"Sci Fi skirmish ... help needed" Topic

hi there… HELP!..I am in need of assistance

I have recently been given responsibility for running the Wargame club at the school I work at.. everything good so far.. we have had small 'goes' at AVBCW/ Sharp Practice/ Terrible Sharp Sword which have been ok but have fizzled because these are my interests not necessarily those of my 12-16 club regulars.. earlier this year I bought and painted up 3 factions for Full Thrust and have been playing small engagements using the lite rules.. great..

BUT.. kids being what they are they want more!!.. they and I are looking for a miniatures based SF skirmish game that will allow a more scenario driven game with some character advancement. It is here I am lost. I have looked at getting some deck plans and working out some trawls etc and/or building some scenery and doing planetside stuff, but I can find a rules system that gives it to me in one. saying that we do have some restrictions:
1. Time – Lunch hour is only 50 mins(?).. but we do get 5 a week so short objectives/episodes are ok ie clear a level a day etc
2. Space – we dont have a lot of room for stuff – hence looking at card floorplans which can be stored easily
3. Size – The boys/girls that come to club have shown little interest in painting up mountains of figures.. so to get stuff done quick either 15mm or a few 28mm

Does anyone know if there is a system that will fit or just good ideas?.. something like Warrior Heroes in Space.. should I buy up some Traveller stuff and patch up some rules or AE Bounty or what?

if you can help it would be much appreciated.. if more information is needed please ask and I will give it.. I would like to get started on the project over the summer ready to begin in August..(see teachers do do stuff in their long hols!)

thanks

karl

Anything by Ganesha games would fit the bill, their sci fi offering is Mutants and Death Ray Guns, full of wacky post apocalypse mutants complete with random warband generation, 6 scenarios and a basic campaign system. Standard warbands are only 5 figures and it can be played in either 28 or 15mm. Table size is 3' x 3' for 28mm or 2' x 2' for 15mm and once you know the system a game takes aprox 45 minutes.

Robert

Maybe this one for rules:
link
with these minis:
picture
Just a thought.

Other than that, maybe "Ambush Alley" rules with generic Sci-Fi minis.

Well, the UseMe rules from 15mm.uk would work. 15mm.co.uk

As will pretty much anything from Ganesha Games ganeshagames.net

And if you have access to a color printer, SkeletonKey and the like at RPGnow produce wonderful floor-plans for a variety genres. link

Print your own has the added utility of being printable at the size you decide to play with.

As for miniature sizes it really is personel choice for you. though to be honest 15mm is the cheeper option. And faster to paint.

I tried to keep all the pieces under $10 USD

Now is the you and the Kids want a little more crunch in the character department Savage Worlds Explorers Edition is $10 USD a throw, and has a bunch of free settings done up by fans online. While it is a RPG it also has a good miniatures adaption through the Showdown supplement, which is available from the Pinnacle website peginc.com/downloads.html

Pre-painted figures can be had at em4: link

and of course there are the pre-painted plastics on ebay:
TMP link

Terrain will be an issue, since to my mind the key to an interesting skirmish scenario is terrain. If your students are prepared to do some work and access to a printer is not a problem, then maybe these will be an option: link

Also look at 5150 from Two Hour Wargames. Check out their free Chain Reaction rules to see if you would like the way they work. Heck, you could get away with just using the Cahin reaction rules but I think 5150 has more of the advancement you are looking for, especially with the Infestation expansion.

Jake

link

If you think they'd like mixing in some spaceship fights, take a look at Gorilla Games' Battlestations. Integrates starship combat with man-to-man fights during boarding (which happens all at once, not after the spacefight is over), scenario driven, has character advancement and a strong "ongoing campaign" feel to it. It's one of those weird hybrids of boardgame, minis game and RPG that come along every now and then. Not great at pure ground combat (too many skills will be useless without a ship around you) but might still be what you're after. The character minis are even 15mm, so economical, and the ship layouts are on cardstock and easy to store per requirements.

battlestations.info

Fire Fight link by alternative armies maybe.

Small squads and card stock floor plans to play on.

Firefight 2.0 as mentioned above, is a good, quick game. Most of the scenarios are concluded in under 45 minutes. I also second 5150, especially if you want a game with some character development. As for figures, don't discount 1/72nd plastics. There are quite a few modern sets out there thta could easily be used for near future games.

Check out Shock Force/Warengine if you're interested in platoon level stuff (a few squads per side or more)
link

Fast rules, easy to learn, and customizable for any minaitures you have. You will have to work out your own campaign ideas, but that's not to difficult.

Also, if you want to keep the forces ver small, give Necromunda a look.
It's downloadable for free at Games Workshop. It has an excellent campaign system, and there are enough factions that you can shoehorn most Sci-Fi figures in somehow.

As for figs, I still recommend 28mm. Between EM4, Mega Miniatures, Wargames Factory, Denizen and others, it's not at all hard to put together a very affordable force.

Nither of the above are made for floor plans, but they would both work with them.

I would go for 'Use Me' over the others mentioned even if it requires a little work up front to create the troop details.

Have a look at link for the type game you are talking about and link for how I made the plans solid. I've not tried to laminate the prints due to cutting out the shapes but that may be another way to go – depends on the plans I think.

For storage I use legal sized filing boxes (better than the A4) – 1 for the plans and one for the figures (magnetic bases with steel sheet)

Drop me a mail adb at kings-sleep dot me dot uk (dash is a minus sign) if you want – I have some bits that I would be happy to donate (wife works in school so understand budget issues).

Andrew
Sic Parvis Magna

Space Hulk would be a good place to start too.

Combat Zone is a good choice. You can build your own stats based on the models and players can buy more expensive gear for the next game. The second link provides EM4 articles on doing different scenarios, special rules and so forth.

combatzonechronicles.net

link

You know, given the restraints you mentioned (time, space, minimal painting), you might want to look at the Star Wars Miniatures game. I bought that for my son several years ago, and it was perfect for him. The game comes with some map sheets, but you could easily make up or buy some 3-dimensional terrain. The figures are already painted, and they seem to be available everywhere as single figures. And while the rules are probably too simple to pass muster with a lot of veteran wargamers, they are perfect for a kid. My son picked them up in one game, and he actually learned some good tactical lessons from playing it which he was able to bring to other wargames later on. It's something to consider. I'm not sure if they still produce the game, but a quick google shows that it's still widely available.

I would recommend the old original Traveller rules. If you don't want to go true RPG route, then Chain Reaction or 5150. You might also want to look at Beamstrike (it's free on-line), though I don't remember if it has any sort of character advancement. You could probably add it easily enough as it does have special characteristics.

Fantastic Worlds from Rattrap games is designed for 3 or 4 figures to a side on a 2'x2' gaming area. link

Hmmm I have one, GorkaMorka.

You only have a few miniatures, easy terrain fun, and best of all you can build vehicles from $1 USD store trucks.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorkamorka
link

Free rules 1st book PDF link

Free rules second book PDF link

*****

Game plays fast, wacky, and you can make new vehicles for a dollar or two.

Some of my best memories of tabletop playing was playing this game…3-4 games an afternoon, vehicles going across the table without a driver, great wrecks, etc.

I'd second space hulk, its fast, most scenarios can be played both as attacker and defender in less than one hour

Very few figures, easy rules and fast to learn. Buy on ebay for reasonable cost includes all th eterrain you need

For Miniatures check out the Pre-painted Star Wars figures. You can find commons for less then a dollar, and your kids might know the setting.

I'll second 5150 and Fantastic Worlds… or something from Ganesha.

FUBAR, its a one page free rules set available on the Forge of War Yahoo site. There is also a Necromunda/Inquisitor set on there called In the Emperors Name that might fit the bill… Use any figures you want for either.

Mick

Starguard is the granddaddy of *all* sci-fi miniatures rules, and is still in print. The game's mechanics are quite simple: each figure may in most cases perform two (2) actions per turn. Weapons have a base to-hit number depending on type and range band. Dice roll modifiers for cover and such apply. Dice mechanics use percentile dice for shooting and such, D6 for warhead scatter. Ground scale is 1 inch = 20 yards, but I personally cut it down to 1 inch = 10 yards, and double everything up for a faster-paced game.

Range bands are short, medium, and long and are expressed in inches, varying depending upon weapon type.

There are no morale rules as (A) a single full turn represents fifteen (15) *seconds* of real time, and (B) troops are generally assumed to be highly trained professionals or in the case of certain alien races just plain not right in the head/homicidal maniacs/hive-minded biological weapons left over from a now-extinct advanced civilization.

For beginners, I give everybody two to five figures each for two sides, and we go at it.

I've put on Starguard games for school kids off and on for years now, and it's always a hit (especially the Starguard powered armour troopers who were based on Heinlein's concepts presented in his novel Starship Troopers).

You can look up Starguard and the 1/72 scale (aka "20mm scale") figures on the manufacturer/author's site:

tin-soldier.com

As one teacher to another, I hope this helps!

Leland R. Erickson

Seconding the Ganesha games suggestion. Games tend to last 30-40 minutes and they are easy to explain…

Excellent!! thanks for all the ideas.. they will keep me busy for a long time

karl

Karl,

I support all of the above.

Especially the smaller companies that are friends of TMP like Ground Zero Games and Two Hour Wargames.

That said, you stated a couple of interesting things;

1. Time – Lunch hour is only 50 mins(?).. but we do get 5 a week so short objectives/episodes are ok ie clear a level a day etc.

2. Space – we dont have a lot of room for stuff – hence looking at card floorplans which can be stored easily

3. Size – The boys/girls that come to club have shown little interest in painting up mountains of figures…so to get stuff done quick either 15mm or a few 28mm

*****

If your goal is to introduce the students to wargaming then I would consider a weekend meeting that allows for a set up and break down time schedule to better allow for the normal routine of gaming.

If it is your goal to provide a quick game that the students will develop interest, do homework, and show up ready to play a 15-20min game then I would consider one of the games/systems that will encourage the students to take something home.

You noted that there is little interest in building units and painting…this is most likely due to the lack of experience and confidence.

I would consider something that they can instantly associate with and consider cool.

Pod Racing…they will want to build a pod racer, guaranteed, which will build confidence for the next game.

Car Wars…and old standby for a pick up game…would not be my first choice for a school sponsored hobby/game club…nothing but guns and death dealing.

Bantha/Big creature racing…anyone can find a $1 USD store dinosaur or monster to bring in, easy to replace and modify.

Superhero Danger Room…go back to the original Villains and Vigilantes…in the old days (while I was in Middle/High School)…each character is the student in question with one power (self esteem builder because they have to think as well as use their powers)…this can be setup for a series of two-three obstacles…house size block of ice in the pathway, robot sentries, fast moving floor, closing walls, fire, etc. If they succeed early on then I suspect this could lead to painting a miniature to match the character at least.

*****

And then a second bump for GorkaMorka.

I didn't mention it because it is perfect, not by any means. But it is insanely fun and light hearted you can have knock outs rather than deaths…or explain that it is like a video game and they are resetting the game each time.

The best element is that they will want to make more vehicles. These are cheap and fun to work with. It will build confidence with modeling skills and no harm no foul if it doesn't work in the next game, break it and make another :)

Good luck

Ganesha

Second Cpt Jake on 5150 and Chain Reaction ( especially CR, as its free ) but Ambush Alley ( especially the free "lite" version ) work well also for the kids at the school I run stuff at. The kids prefer CR. For figs, we do Star Wars using the pre-paints, which you can get relatively cheap at places like The Miniature Market ( link ) .

Rob

Necromunda seems to fit the bill, coming with a good campaign system and scenario generator. The rule books are free to download from here:
link

I thought about Necromunda also, but they don't have the time…just the setup and breakdown of the terrain (I guess they could use classroom books for structures) and placement of starting points would eat a great deal of time…they have less than an hour for the whole process and then make it to the next class.

:(

I like several of the rules mentioned. However, for your criteria I'd say Wastelands would be a solid choice. Dead simple campaign system. Games can be between only a few figs per side. Games can easily be done in 30 minutes or less. Loads of character types already stated out. The rules are also FREE.

Forum:

link

Thanks,

John

You could use the necromunda rules with your own background ideas – it doesn't have to be set in the underhive – you could use the rules to have small gangs/factions all fighting over claims on a newly terraformed planet (like the outer rim planets in firefly) – you could mix in gorkamorka for driving/riding rules to add in small vehicles and horses / alien equivalent. You don't have to keep the same gang types either.

50 minute time limit and ltd. storage space means virtually no terrain. This means 2D floor plans. So base your choice of rules/scenarios around that. You could write your own rules (?)… I suggest using 28mm miniatures for the kids, much more visual impact… maybe 4 to 8 miniatures per player. Ganesha Games produce 'flying lead' and 'mutants and deathray guns' which could be melded into a great sci-fi set (and I wish they would produce such a set…)

So .. have down loaded USE ME sci fi, chain reaction, atlantis deck plans and am waiting on some traveller stuff from ebay.. have also seen gzg 15mm doors vents etc so am looking for adobe buildings to graft onto.. also looking at Ganesha.. lots to do!!

by way of more information quite a few of my kids attend a local (to the school) wargames club.. where they do some rpg, 40k and other GW stuff. so the lunch time club was as much about broadening their experience to other periods and styles, than introducing them to a 'new' hobby. Also the percieved apathy to painting etc is more a product of their focus on collecting vast arrays of GW/forge products to the exclusion of everything else, why paint up some 15mm things when I can pester my parents into investing in a 12' high resin titan that could obliterate anything whatever game we play… youth is wasted on the young.

anyway thanks for all the help and ideas .. much appreciated.. and if you have more.. even better

karl

Good luck, and have fun.