> At 11:29 PM 9/6/98 +1200, you wrote:
[Much Snippage]
> Shockforce - fast, simple, easy to remember, no counters. Unlike most
Well, first of all, Shock Force is a 25/28mm scale skirmish game, not
Microarmor. But that's begging the question. Why bother to play it? Let me put
it this way I am a great fan of SGII, and have attempted on innumerable
occasions to get my group to play it. They will do so, but only with
reluctance. They don't like the rules; they are too complex and too slow.
Shock Force, on the other hand.... We now play Shock Force, or some variation
thereof, almost every single week. We use it for Science Fiction skirmish, we
use it for Fantasy skirmish, one guy is even working on using it for 15mm
Napoleonic battles. Not skirmishes, battles.
Only thrice before have I seen my group take to a set of rules with such
enthusiasm.
The first time was for Ogre Miniature Dattles, which was what got me involved
in SF microarmor to begin with. And is the reason that I now have no less than
12 Ogres of various sizes, shapes, and colors.
The second time was for Fire and Fury, which caused even me to by a pack of
Old Glory Union troops.
And the third time was Full Thrust, which set off a frenzy of starship
puchases among the group which continues to this day.
What do all these systems have in common? They are all very quick, simple
rules. We can play 2 or 3 games of Shock Force in the time it takes to play ¾
of a game of SGII. And they do not require constant consultations of the
rulebook if you have not played in two or three months. It seems that, as we
all get older, we have less and less patience with our rule systems. We don't
get enough time to game as it is; we want to spend our time on Friday nights
playing, not discussing the rules.
But that's just our opinion.
> Shockforce - fast, simple, easy to remember, no counters. Unlike most
(snip)
> Well, first of all, Shock Force is a 25/28mm scale skirmish game, not
Let me put it this way I am a great fan of SGII, and have attempted on
innumerable occasions to get my group to play it. They will do so, but only
with reluctance. They don't like the rules; they are too complex and too slow.
Shock Force, on the other hand.... We now play Shock Force, or some variation
thereof, almost every single week. We use it for Science Fiction skirmish, we
use it for Fantasy skirmish, one guy is even working on using it for 15mm
Napoleonic battles. Not skirmishes, battles.<
(snip)
> What do all these systems have in common? They are all very quick,
I am looking for something which: a) is on the scale of DS2 b) has a mix of
unit types (but not necessarily "design your own vehicle" because frankly, it
takes effort to get the time to design a FTFB class, and I'm more interested
in that than I am in ground action) c) is quick and easy. Essentially, I'm
looking for the "De Bellis Antiquitas" of science fiction ground action. Is
there such a thing already, or do I need to design it myself and reap all the
fame and wealth that would thereby accrue to me
; )
Anyone who wants to repond offlist (eg by sending your own homegrown rules):
On Mon, 07 Sep 1998 12:44:56 -0400, laserlight <laserlight@mci2000.com>
wrote:
> Essentially, I'm looking for the "De Bellis Antiquitas" of science
I don't know of one for sci-fi. However, I do have something similar for
World War 2. It's Great Battles of World War II, Volumes 1 and 2 published by
The Canadian Wargamer's Group. Volume 1 is The Canadians in Europe, and Volume
2 is Drop Zone.
Both are stand alone games, with about 10 pages (8.5" by 11") of rules. The
rest of the book is mostly scenarios with some historical commentary. In spite
of the focus of the books, they include information on German, Commonwealth,
American, and Soviet armour, so extrapolation for those eras is possible.
Volume 1 covers an interesting, but often neglected, part of the Western
Front, covering Canadian participation in Italy, Normandy, and the clearing of
Holland. Volume 2 covers paratroop actions from Crete, and a hypothetical
taking of Malta, to Pegasus Bridge and Market Garden.
I haven't tried the rules other than to play around with the mechanics. They
are designed for large battles but without a lot of figures (not the Brigade
fight at skirmish level that usually occurs in this scale of rules). They cost
$C15 for 75 pages of 8.5" x 11". For the scenario details and maps alone they
are well worth the price.
If you were looking to build a DBA-in-sci-fi you could do worse than
look at these rules.
> At 09:35 PM 07-09-98 GMT, you wrote:
wrote:
> Essentially, I'm looking for the "De Bellis Antiquitas" of science
The
> rest of the book is mostly scenarios with some historical commentary.
In spite
> of the focus of the books, they include information on German,
They
> are designed for large battles but without a lot of figures (not the
They cost
> $C15 for 75 pages of 8.5" x 11". For the scenario details and maps
I own both sets, they are fast, fun and very playable. They also cover a scale
not usally seen in WWII games, i.e. basic units are compaines not platoons
like spearhead or CDIII.
> On Mon, 7 Sep 1998, laserlight wrote:
> I am looking for something which:
Try
Ogre Miniatures. Yes, really. Just ignore the Ogres. Generic Legions. Free, on
the web.