If you’ve read my previous post called Solo Wargaming: What’s That All About? then you’ll know that I play some of my games solo—well, actually, most of my wargaming is played solo. There’s something uniquely enjoyable about crafting a narrative and seeing it unfold on the tabletop, even without an opponent across from you.
This time, I want to delve into a fascinating aspect of solo wargaming that some players embrace—something that probably doesn’t come up as often in more social, competitive games, and that is giving miniature wargame figures a background or history.
What do I mean by that?
Essentially, this involves taking your miniatures beyond being mere game pieces and treating them as characters in an ongoing story. In the wargaming world, there are systems and house rules that allow players to personalize their figures, vehicles, ships, or even entire units, giving them a “life” that evolves from game to game.
By tracking their progress—whether they’re gaining experience, surviving battles, or suffering setbacks—you create a unique history for them. Over time, these figures or units become more than just painted miniatures; they become the heroes of your tabletop adventures.
Why is this worth doing?
Simply put, it adds a layer of emotional investment to your games. When your figures have names, histories, and achievements, you’re more likely to feel a connection to them. Suddenly, every victory feels sweeter, every loss more poignant.
This can dramatically alter how you approach your games, as you find yourself balancing tactical considerations with the desire to protect your most experienced or storied characters. It’s not just about winning the game anymore; it’s about preserving the stories you’ve built.
Let me illustrate this with an example.
Take a WWII squad of infantry. A simple way to start personalizing them is by giving each soldier a name—let’s call them Private Jones, Sergeant Clark, Corporal Daniels, and so on. During your games, you might track their survival and performance, noting when they’re injured, promoted, or pull off a heroic feat. After a few battles, that squad isn’t just a nameless unit anymore; they’re a team with a shared history.
You can take this further by introducing between-games events to flesh out their story. Perhaps after one battle, you roll to determine what happens during downtime. Maybe Jones gets transferred to another regiment, Daniels recovers from an injury but suffers reduced effectiveness, or Clark receives a commendation for bravery. Alternatively, you might decide that the squad receives reinforcements—new recruits fresh from training, who bring their own set of strengths and of course weaknesses.
These narrative touches give the squad a sense of progression, making each subsequent game feel like a new chapter in their journey.
But it doesn’t have to stop there. You could introduce more complex layers to the narrative. For instance, what happens if the squad faces resource shortages? Maybe they go into their next battle understrength or with limited ammunition, forcing you to rethink your tactics.
Or on the other hand they might receive a cache of advanced weaponry or additional support, giving them a temporary edge. Perhaps a new platoon officer is assigned to lead them, and their morale shifts depending on whether the officer is seen as a competent leader or an inexperienced liability.
These little details breathe life into the figures, turning your games into something that feels like an unfolding story rather than a series of disconnected battles.
The beauty of this approach is that it doesn’t require elaborate rules or systems. It can be as simple or as detailed as you like.
You could use a dedicated campaign system that includes mechanics for character progression, injury tracking, and other narrative elements, allowing your figures or units to evolve over time.
Alternatively, you could design your own custom tables and events tailored to your specific setting, creating a unique experience that reflects the world you’re playing in. The possibilities are truly endless.
This approach isn’t limited to one type of game—it works just as well in other settings.
Sci-fi and fantasy settings are equally ripe for this kind of storytelling, whether you’re tracking the exploits of a starship crew, a band of adventurers, or an elite squad of alien warriors, these storytelling elements can bring a whole new level of depth and engagement to your games.
Ultimately, giving your miniatures a background or history is about adding depth and meaning to your games. It’s a way to make your tabletop battles feel more personal and memorable, transforming them into stories that you’ll want to revisit and share.
Whether you’re playing solo or with others, this approach can enrich your gaming experience in ways you might not have expected. After all, isn’t the best part of wargaming the stories we tell along the way.
For smaller skirmish games with only two or three units per side, you could even roll on a table to generate individual personalities for your soldiers. Traits like Lazy, Likeable, Jovial, Careful, or Aggressive could affect how they behave in battles or during downtime.
While this might be too detailed for some, I find it works well for key figures like NCOs, platoon commanders, or generals. Their personalities could dictate how they fight or issue orders, adding a layer of unpredictability to the game.
For example, a cautious leader might hesitate to charge an enemy-held village, instead waiting for support or advancing slowly. This lack of direct control introduces a new dynamic to solo gaming.
Once you start to personalize your figures, it’s hard not to care about their survival. After a few battles, a unit with a “history” feels too valuable to throw away on reckless manoeuvres. It genuinely changes the way you approach your games.
I use this system to give backgrounds to captains aboard my warships or spaceships. It’s a great way to build history for them and their crews. Adding experience points for surviving ships and crews creates a basic campaign system.
For my spaceship games of Stars & Lasers (unless it’s just a quick one off battle with a friend), I like to use the These Are the Voyages supplement. This add-on brings a layer of depth and narrative to the game, allowing ships to earn experience points for surviving battles and performing specific actions, like defeating a particularly dangerous enemy or achieving a strategic objective. Captains, too, can grow in skill and capability, earning special skill cards that can be used during games to influence the tide of battle or provide a vital edge at a critical moment.
After each battle, the surviving ships and crews gain experience points, though they may lose some if they’ve taken heavy damage or failed certain objectives. This mechanic not only incentivizes careful play but also fosters a deeper connection to the ships and their crews.
Once you start to add a background or history to your figures you’ll find yourself hesitating before sending a veteran ship—one with a long list of victories and daring escapes—into a high-risk situation. And when such a storied vessel is finally destroyed, it feels like a real loss.
Yet, even in defeat, the story doesn’t have to end there. Some of the surviving crew members might escape the wreckage and transfer to a new ship, bringing their hard-earned experience and battle scars with them. Over time, they might build a new history, adding even more layers to your campaign’s narrative.
These mechanics are of course not just limited to spaceship games. Similar systems can be adapted to almost any game, offering unique ways to enhance player investment and storytelling. For example, in The Last Drifters, my post-apocalyptic vehicular combat game, individual drifters or gang members could earn experience points to repair and upgrade their vehicles, gain access to rare equipment, or develop new combat or driving skills.
Experience could be earned for these characters through a variety of scenarios, such as hunting down a notorious gang terrorizing a local settlement, escorting a valuable cargo through hostile territory, or even winning high-stakes races across deadly terrain. The opportunity to build a reputation and grow your gang adds an extra layer of excitement and personalization to the game.
In Ironclads of Ferrosia, the concept could take the form of ship captains and crews earning experience points to gain specialized skills or advantages in battle.
A seasoned crew might earn re-rolls on certain dice or develop unique abilities, such as faster repairs during combat or enhanced targeting systems for their ship’s weapons. Over the course of a campaign, players could chart the progress of their ships and crews, creating stories of heroic last stands, daring ambushes, and unexpected comebacks.
For instance, a captain known for bold tactics might gain an ability to rally nearby ships, inspiring them to greater feats of bravery. These small but meaningful progressions can make every battle feel like a chapter in an epic saga.
The next time you set up a game, consider how different it might feel if you had a personal stake in your units, vehicles, or leaders. Instead of being just another game piece, they become characters in a story—heroes with legacies to protect or villains with reputations to uphold.
Watching them grow over the course of a campaign can transform the way you approach each battle, turning even small skirmishes into high-stakes encounters.
And when the unthinkable happens—when a favourite unit or character is lost—it’s not just a setback; it’s a dramatic moment in your gaming narrative, one that could spark new ideas and stories for the future.
I hope this provides you with a deeper appreciation for the many ways wargaming can be enjoyed, whether you’re playing socially with friends or embarking on solo adventures.
Adding a history to your figures isn’t just a mechanical addition—it’s a way to breathe life into your games and create stories you’ll remember long after the dice have been rolled. It can transform even the smallest skirmish into a narrative-driven experience, where every victory feels earned, and every loss carries weight.
As I continue to develop and refine my own systems, I’m exploring how to bring these ideas into other areas of wargaming.
Building on the foundation of systems like “These Are the Voyages,” I’m working on creating similar mechanics for some of my other games, tailored to different genres and settings.
Whether it’s space battles with Stars & Lasers, post-apocalyptic showdowns with The Last Drifters or steampunk naval warfare with Ironclads of Ferroisia, these narrative elements will help make every game session more immersive and meaningful.
So, if you’ve enjoyed this concept, keep an eye out for any updates—I’m excited to share more systems and ideas with you in the future.
In the meantime, why not try crafting a bit of history for your figures in your next game?
You might be surprised at how much it enhances the experience.
