Space Battleship Combat: Rules Suggestions

[Huascar]

I generally use Full Thrust for space combat gaming, but I picked a few larger scale space battleship models on my last trip to Japan and I am looking for a set of rules that is not so abstract and perhaps more focused specifically on on big ship combat - talking 2-3 battleships plus 2-3 escorts per side. Any suggestions?

[Daeothar]

I'd be interested in such a ruleset too. Preferably free measuring instead of hexbased...

[Major_Gilbear]

I've not played Full Thrust, so I am unsure how detailed the rules are, but you could try the following:

Firestorm Armada
Rulebook ha set fleet lists, but also a few pages with points values so that you can build your own ships / fleets

Battlefleet Gothic
I rather like this, and it's free to download off the website. You do need a fairly big table though, and you will have to come up with your own ship profiles and points costs if you are not happy proxying ships from various lists.

A Call to Arms
Much like BFG above, except that the rules are not (AFAIK) free. This is published by Mongoose and has a dedicated forum if you want to ask any specific questions about the game.


In each case above, I suspect that your fleet size is close to the minimum playable size though. All of them are free-measuring and not based on a gridded play surface.

[Froggy the Great]

Yeah, this would interest me too.  I tried to write one myself a bunch of years ago and it didn't survive playtest.

[tnjrp]

For something where the OP proposed "fleet" is closer to maximum, you could try Squadron Strike! from Ad Astra Games. It's their game for ships that go "whoosh!" but still do so in a 3D space, obeying Newtonian mechanics to a desired degree while doing it.
http://estore.genreconnections.com/SearchResults.asp?searching=Y&sort=2&cat=47&show=20&page=1

[Marauder]

I've played a lot of space games over the past couple years.

Squadron Strike
Love this game.  Its 3d made possible by amazing play aids.  You really can design anything.   Works amazing with the box minis provided in the box set - and Ken Burnside (the designer) is amazingly friendly and helpful.  Bit tough to control more than a couple of ships though - especially at first.  And the only major downside is that its not easy at all to play with large heavy miniatures.  Largest metal mini that I've been able to get to go pseudo 3d is a GZG CL (i.e because you have to mount them to be able to angle up/nose down, roll etc).  The game is hex based, but has a 12pt bearing system - which I find takes most of the issues away.  You can play this game either with very simple movement - or with full on vectored movement in 3d.  You design all your weapons and fighters to a pretty detailed level.  Plays relatively fast despite all the detail.  Game is only available in hardcopy (but you need all the play aids so no way around it even if it was a PDF).

Full Thrust
Only dabbled in this - but it has a pretty open design system and is hexless.  Is easily the most popular of the design-your-own ship systems out there.  Recommend finding either the "cross dimensions" or "warlord edition" of the rules, as they combine all the bits and pieces out there.  Lots of support for this game over on Starship Combat News.  Both of those versions are free.  You don't design your weapons in this game, but there is quite a few to pick from.

Starmada: Nova Edition
From MJ12 games - the latest version of starmada is more streamlined that previous.  Has an online tool to design your ships, as well as many fan made design sheets.  Like squadron strike, you design everything you need in this game - but there are some abstractions and in general a lot less detail than in squadron strike.  This game is 2d with hexes - there is a "simple" vectored movement system that does the trick, or you can use a simple movement point system.  As I mentioned this game is very streamlined compared to previous editions, but with that I feel like some of the character is gone, but opinions vary.  The game designer Daniel Kast is also very helpful and answers questions regularly on the forums.  Our group broke the design system in the previous edition (Admirality) and we subsequently lost interest in this game, but that's just us and you should really check it out because its a very nice system.  Rules can be purchased directly from the mj12 website as a reasonably priced PDF - or you can order a print copy (or even find it at some LGS).

Colonial Battlefleet
The game designer Harry Pratt's claim to fame is that the design system in Colonial battlefleet is unbreakable.  Have to say we played the game a bit and certainly did not find any loopholes to exploit.  Game is very more focused on being "WWI/WWII in space", but hey that's fun.  Certainly you can do big battleships - just accept that they will be big battleships with lots of armour (we stopped playing it for not being really able to emulate eldar ships).  You can't design your own weapons, but there are plenty to pick from - there are also many restrictions as to what you can fit on a ship and where - and there are optional tech trees which further limit your designs - but at the end of the day the restrictions are pretty cool and at least a couple of guys in our group thought it was the most fun design system.  Uses a momentum based movement system (your ship always moves in the direction of the nose but you have to track velocity and accelerate/decelerate) on a 2d hex map - with optional 12pt bearing system.  This game is perfect for Battlestar Galactica, and in fact has a supplement for that genre.  Rules can be purchased at wargamevault and come with the design spreadsheet.

Pax Stellarum
I did a lot of proof reading and editing for this homebrew.  It is 2d no-hexes.   This game really feels like a mix of BFG and ACTA, but has a point system and lets you design your own ships.  You can design almost any ship, weapons come in families and you can tweak a number of parameters (range, accuracy, firepower etc) to design a specific weapon.  Its of course free, and is available here:  http://myevergrowingfleets.blogspot.ca/ (see top right hand corner of page).  

Major Gilbear mentioned the others - I will point out that ACTA currently doesn't have a design system, and the two games that use the system right now are not compatible - so I think you might have a tough time figuring out what to do with it.  I've also heard that the Firestorm Armada point system really wasn't tested at all - and in general I avoid that game as its a bit of a "whoever roles the most 6's wins" type of game (as are all of Spartan's games).  BFG was a fun game in its time, but I tire of systems that are "I-go-you-go".  

So if you are tired of Full Thrust (although it would work for what you are asking) I'd try out:
1) Pax Stellarum (hexless and free)
2) Colonial Battlefleet (hex, not free but does battleship real well and is pretty hard to break)
3) Starmada

If you get to the point where you don't care about using minis and just want a super solid 3d space game - Squadron Strike is your baby.

-Tim

[blacksmith]

This is still in the works (almost done) but maybe it's what you're looking for: http://javieratwar.blogspot.com.es/2012/10/small-scale-fleet-action.html

[Daeothar]

This is still in the works (almost done) but maybe it's what you're looking for: http://javieratwar.blogspot.com.es/2012/10/small-scale-fleet-action.html

Is that your own system? The models you used there are almost exactly those that I have in the works (bar that huge Terminator Salvation ship)...

[blacksmith]

Is that your own system? The models you used there are almost exactly those that I have in the works (bar that huge Terminator Salvation ship)...

I'm writing the rules but they are based on Two Hour Games mechanics and they are going to be released by them. The ruleset allows you to use any type of ship: miniatures, kits or toys; but the scale is what you see in the pics.
The game is geared mainly towards solo play and contains a solid campaign system. Think of Wing Commander and you will the the picture  
Cheers,

PS. Here you have four more BATREPS (scroll down) in case you are interested: http://javieratwar.blogspot.com.es/search/label/5150%20Wing%20Leader.

[The_Beast]

I am a HUGE (really must go on a diet) Full Thrust fanboy; that said, given you're looking at large models, ACTA, BFG, and FA  are probably as good for what you're doing. Really written for big models and smaller groups of ships than some of the others mentioned.

ACTA comes specifically in Babylon 5, Noble Armada, and Star Trek flavors; I think the first two are out of print, but still crop up.

A Sky Full of Stars and G.O.B.S. are both fun plays, but the mechanics are simpler per ship, so more towards larger fleets, tending to smaller ship models. Play how you will, though.

G.O.B.S. and Full Thrust have the advantage of easy on the brain and free to download. You can find a sample rule set somewhere for ASFoS, but the main set is for sale on Wargame Vault et. al, or I would have included it in that list as well.

Star Fleet Battles and it's smaller cousin Federation Commander are known for the fiddly handling of shipborne activities, but that may be exactly what you want, and there are few fan-derived 'other universe' conversions that may work for you.

Hex vs. Free form: Many rules claim to do both, but definitely have a kluge adaptation feeling one way or the other, so I tend towards skepticism. For somethings I like hex play; spaceships, not so much.

Doug

[Huascar]

Thanks all for the suggestions - I have picked up colonial Battlefleet and I will keep an eye out over at THW for your rules blacksmith, the look very interesting.

[blacksmith]

Thanks all for the suggestions - I have picked up colonial Battlefleet and I will keep an eye out over at THW for your rules blacksmith, the look very interesting.

Thanks Huascar. Just in case I didn't mention, the game is more about dogfighting than about engaging fleets.
I hope it gets released soon.