So you may remember, I had a guy paint up a nice set of 15mm sci-fi troops. This weekend, I finally got a chance to get them on the table. Unfortunately, I forgot my iPad so I could only take photos with my camera phone...which isn't the best, frankly. However, some of the picture came out OK.
So our rule set is Tomorrow's War by Ambush Games which is their sci-fi version of Force on Force -- a rule set I really like for modern warfare games. Our scenario came straight out of the book. We set up the table:
So the scenario has a downed pilot taking cover in the building in the center of the photo (you can also see his crashed vehicle nearby). That brown strip is a river (a very muddy river) with only two fords across it. A rescue squad of 3 teams of space marines will be entering from the top of the photo. They're trying to reach the pilot, and get them off the board before the end of Turn 8. Opposing them will be some squads of the local border legion (my guys). They aren't quite as high-tech as the rescue squads but there are a few more of them and they do begin play in concealment (marked as small chits of paper). Reading it over, we weren't quite sure if this was going to be much of a fight. The rescue forces are very, very good and even outnumbered, they've still got a lot of advantages.
So we get started. The rescue teams move onto the board and most of legion units open up...to very little effect. However, one rescue team is overly-eager. They dash forward, across the bridge and are immediately gunned down...
Now, the trick with this rule set is that once a guy goes down you don't know if they're really dead or not. You have to have an active figure go over and check on them. One of the other rescue teams broke from cover and bolted towards the downed team in an attempt to assess their situation and see if they couldn't get people back on their feet. Again, they suffered miserably after crossing the river, but two guys remained standing:
A quick check on their comrades and it turned out that no one was dead, but several troopers were too injured to continue the fight. Meanwhile, although the house with the pilot had been occupied by an enemy squad, several rounds of fire against the house had pretty much eliminated the foe. The third squad had made it's way cautiously along the edge of the board, moving from cover to cover and eventually rushed the house where it meat up with the pilot and the remnants of the other two rescue teams:
With the third squad covering their retreat, the pilot and a two-man escort tried to race off the board, but time had run out. The pilot was still on-board at the end of the 8th turn and thus the game went to the all-but-wiped-out Legionaries.
In the end, we were surprised at how close the game had been. The low tech side died and died and died, but they delayed long enough to eke out a win. I am pleased to discover that my professionally painted guys appear to have escaped the "too pretty to win" curse that often afflicts well-done miniatures.
Among my various gaming projects for the new year, I want to paint up a few more 15mm Sci-fi forces so my guys have something to fight against. Specifically some alien armies to deal with. Should make for games that feel a bit more sci-fi.
later
Tom
No comments:
Post a Comment