UM011 USEME Cyberpunk

Ultra Simple Engine for Miniature Engagements - Cyberpunk

A6 Booklet  32pp Colour Covers  ISBN & Barcode

READ ON FOR A SHORT ARTICLE ABOUT THIS BOOK

This is the eleventh title in the USE ME series and after all the genres we have already gone to we have this time got a world of robots, cyborgs and technology gone rampant. The world of the corporations, the world of Cyberpunk!

USE ME author O.G.Joel penned this title following up upon his success with USE ME Post-Apocalyptic (does he have a thing for nightmare futures?) as he has an interest in Cyberpunk. Taking the fast play rules of the D6 USE ME engine suiting 15mm scale miniatures (though it will work with smaller or larger scales with ease) he has given wargamers the future city of Neo-London with all the facets you could expect to see in this genre from corporate ronin to hackers and bioware. Lead your characters into adventure or turn them into cyborgs dedicated to winning a war against the corrupt system.

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 and everything else) and these into TYPES which allow you to create anything you want from this period 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.

The USE ME advanced rules. After the rules engine for the game come the advanced rules which give a real flavour of the Cyberpunk setting. These include Combat Drugs, Cyborg Characters, Cyber Conversion, EMP and Hackers, Tranc Rounds along with Night Vision and others. Then unique rules for Psionic Abilities and Robots. Following this are unique rules the 'Zone'. All of these are useful and full of the flavour of fighting in a world dominated by technology. There are also rules for putting innocent civilians in your game and then gunning them down in the crossfire!

Cyber Armies of an Augmented World. There are ten suggested force lists for the kind of armies you would expect to see in a Cyberpunk setting. These are only suggestions but they do give you the flavour and the tone to aim for in your games. They include Bioguard Security Corporation, The Gangs of Neo-London, The Neo-London Police, Lianna Mechanical Horde, Zone Gangers, Civil War Army, Neo-Luddites, Omnicorp, Ronin and Squire Technologies. Each of these lists also gives some background and setting along with suggested miniatures to use from the HOF and other ranges. You can find all of these on the website but of course you can use any miniatures you want from your collection.

Solo Play in USE ME. This booklet contains a solo play system which means that when no human opponent is present or if you want a practise you are able to do this alone and at a time of your choosing. The solo play addition allows forces to be fielded and statures chosen to determine their behaviours against your actions in game.

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.

HERE IS A RUN DOWN OF JUST WHAT YOU GET IN THE BOOKLET.

Frontis Page pg1
Introduction & Contents pg2
Welcome to Neo-London pg3
What you need to Play pg4
The USE ME Rules pg5-15
USE ME Advanced Rules pg16-21
Civilians in USE ME pg22
Character Creation and Costs pg24-26
Cyber Army Lists pg22-30
Solo Play Rules pg30-31
Force Roster pg31
The USE ME Series pg32

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.

MINIATURE RANGES SUITABLE FOR PRODUCT:

You can make use of any manufacturers ranges of 15mm miniatures suited to the Cyberpunk setting and your scenarios. With a little thought and reference to the game booklet you will soon have forces worked out. You can use movies or books for ideas. There are many suitable miniatures in the HOF range, such as Corporate Ashigaru and in the SHM range. Check them out!