Can you recommend any WWW2 rulesets?

[richarDISNEY]

It's been numerous years of being out of the Weird War realm and it's high time I got back into it.

I used to play AE:WW2 but there may be some new/better rule sets out there so I was wondering:

What rules would you recommend for 28mm WWW2 gaming, and why?

Thanks!

[Hat Guy]

Secrets of the Third Reich by Westwind Productions is pretty damn good.

It's platoon-level and squad based, plays a little like 2nd Edition 40K (move and shoot or run) but much quicker and with alternating activation. Scenarios are objective based and the "weird" units cannot capture objectives, so infantry still form the core of combat.

The books are poorly laid out and difficult to read, it really needs a 2nd edition, but if you can muddle through that it's a fun and balanced game without too many special rules and rulebook referral.

[tnjrp]

I have little experience with WW2 but we have put in some games of Dust: Tactics (v2) and Dust: Warfare. They aren't stellar games but at least decent. While strongly related, they were separated at birth and are actually very different experiences, with the latter being much more complex despite ostensibly being aimed at playing larger battles. The former is further split from one core into a miniature-using board game and a more traditional open tabletop game (called Dust Tactics Battlefield) that I personally prefer from the lot and would be my choice for platoon level gaming. Some caveats for the game family include that they are rather specific in regards to troop types (which means that if you don't use the official minis you might need to squint a lot so that you "counts as" troops look the part) and in the case of Dust: Tactics there is a new version supposedly coming very soon under the new title Paolo Parente's Dust 1947:
http://www.dustgame.com/

I also read through the rules of War of Wonders from Limana Umanita which should be coming up soonish as well and while the rules seemed somewhat rudimentary, you might like to try it if you prefer your weird to come from superheroes instead of the more usual fare of dieselpunk tech and Nazi zombies.
http://war-of-wonders-miniature-game.webnode.it/

Also on the way is Achtung! Cthulhu skirmish game from Modiphius/Spartan Games joint venture. No points for guessing where the weird in that one stems from. That might be my personal choice since I'm one of the types who buys two of everything that says "Cthulhu" on the tin, but I have no real idea about what the rules will be like. Those who have played Dystopian Legions v2 would be able to give pointers.
http://www.modiphius.com/modiphius-press-releases/modiphius-opens-up-a-new-front-with-the-achtung-cthulhu-skirmish-game

[Ballardian]

Another vote for 'Secrets...' here, while the book could do with a new tidier edition it still works very well & has the bonus of being more flexible than most - it has its own vehicle design rules (pricipally for mechs) which are easy to use.
 Achtung Cthulhu could be fun (awaiting the full rulset to drop through the letterbox in July) if you like a dose of Lovecraftian gribblyness - but as only playtest versions are currenly in circulation the jury has to remain out.
 Warlords 'Konflict '47' comes out soon (this month?) & uses mostly the existing Bolt Action mechanics (apparently, according to the Clockwork Goblin guys, with some tweaks lifted from Beyond The Gates Of Antares) so it has a well defined & supported system - if you've played BA & liked it this would be worth a look.
  Hope that helps!

[Abbner Home]

I use Savage Worlds RPG rules for WWWII rpg and mini skirmish.

The 'magic' powers work well for both weird/super science and for blood magic and what not. The shooting and fighting and damage rules work fine. I like that damage is rolled on two dice giving both a predictable curve but allowing for a lucky hit (either lucky for shooter a high or the target of the low side). The break between Wild Cards and extras offers a nice pulpy feel.

It's not perfect but it's worked great for our group for years.

[Sheerluck Holmes]

"NUTS! War With No End" is a WWW2 supplement for "NUTS!" - the rules make for very entertaining and tense games, are easy to pick up, and you can play solo if needed, but head to head games are part of the rules too.

Some people say there are too many charts in the THW rules, but they have been streamlined greatly since the earlier editions and the rules are easy to pick up after a few turns so you don't have to keep flicking through the rule to try and play the game.

[warrenpeace]

Abbner Home makes a great recommendation. Savage Worlds is a great system for a light fast RPG. And some people have had up to 50 figures in play, so there is a way to make it handle a skirmish.

https://www.peginc.com/product-category/savage-worlds/

An alternative for role playing scale is Pulp Alley. With the use of "gangs" it can be expanded into a bit of a skirmish. It has taken the Pulp world be storm over the last few years. Although there are several other Pulp rule sets, Pulp Alley is getting most of the space on the forums these days. New expansions are coming out regularly. It's very easy and fast to play and handles up to 5 players well. It's not genre bound. People have used it for everything from ancient Greek gods to future science fiction. It's main focus and flavor are oriented toward the heyday of Pulp, the 1920's, 30's, and 40's. Although there's nothing specific yet from Pulp Alley for WW2 or Wierd WW2, one might be able to find a copy of the old "Amazing War Stories: Pulp Action in World War II" from Rattrap Productions, a supplement for ".45 Adventure: Crimefighting Action in the Pulp Era" (though it seems to be out of production at Rattrap). Some of these Pulp rules have characters that are easily translated from one system to another.

http://pulpalley.com/

For straight up skirmish action I personally prefer Arc of Fire, although it's a bit chart heavy. I like the way it handles unit morale states. I also like the fact that it handles most vehicle and troop types throughout the 20th Century without loads of supplemental booklets. It can be found for $20 US from Brigade Games here:

http://brigadegames.3dcartstores.com/Arc-of-Fire-Rules_p_2074.html

Other people have been playing Chain of Command, Disposable Heroes, or Bolt Action for skirmish level, with Chain of Command perhaps being the most realistic. Unfortunately, I think all of these are a hook for getting the player to buy more supplement booklets. Check out a couple of them here:

http://brigadegames.3dcartstores.com/Two-Fat-Lardies-Chain-of-Command-WW2-Rules-for-Platoon-Skirmish_p_3771.html

http://brigadegames.3dcartstores.com/WW2-Rules-Disposable-Heroes-and-Coffin-for-Seven-Brothers_p_1664.html

For rules with stands representing more than one guy check out Fireball Forward. I haven't played it yet, but it gets fabulous reviews for the quality of play experience:

http://brigadegames.3dcartstores.com/FBF-R2-Fireball-Forward-WW2-Rules-2nd-Edition-Printed-Version_p_3348.html

[Agis]

OK, a shamless plug, but why not Victory Decision: Gear Krieg?
http://www.adpublishing.de/html/gear_krieg_vide.html

Victory Decision: Gear Krieg is your comprehensive guide to using Two-fisted Pulp Superscience Armoured Fighting Vehicles and Infantry units in Victory Decision. These rules cover almost all aspects of World War II wargaming, from Troop Quality and Leadership to Artillery Strikes, Bunker Assaults, Combat in Buildings and Vehicle combat.

This book provides the full background to the Gear Krieg Universe and covers all the unit descriptions, pictures and stats for all the Gear Krieg models that are currently produced by Dream Pod 9. From German Rockettroops, Zombies, Panzerkämpfer, Japanese, British and US combat walker, the US aerial Infantry, to Soviet Superheayv tanks - everything is in this book.


Victory Decision: Gear Krieg features a unique Leadership-modified alternate unit activation system. The result is a fun and fast paced war game that involves both players constantly. The rules cover individually based infantry miniatures and also group- or multibased miniatures, aka Infantry Stands. While designed with 20-28mm miniatures in mind the Victory Decision game system is flexible enough to handle any miniatures from 6mm to 32mm. So whatever your existing miniature collection consists of, you can start playing right away.
And fully playable with all content from the historical ViDe line of books: http://www.adpublishing.de/html/victory_decision.html

[SBMiniaturesGuy]

"NUTS! War With No End" is a WWW2 supplement for "NUTS!" - the rules make for very entertaining and tense games, are easy to pick up, and you can play solo if needed, but head to head games are part of the rules too.

Some people say there are too many charts in the THW rules, but they have been streamlined greatly since the earlier editions and the rules are easy to pick up after a few turns so you don't have to keep flicking through the rule to try and play the game.

All the NUTS! rules are currently 30% off at Two Hour Wargames through this Sunday.

http://www.twohourwargames.com/ww2.html

http://www.twohourwargames.com/warwiendwewo.html

[wolivant]

I used Blitzkrieg Commander for WW2 and enjoyed it so much used it for WWW2. Its a company level game, so you get plenty on the table. I game in 15mm, but they cam be used for any scale. Fast game play, 3-4hr large games, simple mechanisms keep thing moving, tactics are paramount to a game win as unit stats are not too far apart keeps things fun and tense.

My WWW2 stats are here if your interested, each page had the relevant stats: http://weirdwars.pbworks.com/

Regards

Wolt