"A question of Sci Fi rules" Topic

Good day friends!

Sci-Fi is not usually my thing (excluding spaceship gaming), though my intro into the hobby was warhammer 40k. However a situation has arised that makes me want to get a bit back into it.

A friend of mine, one of the people with who we originally started WH40k, got married and is going to become a father, which is cool. He dicided to get rid of all his old 40k stuff since a) he has no one to play with b) he has not time to paint them and it makes him unhappy to have them unpainted and un-played.

The only person with whom he has a chance of playing is me when I visit back home once or twice a year. While he is willing to try my historical or fantasy stuff, he really likes 40k, especially the story and the miniatures. However I usually do not have the time for the 2000pts games. And to be frank he hates complicated rules (yes I know 40k is complicated but we had 6 years of gaming in it, he is not the type of guy who starts easily with complex rules).

But I do want to give him a chance to play in his favorite universe sometimes. So here is my question. What rule-sets are out there, that are

a) simple

b) give a good feel of 40k battles as described in the literature (not necessarily the huge planet wide actions, but for example clash of marine with marine)

c) are for or can accommodate 28mm miniatures.

b) can produce a scenarion played in 1 hour to about 2, and are playable in small gaming area (36 by 36 table).

Really something like SAGA for Midi-evals.

With Respect
KTravlos

I would suggest Shockforce/Warengine

link

War engine
5150 ( two hour wargames)
tomorrows war

If you guys think 40K is complicated your going to have a very short list of choices Its target players are 8 year olds.

But check out War engine. Its fast easy and I do believe a free down load.

Mutants and Death Ray Guns plays a lot like future fantasy. I always thought 40k as swords and sorcery with guns. At least these are the rules I use when playing, so I can use only 10-15 figures total, makes for a true skirmish level game.

Ron W DuBray

I do not think 40k is complicated. As someone who has actually played some games that attempt to do simulation (Prussia's Glory II, Jutland 1914-1918, Federation and Empire) I am well aware of its low complexity (though anybody who thinks a game with multiple charts and many special rules is simple must really reconsider their concept of simplicity I say).

However this is not about what I want, but what my friend will enjoy. And for him 40k had to be taught by us, rather than taken up by him.

Hope that clears things up.

War Engine is points based and pretty straightforward. Lots of opposed die rolls.

5150 is more scenario based, and the games can be more true to the WH40k fluff. Wish I could find it again, but there was a battle report with 30 IG attacking a crossroads held by 5 space marines. It ended with about 20 IG casualties and 2 marines down.

Your friend might have trouble getting his head around the mechanics, though. Download CR3 (fee) and see if you like it.

There is also In The Emperors Name. I have not played, but a quick read made me think it was very similar to WH40k.

Bolt Action – ok it is a WW2 ruleset – but it works great for Sci-Fi. There is a variant somewhere on the web for adding in Walkers etc

thank you for the suggestions and keep them coming. Let us give my friend the joy of gaming again!

"Forge of War" and "In the Emperor's Name" are simpler systems designed in response to making it easier to play in the 40K universe. They are free downloads available here.
link
Easy to learn and they flow well.

FUBAR might be for you, and it is free.

gruntz

Use the original Rogue Trader rules. Small skirmish games can be just as fun as huge battles (if not better.) And don't let him get rid of his minis (or at least the painted ones.) That way lies madness…. ;-)

Pulp Alley?

In the Emperor's Name, for sure.

One of the great reasons for using Tomorrows War is that all of the Force on Force scenario books from Osprey can easily be converted to Sci-Fi scenarios on Colonial Planets just by changing the Faction names. That is what all the other Sci-Fi Rule sets are lacking.

Pat

One of the great reasons for using Tomorrows War is that all of the Force on Force scenario books from Osprey can easily be converted to Sci-Fi scenarios on Colonial Planets just by changing the Faction names. That is what all the other Sci-Fi Rule sets are lacking.

Quite true, but Tomorrow's War does have a bit of a learning curve with the action/reaction cascade.

I also recommend a slight change from the rules as written in resolving the reaction cascade. Instead of resolving all fire from closest to furthest in one batch, I prefer to resolve all those reactions that BEAT the acting unit closest to furthest, move the acting unit, then resolve all those reactions that didn't beat the acting unit.

You can give Infinity a try if you like squad-per-side special operations gaming, the rules and army lists are free to download (rules: PDF link , scenarios and army lists: link . Check the "Infinity Tournament System" for more scenarios). If you want lots of the background fluff, you need to buy the books. Well, you also need to buy the Campaign: Paradiso book if you want the campaign rules and scenarios, as those aren't in the downloads. Not that you need to have the campaign rules to play, but the scenarios in that campaign really change the feel of the game from a simple "kill-em-all."

Infinity is very similar to the original Rogue Trader in terms of models needed, though it uses a d20 instead of a d6 for greater detail.

To be honest, Force on Force/Tomorrow's War and Infinity are my two favorite ground-battle games.

Warzone is fairly easy. The new Warzone Ressurction has been released by Prodos Games and most of the players like it. Best those games are as much fun at 500 ponts as their are at 5000

sorry KTravlos my post did sound bad to me after I went back and read it.

Again I'm sorry, but Im thinking he will enjoy playing the War Engine rules.

Ron, I am sorry I was so pricky. I should had given the benefit of the doubt. But thank you for the suggestion.

In the Emperor's Name would be my choice.

If you want a warband size game that plays fast and easy, then In the emperor's name is your best bet and a favorite of mine. Unfortunately the 3rd edition seems to be stalled. The rules were finished last year, but the previous edition warband lists have to be converted via a barely-functional online program and the weapons lists are an unfinished mess.

Do yourself a favor and just stick with the 2nd edition rules which are avilable here:
link

If you want something platoon sized, then I would recommend Warengine, another favorite of mine. It really only handles light vehicles and infantry, but it has a real 40k feel and the balance between ranged and melee combat is very similar. It plays very fast and is quite versatile, allowing you to easily stat up whatever you want. That it is free is nice also.

Another good option is "Warpath" from Mantic. The current version is smaller in scope than the previous mass-battle version. It also plays very fast, and has the advantage of already having some 40k analogue races and accompanying army lists. All of the rules and lists are free at Mantic's website.
link

As for 5150 and Tomorrows War, which were mentioned by others, they are both good rulesets, but in my opinion, neither really captures the feel of the 40k universe. They're a bit more "hard" in gameplay and balance. Also, their "reaction" style mechanics take a bit more getting used to and probably aren't going to be what your friend is looking for, especially if these are once or twice a year one-off games with someone who likes 40k.

Best of luck with your rules search.

Warpath all the way. Played some games and had a blast! Free rules online and there are several "counts as" army lists. Several squads per side, heroes are not overpowered, and there's simple vehicle rules, with a neat alternating activation system (where you can try to press your luck and activate multiple units). Plays in about half the time of an equivalent 40k game.