Grimdark Future by One Page Rules (OPR) is the best known free alternative to Warhammer 40,000, a set of rules for fighting 28mm scale sci-fi battles that can be condensed onto a single sheet of paper. Though you can play the game with any models you like, the OPR already makes digital miniatures for fans to 3D print at home – and now it has revealed real plastic miniatures that will be available in the game’s upcoming Broken Truth starter set.
Grimdark Future began life as OnePage40k, a name that tells you most of what you need to know about it. This free, stripped back ruleset was much simpler than Warhammer 40k, and though players needed to have an army, they didn’t have to shell out for a Warhammer 40k Codex on top of the core rulebook to play a game.
When One Page Rules launched a Patreon to crowdfund digital miniature sculpts for the game in 2017, it graduated from fan project to indie game, and dropped the explicit association with Warhammer 40k – hence the name Grimdark Future.
Now OPR is gearing up for a Gamefound campaign to fund the production of a physical two-player starter set. While the launch date for the campaign isn’t confirmed, on Thursday the studio revealed something surprising: everything is in place to start producing the starter set miniatures right now.
An update on the Gamefound campaign states “we have been working behind the scenes for months to get all the miniatures production-ready”, adding that the studio has “invested in creating all the molds before even launching the campaign”. The video below shows production samples shipped from the factory, and OPR says they represent the final models that backers will receive, except that “non-infantry models won’t be glued to their bases”.
The models are made in PVC, aka ‘soft plastic’. I haven’t handled these figures specifically so can’t speak to their quality. But if the only PVC miniatures you know are the bendy ones, like the the mid-2000s DnD minis or board game minis, you should be aware that the technology has matured a lot – it’s fine for miniature wargames figures now, provided you’re happy using superglue to stick it together.
OPR adds that it’s “in the final stages of prototyping with our production partners” for all the other parts of the project, from the starter set boxes to dice towers. And the molds are ready for miniatures that come in the optional add-on packs for the crowdfunder.
Front-loading production like this represents a major investment from OPR – PVC miniatures need steel molds, which cost tens of thousands of dollars each – but should substantially shorten the timeline for delivering this project, and reduce the risks of it running into trouble. It’s a bullish statement. You only invest that much money up front if you’re certain the campaign will fund.
OPR has toed a delicate line with its relationship to Warhammer 40k over the years, as it attempts to make miniatures that will look right alongside Warhammer 40k factions – since that’s what a lot of people use to play Grimdark Future – without violating GW copyright, and while trying to establish an original intellectual property. The investment in a physical starter set feels, in part, like an effort to increase the credibility, visibility, and independence of the OPR brand.
If you’re already an avid OPR player, come and join us in the Wargamer Discord community and tell us all about it. It’s not a game that I’ve personally played, but I’m keen to learn more about it and what makes it so popular – other than the price, of course.