Gundam Assemble

What is Gundam Assemble

Gundam Assemble is a tactical miniatures game from Bandai, played with two-inch scale Gunpla. Bandai’s product page puts the models at about 50mm. It sits under Bandai Tabletop Games, the name Bandai Hobby uses for its tabletop game titles.

You build a squad of Mobile Suits from across the Gundam franchise and fight them over a hex map. The rulebook’s pitch is that you can relive battles from the shows through story scenarios, or mix Mobile Suits from different eras into matchups the shows never had. Squad building has one real restriction: no two copies of the same unit card, unless the unit is Mass Produced. Zeon units work better alongside other Zeon, but nothing stops you mixing factions unless the scenario says so.

It isn’t on shelves yet. The full core rulebook is already a free PDF (v1.0, updated September 14, 2026). Starter Set 01 reaches general retail on 31 October 2026, and the rest of the first wave follows through early 2027. Bandai is running a Global Launch Tour starting at the Las Vegas Open (October 1 to 4) and SPIEL Essen (October 22 to 25), where demo players can buy the starter set early.

How it plays

The Timeline. There are no turns in the usual sense. Each unit has a token on a 10-space Timeline track, starting where its unit card says. When the round counter reaches a unit’s token, that unit activates. A game is two Phases of 10 rounds each, 20 rounds in all.
Actions cost time. An activated unit can Advance (up to three hexes), use Command abilities, and play a Tactics card, and it must take one Primary Action: Attack, Dash, Energize, or Rescue. Primary Actions push the unit’s token further down the Timeline, so a big attack means waiting longer to act again.
Ten-sided dice. An attack rolls dice equal to the weapon’s Strength. Every 4 or higher is a hit, and a 9 or 10 is a critical hit that can trigger the weapon’s critical effect.
Energy. Stronger weapons and abilities spend Energy. Units gain it by Energizing, which costs two Timeline.
Tactics cards. Each player builds a deck of nine Tactics cards that match their squad, draws three at the start, and three more when the first Phase ends. You can play one per activation.
Scenarios and victory points. Every game runs off a scenario. You score for defeating enemy units, capturing Objectives, defeating enemy Garrisons or rescuing your own, and hitting scenario goals. Most VP at the end wins.
Squads of three or five. Most scenarios call for three or five units, and some add a Carrier, a battleship that units deploy from.

How to start

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Gundam Assemble Official Core Rulebook (free PDF)

The full rules, v1.0, updated September 14, 2026, from Bandai.

Read the rules for free. The Official Core Rulebook is on the Rules/FAQ page. The official play guide walks through a battle step by step.
Get Starter Set 01 (ST01). MSRP $35, general retail on 31 October 2026. It has everything for a 3 vs 3 game: six unpainted miniatures, six unit cards, 18 Tactics cards, a game map, paper terrain, a set of ten-sided dice, two scenario objective cards, a handbook, and two quick reference sheets. It includes two scenarios for learning the game.
Add to it. Bandai’s US prices and release months for the first wave:
- Expansion Packs 01 and 02: $40 each, October 2026
- Paint Pack 01: $50, October 2026
- Deluxe Set 01: $100, November 2026
- Expansion Packs 03 and 04: $40 each, November 2026
- Deluxe Set 02: $170, December 2026
- Expansion Pack 05: $40, December 2026
- Expansion Packs 06 and 07: $40 each, January 2027
- Expansion Pack 08 and Scenario Pack 01: $40 and $55, February 2027
- Deluxe Set 03 and Expansion Pack 09: $170 and $40, March 2027
Bandai says the deluxe sets let you fight as the shows’ pilots in story scenarios, or command battleships in 5-on-5 battles.
Paint them. The miniatures come unpainted. Bandai has a painting page, and there’s a Gundam Assemble Color paint line from Mr. Hobby.

Community & reviews

Bandai has store events running from launch. A beginner “Learn to Play” series runs from September 26 to November 30, 2026, and a casual friendly-match series runs from November 14, 2026 to January 22, 2027. An authorized judge program is listed as coming soon.