I forgot when I got my starter set, until I saw the receipt which noted 2006, priced CAN26.99 at a local bookstore chain. I did a quick search this set is now worth about USD75 now. Well that’s not what I wanted to say as I bought it due to my own interest in trying out and experiencing the product. Then, my search on Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures resulted in just a few related results and confusing finds of various other products. That is, those not of this product series. I had to look closely while doing the searches because I wished to distinguish, if any of the product results were what I was looking for. Apparently, Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game started in 2003 and ended in 2011. Why did the series creased production? Why did a product build on an extremely popular Intellectual Property has to end? What happened?

Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game (DDM) was an attempted adaption of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) to a duel boardgame. However it is just not D&D enough.

Just like my search on the English information for Barcode Battler II, there wasn’t much for Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game. But this time it was different. The search had some relevant pages but many pages resulted from “D&D miniatures” directed to other miniatures which wasn’t part of the exact Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game. The relevant information was fragmented for a product with 9 years in the market. And the most relevant results were the few fan sites, wiki pages and blog posts.

In this article I will go through the what and about of Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game, it’s overall history and evolution over it’s product timespan of 2003-2010. I will touch a bit on the overall place of where it stand within Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), but will not go into too much detail of other D&D products and history. Finally I will add in my own thoughts.

I referred Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game as “DDM” and Dungeons & Dragons as “D&D” in this article.

Name	Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game
Type	Collectible Duel Boardgame
Versions	21 core sets*
Add-on Modules	11 special releases sets & 188 special promo versions*
Years	2003-2011
Manufacturer/ Distributors	Wizards of the Coast (Hasbro)
Platform	N/A
No. of Players	2
Batteries	N/A

What is Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game?

Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game as on the printed materials, was a collectible miniatures game. I thought I read it wrong but I didn’t. Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game was unlike the normal D&D where it was played as a roleplaying game. Such as, instead of immersing as a character of it’s unique race and traits, Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game simplified everything into 4 warband factions of Lawful Good (LG), Chaotic Good (CG), Lawful Evil (LE) & Chaotic Evil (CE) characters with various rarities. The game was intended for 2 players duelling against each other using their collection of miniatures.

The good thing is, the characters were still within the D&D universe and they all had specific rules and traits that followed around the universe. Also, the miniature pieces could be utilized in your normal D&D games and/or act as a collection.

The miniatures were pre-painted with character cards (they call them stat cards) provided so a game can be started soon as you open the box. Which means you don’t really need to know any of the backgrounds to play. And that’s so different than the D&D I thought I know – Where is the Dungeon Master telling stories, a few players and friends roleplaying as various races and carefully taking each step forward?

My question remained, what actually is the difference of Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game VS the original D&D?

Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game VS The Original D&D

I had to put in this section because I initially thought what I got was a starter set of “get me started on D&D” (I am still a noob in D&D although I am always interested). However, when I opened the contents of this starter set, I realized something is off. There are just miniatures but no stories? I did a quick compare by situating them as different products:

	Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game (DDM)	Original D&D (D&D)
Roleplaying	No	Yes
Dungeon Master (DM)	No	Yes
Tactical Combat	Yes	Yes
Players	2	1+ (Ideally 4-5)
Miniatures	Only from DDM sets	Any (Even tokens)

Simply put, Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game is a duel boardgame focused on the tactical play and their miniatures. It is a likely subset of D&D with less involving players and little to none on the role-playing elements. So given that it is only a subset of the original D&D, is Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game still fun to play? Does it have a unique game identity?

The Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game Identity Issue

As a duel boardgame, I thought DDM is a decently fun experience using characters from D&D, gathering them in a team and duel with another players. Also, the collection part is fun & addicting. Yet, DDM was just a D&D themed duel boardgame without all the story telling and role-play elements? They do, have the following more unique gameplay elements:

• Choice of warband factions: In a standard game (they called it advanced rules/ competitive play), you will have to build your team with one of these Warband Faction traits (as noted on the stat cards. Yet, I still don’t see why the categorizations?)
• D&D themed characters: They are all from D&D and look really familiar!
• Use of d20: That’s part of the D&D identity, of course!

In my view, there wasn’t much that stood out differently comparing to other duel board game brands. The biggest thing was they are recognizable D&D characters with some special rules on their stat cards.

When it is something that branded D&D, it is not just about the battle. I think removing the role-play and storytelling is taking away way too much for a game labelled D&D. It is rushing to the battles without knowing characters, settings, stories & backgrounds. It is like watching a movie only in the last half hour or so when it all comes together, without knowing the prior story telling. And also, I believe Gamemaster (GM) is an essential part of D&D. And in this DDM game, the only thing that stood out are the miniatures.

Next let’s look at the actual gameplay, which is divided into starter rules & advanced rules.

Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game Gameplay

Starter Rules:

The following was the basic gameplay for DDM. It was a 2 people game and you can have as little as 1 unit to play:

1. Pick a battle map;
2. Pick your unit(s) along with the stat card(s) that correspond to the unit(s) for reference;
3. Roll a d20 dice, whoever got higher starts first by placing their unit(s);
4. Depending on the map, normally the starting locations are at the corners, place your unit(s) at these starting locations opposing to each other;
5. Roll d20 dice again for an initiative check to see who moves first;
6. There is a speed number on the unit stat cards. On each turn, you may do one of the following for each unit:
   • Move up to double it’s speed number;
   • Move up to it’s speed number, then attack;
   • Attack first, then move up to it’s speed number;
   • Attack and not move;
7. When your unit is in range (stated on the unit stat cards, such as melee means you have to be right by each other), you may attack;
8. Damage is dealt against the opponent unit’s HP, as on their unit stat card; (and counter attacks?)
9. Once all of a player’s units are destroyed, the game is over.

There were also other basic rules like moving diagonally, landscape awareness (e.g. you can’t pass through walls), armour class, roll d20 dice for a morale save once a unit’s health point (as on the unit stat card) reaches half it’s value. In all, they are easy to reference and follow.

Advanced Rules:

For the advanced rules (The actual standard game), it included a bit more such as the below. I think these should not be the “advanced rules” but they should be the normal rules. And the starter rules should be the tutorial.

1. The need to compose your force within the same warband faction symbols;
2. Applying the point value of the pieces, such as an agreed total force point value and victory point conditions;
3. Use of the advanced side of the unit stat cards, thus more special rules and abilities;
4. Using commander;
5. The need to activate creatures;
6. Larger battle maps.

So in all, Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game felt like a duel boardgame completely. It did provide enough pieces to collect and thus the variety in each player’s team and composition was still quite a challenging and filled. However, nothing in the gameplay, suggested strongly it is D&D. It was my biggest critique of all.

Releases/ Collector’s Guide

Over the years from 2003 to 2011, there were a total of 21 sets. The following is a list of core set releases sorted by release date. (Updated Jan 31, 2024)

Core Set Products	Set Type	Styles	Release Date*	Pictures
Harbinger	Core	80	Sep 26, 2003	Picture1
Dragoneye	Core	60	Dec 19, 2003	Picture2
Archfiends	Core	60	Mar 25, 2004	Picture2
Giants of Legend	Core	72	Jun 18, 2004	Picture2
Aberrations	Core	60	Oct 14, 2004	Picture2
Deathknell	Core	60	Mar 24, 2005	Picture2
Angelfire	Core	60	Jul 21, 2005	Picture2
Underdark	Core	60	Nov 3, 2005	Picture2
War Drums	Core	60	Mar 3, 2006	Picture2
War of the Dragon Queen	Core	60	Jul 7, 2006	Picture2
Blood War	Core	60	Nov 6, 2006	Picture2
Unhallowed	Core	60	Mar 5, 2007	Picture2
Night Below	Core	60	Jul 6, 2007	Picture2
Desert of Desolation	Core	60	Oct 26, 2007	Picture2
Dungeons of Dread	Core	60	Mar 28, 2008	Picture2
Against the Giants	Core	60	Jul 12, 2008	Picture2
Demonweb	Core	60	Nov 7, 2008	Picture2
Monster Manual: Dangerous Delves	Core	40	May 19, 2009	Picture2
Monster Manual: Legendary Evils	Core	40	Aug 18, 2009	Picture2
Monster Manual: Savage Encounters	Core	40	Nov 17, 2009	Picture2
Lords of Madness	Core	60	Sep 21, 2010	Picture2

1. The picture taken from taking a snapshot from MinisGallary.
2. The pictures taken from taking a snapshot from Web Archive on Wizards of the Coast, article archive pages for Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game, Mini Galleries Archive.

Special release sets & special promo versions

Aside from the core sets, there were 11 special release sets & 188 special promo versions. The contents are quite interesting, with really big pieces and sets. You may check them out at the Further readings & resources below.

The next section lists what is in a typical starter set. Which is, the set I am showing here – War Drums Starter Set.

Product contents in Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game (War Drums Starter Set)

• Collectible figures & stat cards:
  • 10 Random, Painted Miniatures
  • 2 Non-Random, Painted Miniatures (Wood Elf Ranger & Orc Mauler)
  • 12 Corresponding stat cards (double sided) for all 12 miniatures
• Dice, Map & tokens:
  • 1 D20 Dice (Blue)
  • 2 double sided battle maps
  • 20 damage tokens
• 4 Booklets/ Sheets:
  • 1 Quick Start Booklet
  • 1 Advanced Rules
  • 1 Customer Satisfaction Survey Card
  • 1 Spell effect templates sheet

Final thoughts

It took me a while to write this Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game post since I am unfamiliar with D&D. But the more I studied it the more I appreciated the original D&D. Because of this, I understood why I questioned when I first look at my box of DDM (Which I thought initially was a D&D starter set) – The success of the original D&D enabled the popularity and thus the making of expansion products like Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game (DDM). Although DDM renamed, migrated and restarted over twice after 2011 (Dungeon Command 2012-2013, & D&D Icons of the Realms 2014-current), the brand still goes on. Simply put, as long as D&D is popular, DDM and it’s succession are still very valid and relevant products.

Missing the D&D brand DNA

The DNA of a brand is what makes it be. Just like you can play a warrior character but try to major it using magic and calling him a mage. Technically you can but it isn’t effective. You can imitate, but the core elements of your brand and perceive of brand will not change. You can only evolve a brand by taking amazing elements that fits but not everything can be taken as it is.

However, by taking away the why (story & background) of the duel, it likely made D&D more accessible to the more casual & new players. Also, people can collect miniatures to use in D&D while having an option to just play the duel game. I believe they were decent business decisions. However, it was definitely a different product and should be treated as such.

Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game was a subset of the original D&D. While D&D defined itself as one of the grandfathers, defining genre of what RPG is, it is not a simplified duel game for sure. The overall role playing and storytelling through dice throwing and that adventure of story through the GM, is the biggest and largest fun D&D offers.

It wasn’t a bad game, just not enough

I think DDM wasn’t a bad game. It was a decent game. But I do prefer the real D&D more than just the duel. If I want to play a duel boardgame there are so many brands that are way more superior.

If I am to suggest something for DDM, it is to have certain story telling elements, like, draw some story/ event cards and to deploy them. Or get some sort of Dungeon Master (DM) involved with their own unique set of methods. That will make it not only feel more D&D, but to enhance with a more unique taste and user immersion to the game.

That said, I can for sure still play DDM as is, or use in D&D using the miniatures. Or, invent my own rules and just have fun. But am I as engaged and look forward to that next quest, next roll, next door and next encounters? For Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Game (DDM) it just isn’t what I expected it to be.

Pros (Why It is Awesome)

• It is always great to do a collection and see what rare characters I got
• It is a duel battle game!
• Full colour maps, tokens and everything provided so game can be started asap
• There were quite a lot to collect, big, small and with various rarities
• There is an unique stat card for each miniature, they are handy but will take time to sort things out before a game

Cons (What could be done better)

• It just doesn’t feel like D&D
• Why does the map even matter?
• You really need to play the advanced game to feel more like a good D&D game
• The basic game should just be an introduction and advanced game should be the standard game

Further readings & resources:

• List of Dungeons & Dragons rulebooks – Fandom – The list of rulebooks over the years
• D&D Miniatures Special Releases – List of special releases
• D&D Miniatures Special Promos – List of special promo miniature releases

Should you have further questions or comments, please let me know in the comments below!

Written by NKBDL for Strategy Games Evolution, Apr 25, 2025

Disclaimer: All pictures shown on the article were taken by me from my own collections. For pictures that are linked out, and are very specific like those really rare items, I downloaded them from online auction websites and will reference them as best as possible. As these websites listings are quite dynamic it is very hard to keep a permanent link to them. If you found yourself to be the owner of such photos and I didn’t do my reference right, please contact me right away. Thank you!

I started this site so that anyone (including me) can come and learn about/ reference on interesting strategy game products, so being able to show and reference the right pictures meant a lot to me and my audiences. Of course I did put up some referral links so that I can continue to support this site and buy more products to review. So I shall let everyone know about this point too. Thanks again.