"Tactica?" Topic

I haven't seen much discussion of Tactica on TMP. Having just acquired the rules inexpensively, I wondering what the opinions are of it.

He states right up front that he is focusing on the limitations of the units. Does the game work, from that perspective? Are the limitations realistic? Pros and cons of the ruleset?

Thanks

I own Tactica and Tactica medieval. I've never played either due to army size. However, I from reading the rules, both games should give a good simple game of warfare. Some of the limitations are rather draconian to force you to deploy like your ancient/medieval counterparts. I'm not a huge fan of this style of game. I am firmly in the camp of "Your the general. You decide how to deploy your troops." That said, a game should have army advantages to make you want to deploy in a certain way to take full advantage. this game just forces you to do that.

The good points are that the game is very simple and very straight forward. Morale is either good or bad. you can mess up a roll and your unit will make an early exit form the game.

I generally like the game for its simplicity. I generally don't like the game for its rigid setup rules.

I wish there were a force builder instead of rigid army lists. I wish there were rules for smaller battles etc.

john

Tactica II due out (maybe) by Historicon.

I played Tactica several times. I thought it gave a decent game. however, most gamers don't like the manuever restrictions whether they represent what happened historically or not. The combat system is simple. The armies are large but look good. There is a Yahoo group for the rules where Arty resides. The discussion now is about tactica 2. It is slanted more towards Armati than regular Tactica IIRC.

link

Thanks,

John

I played Tactica quite a bit when it first came out. And from what I read about actual tactics of the time, the rules seem to model that pretty well.

The large units make a nice looking game too.

I actually prefer Tactica to DBA.
And Armati always struck me as an attempt to hit a middle point between the two.

From what I remember of Tactica ( wonder where my copy went?) the rules needed very large armies which is why I think it never became widespread. However,its rules restrictions were there to encourage the player to use their armies like their historical counterparts,used like this it was simple and effective,unfortunately most gamers didn't want to use their armies like this so few of them persevered with it.
I think it was also the first set of ancients rules that had really high production values and in that respect it was great.

Echo the earlier comments…Tactica places historical restrictions on commanders. Initial deployment is key, as is timing of charges.

Still one of my favorite rules sets.

I love tactica medieval. I have never had a game that was not entertaining. I would like a little flexibility with army lists though, but it is not too difficult to make your own lists.

Interesting – thanks. I will definitely try them out then. I have been building 1500 – 1600 pt armies for the old WGR 6th ed system so the size is comparable in most cases, and I went with 40mm wide bases since 30mm was too narrow for most of the figs. As a result, basing is similar too. :o)

I've been playing Tactica for years and it's one of my favorite rule sets.

I started playing miniatures in 1970 with Napoleonics where the rule was the more the better. So I like the large armies in Tactica.

The guys I game with have been using Tactica for years, tried other rules, ut still like them! Mike Adams

Tactica was and still is the only ancient rule system that I have enjoyed playing. If you have army for FOG then you have an army for Tactica. Pretty much the same number of figures required for each.

All good points about Tactica. I should point out (having seen lots of playtest games, and taking part in a few) that Tactica II is much less restrictive in terms of command.

Tactica II will definately be an improvement over the original. While retaining most of the play mechanics,it gets rid of the fixed armies and rigid deployment. There is now a points system similar to FOG so you can start with smaller armies. If you liked the original, you will love the newer version, hopefully to be out by 2009 Historicon according to latest from Arty. Join the Tactica Yahoo group to get updates. There are Battle reports and Photos there so you can sort of see what the new rules will look like. We are all anxiously awaiting its publication, but in the mean time, we would love to hear your comments and questions on the origial.

I think Tactica pursued its valid point too thoroughly. It may be that maneuvering some ancient formations was as ponderous as steering a supertanker, but I think only in some cases.

I believed Armati achieved the same aims in a more playable and I think more credible way, so it's good to hear Tactica 2 is heading in that direction.

Maybe there's some convergence among more top-down rules sets on the issue? DBMM has moved the DBx derivative systems a big step towards representing the difficult of articulating armies. Field of Glory is at the flexibility end of the same ballpark.

Thoughts?

Mike

Where can one purchase Tactica 2?

Who knows? I have been waiting 2 of more years!!!! Mike Adams