What do you like in a skirmish game?

[wormfooduk 2068xp 2]

I’m developing a Goblin skirmish game (Spores) and wanted to get some feedback on some of my ideas. Do these features float you’re boat?

 

1. Card Activation, each player has a hand of cards, these cards have two sections featuring extra powers for each player. Players take turn playing one card per activation. The card will dictate which player activates a unit first. Eg a card may have a powerful extra action on it for the player that plays the card, but the card will allow the other player to activate first and use the other power on the card.
2. Movement and range measured using a 3″ and 6″ movement templates
3. Unit stats based on the weapon they carry. Characters have one or more special powers on a character card.
4. Number of d6 dice based on range some special cases detailed on weapon card. (Card reference for weapons). Eg shotgun loses dice the longer the range. Sniper rifle loses dice the shorter the range.
5. Very simple -1 or -2 to hit modifiers for cover, down etc.
6. Objectives to be held are Spore patches, these depending on the game type will either sporn new goblins or heal goblins within range or other special effects.
7. 1 token per mini and no special dice.
8. Played on a 3′ x 3′ square.
9. Mini count of between 2 and 10 per side.

There is a lot more to these rules but I don’t want to overload my first post.

Pete (Wonky Goblin)

[limburger 22353xp 2]

There are soo many skirmish games out there that your system is yet another one in that big stack of potential.
I’d grab Dragon Rampant or Verrotwood or The Weald (as featured in the XLBS) …

So far the only ‘unique’ thing is the spore patches spawning gobbos …
As such you need to think of a gimmick/concept that makes your system more interesting.

What makes Gobbos unique from regular skirmishers ?
Any fun twists like unique scoring mechanics that work on the unique nature of Gobbos ?
Odd weapons or regular weapons with a unique gobbo-feature?

You mention ‘spores’ … how is that related to the setting and is there a way to get that concept into the gameplay/rules ?

Why are the gobbos fighting ?
Do they fight themselves or is there another enemy that hinders them in their quest for world domination?

Any dwarves ?

[wormfooduk]

Thanks for the reply. Some good points 👍. I think the activation system is the most unique part of the game. Although I probably haven’t explained it well 🤣.

The setting is Earth in the far future. Its been abandoned by man kind and the fungus has become the dominant species. They fight over the rich areas of fungus, which is there food and also were they grow there offspring.

All but one of the factions will have unique weapons and powers. The first faction i worked on is the most human like and straight forward military faction.

• This reply was modified 5 months, 1 week ago by wormfooduk.

[phaidknott]

In this day and age you’ve really got to stand out from the overwhelming mass of “Skirmish” rulesets these days. Basically you’ve got two basic modes, Mainly melee with a bit of ranged stuff going on (Fantasy, Dark Ages etc) or mainly ranged with a bit of melee going on (ww2 to moderns) with the focus being the main game element with a more basic subset of rules for the latter. Some Skirmish games that have really stood out for me have been the card driven (no dice) rules from Buck Sardu (Combat Patrol, Feudal Patrol and the ACP164 rules although I’ve not got that one). If you go too basic and simplify things, then you end up with a generic set that could be used for anything (and there’s a fair few of those floating around). Personally with a Skirmish set of rules, you do have the “room” to perhaps go into a little more depth (although I hope no where near as much depth as the current Necromunda rules from GW (20+ “active” rulebooks and still growing). But you’ve got to find a unique “hook” to your rules to draw players in. It’s not so much the background and world building but more the mechanics that’s going to make the difference.

• This reply was modified 5 months, 1 week ago by phaidknott.

[sundancer 44238xp 2]

A 3×3 for 4 – 20 minis feels a bit big. Unless you go terrain heavy so that there are only few lines of sight.

[blinky465]

I love skirmish games. I love card based activation and resolution.
One Hour Skirmish Wargames by John Lambshead is brilliant. (https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/One_hour_Skirmish_Wargames/x4ivDwAAQBAJ)

Cards just feel more “strategy” to me. Like you just play the hand you’re given. Dice feel too “random-y” and “out of control”.
If things go right/wrong when you’ve played cards, it feels like you can take ownership of it – it’s because you’re a brilliant/rubbish strategist and you played just the right/wrong card at just the right/wrong moment. For me, dice just feel too much “in the lap of the gods”.

Yes, I know flipping cards is random too – but really well designed card-based games usually let you draw two or three cards, from which you decide which one to play; the fact that a deck of cards has “memory” means even a card that returns a “fail” result will have future impact – because the cards you returned/discarded will have an immediate effect on future draws.
I could probably bang on all day about why cards are infinitely better than dice for a strategy-based game but maybe we keep that for another discussion!

WYSIWYG weapons? Like it (though using proxy/alternative minis is sometimes nice too).
Weapon types determine dice (either shape or number) instead of complex look-up tables? Like it.
3′ x 3′ is ok. These days I love any game that can fit on 2×2. I think 3×3 is about my limit but it has to be a really well laid out board for it to feel worth it. Especially with such a relatively low mini count, there could be lots of open spaces on the board. I really, really hate large, blank open spaces.

If this were played on a 2 x 2 board, it sounds like exactly the kind of game I’d want to play!

• This reply was modified 5 months, 1 week ago by blinky465.

[wormfooduk 2068xp 0]

@sundancer you have a point, I’ve only play tested with 8 per side max. So yes 20 is too many.

@blinky465 I own that book, it is good. It would probably be best to scale the play area with model count. I will do some tests.

[limburger 22353xp 1]

Gobbos/Goblins always make me think of classic GW goblins … and not some ‘far future’ setting where they have evolved as a new species.

Not quite sure why it even has to be a (former) Earth.

Is this so you can incorporate a (broken) statue of liberty into your maps? 😉

Fictional settings can be tricky to sell to people, but they are worth it when done right. (you just got to ignore people who want it to be more like starwars … 😀 )

[wormfooduk 2068xp 1]

I take your point about the setting. The idea was like you say, to have something people could have some fun sticking mushrooms and fungus all over modern ruined building terrain or mdf buildings they already own.

The reason I started making space goblins was because I love them and they get a bit of a bad deal in most games, in 40k they are just used to hold objectives until they get obliterated. Not much fun in that 😂. Plus fantasy goblins are much more common and there are better sculpts than mine already avaliable in a retro style for fantasy use.

[wormfooduk 2068xp 1]

If i make money it would be nice, but i will make a game and a range of minis because its something ive always wanted to do. It will probably cost less than building a couple of new armies and some people maybe will get some fun out of it too. People may think I’ve lost the plot, but my current goal is to make 2 factions and a ruleset to take to uk games expo next year. 

[limburger 22353xp 0]

I’d say 3 factions is better … two is not enough for variety in a (skirmish) game.

I hope you get there.

[wormfooduk]

I have plans for five factions but I’ve got to be realistic about what I can get done before next expo. Considering i have to get the rulebook printed and boxes made well in advance.

 

• This reply was modified 5 months ago by wormfooduk.

[limburger 22353xp 0]

yeah, you got to be realistic when there’s actual deadlines you can’t miss 😀

[Author]

Posts