Tell me about Gruntz, please!

[Argonor]

I see a lot of peeps posting their Gruntz stuff, and it is all well...

But what I really would like to know is:

How does the game play, how are units activated/ordered (if so), how high is the level of granularity, what is the unit of measurement (to see if it can be easily adapted to 28mm), and how long does units last (can they sustain damage, or are they blown away with single hits, etc.), and what is a good rule of thumb for game size vs play time?

[Ragnar]

I have played only a couple of games, but here are my thoughts;

The game is written as IGOUGO but the author strongly encourages you to use whatever activation system that you like (cards, chits...), we used chits the other day based on the Bolt Action method.

The combat system is strongly based on the Warmachine/Hordes sytem.  I think rolling 2D6 for each shooter is a pain, although not a deal breaker.

Apart from that, I don't think that there is anything revolutionary with the combat rules.

The best part is that you can design your own ANYTHING.  Infantry teams, armour, VTOLs, robots... anything.

FYI, we have only played in 28mm so far so we just doubled all ranges.

[Argonor]

Can you roll all the dice for a unit shooting in one go, then (provided they cannot split targets), if you have differently coloured pairs of dice? Would speed up play when playing larger games, whereas in small skirmishes with only a handful of troopers on each side, I would probably want the suspense of each man firing.

The open design concept is a big plus in my book, I may have to get the PDF and check it out.

[Ragnar]

Rolling different coloured dice is recommended by the author and yes we do that. You pretty much need to because you are firing by squad.  If I was writing the system, I would stick to one die each but that's just my humble opinion.

For a look at the combat system basics have a look on youtube as there are a couple of useful videos by the author.

[robh]

The Wargame Vault page has a very good summary as well as sample pages and video play examples. Good user reviews too:

http://www.wargamevault.com/product/92879/Gruntz-15mm-SCIFI

[Jagannath]

If ever in doubt, check out what Delta Vector gas to say on a system:

http://deltavector.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/gruntz-15mm-rules-review.html?m=1

I'm using Clash on the Fringe mostly now personally.

[Argonor]

If ever in doubt, check out what Delta Vector gas to say on a system:

http://deltavector.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/gruntz-15mm-rules-review.html?m=1

I'm using Clash on the Fringe mostly now personally.

Hmmmm.... Have to read both reviews tomorrow then, now I'm off to bed!

Thanks for the answers!

[Hobby Services]

Can you roll all the dice for a unit shooting in one go, then (provided they cannot split targets), if you have differently coloured pairs of dice? Would speed up play when playing larger games, whereas in small skirmishes with only a handful of troopers on each side, I would probably want the suspense of each man firing.

Going back to my Battletech and Star Fleet battles days, it's even faster to take one of those craft organizer boxes like this one

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Darice-17-Compartment-Bead-Organizer-Clear/22027027

jam two dice into each pocket, and label the pockets with some taped-on numbers (1-17 for the one in the photo), and just shake the fool thing a bit with the lid closed to generate a bunch of results at once.  No need to take the dice out ever, and you'll almost never have any given pocket wind up with the dice stacked on one another so as to be unreadable.

[Ragnar]

That's a pretty clever idea, Hobby Services, I may just use it.

[Argonor]

I think I may already have something similar 

[Hobby Services]

That's a pretty clever idea, Hobby Services, I may just use it.

Fair warning, it's insanely noisy when you're shaking a fully-loaded organizer that way.  Either don't fill it or use a smaller one (I've seen ones with only six pockets) if you're at risk of annoying people where you play.  Most gamers don't mind dice rattling but it can really tick off significant others, roomies, infants, etc, etc.

[mellis1644]

My one put down with Gruntz i the weapon ranges take more from 40k than modern realities. To some that's not an issue and that's great for them. To me it looks and is a lot silly, especially if you are trying to use 15mm to get a better figure to ground scale representation.

The activation and die systems have been mentioned already on this thread.

It can be fixed with house rules but it's a shame that has to be done. People who want a star wars/40k style sci-fi for bigger battles don't see this as an issue but I like my scoff a little more realistic combat. So that's where there are other options like Tomorrows Wars.

[blacksmith]

Can anyone tell me how many miniatures per side is needed for a standard game? TIA

[Ragnar]

If you are talking infantry, it is ballpark a reinforced platoon level game so (again ballpark) 30 miniatures feels about right. 

But chuck in walkers and tanks and flyers etc.

[blacksmith]

If you are talking infantry, it is ballpark a reinforced platoon level game so (again ballpark) 30 miniatures feels about right. 

But chuck in walkers and tanks and flyers etc.

I thought there will be much more infantry! If there's only around 30 then I'll dab into Gruntz and see how it goes. Thanks a lot!