"Doesn't Everyone Want to Play Boarding Actions in Space?" Topic

Doesn't everyone want to play out boarding actions on board spaceships, or shuttles, in space, or while in spacedock?

The reason I ask is that I am trying to convince Jon, of GZG, to produce some futuristic style starship crews, and passengers in 15mm scale, for these battles.

He said he will consider it, if there is sufficient demand.

Think UFO, Space 1999, Star Trek, etc. for the uniforms (the newly released Infiltrators would work nicely too, for this, since their uniforms are a bit more form-fitting than most – we need some with bare heads, and helmets – male and female figs).

Of course, we will want some seated figures at the controls of the vessel(s), e.g. sitting at the helm or navigation, comms, weapons, and command stations. There should be some in G-acceleration couches as well, and others in more upright seated positions, like riding in a more pedestrian style shuttle. Some standing, and both armed, and unarmed would be great too.

I imagine most Sci-Fi players have at least a passing interest in this, especially the Traveller Sci-Fi crowd.
The seated figs would be useful as hostages too, for rescue missions.

The seated NAC troops are a good start, but I would love to see the following produced too, in helmeted, and bare-headed poses: Light and Heavy Vacc Suits, NI, UNSC, FSE, NSL, etc.

Game rules for this have even been specifically written to address just such a scenario, e.g. Traveller's Snapshot, a free set of rules whose name currently escapes me, etc.

Anyone else interested?

If so, reply here, or send Jon a note.

Thanks,

Rob

No.

Something along the lines of Snapshot from the classic
Traveller?

You could do a number of scenarios in a Star Trekish game,
Borg boarding actions, Picard defending the Enterprise from
the four hijackers(?) in Starship Mine(?) And most of all the running sword fight in Day of the Dove (TOS)

Oh Hell Yeah, I'll play that!-:^))

I like the idea of ship's crew.

But, call me crazy, I'm not wild about "seated" crew members. People mention wanting such figures pretty often. But I for one would never use them. I'm not creating dioramas, I need figures that I can move around a tabletop! A seated figure can't leave his post, as it were.

Oh,and Alien would be an obvious choice!

Dibs on Ripley!-:^)

If I want boarding actions, I'll just play Space Hulk. While an adaption for something other than Aliens v Marines could be interesting (the framework is there), I don't really feel the need for a dedicated line of figures.

skirmish in 15mm? no thanks.

Love this kind of stuff! Wish I could do it more…and wish I could afford some serious investment in GZG at the moment…maybe in the future.

Yeah, I think generic civilian starship crew would be pretty useful. Especially if there were seated and standing poses of the same person (like Foundry does with foot/mounted in their Old West line)

You do realize that the rules must emphasize swords.

In the Battletech novel set, there were a fair amount of ship to ship, warship, various drop ships, combat involving men boarding and combat. I always played with mechs and armour, so I don't remember any game play in ship boarding.

Did anyone ever make that Space 1999 model in 15mm…you could use those for lots of scenarios I would think (landing troops, air/space support, crashed with VIP for objective, etc). Maybe Jez at Old Crow or Jon at GZG might know something.

NAC with shotguns and cutlasses, perhaps. Hey, Traveller did it, and melee-armed modern/SF soldiers can be handy in other games – mostly time-travel and lighter SF, but there are a few.

heck yeah, it is a blast….
skirmish works fine in 15mm. I use lego blocks to build the interiors of ships…

15 mm Space Hulk played on a 4x4 table or 2x2 table. I would want a line of gritty scifi close assault marines and interior fittings. GZG already makes doors.

Count me in.

CC

I'm all for it.

Am currently building "Asteroid Base" Dungeon Geomorphs. So the more detail bits and figures available the better.

Not keen on crew or troops sat down but civilian types always go well.

I am currently planning on using THE crew from GZG for this type of small scale action on paper space craft but short of rules…

Andrew
blog.kings-sleep.me.uk

Boarding action in space ? Hmmmm… Not really possible, since the other guys usually get blown to atoms, what with the proliferation of plasma,laser and nuclear weapons nowadays… :D

What's wrong with all the 15mm starship crews and civilians / colonists that GZG already produce? The space suited and zero g figures seem ideal.

I think it's great.

You guys should check out Battlestations and Space Alert, two boardgames that feature boarding actions.

"Boarding action in space ? Hmmmm… Not really possible, since the other guys usually get blown to atoms, what with the proliferation of plasma,laser and nuclear weapons nowadays…"

Derelict space craft…

Bug infestations…

Interdiction of smugglers…

Pirates…

Capture VIP…

Recover technology…

I'm with GG on this one. The existing figures would suit me fine. I wouldn't do full on sets of figures for boarding actions, I'd just use my regular troops and civilians as marines and crew. By the time the action gets to a control room I assume everyone has jumped from their seat and grabbed a pistol etc. Some of the zero-gee spacesuit figures would be nice for outside the hull though.

Someone has to fly the ship, fire the weapons, communicate with others, etc.

I assume during maneuvering they would want to be seated, and strapped in to do that, otherwise it will look like the bridge of the Enterprise, with people being thrown all over the place.

The current spaceship crew figs are nice, but not quite futuristic enough in terms of clothing for my tastes.

I could use seated figures of these though, as well.

Snapshot (GDW) was THE game for this (IMHO).

We played a lot of Snapshot back in the day… having figures instead of those tiny cardboard chits would have been heavenly.
More recently we've used Necromunda to run an incursion of space pirates posing as stranded innocents.

The scale of battles I'd picture for a boarding action would be pretty small though, so I suspect stuff already available in 28mm would suffice.

All of the existing lines of 15mm miniatures are lacking close assault troops. They don't have to be armed with swords or chainsaws. Just a couple of packs to round out weapon choices… (shotguns, flamethrowers, smg, demolition charges, ballistic tower shield, and maybe a powerfist or taser club.)

I've thought boarding actions would be fun to game, and have been considering modding Necromunda or Space Hulk for years now- just never got around to it.

I don't think it would be very fun I-Go-You-Go though. A boarding action game would need to be a fairly innovative system with overwatch, and meaningful grenade usage and stuff. I'd hate to be the first into the breach.

Everyone's seen the _Shattered Horizon_ trailer, right?: link

That would be a rad Boarding Action minis game.

oh yeah!

Mark

Wow, that's quite the cool game you found, Jeff! Too bad I suck @ first-person shooters.

I would buy such minis.

Seated crew aren't really player-minis, they're objectives to shoot/rescue. I really want such minis not just seated but locked into crash frames (kinda like the restraints on a roller-coaster, but with more cage to protect the really fragile flesh-bag in the suit

"The scale of battles I'd picture for a boarding action would be pretty small though, so I suspect stuff already available in 28mm would suffice".

True in some instances, although you could scale the battles up, if desired.

Think the assault on the Rebel blockade runner carrying Princess Leia in the first Star Wars movie.

That was a pretty decent sized boarding action.

Of course, I would like to see some more heavily armored assault troopers as well, e.g. thicker battle armor than those currently available, and with riot-shields held in one hand, and a blaster, or laser pistol in the other. Powered sticks/gaffs, and other devices could be used as well, for melees.

If pressed, I imagine I can use some of the heavily armored troops offered by 15mm.co.uk for the assault troops.

I agree, we do need some seated figs to rescue/eliminate. If someone made these in seated, standing without weapons, and then standing and armed variants, that would be perfect, e.g. say 4 miniatures of each pose – same fig in three variants, for a set of 12.

I'd like to see at least a few astronauts strapped in to reclined G-accel couches to serve as pilot and co-pilot, fighter pilots, navigators, etc. too. They can be with, and without helmets, and with helmets on, but opened visors too. These would also be perfect for a multiple pack, e.g. one strapped in figure, one standing unarmed, one armed with a weapon and standing, and one kneeling and firing a weapon or running with it. Again the 3 x 4 set, for 12 figs – one with helmet off, one with it on, and one with the helmet on, but open visor.

No, I hadn't seen that video.

That is superb!

Thanks for sharing.

Talk about having to worry about a lot of debris flying in orbit…..

Yes, but not in 15mm. I'm doing 40k Eldar vrs. Khorne.

This is actually my favorite type of SF game, and I have created my STAR BLADES OGL system for just such types of combat (shameless plug):

link

In this game, virtually ALL starship combat is fought as boarding actions.

One of the things that used to turn me off about most of the SF infantry combat games I played was that they were all played on the very same terrain that was used for LOTR and Napoleonics. Low rolling hills, gentle woods, a few ponds and streams… i.e. on golf courses.

Where were the burned out cities and space stations?

Anyway, I also made up quite a bit of scenery for boarding actions. The corridors were made of black plastic macrame boards, computer consoles out of small pieces of wood from Michael's (glued and appropriately painted) engines, teleporters, Captain's chairs, sick bays, etc., made out of various bric-a-brac from hardware stores and craft stores. It's amazing how modular this stuff can be made, and how wild you can go with your imagination.

Now, take the whole set-up and place it on a black mat with a few dots of paint for stars in the background, and you have a really beautiful set-up.

DR MATTHIAS WROTE:

I've thought boarding actions would be fun to game, and have been considering modding Necromunda or Space Hulk for years now- just never got around to it.

I don't think it would be very fun I-Go-You-Go though. A boarding action game would need to be a fairly innovative system with overwatch, and meaningful grenade usage and stuff. I'd hate to be the first into the breach

WELL DOC, there is a set of skirmish rules that actually do make it possible to play the way you want to ( cue in the blare of trumpets, and roll of drums) ; for real money your basic set would be 5150 sci fi rules from THWG.

however, it is also possible to do this by using the FREE versions of CHAIN REACTION 3.0 and CR 3.0 SWORDPLAY.

you would have to come up with rules for:

a. combat in 0-G conditions (for those times when the ARTIFICIAL GRAVITY FIELD is not working), or for using the AGF as a variable G counter boarder weapon.

b. combat in hostile environment rules for those time when hull broaches, air hazards, radiation hazards, etc (airless conditions, use of ship's firefighting system and airtight doors as a counter boarder weapon, etc).

c. boarding party defense, boarding tactics and equipment rules (just how do those guys get in your ship anyway and where do they go once they are inboard? better yet what do you do to defend against them? do you really want to blow holes in your own hull while fighting them, etc).

d. medevac of casualties from the boarding party, casualty collection, ammo, air, water, beans, bandaides, and bullets for those extended boarding actions.

just some thoughts.

now with that said since the mid 1970s there has been a set of rules available from JIM WALLMAN which began life as INTERSTELLAR MARINE STARSHIP BOARDING ACTIONS, and i believe is now known as INTERSTELLAR MARINE. it is set in JIMM WALLMAN'S UNIVERSE of THE STARSHIP MARINE ACADEMY and is available on line for free from PETE JONES' FREE WARGAMES RULES site.

DAWGIE

DR MATTHIAS WROTE:

I've thought boarding actions would be fun to game, and have been considering modding Necromunda or Space Hulk for years now- just never got around to it.

I don't think it would be very fun I-Go-You-Go though. A boarding action game would need to be a fairly innovative system with overwatch, and meaningful grenade usage and stuff. I'd hate to be the first into the breach

WELL DOC, there is a set of skirmish rules that actually do make it possible to play the way you want to ( cue in the blare of trumpets, and roll of drums) ; for real money your basic set would be 5150 sci fi rules from THWG.

however, it is also possible to do this by using the FREE versions of CHAIN REACTION 3.0 and CR 3.0 SWORDPLAY.

you would have to come up with rules for:

a. combat in 0-G conditions (for those times when the ARTIFICIAL GRAVITY FIELD is not working), or for using the AGF as a variable G counter boarder weapon.

b. combat in hostile environment rules for those time when hull broaches, air hazards, radiation hazards, etc (airless conditions, use of ship's firefighting system and airtight doors as a counter boarder weapon, etc).

c. boarding party defense, boarding tactics and equipment rules (just how do those guys get in your ship anyway and where do they go once they are inboard? better yet what do you do to defend against them? do you really want to blow holes in your own hull while fighting them, etc).

d. medevac of casualties from the boarding party, casualty collection, ammo, air, water, beans, bandaides, and bullets for those extended boarding actions.

just some thoughts.

now with that said since the mid 1970s there has been a set of rules available from JIM WALLMAN which began life as INTERSTELLAR MARINE STARSHIP BOARDING ACTIONS, and i believe is now known as INTERSTELLAR MARINE. it is set in JIMM WALLMAN'S UNIVERSE of THE STARSHIP MARINE ACADEMY and is available on line for free from PETE JONES' FREE WARGAMES RULES site.

DAWGIE

Report
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The modification of the GZG free-floating GZG Vacc Suit figures went reasonably well.

I've made a couple of reclined G-accel couches for the pilot, and co-pilot/navigator of my shuttle, and/or small ship.

The Light Vacc Suit figure was easier to modify than the Heavy one. Just had to be bent a little bit, to shape.

The Heavy Vacc Suit figure needed to have his backpack removed, since lying on it didn't look too comfortable, and appeared a bit awkward to balance. It is a very large backpack.

I removed it with an x-acto knife. Not easy to do (don't try this at home – use a small razor saw instead). The tingling in my fingertips from pressing so hard on the knife hasn't gone away yet. Hopefully, it will subside soon.

The backpack came off nicely, so can be laid on the floor, a table, or hung on a wall, as a bit of scenerey.

There were a few casualties during the surgery, e.g. one lost an arm, and another a foot, during the bending process. At least I didn't manage to cut myself, which is a relief.

These little bits were fairly easy to re-attach with superglue. I recommend using tweezers though to hold them in place, while the glue dries, since they are so small.

Now, I just need to figure out what colors to paint them.

I may try the 15mm.co.uk figures next, since there is a helmeted, and helmetless but suited up figure as well. Both look to be useful for a similar conversion, as described above.

At the risk of going off on a slight tangent, boardin actions never really seem to figure in space fleet games (abstracted of course),although i think FT at least has provision. Neither do i know of any attempt to abstract morale factors/command factors to crews/captains. i've never seen after action reports or discusions of such games anyway.

Does this strike anyone else as a little odd? Maybe morale isnt as critical as during a grouind forces close assault, but surely crew/commander quality has some impact on the ability to run/fight a ship effective?

These factos are such a feature of many ground actions, it seems a little d to me that they never seem o feature, espacially since they could legitimately provide an effective balancing factor for battles between asymetric forces.

space hulk is a game of boarding action in space.

or you can play something like this

link