Skirmish Games thoughts

I'd thought I'd set out my thoughts on what makes a good tabletop miniatures skirmish game. They are of course just my opinion, I'm sure you'll disagree as much as you agree, but I will give reasons for my answers.

As a bit of a preamble, most of my skirmish games tend to be near future or science fiction in an urban environment. It's just what I like, so that clearly influences the design choices I have listed below.

So what does make a good solo minis skirmish game for me?

Hidden enemies

From the 'Blips' of Space Hulk to the 'Possible Enemy Forces' of Two Hour Wargames, hidden enemy (and blank, or no contact) tokens are a great way to increase tension and suspense in a solo game.

They mean you do not have a perfect view of the battlefield from the moment the game starts. You don't know where the enemy will come from, what they will be and even if you are just chasing shadows.

This means that you are making choices based on where the enemy may come from, causing you to spread your force as you would do in a real life situation.

If anything this is an advantage over a competive two player game.

Objectives

It often seems like every battle is a war of attrition, slugging it out toe-to-toe, when often they just happen to be chance encounters.

Giving the opposition, and your own forces, a task either ahead of the game or during it helps to eliminate this issue.

Morale

I've chucked morale in here, as all too often as a role-player it is easy to forget that no-one wants to fight to the death in general.

As a skirmish game, if this can be tied in to the immediate effects of combat all the better. By this I mean, rather than a separate roll being required (which I often forget), if morale is factored into another roll then that helps.

Random Activation

Skirmish games are moving away from the IGOUGO method of combat as used by GW. Nobody wants to be standing around as the enemy pound on your forces before you do the same.

Some games use card activation, token pulls, and activation dice. My personal preference is for token pulls, but that is just because I have mini d6 I can use.

Reactions/Overwatch

I like games where every character is on permanent overwatch (sorry can't shake the Space Hulk terminology even after 20-odd years). Why should my character be able to run scott free across the front of an enemy just because he has enough movement score to do so?

Shouldn't he be supressed by another figure before I make that dash? Isn't that more 'realistic'? Well it is for me, anything that encourages proper tactics (as I see them) has be better than static forces.

Easy to remember rules

Gaming on your own can go two ways, one is super detailed, where everything is tracked and as many factors are taken into account as the player can stand.

The other is more streamlined and simplified, maybe some abstraction, as it's just one person running the whole thing.

Now for me I sit on the streamlined end. I don't have the time to try and learn all of the edge cases, rules exceptions and other minutiae that someone else may love. I can handle lots of stats, make whatever judgements are required on the fly etc., but trying to remember different ways to roll the dice are currently just not going to happen.

Recommendations

So the big one. What games do I recommend, and why?

Some of these are tenuous, and even out of print, but they work for me at this moment in time.

Two Hour Wargames
This game introduced me to Possible Enemy Forces and their real possibilities for solo play. It's true I met them in Space Hulk first, but their use was different and very PvP in that game.

THW also introduced me to actions leading to reactions. This mean that you lose control over your characters (which I love), but makes them seem real.

Fast & Dirty - Uncontrolled Forces
FAD is a great ruleset (let down by exception based 'skills'), with a supplement for enemy AI and objectives.

This means that opposing forces are always pursuing some objective, which can change depending on dice rolls. Sometimes they ruthless engage and others they are happy to make their way past if you are content they do so.

Bolt Action/Other Warlord Games games
This is for the dice/token pull mechanic. I like this because it randomises the order of movement among the available figures, meaning you might be able to lay down fire before making a crucial move or not. That uncertainty adding to the solo experience, when it could be the other side standing still throughout.

Now I like token pull because it ensures that every model activiates each turn, and because I use tiny dice it doesn't clutter the table. I have a variety of colours for the dice meaning that as many as 7 or 8 (I forget how many colours) factions can operate on the same tabletop.

Your own favourite rules
So for me that is Advanced HeroQuest, it's just a ruleset I know so well, and I can incorporate all of the above quite easily into them.

I know that may seem a strange choice, but AHQ is really just the standard Games Workshop stats expanded to the use of a d12 instead of a d6.

There's a possibility I will tinker with a d6 dice pool system (Mini Six mixed with The Department's GoalSystem), that I'll be able to use for skirmishes and role-playing but that's for another time.