gaslands refuelled

    Gaslands is a tabletop miniatures game where players race and battle Mad Max-type cars in a post-apocalyptic landscape. Each turn, players use a set of custom dice and curved templates to determine speed and turning capabilities. Cars are typically outfitted with weapons and gimmicks like oil slicks and mounted machine guns. Gaslands Refuelled is the revised edition of the game with supplemental material added.

      The brilliant part about this game is that it uses off-the-shelf toy cars like Hot Wheels or Matchbox for its playing pieces, encouraging players to paint and modify their own.  With no need to purchase hundreds of dollars worth of miniatures, hobbyists can focus their creativity on taking just a few pieces and making them unique.

     The rulebook is attractive and well laid out, with some very nice illustrations and photos. Players typically build small teams of cars from one of 13 factions, each with their own unique abilities and aesthetic. There is a point system that allows players to kit out their cars further, and the game comes with more than a dozen different scenarios and a campaign mode for variety. 

   The turn-based nature of the game and use of the shift dice and turning templates can slow the game down, and it may not feel like the white-knuckle automotive mayhem that it tries to simulate. However, many minis games are not always known for their tight rulesets or ease of play, and grading on a curve, Gaslands has a reasonable heft.

     The real fun in most minis games is in the hobby of modeling and painting figures, and Gaslands' democratic approach makes it a good gateway to the genre.