Halo: Flashpoint
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
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Halo: Flashpoint is a tabletop strategy game produced by Mantic Games in conjunction with 343 Industries and Microsoft.[2] The game was released in mid-late November 2024, depending on region.[1]
Unlike the previous Fleet Battles and Ground Command wargames produced by the now-defunct Spartan Games, Flashpoint is focused on Spartan and Elite battles similar in nature to Halo multiplayer.[3][4] The games are predominantly focused on small-team skirmish fighting, though Mantic have expressed interest in producing larger-scale games based on Firefight and including vehicles should Flashpoint be successful.[5]
Official summmary[edit]
- "The year is 2560.
Humanity was forced to the brink of extinction by the alien alliance known as the Covenant, and even in victory many of our worlds were glassed and left in ruins.
From the ashes of the Covenant War a new generation of super-soldiers has been trained in War Games simulations, pitting Spartan Fireteams against an almost infinite combination of potential threats – including other Spartans.[6]"
Overview[edit]
Flashpoint is a skirmish-scale wargame with a focus on small teams and fast, easy to pick-up-and-play gameplay.[4] The game is played on a 61x61cm (2x2ft) board designed to fit on most tables, with a high degree of emphasis on verticality. The terrain is constructed based on a cube grid, meaning that unlike other tabletop wargames, no tape measures are required to play. However, positioning is still a vital component of the game; height and cover play important roles in determining dice rolls and damage output.[7] Terrain is present in the form of pre-printed cardboard punch-out structures including things like barricades, shipping crates, and towers, to allow for a 3D playing field.[4] In the expanded Spartan Edition of the game, the arena board and terrain pieces can be flipped to theme the map around either a UNSC hangar facility or an outdoor training yard.[7][8] When setting up a map, players can scatter the map with a number of item tokens to represent power weapons, grenades, equipment, ammunition, and other game-changing pickups.[5]
Gameplay involves the use of D8 dice alongside some custom D6s.[4] When attacking or defending, the player rolls 3 D8s for the relevant stat, with additional die added depending on other factors such as if the attacker has high ground or if the defender is in cover.[7] The D6s are termed as "command dice", and allow Spartans to perform unique abilities to respond to the changing situation on the battlefield. Each command dice has a custom symbol on each face; the first is a data chip representing a Special Order - a unique ability that is determined by the player's chosen faction/leader. An arrow symbol represents an extra movement, a diamond represents an additional D8 dice roll for more damage, an explosion represents being allowed to fire another shot, and a Spartan helmet represents being allowed to activate another Spartan.[5]
Each character has an individual stats card that list a Spartan's two weapons, a pickup slot, energy shielding value, and other keyword-based specific stats/perks. Like in Halo FPS multiplayer, power weapons can be picked up on the map and equipped for a massive advantage.[7] As per Halo multiplayer, upon death, a given character can be respawned back onto the field at one of a number of respawn points - albeit with reduced abilities.[4]
The game consists of preassembled plastic miniatures that can be manually painted, although the Spartan Edition box includes two teams in red and blue plastic by default to allow for easy play. Each miniature consists of a SPARTAN-IV clad in one of the various multiplayer armours available for use in Halo Infinite, each equipped with one of the weapons useable in Halo Infinite and given a dedicated stats card.[4] In both release editions of the game, the Spartan teams provided are mirrors of one another, with Recon including four-per-team and Spartan including eight-per-team. Each Spartan has a unique weapon and armour suite, which dictate their in-game stats. As such, in Recon Edition, this has the game play with two identical teams of four whereas in Spartan Edition, both players can build a custom fireteam of four based on the eight models they each have available to pick from. However, if the standalone Master Chief mini is picked, he counts as two Spartans by himself - meaning that picking Master Chief will bring the total fireteam size down to three.[5]
Currently, the game features two factions: the UNSC and the Banished. The Banished were first introduced in the Spartan Edition of the game with the Sangheili Mercenaries and were expanded on with the Rise of the Banished Faction Box that added Atriox and a handful of different Jiralhanae units. The UNSC currently consists of both Spartans and ODSTs which were introduced in the Feet First Into Hell Faction Box.
Game modes available in Halo: Flashpoint include takes on a number of classic scenarios from Halo FPS multiplayer including Slayer, Oddball, Capture the Flag, Strongholds, and Stockpile.[8]
Development[edit]
Flashpoint's origins date back to a pitch document produced by game designer Ronnie Renton in 2017 (the same year that Spartan Games and the previous Halo tabletop games were shut down). Mantic spent several years after 2017 attempting to get the Halo IP though were repeatedly denied - a process they credited with allowing them to ensure that their original game Deadzone was highly-refined by the time they were granted the Halo license in 2022. From the beginning, Ronnie envisioned the game working on the same cube-based terrain system as Deadzone due to its ability to allow for quick play rather than multi-hour sessions typical of a larger wargame. The Deadzone rules committee were tasked with designing the first iterations of the game in the five month period between 343 Industries granting permission for Mantic to begin work on the game and formally signing a contract, before Ronnie flew out to Redmond to show the game to 343 Industries in person. As of June 2024, the game has been in development for around eighteen months.[5]
One of Mantic's key priorities during development was the knowledge that Flashpoint would be many peoples' first introduction to tabletop gaming, due to Halo's already preexisting fanbase.[5] The scale of the models was not decided based on a predetermined size (ie 28mm, 32mm, etc), but instead based on a process of printing Spartan models at various size scales and comparing them with Deadzone's terrain pieces until they "felt right" - taking into account the Spartans' enhanced height and bulk as per their augmentations and armour.[5