It's time to play with "Big Boy Rules"!
"Dude, what's the name of this place again...?"
It's time to unveil the latest 6d6 Games game, "Big Boy Rules", a skirmish set for modern combat. After two years of development, they have progressed nicely to meet the design objectives:
- Engaging, fast-play action,
- Realistic challenges and decisions,
- Intuitive, common mechanics,
- mission-driven,
- easy to learn and teach others,
- minimal cost in time and money.
The hardest part has been figuring out what to leave out...but it has been done.
These rules suit any historical situation where firepower is the most important aspect of combat. Firepower is mostly suppressing, cover and concealment are key to survival - and maneuver - in the battlespace. Think bolt action rifles and maxim machine guns, and subsequent technical advances. Note that as firepower technology is unevenly available and it takes time to change doctrine and then train it, "historical situation" is a better way to think about it than a fixed time period.
In today's permutation of BBR, the scope of the game is defined as "that space in which close quarters combat occurs" due to mission requirements. It should not be confused with higher level combat where a long distance firefight - resulting in the retreat of the enemy - is considered a win. While the intensity and commitment of the forces varies, the game portrays an up close and personal scrap. And all the actors / players know this going in to the fight.
This being said, today's battlespace is 2x2' [could easily be 3x3']. To scale that is 50-75m a side. So everyone is within "Range" and committed to the cut'n thrust of a situation driven by high-priority mission objectives. It is dense in Cover and Concealment - no one's mission is to run around in a kill zone.
Below, the Battlespace. A cluster of buildings, a few CONEXes, and scatter terrain. All the buildings offer Cover, all terrain offers Concealment. The main difference is that Cover both makes you harder to hit and improves "armor" while Concealment just makes you harder to hit.
The terrain up close. A bunch of shanties in a battered slum. Broken furniture, makeshift barricades, dumpsters and debris. Who would bother to fight in this??
cardboard terrain by Battle Systems, UK [click] I got mine on sale at Noble Knight
The Ranger Regiment and some Deniable Eastern European Contractors, that's who! Top, contractors of Hanna Barbara-Rus with red caps and knock-off East German camo. Bottom, the 75th Ranger Regiment.
HBR Contractors. Mission: retrieve four hidden drops of contraband left by their contacts around the center building. Two are worth more than the other two.
Ranger Regiment foot patrol. Mission: to clear buildings in the village and Gather Intelligence on insurgent actors, both criminal and contractors.
Important note: in a typical BBR game, either or both Sides may be unaware what the other Sides victory conditions are.
A BBR Game Turn consists of a series of Action impulses alternating by Side. An Initiative roll determines which Side first rolls for then uses 1-3 Actions. Then the other Side does the same. This continues until both Sides have Activated all their Figures [Figs]. Actions can be used to Activate individual or Groups of Figs. This provides some flexibility with left / right limits, forcing players to prioritize how best to use the Actions available to accomplish their mission.
Rangers win GT1 INitiative and rolls high for Actions. The Team Leader sends in his SAW and Assistant Gunner puts them on Overwatch atop a building...
He then advances to a building on the left of them, both going on Overwatch.
The HBR roll two Actions, and bring on the Team Leader and a SAW - this is Pinned by Overwatch Fire from the RR SAW. The HBR SAW operator Hides behind a dumpster and the building corner.
The Rangers have activated all their Figs, so the HBR continue to bring on theirs. Their second SAW Maneuvers into the battlespace and takes up position at a building corner. The RR SAW again Overwatch Fires, but misses this time.
Fire is resolved using opposed dice rolls. A few significant factors change the number of dice for Firer and Target. The single highest dice value rolled wins, determining if the Firer Hit or missed.
HBR continues to bring on Figs from their Team. Their counter Fire at the RR SAW is ineffective, and the Ranger manages to Pin two Figs total. At top, a SAW and an Assault Rifle [AR]. Center is the Team Leader [TL]. Bottom is a SAW, an AR, and the Drone pilot, who is armed with a Sub-Machine Gun [SMG].
Both Sides having Activated all their Figs, Game Turn 1 ends.
RR keep IN on Game Turn 2. They Fire the SAW stacked with an AR Pin the AR Fig but miss the - more important - kneeling SAW Fig.
The TL enters and Clears the building.
The green chip marks Hidden; yellow is Pinned; blue is Fig Activated. The adjacent Fig Runs around the building and re-positions himself with better Fire lanes.
On the right, a Ranger Maneuvers to a corner, the SAW Fires and misses.
The HBR GT2 goal is to Pin enough Rangers that they can Maneuver into the center and pick up their drops in Turn 2 or 3. They try to achieve fire superiority and Rally the Pinned SAW, but fail.
Game Turn 3, the HBR win IN. Figs Fire and manage to Wound the RR SAW, which - obviously - takes it off Overwatch status. A great start to GT2!
In the RR Activation, the SAW operator successfully performs Self-Aid and removes his wound - he is still Pinned, however.
Rangers Maneuver their man forward into a position with a good field of fire and put him on Overwatch.
HBR Activation, their Fire Pins the Ranger, and the TL Maneuvers to retrieve a drop.
The Rangers respond by Running their TL forward.
GT3 continues with HBR Running an AR forwards covered by a SAW.
The Rangers clear a building and Fire the SAW.
HBR drone pilot drops a grenade onto the Ranger SAW, but it is ineffective.
GT 4, RR win INitiative. They exchange Fire with an HBR SAW operator, and he goes down, Critical.
The RR TL then Wounds the AR behind the SAW, giving the RR a significant advantage in this part of the Battlespace.
In response, HBR starts their first GT4 Activation with the TL successfully tossing a grenade at the RR TL and Pinned AR Figs. The Pinned Fig ends up Pinned [so no change] but the TL is Wounded!
The RR SAW exchanges Fire with the HBR AR man, and wins the shoot-out, Wounding him.
HBR finishes up with a lot of Fire on the two Rangers that are Active.
Game Turn 5, the Rangers win IN. The Pinned Fig Rallies, the Wounded TL successfully performs Self-Aid and is now only Pinned.
HBR responds by their TL tossing another grenade, again successfully, and this time both the RR AR and TL go down Wounded!
The Critical HBR SAW operator Dies, while his Assistant ends up Pinned.
Game Turn 6. HBR win IN, the TL Maneuvers forwards and hoses down the Wounded Rangers at Point Blank Range. He also rolls well, Kills the TL and Critically Wounds the other.
With half their Team down, and outnumbered 5-2, the remaining two Rangers will have to concede. The HBR are going to be able to control the center while exchanging Fire with them, and the Rangers won't be able to Maneuver successfully to accomplish their Mission Objectives.
This was a tense game! After the Rangers successfully advanced their TL and an AR to the center and beat down the HBR Fire team by the dumpster, I thought they would overwhelm the HBR TL and control the center building, which would prevent HBR from achieving their objectives. Unfortunately, the HBR TL rolled *very* well with his grenades, and was able to subsequently take them both out.
This was the first time the Rangers had met with a decisive loss - all the other playtests have had them narrowly win. Interestingly, in the next playtest I played the HBR against that Grognard of Gaming, Reg W, and was decisively crushed, losing both the fire fight by Overwatch Figs, and the close-in fight with my Maneuvering Figs.
Above, the game is starting well for HBR. The drone pilot and two Overwatching Figs are providing support to the maneuvering HBR Figs in the center. But the RR continuously won most of the Fire actions, and the HBR suffered significant casualties, with three Dead and two Wounded.
And I had no complaints with how the game played out. If it involves dice, any game can turn on you. BBR uses mechanics that allow for a wide variety of outcomes, which is suitable for this type of low-level skirmish. Yes, generally the Side that plays better achieves a narrow win, but occasionally, a couple of bad decisions and the Enemy Vote can leave you fighting for a draw.
More to come - post any questions about the game and its mechanics below!
