New rules

Been a while since I last posted. Must try and do better.

At the last club game I arranged to play a game of Chain Reaction 2 from the Two Hour Wargames guys. This is a free set of rules that predated the more specialised WW2 and sci-fi versions. This idea all started with some other members talking about playing TW&T from Too Fat Lardies.

Having these rules available for free made a great opportunity to get a feel for the Two Hour Wargames mechanics. And really this is what it is all about with these rules - new, novel mechanics.

The basic difference is that the figures will react to events around them - two big ones being: seeing or being seen by the enemy; and receiving fire. Depending on the quality of the troop involved the troop will react in different ways. All the reactions seemed reasonable and logical and for the most part made the game feel realistic.

As a first game we fumbled with the rules a bit and forget where we were up to in the heat of the moment. But as a first game it went quite smoothly and we all enjoyed it. A few more games should cement in the concepts and we can get on with some serious games.

This brings me to the other area of interest for me - not a points based, tournament driven game. I am not against tournaments and competitions per se, but it seems that rules tailored towards competitions lose something in the process. Not to mention the tournament weenies that super tune their lists and get very picky about applying and interpreting their rules (read anal retentive). Not so much fun.

So a game that focuses on scenarios (not necessarily "balanced" like a tournament style game) and therefore the story should be a lot more engaging. It will require more effort to assemble the scenario for a game, but should really be quite flexible. I can already see a scenario for the allied paratrooper landings after D-Day. The Two Hour Wargames rules support campaigns (or linked scenarios) by allowing Stars (your battlefield representative) to develop and improve over time.

The more focused rules NUTS! (WW2) and 5150 (sci-fi) are looking very attractive.

There are a number of reviews out on the 'net worth reading about the Two Hour Wargames rules. Recommended.

Thanks to the BIG guys who broadened my horizons.