Wars of Ozz is a fantasy miniatures game set in the marvelous world of Ozz first chronicled by L. Frank Baum's in 1900, later turned into movies by MGM and Disney, and now the inspiration for a totally unique mass-battle tabletop experience. Russ has taken Baum's world as an inspirational starting point for creating our own Ozz, a post-apocalyptic Earth where after the last Madness Bomb fell in the Last Great War, survivors mutated and chaos reigned until several hundred years later the Wizard arrived.
The Kickstarter launched on Saturday, 27th June, and was fully funded within the first couple of hours, met it's first stretch-goal within first 24 hours, and is heading towards the second, which means, more free miniatures for backers.
Don't worry, if you've not taken a look at the campaign yet, there are still a few Early Bird deals left, and the campaign has another 26 days to run, completing on 25th July.
We have just received this photograph though of the latest Ozz greens, sculpted for us by Bob Naismith. This is the Adventurers of Ozz pack and is a bonus free pack, going to all backers whose pledge includes one of the army deals.
The Miniatures
Wars of Ozz miniatures have been expertly designed, sculpted and cast by Old Glory, one of the world's longest established and most prolific figure manufacturers. The miniatures are characterful, with crisp detail, and are a joy to paint (and I should know, I've painted several hundred over the last few months!). All figures are supplied unpainted, some require minor assembly using superglue (for example, cannons are typically four pieces, riders and their mounts are typically cast separately). All models are cast in a lead/tin alloy that is easy to work with, and are supplied as unit packs which include appropriate command figures.
The Rules
The Wars of Ozz rules have been developed by John Buck Surdu, an established and prolific rules author whose previous works include Gaslight, Combat Patrol, ACP164, and many more great rules. The rules have been designed from the start to provide an enjoyable two-player, multi-player, or solo-gaming experience. A typical unit consists of 20 miniatures, mounted on five bases. A typical brigade (a single-player command) contains around five units, and an army would contain two or three brigades with an overall commander to facilitate team play. A game can be played to its conclusion in two to three hours. Once units are committed to battle, melees are resolved decisively by the rule's mechanisms.
Wars of Ozz features a unique activation mechanism, which gives brigade and army commanders a role to play while providing a random activation sequence. Combat resolution is quick and brutal; games come to a clear conclusion, and are fun-to-play as the rules use streamlined mechanics that provide drama and excitement. Magic has a part to play in the game… this is after all Ozz, but magic is balanced and does not overpower the game.
