USE ME means 'Ultra Simple Engine for Miniature Engagements' and this system delivers just that. Tactically challenging, easy to learn and for any age of wargamer interested in ANY fantasy setting.
From skirmish to full battles, games last from five minutes to an hour or two for the largest battles. Play in your lunch break or in the evening when the idea of a really complex system with a long set up time really does not appeal. Pick up any of you Fantasy miniatures and get playing in minutes. This complete rules system is printed in A6 format which is a booklet which will fit in your pocket (110mm by 180mm) making it truly portable as well as fantastic value for your money. USE ME is just that...its for you!
I began with an idea and the manuscript of the first book and set to work. With the help of Elton Waters and Bob Minadeo plus some in house testing too I developed a fantasy mechanic that is really actually rather super on the table. Keeping in mind that being short of gaming time meant we and most of the players who would want this game were knackered (read as 'beat' if you are American) and being generic was vital to allow the use of any and all of your collection of miniatures was also vital we came up with USE ME 15mm Fantasy. Skirmish and Mass Battle in one place suitable for the most veteran player and the total novice and tactically motivated not sales price of product. Interested....read on.
The USE ME game system for 15mm Fantasy.
You will need some miniatures, some terrain and a few six sided dice (D6's) to play the game. This is not much and indeed most of the time everything in play needs only 1D6 roll to make a decision. In the game all miniatures, monsters and siege engines and so forth are de-marked into of CHARACTERS and these into TYPES which allow you to create anything you want in a fantasy setting with a few tables of TYPES with points costs attached.
The Turn Sequence of the game follows a simple path of firstly the Initiative Phase where all players roll 1D6 and the highest roll wins the initiative for the turn (important later on!). Then the main part of the turn, the In Play Phase where all characters in the game are activated not by the side upon which they fight but by their Elan Rating. This means better troops move and fight before poorer quality troops and within each Elan banding from 6 to 1 activation begins with the initiative holding player. When activated each character can choose TWO actions, these include move, ranged fire, melee, defend, special action, unique action. The character may choose two different actions OR the same one twice with a modifier; very flexible in battle. Ranged fire and melee are based on opposed single D6 rolls with modifiers for troop type and weapon ratings. This super fast system results in targets being Killed, Struck or Winged by attacks. Killed removes them from play while the other two results negatively effect their further performance in the game. The defend action allows characters to take cover against attack while special actions cover those things detailed in the USE ME Advanced Rules and unique actions are created when needed for a scenario. The USE ME Advanced Rules cover off table actions such as bonuses and attacks at a battlefield level plus advanced mechanics for giving your Personalities extra skills for being a General, Hero, Cleric or a Wizard. There is a full magic system with four 'schools' to choose from. There are character traits which give your troops abilities that make them more Savage or more Nimble or Rage Filled etc. This tailors to different fantasy racial types. That covers the skirmish level of the rules which means from a handful to a couple of dozen characters but what of the battle level of the USE ME Fantasy rules?
It is at the battle level that these rules really flex their muscles with whole formations of troops marching into a maelstrom that can make use of more than a hundred miniatures per player with ease. To take the rules to the battle level the 'Rule of Three' is brought into play and nifty it is too!
All miniatures are based as singles (its what you all asked for to end the tyranny of differing basing conventions) and to turn these individuals into 'formations' (the USE ME term for Units of any size) the Rule of Three is used. make a Formation you need THREE characters to command it, these are typically an officer, a standard bearer and a musician of your chosen racial and troop type. These three become the COMMAND THREE of the Formation and remain at its core until the formation is destroyed or the game ends or you elect to dissolve the formation. You then add Characters to the command core of the formation in sets of THREE at a time. Each set of three is placed in base to base contact with the Command Three building out from it as you go so the command ends up in the centre of the formation. There are different types of formations that have different functions but you can build formations up to any size you want for big regiments in big battles. Formations move as one though injured characters can fall behind and get separated (which is very dangerous as normal infantry or cavalry are automatically killed by formations if touched or attacked) and perform attacks based on every three characters in the formation. This allows attacks to be split or focused especially for ranged attacks. Formation melee involves a clash of ranks with the attacks of the front two ranks being counted and you can literally 'grind down' formations and even feed in more troops to the rear of the formation, adding them to bolster its numbers. Injuries in a formation can be assigned to miniatures at the players discretion allowing unparalleled choice in which ranks of your formation are hurt and killed by attacks. This is a very tactical and entertaining way to battle and can enact the largest of conflicts.
After the USE ME game finishes.
Most of the time you will want to play a quick game, cause some carnage and send a lot of little metal men to their dooms. But it need not be the end if you want to carry on. USE ME has mechanics in it for updating your Force Roster (with your troops on it from the game just finished) to see what happened to those characters who were Struck or Winged in play to see if they recover in time for the next encounter. This makes rolling those dice nail biting and really important for the next scenario. Plus you can make a second lot of rolls for any characters Killed in play to see if a slim chance of them rejoining your forces for the next game. A simple system for linking games together follows and then a page containing narrative approaches to forming a whole campaign and ideas of how to do it. The end of the game on the table is just the start.
The Endless Settings of USE ME.
One of the core ideas for this game system was to make it capable of carrying out skirmishes, battles and campaigns in ANY fantasy setting allowing players to import any and all of their own ideas or those from Books, Television or Film into play. The character types table allows you to set your miniatures, your ideas, your setting to the game with little trouble. Just choose the Elan Rating, the Weapons, the Movement rates etc for each of your miniatures and fill out a force roster with their names and statistics; as simple as that. Wars over Magic Rings, Campaigns against Orcs, Pale faced Elves and more...USE ME can do them all.
USE ME is a pocket rule system that does not pretend to be anything else. Its fast, its fun and its affordable. With many rule systems these days taking themselves far too seriously and with some being priced at an amount that makes purchasing them a long term goal for most of us USE ME gives you what it promises and in a format that will make you smile. Try it, you might want to USE ME yourself!
—description from the publisher
Book, Fantasy, Miniatures, Wargame · Dice Rolling, Line of Sight, Measurement Movement, Solo / Solitaire Game
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