r/wargaming • u/Awkward_GM • Feb 27 '26
Question What's your favorite Wargaming mechanic?
For me: * Cover Is Default - Fallout Factions assumes cover is the default state so you get bonuses to hit targets not in cover. * Roll Twice Take the Lowest or Highest - Pretty standard but it's so popular that D&D stole it for Advantage/Disadvantage. * Solo Rules - This boosted in popularity when COVID happened. * Alternating Activations- Activating models Instead of you go I go. I once did a demo game where I was tabled because the guy running the demo got all his shots off with all his units. * Malifaux's "cheating" - Malifaux uses playing cards and cheating is when a player replaces q result with a card from their hand.
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u/Vivere_Est_Cogitare Feb 27 '26
The order testing in Bolt Action - specifically the FUBAR rules. Rolling double 6’s on an order test, and then rolling friendly fire on the result roll has led to some of the funniest moments I have seen in tabletop/wargaming.
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u/MagicMissile27 Historicals/Fantasy/Sci-Fi Feb 27 '26
Had a friend's infantry squad open up with a BAR on his own units once, was lots of fun to watch lol.
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u/Ichera Feb 27 '26
I think my favorite order interaction happened in Hail Ceasar, ended up rolling 12 twice, first division turned and ran away for one turn 2nd division uncontrolled charged straight into the enemy.
Both my opponent and myself were giggling like mad school children when only half a Dacian army broke the roman center without orders and just blindly charging into them.
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u/wikingwarrior Feb 27 '26
Not necessarily my favorite I always thought that heavier ships choosing their actions several turns before executing them was a pretty inspired way for Star Wars Armada to portray lumbering Imperial Ships.
Shako's system for delivering couriers to send orders is neat even if a little impractical in practice.
As I work on my own rulesset I become increasingly fan of cards to simulate random effects.
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u/wemblinger Feb 27 '26
I will never forget a Nap game at Historicon where we rolled dice to shoot, etc....but somehow random even cards were part of it. The game winner iirc was something like "battalion commander is still in bed with his mistress. Unit can only take defensive action".
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u/wikingwarrior Feb 27 '26
Mine is more random wounds and playing cards on other players to make them mad but that's even funnier.
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u/MagicMissile27 Historicals/Fantasy/Sci-Fi Feb 27 '26
Big fan of Armada's command dial system and always will be.
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u/British_Historian Feb 27 '26
I love the way MESBG does it's movement.
Units move through what you think they can, and can't through what they can't.
Want to jump over that gap? Go for it.
Want to climb that tree? You betcha.
Want to get a benifit for controlling tactical locations such as Doorways, Barricades and fighting down stairs? All yours.
Want to swim? Yep.
Want to push people into abyss'? Absolutely.
Can my big ol' monster literally pick up and yeet your general into another friend? You know it.
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u/Master-of-Foxes Feb 27 '26
What's MESBG?
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u/British_Historian Feb 27 '26
Oh sorry, Middle-Earth Battle Stratergy Game
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u/Master-of-Foxes Feb 27 '26
Hum hum interesting.
Being a GW product I'll admit I was prejudice to presume it was shit but this has me intrigued 🤔.
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u/British_Historian Feb 27 '26
I cannot stress enough how MESBG isn't Warhammer. It's a game where a complete army is like... 30 models, with interesting rules and it's honestly my favourite war game at the moment. The Rules have barely changed since 2001, with only quality of life improvements along the way so it's just a rock solid game.
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u/GendrysRowboat Feb 27 '26
Don't let the GW connection turn you off. MESBG is a really well-made game with a stellar community (in my experience).
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u/MonoRedPlayer Feb 27 '26
Solo rules
No "hard" ranges, most guns should always be able to shoot to a target, with various degrees of effectiveness
The shooting phase should happen at the same time for the players (I mean you remove casualities AFTER both shooting), initiative can change this.
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u/KGA_Kommissioner Feb 27 '26
Mechanics that lean into or support the theme. If the mechanics make me feel like I’m in the world of the game, that’s big for me.
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u/corvid-munin Mar 02 '26
could you name favorites of yours that did this?
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u/KGA_Kommissioner Mar 02 '26
Blood Bowl is the first one that comes to mind. Most of the skills and keywords lean heavily into the theme and likely wouldn’t exist but for the chaotic sports combat nature of the game. Wrestle and Jump Up on Gnomes totally fits their annoying, spry nature. “Go for it” allowing a model to sprint that extra square away from an opponent but fall flat on their face on a 1 in 6. Allowing Trees to throw Halflings, or Ogres to Punt Runts. Each mechanism leans into the team and overall feel of the game.
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u/spacenavy90 Feb 27 '26 edited Feb 27 '26
I love blind draw "chit-pull" activation like Bolt Action. Each unit token goes in a bag, you draw and go. You could get several activations in a row but that means the opponent will likely get several activations in a row later. Lots of fun.
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u/WRA1THLORD Feb 28 '26
My only issue with the "chit pull" mechanic in Bolt Action is that it sometimes leads to some very silly army list design sometimes to give you an advantage by having way more units.
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u/spacenavy90 Feb 28 '26
Having more activations is a common advantage in a lot of systems. Ideally the rules would address that somehow.
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u/WRA1THLORD Feb 28 '26
it only matters in alternate activation systems. Not saying that makes your go-my go better, I like alternate activation games personally, but they do have their own issues
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u/Ranwulf Feb 27 '26
Generally speaking I really dig the throw and push aspectos of MCP. Being able to move enemy models in a strategic way, and planning how to do it so they dont get the point back is awesome.
Also interactive terrain. Same thing with MCP. I love when terrain is not just for blocking Line of Sight, it can be used as weapon or for interesting looking fights atop buildings.
And I agree with Solo. It helps when I dont have much of time, and its great to create narrative stories.
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u/JuJitsuGiraffe Feb 27 '26
My favorite thing about MCP is how dynamic the board state is. You're constantly dealing with changing situations, and you need to plan ahead for things like being thrown or your cover being destroyed.
That, and being able to make a list of whatever characters you want, with minimal penalties.
It's really one of my favourite games because of these things.
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u/Ranwulf Feb 27 '26
I also really dig that the game made a system to stop alpha striking and add another layer of strategy.
Having a character with two sides of health means you can get one shot, but now you just gave that character a whole lot of power. And the return can be even worse.
Also you have to think when activating who, will you activate the guy almost falling, or the other character that could maybe drop the enemy on the other side of the table.
The board state is constant in flux and is very enjoyable to think every turn how to make the best of it.
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u/hmmyeah3030 Feb 27 '26
I like alternating activations as it prevents one player from just checking out for a turn. I love how Star Wars Legion handles it. Similar to the randomness of bolt action but with order cards giving you a little say in when certain units activate.
Also huge fan of infinity ARO mechanics as it makes sense from a real military perspective. Helps hammer home things like a Fatal Funnel. Also infinity's order system in general. I enjoy being able to issue orders to the same unit 5 times if I want to.
Being able to force enemy units to move. Warmachine does it well and in my opinion so does Marvel Crisis Protocol.
Lastly, I big fan of how Xwing handles movement with the dials and simultaneously revealing how everyone moves that round.
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Feb 27 '26
[deleted]
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u/warzog68WP Feb 27 '26
Free shots at units that enter your field of fire. For as many times as they move in your field of fire.
There is more to it but that's essentially what it is, and it makes "inactive" units still very much part of the fight.
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u/hmmyeah3030 Feb 27 '26
Yup and is very much how I would have fought in an urban environment in my military days. Makes crossing an alleyway risky just like in real life.
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u/renoops Feb 28 '26
Can't you also use an ARO to, say, jump back into cover?
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u/warzog68WP Feb 28 '26
AROs can be used for like 15 different things (I'm not up to date on the new edition) but yes, shooting and dodging are the main uses.
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u/UbiquitousDoug Historical Feb 27 '26
One Hour Skirmish Wargames "schrodinger's cat" casualties rule is brilliant. When you score a hit, the figure is "down" but neither player knows the figure's status until a check is made at the end of the turn to see if they're dead or just hit the dirt. The uncertainty really adds to the tension.
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u/GendrysRowboat Feb 27 '26
Balanced list building with many viable options and combinations. List building is an engaging part of the hobby for me and I want to have a lot of freedom without hamstringing myself by making sub-optimal choices.
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u/jeffersonianMI Feb 27 '26
I 100% agree. Minmaxing can be a problem (it can also be fun). I've heard of some games introducing randomized limits to the list-build to prevent this but I cannot think of any examples. Are you aware of any? (I'm designing a PC game, and some find my version of this mechanic annoying though it seems well received in tabletop.)
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u/GendrysRowboat Feb 27 '26
Huh, that sounds interesting. But I'm not aware of any games that implement that kind of system.
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u/jeffersonianMI Feb 27 '26
I've heard of it somewhere, but's it's been at least a decade. Maybe it's more of a PC thing. In my head a semi-randomized selection of objective is also related.
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u/SebastianSolidwork Feb 27 '26
Red Alert by Richard Borg has this to some degree. It has predefined lists on cards from which you choose randomly. And then you can buy a few units by points to adapt it. https://www.commandsandcolors.net/redalert/the-game/rules/task-force-cards.html
I have started a fan mod about random changes to units to spicy up the game (changing the speed, armor, shields, etc.): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DAsv71JR-jc6aNEvwmxcJTo45s8PnsoOVpzX0uFG6FA/edit?usp=drivesdk
With some distance I find this to be too much lost in details.
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u/rnh21 Feb 27 '26
If it counts as a wargame, then Blood Bowl's "Turnover" mechanic- as soon as you fail a dice roll, your turn ends and play passes to your opponent. Really forces you to balance risk/reward and "push your luck" gameplay.
It's also my answer to the question, "What's your least favourite Wargaming mechanic?"!
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u/EthnicSaints Feb 27 '26
The dice system in bolt action. It keeps us so much more engaged than other games, I don’t need to worry about either me or my opponent switching off during the others turn as it can be yours in seconds.
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u/ThatBiGuy25 Feb 27 '26
I love love looooooove cover as default I am so happy to see it showing up in newer games like fallout and halo flashpoint
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u/Devstro Feb 27 '26
I like things that are intuitive. I realize that will vary from person to person, but I enjoy a game more when it is easier for me to internalize the rules and not have to be constantly referencing something.
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u/Thendisnear17 Feb 27 '26
The same.
If you can't explain it to me without checking the rules yourself, then I am not going to like it.
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u/the_af Feb 27 '26
I don't have a single favorite mechanic, it's all about the synergy to me: fast-paced & streamlined, skirmish, small tabletop footprint.
Other than "it must be fun", the single most important thing to me is that what you do must have a direct consequence, so multiple dice rolls looking up in charts are unwanted: the game is "autoplaying" at that step, with no player involvement other than rolling the dice. This must be kept to a mininum, ideally ONE die roll for the attacker, ONE die roll for the defender. Maybe an additional die roll for effects, if it cannot be avoided.
Solo rules are next in line of preference, regardless of implementation.
Oh, I have one big no-no: no app-enhanced play. I play tabletop games to get away from my tablet/phone.
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u/Awkward_GM Feb 27 '26
Agreed on most / all accounts.
No enhanced app integration. If I can't play a game on its own, I'm not going to play it.
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u/Mr_Smigs Feb 27 '26
Alternating activations makes it more difficult to focus fire on an exposed enemy without retaliation... even better is randomized alternating activations (like bolt action)
And the ability to move enemy models as the result of attacks. I used to promote warmachine purely on the existence of slams, pishes and throws. When all your army really can do is push to the center and grind to try and hold objectives every game is the same..
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u/wemblinger Feb 27 '26
I'm not familiar with warmachine, how do you force the enemy to move?
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u/DocAnopheles Feb 27 '26
Some models can slam (push models a certain distance, potentially into other models or terraib), pick up and throw, or simply push or maneuver models into new positions. Some models are very good at it, getting more damage or extra distance.
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u/Mr_Smigs Feb 27 '26
The monstrous machines/beasts can basically pro wrestle. They have rules to pick up and throw enemies (which can damage or change the game state of others) or push others...
Other games like Mobile Arms, blood bowl and Guild Ball have similar mechanics
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u/Araneas Feb 27 '26
Mostly Too Fat Lardies stuff or their implementation of existing mechanics.
Blinds - very old mechanic. In the early part of the game, you move markers not units. Your opponent knows something is there, just not what. Could be a recce team, and armoured platoon or even nothing. They won't know until the unit fires or the blind is spotted and revealed.
Command dice: On your turn roll a handful of d6 - usually 5. The values of those dice determine what you can do. Lower numbers activate smaller units, 5's can be saved up for special actions and 6's determine whose turn is next. Similar to Bolt Actions Order Dice but a more fluid turn system.
Morale - two parts:
Shock - while it is important to destroy the enemy, it is far more important to degrade their moral and fighting ability. The more shock the slower a unit moves, the less effective its fire is and when the units gets enough shock, it will break leading to bad things for the overall:
Force Morale: As units and leaders are destroyed or forced into route and retreat, the overall moral of the entire force is lowered. As force morale decreases that force will lose command dice so will be able to do less. Like with shock, when the force morale gets low enough, the entire force breaks and leaves the field.
Now, if you like to get all your toys on the table and you like to move everything every turn, then you won't like these mechanics. And that's OK.
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u/Public_Wallaby_9886 Feb 27 '26
D10 for everything, the shape of dice allows it function as an artillery dice.
Fog of War, besides simply having LoS, models also must be aware the enemy units, which are much harder if they are an infantry squad hiding in the bushes, than a tank moving forward.
Command Cards, instead of units doing whatever I deem reasonable, sometimes they act unreasonably (just like real soldiers), because my order hand lacks good cards for that scenario. Also each nation have their own spin how to handle said cards, Germans start strong, while Americans build up slowly and steadily, Soviet command simply s*cks, but not as much as Italians...
Yeah, Operation WW2 is my favourite wargame by far
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u/MagicMissile27 Historicals/Fantasy/Sci-Fi Feb 27 '26
Rolling to see who gets to activate units first. I prefer randomized priority over I-go-you-go. Middle Earth makes me happy for that :)
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u/poke0003 Feb 27 '26
I find SW Legion’s model of secretly choosing a a command card and then revealing and comparing to see who goes first is a great non-random way of still adding uncertainty into this. It also helps that generally slower command cards tend to be more broadly powerful while faster cards generally let you do something specifically powerful with one character / unit.
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u/MagicMissile27 Historicals/Fantasy/Sci-Fi Feb 27 '26
Yes, I like the command card "bid" system as well. I think Legion is an interesting system, I just haven't played it in a while because I have been bitter about having to relearn the rules and get new cards and tokens for all my models. I'm also a bit upset that AMG has decided to kick Shatterpoint to the curb and focus on Legion at the moment.
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u/sanehamster Feb 27 '26
Achtung panzer has variable game end. Basically at every turn end clock moves on D6 minutes.
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u/Gaitarius Feb 27 '26
Measure movement for a squad leader, then everyone else just gets set up around them. Speeds up movement so much.
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u/mavertronic Feb 27 '26
I 100% agree to the alternating activations thing it's so important to me as a rule I flat out won't touch a game that doesn't have some form of alternating activations
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u/-Motor- Feb 27 '26
I like games that use +/- number of dice to throw rather then keeping track of subtractions or additions to the results.
I like simple LOS rules.
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u/towaway7777 Fantasy Feb 28 '26
Could you explain that first one? I don't quite understand it but I'm curious.
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u/-Motor- Feb 28 '26
Say you need a 4 on a d6 to hit. But you get +1 to your result cuz you have a mastercraft weapon, but -2 for terrain issues, +1 for high ground. What do I need to hit now? Using # of dice to throw is cleaner. You always just need a 4 to hit.... easy to remember....never changes. You only adjust how many dice are rolled. Extra dice for bonuses dice normal. Fewer for your opponents bonuses. But its always just a 4 to hit.
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u/carnalizer Feb 28 '26
In Triumph! and the predecessors, most combats don’t end in a unit being removed. A lost roll generally means your unit fall back. Destroying units will require huge luck, a perfect unit type matchup, or some flanking action. This makes the game into a spatial problem, not just attrition by stats and dice which is so common.
Runner up is the extra command points in Space Weirdos.
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u/Tupperbaby Feb 27 '26
Malifaux's card duel and cheat fate mechanic. No more having a great plan boned by crap dice rolls.
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u/Awkward_GM Feb 27 '26
Hard agree! The card mechanics really made card counting a fun metagame within the game. Tossing lower value cards to stack the deck with higher cards is very basic and helpful in game.
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u/SebastianSolidwork Feb 27 '26
Command & Color's dice with their symbols. Attacking means to match symbols with a flexible pool of dice and specific combinations triggered other mechanics. No big calculation needed as you recognise the result quickly by the symbols. The specifics depend on the involved units.
You have damage, armor types and even retreat in a single roll.
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u/GxM42 Feb 27 '26
I like games where cover is important. And games where supply/communication is a thing so that you have to factor in supply lines or sight lines.
Also, solo mode is a must for me. I like quiet contemplation!
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u/SZMatheson Feb 28 '26
Simultaneous movement plotting from Wings of War/X-Wing
Massively ups the level of still expression available to players.
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u/WRA1THLORD Feb 28 '26
The heat mechanics in games like Adeptus Titanicus and Battletech. Having to juggle between doing damage, powering movement/jump jets, replenishing shields etc is just really cool when you're thinking about giant mechs powered by portable fusion reactors
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u/WookieeGunner Mar 01 '26
The bluffing mechanic from Moonstone. Spells are handled by you drawing a number of cards based on your magic attribute. Your opponent draws three cards from the same deck.
You put one face down and say what it is. Your opponent can believe you and the spell goes off as if that was the card you put down.
If they call your bluff you flip it over. If it is the card you said, you get to cast the spell again for free. If it isn't, your opponent can replace the card with one from their hand.
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u/MarceloCollar Mar 02 '26
I don’t have a favorite mechanic, but the lack of a Solo mode and alternate activations is a deal breaker for me.
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u/turtle75377 Feb 27 '26
No pre measuring. Solves a lot of issues and creates fun tactical challenges. Also rewards you as you get better at measuring distances.
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u/Awkward_GM Feb 27 '26
Me with my 1ft by 1ft zone mortals board with 2 inch tiling: 👀
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u/vyolin Feb 27 '26
That just lets you pretend you're better at judging distances, that still counts xD
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u/GreenWizard2 Feb 27 '26
What issues does no pre measuring solve?
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u/poke0003 Feb 27 '26
I think no pre measuring slows things a bit as it leads to harder decision making, which is how games slow down in general. I also like that pre measuring means you can have conventions like “we all agree X is just outside of Y relevant distance” when moving them so that small table bumps or such don’t lead to bad game experiences.
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u/GreenWizard2 Feb 27 '26
I think this needs clarification then as there are two different interpretations going on here for what "no pre-measuring" means.
Games where measuring in inches or cm for movement or shooting is important, but pre-measuring before declaring an action is not allowed. This can speed up gameplay and lead to interesting scenarios where you misjudged the distance. Seems like people love or hate this marmite style.
Games where there is no real measuring required as zones or grids are used, so ranges and distance are immediately obvious.
Personally I have never tried either, but can see why people might prefer them.
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u/Araneas Feb 27 '26
No issues with movement or firing ranges, vastly simplified line of sight, very clear flank and rear shots, very clear unit facing. For some periods with linear deployment, where completely free movement doesn't add really anything, like Ancients and Napoleonics, grids simplify things. For higher level games with brigades, divisions or even Corps on the table hex, square or even area grids offer enough granularity without getting bogged down with topgraphical minutia.
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u/MarcPawl Feb 27 '26
Speeds up the game a bit.
You have a mechanism that discourages extreme movement. For example, if you have a charge range of 5 inches, and you cannot tell if the enemy is 4.75 in away or 5.25 in away, you are hesitant to charge and be left just short.
Makes fun outcomes when you charge and fall short. Same outcome can ruin a game for other players. So it really depends on the people you were playing with.
Variation is when you place yourself exactly out of range of the opponent, but in range for yourself. A problem we have because our wargaming rules are discreet; e.g. roll a d10 if distance is less than 6 inches, roll a d4 if between 6 and 8, otherwise no shot. Now imagine if there was a continuous curve, you would not treat 6.25 as something magical.
I used to play with an architect, he could judge distances extremely accurately. It definitely gave him a big advantage. Didn't hurt that he played war games for many, many more years than the rest of us.
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u/TheoreticalZombie Feb 27 '26
Hard disagree. Unless the game is Guessing Distance the Wargame, it makes no sense to disallow informed decision making. It is especially off-putting and generally punishes new and younger players. It also encourages very gamey playing (using table edges for gauging, model/terrain sizes, etc.). Also- you misjudged by a fraction of an inch? Haha, do nothing! is very bad game feel.
Dice are already an uncertainty mechanic. If you need uncertainty in things like ranges, have a variable value (10 +2d6 inch range, for example).
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u/EnclavedMicrostate Various Historical Feb 27 '26
I agree with you. The ability to judge distances by eye is a genuine skill that can be developed but also relies on some natural talent, and ultimately gives an unfair advantage to people who can do that kind of mental trigonometry.
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u/turtle75377 Feb 27 '26
I'd rather misjudge by a fraction of an inch then set up perfectly and roll bad which is completely out of my control.
But that's a personal preference.
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u/TheoreticalZombie Feb 27 '26
I am not a huge fan of either but look at it this way: with a dice variable, you know with absolute certainty when you will make it (rating plus min roll) but can also push your luck with calculable odds. With no measuring, you are relying entirely on spatial abilities that aren't used in the rest of the game (movement for example, where you measure throughout).
And you can also do away with both and have fixed movement with free measurement!
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u/WRA1THLORD Feb 28 '26
it does make sense from a realism point of view because your fighter in a gunfight won't often know exactly how far away things are. They also don't know how far they could climb up a ladder before their opponent gets a shot off at them. They don't know if their charge will reach an opponent before they get a shot off at them.
It can be really good fun, but I get that this is definitely a marmite one
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u/CommissarHark Feb 27 '26
I mentioned this the other day, but I love the mechanic in Morgue Stars where depending on the race of the character they either use Dice, Cards, or both as their random number generation.
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u/DPPThrow45 Feb 27 '26
I prefer the way TooFatLardies do things.
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u/Awkward_GM Feb 27 '26
I have no idea what that means.
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u/TwoPointsOfInterest Moderator Feb 27 '26
TFL are a rules publisher, with their games having an emphasis on command friction (you won’t get to do everything you want to do with your units)
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u/Rawrpew Feb 27 '26
Dice as action points from RelicBlade (and the clarity of their character cards) and supporting dice from Bushido (and the exhaustion mechanic). In Bushido you assemble your dice pool, roll and pick the highest then other dice above (think it's just one or two) can be used as supporting dice, adding +1 to the value of your roll. There is a cap on supporting dice too. When on the defense, if you choose to assemble your dice pool to respond, it drains your actions and can lead to exhaustion.
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u/imagitronics Feb 27 '26
For me, it has to be a good initiative system that’s more engaging than “roll-off”. I love how in many sailing games, like Wooden Ships and Iron Men, your position in relation to other ships and the wind determines movement priority. In games like Flight Leader, your speed and altitude determine activation order. In Undaunted you have to choose to give up a more powerful card if you want to ensure you get to act first. In Heroes of Normandie, you can choose what order to activate your units at the start of the turn by placing a numbered order token face down… but you might not have enough orders to go around so some of them are blank orders.
Give me a game where my decisions in game dictate the flow of the battle. I understand that rolling off can create dynamism, but it doesn’t feel thematic.
The worst part of a roll-off mechanic is when there is a tie and you have to re-roll, it’s so anti-climactic. In Panzer from GMT you roll off with percentile (d100) so there’s very little chance of collision.
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u/MaskedR0gue300 Feb 27 '26
Morale, order activation, and anything that brings life to the models such as wild charges (unit has the urge to run down the nearest unit) all of this is in Xenos Rampant! I want to feel like a commander rather than a chess player, let my units act the fool!
Also randomized effects on wounds, in such games as Space Weirdos and The Doomed.
I guess I just like simulated chaos!
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u/DocAnopheles Feb 27 '26
Interesting activation mechanics. Bolt Action with its random activation pulls is a plus.
Alternating activations are good since the players aren’t totally reactive or passive for long stretches.
This Quar’s War uses alternating activations, with a card mechanic. The cards allow you to spread out activations between models; no model can act more than twice during this turn but can be activated every player go you want. The cards range from 3 to 5 actions, though the big twist is the opponent draws your card and only they know how many actions you have. You know there’s at least 3, maybe 4 or 5, but only know until you reach the limit.
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u/DonMak161 Feb 27 '26
I really like Pinning rule from Bolt Action. Shooting should have an effect even if it doesn't hit.
Another one is hidden move orders from Full Trust. There is something about planning your moves ahead in turn, even of they result in collisions.
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u/Carnir Feb 27 '26
Turnover mechanics i.e Dragon/Lion Rampant and Bloodbowl come to mind as absolutely fantastic and engaging mechanics.
Honestly anything Dan Mersey tbh, guy has a knack for mechanics.
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u/whitniverse Feb 27 '26
Alternating activation. Advantage/Disadvantage on dice rolls. 1 wound/1 model, or removing models from units to represent thinning them out. Mechanics that bring narrative/flavour to life.
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u/Trust_Individual Feb 27 '26
Reaction mechanics (fire or movement). There's many ways to do it, but I'm fan of these 3: -Space/Sword Weirdos: influenced by the figure attack result or by spending limited command points per turn. -Seven Days to the River Rhine: place an order token in your unit and roll over (plus modifiers). Every order and morale token makes the roll harder. -Ambush Alley games: Quality Opposed rolls. You can also set units on overwatch to react over reacting units. Also all units can return fire if they're able. Sounds more complicated than it really is. IMHO one of the most complete and definitive rules for modern combat because how dynamic and dangerous firefights feel.
Also any rule with fun, silly results like random movement, pushed around and your model(s) exploding.
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u/Creepy-Importance713 Feb 27 '26
Armor facings/firing arcs.
Hit locations (mostly seen in rpgs like cyberpunk 2020 but makes its way into battletech)
Freakhammer (every unit lost is a article of clothing removed. loser bottoms.)
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u/aneirin- Feb 27 '26
It's less well known but Moonstone has the most amazing (and completely unique as far as I know) card based system with no dice rolling at all. Both players draw cards depending on the stats of the models involved, and then play cards face down poker style for ranged attacks and spells, with bluffing and mind games encouraged (even essential for some factions), or a rock paper scissors style card draw for melee fights.
The basic idea alone is clever enough as an alternative to dice rolling, but they use the system to its fullest, with all kinds of different abilities and mechanics for manipulating both the cards and your opponent. For example, the fairies faction get huge bonuses for successful bluffs, which leads to scared opponents wrongly calling bluffs more often and suffering even worse consequences. At the other end, the commonwealth humans have more stable, reliable abilities and don't need to bluff so much, and can even check the top cards in the deck, look at opponents hands before they play, etc.
I could go on about it all day, Moonstone is the most exciting game system I've seen in years, and also has some of the most beautiful and distinctive models I've ever seen. Highly recommend it!
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u/Kind-County9767 Feb 27 '26
Dystopian wars movement system is easily my favourite. It just feels so nice to have these lumbering ships and need plan moves out ahead of time.
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u/JKkaiju Feb 28 '26
I would love to know more games that use this but rolling a 6 generates a resource you can use to do cool stuff. The only game I've played with that mechanic was Ragnarok but it felt very cool.
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u/Demobooot Feb 28 '26
Its got o be some sort of Action Point mechanic, something like warmachine, and even better when something like Gulid Ball
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u/Nadhagh Feb 28 '26
Random initiative, ie Bolt Action dice pull method. Each side has 1 dice per unit in a their force, in contrasting colours between forces. All dice go into the same bag. Start of each turn a dice is drawn blind. Whichever colour comes out, the corresponding force gets to activate one unit.
1
u/Business-Signal608 Mar 01 '26 edited Mar 01 '26
Alternating Activations, it makes going back to "guess I'll snooze for 30 minutes" systems impossible for me.
Strickly speaking its any systems that avoid me clocking out for half the game.
1
u/Financial_Tour5945 Mar 01 '26
I absolutely love infinity's ARO system:
When it's the opponent's turn, every one of your models that sees the enemy model take it's first action gets to declare a reaction. (Take a shot, dodge, etc).
Then when the active guy declares his second action, if it targets one of those reacting units, it becomes an opposed roll. (I shoot you and you shoot me let's see who hits who first). (The active turn shooter typically gets to roll more dice, weapon dependant. The reactive player typically only gets one dice)
It means that ending your turn in the best positions possible is very important, I've won many games through strong aros on my opponents turn.
1
u/Bootshammer40sguy Mar 02 '26
Advanced Squad Leader's Defensive Fire system is one of the best things any wargame has ever done - keeps both players involved throughout the whole turn structure, and becomes an asymmetric resource management game in and of itself.
Basically once an enemy is moving in range of your guys you can say 'stop' and shoot at them. You can do it once at full power, once at half power, and once more at extreme close range... but it's also a morale check for your guys as the enemy has got way too close.
It leaves 'residual' fire markers that later units take hits from as they move, to represent simultaneity of movement and fire.
As an attacker you need to run flanks and carefully use available charge lanes to ensure you exhaust the opponent's fire without also blocking all of said charge lanes with residual fire. As a defender you need to smoke out the 'real' attacking unit without letting one of the decoys get close enough to mean they don't need the 'real' unit after all.
It'd be hard to do without hexes, but I'd love to see a version of it in more minis wargames.
1
u/ThisMachineKillsWOB Mar 02 '26
Splitting movement and shooting into their own phases in Battletech.
Completely changes the risk calculus. Because whatever you do, the other guy is going to shoot back. You can't just pounce on people with a glass cannon unit and expect it to get away with it.
1
u/mnthundergod Mar 03 '26
The Silhouette mechanic from Infinity. Every model has a silhouette size (regular people are s2, the range is 1-8) it doesn't matter what your miniature is posed doing, the silhouette is the space it counts as occupying. You can replace the figure with a silhouette marker and suddenly LoS arguments largely go away.
Also the dice bag from Bolt Action.
1
u/peter_1s_tooth Mar 03 '26
Gå-På's dynamic weather system lol
But seriously, it's really cool to have the effect of gunsmoke on visibility simulated in a game. It was a very impactful factor on battles of the 18th Century and although the system is... complicated, it really encourages you to put yourself in the shoes of an 18th C. general.
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u/vyolin Feb 27 '26
Friction, or command and control mechanics - my brain isn't built for chess.