"Favorite way for resolving combat in skirmish games?" Topic

When resolving if an attack hits in combat in a skirmish game, which do you prefer?

A. Rolling a single die, which can be any type of die.
B. Rolling 2dX and adding the result for a bell curve. X is any type of die, like 2d6.
C. Rolling a pool of dice looking for successes, with each success being a hit.
D. Drawing/playing cards instead of dice.
E. Drawing chits from a bag.
F. I don't play skirmish games.

A, C, and D all work well in various rules I've played. The mechanics depend on the design.

G. Each figure rolls D6. + modifiers for spear/swords/bayonets (longer reach); – modifiers for being prone/wounded/attacked from rear
Highest result wins (then determine damage)

Die roll comparison. Each rolls a die, modify the result due to weapon, wounds, terrain, etc. hill modified roll wins the duel.
I have seen several Rourkes Drift duels work out well.

A and B. It keeps things simple and, for me, skirmish games are for simple, fun to play games when you've only got a couple of hours for a game.

A, B, and C. I typically have a d6 roll to hit, or sometimes d10, with saves for things like cover and range and moving target.

If a mounted target is hit, roll to see if it is the horse. (70%)

Then roll for severity of wound, with a 6 (or 10) being DRT, and a 1 being a graze with no effect.

If a horse goes down, roll for rider damge in fall, with his riding skill as a modifier.

I use dead and especially wounded figures, and they often become foci of action. Had a fight between Comanche and Texans and the one guy with the Colt went down and both sides put a lot of effort into recovering that.

A & B.

H. Opposed Rolls link

My three favourite skirmish games use:

H. Opposed Rolls.

I. Test of Honour style results on a variable number of D6 with the number of dice modified by various stats.

J. The Silver Bayonet style 2D10 with modifiers based on various stats.

A, B, C. No cards, I don't like that mechanic.

Straight die roll in firing, possibly with a saving throw. Opposed throw for hand to hand.

Seems to me over the years I have played all A through E and they were all enjoyable. Probably not much help.

I have been very much into a skirmish game lately that solely relies on card draw for firing and Melee. Great fun.

for me, skirmish games are for simple, fun to play games when you've only got a couple of hours for a game

We have a very different view of skirmish games. I've run many skirmish games for 4-6 hours with 4-6 players.

In answer to the question, I prefer A, B, and C over the others in all contexts.

We have a very different view of skirmish games.

Nothing wrong with that, mate. Diversity is one of the hobby's strengths- there's rules, scales, figures, etc, to suit just about everyone.

"Straight die roll in firing, possibly with a saving throw. Opposed throw for hand to hand"

+1

The only skirmish game I play reguwis Fistful of Lead, so whatever they do in that. Dice throw with modifiers and a damage roll if a hit is scored.

Some folks don't like saving throws as a mechanic (extra resolution step!) but I prefer that to adding extra defensive modifiers to an attack roll and the defender just has to be a passive onlooker. If you split these resolution mechanics into an Attacker phase and a Defender phase, it keeps both players engaged and "in control" of their own fate (die rolls, or card draws if that's what's in play). To me this helps the game as a game. And the applicable modifiers are reduced/split so each series of rolls or draws (attack/defense) can be simpler to calculate or adjudicate.