"How are the G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. rules?" Topic

They look interesting and I'm looking at picking up the first book for 18$. Are they worth it?

They were for me. :) Here is a link to the G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. portion of my website --> link From there you can view sample stats for troops and vehicles.

Al | rivetsandsteam.com

Great fun, rules are easy to grasp. Uses the hero and minion philosphy (heroes are more difficult to hurt, minions die in droves). The rules can accomodate most anything you can devise and there are guidelines included for fanatastic weapons, vehicles, beasts, etc. Be forwarned, the rules themselves provide very little in the way of a campaign world description, which suits me just fine.

I'd also recommend To Be Continued…by GASLIGHT for further expansion (Need GASLIGHT base rules) into the realm of the pulps and movie serials.

new complete set comming om told soon, with extra bits.

Adventures an Expeditions by GASLIGHT should also be read and understood before moving on to To Be Continued…

As one of the co-authors, my opinion is biased (I think they're great!), but I did want to point out some websites to you.
The official GASLIGHT website is here (though you may notice the fellow running it for us hasn't updated it in a couple years) The FAQ and overview of the rules may be helpful to you:
gaslightrules.com

We also have an active Yahoo Group at:
link

I like them. Use "Batttles by GASLIGHT" also. Yhat set allows for more figures and less dice rolling for unit formations.

Everybody in my group hated them. They were too much of a basic framework of suggestions to work as proper rules for us. YMMV!

The authors designed GASLIGHT so as to "allow groups of players to tailor the rules to thier [own] perception of VSF. I like that approach because it challenges the imagination and (IMHO) indeed makes thing more "flexible and fun"

I am the other author, so my opinion is biased as well.

The the comment that the rules are a basic framework, yes, that's true. We intentionally did not create a "universe" for GASLIGHT. Rather, the rules lay out how to create characters, vehicles, weapons, and creatures. They describe combat, movement, etc. You can take whatever figures you have around and begin playing GASLIGHT the day the rules arrive. In my case, my Victorian science fiction revolves around Russians providing "technology" and assistance to Pathans in the Northwest Frontier. Chris' VSF is set during the American Civil War. Others on the GASLIGHT Yahoo Group involve German invasions of England, Prussian invasions of Texas, colonization of Mars, etc.

With Battles by GASLIGHT you can conduct larger engagements. Adventures and Expeditions is a role playing supplement. To Be Continues… by GASLIGHT is a pulp supplement. All of the rules sets are internally consistent so that you can employ a "Chinese menu" approach, using activation and command and control from one set, movement from another, character generation from still another, and finally combat from yet another. This tailorable approach allows clubs to adapt the rules to their prefered style and level of complexity.

By the way, GASLIGHT works pretty well as a straight historical (colonial) set of rules. I routine use them, without any VSF elements) for Nortwest Frontier, Moros in the Philippines, and Seminole War.

My recommendation is that you join the Yahoo Group, ask the group some questions, and/or lurk on the list for a while to see what people are doing with the rules.

Buck

Chris and Buck are right to be bias though. They have created a set of rules that will allow you to play a game of miniatures for just about any period or weaponry.
No extra codex's to sort thru and limited by only your own imagination.
(kinda pricy if you're buying them first hand retail but that's to be expected from short run publications)
The gaslight yahoo group is a great place for information and gaming tips too.
ymmv,
R.

I have to offer a discouraging word. I tried both books and found them wanting. It gave the feel of a Beta test of a generic set of skirmish rules.
For example, a d20 is used yet more often you are dividing, rounding up,down etc. There comes a time when open ended can be another term for uncompleted. I applaud the authors for their time and efforts but I fear it wasn't worth mine.

I use them for pulp and I can't praise them enough. When I announce a pulp game at my FLGS I routinely get 10 to 20 players. I have used them for Kong, nazi's with a flying saucer, mummy, dracula,stargate,and many other scenario's. I highly recommend them. It appears we have a love/hate relationship here on TMP. Buy a set and make up your own mind.

wow, I can't believe that a few folks are saying the rules were incomplete. I can understand that not every set is for everyone. However, Gaslight and Battles by Gaslight are one of the best generic rule sets out there. Calling them a 'skirmish' set is a misnomer. The Gaslight set can handle a 100 or so figs per side with no problems. battles can handle several 100 per side. My last big game had about 700 figs on the table.

The activation sequence in battles is one of the most innovative I have ever seen in 30+ years of gaming. I am a HUGE fan of the rules. Frankly, there isn't much that you can't do with the rules. I would like to see more development of the Characteristics for Heroes and rank and file troops though.

Personally, out of the 100's of rule sets that I own i would consider Gaslight to be in the top 10. Battles would be in the top 5.

Thanks,

John

"For example, a d20 is used yet more often you are dividing, rounding up,down etc."

The only real time this comes up is with morale. I agree, that is far easier to do with a dice relevant to the unit size. In most cases, this will be a d10. But the writers have already stated that the reason they didn't do that was to keep the die type consistent so you wouldn't "have" to buy several types to play the game.

I have used them dozens of times and think they are marvellous. It is the ultimate demo ruleset and still works well when you have to skip half the rules because of time pressure while inventing the rest on the spot because of crazy stuff the players think up during play. I used them for groups up to 10 players (far more than Chris and Buck designed them for) and for periods ranging from the Dark Ages up to the 30ies.

While you shouldn't expect army lists and such, you will be able to play anything with it.

I like em quick, dirty, easy to teach the challenged. I even use mine for pure sci-fi skirmish. They are very conducive to speedy play and that means more games in less time which is a bonus for me.

I agree with other people here. They are a set of rules you either love or hate.

I have tried them and they are not for me and my friends. We prefer LOTR skrimish game, or Galacta (and recently converting the old Space Crusade Game to all manner of periods).

However, if we all liked the same rules what a boring hobby it would be.

Funny thing is I have NEVER met anyone who hated Gaslight. Not for them? Sure. Despised or hated like Piquet? Nope. Never. I'm sorta surprised by this.

Thanks,

John

I love GASLIGHT! And have GASLIGHT basic, Battles and To Be Continued… All of them are great and work and play extremely well.

I've played a lot of Darkest Africa games and have recently been playing pulp where Dirk Daring and Company have been in various scrape. They have faced Robots of Doom and Carnivorous Apes amongst other threats.

This summer a friend and I even threw together a game with just random figures. Shaun of the Dead and friends confronted a horde of Mummies and Anubis Warriors! It was a wonderful game, with lots of laughs. I'm not sure how many other rulesets would have handled a box of random figures so easily.

It appeals to me particularly because its a framework that is adaptable to most any situation. That being said, this game hinges on the players trying to create a balance that works for the game that they want to play. I don't think its a bring your army to destroy all comers ruleset. They are fun, light-hearted, strongly narrative rules built for most anything.

My next game will be, Dirk Daring and the Prisoner of the Perilous Palace! (Insert theme music here.)

What games draw you, is in the end up to you, but these rules can serve you well.

Andrew of the Far North

I am also a fan of GASLIGHT. Its the rules system we use when we play our VSF games, and I have played them (Battles By…) for a straight colonials game, though I think that I personally slightly prefer TSATF/20 for that.

I especially like the fleixbility, but I can see how some folks could argue the difference between "open-ended v. incomplete."

All and all, I think that they sound good for the kind of games I'm interested in, I'll be picking them up.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to post here!

I have the original and battles book and enjoyed reading them and the overall concept but, like others, I didn't much care for playing them. I hope, if it is true they are doing a new set, that they do a thorough reworking and combining to make one overall ruleset that is a lot clearer to read and interpret, especially the charts. And get rid of the I go and everybody else wait bit. I cannot imagine a game with these rules and 700 figures – unless you played for weeks on end, hours a day. But really cool idea. I'll keep my e-ear tuned for when (if?) a new and improved set comes out.