Sunday, April 8, 2012

15mm Sci-Fi Minis are go!

I got in a little painting this weekend and I've now got enough (arguably) sci-fi minis (that aren't intended for VSF) painted up that I can start exploring rules.

First up, the forces:

Sepulvedan Resistance from Khurasan - please excuse the leaning wall in the background. I rushed that together for photos.

Khurasan Sepulvedan Control Forces
Now, you may have noticed I only have 3 figs for one side. Yes, that is a problem. It won't be until May that I order my next batch from Khurasan, most likely. So, in the meantime, I can try to find a satisying 3-5 aside skirmish system, that ideally can go up to 10 aside and a vehicle- perhaps some kind of RPG Lite. Risus, I'm looking in your direction.

The complete list of contenders:
  • Chain Reaction: Final Version
  • Chain Reaction (aka Girls & Guns, or is it Guns & Girls?)with the Received Fire rule from MG-42 (I know, I know. I keep trying to find a way to like this game) and the star rules from CRFV.
  • Six Gun Sound (1st ed.) - I read somewhere that a space opera is like a Western set in space. Well, these rules are set in the West - what if I mod them for space? 
  • USE ME - not really intended for such low figure counts, but I don't see why it couldn't do it. I was grossly mistaken on this. It handles low figure counts as a matter of course.
  • FUBAR - ditto.Not really intended for such low figure counts but I don't see why I couldn't do it.
  • Blaster (a more generic version of In the Emperor's Name)
  • Risus or some home-grown variation
  • Unbelievably Simple Role-playing System (similar to Risus in the mechanics)
  • IN-RADIC (the skirmish bits, not the decision engine) - I find this system as is works fine for up to about 5 per side, but breaks down after that. Modifying activation to a card draw, each card = 1 fig, works, although at that point it's not the same game is it?
  • Gut Check!
  • and the long shots: Mutant Futures and Star Frontiers: Alpha Dawn, Digitally Remastered ed. (unless I buy a copy of Alpha Dawn on e-bay first)
All of these are free, save two and they were $5 pdfs.

I intend to play a set of 3 simple scenarios with all the rule sets to see which works best for me, although I may whittle some away before I set a mini on the table. More details once play testing begins.

5 comments:

  1. Go for USR ;)

    In seriousness, I haven't played many of those systems (although I invented one of them) but I enjoy Chain Reaction for skirmish games.

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  2. Hi Scott, thanks for stopping by and commenting! I'm on the fence about Chain Reaction. The games just go so fast and there's so much dice rolling - but I do love the reaction system, which is why I keep trying to find a way to make CR work for me.

    Btw, I've done some limited testing of USR for a miniatures skirmish a few times now. And, I just ran a dungeon crawl using USR. I'll write up my reactions in more detail in a post later, but so far, I really like the way both types of games have played themselves out.

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    1. Cool! I never really thought of using USR for a skirmish game, but I can definitely see it. My favourite skirmish system at the moment is Song of Blades and Heroes - such a great set of rules. I tend to prefer skirmish games over full scale battles.

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  3. Hello DH,
    I recently ran a comparison WW2 scenario between the free rule sets Chain Reaction, Fubar and Paper Tigers. My focus is on platoon level games, so CR is too small scale and I needed to retro-fit the vehicle rules from version 2.0. If I understand correctly, we have similar feelings about THW rules: in theory they are great, but they are difficult to apply. For the time being, I think I will stick to Fubar, hoping that Spacejacker's Throwdown solves all my solo gaming problems :)
    BTW, doesn't Ganesha Games have a ruleset to fit in your list of SciFi candidates? I never played their systems, but I liked the rule sets I read.
    I am looking forward to see more of your comparative scenarios!

    Evandro

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  4. Hello Evandro, thanks for the comments! I liked FUBAR for WWII too as well, and I've been meaning to try Paper Tigers for some Eastern Front games.

    Yes, I think we're on the same page about CR. I really want to like them, but it just never works that way

    I think every solo player is waiting for Throwdown!

    Ganesha does have two sets that would work from what I understand, both Flying Lead and Mutants and Death Ray Guns. I've not tried either, although I've played Blades and Heroes (which I enjoyed). Both sets are on my list to acquire, but I keep spending my hobby budget on miniatures. :D

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