Welcome to EFO Skirmish Miniatures Game overview

I will try to gather here all the important information about the upcoming game and what you can expect from it. Please bear in mind that the names used in this text are subject to change in the final release.

My Introduction

My name is Sebastian Mazur and I am the owner of Anvilrage Studios, which I have been running for about five years now. I am from Poland. I produce 3D proxy miniatures, and my big dream is to release this miniatures game. I hope that 2026 is THE year and that EFO Skirmish will be released before it ends.

I have always been a huge fan of conspiracy theories, UFOs, and all unnatural activities, legends, and myths. My wargaming experience started with the Warzone miniatures game, and I immediately fell in love with its action mechanics. That is why I later started playing X-COM and Fallout on PC, and after many years away from wargaming, Star Wars: Legion. This particular type of mechanic is a selling point for me in any game, and I would like to introduce it into this game as well.

This game is fully prepared by two people – me and my colleague Leszek, who is helping me with painting miniatures. Most of the work lies on my shoulders, and that may be one of the reasons why development takes so long. Additionally, my health has not always helped, and at some point in my life I had to slow down and reduce the time I spend in front of the computer. Hopefully, slowly but steadily, I will get there.

Target Audience and Community

I am not a huge worldwide studio with money and a popular franchise – just a single guy trying to release something cool and make his dream come true, based on his interests and some sentiments from the past.

My wish is to provide an easily obtainable miniatures game for people like me. With 3D printing technology constantly growing, I believe games do not need to be expensive. Instead of buying another box of plastic because you want more of a certain unit, you can simply load the file onto the print plate and print it.

You won’t need a big community to play this game – just a friend or two. Of course, bigger communities are very welcome!

With factions being so easily available, you can play all of them and switch sides whenever you want to try something different. And because this is a skirmish game, you do not need an army, but only a few heroic miniatures in your roster.

I know how busy many of us are, and over the years I have noticed that this hobby is slowly turning into a fast-food–like activity. That is why I would like to provide something closer to a Slow Gaming / Slow Hobby experience (not only because of my health status).

• There should be no rush or pressure in the hobby.
• A significantly smaller pile of shame and a stronger feeling of accomplishment.
• Miniatures should be available online when you need them.
• Regular new releases, hopefully community-driven, focused on adding value to the game.
• Easy, online updates based on community feedback.

I hope that the community will have a solid influence on this game. Many times people have proven to me that they have amazing ideas and great input regarding my 3D projects. Starting Discord server is something new to me, and I am still learning how it works. I would appreciate any help with this platform and your patience with me – I’m almost 49 years old, you know 😉

All ideas are welcome, and I do my best to read all comments. Sometimes getting back to you may take some time. I may also miss something, but please bear in mind that I am thankful for each and every valuable comment or message posted here.

EFO Skirmish Universe

The game is set in the far future, among the stars, long after humanity made first contact with alien races that are no longer unknown and are usually hostile enemies. The lore is something that will require much more work in the future and will be briefly explained in the rulebook. My goal is to create the background of this game based on conspiracy theories that exist in our culture: Greys, Reptilians, Annunaki – you know it.

EFO is short for Exo Form Office – a human organization dedicated to dealing with alien forces and events. It is part of the Martian Dominion, a civilization formed by human descendants from a devastated Earth who made Mars their new home. And yes, you will be able to play EFO agents in the game. You will also be able to choose a Special EFO Agent as your main hero.

The factions in this universe are very advanced. Technology has jumped far forward, mind powers have been discovered, and some races have developed them to perfection. Teleportation and long-distance travel are possible, but expensive. Most importantly, immortality is obtainable – yet still a rare luxury. In this game, you will become one of these lucky and privileged individuals granted the gift of longevity, leading your force in the name and for the sake of your race, or for other private purposes.

Conflict is the only thing that does not change and remains the same in every corner of the universe.

Print-to-Play Kickstarter Release

The game will be released via Kickstarter and will be almost fully Print-to-Play, which means you will be able to print all miniatures (STL files), bases, tokens, terrain, game mat, tools, rules, force lists, etc. You may need to provide some D6 dice and an inch ruler, which I believe we all already have.

There will be three factions available at the start: Human Dominion, Sha-Ra-Ki (Greys), and Reptoids (Reptilians). Each faction will have two heroes to choose from, three core units, one support unit, and specialists. I will later create separate posts for each race for discussion.

Human Dominion and Sha-Ra-Ki will be part of the main release, while Reptoids will serve as stretch goals in the Kickstarter campaign. Their units will hopefully be unlocked during the campaign.

The pre-launch page is already live, and you can sign up to be notified on launch:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/anvilrage/1948797028/

Future Releases and Tribute Factions

If the campaign is successful and you like the game and want more, I would love to expand this universe with new races, factions you can work for, scenarios, and more. I also plan to add what I call Tribute Factions. These will be unofficial factions inspired by other universes. So if your Sha-Ra-Ki force wants to abduct some clone troopers, it may be possible in the future.

Game Style

In this game, you start with a blank force roster of a chosen faction and select one hero who will lead this force – this hero is you!

During the game, you gather resources and reputation, which can be spent between games on new upgrades and training. You can unlock new improvements and training for your units or hero. You can also unlock and acquire new upgrades and equipment for your force from your own faction or from neutral factions.

The goal is to create a game in which you never truly reach the maximum potential of your force. You develop new upgrades, but you will also lose or use them during operations. Yes, some players may eventually get close to unlocking everything, but believe me – it will take time, and they will lose or expend upgrades at some point, creating new gaps to fill.

Many upgrades are lost if the unit carrying them is eliminated, and your opponent may deliberately focus on those units. Ideally, you always have something to do in this game. Each operation provides new resources or reputation. You can decide to work for neutral alien factions to unlock additional upgrades or even new units. And if you get bored – try your luck with a different force. You can print it in one day – the fastest delivery available!

Campaigns

At the moment, there are no official plans for campaigns. This does not mean they won’t appear in the future. However, I can imagine situations where, for example, two friends want to play a campaign-style experience. They could agree to play ten games during which they prepare their forces for a final clash that determines the winner. The final mission could be fixed in advance, allowing players to prepare their forces for specific circumstances. In this final game, even a player who was less lucky with resources and upgrades earlier may still win. This is also a great way to learn how to play a faction. Of course, this does not have to end there – players can continue using these forces in future games.

The above is just an example. The final event that determines the winner (or winners – such as a top four if more players are involved) could be a planned tournament. This may give players a sense of playing a campaign, having a goal, an opponent to beat, and an event to win.

Special Scenarios or Missions

Scenarios are something I personally like very much, and I would love to introduce narrative stories or special missions in the future. At the start, there will be faction missions and neutral missions only.

RULES OVERVIEW

I am working on an action-based ruleset for this game with the working name SIXstem, because it is based on D6 dice. There are quite a lot of rules, so I will try to briefly cover only the most important ones here. This overview may feel a bit chaotic, but I hope it gives you a general sense of the gameplay.

The table size is 5’ x 3’. Image attached. You can easily use Star Wars: Legion mats. I will also be cooperating with Playmaty.pl, a company that produces high quality game mats and accessories. They will add an EFO game mat and a dice tray to their online catalogue.

The game lasts six rounds, or until one player scores six victory points, or eliminates all enemy units. Each round is divided in phases. For example: activation phase.

Units & Bases

This is a skirmish game, so each unit is represented by a single miniature. Your hero commands a band or combat unit of individuals. Each unit is described by the following elements:

Stats tested during the game:

• Melee Attack
• Melee Defense
• Ranged Attack
• Ranged Defense
• Training
• Will

Stats not tested during the game:

• Health
• Speed (1 – slow, 2 – regular, 3 – fast)
• Presence – important for securing objective areas and emphasizing your force’s presence on the battlefield.

Additionally, each unit includes:

• Skills – special rules the unit can use
• Weapons – melee and ranged
• Availability – how many units of this type you can include
• Rank – core, specialist, elite, support, hero

So far, there are two base sizes: 32mm for regular troopers and 50mm for larger units.

Deployment

Part of your force will be deployed on the table before the game starts. Another part will deploy during the first round, and some units will remain in reserve as a backup in case things go really bad. In such cases, they may join the fight to support you.

Underdog Rules

The game will include rules that reward forces that take on a challenge against a stronger, much more developed opponent.

Stealth

Stealth rules will be included, with some units using stealth permanently.

Healing

Healing and repair mechanics will be included.

Psionic Powers and Magic

These are included as well.

Missions

During the game, each player attempts to complete one faction mission selected before the game. Additionally, one neutral mission is active. For example, the Sha-Ra-Ki faction may be trying to collect samples from fallen enemies and gather scattered resources from a destroyed human transport, while the Human Dominion force attempts to retrieve those resources and secure important positions on the table.

My goal is to design missions that reflect the character and nature of each faction.

I also plan to introduce a separate mode in which both players play the same neutral mission. This mode will be more balanced but less cinematic.

Rounds, Turns, Activations, and Actions

In each round, players take turns activating units alternately until all units have been activated. During an activation, units spend actions to move, fight, gather or find items, secure positions, activate points, and finally – complete missions.

Initiative

The order in which players activate units during a round is determined in the initiative phase. Each player has six initiative cards numbered from 1 to 6. Each round, both players choose one card. The lower number wins initiative and goes first. Each initiative card can be used only once and is removed from the game after being played.

There may be situations in which initiative determines which player resolves certain actions or rules first.

Some units’ performance may be affected by the initiative card you choose. These cards may act as activators for different play styles, such as going fully offensive or focusing on survival.

Rush Phase

During the Rush Phase, the player who won initiative may activate several units before the opponent activates their first unit. If the winning initiative card is higher by five, that player may activate five units before the opponent activates any. This can lead to dangerous and dramatic situations where the battlefield changes rapidly. This rule allows players to decide when to play aggressively or defensively.

Heroic Points

Heroic Points are extremely important and allow you to influence the game and your units’ performance. The number on the initiative card you selected determines how many Heroic Points you gain that round. Playing more aggressively results in fewer Heroic Points.

Circumstances

During the game, many different circumstances may occur that affect gameplay. Units may become surrounded, wounded, seriously wounded, stunned, stressed and more. A force may be outnumbered, losing, or winning. Some units react positively or negatively to these circumstances. For example, some units hate seeing their comrades fall, some become more cautious when wounded, lone wolf may thrive when surrounded, and swarm creatures may benefit from overwhelming others.

Snowball Effect

Circumstances and many other mechanics will be designed to prevent the snowball effect, where one player gains an unstoppable advantage early on.

Dynamic Positioning

In a game where positioning, range, objective control, and area presence are crucial, any ability that allows you to move or reposition units – friendly or enemy – is extremely important. There will be many skills that enable this (mind control, orders, etc.), but combat will be especially important in this regard.

Critical effects such as Push Back, Overpower, Brawl, Blast, Step In, Step Out, and Pull will play a major role. For example, Pull allows you to drag an enemy away from a crucial objective. Brawl helps reposition units in chaotic close combat. Overpower lets you relocate an enemy while maintaining base contact. You may even push an enemy off a cliff with a perfectly placed shot or explosion.

A Few Final Notes

I hope this wall of text gives you a solid overview of EFO Skirmish and sparks a seed of excitement in your heart.

Please bear in mind that I may work and respond a bit slower than usual due to health reasons. I truly appreciate your patience.

I will start sharing more content on Discord, including renders, visuals, and development updates, so you can better see where the project is going.

Feel free to ask questions on Discord – I’ll do my best to answer everything, even if it takes a little time. I kindly ask everyone to stay nice, respectful, and on topic. If something about this project is not for you, that’s completely okay – there are many great games out there. But if you’re interested, you are very welcome to participate, share ideas, and help shape this game.

I would genuinely love to hear your thoughts: what should I focus on or share next?

An important note: the full rules will be released before the Kickstarter campaign and will be free to download, so everyone can read them and decide if EFO Skirmish is the right game for them.

And finally, for full transparency: English is not my first language, and it still requires a lot of work and improvement on my side. To help with clarity and readability, I use ChatGPT to assist with correcting and polishing my texts. All ideas, concepts, and content come from me – I simply use AI as a language-support tool.

Thank you for being here and for your support – it truly means a lot to me.
Seb