FUBAR Free Rules

Barry has been building the forces for a quick fun Si-Fi game using the freely down loadable set of rules called FUBAR. These are one page rules so nothing fancy. However could they make a good game. I have to admit when the guy with the rules, figures and scenario said something like "I hope I got the balance about right" I did start to worry. The rules were sold to me with the promise that the games would be short sweet and quite brutal and as such Barry had prepped two scenarios for the session. As it was the game played longer than advertised so we only got the one game in, though I can see that it could have played faster than it did.

 

Evil Empire, not many of them but Veterans of many a brawl.

Neither of us had a suitable cloth for a barren planet with buildings made out of shipping crates so it really did not matter that we were playing on a plain table. This after all is a test game. The scenario has a group of colonists sending out a distress call with little information supplied. I as the rebel faction tries to respond first and get the political kudos of saving the defenceless people. Barry on the other hand is the Evil Empire who also responds (obviously only because thy know the caring loving rebel force would do a great job). How ever on arriving no trace of the colonists (who must be hiding) but what I do see is Empire forces landing just outside of Dodge. I set up for a ambush and await their evil designs.

Not much but it is quality.

Ignoring the landing ship Barry had a five man squad, a hover bike recon, a hover attack cyborg and a walker attack cyborg. A small force but especially the walker all heavily armed.

Barry set off down the street which was made up of metal containers converted to housing units (well a Brothel and a Bar as well) and then a collection of units made into a hospital which I was mostly defending.

Home sweet hospital.

Hospital complete with evac shuttle on the roof. I defend this building with two laser rifle armed troops and two with rocket launchers. Barry tried to flank this building going around on his right flank with his hover bike which ran into a couple of troopers. This quickly escalated until he had drawn out about a third of my force. I lost a recon drone but took out the bike after a few rounds of suppressing it.

One trapped Cyborg (the silver thing in the middle)

Barry brought his flying Cyborg down he centre and at first it swept my infantry before it with devastating fire power and mitts full of dice. Soon though I had units attacking from both sides which was frustratingly hitting it but never doing enough to take it out in any one turn.

 

Suppressed but not dead...........yet.

Three levels of suppression and the bugger keeps coming back. The rules have a initiative roll that as long as you keep initiative you can activate unit after unit. Fortunately for me Barry was not getting the first attack, allowing me to keep this guy suppressed and he was also failing to activate units. I on the other hand was managing to activate most of mine but kept failing to kill this monster. That continued for three turns but fortunately I finally managed to bring it down but by this point the walker and the infantry were in a position to join the fun.

Infantry refuse to support.

However they were not coming in together. This Cyborg was way more powerful than the last one so my plan was to keep it suppressed when I had the chance and spend the rest of my attacks on the infantry. However it took to many attacks to suppress the monster and left me to weak to do more than suppress the infantry. This was the result of two turns ten Barry got the initiative first and I started to loose units fast. Once this started I was on the road for a good slapping.

 

Grunts eye view.



Then I got initiative first and rolled for activation, nope, Barry tries, nope, my last unit (the other two were knocked out) er no. Then Barry gets one last opportunity, er no. Next turn Barrie gets to go first, activates the big boy and the rest was history? No not history, just a mix of organic slime.

 

Well the result was fairly close, I lost but it could have gone my way on the next to last turn. We will play again for sure and I would say Barry got the forces just about right. A better understanding of the rules and weapons can only add to the game next time.

 

Talking of next time we will either be back to Spain for some 6mm Naps or trying out some Roman mayhem in 20mm. I have a feeling it all depends on how fast we get some Spanish buildings painted up.