Steel Rift

Steel Rift is a fast-paced, 6mm scale, miniature-agnostic mecha skirmish wargame. It focuses on customizable High-Efficiency Vehicles (HE-Vs) battling on a compact table, featuring quick, action-oriented gameplay that is generally more accessible than Battletech.

Core Gameplay and Features:

Gameplay: Players command a small force of mechs, tanks, and infantry, activating units alternately over several rounds to score victory points (VP).
Unit Customization: Mechs are highly configurable, using a tonnage-based system for weapons and chassis, categorized into Light, Medium, Heavy, and Ultra-Heavy classes.
Mechanics: The game utilizes a “redline” system for managing unit stress and offers diverse tactical options, such as using specialized melee weapons or off-table assets like artillery.
Setting: Set in a post-apocalyptic future, players manage, salvage, and train pilots for their HE-V units.
Accessibility: The game is designed to be fast to learn, often played on smaller, 24×24 inch, or standard mats.
Expansions and Components:

Expansions: The game includes expansions like “Close Quarters” for melee-focused combat and “Burning Horizons” for added support assets and campaign rules.
Components: Death Ray Designs offers 3D-printed 6mm miniatures, including walkers, vehicles, and aircraft, but the rules support other miniature ranges as well.

Steel Rift is generally lauded for providing a modern, crunchy, yet streamlined alternative to traditional, slower, and more complex mecha games.

Genre: Science Fiction

Scale: 6 mm

Average Models per Side: Less than 10

Number of Players: 2

Miniatures: Agnostic, Dedicated, STL for 3D Print

Rules: Purchased PDF or Rulebook

Availability: In Print

Publisher: Death Ray Designs

Designers: Ash Barker

Year Released: 2022

Website: Steel Rift

Additional Information:

While classified as a miniatures agnostic game, Steel Rift does have a line of compatible miniatures as well as downloadable STL files for 3D printing