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As you may have read in the accompanying Hobby News story, the latest version of Hasbro's Attacktix allows players to match Transformers against Star Wars figures.
And you may be wondering - what's that got to do with wargaming? Isn't TMP a wargaming website?
Well, as it turns out, Attacktix is pretty close in design and spirit to one of the first wargames - H.G. Well's Little Wars!
The Figures
The manufacturer was kind enough to send along two of the game figures. The pre-painted plastic figures stand on a base which lists the unit's statistics, and also influence the vital aspect of how hard a figure is to knock down (more powerful units have wider bases).
The interesting thing about these bases is that each has a small "tick wheel" built into the bottom, so that when you move the piece, the wheel "ticks" - and movement is rated in terms of ticks.
In addition, as the wheel ticks, it also changes the information displayed in two windows. The top window is the figure's movement ability; the bottom window controls whether the piece gets to use its "death ability" when killed.
So How Does The Game Work?
It's pretty basic - both players choose their teams, based on points (marked on the front of the figure bases). One side moves any or all of its figures, then can make two attack moves. Then the other side gets to move and attack.
The attack moves are what remind me of the real old days of wargaming, when cannons actually fired pellets at enemy toy soldiers! In Attacktix, the goal is to "kill" the enemy figures by literally knocking them down. This can be done by firing projectiles at them from oversized guns (which come in varying sizes), or by "whacking" them with slashing weapons (mounted on figures with spring-action waists).
For example, TMP received two sample figures: Insecticon from Transformers and Wicket from Star Wars. Insecticon has a larger-sized gun, which can be aimed by swiveling the figure's waist or elevating his arm - obviously, he kills the enemy by shooting at them to knock them over. (Pressing the orange button causes the gun to fire the purple pellet.)
Wicket, on the other hand, has this asparagus-looking pole - with him, you want to move into contact range, then pull back on the pole and clobber the enemy.
So let's say that Insecticon shoots Wicket and knocks him over. Now, you check the bottom of the base to see if Wicket gets to use his dying power - if the window is white, it means that all Ewoks are immune from attacks next turn ("Evading").
If you want to learn more about the game, there's a website that includes demo videos showing how to play.
So - is it a miniatures game? I'm not sure, but I think H.G. Wells would have enjoyed it...