UM001 USEME 15mm Science Fiction
UM001 USEME 15mm Science Fiction
USE ME means 'Ultra Simple Engine for Miniature Engagements' and this system delivers just that. Tactically challenging, easy to learn and for any age of wargamer interested in ANY science fiction or near future setting. From skirmish to full battles, games last from five minutes to an hour. Play in your lunch break or in the evening when the idea of a really complex system with a long set up time really does not appeal. Pick up any of your sci-fi miniatures and vehicles and get playing in minutes. USE ME is just that...its for you!
32pp Book, Colour Covers, ISBN Barcode.
READ ON FOR A SHORT ARTICLE ABOUT THIS BOOK
I would like to tell you all something of the origins of what became the USE ME system for miniature wargaming; it will give you an insight into why we decided to publish the system for others to make use of as well as for our own use. In 2009 the lads at Alternative Armies decided to play some 15mm games (sci-fi, fantasy and some renaissance scenarios too) to get us used to and into the whole scale and feel of 15mm miniatures. We did not have any rule systems of our own to use for this scale or settings and though we looked at some of the other systems out there, with a view of getting one or two in to try, we decided in the end not to. Not because we only wanted to play our own rules, far from it. I had played over thirty different games that I had no hand in designing. Rather it was due to the fact that we were all knackered (read this as 'beat' if you are American!) and we wanted something easy, something super fast, something generic and something that we could learn in five minutes and get a game in when we had twenty minutes spare. Oh and some of us wanted a system that was open enough for our children or total new comers to the hobby to be able get into and not be scared off by. I drafted up the original concepts and soon we were lasering, lightening bolting and glorifying ourselves with a lot of satisfaction. Over time this original draft was tinkered with and other variants produced for other settings and scales until back in May 2010 it was suggested to me that we might want to let others in on this 'secret' engine that our own lads were using for just about anything that wasn't Flintloque or The Ion Age. I agreed and here we are.
The USE ME game system. You will need some miniatures, some terrain and a few six sided dice (D6's) to play the game. This is not much and indeed most of the time everything in play needs only 1D6 roll to make a decision. In the game all miniatures and vehicles are de-marked into of CHARACTERS (from Infantry to Vehicles, to Flyers and everything else) and these into TYPES which allow you to create anything you want in science fiction with a few tables of TYPES with points costs attached.
The Turn Sequence of the game follows a simple path of firstly the Initiative Phase where all players roll 1D6 and the highest roll wins the initiative for the turn (important later on!). Then the main part of the turn, the In Play Phase where all characters in the game are activated not by the side upon which they fight but by their Elan Rating. This means better troops and vehicles move and fight before poorer quality troops and vehicles and within each Elan banding from 6 to 1 activation begins with the initiative holding player. When activated each character can choose TWO actions, these include move, ranged fire, melee, hunker down, special action, unique action. The character may choose two different actions OR the same one twice with a modifier; very flexible in battle. Ranged fire and melee are based on opposed single D6 rolls with modifiers for troop type and weapon ratings. This super fast system results in targets being Killed, Struck or Winged by attacks. Killed removes them from play while the other two results negatively effect their further performance in the game. The hunker down action allows characters to take cover against attack while special actions cover those things detailed in the USE ME Advanced Rules and unique actions are created when needed for a scenario.
In small games of USE ME every character acts on its own, this is a skirmish, but in larger games a simple mechanic allows you to combine three to ten characters into one SQUAD which then acts under its leader in play. All actions for squads are no more complex than for single characters. In this fashion you can go from ten miniatures a side to one hundred in ten squads and have a battle that takes only a fraction more time to play.
The USE ME advanced rules. The core game is easy to grasp and provides what is needed for play but we have also included some extra material for players to use if they so wish. These are covered firstly in the Off Table Action Phase and cover long range artillery support, high level air support and orbital support too. They also cover the insertion of drop troops on to the table. Secondly a page of Special Actions are given which for an additional cost you can apply to your chosen characters. Energy Shields, Auto Repair, Sniper and Hero class are all there to make the character a bit more resilient in play.
After the USE ME game finishes. Most of the time you will want to play a quick game, cause some carnage and send a lot of little metal men to their dooms. But it need not be the end if you want to carry on. USE ME has mechanics in it for updating your Force Roster (with your troops on it from the game just finished) to see what happened to those characters who were Struck or Winged in play to see if they recover in time for the next encounter. This makes rolling those dice nail biting and really important for the next scenario. Plus you can make a second lot of rolls for any characters Killed in play to see if a slim chance of them rejoining your forces for the next game. A simple system for linking games together follows and then a page containing narrative approaches to forming a whole campaign and ideas of how to do it. The end of the game on the table is just the start.
Playing USE ME on your Own. In the last few years the importance of solo play wargaming has grown into being a central tenant of many game systems. With this in mind, especially for this game which is fast and quick to play, we decided to import and adapt the excellent solo bolt on mechanics from Flintloque 3rd edition published by Alternative Armies. This solo play bolt on allows you to play as the attacker or defender with ratings for Aggressive, Neutral or Defensive opponents combined with simple guides to the sorts of behaviour that any character type will adopt when attacked or making an attack. This adds up to a game where playing solo is easy and fun no matter what kind of mission you have in mind.
The Endless Settings of USE ME. One of the core ideas for this game system was to make it capable of carrying out skirmishes, battles and campaigns in ANY science fiction or near future setting allowing players to import any and all of their own ideas or those from Books, Television or Film into play. The character types table allows you to set your miniatures, your ideas, your setting to the game with little trouble. Just choose the Elan Rating, the Weapons, the Movement rates etc for each of your miniatures and vehicles and fill out a force roster with their names and statistics; as simple as that. Vast future cities, interstellar wars, post apocalyptic nightmares and all else between USE ME can do them all.
USE ME is a pocket rule system that does not pretend to be anything else. Its fast, its fun and its affordable. With many rule systems these days taking themselves far too seriously and with some being priced at an amount that makes purchasing them a long term goal for most of us USE ME gives you what it promises and in a format that will make you smile. Try it, you might want to USE ME yourself!
CONTENTS OF PRODUCT:
USE ME contains a lot of material in its little pages, enough for some cracking single games, linked games, campaigns and even solo play too. Here is a run down of just what you get in the booklet.
Frontis Page
Introduction & Contents
What you Need to Play
The USE ME Rules
The USE ME Advanced Rules
Character Types and Costs Tables
Miniatures and Templates
Force Rosters
After and Between Games
Linked Games and Campaigns
USE ME Solo Play add on
HOF Miniature Range Listing
Laserburn Range Listing
Free Resources Listing and Code
MINIATURE RANGES SUITABLE FOR PRODUCT:
The USE ME 15mm Science Fiction rules can be used with any suitable range of 15mm scale miniatures however we recommend that you look at our own science fiction ranges. These include the HOF range of more than one hundred packs of high quality miniatures and vehicles and the classic Laserburn range.
