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Osprey Wargames #20
Gaslands: Post-Apocalyptic Vehicular Combat
Shoot, ram, skid, and loot your way through the ruins of civilization with Gaslands , a tabletop wargame of car-on-car destruction in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Players control small fleets of armed vehicles in battles for resources, dominance, and survival. With rules for multiple vehicle types (from motorbikes to big rigs), varied special weapons and accessories (including oil slicks, caltrops, and nitro boosters), and a host of options for scenarios, environmental conditions, crew, and campaigns, players can tailor games to match their own visions for an anarchic future.
64 pages, Paperback
Published November 21, 2017
66 people are currently reading
26 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
February 15, 2018
A very interesting setting and well thought out rules. I am now scouting charity shops for vehicles with pre-made battle damage as well as new, pristine ones from the new shops.
There is only a handful of typos and errors. The need to ensure well reasoned and explained movement rules may have led to a firmer editing process vs Kobolds & Cobblestones.
There is only a handful of typos and errors. The need to ensure well reasoned and explained movement rules may have led to a firmer editing process vs Kobolds & Cobblestones.
April 24, 2019
An interesting set of rules that allow you to take basic model cars eg Hot Wheels and add a few weapons eg left over bits from 40K models and you have a vehicle combat game.
Having read the rules, but not played the game, I am impressed with how comprehensive they are, but they are not as simple as I had hoped.
Having read the rules, but not played the game, I am impressed with how comprehensive they are, but they are not as simple as I had hoped.
February 3, 2020
I read and play RPGs, not wargames, and not miniatures, so I picked this game up on a whim after hearing a friend talk about it. I thought it might have some roleplaying aspects to it, but it doesn’t. It is strictly a miniatures wargame that you can play with your old (or new) Hot Wheels.
All the same, I was impressed by the both the book and the mechanics of the game. I should say here that I have not played the game or watched any YouTube videos of play, so I’m responding entirely to the text here.
Gaslands is not just about any old cars fighting; there is a particular setting, and Hutchinson does a great job of bringing that setting to life quickly and colorfully. The whole thing is described in half a page. Humans sucked all the resources out the Earth, and then the wealthy ones took off for Mars to build a new society and left the Earth in shambles for the poor. To make matters worse, the Martians then attacked Earth for what remained. Now there is a new form of TV entertainment on Mars. Watching Earthlings engage in vehicular battle for the chance to get off this rock and go to Mars. As players, you play out those battles for the entertainment of the rich.
Hutchinson makes use of this setting to create flavor and to give certain cars different powers, as there are a handful of team owners who specialize in different technology. There are rules for playing one-shots or for playing a whole season of the show to see who can win the promise of leaving this hell-hole. Finally, the art and pictures breathe life into the background Hutchinson has put together. It’s a remarkably complete and impressive world given how small the book is and how much of it is needed to explain the rules and the various variations of play.
The mechanics are both simple and complex. There is a point-buy system for creating your team in any given competition. You pay so much for the base frame of your vehicle (buggy, bike, truck, performance car, etc.) and then you can fit it out with special weapons and specially skilled drivers.
Play itself is taken in turns, each turn being a walk through the various gears the players are in. So you begin in first gear, and all the cars in first gear or higher get to go. The higher your gear, the more turns you will have in a round. But the higher your gear, the fewer options you will have to control the movements of your car. Sixth gear is the highest gear.
There are movement templates that let you make sharper or gentler turns, or move farther or shorter distances depending on your current gear. To keep you from acting on perfect information, if you pick up a template, you have to use it. In the heat of battle and the roar of the engine, you don’t have time for careful measurements, so make your best guess and hope that you choose correctly. It’s a simple mechanic, but a cool one.
Once you have selected your movement, it’s not a simple as just moving. You will throw a number of special dice, the number determined by your car’s handling ability. The dice are six-sided. One side has a “hazard” symbol. Another has a “spin” symbol. Another has a “slide” symbol. The three remaining sides have a “shift” symbol. Shifts are good. They let you cancel out hazards, spins, or slides, and they let you shift your gear up or down one. Hazards give you a hazard token. Each car can get only so many hazard tokens before you crash your car. Spin and slide do exactly what they sound like, making your car slide a little out of control or spin to face an unanticipated direction. You end your move by resolving slides, spins, and any collisions that may have occurred.
Then you have the opportunity to attack. You get a number of attacks equal to the number of crewmembers you have in your vehicle (determined by the frame of your vehicle). Most weapons have a set facing, so you can fire only straight ahead, straight behind, or to one of the sides. To get a gun that can swivel in all directions costs more points at the time of building your vehicle.
And that’s it, rinse and repeat.
To me, the real smart decision in the design is the creation of hazard tokens. It’s one thing to just try to ram or shoot the shit out of another vehicle. Have to worry about all that while you try to keep from accumulating hazard tokens is fantastic. Every turn you have to make a number of rewarding decisions, fueled primarily by the hazard tokens. First, you have to choose your template, which is a great, but after that, you have to decide how to spend the shifts from your role (and of course, 50% of your throws should be shifts). Do you need to change gears? Do you need to remove hazards? Can you take an extra hazard to get a little extra from your move? Battling the other players becomes only one aspect of play. You are always and constantly playing yourself as well because of those hard decisions.
If I were to play a miniature wargame, this would be the one I would like to get to the table.
All the same, I was impressed by the both the book and the mechanics of the game. I should say here that I have not played the game or watched any YouTube videos of play, so I’m responding entirely to the text here.
Gaslands is not just about any old cars fighting; there is a particular setting, and Hutchinson does a great job of bringing that setting to life quickly and colorfully. The whole thing is described in half a page. Humans sucked all the resources out the Earth, and then the wealthy ones took off for Mars to build a new society and left the Earth in shambles for the poor. To make matters worse, the Martians then attacked Earth for what remained. Now there is a new form of TV entertainment on Mars. Watching Earthlings engage in vehicular battle for the chance to get off this rock and go to Mars. As players, you play out those battles for the entertainment of the rich.
Hutchinson makes use of this setting to create flavor and to give certain cars different powers, as there are a handful of team owners who specialize in different technology. There are rules for playing one-shots or for playing a whole season of the show to see who can win the promise of leaving this hell-hole. Finally, the art and pictures breathe life into the background Hutchinson has put together. It’s a remarkably complete and impressive world given how small the book is and how much of it is needed to explain the rules and the various variations of play.
The mechanics are both simple and complex. There is a point-buy system for creating your team in any given competition. You pay so much for the base frame of your vehicle (buggy, bike, truck, performance car, etc.) and then you can fit it out with special weapons and specially skilled drivers.
Play itself is taken in turns, each turn being a walk through the various gears the players are in. So you begin in first gear, and all the cars in first gear or higher get to go. The higher your gear, the more turns you will have in a round. But the higher your gear, the fewer options you will have to control the movements of your car. Sixth gear is the highest gear.
There are movement templates that let you make sharper or gentler turns, or move farther or shorter distances depending on your current gear. To keep you from acting on perfect information, if you pick up a template, you have to use it. In the heat of battle and the roar of the engine, you don’t have time for careful measurements, so make your best guess and hope that you choose correctly. It’s a simple mechanic, but a cool one.
Once you have selected your movement, it’s not a simple as just moving. You will throw a number of special dice, the number determined by your car’s handling ability. The dice are six-sided. One side has a “hazard” symbol. Another has a “spin” symbol. Another has a “slide” symbol. The three remaining sides have a “shift” symbol. Shifts are good. They let you cancel out hazards, spins, or slides, and they let you shift your gear up or down one. Hazards give you a hazard token. Each car can get only so many hazard tokens before you crash your car. Spin and slide do exactly what they sound like, making your car slide a little out of control or spin to face an unanticipated direction. You end your move by resolving slides, spins, and any collisions that may have occurred.
Then you have the opportunity to attack. You get a number of attacks equal to the number of crewmembers you have in your vehicle (determined by the frame of your vehicle). Most weapons have a set facing, so you can fire only straight ahead, straight behind, or to one of the sides. To get a gun that can swivel in all directions costs more points at the time of building your vehicle.
And that’s it, rinse and repeat.
To me, the real smart decision in the design is the creation of hazard tokens. It’s one thing to just try to ram or shoot the shit out of another vehicle. Have to worry about all that while you try to keep from accumulating hazard tokens is fantastic. Every turn you have to make a number of rewarding decisions, fueled primarily by the hazard tokens. First, you have to choose your template, which is a great, but after that, you have to decide how to spend the shifts from your role (and of course, 50% of your throws should be shifts). Do you need to change gears? Do you need to remove hazards? Can you take an extra hazard to get a little extra from your move? Battling the other players becomes only one aspect of play. You are always and constantly playing yourself as well because of those hard decisions.
If I were to play a miniature wargame, this would be the one I would like to get to the table.
July 18, 2018
Gaslands is a tactical wargame that combines three great ingredients: a post-apocalyptic aesthetic of vehicular war that we all know and love from Mad Max, a template-based movement system reminiscent of Star Wars: X-Wing, and mod-your-own post-apocalyptic minis using Hot Wheels or Matchbox cars.
The system is pretty simple. You need to go fast to win, but going fast restricts your ability to turn and stacks hazard tokens, which can cause a wreck. Skids and spins add an element of chaos to maneuvering. Cars are armed with weapons ranging from 'a busload of half-life war boys with pistols' to heavy ordnance like rockets and machine guns, and fun stuff like oil slicks, tesla coils, and exploding rams. There are rules for a variety of scenarios, from death races to zombie mashes, and some notes on running extended campaigns. Rules explanations are technical and clear, and abundant color artwork adds a lot of flavor to the book.
I haven't played the game yet, but the rules seem serviceable. The use of gear-shift phases, which mean fast vehicles act more often, is inspired. I'm a little concerned that there's so much dice-rolling: roll when you move, roll when you shoot, roll defense. I think the system could have been streamlined a little, though I can also arguments in favor of dynamic defense, and roll on move is necessary to add uncertainty in combat which X-Wing gets through hidden maneuver dials.
Caveats aside, the best argument in favor of this game is the DIY-post-apoc-punk aesthetic. The rules are $11 on Amazon. Hot Wheels cars are a dollar per. If you're fancy, you can spend another $20 getting laser-cut move templates and custom dice, or you can make your own with a cereal box and pair of scissors.
Racers, start your engines, chrome your mouths, and prepare to Die Heroic on the Fury Road!
The system is pretty simple. You need to go fast to win, but going fast restricts your ability to turn and stacks hazard tokens, which can cause a wreck. Skids and spins add an element of chaos to maneuvering. Cars are armed with weapons ranging from 'a busload of half-life war boys with pistols' to heavy ordnance like rockets and machine guns, and fun stuff like oil slicks, tesla coils, and exploding rams. There are rules for a variety of scenarios, from death races to zombie mashes, and some notes on running extended campaigns. Rules explanations are technical and clear, and abundant color artwork adds a lot of flavor to the book.
I haven't played the game yet, but the rules seem serviceable. The use of gear-shift phases, which mean fast vehicles act more often, is inspired. I'm a little concerned that there's so much dice-rolling: roll when you move, roll when you shoot, roll defense. I think the system could have been streamlined a little, though I can also arguments in favor of dynamic defense, and roll on move is necessary to add uncertainty in combat which X-Wing gets through hidden maneuver dials.
Caveats aside, the best argument in favor of this game is the DIY-post-apoc-punk aesthetic. The rules are $11 on Amazon. Hot Wheels cars are a dollar per. If you're fancy, you can spend another $20 getting laser-cut move templates and custom dice, or you can make your own with a cereal box and pair of scissors.
Racers, start your engines, chrome your mouths, and prepare to Die Heroic on the Fury Road!
February 5, 2018
An interesting little wargame.
I miss some of the crunchy detail from Car Wars (mechanics for catching air off ramps, shooting out tires, etc) but I like that the game is actually fast enough to play. But I guess you can’t have your cake and eat it too. I’m also a bit disappointed in how few mechanics really support the feeling of the TV series written into the game’s setting. I guess I was hoping for some relationship mechanics to drive drama for the fictional audience, like Heat in World Wide Wrestling. But I don’t think that kind of thing shows up in wargames yet.
All told, taken for what it is (as opposed to what I wish it was) this is a slick little game that lets you play with toy cars. I look forward to getting it to the table.
I miss some of the crunchy detail from Car Wars (mechanics for catching air off ramps, shooting out tires, etc) but I like that the game is actually fast enough to play. But I guess you can’t have your cake and eat it too. I’m also a bit disappointed in how few mechanics really support the feeling of the TV series written into the game’s setting. I guess I was hoping for some relationship mechanics to drive drama for the fictional audience, like Heat in World Wide Wrestling. But I don’t think that kind of thing shows up in wargames yet.
All told, taken for what it is (as opposed to what I wish it was) this is a slick little game that lets you play with toy cars. I look forward to getting it to the table.
May 15, 2018
I've seen a lot of discussion about this game, so naturally I couldn't pass on picking it up. Basically, it's a system to take toy cars (Matchbox, Hot Wheels, etc), put weapons and armor on them, and play a race/demolition derby game against your friends. Movement is done with templates, which should be familiar to many people by now. After reading the rules, it seems like a blast- I really look forward to having the time to play it!
June 27, 2018
Osprey does it again
This company knows how to pick winners! Very imaginative and clearly playtested vehicular mayhem. With an hour’s work copying and cutting and $10 dollars in toy cars, you can be playing a game of car wars and racing. Of course, you can also print 3D terrain, buy lots of mini weapons and armor, get a new game table and go insane. Not that I did this, of course.
This company knows how to pick winners! Very imaginative and clearly playtested vehicular mayhem. With an hour’s work copying and cutting and $10 dollars in toy cars, you can be playing a game of car wars and racing. Of course, you can also print 3D terrain, buy lots of mini weapons and armor, get a new game table and go insane. Not that I did this, of course.
April 16, 2018
Looks as though they might have solved the glacial pace of Car Wars by adding in the use of templates--and using modified Hot Wheels as the playing pieces is genius. However, it looks as though the rules will take some practice in order for the game to move quickly and smoothly. I haven't played it yet,so the jury is still out.
September 15, 2019
I played Gaslands before I'd read the rules. The guys I played with had most of it right, but not all. Still, we had a blast. The rules aren't as clear as they could be, but having played Car Wars and Autoduel, Gaslands is, hands down, a much better game. The idea of using Hot Wheels cars is really great, but you can do without if you can't lay hands on any. Loads of flaming and exploding fun.
May 26, 2018
Solid Game
Sensible rules and really FUN! Highly recommended for any car and war game enthusiast. And now you have a use for all those old Hot Wheel and Matchbox cars sitting in the attic.
Sensible rules and really FUN! Highly recommended for any car and war game enthusiast. And now you have a use for all those old Hot Wheel and Matchbox cars sitting in the attic.
March 29, 2018
Nicely streamlined, deliberately fast-moving skirmish game. Has been fun modifying and painting up Matchbox cars into post-apocalyptic death machines for it. Looking forward to playing this.
September 16, 2018
An incredibly simple, but amazingly fun sounding rule set.
Will probably go out and buy hotwheels to paint black right... now.
Will probably go out and buy hotwheels to paint black right... now.
January 28, 2019
Fun little game, great rule book with pictures and back story.
April 28, 2019
Fun racing game, some interesting fluff, rather reminiscent of Hardwired.
April 30, 2021
I am eager to play, but haven't yet. The mechanics seem solid
June 11, 2018
Great ruleset. Looking forward to getting some games in.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews