Miniatures Rules

Silly Movie Skirmish Game

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The Silly Movie Skirmish Game is designed to mimic over-the-top action hero movies.

The author writes:

This game was developed by myself as a quick and easy, simple as can be, fun table top game using any miniatures. The game is not designed to be a simulation of real combat, it is designed to mimic the over the top action and ability witnessed in many a action film.

With a little tweaking the game can be sci fi, horror or wargame. The idea is to create a movie style hero or team of heroes of different heroic value and pit them against stupid bad guys and increasingly clever villains.

For a normal game Grunts and Henchmen (cannon fodder) should be set at HERO 0, favourite units set at HERO 1 with NCOs at HERO2. Lesser HEROs should be set at 3 to 4, with screen idols set at 5 to 6. OTT Heroes set at HERO 7.

For a more true to life game, the max hero should be set at HERO 3 and those characters should be seen as the best SF force (SAS, SEALS etc), Elite forces maybe set at HERO 2 and Normal NCO’s set at HERO 1.

Keep your games simple, don’t go into much depth, enjoy mindless action J

Eagles At Quatre Bras

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Eagles At Quatre Bras is a set of free wargames rules for brigade level Napoleonic games on a division level. Author Norm Smith writes:

They are solitaire friendly, can be played through in a single session and are set at the lower end of the complexity spectrum. Emphasis is on giving a good game rather than simulation.

Using a 4’ x 3’ table with 4” hexes, gives a grid of around 12 hexes wide by 9 deep, which typically accommodates something like the Battle of Quatre Bras with around 4 divisions per side.Units are representing brigades and divisional artillery, with a hex limited to holding no more than 1 unit and any accompanying leader.

Scale and basing of the figures do not really matter as it is simply the formation in the hex that is considered, with the player showing line, column and square formations for infantry and line for cavalry and artillery. A suggestion is 2 or 4 bases for infantry and cavalry and 2 bases for artillery.Giving a ground scale has been deliberately avoided as this allows for some disfunction, such as light infantry being able to fire two hexes and also leaves the player with some flexibility when designing battlefields, to get bigger battles into this small area or to go to a lower level such as units representing regiments. Basically if it looks and feels right, then go with it.

The system uses standard six sided and ten sided dice (the 0 on a D10 is read as ten), plus a pack of standard playing cards.

Carnage: Drive To Survive Rules

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Carnage are a set of free wargames rules for auto combat in a slightly different world. The author explains:

Carnage is a racing battle game set in Britain in 2003 or so. Players take control of vehicles from humble Reliant Regals to top-spec Lamborghinis, and then kit them out with improbable Equipment and weaponry, with a view to slaughtering similar minded opponents. They take part in “duels”, (races against each other for honour, pride or cash….but mostly cash), in order to better their machines and skills for the next race. What the end goal is of all this, probably no-one knows, and the Police seem strangely absent from all this. Ah well, who said reality was fun?

Justified Ancients Rules

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Justified Ancients is a set of free wargames rules for simple ancients battle games. The author writes:

Justified Ancients is a fast paced element based wargame that takes simple mechanics to produce a beleivable result. Easy to learn they are percet for filling in that last half hour before the Pub or playing a huge battle in two hours.

To Glory We Steer Fighting Sail Rules

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To Glory We Steer is a well-done set of rules for the age of fighting sail:

From the period where the mighty multi-oared Galleys had almost faded from memory other than a coastal raider, to the days where black funnelled Ships of the line belched out sparks and smoke, there existed two hundred years of an Age of Sail. …

This set of rules takes from many contemporary accounts of battle, to gain a whiff of the sea air in themechanics, Hopefully threading through it enough realism without baffling a Landsman who knows little of the Age of Sail.

As you give your crew orders to “Man the Halyards” or unleash a perfectly timed broadside, I hope that some of this may come across and that those who know their foretops from their gaff sails might gain some pleasure from commanding. This said, many compromises have been made in the way of a playable game that is challenging and involving for players.

You are not pushing a model and rolling dice. You are a Master and Commander in the Heat of Battle!