First Platform Command build

I got the three Platform Command sets from WorldworksGames in their sale at the end of the year. My intention is to build some terrain pieces in reduced scale but since some parts seem a little complex, I decided to start making a hover truck from the Battlegrounds expansion, in regular size. This would allow me to get used to the kinds of folds etc. preferred by the designer.

It took me a couple of hours to carefully cut and build, but here is the result, along with one mini from the Red Sector expansion.

What I love in WorldWorksGames sets is the amount of detail in their texturing. Their instructions for this model were perfect and I even added the rocket launchers based on one of the photos in the manual.

I am tempted to spray a layer of sealant over this and put it on my work desk... it is a pity I do not have room to make many of these in regular size. I can imagine gaming with vehicles and terrain like this.

Friday Night Solo Games

This week was crazy with work and some personal matters. Still, last night I managed to play a couple of solo games I had not tried yet.

The first one was Tabletop Conquest by Brent Newhall, a free solo strategy game where you must try to reach the capital of a foreign kingdom and not run out of troops from the conflicts on the way. Winning will depend on luck somewhat but there is strategy in figuring your odds for each battle, based on the enemy and on the surrounding terrain. Overall, a simple, nice game to spend some free time.

The other game I played was Dungeons by Shane Garvey, author of other solo games such as Chronicles of Arax and Battle Quest. In my opinion, Dungeons is a more elegant, streamlined iteration of the author's efforts in creating a solo adventure/dungeon delving game.

Each game of Dungeons is a random sequence of combat encounters and non-combat events tied together by a quest. The core book has six quests and the first expansion brings another six. To play, you select one of a roster of characters, which are defined in terms of combat stats. The rules are easy to grasp  and the game moves quickly. My first game took me around 10 minutes and ended in defeat against a zombie, after a few unfortunate encounters. It was not as detailed as a paragraph-based game but it did not feel bland or overly generic.

Conclusion

Both of these solo games are played without any preparation, requiring only a few dice and a sheet of paper. I found both to be satisfiying for a quick break or to finish a busy week, as it was the case.

The Hidden Battles of MR-4/76

Today I had a very good game of 5150 Star Army -- enough to make me start a little new campaign based on it. The plan is to run seven games or win/lose due to campaign morale, whichever comes first.

The Star Army are contesting MR-4/76 an uninhabited world in the fourth ring, which contains valuable mineral deposits. The Hishen have sent a military occupation force to the planet and are defending it. Obviously, this conflict happens hidden from the citizens of Gaea Prime...

My Star Army squad consists of Alec (star, rep 5), Barry, Charles, Doug, Edward (ASL, rep 3), Frank, Gary and Henry. All the grunts are rep 5 and equipped with laser rifles; Alec uses a rapid-fire laser and Edward carries a grenade launcher.

This first mission was a patrol. The objective was to confirm the position of what seemed to be a camouflaged base in aerial recon data. [I got aerial recon for this mission, as well as an investment level of 3 and intel level of 3. These gave me a "good intel" result and thus, I was able to determine the enemy's investment level at the start: 4.]

Running from the Bugs!

Last year I got a copy of the BUGS! game released by Two Hour Wargames in 2002 (at the time of this writing it is still available for free at WargameDownloads.) I planned to play a game with it back in June but forgot about it until now. So instead of building my 5150 platoons I ran this game as I was more in the mood for a quick battle than making papercraft.

Anyway, BUGS! is a compact and focused game of humans fighting (or running away from) primitive but dangerous aliens -- the types with sharp teeth and claws. The reason to play it nowadays is mostly to gain perspective on the origins and evolution of the Reaction System. The core ideas are already present but yet to be refined. The whole set of rules fits in four pages of text and two pages of tables. The cost of this is that some definitions and clarifications are not included. When playing, I had to make some assumptions about things like front facing arc, group movement, requirements for charging, melee combat etc.

Battle Report

Based on information from the book I ran a simple scenario where a group of mercenaries and civilians must reach a shuttle to escape a facility infested with bug-like aliens. Every turn there's the risk that the aliens will burrow a hole to ambush them. Here is a picture of the setup. The green patches (woods) and gray squares (buildings) are impassable terrain. Some comments about the game system are given in square brackets.

Calling for Reinforcements

Since I have been playing mostly New Beginnings, which use the new In Sight procedure, I played a couple test battles of 5150 Star Army to remember the squad-based mechanics. Only then it dawned on me that I would need more figures to properly use the escalating battles system. I already have the extra platoons, tanks and other items printed, I just have to cut and build everything.

Other than that, the 1cm scale felt adequate, especially for solo play. I can play on a small space and even  leave the board set up as long as I remember to cover everything with a box lid or something to protect from gusts of wind.