A lot of people say they want to get into painting miniatures, but they’re just not that into Space Marines or anything else Games Workshop is currently selling. That’s fine, because there are plenty of miniatures-based games to get excited about, including ones you’ve probably never heard of. Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood of Venice is on sale now as part of Amazon’s Prime Day in October, and it’s an excellent example of how a small purchase can get you started on a great new hobby.
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood of Venice is a story-driven, cooperative campaign game for up to four players with 26 playable chapters, each approximately an hour long. It also has a solo mode so you can play it yourself or learn it thoroughly before sharing it with your friends. And while I haven’t had a chance to try it out yet, the game comes highly recommended by several writers I respect, including Aftermath co-founder Lucas Plunkett.
Like other modern board games, Brotherhood of Venice was brought to life a successful crowdfunding campaign. But now that the hype has died down and the $239 collector’s edition has sold out, there’s a glut of basic boxes left in Amazon’s warehouses around the world — and that’s where you’ll find the $79.99 version half off, too buy for only $39.99 through Wednesday.
In your copy of Brotherhood of Veniceyou’ll find the first five miniatures you get to paint, a series of familiar but deadly assassins cloaked in flowing robes and hoods that barely conceal a collection of elegant, sharp objects. How about a video tutorial to get you started? Who better to help you on your journey than the Golden Demon award-winning painter Angel Giraldez. (Just skip the airbrush bit and do it a quick zenithal climax with some spray paint.)
Now all you need is some paint and a brush. Of course, you can drop by my comprehensive painting guide for lots of helpful advice and purchasing options. Or you could grab this Army Painter Zombicide Paint Set which is currently on sale, and it comes with enough base colors and metallics to get you started. You even get a decent brush! Any other colors you want or need can be picked up at your local hobby store or online.
But we’re not done yet. Now that you have five fully painted Assassins, and after you’ve completed the 26-mission campaign, what next? Well, then it’s time to check out TTCombat’s Carnivala full-fledged miniature skirmish game played over extensive terrain. You can start small with just the core rulebookor go big with a huge one laser cut wooden diorama. Or you can skip the skirmish game altogether and just come up with a fun little something Venetian street corner for your beautiful new miniatures to hang.
Opportunities to start painting miniatures are everywhere, and every year more and more varied lines from all kinds of different environments come onto the market. So don’t put off starting a new hobby any longer, look for miniatures and games that interest you, find some good tools and tutorials, and get painting. You won’t regret it, especially as the cold winter months start to creep in.
Looking for more offers? See all of Polygon’s favorite Prime Day 2024 deals for October here and subscribe to our newsletter below to get great deals delivered to your inbox every week.