Battle Masters is a miniature wargame by Milton Bradley, made in collaboration with Games Workshop in 1992. It is thematically similar to Warhammer Fantasy Battle, but with much simpler game mechanics. Like other Milton Bradley/Games Workshop partnership board games HeroQuest and Space Crusade, Battle Masters was designed by Stephen Baker, who later went on to design the popular game Heroscape.

In Germany it is called Die Claymore-Saga, in France Seigneurs de guerre and in the Netherlands Ridderstrijd.

Gameplay

Battle Masters simulates a battle between factions from the Warhammer Fantasy setting: on one side the forces of good, the human Empire; and against them the evil forces of Chaos, featuring a combination of units from Warhammer's Chaos army and Orcs & Goblins army.

The game is played on a large 54 by 60 inch vinyl battle mat, superimposed with large hexes. Over 100 unpainted plastic miniatures are included.

In the November–December 1992 edition of Casus Belli (Issue #72), the reviewer noted the large game box packed with colourful, high-quality components, commenting, "Milton Bradley always pushes the limits of the quantity of material present in its games." However, the reviewer found that the rules were far too over-simplified for adults, "but it is true that this is a board game aimed at a fairly young audience." The reviewer concluded, "Before we mourn the fate of poor buyers who were dazzled by the profusion and quality of the material [...] the option exists to upgrade the rules system at your convenience."

It was reviewed in Challenge #74 (1994).

In a 2022 interview, Battle Masters designer Stephen Baker reflected on criticisms that the game lacks strategic depth:

References

  • Official Battle Masters Manual