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DRONE FRONT

The game

Drone Front Skirmish

10–28 mm
The larger models, played tactical on a compact table. Fewer units than in Operations, so each vehicle and team is followed closely and every decision about it matters.
Drones flying through a ruined street on the Skirmish table
Drones flying through the street — Skirmish on the table

What you need to play

Two players, one compact battlefield.

  • 10-28 MM MINIATURES

    A force of infantry and vehicles, drones and missiles — plus your Commander, Mortar, EW and short-range AA. Maximum 18 units recommended per side, 3-4 hours playing time.

  • Dice

    1d6 and 1d12. Optionally 2×d10 and 2×d20 for casualty tracking.

  • Game assets

    An iPad or a printed copy of all game assets. Quick Reference Sheet 1,2 & 3 including Unit roster with CV values. Gaming Aid for weather forecast and casualty- or VP- tracking.

  • Table & terrain

    A table with terrain — and lots of it. Skirmish scenarios assume at least 30% terrain coverage of various heights.

  • Measuring

    A tape measure in centimetres. Key ranges are 10-60 cm.

  • Markers

    Tokens for Fired and Suppressed printed from rulesbook.

Miniatures

The exact number of each type you need comes from the Force recommendation sheet.

  • Drones

    Recon, FPV Attack, FPV Attack – Fibre Optical control, Bomber, Strike and Heavy Multicopter, all on flight stands.

  • Flight stands

    Use two different heights so Attack assets are easy to tell from pure Recon ones — Recon assets on the higher stands.

  • UGV & USV

    Optional

    A couple of types in 10–28 mm, preferably with loose weapon stations and equipment so the advanced munition rules can be used. The Scenarios supplement relies heavily on the use of custom UGV & USVs. 

  • Wrecks & effects

    Optional

    Wrecked versions of the major ground units and/or artillery, plus smoke and fire markers. Not needed for play — they add visual drama.

Terrain

Dense, broken ground with a WWI feel — the more terrain, the better the game.

  • Terrain mat

    Urban rubble or rural terrain — a WWI feeling works best.

  • Terrain pieces

    Buildings, ruins, rivers, water, wrecked buildings, roads, trees, shrubbery, bunkers, trenches and minefields, in your chosen scale.

  • In the play examples

    28 mm MDF terrain with 3D-printed craters, street signs, lamps and garbage containers, on a 120 × 180 cm (~4 × 6 ft) urban-rubble PVC mat from Deep-cut Studios.

Measurements

All measurements are centre-to-centre, so the rules work with or without bases on the miniatures.

All measurements are taken on the ground, so altitude change for drones does not matter for movement.

A laser pointer is a useful tool to prove you have real line-of-sight.

Basic terrain setup

  1. 1Pick a scenario. Place HQs and Deployment zone according to this and design  your landscape: a dense urban ruined landscape, or dense rural terrain with hills, houses and trees.
  2. 2Lay out terrain of various heights until at least 30% of the table is covered.

All skirmish scenarios assume at least 30% terrain coverage of various heights. For the optimal Drone Front experience, go for the urban ruined landscape.

Turn Sequence

  1. 1Initiative
  2. 2Action
  3. 3Ground Combat
  4. 4End Turn

See it played

The rest of the turn — Initiative, Action, Ground Combat and End Turn — is walked through at the table in this gameplay video.

Gameplay video — How to Play a Modern Drone Warfare Wargame – Drone Front: Skirmish

Skirmish - Supplement 1: Scenarios

Out 14 October 2026

Every Skirmish game starts by picking a scenario. This is where the twenty-one come from.

Infantry advancing with 3D-printed UGVs through a rubble street on the Skirmish table
UGVS MOVING FORWARD TOGETHER WITH INFANTRY.
A patrol boat USV on the water flanked by four drones on flight stands
A USV CONFIGURED AS A UAV CARRIER LET ITS DRONES FLY
A painted USV beside a UGV on a sea mat
Painted USV and UGV ready for a coastal scenario
  • 21 scenarios for the Skirmish core rules
  • 16 trace drone warfare in Ukraine, 2022–2026
  • 5 cover earlier, disputed and fictional conflicts
  • PDF, downloaded from Wargame Vault

Twenty-one scenarios built on the Skirmish core rules. Sixteen follow the evolution of drone warfare in Ukraine from 2022 to 2026; five cover earlier, disputed and fictional conflicts beyond Ukraine.

Open in Wargame Vault →See every Drone Front title →