Anyone ever played Laserburn?

[vikotnik]

Following pnweerer's hint concerning Grey Aliens at 15mm.co.uk, I noticed with horror that they have some excellent 15mm Judge-Dredd-Lookalike-Cops and motorbikes!!!
Another bunch of figures to spend my money on...
:cry:

They also have some rules called 'Laserburn'.

Anyone ever played these?

[matakishi]

Many, many years ago.
Laserburn was what 40k was originally based on. By today's standards the rules are fiddly and time consuming.

[vikotnik]

Thanks, Matakishi!

So I'll order the minis without the rules...

[WitchfinderGeneral]

The Laserburn rules are infact pre-40k and tend to be difficult and slow (lot of charts), espacially when you only play them    occasionally. And usually you need a gamemaster to set up the game and handle NPCs etc.. The benefits are a realistic, deadly rule system that comes with a lot of nice details.
When you want to play  small groups of 20 - 50 figures per side plus some vehicles (and with no game master needed) you should check out "Imperial Commander", really good but easier than Laserburn.

[Cyano]

I remember playing laserburn a long time ago against my brother. It seemed to take a while to get through a game, but we had fun. Probably a bit dated now.

I have a fondness for 15mm sci fi. I have quite a few from gzg, but not many painted.

Here are some..

[KeyanSark]

Those are 15mm?? Awesome!!    

[WitchfinderGeneral]

Indeed, perfect paintjob!  This makes me envy!

[vikotnik]

These miniatures really are well painted, Cyano.
I especially like what You did with the visors. What did You use as bases/which diameter do they have?

When you want to play small groups of 20 - 50 figures per side plus some vehicles (and with no game master needed) you should check out "Imperial Commander", really good but easier than Laserburn.

Thanx WitchfinderGeneral, I will check them out.

I want to play very small skirmish games one day. I have found nearly the complete range of 54mm Judge Dredd minis Citadel used to produce in the mid-eighties while rummaging through my workshop. They are far too beautiful to leave them in the drawer...

If anyone has a Klegg from this series lying around somewhere, please contact me.

[pnweerar]

You should check GZG's spider tanks. They're just insane.

[Boggler]

I started a Yahoogroup for Laserburn called 'For a Few Gonads More' a few years ago (if you know the rules you'll recognise the name), but then drifted off onto other projects. It may still be out there in yahoo land but, because of the title, it got shifted over to the adult category (thanks Yahoo...I think about that!). There's some additional background material, scenarios and other stuff on the site which is worth checking out.

It's a good system but a bit clunky by today's standards. I'd second Imperial Commander as a good large skirmish set of rules though...it's pretty quick and has some nice mechanisms for things like shields, jumpacks, power armour etc.

Ahhh...brings back the memories.

[Boggler]

This is the second incarantion of the original by a different moderator:

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/laserburn/

[Ruarigh]

I like Laserburn, and I do not find it too fiddly. It works brilliantly with up to about 12 figures per side, although it does require some preparation so that you have all the stats you need on a roster before play.

Laserburn does not require an umpire, although scenarios can be set up with an umpire if you wish. Like any wargame, it is perfectly possible to set games up between two of you without an umpire and still have a great game. I agree that there are quite a lot of modifiers on the QRS, but you soon get used to those as you would with any other game. In some respects, despite its age, I still think that Laserburn is superior to a lot of newer SF rules and I harbour a massive fondess for it, having played the game to bits back in the 80s.

Imperial Commander is good for larger games, and a similar game is being developed at the Beamstrike Yahoo group.
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/Beamstrike_Sci-fi_Game/

Definitely check out the Laserbun Yahoo group and see what is available. You might decide you like the look of it. Also, check out the sister group for additional material as I do not think all the files were copied over from one to the other. I think there is an introduction the Laserburn in that group that you could read.
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/afewgonadsmore/

Cheers,
Ruarigh