"Good games on a 2' board?" Topic

Much as I enjoy big battles at the club, I also really like being able to play fast games that are quick to set up on a 2ft x 2ft board. I currently use DBA, Hordes of the Things and the excellent Song of Blades and Heroes for this. I was just wondering what other games would work in such a small area. I prefer to use 15mm figures, though I'd consider 6mm. Any thoughts?

Two Hour Wargames (ATZ) comes to mind

The Rattrap games: .45 Adventure (Pulp action) and Gloire (swashbuckling).

Both are designed to be played on a board of such a size. They are designed for a handful 28mm figures really though, rather than your preferred scales.

Our to be released in march 'Distant World battles' which uses DBA style mechanics can be played on that size of a board with the 12 or 18 stand forces.

the largest 24 stand force is best of a 2' deep x 3' wide board.

Ambush Alley is a relativly new modern skirmsih set of rules deisgned to be played on a 2' square wiht 15mm minis. It is a great game.

"Mighty Armies" plays fine on 2x2 and it's a very fast-playing fantasy armies game.

Warrior Heroes from THW is played on a 2x3 board

I seem to remember Bolt Action Miniatures did a set of WW2 rules that used a small board.

Any of the Two Hour wagames rules will play fine on a 2 foot board in 15mm.

I have a 2x3 foot board i play on a lot with 15mm.

Tusk from Irregular miniatures is a hoot and uses a 2 foot board for many scenarios.

I'm planning on getting a couple of Flames of War armies done in 6mm and having a go with them on that size board to save space (and get some armies put together a bit more cheaply).

I reckon halving all the distances and the base sizes should make the game play pretty much the same.

Where can I get more info on Ambush Alley?

2x2 Napoleonics. Play out large size battles in a 2'x2' space with 2mm figures. Battles usually take about 1 hour. Rules are free here: rodvik.com/~rodvik/2by2

RayRangel,

You can find the Ambush Alley stuff here – ambushalleygames.com

Also, I think these are a great set of rules that have a great deal of flavor without being overly complicated. They are in that happy place of providing the feeling of a modern battlefield without the mechanics bogging down the fun.

Worth a try.

Jeff

Blood & Swash would work quite well in that amount of space.

There are some really interesting ideas here – thanks! I'll look out for Distant World Battles. Blood and Swash sounds good, though I do have a copy of Gloire which I should try to get to grips with first. My club is a bit squeamish about modern games, but all the positive feedback for Ambush Alley is encouraging – maybe it would work for fictional conflicts, a bit like AK47 Republic? Or maybe near future?

Of course, the easy way to play on a small board is to use a smaller scale. If you're already fielding the fiddliest armies you're comfortable with, make it so each figure represents an entire group, with some record-keeping to indicate how many men are left.

"My club is a bit squeamish about modern games, but all the positive feedback for Ambush Alley is encouraging – maybe it would work for fictional conflicts, a bit like AK47 Republic? Or maybe near future?"

I've run into the issue of people not wanting to game a war still being fought, so I really understand this. Keep in mind that Ambush Alley is really designed (right now) to handle one side as Insurgents and the other as highly trained Regulars. As long as you do a game with that kind of concept it should work. Maybe Russians versus Chechen Insurgents or their will be a Black Hawk Down type of expansion soon. FOr Sci-Fi, you could do some sort of Rebel Insurgents versus Imperials (Evil Government) etc. There are supposed to be rules for regulars versus regulars in the future, but not sure when yet. Also, AA does not use a point system for games. It is scenario based rather than a straight up even fight, so if you are looking for a game with two forces of equal ability going head to head, this may not be for you. Check out the forum for AA from their Website and ask a few questions there is you are unsure. I know the AA Team and others on the forum will try to answer your questions.

Jeff

Hey, I could dig out my old 15mm Laserburn 'not judge dredd' figures and assorted civilians / thugs for AA. Tempting.

The 15mm Laserburn would work with some tweaking for more Sci-Fi weapons. It would take a little work, but should be fun.

Jeff

Cut the movement and ranges in half, and our rules play nicely on a small table.

Scale of miniatures used is unimportant. In fact, you don't need miniatures at all, just the bases cut to size, with the information on them like in a boardgame.

1066.us

Monster Island (or Kaiju game of choice) with 1"-2" tall Godzillas and friends.