My mates and I have been playing a few different games as of late, including F28, Zero Horizons, Spectre Operations, and even some Westerns (like A Gunslingers Paradise). A few things keep on popping up that, for me at least, seem to make the difference as far as the tactical game goes. Primarily Flanking (how the game provides for situations where a single unit is attacked on multiple fronts), Suppression (what happens when the weight of fire raining down becomes too much), and Retreats (bugging out, but not necessarily game-over).
I'm sure I recall some rule system(s) that provided some novel mechanics when dealing with all three circumstances - the trouble being that I can't recall which set of rules included such things. Maybe you might have an idea? Or even something interesting to add?
Flanking - Imagine an entrenched GRUNT taking fire from ALIEN A, resulting in the ALIEN A's attacks being debuffed e.g., a -2 To Hit modifier. If ALIEN B was to flank GRUNT, in addition to having clear line of sight (i.e., no penalties/debuffs when shooting at GRUNT), the flanking effect might reduce ALIEN A's debuff/penalty e.g., the -2 is reduced to a -1 To Hit modifier. Does that type of mechanism sound familiar to anyone?
Suppression - I'm really enjoying the Suppression rules in F28 and earlier today I was scanning the Spectre Operations (2nd Edition) rules which provide even more detail, employing degrees of suppression, each with their own effects. There's always a trade-off to be had e.g., I'm somewhat averse to loading up the table or unit cards with lots of tokens BUT I enjoy some tactical depth. What has struck you as a clever way to incorporate suppression into a game?
Retreats - I'm sure I recall a game system that dictated (to a degree) how retreats are handled. E.g., a Unit that has been flanked and subsequently suppressed 'falls-back'. When falling back there was some sort of process diagram (?) requiring the unit retreats into hard cover before soft cover, and if no cover is available, they must sprint (?) towards the nearest cover, even if that means further exposing themselves in the process. It might not have been a future war-type game, as I could see the same situation arising in any setting. Thoughts?
22 November 2007, 08:15:27 PM
