"Silliest game idea" Topic

So I recently came upon an old stash of metal, epic scale space marines and the like, all metal and hence individually based. In the heat of the moment, I proposed a very small scale 40k game (with distances scaled approprately, of course) just to see if it was possible. I set up the field of battle and an unoccupied 2ftx2ft square area of office desk. It seemed like a brilliant, compact notion. Sadly, it got horribly bogged down when none of us could make out the troop types without picking them up first. Then they would be set back down on the wrong part of the board, with the wrong squad, lost, ect. It lasted about a turn. Fun to try, but not a good idea with a bunch of near-sighted gamers. Maybe 6mm is a bit small for skirmish.

Does anyone else have any really great gaming ideas that turned into a silly mess when implemented?

Thanks,
Jason

IIRC someone made a Epic version of SpaceHulk using magentically based figures, graphpaper and a metal clipboard

Yeah, I tried to do a game of Cowpens at 1:5 scale with 15mm figs using the warmaster rules. So there were about 600 figures on the table based about 4 or 5 to a stand with 3 stands in a unit.

There were some commanders but even with battalion rules the whole thing fell apart very quickly. There just weren't enough officers to order and there were too many units. If a couple failed up front you couldn't do anything.

We finished it but it was a catastrophe.

I used to do 40k participation games using Epic figures in a small gaming shop in Luton many years ago. Kept it to about 3 units aside on a 2'x2' terrain board which worked really well…
Mick

Mick,
Ha! I guess we were doing it wrong….

I did the same as Mick many many many moons ago. We figured it cost faaaaar less to collect up everything we needed, plus you could plunk a titan down! Mwahahahahahaaaaaa…. We also did SpaceHulk with magnets (really weak ones though, not at all like todays great RE magnets) so we could play it on the train. It was a hoot, and even had a couple of people nearby join in for the second game (which was kind of wierd).

I actually use GZG 6mm figs for skirmish on occasion, individually based, with different colored base edges to represent different weapons or special figures.

My eyesight ain't great, but the colors help.

I think the silliest game idea I've come across was a wrgame that actually used darts thrown at a dart board to decide hits and damage. Talk about giving some people more of an edge than others!

It would only have been better if they used lawn darts instead…

"actually used darts thrown at a dart board"

Are you, by any chance, referring to Mr Janes' rules?

If so.. you have to remember that at the time, the state-of-the-art resolution mechanism involved Britain's spring powered naval guns and matchsticks…

Mmmm at the moment Slaughterloo….6 weeks of game--6 turns….

I went down to the hobby shop to play a game of The Sword and the Flame. The owner had 15mm figures, and the game was set up on a regular table for 25mm play. He was intending to use regular 25mm ranges, which would be no problem.
I cheerfully suggested we use centimeters instead of inches. Everyone agreed.
That was many years ago, and I think they are still marching to contact.

I designed a naval game using darts thrown at a board, it was great, we played it for years. Janes combat system was a wee bit more sophisticated.

Great disasters – another individually based 6mm one. I had this set of Napoleonic rules, and a ton of H&R 6mm figs and ended up trying to play them with the 6mm figs individually based. Even for nimble teenage fingers this was a bit much, and it took half an hour move a couple of battalions. Then WRG 16xx – 18xx came out and saved us.

Funnily enuogh I do play some games now which use individually based 6mm (along wiht group bases), and it can work – depending on the setup. It generally works better for leader/general/special type figures.

I also tried playing WRG 1925-50 with half size ground scale (to fight bigger battles), which was OK for armour but meant the typcial infantry move was 25mm a turn…

a friend of mine tried to play DBA on a 6*4 feet table. Not only that but they also moved in centimeters and not inches!
They deployed with the bases almost to the back of the tables. 2 feet of distance for them to cover each, moving about 3 cm per turn…

It took them about four hours of just moving before the got into "contact".

Don't be too hard on yourself, Hrothgar. It's a great idea and it just needs to be tweaked. Somewhere along the line you'll come with a better idea or modification and you'll be gaming during your lunch hour instead of staring out the window!

Depends on your rules, Hrothgar, as skirmish-scale games in 6mm can be doen with HELLFIRE as well as small unit actions.

Mind you, I can personally attest that a 3000pt Full Thrust game with a supercarrier one each side under 5 hours playing time is . . . Not so likely.