Darkest Star Games | 24 Jan 2018 9:24 a.m. PST |
How often do your 6mm games take place in cities? (true urban areas, with buildings taller than 4 stories…) |
Extra Crispy | 24 Jan 2018 9:27 a.m. PST |
Never. Urban games tend to be slow, slogging affairs (unless you don't go in the buildings). That's just the nature of the beast. If you prohibit movement in the buildings then its rats in a maze time… |
TheWhiteDog | 24 Jan 2018 10:03 a.m. PST |
A friend and I have done large urban battles a few times. To use the term "meatgrinder" would be conservative, as the battles inevitably led to the destruction of both forces. In most rule-sets, grav or hover loses any advantage, and Infantry gets chewed up in the house-to-house fighting. Small towns are a fun addition to games, but large cities are where units go to die. We usually like to play narrative-based games, so keeping your command intact is often a primary objective. |
Moonbeast | 24 Jan 2018 10:57 a.m. PST |
Once I get them assembled and painted (the MDF buildings at least) most of our games will be played in cities, it just wouldn't be Kaiju gaming without boatloads of buildings to stomp! |
The Beast Rampant | 24 Jan 2018 11:09 a.m. PST |
In the past, quite a few Epic 40K games on some pretty built-up ares from our pooled city scenics. Rules for infantry in (really 'on') buildings, destroying them, resulting rubble, etc. |
Oberlindes Sol LIC | 24 Jan 2018 11:32 a.m. PST |
The only large scale urban game that I've played was one game of Dropzone Commander. The game handled combat in buildings pretty efficiently, as I recall. All of my troops in a building were destroyed in one turn, at least. I have been in a few other games -- Striker, Striker II, Dirtside -- where we had a few large buildings, but they weren't really urban combat scenarios. I have run and played in several 25mm StarGrunt games set in urban areas (including several 4-story buildings), and all of those worked out well. Grav technology renders most terrain strategically irrelevant. Bridges and mountain passes are irrelevant to flying units, for example. There aren't any roads; there may not be any railroads (or mag-lev lines). So combat is going to take place at targets that each side wants to control. Cities, with their large populations and commercial sectors, will be primary targets. Any time we are building a city for a science fiction game, I think that we are well served to consider how the dominant technologies will affect the design -- the look and feel -- of the city. That's especially true at smaller scales, where there will be more city on the table. Grav technology obviates the need for roads, so cities won't be built on transportation grids. Buildings might be built in clusters, separated by natural landscapes. Grav shortens transit time, so cities can spread out horizontally. Grav allows easy vertical access, so cities can be built on steep and uneven surfaces. Grav vehicles probably park on the rooftops and, for large buildings, the upper floors. Maybe the new prestigious office suites are the ones "above the garage". Is it more economical to use grav trucks to move commodities, or to use mag-lev train systems? The layout of the city's commercial or warehouse district will reflect the answer to that question. If the game is set on Earth, or some other planet that has developed from wheel-based transport (drawn by animals at first, later by motors) to grav, you get to consider interesting questions of what gets built over, and how the old and new blend together. |
williamb | 24 Jan 2018 12:13 p.m. PST |
Most games have towns with two story or lower buildings. Sometimes have a city area with three to four story buildings. |
Darkest Star Games | 24 Jan 2018 12:36 p.m. PST |
I've really only used urban buildings for Battletech, Dropzone Commander, Hammers Slammers, and 5150 (which typing it out makes it sound like quite a bit, actually!) Would y'all like to see some sci-fi buildings done, offered in both standard resin castings but also .stl for home printing? |
Dynaman8789 | 24 Jan 2018 12:44 p.m. PST |
For the most part I leave city fights to boardgames (ASL in particular). Doing city combat right is a PITA with actual buildings on the table and playing with Grey and Brown pieces of felt (for stone and wood construction) just doesn't feel right. |
Frederick | 24 Jan 2018 1:08 p.m. PST |
Very rarely For most of the reasons cited above we try to bypass cities although we have played a few blood and guts urban slogs |
MKGipson | 24 Jan 2018 1:30 p.m. PST |
I have had fun playing Panzer8 sci-fi wargame rules using rebased MechWarrior Dark Age Clix in a cityscape. Having big mechs slowly maneuver in tight streets while helicopters are dodging fire around buildings was loads of fun. Each force had to capture a building on their side of the city, *in* the city and on the far side of the city from their start. It forced a lot of "go through" and "go around" engagements, looking for quick paths and dodging fire lanes. I guess how much it "slogs" depends on the rules. It goes more quickly with "beer and pretzels" type wargames. |
darthfozzywig | 24 Jan 2018 1:49 p.m. PST |
More sci-fi buildings would be good. I almost always include an urban area in my 6mm games (thank you, Epic Space Marine buildings!) and 15mm games alike. |
Legion 4 | 24 Jan 2018 3:11 p.m. PST |
We generally always put some structures on the board. May be not the size of a town or city. Maybe only a part of a city like on the board edge. But generally we don't always do a City-fight battle. We do try to avoid the type of urban warfare, that GW Epic has a predilection for. By Passing if at all possible based on the scenario. Let your FA and maybe CAS trash the place. If the enemy is hold up there. Even in the game, house to house fighting uses up a lot of forces. And many times incurs high losses. But sometimes if the scenario calls for it and we have to go into the city. It is well shelled, bombed, etc., first. Even if the survivors can hide in the rubble. But certainly "rubbling" the place will cause enemy losses. And rubble works for both sides. Once a structure is rubbled, it won't collapse on you. We do prefer a battle of maneuver, but sometimes the scenario, etc., requires a little "door knocking", ripping bricks out'a the wall, etc. |
wolvermonkey | 24 Jan 2018 4:07 p.m. PST |
Played our last Alpha Strike game in a ruined city and loved it. So much so I ordered more ruined 6mm buildings for next time. All the jagged buildings made for some interesting line of sight and cover. |
Covert Walrus | 24 Jan 2018 4:15 p.m. PST |
I enjoy the occasional city fight, though mostly just as part of a "spillover" from a less urban area. It has it's advantages and disadvantages, and both can be tactically interesting. And more terrain? Always welcome :D |
DesertScrb | 25 Jan 2018 8:24 a.m. PST |
My Ogre games usually involve large urban areas, with objectives to capture or destroy. It makes for fun convention games. |
Darkest Star Games | 25 Jan 2018 9:32 a.m. PST |
Great insights Oberlindes Sol LIC, depending upon technology level the tabletop-scape could indeed be VERY different. Many moons ago played in a Traveller game where despite the planet we were on being TL-12-13 and grav being everywhere, the government still insisted on it being a "walking society" with "parking garages" for grav and other vehicles in areas, but the majority of the city space was park like with huge walks between buildings. In another the main transport was via "rolling walkways" which I believe was based on a Heinlein story. That would also make for a different setup. |
Frostie | 25 Jan 2018 3:37 p.m. PST |
I love the idea of urban sci if battles, although yet to achieve it. More buildings would be great |