Break Out Your Retro Matchbox Collection and Play Osprey’s Gaslands
Osprey Games puts out a lot of great games. One of their recent Hits is Gaslands. Personally, I really like this one because it is easy to get in on with a limited budget. Grab some matchbox cars, a rulebook, and you’re ready to play!
Gaslands is a game of vehicular combat. It uses templates and a fairly simple set of rules but also contains campaign rules and comes across as a very streamlined system.
Osprey Games describes the game as follows…
Shoot, ram, skid and loot your way through the ruins of civilisation with Gaslands, a tabletop wargame of car-on-car destruction in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Players control small fleets of armed vehicles in battles for resources, dominance and survival. With rules for multiple vehicle types (from motorbikes to big rigs), varied special weapons and accessories (including oil slicks, caltrops and nitro boosters), and a host of options for scenarios, environmental conditions, crew and campaigns, players can tailor games to match their own visions for an anarchic future. From Osprey Games Webstore.
The system uses templates for movement and has often been compared to X-Wing and Car Wars. That said, this game is much more streamlined and easy to play than Car Wars and not the same as X-Wing. For one thing, it is a hell of a lot cheaper to play.
To get in, all you need is a $20 rulebook and some matchbox cars. Perhaps, you already have cars. Then you are in for just $20. If you are like me, you had to buy a few and then you are still in for just $30 to $40. $30 to $40 to get all in on a miniatures game is absolutely stellar.
All you need to get into Gaslands is the rulebook and some matchbox cars. Check it out, I am all into the game for under $40.
Many people paint up their cars and add weaponry. I went with the theory that the weapons are retractable systems like in a James Bond film. Presto, I am up and ready to go!
A Close up shot of one of my Gaslands Cars.
Team Yellow race against Team Black. Yellow is in the lead, but Black has them right in their cross-hairs, the cars split in hopes to better their odds of survival.
While I didn’t bother fix up my cars, a lot of people use Gaslands as an excuse to add weapons to their Hotwheels and paint them up. That is a cool hobby in and of itself.
Extra Support
Gaslands has been doing massively well for Osprey Games and they have already had to do more than one printing of the game. On top of being wildly popular, the game also boasts a number of third party creators that create products for the game. These companies are called “Friends of Gaslands.”
The Author also has two free expansions of the game available through Osprey Games’ Resources Page or through the Gaslands Time Extended Online Magazine. Yes. You read that right. This game has free expansions available!!!
Free Expansions?!!
This is the cover of the first free Online Expansion to the game. It introduces WarRigs.
This is the cover of the second expansion. Also free! This one introduces a number of new weapons to the game.
The Gaslands Website also has a number of videos available to go through.
Wrapping it up…
If you haven’t checked out Gaslands before, I hope you take a look at it after reading this article. It is a great game at an incredible value. How often can you get “all-in” on a game for just $20 to $40 and that is exactly what you have here!!! Osprey did great with this one and a lot of people are having a real blast with the game.
Also be sure to check out the game’s Facebook Group. There is a very active community of players there with some really cool content.
Disclosure: Osprey Games sent me a copy of Gaslands for Review Purposes.
Images of the cars taken on a Cigar Box Battle Mat.
Read more about great Indy and Historical games on my site!
Event Notice – Chatham, Ontario, Canada – September 28 and 29
If you are interested and live in driving distance to Chatham, Ontario, KEGSCon 6 is September 28 to 29. For my American friends, Chatham is about an hour away from the Detroit / Windsor Boarder.
Event Notice – Kitchener, Ontario, Canada – October 13 and 14
SkyCon is an up and coming gaming convention in Kitchener, Ontario. They feature many RPGs and Board Games to choose from. They also have a number of Miniatures Tournaments on the books including ones for Maulifaux, Guild Ball, Blood Bowl, Dark Age, and Infinity. I plan to be at this event and can likely be found taking pictures or testing out one of the RPGs or Board Games (with minis in them).
Event Notice – Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada – October 19 and 20
Council Fires is is one of my favorite gaming events. This year it is in a new location closer to the American Boarder for my friends in New York that would like to come up for some games. I plan to be in attendance at this event.
