May 17, 2012

Fireteam Andromeda - What is it all about?

As you may have guessed from the constant posts about it, here and other forums across the web, then I'm currently working on a (final) version of Fireteam Andromeda which is intended to be published at the end of this year.

Fireteam Andromeda is a dedicated set of rules for 15mm science fiction games, aimed at roughly a reinforced platoon per side, give or take. It has been designed as a quick game, light on the granularity, but heavy on the tactical side.

Colonial Forces on the move.

To promote this tactical gameplay, the game incorporates a very special Command & Control system. The system represents the overall motivation of the troops as well as the commanders overall ability to formulate tactical plans on the go. As troops are fired upon and take casualties, the commander will find that it becomes harder and harder to keep track of everything and needs to prioritize his actions.

Each turn, a player receives a number of Command Points equal to the number of deployed and confident units currently at his disposal. The player, taking the role of a platoon commander, then assigns a number of these points to his units in order to activate them. Each unit that receives such a point then becomes active.

However, players are limited to the number of units that they can activate during their Order phase depending on their Commanders Leadership. Typically, a force may activate two to three units per Order phase, after which it then becomes the opponents turn to activate their units. The players then alternate in Ordering and Activating their units until they run out of Command Points and the turn thus ends.

But that is not all! Command Points can also be used to boost the effectiveness of your units as well as perform various defensive maneuvers, greatly increasing your tactical options, and much more. But once you've run out, then you've run out - and a clever Commander will keep at least two Command Points in reserve; just in case.

Imperial Forces hunkering down.

Fireteam Andromeda was also designed as a very light wargame. From the ground up, it was designed around a couple of easy to remember core mechanics, which gives a quick and satisfying gameplay experience; almost no charts and very few modifiers to remember in the heat of battle.

All units share three characteristics; Skill, Experience and Armor. Skill is used to determine the units chance to hit, Experience determines the units motivation and training and Armor, well, represents their overall Armor rating. What makes each unit distinctive, however, is the ability to design your own troops!

Fireteam Andromeda is intended to be a generic science fiction game, which allows for players to design their own troops, using some very broadly defined unit entries (grunts are, after all is said and done, still grunts) that can be customized to represent almost any miniatures out there on the market today. Customizing your units is a breeze - and includes point values to allow for pick-up-and-play games.

"In the pipe, five-by-five"

However, although it is generic, the book itself will include a small introduction to the Terminus Nebula setting, as well as a more detailed overview of the Employment War within that setting; a war in a heavily balkanized area of space, known as the Terminus Nebula, were major powers of the universe, as well as would-be dictators, despots and freedom fighters, are fighting a bushwar - of which most armies consists entirely of Mercenary Units.

Fireteam Andromeda is intended to become a fully developed game that includes pre-made army lists, templates, explanation, setting material and basic scenarios for quick games. For now, the game is being playtested and corrected here and there - the core mechanics are finalized and all that really needs to be added are explanations, graphics and some adjustment of point values, weapon effects and other minor details.

To give Fireteam Andromeda a go, then simply go to the download page and download your own copy of the rules - everything you need to get started is included in the PDF. Cheers, and thanks for your time!

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