Tanks for the Fun in Hogs of War: The Miniatures Game
Plot an ambush on the enemy’s tank patrol route with another exciting mission in Hogs of War: The Miniatures Game.
Onto another mission! The campaign takes place over a series of solo scenarios in Hogs of War: The Miniatures Game, where elements carry over between plays. Upgrades remain, and there is an overarching currency, or hogtags, to track overall performance. Fun times! I eagerly got ready for a new scenario with lots of armored cars and tanks to destroy!
Game Overview
Game Name: Hogs of War: The Miniatures Game
Publication Year: 2022
Designers: Paul D. Allen and James Faulkner
Artists: James Churchill and Raben White
Publisher: Stone Sword Games
Solo Mode: Included in Hogs of War: Team Lard
Over the course of each mission, the solo opponent has clear orders about acting on the battlefield. There are units to deploy of different types, while dice provide the ultimate outcomes. Yet there are plenty of strategies to try out, especially with the very different missions!
First Play
December 31, 2022
Complexity
3
Latest Play
January 19, 2023
Expansions
2
Setup Time
15 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
4
Play Time
1 Hour & 10 Minutes
High Score
N/A
Game Area
46" x 32"
Low Score
N/A
Defensive Patrols
The solo opponent began with entirely defensive behavior. Not surprising, considering this was a mission to destroy their tanks and armored cars on the patrol road!
That was no easy task, though, yet I was excited to have access to deployables. Besides, I learned my ground units could do some vehicle damage from the last mission.
All exciting times! Although I had to be extra careful to stay out of range… Those defensive attacks were rough!
Note, too, that units flip back and forth between defensive and aggressive all throughout the battle.
Stolen Vehicles
My goodness! In the first mission, there were suspicious handshakes with the enemy forces. The little Calico Critters piglets looked like they were off the battlefield.
Naturally, I turned around and the solo opponent’s tanks disappeared. I found them, careening around the roads with some unlicensed drivers. What a sight!
Even their mother couldn’t keep up when an armored car took off and nearly crashed at the first intersection.
No one was injured, and the piglets scurried off. I’m fairly certain they’ll be around for every single mission. Ha ha!
Ready for Deployables
I enjoyed the way these missions sort of eased into gameplay. Deployables weren’t a thing during the first mission, but I could see how I would need them here!
Artillery and minefields would be necessary to take out the vehicles. Positioning them was the trick, as were all of the actions needed to complete construction.
Swill, shown by the red barrels here, isn’t used in the solo missions, yet construction time is still required.
So I had to decide to press forward or build up excellent defenses near the end of the patrol route. Interesting!
Under Construction
The early rounds saw plenty of ground units proceed north to guard against the enemy. A large contingent traveled near the road to get rolling on major defenses.
Artillery straddled the road, providing a pretty excellent area for crossfire. However, there were specific attack patterns. So this wasn’t a guaranteed assault.
As a final backup, a minefield was placed further south. It was the last chance to catch a fleeing vehicle on patrol.
I felt pretty good about this strategy, even though I wasn’t entirely sure if it would work. Only one way to find out!
Learning by Playing: A Welcome Process
In most cases with a new solo game I plan to play, my first order of business is to read through the entire rulebook. I learn best through reading, so this is usually a great experience! Yet with bigger games, I can get distracted or not fully understand what’s going on. In those cases, I treat my first few plays as learning experiences as I grasp the rules.
Yet I was thrilled to see that the solo missions take on a learn-by-play approach, at least to a certain extent! I didn’t even start with a vehicle, so my focus was on the ground units. Added layers built upon the basics from the first mission. Did I make mistakes? Naturally, but not enough for me to reset. Playing solo doesn’t need to be perfect.
That’s a big piece of solo games, too: How well do the rules sink in? I didn’t expect to memorize this set of rules, but I referenced the rulebook less and less. It was still necessary due to the lack of quick reference material, but at least I figured out which sections to flip to most of the time. Mildly quick reference? Ha ha! It was a lot of fun to learn, though.
The Rumble of Tanks
Now, I’ll preface this by saying I didn’t realize until the very end that I made a mistake by moving the tanks too slowly. They should have been much further along!
It didn’t make a material difference, though, since I was running out of time and felt a lot of pressure. Close enough. Oh, and the tanks were facing backward… Ha ha!
With the column of tanks and armored cars on the way, we were vaguely ready to take them on. But only somewhat…
I immediately realized there wasn’t a front line to attack the tanks. It all rested on the final artillery. Yikes!
Random Solo Cards
This system worked so well because the solo spawn cards provided very randomized behavior. These defined the units to spawn each round, plus a special action.
Units flipped between defensive and aggressive, which was rather unpredictable. I couldn’t assume the same units would be fairly safe between rounds.
These assistant Calico Critter pigs were much more civilized about their activity on the battlefield. Ha!
And can I just take a moment to appreciate the silly puns on these cards? Another nice little thematic touch.
Triple Damage
When the tanks approached, my hogs were prepared! I ended up building more artillery to ensure things went well. That minefield didn’t have to be utilized!
Most of the tanks rolled through and took a small amount of damage, slightly burning but otherwise functional.
The dice rolls were quite disheartening at times, yet things finally started to happen before any vehicles moved out of range. What an exciting and explosive time for all!
Not too many units were lost, despite some foolish moves on my part. Still learning, yet it was so much fun!
Orderly Orders
I didn’t plan it, but the orderlies continued to be some of the most exciting units out there. Mine helped heal some damage and capture a few trenches for defensive bonuses.
And then there was the battle in the mountains. It looked like it would be fine, until my orderly didn’t do anything.
Then the enemy advanced, and managed to use cattle prods to deal some stunning damage! There was a great deal of mumbling about this turn of events.
Note, too, that this small group constructed the front line while an engineer headed off to collect some crates!
Session Overview
Play Number: 2
Expansion: Hogs of War: Team Lard
Accessory: Hogs of War: Deluxe Edition
Solo Mode: Included in Hogs of War: Team Lard
Play Details: Mission 2
Outcome: 31 (Win)
Another success! This time, I made it a point to go after the crates and use the bonuses. Upgrades stuck around between missions, so I was excited to put these to use in the future! It was another excellent session that made me excited to keep playing through the solo missions.
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
4
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
9
Originality
Design & Theme
8
Quality
Components & Rules
7
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
8
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
7
+ Pros (Positives)
- A lot of thought went into the mechanics, which work nicely with a smooth sequence of play in the solo mode.
- Missions seem to ease into all of the gameplay elements to avoid a sense of being overwhelmed with new rules.
- Battles come down to rolling dice, yet the type of dice can often be affected via range to improve the odds.
- There is a fairly lighthearted sense of humor sprinkled throughout that doesn’t detract from in-depth battles.
- Unit upgrades are difficult to come across, but they provide ongoing benefits that make those units stronger.
- The solo opponent is easy to run with clear, randomized behavior that ensures each mission is challenging.
– Cons (Negatives)
- There are a lot of rules to remember and not enough quick reference material to make them easy to find.
- All of the terrain is easy to see, yet the tiles are just slightly off so they don’t always align with the map hexes.
- It can be easy to lose track of what’s happened during a round, particularly when every unit takes actions.
- The components can be stored nicely with the included storage, yet this doesn’t allow for consolidating boxes.
Victory Conditions
Complete the Mission
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Complete mission 1.
Complete mission 2.
Complete mission 3.
Complete mission 4.
Continue the Conversation
What are your thoughts about Hogs of War: The Miniatures Game? I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the amount of fun involved, yet these victories are never all that easy. Are there any other miniatures games you enjoy a lot? I’ll continue to move through these missions to finish up the solo campaign, and I can’t wait to find out what’s up next!
In spite of the theme and the sense of humour, it looks as though you’re getting into reasonably serious tactical wargaming here too!
Very true! I thought it was going to be really light and silly, but it’s turning out to have lots of tactics and strategies. I’m luring enemy units away, creating flanking patterns, finding the best routes around hazards to hem in the enemies, and accepting losses here and there for the overall goal. Never easy to see a pig leave the battlefield, yet that’s where I like the lighthearted element: Doesn’t feel too serious when it comes to death, and that’s something that can get to me with some wargames. It’s been a great experience so far!