Minimal Mech Combat or Minimal Robo Combat
Game Design By Timothy Swenson
(This game is freeware and may be freely distributed.)
1. Introduction
Saturday morning cartoons, comic books, and transforming toys - Big,
powerful robots have been the staple of all three for years. Minimal
Mech Combat (MMC) is a simple game that attempts to create the feel of
combat between these mechanical warriors. It makes no serious attempt
to cover all aspects of Mech combat and is not designed to.
2.0 Robots
Robots are comprised of the following elements:
ATTACK: The ability of a Robot to hit another Robot with a ranged
weapon.
ARMOR: The amount of damage a Robot can take before being destroyed.
HIT: The ability of a Robot to hit another Robot in Close Combat.
BLOCK: The ability of a Robot to block a hit by another Robot in Close
Combat.
MOVE: How many hexes a Robot can move in a turn.
WEAPONS: Any weapons that a Robot has.
OTHER: Any other abilities a Robot has.
ATTACK, ARMOR, HIT, BLOCK, and MOVE are called Attributes.
Robot Turn Record: During the game Robot Attributes, WEAPONS, OTHER,
and damage are tracked using a Robot Turn Record. Attributes can
change during the game due to damage and is tracked by filling in the
ovals on the Record. At the start of the game, the Robot Stats are
entered on the Record. If a Robot has MOVE of 4, then fill in all but
4 of the ovals. As damage takes place during the game, the other
ovals are filled in.
3.0 Robot Design
Each Robot is designed using a number of Build Points (BPs) to spend
on the Attributes of the Robot. Each unit of ATTACK, ARMOR, HIT,
DODGE, and MOVE cost 1 BP. Each Attribute may not be greater than 5.
Weapons and their BP costs are listed on the Weapons chart.
Jump: Jump allows a Robot to jump over objects and costs 2 BPs. See
Movement for more explanation.
Average Robots are 18 Build Points. Other Robots can range up to 24
Build Points.
Example Robots
ATTACK: 4 ATTACK: 4
ARMOR: 3 ARMOR: 4
HIT: 2 HIT: 4
DODGE: 2 DODGE: 2
MOVE: 4 MOVE: 2
Weapons: Weapons:
Laser Grenade
Other: Other:
Jump
4.0 Turn Sequence
Turn are comprised of the following phases:
Initiative Roll
Player 1 Movement
Player 1 Combat
Player 2 Movement
Player 2 Combat
Before each turn, both players roll a die. The player with the
highest die roll becomes Player 1. Ties are re-rolled.
5.0 Setup
Map: Minimal Mech Combat does not come with a hex map. It is up to
the players to create the map on which to engage their battles. The
map can be of almost any size. Terrain is placed on the map at
locations agreeable by both players. See the Terrain Chart for the
types of terrain. Be creative in designing the map.
Counters: Counters can be created using different colored sheets of
cardboard. Miniatures or small toys can also be used, and add more
flavor to the game.
Victory Conditions: The players create the victory conditions for the
game. It can be as simple as "destroy all of the enemy" or more
detailed as "Do not allow enemy robots to exit our side of map."
Players also decide the initial placement of the Robots at the start
of the game.
Also needed for play is a number of 6-sided die.
6.0 Movement
MOVE is the number of Movement Points that a Robot has per turn. The
number of Movement Points used in moving into a hex is determined by
the terrain in the hex (See the Terrain Chart). Some terrain can
block movement.
Robots may not pass through a hex with an enemy Robot. Robots may end
their turn in a hex with an enemy Robot to engage in Close Combat.
Jump: Robots that have the Jump option may perform a Jump maneuver
once every 3 turns. Jumping allows a Robot to "jump" over 1 hex and
into the next hex, in a straight line. Jumping costs 3 Movement
Points. If a Robot has MOVE less than 3, then they are too damaged to
Jump. The terrain in the landing hex is ignored, except for any
terrain that blocks movement. Jumps can be over other Robots, walls,
etc.
7.0 Combat
There are two types of combat in Minimal Mech Combat: Ranged and
Close. Ranged combat uses weapons fired from a distance. Close
Combat takes place when two Robots are in the same hex.
Ranged Combat: Ranged Combat may only be performed with ranged
weapons. Each Robot may only fire one weapon per turn. Ranged
Combat takes place when two things happen: When the defender is within
range of the attackers' weapon and there is a clear Line of Sight
(LOS) between the attacker and defender. A clear LOS is defined as a
line drawn between the attacker and defender that does not pass
through a hex with another Robot or blocking terrain (See Terrain
Chart).
Attacks are made by the attacker rolling 1 die. If the roll is less
than or equal to ATTACK, then the attack is successfull. The attacker
rolls another die and compares this with the Ranged Combat Damage
Table to see where the damage has occured. If the weapon does more
than 1 hit of damage, a roll is done for each additional hit of
damage.
Close Combat: Robots that are in the same hex may engage in Close
Combat. The player who has the current Combat Phase is the attacker.
Attacks are made by rolling 1 die. If it is less than or equal to the
attacking Robots' HIT, then contact has been made. The defending
Robot has a change to block the hit. The defender rolls 1 die. If
the roll is less than or equal to the defending Robots' BLOCK, then
the attacking hit has been blocked. If the block was not successfull,
then the attacker rolls 1 die on the Close Combat Damage Table to see
where the damage is. The defending Robot takes 1 hit of damage at
this location.
Damage: Damage is applied to Attributes by marking off an oval on the
Robot Turn Record. If damage is to a weapon, it is the defending
players choice as to which weapon is destroyed. Damage is immediataly
marked off on the defending Robot Turn Record. A Robot is considered
destroyed when all ARMOR ovals are filled in.
Ranged Combat Damage Table Close Combat Damage Table
-------------------------- -------------------------
1 - 3 ARMOR 1 - 3 ARMOR
4 MOVE 4 HIT
5 ATTACK 5 BLOCK
6 Weapon 6 Weapon
Weapon Chart
------------
Laser Cost: 1 Range: 6 Damage: 1 hits
Grenage Cost: 2 Range: 3 Damage: 1 hits
May fire over walls and objects. Does not need a clear LOS.
Missile Cost: 3 Range: 5 Damage: 2 hits
Terrain Chart
-------------
Terrain Movement Combat
-------------------------------------
Clear 1 No Effect
Trees 2 Blocks LOS into hex, but not out hex
Stream 2 No Effect
Walls Blocked Blocks LOS
Rubble 2 -1 to HIT or BLOCK
Robot Turn Record
Mech Name: _______________ Unit # ________
ATTACK O O O O O ARMOR O O O O O
HIT O O O O O DODGE O O O O O
MOVE O O O O O
Weapons Range Other
_______________ ______ _______________
_______________ ______ _______________
_______________ ______
_______________ ______
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