After a two year sabbatical from running my Aliens Miniature Battle event at the local conventions, I returned with a new scenario entitled "Survival of the Fittest" for SIMCON XXVIII. This event was held on April 1st at the University of Rochester.
When we
designed the AMB rules, we felt it was important to simplify combat so
the players could focus on squad tactics. We also included role playing
to make the game fun to play. After all, who doesn't enjoy quoting lines from Aliens like, "Another glorious day in the Corps. A day in the Marine Corps is like a day on the farm. Every meal's a banquet, every paycheck a fortune, every formation a parade. I LOVE the Corps!" By this point in the evolution of the rules, we had finalized the set at 6 pages which was short enough for both new and old players to assimilate and flip through during the event. We also designed character cards (see Figure 1
below) which summarize vital information needed to manage a squad of Colonial Marines. I'll explain the rules in more detail
in a future post.
In addition to battling a xenomorph infestation, the scenario included a surprise twist beyond the now semi-boring bug hunt. A detachment of Weyland-Yutani Corporate Mercenaries led by a Bishop synthetic (as in the last part of Alien 3) were on site attempting to acquire a viable xenomorph specimen their bio-weapons division could utilize and sell to the highest bidder. Their goal was to capture one of the alien warriors using a rapid freeze method that would place the specimen into a cryogenic suspension (remember Predator 2?).
In the end, the Colonial Marines were victorious. Through a combination of smart tactics, harnessing the Marine "killer instinct," and a little bit of luck, Lt. Steel led his men to rout both the xenomorph population and corporate mercenaries and earned high praise from the Captain sipping tea aboard the dropship carrier orbiting Klondike IV. Until next year...
Figure 1. Before the event begins, the APC (1/35th scale Halcyon Model) idles on the tarmac outside the mine on Klondike IV. Note player character cards with figures.
Figure 2. Two squads sweep the mine for xenomorph activity. Using squad tactics makes all the difference between waking up in a cocoon next to the Queen and walking out alive.
Figure 3. Random encounters are an easy way to follow in the footsteps of the Aliens movies. You never know when a pair of warriors will drop from the ceiling to get the party started!
Figure 4.
Colonial Marines fight a two front war against Aliens and WY Corporate Mercs. Throw in a few grenade triggered rock slides and things really get interesting.
Figure 5. Using the same tactics that are successful at eliminating Aliens, the Colonial Marines carve through Weyland-Yutani Corporate Mercs (represented here by Imperial Snowtrooper figures). They wisely massed their firepower and quickly eliminated the mercs. Note Bishop and the cryogenic frozen Alien drone in the lower right of the photo.
Figure 6.
A close up of the image displayed in Figure 5. Note the rubble from grenade created cave ins.
Figure 7.
Colonial
Marines maintain numerical superiority in the fight against the WY Corporate Mercs. They only sustained two WIA casualties to the five merc KIA.
After five years of running the Aliens Miniature Battle (AMB) event, we started to see the usual suspects signing up to play at local gaming conventions. They enjoyed playing the game, and we enjoyed throwing large numbers of aliens at them in an attempt to keep the game enjoyable but still challenging.
After successfully winning the game, veteran players knew the right tactics to use - always keep your squads working together, don't wander off by yourself, and by all means, never, ever step in front of a Colonial Marine with an incinerator shooting at an Alien!
In March 2003, we decided to up the ante and introduce a new element into the AMB scenario. Killing the Queen each time was becoming too predictable. It was time for something more sinister and deadly to start hunting the Marines besides plain aliens.
Figure 1. To help players decide which Colonial Marine squads to play, we displayed the miniatures and reference cards in the hive area located at the far end of the mine.
Figure 2. In a bold move, the players decided to perform an "end run" maneuver and sent two squads sprinting down the side of the mine complex to reach the hive. This hazardous move worked, but imagine their surprise when they didn't find the Queen waiting for them.
Figure 3. A squad of Colonial Marines defends the mine entrance, using a combination of smart gun, pulse rifles and incinerators to keep the Aliens at bay.
Figure 4. An overhead view of the entrance to the hive located on the left side of the fourth and fifth terrain boards. The white and blue poker chips represent cover fire (e.g., the direction they have their weapons pointed) in case of Alien attack.
Figure 5. After canvassing the mine complex without finding a Queen, the players weren't sure what to expect. After losing several Marines under suspicious circumstances (e.g., the last Marine in a squad disappears unexpectedly), they finally discovered what had been stalking them - not just one but two Predators.
Figure 6. As expected, a fierce firefight broke out between the Colonial Marines and the Predators. With a few lucky strikes, the Marines were able to take out the first Predator shortly after combat began (note miniature in top left of photo above).
Figure 7. The second Predator proved more difficult but a combination of smart tactics and a little bit of luck helped the Marines prevail.
In light of the release of "Prometheus" tomorrow (6/8/12) and its association with the Alien universe, I thought it fitting to share pictures from past Alien Miniature Battle events.
First, the background. Aliens Miniature Battle (AMB) was a custom rules set my friend Steve and I designed which was inspired by the Leading Edge ALIENS board game. We liked the fast pace of the game and wanted to scale it up for use with the Leading Edge 25mm series of Aliens figures. After numerous play tests and rewrites, we finalized a 6 page set of rules which cover everything from Alien movement and melee attacks to how many hits it takes to kill a Predator. More about the Predator in a later blog...
The first AMB event titled "Return to Klondike IV" was held March 27, 1999 at the University of Rochester at SIMCON XXI. The scenario briefing describes a "technical issue" at a gold mine located on an ice ball planet named Klondike IV. When the facility failed to transmit an update, the Colonial Marines were sent to investigate. As you might imagine, there were Aliens there, and lots of them. At that point I owned 5 or 6 boxes of the Leading Edge Aliens miniatures and used all of them in the event. Unfortunately this took place before I purchased by first digital camera (a Kodak DC4800) in mid 2001.
Fast forward to SIMCON XXIV - held March 23, 2002 at the University of Rochester in the Douglas Dining Hall (shown below).
This AMB scenario was titled, "More
Unfinished Business On Klondike IV." Colonial Marines were dispatched
for the fourth time to determine the status of the Auric-DeBerg mine and to secure the facility. It doesn't take a
rocket scientist to figure out what happened when they landed. Fortunately a veteran command crew worked well as a team to overcome the many challenges encountered during the op.
"Operation Mole" was considered a success as the mine reopened shortly after the mission was completed. Although the Colonial Marine detachment experienced a significant number of casualties (>50%), they were able to defeat the Queen and completely eliminate all traces of the exomorph infestation as outlined in the after action report. Here are several images uploaded to the flight recorder on the dropship carrier orbiting Klondike IV - note time stamps in lower right corner of frames.
Figure 1. View of the mining facility from landing pad. The APC is awaiting clearance to enter the facility.
Figure 2. After entering the mine, several Colonial Marine squads encounter Aliens and place sentry guns for additional security.
Figure 3. Minor casualties were sustained after the initial firefight; note the decapitated Alien skulls. The synthetic Bishop (face down on the cave floor) was repaired with minimal loss of functionality. This proved extremely fortunate later in the mission.
Figure 4. Use of Colonial Marine incinerators proved extremely effective in preventing Alien melee attacks and elimination of exomorphs without acid splash.
Figure 5. Upon reaching the end of the mine, the Colonial Marines found the hive next and engaged the Queen. Note unlucky soldier grabbed in mid-air captured by the Queen. His next of kin were notified upon the successful completion of the mission.
Figure 6. High level view of the battle with the Queen shortly before she changed direction and stampeded toward the mine entrance, causing substantial casualties.
Figure 7. Leaving the power loader heavily damaged and several bodies in her path, the Bishop synthetic sacrifices himself in a last-ditch melee attack against the Queen (note miniature under Queen's carapace) to prevent further loss of life.
Figure 8. Final footage recorded by surveillance camera at mine entrance. The Queen was terminated shortly afterward thanks to the valiant efforts of the Bishop synthetic.
If you'd like to see more AMB pictures from other conventions, let me know and I'll dig deeper into the vault...
I've created this blog to share my experiences of past and future battles which includes three decades of modeling miniature terrain and running dozens of war games.
Since this is my first log entry, I'll start by sharing the types of war games I enjoy playing along with respective rules:
- Modern era military (Force on Force)
- Star Trek (Custom rules)
- Star Wars (Tomorrow's War)
- Aliens/Predator (Custom rules and Tomorrow's War)
- Sci-Fi (Tomorrow's War)
In honor of the title of this blog, I'll start with one of my favorite creations: Aliens Miniature Battles. With the help of several friends, we created a custom rule set (note the colored dowels - range markers) which worked well with the original Leading Edge ALIENS 25mm miniatures and a custom built layout that includes five 2'x4' boards.
I built the terrain using 2" thick styrofoam for the base boards and cave walls. With a little help from spackle, paint and gravel ballast, it was transformed into a mining colony with an Alien infestation that returned year after year at our local convention. Players enjoyed the integration of motion trackers and cover fire which were represented by poker chips. To add to the suspense, the players had to explore the mine in order to reveal hidden sections as shown in the picture below.
I'll share more pictures in my next post.
