Hi all,

Long time listener, first time caller.

I believe I'm stumbling in to the great uninhabited plane of Sci-Fi rules - Company Level.

I've been looking for a game that uses stands of infantry and individual vehicles with around 10-20 elements on the table but still allows a degree of combined arms tactics.

I tried adapting the Minigeddon rules but they're still a bit 'big' (i.e. the abstraction feels a bit 'off') and if human infantry and support vehicles is your focus (i.e. using Steel Legion lists) you end up with around 30 elements, more than I'd like ideally.

I also tried Gruntz with the suggestions for group basing but that's just individual basing with models standing next to each other the whole battle. It's weird.

Basically I want a game I can play that looks like a small-medium Flames of War game on the table (or a 6mm version), basing doesn't matter too much (or at least the rules won't break if I ignore the suggested base sizes) and contains neat, tactical things like suppression.

Like a 500 point Epic game but with less structured formations.

I also looked at Dirtside but it's brutally complex.

I alternately hear good and bad things about FWC, and I'm toying with Alien Squad Leader but not sure how tactically involved it is, and how much the prescribed base sizes matter?

Of course, if I ever finish my sci-fi mod of Mayhem all of this will be moot!

Cheers all,

The "Commander" rulesets are universally praised and liked around my end of the woods. If Pendraken have bought up the rights for them then there might be some development of that in the future.

_________________
Ben Sibbald

Personal & Wargaming Blog: http://www.theancienttrack.blogspot.co.uk

EPIC WIP: Grey Knights, Space Wolves, Eldar

The Quadrant 13 rules from Too Fat Lardies also should work, if you like their games.

Also, I know a certain author/publisher who would kick me if I didn't plug Strike Legion by Legionnaire Games. I can't think of any other rules that allow you the level of control over what you use/don't use when you play. I would say they have a very different feel than the Commander series, though, so it depends on your tastes.

Have you tried any of the Strike Legion games ?


[url]http://www.wargamevault.com/browse/pub/3519/Legionnaire-Games[url]

Thanks - no I haven't. I really wanted to read some reviews of Strile Legion but I'm struggling to find any - can anyone sum up Strike Legion succinctly for me?

Here is a link to KaJo's description (he is the author of the rules and owner of Legionnaire Games, the publisher):

viewtopic.php?f=135&t=22874

As you can see, there are lots of supplements to the rules, but ignore those for now. The Tactical game is the basic set of rules, and that is where you would start.

I guess I would place the game somewhere between the Commander/Warmaster rules and Battletech in complexity. I think its strengths really are its:
- modularity (many of the rules are add-ons, so you can keep or discard whatever you like)
- unit building (rules are supplied to create units, but they are complex)
- good learning scenarios
- varying levels of strategy.

What I mean by that last one is that the game inherently has some decisions that have to be made during play (beyond moving or shooting): you have to balance offensive and defensive characteristics, and you have to play to the strengths (and downplay the weaknesses) of your units. You ALSO, however, can set your games in a giant, world-spanning campaign setting, with as much book-keeping and logistics as you want. It can even combine with the spaceship game to create an invasion of an entire planet!

Not everyone is going to like the game. I think some might find it too crunchy: if you like the more free-flowing play of a Warmaster or even Epic (minus the confusion that can some times happen during close combat), this may be too "old school." It uses unit cards, which might bother some. Others might find it abstract, but I never considered it to be so (probably depends on your definition of the word).

If, however, you like imagining how to add on extra rules--or if you have ever created your own set of rules for invasions and logistics--then the rules may be for you.

I don't know how it compares to Dirtside, but I can say that it should be easier to read. It's broken up into readable sections and it has at least had some editing (by me!).

Honestly, though, the basic rules are under $3 right now (http://www.wargamevault.com/product/878 ... t_filtered). The compendium is $12. Just go get a set and read through it. For that price, you aren't out much if you don't like them. Also check out the subforum to see what others are saying.


Edit: I should say that while I edited the rules, I have no financial horse in this race. I did it as a favour for a friend, and to get some experience while I was launching an editing business. So I may be a bit biased, but not much.

That's great - thanks for being so succinct. It sounds like it might be a little gritty for my taste - I like the abstraction of effect rather than process... I'm happy to know a laser killed a trooper rather than an autoblaster if the result is the same.

Having said that, you're right - I'll get them downloaded and read, even if I don't like them it all goes in the meting pot of writing me own one day!

Cheers