Mercs?

[Bingo the Fun Monkey]

Has anyone tried this or purchased some minis? It looks really cool. I had spent many months writing a game called Contractor before I heard of this game and, well, the setting is exactly what I wanted.

http://www.mercsminis.com/

Really cool stuff.

[AndrewGPaul]

I've got the rulebook and the Yellowjackets on order. I admit, I'm not entirely convinced by the use of cards to measure distances, and the use of a flat battlemat rather than proper terrain, but I'll givie it a go.

[cornonthecob]

Is this game Anime based ? I'm a little bit unsure on the artwork ? Ie : Infinity is anime based and can be seen, is this ?

[AndrewGPaul]

What do you mean "anime-based"? If it's the art style, look at the pictures in the gallery and make up your own mind. The setting is border skirmishes and covert ops in a corporate-dominated 2st century. I suppose that's like Akira, Ghost in the Shell and Appleseed, but not much like Pokemon or Gundam.

I suppose the answer is "no, not really". It contains some themes which you might find in some anime, but then again, you'll find them in literature and other media too.

[Slartibartfast]

I've got the rules and 2 factions. Haven't played< too many other projects going on now, although it keeps calling me back. I like the world and the models look awesome. The card mechanic looks interesting. I like the fact that it plays either on a 2D map or 3D terrain. I beleive it opens up a lot of options, especially for those without a lot of room to store terrain.

[TimLeeson]

I like it for it's "hard sci-fi" setting. I'm glad they had the sense to not add aliens (which would likely be your typical boring Bugs/reptile people/humanoids/xenomorph derivatives anyway) and kept it focussed on realism. The near future feel is refreshing too. I'll probably get into this but not sure which faction appeals to me the most yet. Another positive for them is how the female models are realistic, that's nice to see.

[cornonthecob]

I did mean art style, like Infinity has Manga aesthetics and I was unsure of this.

[AndrewGPaul]

In that case, then no, I don't think it's particularly manga/anime-like. The most obvious thing would be the faces - there's none of the usual manga-style caricaturing. YMMV.

[erion]

We've played it several times and enjoyed it. It's a different take on the sci-fi skirmish, and the card measurement mechanic is a bell / whistle that actually works very well except when in tight spaces with 3d terrain(2d playmats aren't required). Now that they've got the faction boxes ready, literally everything you need to play (except glue and a flat surface) comes in your starter box.

The game really focuses on tactical movement and good use of cover. This is mostly accomplished by the fact that weapons are most effective at short range and being in the open is extra deadly. It plays quickly and the initiative mechanic keeps things focused on rapidly resolved individual actions. This game is on our short list of stuff to play over the summer.

[Ronin_eX]

I love the card mechanic for measuring movement and measuring range. But I am a huge un-fan of its use determining firing lanes or templates. The latter use is overdoing it and can get pretty clumsy when you have to do some of the more elaborate ones. I understand the thought but I don't really mind having specialized templates so not being able to play the game using cards and cards alone is fine by me. But I think the rest of the system is actually quite revolutionary in terms of small squad tactics. The movement system is very all-or-nothing and reminds me of the cut and dried movement you see in hex'n'chit games. If you spend a movement point then you use the whole point, fine control is left up to Snap-to-Cover which reminds me of the kind of mechanic you see in cover-based shooters.

I think the way they deal with cover is simple and elegant and helps speed things along even in built-up boards. The various ways each squad works in concert and how tactics change depending on which five you take are all wonderful. Despite being very simple to set up and play it is surprisingly deep.

And the rulebook is pretty, so pretty. It is right up there with the Infinity books and Tomorrow's War in terms of production quality and art. The game has an awesome Retro Cold War aesthetic going for it which is a wonderful breath of fresh air (I mean the Japanese faction is all art-deco sci-fi instead of samurai and ninja; that is marvellous).

I really recommend this game for the low startup cost, awesome production values and genuinely interesting rule set. Now if they ever make a revised edition with proper templates I will be in heaven.

[AndrewGPaul]

I quite agree about the templates, which is why I'm making up my own. Apart from anything else, the radius of the blast areas for grenades is basically the long edge length of a card, which is much easier to sweep out than trying to hod two cards together like that.

[Isoulle]

It's a great game with a great model range, I'd definitely suggest it to anyone. New faction coming out in June too, Texico. Personally I can't wait.