Can You Really Play a Cyberpunk Wargame? 

The best quick explanation of cyberpunk is simply "High Tech, Low Life." :)

Necromunda's palanite enforcers are some mighty good faceless corporate security

I hope this will become a series! "Can you really play a [enter genre here] wargame". i.e. Western, Heavy-Metal, Vehicle, Underwater ...

What got me into Infinity was the cyberpunk influence. Looking at the setting with meganations and super corporations, I was instantly drawn to the Nomads as the true cyberpunk of the setting. They’re fighting a secret war against the AI that runs Humanity, transhumanism is alive and well on their ships, and they roam space on giant cobbled together ships. Other factions include post-human enforcers of the AI’s will, and a nation where money directly equals political influence. Is the setting more futuristic than a most noir inspired cyberpunk fiction? Yes, but the underlying message of opposing big systems seeking control is there. Disclaimer: all politics in Infinity is filtered through my pro-Nomad, anti-authoritarian lens. ;)

Don’t forget Shadowrun! Monster Fight Club already make an excellent range of cyberpunk minis. Reaper’s Chronoscope range is another great source for cyberpunk minis. I also absolutely love the look of the Chinatown range of cyberpunk-esque buildings by Knights of Dice! They’ve been on my wishlist for ages.

First edition Cyberpunk was released in 1988, and Pondsmith was inspired by the Walter Williams novel Hardwired (1986).

I feel like Judge Dredd/2000 AD is very Cyberpunk. but it never gets brought up in the cyberpunk conversation for some reason.

Etsy has become an absolute gold mine for 3D printed terrain. There are hundreds of vendors that make any and all genre of terrain. Lots of it is perfect for Cyberpunk. Just go on there and do a general search for "cyberpunk terrain" and you'll get all sorts of cool stuff.

The Asian influence comes directly from William Gibson's seminal cyberpunk novel "Neuromancer".

Battle Systems have a cyberpunk themed board made out of card terrain. It's compatible with their other stuff. The Core Space crews, minus the aliens, could work as well.

Hey Uncle Atom, another Cyberpunk game you may not be aware of: Chrome Hammer from Nordic Weasel Games.

I love you adam, but you can't say that anime isn't cyberpunk when ghost in the shell and akira are two of the cornerstones of cyberpunk

Nordic Weasel Games has Chrome Hammer. It also has VR missions for when you get into "the matrix". Solo rules are also included. You can find it on wargamevault

That's an interesting thing, I didn't know CyberPunk 2077 game was based on the tabletop game. One of the Necromunda models I just bought for my gang is Belladonna the Bounty Hunter, she's sort of a bit cyberpunk because she has the cybernetic leg, arm on her left side and a bionic eye. It's a good model, I should show a photo when I finished the highlights. Thanks for the back story on the CyberPunk games.

"Cyberpunk is not something you see too much of..." Corporate over-reach. Technological explosion. Instant communication. AI. Huge wealth disparity. Yup... Dont see any of that around here...

Never in my life have I been so early to a video uploaded at 3 am. Bless your videos Atom, always a pleasure.

Rules - Chrome Hammer by Nordic Weasel. Easy pick up and go. Can be played solo/coop.

I'm converting the Rangers of Shadow Deep, and Frostgrave rules to come up with a set of home brewed cyber punk skirmish rules.

Iron wind metals also has most of the old ral partha shadowrun minis from the 80-90s still in print and Black diamond corp troops and star nebula crew minis from relic knight could also work

My favorite sub genre of science fiction. What I love most is the impact of not so far fetched technology on human society, it feels close and to some extent relatable.

The Australian firm Knights of Dice do a range called Neo Sentry - a range of sci-fi scenery kits for 28mm-35mm miniatures covering various sub-genres such as Cyberpunk to Space Opera. They even have hover vehicles and Tuk Tuks as part of this range. Their materials include MDF and acrylic (some with a bronze mirrored finish and others finished to look like neon). www.knightsofdice.com/product-category/neo-sentry-sci-fi/ From the website's Retailer section, there looks to be 3 stockists in the US, including Noble Knight Games in Fitchburg, Wisconsin 53719. Link to their page: www.nobleknight.com/Publisher/Knights-of-Dice They also have the TT Combat range, which might be useful.

The 80'S influances for cyberpunk estetics is probably the most commun but not the only one as Infinity take is influance of Manga (Applesseed ). Another exemple is Judge Dredd that came in the 70's got a different estetic but still cyberpunk and Dredd also will later give inspiration in the late 80's for Robocop... Not to forget Ghost in the Shell !!! :) ..I really want to put my hand on that Hardwired book! ;) Great video, long live Cyberpunk!!!

Nice funhaus shirt, didn't realize you were a fan.

I remember seeing ads a few months ago for ‘Official Cyberpunk models!’ on Facebook. I never clicked on them though. Probably the Monster Fightclub stuff unless someone out there is more informed.

I think the closest Cyberpunk wargame I've found that's still in print is Infinity. That said, there's a boardgame called Human Interface, and another game that is no longer in print called M.E.R.C.S.

Infinity is the best for capturing the active camo/hacking kind of tech that you find in the genre. Very clean though compared to the aesthetic of blade runner and others. Missing the noir crime feel to it. Would love to try some others out

what about Warzone (and Mutant Chronicles)? they are a kind of cyberpunk mix with fantasy like Shadowrun

Great video. I think there’s a reference to your good self in Cyberpunk 2077 - there’s a character referred to in the game called Adam Smasher. Whether this is intentional or not doesn’t matter: I’ve decided this must be you!

"Battle systems" have some cyber punk/sci-fi terrain. They also have a game called core space, that feels more spacey, but some of the models look cyberpunkish.

Back in '93, I got my meathooks on a complete set of Cyberpunk minis. There are seven characters; Fixer, Rockergirl and Rockerboy, StreetSam, Hacker, etc.. never found a miniatures rulebook, however. So, they are languishing in their box. Awaiting a future-time (and a proper table....lol), in which they can finally stick it to the evil MegaCorps.

Cyberpunk Red has an accompanying set of Cyberpunk miniatures. There are multiple different models for each class. They come in two and three packs. So you might buy a "cop" mini and it comes with a cop model, K9 cop model, and K9 model. Or a "solo" pack with female solo, male solo, and a street thug type solo!

R.Talsorian actually makes a line of Miniatures specifically to use with Cyberpunk Red

"Hardwired" is a great classic cyber punk novel as well.

I am a big Infinity player and I don't think it is so much cyberpunk although it does have some elements of the genre. It's an amazing game though Reality's Edge definitely captures a lot of the feel and is another really cool game - I'd love to see more people play it.

Can't believe you didn't mention Shadowrun. It's been the staple Cyber Punk TTRPG since I was a kid.

Thematically mercs hit the nail on the head quite well with mega corporations fighting each other under the table, a good way to add a military aspect to the genre. Rules wise inquisitor would probably work quite well since cyberpunk is very focused on the individual vs the institution.

Unit 9 Ronin plus Reality's Edge! 😍 Lots of work to do getting a table sufficiently ready, but I'm working on it

A bit old school...but i've always dreamed of doing Rezolution with the Street Violence figs from Foundry... www.wargamesfoundry.com/collections/street-violence

Infinity is basically like if military SWAT teams from a cyberpunk world fought shadow wars. And aliens.

Thank you for shining a light on this alternative to typical "army" sized tabletop wargaming. Cyberpunk is a great genre, and I've been a fan since the '80s. I even have 1st edition R. Talsorian Cyberpunk 2020 from way back then. I agree with you on the "feel" for Infinity by Corvus Beli ... it doesn't strike that traditional Cyberpunk vibe with me, but I must admit never having played it. I think, conceptually, it's interesting and the miniatures (at least the current evolution) look very nice, but from the description of the game it has Cyberpunk-esque features, but not (to me) a Cyberpunk setting. Again, Uncle Atom ... thank you for another enjoyable, and candid chat with us. :) Wishing you a great holiday season.

im stoked that I stumbled across your channel. I have watched a few of your videos, great stuff. Thanks for putting in the work.

You're right about Infinity. It definitely has a lot of influences from cyberpunk, but it isn't cyberpunk itself.

Monsterfightclub just got the license to do Cyberpunk Red miniatures.

Didn't catch it mentioned yet, but there's also New World Disorder by Precis Intermedia Games. Also comes with paper figures to get you started before an investment in metal and plastic. Crunchier than Hardwired, which is my other cyberpunk system of choice.

Definitely agree about your thoughts on Infinity, It's way too sleek, clean and far future to be considered Cyberpunk. Though a couple key elements I feel like you missed when describing the base theme/vibe of Cyberpunk: it's 80's retro sci-fi and dystopian.

So funny enough I was just kit bashing some of my cultists for 40k to double as necromunda cyberpunk people. A place that you can get super easy and cheap mohawks is the citadel skull kit. If you take the Kroot skulls and clip off the spines at the base then boom, instant mohawk. And I've bet some of you have Kroot skulls lying around to be cyberized. You can even make pitbulls with the left over Kroot skulls. If you mix in some Tau bits like breacher helmets and pulse rifles it can help breakup the same ol' silhouettes. Also just swapping hands and stuff it pretty cool. And if you're lazy, the Palatine Enforcer kits make for great powered armor cops or military guys. The left over bits from them is super useful too.

Really enjoyed this, very helpful, a period I have wondered about so this was very informative 😊👍

For those with 3D Printers or access to them Mark Tayag has a cyberpunk Patreon with some pretty fantastic models. www.patreon.com/papsikels

To me Escher girls are perfect for cyber punk , the whole 80's look leans into it for me. I think a huge aspect of cyberpunk is the environment, not meaning the flavor in this case as much as the actual environment of the planet. It should be a polluted cityscape wasteland where the sky is blotted out . did Atom mention shadowrun or it's models, I always listen to the bids while I paint which tends to cause me to have to watch them multiple times to get everything

To branch out into other gaming genres, on the board gaming side of things I highly recommend "Specter Ops" (with its standalone expansion, "Broken Covenant"), and from a CCG perspective "Android: Netrunner" is really well done.

Infinity Gives me great cyberpunk(setting, not that one game) vibes. I wish I was less lazy and finished painting my army. There is small group of players in my city. I had one demo game (in noob mode, guy teaching me went easy on me), but I loved it. At least at that current time, maybe if I'd play more I'd like it less. I think House Orlock are great as cyberpunk biker gang. Paint them in synthwave colors and they'd fit. Great video!

Okay, I'm waaay late to this party, but I do have an example of a cyberpunk army game. Tomorrow's War (the sci-fi version of Force On Force). Augmented soldiers, information/cyber attacks, drones, things like that. The interesting thing is, there's other aspects along with the more cyberpunk bits to represent various different styles of sci-fi (it does 40k *very* well). So it ends up being a broad swath of sci-fi tropes in a minis game, from which you can focus on the cyberpunk styles.

MERCS Recon Minis are also great for this to varying degrees based on factions. And you might be able to find some cheap.

Hmmmm there are multiple Cyberpunk pioneers, like the William Gibson novels or the GURPS books from the '80s. And yeah, Shadowrun.

Urban Manhunt. It's a rule system that's kind of in line. No model line though.

Appreciate the review, will be looking at the books you've mentioned.

Black Site Studio has a whole bunch of terrain that could work for cyberpunk. They also have a line of resin models that are based on blade runner.

Me literally earlier today: "hmmm what was the name of that cool cyberpunk skirmish game somebody mentioned last week?" Uncle Atom: "Pa-chow."

“2020 awards are coming next week” ... Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeah boiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!

Good wrap-up Uncle Atom. All great games. Infinity does definitely feel post-cyberpunk, which I think is really cool.

I was one of the first in my state to have the original Cyberpunk RPG (worked in a games shop... so pre ordered). Did the whole RPG campaign thing .. then years later threw it over to Necromunda with home brew rules. Halcyon days :)

Awesome topic, want to see more of this and Merry Christmas to you!

I loved Rezolution when it came out. In fact, I still have my mini's, dice and templates for it. Thanks for the other recommendations. I think I'll be checking out Reality's Edge.

Flashback, the sequel to Another World, felt very cyberpunky. I haven't played the recent updated version but from screen shots it looked even more cyberpunky than the original. I wonder if a tabletop board game of this would work, with exploration and items etc.

On the aesthetic of cyberpunk I think a key is that the technology needs to have an obvious route for me as to how it came to exist and if it's old tech and still works then it would still exist. That means if cars and trains are still around then nobody would be teleporting. The past should educate as well, fifty years ago we had pretty much lived life the same way as we do now but with phones, computers and the internet. Not much else has changed, really. Fifty years in the future should be the same but extra.

Hard wired being coop focused is great for cyberpunk. There is a good expansion book for it. Recommend the models for the oprey kung fu game in the suits as they make a good men in black from Japan gangsters.

Trying to remember the name of it, but there was a pretty fun larger scale game that kind of used the cyberpunk feel to it, more towards a Ghost in the Shell type thing with the factions which was rather obvious considering the spider tanks some of the groups had. Not sure how large of a force it would go up to, but it kind of worked well for a few squads on each side with support elements like the spider tanks and gunships or drones or several other things. It was mainly set up as corporate factions clashing with each other, though it included a few others such a actual government forces or just the rabble/rebel groups. One of the major play things was that it had a lot of objectives for different factions as well as generic ones...and, theoretically, you might end up with groups cooperating to get something done only to backstab each other immediately afterwards. You might also have an entire game with no combat what so ever while you race for one or another. Some of the objectives you might get would be ones that tell you one of the opponents goals and have things tied to it which ranged from stopping them from achieving it to ensure that it's completed (sometimes with things like get units close enough to some stolen thing to "sabotage it" for so long. It was also one of the ones where you kind of needed 3 players to get the most out of it, and, possibly, a gm to keep track of some things that the other players weren't supposed to know. In larger setups, transports became a big thing as it could allow you to get into things from multiple ways. I tended to play the government team using the Reaper IMEF for the main force ) with a modified blackhawk model that I took the rotors off of and worked in some vtol pieces from some toys to make a transport...along with a lot of attack drones (I'd made those from one of the bits making companies jump packs with weapons attached to them) and a heavier support side rather than a pile of heavy weapons. I also used a modified M-113 model as additional transport capability. Corporate gunships were a pain in the rear, and one of the corporations had stealth stuff for theirs. Think of it like support hacks a towers security, teams are moving in from both the ground floor and were dropped off on the roof via VTOL, drone support is being handled from off site and a brief firefight in the lobby between the government "investigation" team and corporate security delays the ground team on their way up and sets off alarms while the roof force moves downwards towards their objectives. Alarms get quashed in duels between hackers, the military sniper on overwatch in an adjacent tower takes out a guard and causes enough of a distraction for the other guard at a VIP's office, letting the investigators move in for the arrest. On the ground, a corporate spider tank enters the fray, having had to move around the building to close in on the entry battle, wrecking the ground crews transport and forcing the sniper to reposition to get eyes on the thing. As the roof team makes their arrest and begins to lead their captive out, intending for the roof and extraction, a dull rumble is heard and lights pierce the building from a newly revealed pair of stealth gunships from a rival corporation, taking advantage of the chaos to eliminate a rival and hose the office floor of the tower with heavy weapons, shredding the VIP and most of the soldiers while a trio assassins seem to decloak amidst the group of commandos on the ground just as they finish the security teams there, the first dropping the squad captain before the sniper takes a shot and ends him, the other two attack the tank...as an unassuming corporate suit slips away from the carnage and flips a switch, setting off explosives. That's the kind of thing that could play out.

Shadowrun was around for decades as a tabletop RPG. The minis weren't too well sculpted, but then again, the game has begun to be reborn lately, with people now using other sci-fi minis to play the game with. It's like D&D meets near-future society. I love Shadowrun, and played a Netrunner for many years in games. Try it for yourself, and see how it goes :-)

This video makes me pine for the days of the old Shadowrun miniatures game. Never played that one but I did have some of the minis for use during tabletop RPG games.

Endure the Stars has good cyberpunk-y games. It's a boardgame that has a playable crew going up against Genetically Engineered Life Forms. You can get a crew expansion box, religious zealots, hacker & security upgrade boxes. Also, the main box has like 25 enemy models plus a big loader model a la Aliens

Awesome video! Did you mention Monster Fight Club? They make official Cyberpunk Red miniatures that could probably be used in any of these games. :) ( I should have watched to the end before commenting lol) They do have a small range already available. :)

I love this setting. Thanks for the video!

Steven at Corvus Games Terrain is just now releasing Cyberpunk theme 3D printed terrain and STLs. So far it is looking really good.

While not cyberpunk some of the Sedition Wars models make great corporate security goons

Shadow run was a good one

Walk into a goth club. You've found cyberpunk. With swords, it makes sense to carry a lighter Katana over a heavy. cumbersome English type broadsword. I could see smaller, more efficient for tight places, Roman Gladius or short sword being far more usable. The tug and war between losing your humanity with the more implants you have, was an interesting feature to a game. I don't think Vampire was out at that time, detailing the loss of humanity for ones actions.

Well, this kinda fits in, or expands, one of my big hobby projects for 2021. A kind of post apocalyptic 40k world. Nothing new but it will be MY vision. Im gonna steal from other stuff like there is no tomorrow though! :) Old swedish rpg’s and Mad Max Ftw! This video gave me some new angles. To quote the great Mel Brooks: ”My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives.” Well done!

Sure you can. The combat chapter in the original Cyberpunk 2020 RPG (that the current video game is based on) was formated as a stand-alone set of rules called Friday Night Fire Fight. It was a great clean set of rules and it's been around for 25 years.

Combat zone by EM4 miniatures in the UK is an old school cyberpunk skirmish

Don’t forget the punk in your cyberpunk! Or steampunk, dieselpunk or whateverpunk. The rebellion and counterculture are an integral part of the setting which all too often gets forgotten and buried under all the cool tech.

Great vid! This is an excellent place to start for people wanting to get into cyberpunk tabletop gaming. Brutal Cities out of Australia and Acid House Terrain do excellent terrain for cyberpunk stuff. I Kickstarter'd an Acid House set for Dredd but then discovered Hardwired... You can get a table's worth of sci fi urban sprawl for under £100! And if I hadn't backed Acid House I'd be breaking the bank shipping those sweeeeeet Brutal Cities buildings half way round the world. TT-Combat here in the UK also does some great Infinity terrain (Sci Fi Utopia) that would work for cyberpunk games

I think much of what makes Cyberpunk games, Cyberpunk is the boards. While Necromunda and Infinity both aren't true-cyberpunk in their existing themes, the models fit well if you place them on a cyberpunk board that -as you say yourself "Is cyberpunk when you see it" I think, rules wise, Infinity is probably the best for Cyberpunk. However, you could also squeeze in Necromunda and even Inq28mm into it too, with the right models/board. As you say, Terrain is what makes it, but Star Wars Legion rules would also fit well onto a cyberpunk planet - Maybe a bounty hunter colony or something similar. While you did say Cyberpunk is a bit too high-scifi for cyberpunk, it's ruleset, and it's "non-alien" fluff, lends itself real well to cyberpunk if you make a board to suit it.

Cyberpunk was always described to me as “What if we had the technology to solve all of humanity’s problems but corporate greed and stupidity gets in the way?”.

Pretty good timing with me just seeing the announcement email of the CP Red wargame.

Very interesting video for a few reasons. Being a 42 year old, I started my life with a little turntable and have been able to witness the sci-fi stuff continue to become nothing more than routine miracles we take for granted on a daily basis. As for the overall concept with tabletop, I wonder if cyberpunk is a genre that requires a role playing backbone with the miniatures used specifically for encounters. I'm thinking of Critical Role as an example. Maybe I'm way off base, but I think of Cyberpunk as heists. I can see using minis during the break in or get-away portions of the gameplay. But before that there would be a lot of setup with character driven actions. Even thinking about the original Matrix film, the action was based around breaking into the network with the hope of not getting caught by Agents. All the characters had a defined purpose behind their actions weather good or evil. It wasn't just a generic shoot-em-up action movie. Just talking out of my butt here, but for whatever reason, I personally think that cyberpunk needs character driven game play with 90% of the adventure being based on espionage.

I’m glad you mentioned UNIT 9. I just ordered a bunch of their minis through Etsy. I like their stuff because their characters are just the right blend of cyberpunk and quirky. That kind of eclectic mixture of ultra high tech meets oddities gives me all sorts of homebrew ideas for building fresh narratives, interesting new character profiles or background type info. The character design quality is really slick as well. 👍👍

I'm playing Cyberpunk 2077 on my PC for the past week or so, and while there are a TON of bugs and problems with the game, I've still been having a whole lot of fun :)

Stopped playing video games this year after so many let downs. Played table top Necromunda yesterday finally, it was great. Thank you for the video

The Department(solo/co-op) and Ghosts of Hefei(vs) by Joe Dragovich are very Bladerunner-esq, miniatures agnostic games. Aetherium by Anvil8Games has a cyberpunk aesthetic. A Fist Full of Kung-Fu by Osprey Games can also be given a cyberpunk spin to it.

Warzone by Target Games touched on a 'cyber future' back in the late '90s ( and added a certain Cthulu-like flair) . Still a solid skirmish game

Both Anvil Industries and Maelstrom's Edge have models that really work for a cyberpunk aesthetic in my opinion, both corp goons and the 'punks. Also some of the human troopers from Puppets War could fit the bill.

I agree that while most models and terrain of Infinity fit really well, the setting isn't cyberpunk. It's still an interesting one, though, but I never got into the game due to the female models having a heavy tendency toward pin-up poses and/or skimpy clothing - while the male ones don't, to boot. Nothing wrong with that on display models (gender disparity aside), but for gameplay I'd like something I don't constantly roll my eyes over. I believe it has gotten better (by my standards) in terms of dress, and there are female models posed as advancing/shooting, but there are still lots standing leisurely.

Hello all, hello @tabletopminions. This kick starter for a game called “Human Interface” popped up on my Instagram feed the other day. www.kickstarter.com/projects/1803723298/human-interface-nakamura-tower The Kick Starter just succeeded and it’s a complete board game based entirely in a Cyberpunk universe. Felt like this might be as good a place as any to share.

Artel W also has a nice range of cyberpunk miniatures belonging to their ruleset Hydrophilia.

The old Wargames Foundry Street Violence line works very well, though an older, chunkier metal minis style, that feels sort of early 90s GW, a lot of the same sculptors. www.wargamesfoundry.com/collections/street-violence

War in 2020 can be across lots of different terrain. People fight across the land between cities and inside them. The companies have large factory farms out there, transports between them etc.

Right now on Humblebundle you can get a Cyberpunk RPG bundle. Cyberpunk 2020 AND Cyberpunk Red

Privateer Press' "Warcaster: Neo-Mechanika" isn't exactly cyberpunk in theme - the setting is galaxy-wide instead of one planet and it has space magic as the central macguffin - but a lot of the minis are cyberpunk in nature. They're metal though, so be warned.

Great video! :D I learned quite a few things here :) I feel like SLA Industries should be mentioned too though :)

R. Talsorian.. that brings back 30 year old memories... though I seem to remember their cyberpunk RPG coming out in the late 80s, not 1984... Anyways, the quintessential cyberpunk movie was the original Blade Runner (1982)..