[FMA] Unengaging game

Played an uninspiring game of FMA skirmish last night for about 2 hours
(2
turns) then talked for an hour about what would have made it better.

Table size / concentration of forces: The table was 8' x 4' (240cm by
120 cm) and each 'side' had only 12 figures in 3 teams which started about
3'
(90 cm) apart. Each team engaged their direct opposites with no support. At 12
figures a side, a 6' or even 4' wide board might have been appropriate.

Isolation: Isolation distances seemed very short. It really hit home when a
Green trooper 7" from a visible friendly had to test to act. That's about 14
yards. You may think in the rush of combat that's quite a distance but to
compare it to an American football game, I'd think most passes go further than
that.

High Explosives, Long Grenade Throws and no Spotting: No spotting meant each
model acted as if all target positions were perfectly known. Long Grenade
Throws meant you could throw a grenade 30" (60m ground scale), a significant
fraction of the board width after a combat move. Since they're grenades with a
12" radius of effect and scatter less than 12", targeting the ground in the
middle of a squad was quite effective. After all, they're all within 6 to 10
inches of each other to avoid being isolated... 8 grenade casualties and one
guy shot after 2 turns.

Seriously Dangerous Overwatch: A bit extreme perhaps, but we were allowing
as an activation a combination of Combat Move/Overwatch and then
resolving overwatch as a full automatic shot. One guy who tried to draw line
of sight to the enemy got hit 5 times and by some fluke was only suppressed 3
times.

On discussing the game, one comment was that the game scale was within the
close range band of SG2, but these two forces on that terrain would have not
have closed to that range until having decisively pounded each other. They
were just too well-armed to risk closing with each other like that.

We agreed that denser terrain or urban terrain might have made for a better
game.

We definitely needed spotting to reign in grenade strikes against hidden
troops, and to open up isolation distances (quality OR 2x quality + line
of sight?).

We also noted that it's rare for a single unit to wipe out multiple units in
SG2 or other GZG games; a prevalence of grenades made that a common threat in
this game and meant those who weren't cautious on turn 1 (of their first game
of FMA skirmish, for some) paid a very heavy price.

I am assured that many people enjoy FMA skirmish. Without those reassurances,
I would not play the game again.

> Tom McCarthy wrote:

> High Explosives, Long Grenade Throws and no Spotting: No spotting
Long
> Grenade Throws meant you could throw a grenade 30" (60m ground scale),

We usually make going into overwatch a 2 action event and that's all you can
do.

> On discussing the game, one comment was that the game scale was within
They
> were just too well-armed to risk closing with each other like that.

Yes, most of the FMA games we do have lots of terrain. A large open area is
usually a one off thing.

> We definitely needed spotting to reign in grenade strikes against

We handle it like this. usually one side is set up on Defense so they may not
even have the figures on the board, just counters (Some dummy some real)
Though sometimes (solitaire) the figs are set up but always considered hidden
if they are in decent terrain. All forces not moving or in the open have to be
spotted before engagement (though Tom posted some recon by fire rules
earlier). Once a unit is spotted they are fair game though there has been
times when we've required a call onto the net (to LT or whatever) if somebody
from another group wants to shoot the target that turn. Also you can only try
and spot one area once per activation (you can try and spot two different
areas per activation but not the same one twice. If you don't see anything you
don't see it.) Of course these spotting rules can be modified by tech level.

All that being said if guys are whipping grenades into hidden locations (rooms
and windows not included) then there should be further range band shift or
something to see if the grenade bounces back or whatnot. Also keep in mind
that grenades have very poor penetration over distance through any kind of
cover.

> I am assured that many people enjoy FMA skirmish. Without those

The things obviously in it's rarest form of beta right now. We've had great
fun with the game, but without knowing more about your specific event, it's
hard to gauge what the other issues were. Note that the FMA that we play (or
up by
Tom's) has mutated more into a version of stargrunt/ FMA than using
rules as written.(i.e activating multiple figures with the help of an SL etc
etc).

Cheers...