Getting Started with Infinity

Perhaps you have been attracted to the wonderful miniatures? Maybe you have seen the game played at a local store or an event? Or did you overhear a friend discussing how a camouflaged electromagnetic mine disabled their armoured battlesuit? Whatever the genesis of your interest, you’ve been intrigued by Infinity and perhaps been thinking of picking the game up and giving it a try. Starting a new game system often requires a bit of reading and investigation and Infinity is no different. For some new players though the rising tide of new terms and concepts can be overwhelming. New names, new weapons and a whole series of science-fiction inspired equipment.

The Knights of Santiago. The Tunguska Interventors. E/Maulers. Viral Mines. Deployable Repeaters. Holoprojectors. D20s.

The Infinity game is a rich and varied sci-fi system that can often be confusing for new players and is a unique game that requires a new set of skills in order to thrive. So where do you begin?

Who are you and why are you talking to me?

My name is Zac Belado and like you, I am a new Infinity gamer. I have dabbled in the system from time to time in the past but have never fully immersed myself in the game and the background. I have been playing miniature games for quite a few years, I won’t embarrass myself by giving a definitive date, and have played a wide variety of systems including the usual suspects (40K, Warhammer Fantasy, Malifaux and Warmachine), some less mainstream titles (AE: WWII, Necromunda, Hordes of the Things, A Call to Arms, Epic, AT-43 and Confrontation) and even helped test and develop a few systems along the way.

My first exposure to Infinity was with the first edition of the rules. I was lucky enough to get a copy of the initial release of the rules as well as some PanOceania and Yu Jing figures. I managed to get a few games played but the initial rules translation and book organization made it difficult to figure the rules out. Our lack of terrain also made the game a lot less strategic and more about who could shoot first and the most. When the second edition was released I was in the midst of a move across Canada and so wasn’t able to test out the newly re-organized rules to see if they were easier to understand.

In the intervening years since the release of the second edition a lot has changed. The online Infinity community has grown, the game has expanded with several new factions, all the factions in the game have a much wider range of figures available for them and several companies have sprung up to provide accessories and terrain for the game. The days of using 40K and Necromunda terrain to create a suitable table for Infinity are over and now gamers can create tables filled with terrain specifically developed for Infinity.

The appeal of the system

So what is it about the game that appeals to me and has engendered a decade long fascination?

First off let me be clear that I am not really a fan of anime titles like Appleseed and Ghost in the Shell. I have seen them, and I have enjoyed them, but for me Infinity is not an entryway into gaming in an anime-inspired universe. I am also not much of a painter and so the wonderful details and posing of the Infinity figures, while wonderful, aren’t the main draw for me. That said, the PanOceania Swiss Guard figure with Missile Launcher is perhaps the genesis of my interest in Infinity. The heavy armour, the unique weapon design and the modern design aesthetic really captured my imagination. Oddly enough, I have never owned this figure.

The Swiss Guard

What Infinity provides for me as a gamer is a unique science fiction setting that is filled with wonderful aliens, high-tech weapons and gadgets and a positive view of the fate of humanity. There is still war in the future but it is not the soul destroying negativity of some other popular games.

Infinity also brings a novel set of rules and an action resolution system that flexibly allows for a wide range of in-game results. Overwhelming firepower is often undone by a careful dodge, figures can return fire instead of standing helplessly and model placement, facing and line-of-sight suddenly are important concepts.

Infinity is also a dedicated skirmish system that doesn’t require a lot of models, can be played on a 4’ x 4’ tableand doesn’t take an entire evening to play. And, Infinity does more than pay lip service to the science in its background. Hackers stalk the battlefield looking to subvert enemy armoured battlesuits and incoming drop troops, remotely controlled robots that mark enemy targets for guided missiles and aliens use viral weapons to overcome heavily armoured foes.

A journey of a thousand miles

With such a bounty of miniatures, factions, books and concepts in Infinity, the first step is often difficult to place. The purpose behind this series of articles is to provide a basic understanding of the game, explore options available to players, examine some of the online resources available and look at what you’ll need to play. And most importantly—how to play. I’ll be sharing my journey into the game and the Infinity universe, and hopefully as I learn more and become more confident with the game, you will as well.

In the next set of articles we will have a look at the game setting and the factions and then take a brief look at the game rules. Once we have a better understanding of the where and how of the game we’ll get started with, appropriately enough, a faction starter set and then then explore the official Escalation rules and how you can use them with your local gaming group to build up your Infinity forces or just as a framework to play your own first few games. Finally we’ll look at setting up a table, finding and building appropriate terrain and check out some of the accessories available that can help make your Infinity gaming easier.

Hopefully you’ll find this series useful and we are always interested in your feedback. Use the comments section to tell us what you think, make suggestions for articles or ask questions.