Osprey games has announced yet another new wargame for 2026 - Signs and Wonders is "a skirmish wargame merging the battles of the English Civil War with the magic of British folklore". Due in September 2026, it's the "the first book in a brand-new wargame series" and, since it's coming from Osprey, we expect it's going to be miniature agnostic.
It's the second miniature wargame from Frederick Silburn-Slater, who debuted with A War Transformed, a WW1 wargame with a genuinely excellent alternate history that I waxed lyrical about in this article. That game was released around about when Trench Crusade hit the fandom and it got rather overshadowed, but it's well worth looking at if you're interested in a different take on trench horror, particularly a game that can handle larger troop formations. I'm keen to see what his follow-up is like.
According to Osprey's press release, Signs and Wonders uses "simple D10-based mechanics and a detailed campaign system" as you follow "small bands of soldiers through the trials of battle and the perils of the Green Weald". You'll be able to "balance faction loyalties, troop options, and a bestiary of Fae creatures to build unique forces and craft tales of terrible wonder".
A War Transformed had a good depth of setting info, and Signs and Wonders seems to follow suit. In the deep background is an ancient promise made by an English King to the Fae Queen, swearing to unite the Mortal and Fae realms in exchange for helping him out of a bind. Now it's 1642, All Hallows' Eve, and the faerie court rides forth right into the middle of the English Civil War. The riotous verdure of the Green Weald spreads across a land already ravaged by battle, while "rumors tell of the dead rallying to the banners of an ancient king".
1640s England is a peak era for folk magic. The Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins was at the pinnacle of his influence, hanging hundreds of people on charges of consorting with the devil. Religious tensions latent since the separation of the Church of England from the Catholic Church boiled over into outright conflict, while charismatic preachers founded schismatic churches. And the world was still superstitious - it was a world alive with redcaps, goblins, Robin Goodfellow, and the faerie nobility. If nothing else, warbands of Roundheads, Cavaliers, and faerie allies are going to be some of the best-dressed miniatures in all of wargaming.
Fond of folklore? A fan of faeries? Or a Civil War fanatic with a taste for the fantastical? If you're excited for Signs and Wonders, come and join us in the Wargamer Discord community. And for a weekly roundup of our best stories, make sure you're signed up to the Wargamer newsletter.