The Yahoo 6mm Science Fiction group has a nice little set of rules called “Prophecy of War,” about which the author writes:
These rules are intended to fill a gap in the science fiction wargaming rules market. We needed a set of rules that could cope with the sheer amount of models that we wanted to use, because, of those rules that we tried, none could match our demands. Often playing games with six players, and each wanting to use over fifty models, as well as infantry and air support, we found that our sessions were somewhat slow. Even worse was the amount of time calculating army lists. We wanted to be able to turn up and play (lazy as that sounds).
1.1 Design philosophy
These rules are not intended for any specific future, or universe. They are useable in any futuristic game intended to create large scale mayhem. We have assumed that the current military balance has remained intact, since most science fiction wargamers tend to enjoy using land vehicles (even if they are far out of scale in many cases). This means that infantry and tanks still have a place on the battle field. There are many rules sets that provide infantry rules, and we have always found them to be tedious when used in large numbers, so we wanted something really fast. The aim was to make infantry into a useful tool within the game, and not just a minimum requirement in an army list.
The 6mm science fiction Yahoo group is very active and has a number of nice rules sets. Maximum Firepower is one designed to be played on a hex grid, and it uses something called the BattleStory system, which it describes as a “universal mechanic that, with the roll of color coded dice, tells you: 1. What orders were issued? 2. How did the troops perform? 3. Who won the battle, and why? 4. What happened to the survivors?
Sol Prime is a set of fast play science fiction rules. Author John Kelly writes:
These rules grew out of an attempt to find something to play with my 10 year old. Every effort has been made to make these rules as fast & as painless as is possible. The game mechanics have been kept as simple as is consistent with producing a fun & reasonably accurate game, though I am not sure that the
word accurate is appropriate for a SciFi ruleset. Very little bookkeeping is necessary for the typical game. These rules should serve well to introduce newcomers to the hobby. With a little adaptation they could easily be used as microarmor rules, though they have been designed as SciFi microarmor rules.
Unlike some other popular rulesets, Sol Prime has a greater emphasis on force design than on the design of individual vehicles. The weapons ranges are about 1/2 to 1/3 of the range found in other sets. This allows for some maneuver on the tabletop before forces come into conflict.
Any scale of models can be used. I use microarmor & some 1/300 scale SciFi miniatures. Infantry should be mounted with a few, say 4 figures per stand (try ¾” by ½” stands) if one is using microarmor (1/285 or 1/300 figures.) Two figures per stand should work for 15mm figures. For 25mm figures I would
just use 1 figure per stand.
I have tried to keep the language simple so that newcomers will find the rules easy to understand. I would suggest that players first play out a game using only vehicles. Once this is mastered then add in aircraft, infantry, & artillery.
Stalker: Oblivion Lost is designed to be skirmish game for 28mm set in a science fiction/post apocalyptic setting. While players will command multiple troops, the focus is more on individual figures, equipment and abilities, than large scale combined arms battles. Thus the detail level is greater and games will emphasize combat more at the sharp and bitter end amidst the grime of blasted rubble and twisted steel than a detached God’s eye view of an entire war zone. 10 – 15 figures per side is the maximum suggested force size.
Galactic Heroes is a set of rules for playing game set in the Star Wars universe. The author uses those chunky three inch “Star Wars Galactic Heroes” figures, but any would work well. The author writes:
Galactic Heroes is a friendly game for 2-6 players, ages 6 and up. Each turn, players move their action figures around the table, exploring by flipping over Tokens that could be an enemy, a trap, or even something valuable. When a player successfully deals with an encounter, they collect the token. When all the tokens are collected, the game ends and the player with the most tokens wins!
Eric Laurent has written Verdammnis, a “weird World War II” modification for the excellent commercial rules set “Dogs of War.”
The modifications include rules for Nazi scientists, zombies, super soldiers, and werewolves, as well as providing stats for WWII British, Russian, US and German troops.
Miniature Wargaming is part of the "adventure games" hobby, which includes r ole p laying and board games. Wargamers recreate battles on the tabletop with toy soldiers, like a more complicated game of chess. Models range in height from 6mm to 28mm tall, with 15mm and 25mm being the most popular. There also is a growing interest in toy soldiers and military models, such as the 1/32 and 1/35 scale plastic soldiers from Conte, and Marx.
The most popular miniature wargames are fantasy and science fiction based, such as Warhammer, Warhammer 40K, Warmachine and The Lord of the Rings. World War II games such as Flames of War and Axis and Allies are new favorites. Other favorite historical periods include Napoleonics, the American Civil War, and ancients, such as Romans or Greeks. Other gamers enjoy miniature naval wargames, recreating battles like Trafalgar, Jutland and the Coral Sea.
Hobbyists research historical periods and paint their tiny soldiers in accurate uniforms. Others develop "historically realistic" rules sets or build scale battlefield terrain using model railroad techniques.
For pictures, visit the gallery.
Some of the bigger hobby companies are Games Workshop, which produces Warhammer, Wargames Foundry and Old Glory Miniatures. Wizards of the Coast produces several lines of pre-painted miniatures games, such as the Star Wars and Dungeons and Dragons miniatures games, and a historical game with pre-painted miniatures: The new Axis and Allies game. Wizkids produces a fantasy collectable miniatures game, such as the Mage Knight and Heroclick fantasy games, the science fiction games MechWarrior and Rocketmen, as well as the quasi-historical Pirates of the Spanish Main.
