The storied Mobile Suit Gundam series makes another venture into the tabletop world with Gundam Assemble, a new miniatures game experience. In fact, this new game was revealed alongside the Gundam Card Game as a visual companion, so fans got hit with a fun one-two punch of new game teases. Gundam Assemble is available for the first time this fall, with more expansion packs and sets already prepared to release into early next year. After a good chunk of time with the starter set, this game is shaping up to be a fun bite-size brawl compared to some of the other miniature games out there right now.
Arguably one of the biggest barriers of entry to miniature wargames is the building and painting aspect. If building is your biggest concern, have no fear with Gundam Assemble. Just like the gunpla that the series is known for, Gundam Assemble features pieces that you cut out and snap into place. Granted, the pieces are a lot smaller in comparison to regular gunpla, but it’s simplified, needing only a handful of parts to complete a mini Gundam unit. I suggest using proper cutting tools since these are miniatures and there’s less room for error. They look good though, showcasing a decent amount of detail for miniature versions of what fans are familiar with. Like other modern miniatures, assembly has been made a lot easier by simply snapping parts together as instructed, but it loses the customization that players may prefer with particular sets of miniature games. Instead, we see different variants or poses of Gundam units across the different releases. For instance, the RX-78-2 Gundam in the starter set features a beam saber attack, but the variant in the Paint Pack has the mech unit brandishing a beam rifle. Although not ideal for those that want a little bit of personal touch to their creations, it does make it easier for beginners (or even impatient players like myself) to jump right into painting and the gameplay soon after.
Painting miniatures is not for the faint of heart, and Gundam Assemble isn’t any easier with all the tiny details, from the weapons to the mech head pieces. And if you’re a perfectionist, you’ll be spending more time painting than even playing the game. With that said, the mech units in the Gundam universe are fairly straightforward to paint with the mostly monochrome looks with embellishments littered about. Thankfully, there’s no skin or flesh color to deal with while painting Gundam units, which can be difficult to do properly. As long as you start off with a primer, you can save a bit of time, especially with units like the RX-78-2 or the Wing Gundam Zero. For me, I like to keep painting fairly simple because I just don’t have as much free time nowadays. And I care more about the gameplay than the arts and crafts of it all anyway. With that said, I do still want to make things look somewhat cool and clean compared to what I did as a 12-year-old painting Black Templar Space Marines because it was one of the easier chapters to paint. On the flip side, I’d prefer to skip painting altogether if possible, and that’s how I got into other miniature games like HeroClix and Star Wars X-Wing – where the minis were already painted. You can also just not paint the minis, but the extra effort does make for a better experience. The starter set even has a painting guide section in its instruction manual if you’re new to the hobby. Other than having some specific paints available like the Gundam Assemble Paint Pack, it’s also fine to use any water-based acrylic model paint and mix colors as need be. That’s how Char’s Zaku’s colors turned out when some friends and I had a dedicated paint day for some of these minis. Overall, painting is much easier now and it saves a ton of time if you do a bit of research before getting started.
As I mentioned, I care mostly about the gameplay when it comes to miniature games, and Gundam Assemble’s matches are surprisingly a smooth experience. I’m not in the miniatures tabletop scene constantly, but I dabble with some casual games every now and then like Marvel United. The hardest part is finding a buddy or group willing to learn the complex game mechanics and dedicating time and space to matches. It’s been kind of a sore spot for me and my friends lately, always talking about wanting to play Warhammer 40K Kill Team, but never fully committing because we still want to properly build and paint. With Gundam Assemble, it’s easier to get games going because you only really need six mech units versus a multitude of grunts to fill up a squad or army on either side. Although there are still a lot of tokens for various effects and objectives, the most important feature that makes turn-taking smooth is the Gundam Assemble timeline. It consists of ten rounds equaling one phase. On the timeline, players have their mech units’ tokens slotted into specific spots to help track each unit’s turn. For example, the Gundam Vidar has a timeline start number of one compared to RX-78-2’s timeline start number two. This means that Gundam Vidar places its token on round one of the timeline at setup, signifying that it takes its turn first before moving to round two, where RX-78-2’s token sits. As units make certain actions, their unit token moves down the timeline. So depending on what your mech unit does, they could be waiting a long time to act again. Seeing which mech is next in line does give an extra layer of strategy similar to turn-based tactics video games like XCOM or Star Wars Zero Company. It’s nice to have the timeline set to the side of the map and away from the battlefield where token placements can get out of hand.
In a common scenario, players play through two phases or 20 rounds, trying to collect as many victory points as possible through various means. Scoring victory points ranges from rescuing/destroying garrisons to defeating a mech unit or holding objective points at the end of each phase. Each mech unit’s turn consists of a few possible options: advance, primary action, command abilities, and tactics cards. Advance is simply movement, and units can move up to three hexes in any direction. Although, when it comes to moving up a level of terrain, it costs two hexes of movement. There’s no terrain penalty going down a level, and units with a Hover ability ignore terrain penalties all together. Primary actions move the unit token down the timeline and includes options like attack, dash, energize, and rescue. Attacks on the unit cards have specific timeline costs. So if the RX-78-2’s Beam Saber attack has a timeline of three, the Gundam’s token moves down the timeline three rounds after using this specific attack. The other three primary actions normally cost two timeline rounds. Dash is an option to move two hexes further. In Char’s Zaku’s case, dashes can also deal damage with his Char Kick ability. Next is energize, which gives a unit an energy token so they can use certain abilities later in the game. And the last primary action is rescue, which can be used to rescue friendly garrison tokens on the battlefield for victory points. Some units benefit from rescuing garrisons like the RX-78-2, which has a command ability that increases its strength by one for every garrison rescued. Speaking of command abilities, that’s another option available during a mech unit’s turn that’s printed on the unit card. These command abilities usually have an energy cost and/or specific requirement, so plan accordingly. And finally there are tactics cards, which can be used up to once a turn before being discarded. Players start off with three tactics cards but eventually draw more after a phase ends. These are one-time use, ranging from repairing a mech unit to using an entirely new attack or countering an enemy unit. It seems like a lot for one turn, but at most times, players are mainly just advancing and using a primary action as options on the battlefield start to dwindle.
Of course, we have to talk about the combat in a Gundam miniatures game. Since games are typically 3v3 mech units, the battlefield is not too cluttered with miniatures, so entering combat gameplay is fairly quick in the opening turns as they each get deployed onto the battlefield and disperse towards various objectives. When enemy units are in range, the player’s unit can choose one of two attacks printed on their card or possibly an attack Tactics card. Each attack has a strength number and that signals how many 10-sided dice to use to calculate hits, criticals, and damage. Four and greater is a hit which equals one damage, and nines or tens are critical hits that activate the attack’s crit effect – whether it’s additional damage or a negative effect that hinders a unit’s capabilities. Unlike other games, Gundam Assemble doesn’t have defensive rolls like saving throws, so its damage calculation can be fairly easy. Instead, defenses can be used in the form of Shield tokens that a unit can pick up by chance or applied via a command ability or tactics card. Shield tokens are passive bonuses that nullify one hit per token equipped, and become exhausted or deactivated until the start of that mech unit’s turn. For example, the Gundam Barbatos Lupus Rex’s Tail Blade attack attempts to deal six damage to Gundam Vidar, but the defending unit has two Shield tokens equipped. Instead of taking six damage, Gundam Vidar only takes four and the two Shield tokens are flipped over to signify being used. If another unit comes along to attack the Gundam Vidar before it reactivates its Shield tokens, the tokens will not defend two hits of damage. This, alongside some abilities or tactics cards that can nullify or lessen damage, keep combat rolls fairly quick and seamless. There’s no need to calculate a multitude of faction bonuses or if a unit is concealed or aiming like in other miniature wargames so far. The only other consideration when attacking is accuracy, which can be altered by elevation or special terrain like water. When a mech unit is eventually defeated, the winning player gains victory points as noted on the enemy unit’s card. Then the enemy unit’s token on the timeline is moved two spaces ahead when it can redeploy again after ‘repairs’ have been made. Any upgrades or energy accumulated stay with the defeated mech unit until it deploys again.
One other thing worth mentioning when it comes to any miniatures games is the price. After all, these detailed minis are a step above acrylic or cardboard standees or tokens, and it can get overwhelming when deciding which units to collect. The Gundam Assemble Starter Set 01 will run you about $35, which isn’t that much more than a HG gunpla kit, depending on the model. Considering a starter set of Warhammer 40K Kill Team can run you about $118 or a Star Wars Legion starter at about $99, Gundam Assemble is much easier on the wallet. I know my mom would’ve appreciated that when I first got into Warhammer 40K back in the day. With that said, there is a Deluxe Starter Set for Gundam Assemble at about $100, which contains double the minis of a regular starter. And if you’re feeling the itch, there are expansion packs featuring fan favorites that can run you $40.
Gundam Assemble’s gameplay is a nice blend of objective-based scoring while also having the option to just all-out attack enemy units for their VP rewards. It’s the balance of managing both strategies to your units’ best abilities that determines who is the better tactician. Between the easy builds that gunpla and miniature fans are familiar with to the fairly quick instances of combat and timeline management, the barrier to entry is slightly more beginner-friendly than other starter sets in the miniature wargame landscape. Not to mention, the price isn’t too bad for Gundam fans interested in a new tabletop experience, or those looking to venture into miniature games for the first time. For more Gundam, check out our hands-on impressions of the Gundam Card Game or our interview with the Director of Gundam RG XARX-Zero, Kenji Kamiyama.
Mike Mamon is a Syndication & Digital Specialist at IGN, devil fruit user, and world-renown JoJo poser. Let’s chat anime or TCGs on Bluesky @xpmnms.bsky.social
