Assorted thoughts after reading last night (in no particular order). This is a topic I have wanted to develop a miniatures campaign game for (Scandinavia under attack, possibly in a couple of different time frames) for some time, so this was fun to read.
-The book is mostly setting and information, maybe 30 pages of rules out of 150 or so?
-The information given does a good job setting the scene, reminding players that the 80s is a different time and laying out what the overall situation is like. I was thinking of multiple scenario ideas reading through it. The police campaign is a really cool idea.
- The only things I felt I was missing in the setting section was:
*A bit more information on what the availability (and usability) is of things like computers, walkie talkies, telephones etc. Obvious to those of us who are ancient but a lot of newer players might be surprised. at exactly what81 and 82 really looked like.
*Maps! Im a military history nerd so when you start talking about military movements and fronts, I want a map
*I would have liked to see some details on what a Swedish, Red Army and NVA squad looks like, what kit a squad carries, what ranks are (and how they compare) and so on, for the more military oriented campaigns, especially since "ex soldier" is likely to be a popular character type.
- Theres a list of hit songs! It has Gasolin on it!
-The rules are pretty solid from a look, but we have not played yet. It feels like it is mostly focused on the most important elements and cutting a lot of cruft out. It is actually a bit more narrative-oriented than I had anticipated. For example combat has a fair bit of judgement call in the attack / defence options. I like this, but I was not expecting it.
An example of this is that there is no "count down KP each round while the guy fails to roll for first aid" when you are dying. You die in 3D6 minutes and someone treating you stops that from happening. Boom. I dig it.
-Character creation looks quick and easy. Im a big fan of the combination of skills being essentially "jobs" and also having automatic "specialisations". Should be easy to draw up a range of different characters. In particular, I think this would work well with players describing a character first and then putting points down to match their description.
- I think you could have thrown all kinds of stuff in here about psychological trauma and scene setting and narrative meta mechanics and.... and I am glad you did not. I think this really works better as a pretty open-ended but mechanically tight game that relies heavily on its setting and "vibe".
Edit: I forgot to give a final verdict: Its really damn good. Out of 10.
-The book is mostly setting and information, maybe 30 pages of rules out of 150 or so?
-The information given does a good job setting the scene, reminding players that the 80s is a different time and laying out what the overall situation is like. I was thinking of multiple scenario ideas reading through it. The police campaign is a really cool idea.
- The only things I felt I was missing in the setting section was:
*A bit more information on what the availability (and usability) is of things like computers, walkie talkies, telephones etc. Obvious to those of us who are ancient but a lot of newer players might be surprised. at exactly what81 and 82 really looked like.
*Maps! Im a military history nerd so when you start talking about military movements and fronts, I want a map
*I would have liked to see some details on what a Swedish, Red Army and NVA squad looks like, what kit a squad carries, what ranks are (and how they compare) and so on, for the more military oriented campaigns, especially since "ex soldier" is likely to be a popular character type.
- Theres a list of hit songs! It has Gasolin on it!
-The rules are pretty solid from a look, but we have not played yet. It feels like it is mostly focused on the most important elements and cutting a lot of cruft out. It is actually a bit more narrative-oriented than I had anticipated. For example combat has a fair bit of judgement call in the attack / defence options. I like this, but I was not expecting it.
An example of this is that there is no "count down KP each round while the guy fails to roll for first aid" when you are dying. You die in 3D6 minutes and someone treating you stops that from happening. Boom. I dig it.
-Character creation looks quick and easy. Im a big fan of the combination of skills being essentially "jobs" and also having automatic "specialisations". Should be easy to draw up a range of different characters. In particular, I think this would work well with players describing a character first and then putting points down to match their description.
- I think you could have thrown all kinds of stuff in here about psychological trauma and scene setting and narrative meta mechanics and.... and I am glad you did not. I think this really works better as a pretty open-ended but mechanically tight game that relies heavily on its setting and "vibe".
Edit: I forgot to give a final verdict: Its really damn good. Out of 10.
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