaming world for some years, you might have heard of “Malifaux”. Published in 2009, this atypical skirmish game that mixes steampunk, western and gothic horror is now in its third edition! That’s all well and good, but… is it for you ?
Scale and miniatures
First of all, this is a skirmish game in 32 mm scale. Which means you won’t have to assemble and paint tens of miniatures for your army. In a game of Malifaux, you command a dozen of characters who form your Crew, and this term is very well chosen (we’ll talk about this later). The miniatures are varied, all different and have a very distinctive style. You won’t feel like you’re painting the same miniature for the 40th time with the only difference being the lock of hair going to the left or right. Personally I’ve always been amongst those that see painting as a necessary evil than a part of the hobby, but those minies are so stylish that I was eager to paint them !
Characters at the core
Most Malifaux miniatures depict unique individuals, with their own capabilities and specific actions. Of course some characters are more generic, those are Minions and you can enlist from 1 to 3 of each but they usually won’t compose the bulk of your Crew. It feels more like leading a group of adventurers from a Role Playing Game than commanding a battlegroup of warriors with as much individuality as a collection of matching frying pans.
Playing with cards
Tired of blaming the dice for your bad rolls ? You can now blame the cards instead !
Using cards brings possibilities that dice just can’t provide, and it is at the core of the game mechanic. Each test (called a Duel) will have you flip a card from your deck (more than one if there are modifiers). You then add to the value of the card one of the character’s scores. Ok, so far, it is the same as with dice. It’s what comes next that is interesting. If the card you flipped does not suit your needs, you can replace it with one from the 6 you have in your hand! This is called Cheating Fate. Some abilities will ask that you or your opponent discard a card in hand. Those 6 cards are also a resource to manage.
If a deck of standard playing cards (jokers included) are all that is necessary to play, the game editor sells decks with suits that match the symbols (and values) of Malifaux! There is a set of cards for each faction, with depictions of the main characters of that faction. Others are meant to be more generic, not referring to any particular side or miniature. But be mindful that sturdiness amongst the sets is quite uneven. Some decks will require sleeves to be able to withstand heavy use.
We play a scenario, not a game of whack-a-mole
Characters are going to perish during a game, but violence is usually not aimless in Malifaux. It’s a means to an end. A game is won by having more Victory Points, half of which are determined by the scenario. The other half comes from 2 Schemes secretly chosen by each player from a randomly generated list. If some of those Schemes require eliminating or wounding an enemy miniature, others imply on the contrary that it stays alive until the end of the game. Finally, most of the Schemes are based on bringing a Crew member to a specific location on the board. Maybe you have to reach the enemy deployment zone, or both corners of the map, etc. A player can even win a game with no crewmember remaining!
ChimericDesignGames
The death toll can vary greatly depending on the Crews at play. We logically expect a carnage when a group of Marshals and exorcists lead by “Lady Justice” (a blindfolded woman handling a 2 handed sword, what could possibly go wrong ?) fights the Crew of “Seamus”. He’s that universe’s version of Jack the Ripper. He uses murder and necromancy as a hiring process … giving a very peculiar meaning to the term human resources. At least we figure it will be a lot less bloody when a team of lawyers, scribes and false witnesses recruited by a politician (“Lucius Mattheson”) encounters the journalists and the local press (literally, there is a steampunk printing press as a playable character) lead by their editor-in-chief (“Nellie Cochrane”). Less blood maybe, but as many victims…
You build your Crew based on your opponent’s leader
In Malifaux, you assemble your team after knowing the scenario and who is your opponent’s Master (the leader of the Crew). This particular point is probably irrelevant for a beginner. You can only take advantage of this feature once you have enough miniatures to create multiple Crews. Also you need to have some knowledge of the capabilities of the Masters. What that rule provides is to never have to play a game with a Crew ill suited for the scenario and/or enemy!
A rather simple ruleset, but with tactical depth
The core mechanics are stripped down. Each player activates a character at a time, and that miniature can take 2 regular actions (3 for Masters) and 1 bonus action. There are common actions: Walk, Charge, Disengage (leave melee combat), Focus (get a bonus for a future action), Assist (help an ally getting rid of a detrimental state) and Interact. That last one is used in relation with Schemes and scenario objectives. Then each character has their own set of actions described on the character’s card: either attacks or tactical actions. These last ones are the most varied in the game, as they can heal, inflict conditions or even move other miniatures.
These character-specific actions are what make the game shine, even with rather simple rules. They really give Malifaux its tactical dimension. Your Minion is too far to make that Interaction that will earn you the Victory Points to win the game ? What if you attacked him first with that other miniature of yours, who can push their target a few inches ? A good plan on paper, but your opponent might try and disable your Minion before you can activate them !
Like a heist
The best comparison I can find for a game of Malifaux is a heist. This is where we get back to that well chosen “Crew” term. You recruit your gang, your team based on the job at hand. Each member has a role to play so that the plan goes off without a hitch.
Depending on scenario, available Schemes, each player’s Master and the Crews composition, you might feel like playing something from a train attack to a bank robbery, or even a casino heist by a dozen thieves lead by a guy named Danny…
A downside however
There is something I have to mention that might tarnish this otherwise rather colourful depiction of Malifaux.
I mentioned “Seamus” earlier. Like his real-life counterpart, his victims are women and so are his undead minions and henchmen… And they are usually lightly dressed. This is not a unique case in the game range.
If the macabre and disturbing are fully justified in the partially gothic horror theme of the universe, and if on the other hand there are representations of women who have nothing to envy their male counterparts, certain representations and the theme of “Seamus” in particular will shock certain sensibilities and bring out in others (at least on the net) a form of misogynistic violence under the cover of humor.
Another character in the game dresses in an outfit that I would call at least an ‘ethnic caricature’. This form of everyday racism is unfortunately practically etched into the character’s history and style…
Your gaming environment is, I hope for you, more respectful of these issues than the dark corners of the web that I have read. If this is the case, or if the risk of being confronted with this kind of behavior is not enough to turn you away from it, I invite you not to ignore this otherwise wonderful game and universe.
Conclusion
by Customeeple
If the arguments in this article are tempting you, I encourage you to buy a steam train ticket to Malifaux and go through the portal to this other world!
Plus, you don’t need to invest to test it if you don’t know anyone around you who plays it: the rules are available in PDF for free and there is an application with the character sheets that doesn’t cost a kopeck either (and which allows you to manage your lists). All you will need is a deck of cards per person, and a few figurines and pawns.
There is even a Tabletop Simulator module that has everything you need to play!
