Will your New Year's Resolution be "More Miniature Gaming"? An Update to the Vault.Play System

Back in 2023, we introduced the Vault.Play Ranking system as way to have a little bit of a competitive touch to our in-store miniature gaming. When it was launched, there wasn't anything at stake, just a name on the board with a score that moves up or down based on your results. From next year though, that changes. After feedback from the Vault Games team and the miniatures community, we'd like to introduce the Vault.Play 2026 Update!

The Available Games are Changing

Due to the shift in release schedules, publisher commitment, and current community numbers, the games you can report for Vault.Play are changing slightly. Battletech, Kill Team, Warcry, Warhammer: 40000, and Age of Sigmar will remain on the board, while Godtear, Star Wars: Legion, Star Wars: Shatterpoint, and A Song of Ice and Fire Miniatures Game are being removed. The number of games in Vault.Play won't change though because Warhammer: 40000 Combat Patrol, Age of Sigmar Spearhead, Malifaux, and Trench Crusade are being added.

The decision was made to include Combat Patrol and Spearhead seperate to full-scale Warhammer: 40000 and Age of Sigmar, respectively, as each year sees a builder league for each of these games and we intend to run some regular tournaments for these games in 2026.

Also, Malifaux just entered its fourth edition to great reviews, Trench Crusade has launched in 1.0 with some plastic kits becoming available, and both of these games already have a nascent community looking to expand at each store, something we hope Vault.Play can support.

The Scoring Algorithm is Changing

In the old form of Vault.Play, you start with a rating of 1500 and based on your reported results, your score moves up or down. With the 2026 update, your score starts at 0, and only goes up. Without getting into the specifics of the algorithm, we've changed things to ensure that not only do you score points for playing, but the amount of points you gain is still based on the difference between you and your opponent.

If you win against someone higher than you, your score will go up faster than it would if you win against someone with the same or lower score than you. This means there is less of an incentive to win if you already hold a high score unless you're playing against someone who also has a high score.

There's a Payoff Now! Introducing Vault.Play Invitationals

That's right. In 2026 (and beyond if the system is well utilised), there is an incentive to recording results and building your Vault.Play Score. Across November and December, we will be holding invitational tournaments at each store for any Vault.Play game that has 12 or more players above 200 points by the 1st of November.

These invitational tournaments will be FREE and offer some sweet prizes (which we will announce closer to the event). The top six players of any qualified game on 1st November will receive automatic entry into this end of year tournament. But that isn't the end of the Vault.Play Invitationals if you don't make the cut. The remaining two spots are wild card entries, that can be filled by the top 2 of a wild-card open tournament run in November ahead of the invitational tournaments. This means you still have a chance, even if you get involved in Vault.Play late in the year or don't make one of the top six positions.

This is great. What's Next?

The ranking posters for each store are already off for printing. We're working on an explainer flyer that will be available in-store by the end of the year. The only thing that you need to worry about is registerring for the Vault.Play system. To do so, fill out this form.

Once 2026 begins, you can start recording your results with the in-store team, and get the ball rolling on your invite to the end of year tournaments.