UM006 USEME Starship Battles

Ultra Simple Engine for Miniature Engagements - Starship Battles

The sixth title in the excellent and expanding USE ME game system series concerns itself deep space and starship combat. From fighters to battleships along with dogfight to fleet actions this system by O.G.Joel takes you off the ground! 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. From skirmish to full battles, games last from five minutes to an hour. 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 your miniatures and vehicles 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! 

A6 Booklet 32pp Colour Covers ISBN & Barcode

READ ON FOR A SHORT ARTICLE ABOUT THIS BOOK

With the sixth title in the USE ME game system we decided to leave not only the ground but also the atmosphere to bring you a set of rules for Starship Battles. You can learn all about the other titles in the USE ME range on the website but in terms of this title our aim was to produce a stand alone system for space vehicles from the smallest fighters to the mightiest dreadnoughts in any setting. It would also have a bolt on interface to allow you to make use of UM001 USE ME 15mm Science Fiction for boarding actions, planet fall and invasions too. Whither you Trek or you seek Babylon or anything else in space you can make it happened with this rules set.

Author of USE ME WWII and USE ME Modern Warfare O.G.Joel relished the challenge of a space based system for the USE ME range. His mechanics are heavily adapted from the core D6 based engine used by other USE ME titles and the result is excellent. Easily scalable, usable with metal, plastic and even paper models in any format. From a few fighters right up to whole squadrons and even squadrons among capital ships, you can play any size of action with USE ME SSB.

The USE ME game system. You will need some space ship miniatures, some space 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 vessels are de-marked into TYPES (from Fighters, Cruisers and Battleships plus everything else) which allow you to create anything you want for your setting with a few tables 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 vessels in the game are activated not by the side upon which they fight but by their Elan Rating. This means better starships move and fight before poorer quality vessels 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, boarding, raise shield, special action, unique action. The vessel may choose two different actions OR the same one twice with a modifier; very flexible in battle. Ranged fire and boarding are based on opposed single D6 rolls with modifiers for ship type and weapon ratings. This super fast system results in targets being Destroyed, Struck or Winged by all types of attacks. Destroyed removes them from play (or results in a debris cloud for bigger vessels) while the other two results negatively effect their further performance in the game. The raise shield action allows vessels 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. In small games of USE ME SSB every vessel acts on its own, this is a dogfight, but in larger games a simple mechanic allows you to combine many small vessels (Fighters mainly) into one SQUADRON which then acts under its leader in play. All actions for squadrons are no more complex than for single vessels. In this fashion you can go from ten models a side to one hundred and have a large battle that takes only a fraction more time to play.

The USE ME advanced rules. These mechanics build upon the simple core game and add complexity for special situations and vessels. Optional Rules include Asteroid Fields, Detailed Boarding Actions, Detailed Planetary Landings (for use with UM001), Missiles in Flight and Debris from Explosions. Special Actions add things such as Advanced Computers, Armour, Auto Repair, Nuclear Warheads and more. Following on from this are the detailed optional rules for unique entities. These include Starbases, A Vector Thrust System (for friction free play!), Using Jump Drives in a Gravity Well, EMP from Nukes, Micro Meteor Storms, Gas Nebulas, Vast Creatures of the Stellar Deep (vessel sized aliens in play), Cloaking Fields, Orbital Mine Fields and the Big Mac on orbital platforms. 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 ships 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 vessels 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.

Solo Play in USE ME. This booklet contains a solo play system which means that when no human opponent is present or if you want a practise you are able to do this alone and at a time of your choosing. The solo play addition allows fleets to be fielded and statures chosen to determine their behaviours against your actions in game. 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!

Contents of Product: USE ME contains a lot of material in its little pages, enough for some cracking single games, linked games, campaigns and even solo play too.