Laserburn & Imperial Commander

[KeyanSark]

Hi all:

One of my friends is researching about old wargames, but we don't have much info about these two. Can anyone point us to some references about these games?

[capthugeca]

Laserburn is still available through 15mm.co.uk.
(http://www.15mm.co.uk/Publications.htm)
if that's any help.

[marko.oja]

Laserburn was even translated into Finnish! 

Marko

[KeyanSark]

if that's any help.

Indeed!!!

If anyone ever played it I'd like to hear also some comments about the system.

[Emir of Askaristan]

Laserburn and Imperial Commander were written by Richard Hallliwell and Brian Ansell and were apparently used as the basis for the WH40K rules developed by Games. Indeed some of the basic images seen in the rules could be thought of a a very (very) rough draft of weapons in GW's rules.

I have played Laserburn, but not for many more years than I'd like to remember! If memory serves me correctly it's for roleplaying or skirmish games whilst Imperial Commander is designed to give a fast, skillful game when using around 50 figures  per side" (he said reading from his battered coffee stained copy)

Combat is worked out per figure by refering to a number of charts with rules for off table and area effect weapons, vehicles and jump packs, forceshields etc.

With the caveat that I've not played them for years, I seem to remember that these were a decent set of simple SciFi rules. Other rules I played at the same time included Traveller and the wargame version of those rules (which were also good) and then the 1st ed of WH40K - Rogue Trader. God knows how much laserburn or imperial commander cost today, but I bet they're about half the prices of the cheapest GW source book - so go on buy a set and try them..its the only way you'll know if u like them!!

[pixelgeek]

Laserburn and Imperial Commander were written by Richard Hallliwell and Brian Ansell and were apparently used as the basis for the WH40K rules developed by Games.

In a recent WD magazine Rick mentions that this is the prevailing thought but it is indeed not true and that the game is actually based on a set of rules that Rick had developed previously.

[keeper]

What everone else has already said.  I'd recommend picking up a copy just for reference, if nothing else

A derivative of both of these that I use for my solo 15mm sci-fi needs is Beamstrike, which soe of you might find interesting.

[pixelgeek]

What everone else has already said.  I'd recommend picking up a copy just for reference, if nothing else

I think it is interesting for historical value but the game isn't up to today's standards in either gameplay or design.

Its fun to read but I'd hardly recommend the purchase

And for the record I have both :-)

[keeper]

I guess that just shows we are all different, pixelgeek.  And that is a good thing!

[Ruarigh]

I really like Laserburn and Imperial Commander. Laserburn works best with around 12-20 figures per side, certainly not more than that. Imperial Commander works with 50+ figures per side and is designed as a larger skirmish set than Laserburn.

Laserburn is slightly clunky by modern standards certainly, but I would not say that it is "not up to" them. There are plenty of badly designed modern rules sets that are clunky and unwieldy or just give a poor game.

Laserburn will certainly test your maths skills a bit since it uses a system of deterioration of accuracy rather than range bands. This means that if you fire your Laser Rifle at someone, you deduct 1 from your chance to hit for each 1cm range, while a Bolt Rifle deducts 2. There are quite a few other modifiers to work through too, but you soon come to terms with them if you play the system. Overall, it may not be as streamlined as some systems but it works well enough and gives an enjoyable game that is enhanced by the introductory text, which includes suggestions for organ-legging scenarios (For a Few Gonads More) amongst other things.

I have enjoyed Laserburn and Imperial Commander since the early eighties and still do. I also enjoy more modern game systems like 5150 and Urban War, each of which gives me a different gaming experience. I also think that the Beamstrike project which seeks to produce a Laserburn-like game is well worth checking out too. A lot of hard work has gone into that project and I think it has paid off.