Set in the near future, and inspired by games such as Battlefield 2, Battlefield Evolution is a miniature wargame from Mongoose Publishing, the same company that created the Starship Troopers: The Miniatures Game. The rules for both games are similar. Battlefield Evolution has prepainted plastic figures opposed to the metal unpainted figures usually produced by Mongoose. The first set was released in mid-2007. Four armies are set to be released, with one new set added per army each month. The Israel Defense Forces, United States Army, and African warlords were mentioned as possible new factions.
Contents
Story
In the year 2018 the fictional oil rich country of Kerakhistan plunges into civil war. America sends the Marine Corps under the command of Major General Walsh to protect its interests in the country. The European Federation, an economic alliance, sends in its own multi-national task force under the same pretenses. The Chinese, still smarting from the US-Sino Trade War of 2011, sends military units into Kerakhistan to curb Western imperial ambition in the region. The Middle Eastern Alliance, a loose alliance of both Middle Eastern countries and neighboring non-Middle Eastern countries such as Egypt and Pakistan, sends its own military force into Kerakhistan to act as a shield between the American, European, and Chinese forces and the local population. Kerakhistani militia groups pledge their support to the Middle Eastern Alliance, vowing to fight alongside those pledged to aid them. In Indonesia USMC F-22 Raptor Fighters and EFTF Typhoon II Fighters clashed, with losses on both sides. On the American/Mexican border a guerrilla force launched an attack, destroying patrol towers and an armed UAV. It is currently unknown if this force is of Middle Eastern origin or under orders from Beijing. It is also possible that this attack is from another, unknown faction.
Scale
The Battlefield Evolution miniatures—figures and vehicles—are accurately produced in 1:65 scale. In this scale 28mm equals 6 feet, which is bit smaller than the more common “28mm scale”, in which an average human is 28–30mm tall (~1:60). This means that while the Battlefield Evolution figures are accurately scaled, they seem small compared to "28mm" figures. (And vehicles, which are 1:50, 1:48, and/or 1:43 scale, depending on the company.) However, due to this the popular 1:72 scale model ranges scale well with Battlefield Evolution due to scale creep.
Armies
(Current as of September 2007)
In early August 2007, Mongoose Publishing stated in their regular periodical Signs and Portents (Issue 47 Wargamer edition, page 65) that Battlefield Evolution would have its future releases placed on hold while they work out their production issues.
Already released products are still available for purchases, but any items that was previously indicated for a July 2007 release are no longer on the company's listings.
There are also a great deal of well formatted fan army lists that undergo peer review at the Battlefield Evolution fan site and use 3rd party miniatures. These lists are available to Download for free at the ([1])
Fan Armies include:
A current noteworthy achievement of the fan made army lists is the depth of unit selection and army options and background provided far exceeds the professionally produced Mongoose Publishing lists. Currently the Australian Defense Force, Polish Army and US Army lists are made to this standard, with the other lists fast approaching their level.