5 Core WW2

We've messed around with the great modern skirmish rules 5 Core before, using SF miniatures. I wanted to try it out for a small fight between American Paratroopers and German troops using John's beautiful troops and terrain.

The US forces consisting of 3 squads of 5 paratroopers had to blow up an ammo dump hidden in a fortified farmhouse. The Germans had one command unit in town, while two other squads were just coming back from patrol. The Germans are unaware of the US objective.
Because the Germans got the advantage of defense, the paratroopers got a small mortar asset to call in.

Both sides benefited from "Scurry" moves early on. Some well timed "Firefight" rolls later helped the now in position German MGs tear up the GIs.

I didn't take too many pictures. I actually got to play this time.
5 Core gives a tense game where "real world" tactics tend to payoff. A well placed soldier can hold off larger forces until outflanked. The paratroopers were able to utilize their mortar assets to take out a few stubborn dug in German units, but unlike a lot of rules, the mortar didn't feel over powering.
These rules have really grown on me for the scale of WW2 games I want to do.
You should check them out.

5Core SciFi Game

We had a small group last Thursday. Only four instead of the usual 6-8. Perfect for a nice 5Core game.
I've covered how much I like this game in past posts, so no need to cover that again. The newest version clears up some things and provides some nice missions.

Each player controlled 5 models with the two sides representing the Union and Rebel sides.
Rebel forces had to blow up one of the 6 objectives, while the Union forces had to contact 2 objectives.
Neither side knew what the others mission was, which made things interesting for our small forces.
It was a fun, and more brutal game than usual. We lost 4 of our 10 men. About the same for other side. Both sides pulled off their missions, so I guess it was a tie.
Still, a lot of fun.

Five Core: Battle for Meridian Prime Pt IV

The Confed attacks were at a standstill. They needed a break. That break came in the form of captured Union data housed in a service robot. Now the Rebels had to grab the bot and get it out of Union held territory.

The scenario involved 3 Rebel players starting in one corner and the 3 Union players split between two other corners to try and cut them off. The players only knew the robot was in the center of town.
Several great rolls early on by the Union commander gave them back to back "Scurry" rolls, allowing them to get to town first.

Then, once they found the droid, it became an on going battle to get the bot off the board. They would lose a lot of men trying this.
Meanwhile, the mesa north of town was covered in blood. Two squad fought for control of the high ground. It would prove a brutal little fight.
In the end, the Rebs just lost too many men. The important plans would stay in Union hands.

 This IS the droid you're looking for..

5 Core: Battle for Meridian Prime, pt. 3

crackle...crackle...."Bravo 2, this Blue Leader, respond."
"Blue Leader, this Bravo 2, over."
"Bravo 2, be advised, the rebels have broken through. They will be approaching your sector very soon. Hold your positions until relieved. I repeat, hold your positions until relieved. The bridges must be held. Sending a squad of Heavies your way. Over."
"We won't need them. Just rebels scum si........", crackle, crackle.
"Bravo 2, please respond! Bravo 2, what's happening?"
"Blue Leader, they have a tank"
This was I third round of games using the Core 5 system. I really like these rules for small unit actions. We've learned a lot along the way. I've been slowly adding things from other supplements and borrowed some ideas from the company level rules for tanks and vehicles. This is still and infantry game at heart, so the vehicles are really a support feature, and not the main part of the game. They proved impressive and fragile at the same time.

The Rebels have won the last two games.  It was time for the Union forces to make a stand. They were given 3 mechs to defend the town. Tough enough to shrug off small arms fire, but not anti-tank or vehicle mounted weapons. They would get reinforcements in the form of some tough-ass, power armored Union Marines if I rolled a "1" on the Event dice.
The Rebels got some troops to bring in later, too. A sniper, and a walking tank.

The first couple of turns were spent getting into position. Several "Scurry" results on the Action dice helped both sides with this. Scurries, are not subject to Reaction fire.
Then, the Union machine gun team opened up from a rooftop. Several Rebels either went down or ran off.
There were short burst of Firefights and some sneaking about, and definitely a lot more death than we have had. Most losses until now have been do to soldiers running off.
At one point, one the mechs got in a beautiful position, and unleashed a flame thrower. Truly a terror weapon. Not only did he cook several rebels, but forced more to run off. But then he got his. The tank used his "laser" to smoke the mech.
Then the tank was in turn, hit by an anti-tank round. BOOM!
I

n the end, the rebels just couldn't push through. A great game, though.
For the Union counter attack, I'm going to scale up battle-wise, and scale down miniature-wise, for a big battle with tanks and air support. Meridian bleeds on...

5 Core / 5 Parsecs from Home Playtest

I read a lot of good things from bloggers I like about the 5 Core rules series by Ivan Sorensen. They are designed for small skirmishes with between 5-9 models per player. Just the scale I use for my own rules. We only had a few Basement Generals come by last night so it was a perfect chance to play.

I think 5 Core does a fantastic job of recreating the tension of small modern skirmishes without a lot of rules. The guts of the main rulebook being only a couple dozen pages.

This killing machine dropped 3 enemies in 3 shots.

The rules could easily be called "roll and look for 1s & 6s, because that's all that really matters". Before each player turn, a player rolls a die and if a 1 or 6 shows up something special happens, "Scurry" or "Firefight". If this doesn't happen, then a player can activate 2 members of their unit.
I really, really love how cover works. No screwing around with how much the model is showing or line of sight. It is assumed every model is trying his best to not get shot, so unless he actively "peeks" around a corner or out of cover he cannot be shot. Period.
Short range weapons (pistols, SMGs) only shoot 12", everything else is in range. Roll one color die for KIll, another color for Shock. Look for 1s or 6s.
Sounds easy, but the tactics are where this game shines.
Throw in the Five Parsecs from Home SciFi expansion with its really slick campaign/RPG system and I am sold.
I used OLD SCHOOL WH40K for this skirmish, but 15mm SciFi I think is the way to go. It might get me to by a few WW2 miniatures again for some commando raids...