"Favorite game mechanic?" Topic

Whatever process, procedure, formula, etc., which draws you into a game, or which you just think is "nifty."

My top five:

Measureless, non-grid based movement and range— what I call "zone movement." No need to get fiddly!

Command roll activation (as in Warmaster and its descendants).

Add a die/lose a die bonus/penalty systems. Dead easy, and effective.

Card-based decision/orders/maneuvers, as in Wings of Glory/War. Quick, easy, and very effective.

"Bogey" marker movement— as in Space Hulk. This is more game specific, but in SH it works very well— you don't know what's coming, you just know it is… unless it turns out it isn't. Fits the "not-Aliens" theme of the game perfectly.

And a sixth: The "roll under" mechanic, especially in a game that also has a "roll over" mechanic. But my favorite application of this is D&D and the ability save/ability test mechanic, in part because it makes the character stat values actually mean something other than relative abstract "power" ranking.

Please add yours!

Agree with the first one, measureless moving

Written orders.
Card-based activation/initiative
Comparative combat resolutions.
Rolling to "succeed" with a charge.
Dice-based movement

I've used all of these in the past and, as with most things gs, there are applications where they work well, others wheretheyare not so good

Written or marker orders with simultaneous movement

Charts with plus/minus stats

Use of one dice type rather than D2-D20 in the same rule set

Removing figures rather than bases

Routed units having to move off board rather than evaporating

I like consistency.

Express an advantage by rolling more dice, rolling for a lower "to hit" number or rolling dice with more sides. I can live with any of those choices--but only one per rule set, please.

Casualties. Remove castings, remove stands or mark dead--but only one per game, and no blasted "unit history" please.

Rules are easy. One or two pages. Fast games that last an hour or two hours.

Opposed dice rolls.

@David Manley— I saw what you did there. Touché!

Different value dice for different quality troops. D12 for elites vs. D6 for militia.

Minimum number of dice, no more than two at a time.
No saving rolls, if you are hit you are hit. The time to duck was before I fired.
Make numbers worth while. Don't make me roll dice for 2.3% probability of occurrence events.
Minimal props.
Ease of resolution of firing, movement, etc.
Let the players command their forces, not dice or cards.
Rules that work for long periods of time. People don't physically change much in how far they can see or move in a few hundred years.

Bunkermeister

Command and control restrictions, especially in pre-portable radio days.

Pre-game orders that units must try to adhere to (unless they can be changed IAW the rules).

Clearly defined objectives, whether they are terrain-, morale- or losses-based.

To me most important thing about rules is that they are well-written, unambiguous and have an index. As for the mechanisms, as David Manley points out there are some which work better in some periods/ scales of battle, but not as well in others.

Playing miniatures on hex grids makes it easier to have measureless movement and ranges.

Warmaster's unit activation rolls.

Outwit, outplay and outlast!! The last is the easiest, as older folks tend to need washroom breaks a lot and in many cases don't come back which makes outwit and outplay fall nicely into place as they also don't remember whose turn it was or more importantly what the were doing as they stopped to buy a great big Super Gulp which starts the cycle all over again!!….

Opposed dice rolls, grids and card driven command systems. The latter probably come closest to Clausewitz's "War is like a game of cards". The alternative is written orders along the lines of Spearhead, or players who are willing to role play command restrictions and fog of war. Fortunately I am blessed with the latter in my regular group.

Random Activation: think Bolt Action Dice

Push your luck actions: Warmaster, keep going till you fail, turn over

Pool of buffs: Halo command dice or AoS Spearhead Battle Tactics cards. A small selection of reroll, extra move, fight better etc for the turn.

Morale friction mechanic: Bolt Action Pins, disruption command modifier, etc

Free setup ambush: they are never where you expect: Flames of War or 40K Deep Strike

I did foul at a up bat here, ment the worst game mechanic but somehow got on the favorite game mechanic.
I actually dislike hex movement games, not I won't play them and have.

I think as favorite is less dice is better.
Probably a near lifetime of Empire 2 x dice 1 – 100 % odds increase your percentage chance not a dozen more dice.

I like Command Pips ala KG Commander III.

I like Chance-of-Hit but agree reducing the number of die rolls down to one is good.

I hate cards, and written orders (too woolly).

I like rules that are pretty simple but can handle 4 pages 😊

I like listening to other people's ideas as well.

I'd also like to put in a good word for "short" but only with the understanding that it's no substitute for "clear" and "conprehensive." Not that rules must cover everything conceivable in a period, but if there is a troop type and a sort of combat permitted under the rules, they also have to explain how this is gamed out. (And saying "spotting will be done as in another, longer set" is not a satisfactory soilution. Yes, I've seen it done.)

I prefer a Time Competitive system that allows players to make the same decisions in the same manner as real crews in a simulated real-time game environment. Veteran crews are faster, poor crews slower. Faster units "seize the initiative" without the need for traditional rules and die rolls. Timing values are historic with a minimum of abstraction.

Playing miniatures on hex grids makes it easier to have measureless movement and ranges.

Speed movement markers for simultaneous movement at realistic scaled movement and rate of fire. This synchronizes movement and firing, eliminating the need for traditional opportunity fire rules and exceptions.

Low numbers are always best; try to use the same dice type throughout the game.

A data card for each unit type with customized weapon platform data and performance. It includes a gun chart, armor values, and special performance. This eliminates looking up multiple modifiers and using quick reference charts, which increases mistakes. Because the unit data card has the details and sequence of play I can have two-page quick-start rules. About 80% of the game is played with just the unit data card and QS rules. I hate looking up rules and modifiers.

I have QR codes on specific areas of the data card and QS rules that will bring up a short video example or explanation.

There should be some way of showing the true scale of the model on the table. A typical WWII tank had a footprint of about 15 square meters. A game using 1" = 25m shows that a 1/144 scale model has a footprint about 15 times that of a real vehicle.

Rather than formations in hubcap to hubcap, put them in an inverted Vee formation. The line will be the same width, just more depth.

Units can start hidden before the game and be spotted when firing or moving.

In a meeting engagement, have both sides start out of the LOS and plot their moves for each formation before the game. Start the game with formations moving according to their plot until a mutual LOS is established. Then switch to tactical turn-to-turn.

In a sustained firefight, there is no initiative as both sides shoot simultaneously. Also, they don't need to be ordered each turn to do what they were ordered last turn. In a sustained firefight, every 10 turns I determine the results by comparing the firepower and cover/concealment.

Wolfhag

It is very interesting that some folks favorite mechanisms are other folks most disliked.
I also think it helps to put down an example game, and your gaming situation…I mostly play solo, games are either skirmish (individual figures) or units (battalions in Napoleonics).

I can think of historical examples and many instances from my own military experiences that are reflected in these mechanics.

I like:
1) Card driven games such as Field of Battle. Great for solo. Combat Patrol too. Soldiers of Napoleon. IABSM. Pulp Alley.
2) Dice driven such as Chain of Command. Gives me options that I have to match to the tactical situation.
3) Polyhedral dice: FOB again, good way to differentiate units.
4) Longer games: 2 hours for skirmish, but 4-5 for large Napoleonics (I can leave things set on the table)
5) Opposed die rolls…FOB again. Pulp Alley.
6) Some random movement- COC, IABSM, FOB

Tanker, I think there's a serious difference between something which is simply a bad idea and something which is a bad fit for a particular sort of game. None of us play everything, and it's easy to miss the potential of a mechanism if it doesn't work well in our own experience.

I've tried to limit myself to carping at mechanisms which as far as I can see don't work anywhere, or which I hate so badly it really wouldn't matter to me if a fast-playing historical battle resulted from using them. But clearly anything used in multiple rule sets or in multiple editions has someone who loves it.

As a aspect of rallying defeated units, I found the saving die roll a positive rule.

I think simulating combat/movement/morale with different types or numbers of dice is very preferable to an alternative of lots of charts or die roll modifiers.

And I like simple saving throws as a defensive mechanism when it takes the place of (again) extra charts, tables, or die roll modifiers. These also help keep players engaged in the game even when it isn't their turn to move/fire.