Which rules Force on Force, Spectre, Black Ops, Danger Close etc?

[Mr Evil]

Try     OSC

Its available from a few places now and is produced by  www.evilbearwargames.com

With book 2 going together currently that bring then game up from skirmish to full warfare.

Lots of new free downloads in the wings as well so players can playtest select rules from the second book a head of launch, from fire teams to vehicles.

[Rainbow Six]

I have used Force On Force, Skirmish Sangin and just bought Black Ops. Force On Force is thorough, and models the difference between well-trained and militia/insurgents well. However, I have never quite got the hang of the Action/Reaction mechanic and so don't play it much. But it does work well for games up to platoon size with a few vehicles and supports.

Skirmish Sangin is, for me, a little bit old-school, with percentage dice and lots of modifiers for observation and shooting. I found it pretty straight forward to pick up and like the variable activation depending on your figures' "BODY" characteristic - not straight IGOUGO at all, which I like. It works well with small numbers per side - say a squad of 8-12 regulars v about 15 insurgents. Having said that larger games are perfectly possible e.g. platoon level, and would work well as multi-player games. It can be a little tricky keeping track of which figure is which in terms of characteristics and activation (an important part of the game), but this is not a deal breaker. Although set in Afghanistan, it can be applied to a wide range of asymmetric conflicts. In fact the publishers have just brought out a supplement for Mogadishu 1993. The rules and supplements cover pretty much all aspects of modern COIN warfare, and there are free scenarios on the Skirmish Sangin blog. I like the rules and play them more regularly than FoF.

I have just bought Black Ops and have played one game and have to say that I really enjoyed the game they gave. They are not as detailed as either of the above but being relatively simple rules does not equate to being simplistic. They may be a little more 'Hollywood' in approach, but that is a deliberate design decision. They have a random activation based on a card-draw system; as a fan of the Too Fat Lardies stable of games, many of which use card activation, I am perfectly happy with this and it adds a good element of tension to the game.

In the end I think it boils down to what you are after. All three give a good and enjoyable game. FoF allows for larger games and probably over a wider period of time and broader range of conflicts. Skirmish Sangin gives a very good representation of low level (section) COIN warfare in the modern era. Black Ops is probably the easiest to get into to begin with and can be used in a variety of contexts e.g. Special Forces v Insurgents; Militia v Regulars; Intelligence Services v Organised Crime gangs etc. Based on my recent game of Black Ops, I would recommend this as No1, then Skirmish Sangin, then FoF.

[H.M.Stanley]

Excellent overview - thanks

[Mick_in_Switzerland]

Thanks everybody.
 
I have ordered Black Ops and hope it will arrive in a day or two.

I have played a lot of Force on Force but I find it rather too complex - I never feel that I am doing it right...
I do like the scenarios for Force on Force and will use them with other rules.

Regards

Mick

[Harry von Fleischmann]

Cold War 83 used an "EDNA" concept called BOTTLE, a single 2-12 value which covered the figures quality and status - so an SAS trooper could start at 10 and gradually be worn down by fatigue and near misses. A lower grade figure could start at say 6 and be useless after even a brief exchange. Of course instant KIA results could render that whole process moot. In one game, the SAS were in a Q Car, they scored some good results on the Free Taff ambush party who only narrowly passed their morale but then the driver was hit and badly wounded, followed by the guy with the ingrams. It all went downhill from there.....

[dhtandco]

Try leave no man behind free download pdf from Victorian-steel.com
Enjoy

[Vanvlak]

Look at OSC 

I second that.
I haven't tried it out yet (I only got them yesterday) but they're a very nice set of rules, well presented and although slim include a nice table for force/table size/no. of turns, a mission generator, an easy to use set of stats which are highly flexible, and a wide range of weapons and weapon traits. I now want a multibarrel rocket launcher....
All players play during a turn, and a card deck introduces some randomness to events - I think I'm a fan of 'unhappy resident'.
A very easy to use army builder rounds off the rule set, and the Evil Bear website provides free downloads for templates and counters. A handful of example forces from 100 points (5-10 models in the samples provided) to 300 points. The infantry design characteristics are flexible enough to range from (I'd say) Cold War to near future - Evil Bear produce a nice suit with a general purpose machine gun - although it can extend the range backwards if the range of weapons available is limited. P.A. is of course possible too if no zombies, aliens or other non-humans are excluded. The forces given as an example of use of the force builder depict modern troops, insurgents, Mad Max types and a fully suited near-future unit.

The 50 page booklet provides a full set of skirmish rules, and a number of sequels are promised - as Mr Evil points out, the second is WIP, and introduces vehicles and specialists and larger forces. It appears that more is to come later, including more sci fi-oriented stuff.

As a bonus, my shopping experience from Evil Bear was excellent - http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=86073.msg1058838#msg1058838

[H.M.Stanley]

Does anyone else have any experience of using OSC?

Thanks, J

[Mr Evil]

There will also be upcomming support for OSC in Wargames illistrated including a feature in an upcomming issue

Its not your typical game of move and shoot, it has diferent modes for move and different modes of shooting, its also incredably tactical, rather than lots of rules you have actions, these actions are the rules in effect, so what action you choose to do effects your tactics, some forces will prefer some actions to others, you even have options of what types of attack or defence you take in close combat, although with modern games close combat is rather rare.

If your at PAW 2016 I'm there for the 2 days running demo's and any body with a MOD 90 can recieve a 15% discount.

Matt

just recieved this morning a preview copy of issue 341 of wargames illustrated, has a full review and 4 page feature on the OSC game exsplaing some of the mechanics. So may help those on the fence.

[H.M.Stanley]

Ordered Mr Evil.

I hear good reports

[Theoden King]

I have not played any of the rule sets you asked about, but you can download the Chain Reaction rules from 2 Hour Wargames.  They are great and easily modded.  It includes a mechanic similar to suppression and does not utilize turn based movement/interactions that lead to see-saw battles.  When minis come within line of sight with one another, they fight it out simultaneously.  It works very well, and I haven't found a simple skirmish rule set that represents combat better.

For example, you can toss grenades nearby enemy figs to suppress them, as your forces flank the suppressed units and take them out.  Similarly, you can just choose to simulate the effect of a flashbang device by using the grenade rules and ignoring damage and still assault a building with an advantage to the assaulting units.

Worth every penny...and like I said, it is free.