Trying out some skirmish rules

My recent urban terrain build has sparked my interest in playing some small-scale games. The question is, what set of rules to use? I have quite a few different rulebooks, a common problem for many wargamers, covering a wide range of periods and genres. Some of these sets of rules I have played a few times, while others I haven’t put on the table even once.

I was looking at 7TV 2nd Edition on the Crooked Dice website the other day, and at one point I was thinking about ordering it. But then I reminded myself that I bought the first edition rules over a decade ago and have never got them on the table. When I got the 7TV rules, I bought a bundle with tokens, cards and two supplements, so I thought I should give them a try.

For my trial run of the game, I thought it would be best to start small, so I built two small 100-rating casts. The main conceit of 7TV is that you are not fighting some historic battle but rather making a TV programme. So, rather than building an army, you make a cast, and instead of points, you have ratings.

The heroes were Kung Fu Kelly, a Hardened Investigator (Star), Little Jim Saxon, his Plucky Assistant (Co-Star). The villains were the O’Hara Gang, led by O’Hara, a Faithful Lackey (Co-Star), and four ‘Eavies (Extras).

The Scenario

I decided to play a simple Chance Meeting encounter. Kung Fu Kelly and Little Jim Saxon turned up in Kelly’s Ford Capri in one corner, while the O’Hara Gang arrived in a Ford Transit in the opposite corner. The two sides would try to eliminate each other.

The O’Hara Gang took the initiative at the start of the engagement. The ‘Eavies moved quickly towards Kelly and Saxon, while O’Hara held back, cocking his submachine gun.

Seeing the oncoming members of the O’Hara Gang, Kung Fu Kelly cracked his knuckles and quickly loosened up, ready to teach the goons the error of their ways.

O’Hara ordered two of his heavies to rough up the two interlopers. One of the ‘Eavies charged towards Little Jim and swung his bat, cracking the Plucky Assistant on the skull.

Kung Fu Kelly sprang to Saxon’s aid. Striking like a snake, he quickly knocked out the first ‘Eavy. He then took out a second ‘Eavy with a flying kick.

Telling Kelly to go deal with O’Hara, Saxon pulled his sawn-off shotgun out of his coat. Kelly heard the boom of the shotgun as he raced towards O’Hara and his waiting submachine gun.

O’Hara’s submachine gun peppered the area around Kelly, but none of the shots hit the master of Iron Bull Kung Fu. Kelly’s first strike knocked O’Hara back, taking the air out of him. Kelly smiled as he got ready to teach this old lag a lesson or two. The sound of two bats pounding on Little Jim stopped Kelly from finishing off O’Hara. He quickly turned back to aid his friend. The two ‘Eavies were surprised to be attacked from behind. They turned and tried to use their bats to defend themselves, but they were no match for the raging fists of Kung Fu Kelly.

Kelly’s timely aid saved Little Jim Saxon, but in dealing with the ‘Eavies, he let O’Hara escape this time.

My Thoughts on the rules

First off, I have to say that I enjoyed these rules. They are nice and simple, but with enough tweaks of their own to make them feel fresh.

A lot of the combat mechanics would not be unfamiliar to anyone who has played Warhammer or any of its offspring, such as Bolt Action. You roll to hit, and then there is a wound table in which Strength is compared to Defence on a chart to determine the number you need to cause a wound.

The initiative, activation and event cards are where the game differentiates itself from these mainstays of the hobby. Although initiative is just a roll-off between the two sides, the difference between the rolls gives you Audience Appreciation tokens that can be used to adjust rolls during the turn. Players will only be able to activate half of their force, which can really lead to some interesting decisions.

These rules are not some revolutionary, ground-breaking thing, but they make for a really good game, and I will definitely be getting them on the table again.