The Scramble for Earth

In the days of the mid-20th century, the planet Earth appeared outwardly at peace. Though a dozen conflicts raged in the world’s jungles and uncountable civil disputes plagued the governments of that planet, in a stark contrast to a decade before and thirty years before that, the easily visible signs of a world in conflict could not be found. Had a visitor suggested the world was in a state of tranquility, the inhabitants of that planet might have expressed a different opinion. New technologies gave the two premier governments of the world, at odds over differing views on the proper ordering of the economy, the ability to annihilate virtually every living thing on the planet. Fear of destruction by humans on the other end of the globe hung over the minds of people on every continent. Few would guess that the troubles of the Earthlings, that then seemed so grave, would soon become petty and insignificant in the face of an event entirely unprecedented in human history.


Many trillions of miles away, discussions that would change the earth forever had just concluded. After many sessions of fierce argument, the Transgalactic League had finally voted to open a small planet, third from the sun of its system, to members of the League. After Earthlings had demonstrated their rise out of barbarism with the harnessing of the atom, the long-standing prohibition on exploitation and visitations of that backwater had been revoked. Though many League members had opposed the ban’s end, few League states can resist the temptation to acquire territories on the resource-rich Earth. Unbeknownst to the Earthlings, the first of the conquest fleets have set course for their small planet. The Scramble for Earth has begun.

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Basically, this is a generic 1950s alien invasion setting. Dozens of alien empires are landing on the Earth in hopes of gathering slaves/conducting science missions/world conquest/extracting resources/etc. As so often happened in movies of 1950s, armies of extraterrestrials face off against American soldiers, but I have thrown in a twist that has long been of interest to me: a Second Civil War between north and south over desegregation. I’ve been inspired by classic science fiction moives like War of the Worlds and the Day the Earth Stood Still (as well as homages like Super 8 and Mars Attacks!) which portray large-scale Earthshattering events as well as space monster movies of that decade. Earth is under attack from numerous alien empires, allowing for nearly any miniatures to be pitted against the soldiers and farmers of the Earth.  While my primary intention is humans vs. aliens, there is no reason giant monsters could not also be included.


The setting of the game would be a sort of stereotyped late 1950s/early 1960s that does not pay full attention to the fact that, say, the Little Rock Crisis and election of President Kennedy were years apart. I think the wide range of factions and possible battlegrounds allows for many different types of battles: a large-scale engagement between the army and a large invasion force, farmers fighting off cattle-abducting UFOs, and frightened desert-dwelling suburbanites against unknown monsters are all easily possible.


Some of the factions involved I have fleshed out are listed below:


US Army - Committed to restoring order to the south and maintaining territorial integrity against  extraterrestrial invaders.  These are pretty much the generic troops in World War Two vintage uniforms that end up being ineffectual against the invaders.  Despite their firepower, are easily outgunned and are often found in a state of retreat after hours of waiting for alien landing craft to open.

Men in Black - A secret government agency founded in late 40s/early 50s after Roswell to deal with aliens. Unaware invasion will occur, but generally more knowledgeable and useful than the army.

New Confederate States of America - secede from US following invasion in opposition to desegregation. Consist of original Confederate states minus Texas.  I imagine the miniatures for the Confederates to be similar to the US, but painted gray.

Second Texas Republic - Pretty similar to the CSA, but with an ego two hundred times larger.

People’s Republic of New Africa - countersecede from NCSA. Stronger on paper than in actuality, because only a small minority southern African-Americans actually support PRNA.  Use US army figures but with armbands and communist symbols painted on their helmets and vehicles.

Republic of Puerto Rico - I figured I might as well throw a revolt in Puerto Rico into the mix, as there was an active secessionist movement there around 1950.  It also allows for scenarios based in San Juan with Chupacabras.

The flag of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party.

Country Folk - Most are just trying to survive and scratch out a living despite alien invasion and civil war. Divided between support for union and confederacy.  Their inclusion allows for the classic "redneck vs. alien" conflict to be played out.

Civilians - These range from your lawn variety teenagers out on the mesa to aged veterans to conveniently-located scientists with knowledge of astronomy and medicine.

OK, this isn't from a science fiction movie, but this is the sort of place teenagers who stumble upon crashed flying saucers probably hang out.

Andromedan Empire - gray aliens.  Intend to take Roswell (where one of their ships that broke League law crashed) and recover missing crew and equipment.  Chiefly interested in scientific research (though it requires abduction and rather gruesome medical processes) rather than conquest.

Martians - Generic vehicle-using aliens.  Physically weak, and rarely seen outside their vehicles.

Reptilians - Like to mutilate cattle.  Rather vicious.

Hopkinsville Goblins  - Primarily seen in Kentucky, not especially dangerous.

Little Green Men - Much like the grays.  Docile and less violent.

  

These are the ideas I have had thus far.  I would like the game some encounters in this universe, but cannot do so anytime soon due to other commitments.  I hope the inclusion of many alien empires will allow me to use my vast collection of science fiction aliens (though none of them fit into the above categories),  so I will only have to purchase their human opponents.  There really is no reason why I or anyone else could not game an invasion of, say, Britain or Russia, but I have only written about the US as my knowledge of the culture and science-fiction of that time period is limited to the United States.

A Battle Royale

My first large game of Car Wars was fought last night. It was certainly a fun experience, even though I only acted as referee.

This battle was fought in an arena, and all players were informed beforehand and built cars accordingly. The contestants were as follows: (I use the names of the in-game characters, most of whom were based off established fictional persons). Suzie drove a heavily armored subcompact with between 50 and 75 points of armor on each side. Her only weapon was a flamethrower on the front. Melvin chose the same car as last game, a relatively all-around passable camper van. Fred opted for a van with a laser on the hood, but he had two passengers in the rear, who had access to a mounted anti-vehicle gun and a number of grenades. The other two cars, driven by Aidan and Wooderson, had no particularly notable characteristics.

I decided to make players chose their deployments blindly. While I hoped some players would be right on top of each other, I had not counted in everyone deploying on a single half of the large arena. In retrospect, this may have been helpful In keeping the game’s length down, and having some quick action.

Almost immediately, Fred and his van (can you guess the name?) was attacked and hit by Suzie’s flamethrower and Melvin’s AT gun. Wooderson fired a long shot at Aidan, which proved ineffectual. Both of them then embarked on long, curving paths that kept them far from the fighting.

The initial fighting.  Fred's van (black) is hit by Suzie (yellow).

Suzie suffered damage at the hands of Fred’s laser, and made a dash towards the center of the arena. Melvin closed in, alternately firing and being friendly with Fred. Suzie took a looping path to bring him back to Fred (who had fled from Melvin… After attacking him) Wooderson angled towards Suzie, but was too far away to justify firing.

Suzie flees.  Fred limps away.

Aidan, meanwhile, was speeding to the other side of the stadium. I decided to introduce an order from the tournament organizers: a line would be drawn in the arena, and crossing it would result in death. Aidan turned around, but moved only 15 mph, keeping him from the fighting.

Suzie declined to attack Fred and his heavily destroyed van, and continued her curving path towards Melvin. Melvin realized this and sat in wait. Fred was killed from a distance by Wooderson, who then rammed the van, killing its last inhabitant. In an act of desperation, this unfortunate character dropped a grenade that ultimately caused several points of damage to Wooderson’s car’s armor.

Suzie destroyed Melvin’s armor and front gun, barely missing killing the driver, who escaped on foot. Communicating with Wooderson, Melvin created an agreement that would allow him to be into the former’s car. Suzie then chased down Aidan, and killed him quickly without suffering much more than a few points of damage.

Suzie closes in on Melvin (blue).  Wooderson (stripes) attacks Fred.

Melvin got into Wooderson’s car (I allowed him to get in while the car was moving at 30 mph. It was late and I wanted to give them a fighting chance) After trading few shots, the two rammed each other head on. At a combined speed of 100 mph, and using Suzie’s ramplate, Wooderson and his car were entirely obliterated. Suzie literally destroyed all armor, passengers, and cargo from front to back. Suzie survived, and still had 10 DP left on her front armor.

Shortly before the final collision.  Both cars come close.

Everyone involved had a lot of fun, and we’d like to get a chance to play this game again before I go home for the summer. The players on the losing side seem to think they have some unfinished business, and would like a rematch with Suzie.

Vehicular Mayhem

The other day, several friends and I went to Trinidad, CO to see Mission Impossible: Fallout.  The movie was not terrible, and I actually preferred it to other installments in the same series.  Perhaps it was the large scope of the plot Hunt and company were up against, and the fact that their enemies, anarcho-primitivists, aren't overdone in film.  That said, the movie was rather predictable, and the constant objectives being achieved right at the end of the deadline got a bit old.  I'd love to see a movie where the bad guys actually end up winning, or there is no countdown to world destruction at all, and the heroes have all the time they need.

After the movie, we stopped by Frontier Games, a gaming store I had seen from the road on the way to the theater.  I was a bit disappointed by the small inventory, but I have come to understand the store is relatively new and will expand to utilize the considerable space it has.  After entering the store, I felt compelled to buy something, and eventually settled on Car Wars by Steve Jackson Games.  I had previously heard of the game and was aware it had a cult following.  Since it had remained popular since the 1980s, I figured it must have something to it, and decided to give it a try.

Box contents.

At the checkout, the single employee there (who I believe was the proprietor) informed me that he had recently picked up the game, and found it fun, but complicated.  I was warned, but still did not anticipate just how math-heavy the rules would be.  While the box contained few things (rulebook, map, counters, movement key, dice, and two vehicle sheets), the 60 page rulebook was packed to the brim with text.  Needless to say, I was intimidated, but as I had already purchased the game was intent on playing it.

I ran my first game last night, and was more than a bit anxious beforehand.  This was the first game of any sort I had ever run and did not feel especially confident in my knowledge of the movement rules.  Nevertheless, I managed to make it through and now I believe I have a decent understanding of the game.

The match was a race, using the track map contained within the starter box.  I had three players, who we will call Melvin, Juan, and Andreas for the names they chose for their characters.  Melvin picked a camper as his base, and invested in several large guns, and eight light rockets (each with only one shot, however).  Juan created his car without my supervision and was small and speedy, with two power plants.  Interestingly, he opted not to use any sort of projectile weapons, and instead had several droppable weapons (Spears, mines, and flaming oil).  Andreas' car was average in both armor and weaponry.  I (unthinkingly) started the cars off right before a curve, and placed several pedestrians waving flags to signal the start of the race in front of them.  The first few phases saw Melvin reverse, and attempt to shoot the other cars.  He failed, and the others moved on ahead.  Melvin's player left suddenly on the second turn, after managing to miss the pedestrians with his AT gun.  I got rid of Melvin by having the shot turn into a total failure by actually blowing up his car.  The race then devolved into a fight between Juan and Andreas.  Andreas appeared to have the upper hand, keeping Juan behind him, where his dropped weapons were useless.  Somehow, Juan maneuvered his way into the lead, and unleashed spears and oil on his opponent.  Andreas lost both his front tires and skidded into debris within several turns, leaving his car effectively useless.  Andreas bailed out, and Juan won the match by default.

The game was surprisingly enjoyable, despite the fact that I was not actually involved as a player.  The players, however, only managed to make it less than 1/8th of the way around the course, and only reached a top speed of 60 mph.  I contend that, had Juan been forced to focus on two enemies, the game would have lasted longer.  Nevertheless, I now feel as if I have a better grasp of the rules and that yesterday was a successful playtest.

I have decided to referee another game tomorrow night in which I will likely have five or more contestants.  We will use the arena map and I have chosen to allow each player to blindly choose their starting point.  I am very much looking forward to what happens then.

While I am certainly satisfied with the cardstock counters contained within the starter set, I think it'd be a lot of fun to use die-cast cars.  I will need to see if the ones from my childhood are still around, or if they have been disposed of.

I'd love to be able to run a game on a table like this.  Photo is from Chris at the Dice Hate Me.

While I do enjoy short, one-off races, I would like to play something of a larger scope.  I have devised a plan to game out something like the race from the classic movie "Death Race 2000".  While I very much enjoyed the characters from the movie and its recent sequel (not the Jason Statham films, which I feel lack the parodic fun of 2000 and 2050), I would likely allow players to create characters of their own, each with their own theme and goals.  If I could recruit players with the right mindset, I imagine having them battle each other, the (French-backed?) resistance, and armed civilians would be great fun.

If I had known gaming this sort of craziness out was possible, I would have bought Car Wars years ago.

I am very satisfied with my purchase, and consider it $20 well spent.  Hopefully I can get in more games of this bizarre yet entertaining game before the summer's out.