"What rules for 1950's Sci-fi movies battles?" Topic

What would be recommended for games for Earth vs the Flying Saucers, Mars Attacks, War of the Worlds, Them!!, Invasion USA?

I have Gurps Atomic Horror but don't neccesaryily want a RPG.
I'm aware of Atomic Cafe but don't want gangs of greasers vs gangs of …. games.
Not wanting a skirmish rpg either.
Wanting a (dare I say it) Flames of War style battle but with maybe a few heros ("stars" "co-stars" & "love interest" or main characters)and general body GIs with all the movie orbats and TOETs.
Also be able to include Telsa Turreted Easy Eights. Khurasan new M34 Taylor and small yeald atom bombs.

What would give battles rather like Mars Attacks or against armies of giant ants or Soviets?

Gruntz, the unit builder gives you complete freedom on how you want to build your forces.

On the free wargame rules site was exactly this but square based and also with kaijus.

If you want something serious take Frank chatwick,s STRIDER from GDW. It is set in a pre-travellerr universe and is de facto a combines arms system with high tec warfare.. perfect to combine with command decision for the tanks from the 50s…

Look them up on boardgamegeek.
Greetings

The Giant Spider from Outer Space by Panzer8.

Wow, very fast responses thank you.

Not sure if I want a tooo serious game. Serious but fun but not stupid or totally suspending belief.

Something were the "GI's" move/shoot/act as squads/teams but vehicles are single tank/truck/gun type thing.

Asking too much?

Something were the "GI's" move/shoot/act as squads/teams but vehicles are single tank/truck/gun type thing.

KR 16 ?

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KR 16 looks good, thank you.

The Giant Spider from Outer Space also looks good but not too bothered by spiders. (just not scarey).
Maybe try to work it for ants or Praying manti/wasps.

Lots of suggestions of rule sets I've not heard of. Thanks again.

We use a mash-up of Ganesha Games Blades & Heroes engine games for our Rednecks vs. Martians games in 15mm but if your looking for rules-light team/squad level skirmish their new Swatters bug hunting rules could easily fit the bill. We're planning to do a giant insects uprising set on modern day earth using them.

Hordes Of the Things.

Very simple, but great fun.

Try Quadrant 13 from the TooFatLardies.

It's a company-sized game that allows you to design your own forces to fit exactly your concept of how the two sides should interact.

I've used it for WWW2 US forces versus Space Bugs: see AAR at vislardica.com.

R

PS I declare an interest: I wrote Q13!

Since you've cross-posted to Spaceship, are you intending war-in-space? Ships on the ground?

FWIW, my 31 yr old daughter, and my best friend's 30 yr old son both find spiders plenty scary, thank you! ;->=

Doug

Just seems any rules you choose should draw from Bucket's O' Green Army Men, and lighter fluid …

Future War Commander could work. Use box standard Europena/pacific army for human forces and make them 'primitive' or 'contemporary' and the aliens advanced. Plenty of suitable aliens to chose from.

I'd consider using Super System. It handles squads of normals quite nicely when battling super-powered thingies like ants or aliens.

I also suggest Ganesha Games. The great thing about their games is that since they are all built on basicly the same engine. You can cross-over their rules between rulle books. Since you are looking for a "50's" style skirmish. You can use Flying Lead for the Human low-tech Armies. And then Swatters for alien type bugs etc. GG prices are the next best thing to free. Good rules too without getting too granular. Just fun.

8)

Flames of war style?
How about Death Rays of War: danmassey.com/?postid=20

The game "Monster Island," if you get all the the supplements
("Revenge of…", "Invasion of…", "Escape from…"), has rules for about everything you asked about, except for nukes. Spaceships, giant robots/monsters, alien and human vehicles and infantry, even helpless "idols" that keep getting abducted by aliens, robots, and giant monsters.

Something were the "GI's" move/shoot/act as squads/teams but vehicles are single tank/truck/gun type thing.

Asking too much?

Ambush Alley rules, like Tomorrow's War. You can build the aliens and have them all armed with energy weapons, while the poor schmucks in the US Army are stuck with much lower-tech weapons and armor.

Another vote for Gruntz. The points system makes the uneven matches easier to swallow, and it all runs very smoothly.

In 15mm, try PMC 2640. The units move as squads, the vehicles move independently, and there are stats for Aliens-like monsters!

Another vote for TW. There's even a supplement out for Aliens now.

Well Gruntz would work well. Hammers Slammers I've used for all sorts as it has a very simple (but fun) system with lots of add ons in the Crucible set of rules (and online) to add the right feel to the game and it is very easy to make units for it (including aliens of different types)

For a more Flames of Wars game there are a few sites out there that have done SiFi mods to it, but there is also Konflikt '47 from Clockwork Goblin which is a FOW type WWW2 style of game.

Cheers Matt

I did Modern West Germans v Aliens with Dirtside 2, so no reason you couldn't lower the tech allowed for the humans using that.

Another vote for Future War COmmander….the unit design system is pretty much designed for this sort of thing with the tech levels. I think they may even have a couple of army lists that represent that sort of 50s scifi theme.

WHat I do not know is how much BKC and CWC would inform stats for WWII and more modern army units for FWC.

Thank you guys again, for so many suggestions. I never thought I'd be spoilt for choice.
I was going to give up and just watch the movies over.

I think I had in the back of my mind the WWW2 US forces versus Space Bugs batrep when I first asked about this.
I think I'll try Try Quadrant 13 from the TooFatLardies to kick off.

Would they be able to handle something small like Attack of the Crab Monsters? A dozen sailors, 5 or 6 boffins vs Kurasans Crab Monsters.

@ Thebeast I do understand that some people are afraid of spiders. I always thought theres 2 options:
1 Ignore them
2 jar or newspaper, scoop them up, throw outside, ignore.
Just a matter of scale really.

Sadly I've been finding that getting toy ants is really difficult. Maybe have to go with scorpions or Praying Manti.

As an addition I found a really useful site.
link

For I.D.ing all the vehicles in the movies. I know nothing about cars. Nothing.
Actually I do know they have 6 wheels and are different colours, that's it.
thanks again

Strider also sounds good. Anything by Frank Chadwick is good.
Not being biased.

Not seen them yet but haven't Mantic Games just come out with a Mars Attacks (yes like the movie) game with its own rules?Would these be the sort of rules to fit?

I have signed up for the kickstarter for the rule for this. Would love to have the Martian figures in 15mm but sadly that option was discarded at the start.

Somehow not right to have "modern" US forces ala Battle L.A. to me. I think I like my Earthforce to be classic Govt Surplus.
But I hope it goes well.

I have signed up for the kickstarter for the rule for this. Would love to have the Martian figures in 15mm but sadly that option was discarded at the start.

Somehow not right to have "modern" US forces ala Battle L.A. to me. I think I like my Earthforce to be classic Govt Surplus.
But I hope it goes well.

I vaguely remember Monster Island. Will have to look that one up .

Try GASLIGHT…any of the variants. Friends and I have done quite a few 50s Invasion of Rockwell games (B movie, small town somewhere in the Midwest). Always fun games, easy to use rules…not very serious. And really, GASLIGHT does anything!

Just my thoughts. :). Hope your games are enjoyable.

Rockwell? Small Mid-west American town?? Not familiar with it. Sorry. Not ringing any bells.

Of course you wouldn't have heard of Rockwell. Wiped off the map years ago. Big Government cover-up, hush, hush and all. It would have turned out REALLY bad if it hadn't been for those brave circus folk…and the human cannon…and the trained bear.

Like I said, GASLIGHT, or the Pulp version, To Be Continued by GASLIGHT, allows you to play most anything you want to put on the table. The above game was played with Horror Clix figures mostly. I've run other games using various 28mm WWII figures, and the Radon Zombies of the Ionosphere from Pulp Figures.

You can look through the GASLIGHT section of the SciFi forum here on TMP for more on the game. And there are other Pulp games out, and many people really like them, but GASLIGHT can be adapted, with little effort, to anything you can think up.

And, if you ever get out to Rockwell, you'll find a chain link fence around a big hole in the ground. :P

FUBAR, GASLIGHT, In The Emperor's Name, FAD( Fast and Dirty), in Her Majesty's Name, Bolt Action with Sci-Fi Mod….
FUBAR's probably the easiest, especially if you don't want to bother with a points system and work out your scenarios yourself.

Blasters and Bulkheads and Combat Zone could work as well.

I've been looking at FUBAR. Did you know there was a VSF (Steampunk) Version for the Stargate version?

Didn't see the Stargate VSF version… Interesting concept. Thanks for the heads up.

What about 7TV? Nice "cult tv" genre inspired rules – can easily do movies as well.

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