Atomic Tank - Rules Review

Small scale miniature gaming has, in my opinion, had a renaissance recently. 

Historical gamers may, and likely should, scoff at such a comment as smaller scales have been a staple for decades, and my own journey into the hobby began over a decade ago with 15mm miniatures. Battletech has gone from strength to strength with new plastic releases in 6mm. There have been dedicated players for Epic in its various iterations and Warmaster. I would go so far as to say that Warmaster Revolution's success was somewhat instrumental in bringing more attention to scales smaller than 15mm.

Regardless, the term "epic" has become a label for these less-than-15mm miniatures; Warlord Games started their "Epic Battles" range of not-quite-15mm miniatures in 2020. Games Workshop waded into the fray with Legiones Imperialis - aka, "Copyrightable Epic Space Marine" - with "epic-scale" 8mm miniatures in 2023 (I also wouldn't put it past them to be considering some kind of Warmaster re-release, either with the Old World setting or the new Age of Sigmar setting). Wargames Atlantic has Sengoku Jidai Japanese, Hundred Years War English and French, and Fantasy under their Grand Battle Scale line of 10mm miniatures. And Mantic Games just released Epic Warpath in 10mm. 

Hydra Miniatures has been the latest company to "epicify" their miniatures with the release of Atomic Tank. And did so with a straight-to-retail release, which could be considered a novelty in the current atmosphere of crowdfunded projects. 

I have dabbled a bit with one of Hyrdra Miniatures other ruleset, Retro Raygun, in the far distant past of 2017, but never bought into it myself. Atomic Tank caught my interest thanks to 1) my interest in smaller scales and 2) the Golden Age of Science Fiction aesthetic of the miniatures which I find to be somewhat unique in the current market.

As the release of the Robot Wars starter boxset coincided with Hydra Miniature's holiday sale, I decided to pick up a copy and review the miniatures and rules. 

The Boxset

The Robot Wars starter boxset came in a wonderfully sturdy box that I will just have to keep; it's too nice to throw out and will make for a good storage box for the few tokens that the rules require.

Inside the box you'll find two smaller boxes containing starter armies for the Galacteers and Robot Legion as well as a high quality, 40 page softcover rulebook. I imagine that a second edition will be necessary at some point to consolidate rules and lists for future factions. 

The starter armies also include the extra bits that the game requires; command and hero tokens, tiny Order d6s, and regular d6s. The boxset even goes so far as to include different dice colors for the two sides. 

The Miniatures

Both armies consist of metal and 3d-printed resin miniatures. The larger vehicles are made from resin, while the infantry and some model parts are metal. The resin seems strong with the smallest bit of give.

The models are fairly detailed for 10mm - as detailed as the streamlined aesthetics of Golden Age scifi can be - but did require some work to remove the flash from the metal infantry. The infantry also only come in two poses. The most posable of the miniatures are the multipart Doombots (top right in the picture above). 

The Rules

Let's start with what a force for Atomic Tank looks like. Units cost a point each andan average force will be 7-10 points. Currently there aren't any limits on what units can be included in a force; while a mix of units will likely prove most effective, there's nothing stopping you from playing a fully armored engagement between Galacteer tanks and Legion robots. A read-through of the rules also makes it seem like playing with larger forces won't bog the game down, though I'm sure there's a breaking point. 

Atomic Tank is played in turns across four phases: Order, Initiative, Activation, and Assessment.

In the Orders Phase, players place markers behind units to note how many potential Orders it may have. This can be affected by the loss of stands in a unit.

In the Initiative Phase, players roll a d6, with the higher roll choosing who activates first. The roll can be affected by unit rules or other conditions.

In the Activation Phase, players alternate activating one of their units. Units roll as many d6s as their Order stat, and every roll of 4+ gives the unit an Action to spend; either Move, Attack, or Special (which depends on the scenario). This means a unit like the Galacteers' Regular Infantry could, with four potential Orders and a 12" movement, move a total of 48" in a single turn! Or a rampaging unit of Doombots could attack four times in a turn!

What keeps the game from being too lethal is the "Raygun Rolloff combat mechanic", essentially an roll of opposed dice pools between a unit's Shoot or Assault stat and the enemy's Defense stat. Rolls of the same amount cancel each other out, and the side with the remaining highest die wins. There are three potential results; either the Attacker Wins with an Unopposed Six, the Attacker Wins with Anything but an Unopposed Six, and the Defender Wins. Winning with an Unopposed Six is the best option, as this removes a stand from the enemy unit and all the attached tokens (Command, Hero, and Orders). Winning without an Unopposed Six removes one each of the previously mentioned tokens, and the Defender Winning simply cancels the attack.

Units attack either via Shooting (with all units either firing 24" direct or 18" indirect) or by Assault (by closing to base-to-base contact).

There are some utility units that provide additional benefits. Units with the Command property can give out a limited number of extra Orders each turn to other units within their command range of 18". Heroic units can boost the Shooting, Assault, or Defense pool of friendly units within 6"

There are also some quick rules covering the affect that terrain has on movement and combat. It's noticeable that the game currently lacks the rules for units to enter buildings (slated for a future release), but buildings can be climbed at the players' agreement.

Finally, once both sides have activated all their units, the Assessment Phase checks whether scenario conditions have been met.

The rulebook includes six scenarios that cover your basic wargaming needs, played on a 4'x4' table: Annihilation, Command Control, Factory Destruction, Technology Grab, Breakthrough, and Raid. My only concern in these scenarios is Command Control, which focuses on eliminating enemy units with the Command property. The starter armies only come with one unit each with this property (the Galacteers' Mobile HQ and the Robot Legion's Brainbot), so a lucky activation could see this scenario end unsatisfactorily fast. It's also the case that, thanks to there being no restrictions in force building, you don't have to bring any units with the Command property in the first place! I would suggest adding units with the Heroic property to the elimination objective, as this at least puts the tally at three units on each side needing to be destroyed to win. Future army building guidelines may need to require the inclusion of units with the Command and Heroic properties (at least 1 for every 5 points, for example). 

I'll also note how the two forces play. The Galacteers lack special rules in the current roster, but all of their infantry is equipped with jetpacks and can quickly zip around the battlefield if need be, while their armored vehicles are solid if simple. The Robot Legion are slower but have more special rules (like their infantry being able to pass through each other and the larger robots getting free assault actions when making base-to-base contact with enemy units) and focus more on attacking enemy units in close combat.

The (Retro)Future

So what's in store for Atomic Tank? Matt Beauchamp, the owner of Hydra Miniatures, has hinted at the Imperials, Valkeeri, and Zenithians eventually being shrunk down to join the Galacteers and Robot Legion depending on how well the game sells.

But that's not all. The rulebook notes that the Galacteers and Robot Legion will see more units join the fight. The Galacteers will enlist the aid of Jet Jeeps, Tank Destroyers, Mobile Artillery, Science Corps Infantry, and Pathfinder Infantry. And the factory worlds of the Robot Legion will produce Destroyerbots, Minibots, Shredderbots, and Raptorbots. 

These armies should paint up rather quickly and I hope to demo the game locally. The hardest part will be sourcing appropriately scaled terrain, although Hydra Miniatures has plans for terrain files for 3d printing.

From what I can tell, these rules should make for some fast playing games with a decent amount of friction and some methods to ease it. Expect some Atomic Tank action soon! 

Battle of Albuera, 1811- General d'Armee AAR

My second game at Fall In was the Battle of Albuera, 1811, using General d'Armee 2 and run by Chip (with assistance from Ted).

The game focused in on a section of the overall battle. Four French infantry brigades started on the attack against just two Spanish infantry brigades. Over time, two British infantry brigades and a Spanish cavalry brigade would reinforce the Allied line, while the French would see a cavalry brigade added to the battle. 

The French advance was generally cohesive, with only one brigade falling behind from multiple Hesitant results.

The Allies had a tougher time dressing their lines. With the British coming on after the initial deployment, the plan was for the two Spanish brigades to fall back and drift apart, forming a space for the British battalions to fill. 

You can see the problem the Allies found themselves in. Hemmed in on both sides, the British had to squeeze into whatever gaps they could find. I unfortunately also made the mistake of masking my guns with my skirmishers and prevented them from firing. 

The Allied right was also being threatened by the French cavalry brigade. 

One of the Spanish brigades began to falter as the French columns charged forwards. 

On the other side of the battle, French battalions shifted to line as the flagging infantry brigade caught up. 

Unfortunately, one of the Spanish battalions in square was charged by French infantry and routed, leaving another battalion isolated. 

After seeing the Spanish battalion routed, the British formed square while a single Spanish battalion awaited a mass of French columns. 

On the Allied left flank, the pair of Irish battalions held firm as the French filtered around the small village (which acted as rough terrain instead of a proper Built Up Area. 

The Spanish cavalry sat in it's position, unwilling to advance but keeping a French brigade out of the action by doing so. 

After weathering multiple French charges, the British decided to launch their own assault, throwing back a few enemy battalions. 

Unfortunately, my poor artillery battery was doing poorly in the Spanish heat, and my dice rolling was causing more damage to the crews then enemy fire was. 

And to add on another calamity, I managed to fail two rolls to keep my other faltering British brigade from fleeing the battlefield. This opened a massive hole in the Allied lines. 

We decided to call it there as we were close to the time limit for the game and the Allies were in a bad position. Thus, a French victory!
 

I feel like I need to play more GdA2, as there are plenty of nuances that I just don't have done, especially with the changes from the previous version.

However, I'm always happy to get a chance to game with Chip and Ted!

Boot Camp - Clash of Rhyfles AAR

This past weekend was HMGS' Fall In, the last major convention of the year. 

While I had intended to attend both Friday and Saturday, I had to change my plans and wasn't able to stay for Saturday. Conveniently, I hadn't locked in a hotel room yet so I was able to increase my spending budget.

Because I had changed my schedule I was only able to attend two games on Friday.

The first game was a demo of Clash of Rhyfles, the skirmish set of rules for the Quar setting from Zombiesmith that's received a boost in popularity from a pretty consistent release schedule from Wargames Atlantic. The "full" version of the rules have been released in anticipation of a new starter set coming in the next few months. 

Two tables were set up, each with a standard Crusader and Coftyran squad. 

Since I had played the rules a couple before, I ended up controlling a single Coftyran squad against two new players who controlled two halves of the opposing Crusader squad. 

The Coftyran squad's LMG and loader set up with a decent fire lane through the center of the table while the squad's yawdryl took half of the squad's rhyflers on a flanking maneuver. 

The Crusaders split into a number of small teams and filtered through the terrain. The squad's milwer was knocked down by the Coftyran LMG, but managed to recover. 

Unfortunately, my luck wasn't great for this game. It started with a rhyfler tripping over his rifle and knocking himself out. A Crusader marksquar knocked out another rhyfler, and the squad's milwer was shot trying to tend to his fallen comrades. 

On the other side of the battle, the Coftyran yawdryl and his accompanying rhyflers were pinned by pair of Crusader rhyflers. Armed with large caliber rifles, the Crusaders kept punching through the Coftyran's lighter cover. 

As a demo, the game only lasted three turns, but we were given a decent overview of the rules and setting. Had we continued, I wouldn't expect the Coftyrans to last much longer. 

I did end up picking up the Coftyran and Crusader specialists boxes, as well as the newly released Chyweethl and Ailthean tractors (Quar-equivalents to tanks, about the same technological level as interwar vehicles).

Mystify, Mislead, and Surprise - Bingfa AAR

I was once again at Kelly's place for a game this weekend last. 

Rocky had offered to run a newly modified version of Bingfa, which incorporated some of the suggestions us players had offered up at its last outing. The main difference was an adjustment how units fought. 

Previously, a unit would fight each enemy unit in it's front three squares. This often led to lines of troops clashing and then instantly leaving the battlefield thanks to the combat system, which then lead to entire commands evaporating thanks to the Stay Test system. In order to keep troops around on the battlefield longer, each unit now gets a single attack that must go to the enemy unit directly in front, or to a side if there is no enemy unit directly to the front. 

John and I commanded the Chu forces for this game, while Kelly commanded the Qin. The Chu army consisted of a smattering of chariots, horse and skirmishers, with most of the force made up by a mass of low-morale infantry. 

The opposing Qin army had a sampling of everything available to the Warring States general; chariots, cavalry, horse, nomads, skirmishers, and higher-morale infantry (thanks to the Qin's military pension system, according to Rocky). 

Deployment was masked by a thick mist, though both sides knew the general terrain of the area; a valley split by a river with an urban area in the center. Open fields were scattered around the valley, and a temple complex dominated the hills on one side. 

Not knowing what Kelly's deployment would be, John and I took the cautious route and evenly split our forces into two commands, one on either side of the river. I failed to get the command out to start with an attack, so the army would begin on the defense.

When the mist cleared after a couple turns, we were surprised to find that Kelly had taken all three of his commands and deployed them on one side of the river facing John's troops. 

Two of Kelly's command pushed towards John's troops, while his third command took up a blocking position in the towns and fields. 

I had no other choice but to begin the slow process of advancing my troops towards Kelly's flank. 

John and Kelly's mounted troops began to clash on the far side of the battlefield.

Meanwhile, the first wave of my attack fared poorly, resulting in five infantry units routing from the battle. 

With my nose bloodied, I decided to keep shifting my troops along the riverside rather than trying to cross and engage. 

John and Kelly's infantry traded crossbow fire, while Kelly's cavalry won the field and held down his right flank. 

John's troops finally received their orders to advance (changing formation takes a turn for orders to disperse), with his right wing moving towards the urban area. 

Kelly and John's main infantry bodies also moved into close combat, with the results favoring John. 

Another round of combat saw more units on both sides routing from the field. However, Kelly's overall break point was smaller than ours (thanks to the masses of Chu infantry units) and he lost enough units to automatically break and retreat. 

Kelly's plan was audacious and, had his luck been a little better, could have easily resulted in a Qin victory. While he wasn't able to bring most of his chariots into the main fight, they acted as a redoubt against half of the Chu forces. And his infantry generally had a better chance to stay after a loss in combat; that just didn't happen this time. 

Overall we liked the change to combat, as units had more staying power. The draped cloth was also a great idea, and a creative addition to Kelly's gaming table. I'm looking forward to seeing more of it's use. 

Painting Update - WWII Planes

 After a bit of a lull in posting, I'm back with what I've been painting.

With the USAAF finished, I moved over to the Luftwaffe. First finished was a large squadron (four flights) of Me 410s. 

And a small squadron (just two flights) of Ju 88s. 

The first proper fighter for the Luftwaffe is the Me 109, which I've painted seven flights of.

And finally, six flights of Fw 190s. 

That's the Fire in the Sky project done and dusted! I just need to label the various bases and pick up a proper aerial battlemat. Deep Cut Studios makes a fantastic looking mat with a European landscape with some clouds that will be perfect, though the local tariff issue will likely bring the cost up. But at least I can call the project finished!