15mm Sci-Fi figures and Rules.

“Doctor I think I may have a problem…” Oh dear my latest project, loads of 15mm sci-fi figures… actually over 200 figures and then the vehicles and tanks.

Why do we wargamers do it, this is a huge project that will take me ages to complete, I have far too many projects on the go at the moment, so why did I start another one!!!

Well the simple answer is I have finally got around to buying USEME 15mm sci-fi rules from Alternative Armies, an Ultra simple Engine for miniature engagements, Skirmish / Battle / Campaign, they also have loads of free stuff to go with the rules, I also brought the WW2 version to use with my 20mm British and Germans ( but I will chat about that another time )

I can blame a friend that uses these rules all the time and loves them, he has recommended them to me, and has sent me battle reports to entice me into trying them, so it wasn’t my fault guv honest!!

Well onto the rules themselves, I am not 100% sure what I was expecting when I ordered these rules, I know that they were simple rules, I have no problem with simple rules, I know the website says “booklet” but damn the book is small, only 10cm x 15cm, I am trying to work out why they chose this size…

It could be a financial choice, it must be cheaper to produce than an A4 book.

It could be that if they chose an A4 version they would have to add more stuff to the rules, pictures and extra text etc. because if they printed this on A4 paper it would probably bring the page count down to about 15 or less.

The size of the booklet had nothing to do with cheap postage! Because £5 postage for two tiny booklets is way over the top, I post out eBay stuff all the time and my postage costs are way cheaper than this, they came in a bubble envelope with a 1st Class Large stamp on it.

Oh well let’s move on to rules themselves, this is all based on one read through so far…

They are laid out clear and have a few examples explaining some of the main actions in the rules, and most things seem really easy to follow.

There are a few tables which you need to use during the game, again fairly clear and simple to use, things like modifiers for shooting etc.

The rules section is very short, but not an issue for me, it contains all that is needed to get my 15mm sci-fi figures onto the table and start having battles.

After the main rules is the section for building your own force, which includes points values for vehicles and characters, these tables give points values for skill rating ( in USEME this is the “Elan” rating ) movement speed and then different weapon types, and again there are examples to help you through this process, all of which seems straight forward and simple.

This section is followed by all the extra stuff like, What figures to use in your games, Linking games, Campaign games, and my favourite section Solo play rules!

They mainly set up the General Aggression of the force you are playing against, it is not a complete Solo rule set like something from Two Hour Wargames, this is just a basic tool to help you play both sides, which is similar to others I have used, so again this seems ok.

Well my thoughts so far on these rules, they are as they say on the front of the booklet, Ultra Simple sci-fi rules, a nice cheaply priced product that should hopefully fill a hole in my gaming activities, it will be good to get some of my figures on the table… I just need to paint them all now!!

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4 Comments

  1. Vic

    Hi Mac,
    That’s a lovely collection of tiny little men! I recognise some of them, but those tanks & APC’s (??) are new to my eyes – where did you uncover them?
    My own 15mm lead mountain is enormous – mostly Alternative Armies (60%), Ground Zero (25%), Armies Army (now via The Scene UK, 10%) & the rest Khurasan. As a tank fan I have a LOT of tanks … and they all need a coat or two of paint … groan! I really gotta get on with it now …
    USE ME – it’s all my fault! =D
    But they are good rules – simple & quick, but also very easy to add to/expand upon and totally flexible as to how you compile & organise your forces.
    Have fun!
    Vic

    • Mac

      Thanks Vic,

      They have sat in boxes for so long, as I now have some rules I thought I would try and get them done.

      The vehicles are from the Old Crow range, lovely vehicles, a little bit hard to get hold of at the moment though.

      I have not managed to get a game with the USE ME rules yet, but I am looking forward to my first game, I will put up a battle report to show how it went.

      I will get more tanks and vehicles at some point but for now what I have will have to do me, I just need to paint them all…

    • Mac

      Lots of pain!!

      I have actually painted most of these now the problem is I have added to them by about 50 figures and I manged to get hold of some Team Yankee tanks and vehicles which I now have to get onto the painting table…

      I have also based up some palm trees ( see my other post ) I just need to get them finished.

      Too many projects not enough hours.

      Good luck with your painting.
      Mac

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