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.

Mud, Blood, and the Golden Ticket to Mars-Some thoughts on Gaslands

 Mud, Blood, and the Golden Ticket to Mars

Some thoughts on Gaslands

It won’t have escaped the regular reader of this blog, if such a thing exists, that I’ve really got into Gaslands. I’m not sure how long this obsession will last; I can already hear the roar of an engine from Dark Future calling to me, but Gaslands has quickly become the most-played tabletop game for me in a long time. I’ve managed to get in fifteen games since February, all against other people, which is a bit of a record for me, as I spend most of my time playing solo.

Why has Gaslands taken such a hold on my gaming? I think there are a few reasons why I’m really enjoying it at the moment. The first has to be the social side of it: I’ve managed to get my gaming group into the game, and there’s nothing quite like a group of mates hanging out and getting excited about the roll of a die or the choice of a template.

The second reason is the game mechanics. It’s quick and intuitive, so I can get straight into the story unfolding on the table. Some of this may be because it shares mechanics with games like Wings of Glory and X-Wing. More than one game has hinged on a single bad choice of movement template—sending cars careering into walls or barriers. The look of horror on the face of the person who picked the wrong one is priceless.

The final reason has to be the building of the cars for the game.  Each car that I have made has drawn me into the game more and more.  It is hard to express the joy that I have found from taking toy cars apart and making them my own but there it is.  Gaslands got me using a power tool for the first time in decades.  Did I feel more like a real man for taking an electric drill to a Hot Wheels car?  Probably not, but it was fun.

 After action thoughts

A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to play a game against an opponent for the first time in a long time.  My opponent made skilful use of his light cavalry, the Burgoyne Hussars, to tie up two units of my infantry and then took apart my remaining forces piece meal.  It was a good afternoon of play, but I will not be including that battle or the results here.

Why would I ignore the results of an enjoyable game?  There could be a lot of reasons; perhaps I want to keep control of the narrative that is slowly building up here, maybe I am a sore loser, or I may not have kept good notes of what went on.  All of these could have some truth to them, but the real reason comes down to why I play games.

A lot has been written by much more eminent people than me about the joys of solo wargaming.  Donald Featherstone expounded the merits of solo wargaming as things like the freedom of ideas, and time that a solo wargamer has on their hands.  These are indeed some of the benefits, but after my game the other week I was struck by the main thing that I get from solo wargaming and wargaming itself.  

I play games to see a story unfold on the table.  This desire for narrative leads me to name units, generals, and regimental officers.  I like to see how a unit`s history develops over the course of play.  If you take away these elements then I lose interest in the game, and I may as well just play a computer game.  Here is where I saw the stark difference between myself and my opponent, for them the game was a tactical challenge.  They wanted to show their skill at out manoeuvring me and winning the game.  Whether or not a regimental officer was killed did not really interest them.  Now, I am not criticising my opponent for their reasons for playing a tabletop game, it is just not the reason that I play.

Does this mean that I won`t ever play games against other people?  Of course not, but I get the most joy out of playing games solo.  If you have not tried it before I recommend that you give it a try, you may be surprised by how much you enjoy it.