What do you think?
Rate this book
One-hour Skirmish Wargames: Fast-play Dice-less Rules for Small-unit Actions from Napoleonics to Sci-Fi
Many wargamers enjoy the challenge of skirmish games where, instead of the strategy of vast armies portrayed by traditional wargames, the focus is on the tactics of a small unit. However, skirmish rules are often so complex that it can take hours of rolling dice, consulting tables and recording data to recreate what would in reality be a fast and furious firefight lasting just minutes. Now these new rules make it possible to recapture the speed and intensity of these actions where every man, and every second, counts. The basic rules are supported by sections which give special rules and scenarios to capture the flavor of a range of different periods, from Napoleonic to Modern Warfare and beyond with Sci-Fi. From the 95th Rifles scouting for Wellington, Western gunfights and WWI trench raids, through WW2 parachute assaults or Special Forces strikes in Afghanistan, or even Space Marines storming a space station, Squad Firefights elegantly simple system allows you to focus on proper tactical decisions rather than rolling buckets of dice or calculating masses of modifiers.
120 pages, Paperback
Published November 2, 2018
1 person is currently reading
21 people want to read
About the author
John Lambshead
39 books16 followersEducated Brunel University of Technology, West London, retired career research scientist British Museum (Natural History), London.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 9, 2020
Really enjoyed play dynamic and rules outlined in this book. After the first couple chapters it's more of a reference guide for different military timeframes. I'm excited to teach my boys how to use this deck of cards gaming mechanic to play with their squadrons of little green army men.
During the COVID-19 Pandemic this book is a free checkout form Hoopla.
During the COVID-19 Pandemic this book is a free checkout form Hoopla.
September 1, 2020
Very accessible rules system. Lightweight and mobile. Great scenarios. Anyone interested in the hobby will find this a useful addition to their library.
August 4, 2023
A charming book, filled with wry humour clearly from the mind of a long-time wargamer, presenting an excellent "skeleton" set of diceless wargame rules, using packs of the standard 52 playing cards in place of dice (or other mechanisms) as the randomising element.
The interesting mechanic that the revealing of Jokers 'ends the turn' (no matter at what point in the play it happens) provides for an unpredictable urgency to play, particularly if you have an objective based scenario like 'reach point X' or 'complete action A at point B" - theoretically, you could potentially have a 'complete' game take only a few minutes if an unusually low number of action points & unusually high number of jokers are drawn.
The skeleton nature of this ruleset means that the players need to have a good idea of how they want to play, and to what end, to make the most of it. The scenarios presented (including a genuinely funny Dan Dare inspired one) show the flexibility inherent here.
Highly recommended.
The interesting mechanic that the revealing of Jokers 'ends the turn' (no matter at what point in the play it happens) provides for an unpredictable urgency to play, particularly if you have an objective based scenario like 'reach point X' or 'complete action A at point B" - theoretically, you could potentially have a 'complete' game take only a few minutes if an unusually low number of action points & unusually high number of jokers are drawn.
The skeleton nature of this ruleset means that the players need to have a good idea of how they want to play, and to what end, to make the most of it. The scenarios presented (including a genuinely funny Dan Dare inspired one) show the flexibility inherent here.
Highly recommended.
June 13, 2019
This book provides an interesting mechanism, using cards to achieve a greater range of probability than the traditional dice driven systems.
The periods covered range from the first black powder weapons through to high science fiction. The rules are designed for combat mainly with ranged weapons, melee being short and bloody. Each period introduces new rules, such as vehicles and machine guns, and is followed by a scenario.
The system is designed to be fast and furious. The simple approach can lead to a feeling that the rules lack period colour. However, the key to this is the scenario design; there is are sections on scenario design and campaigns.
I am looking forward to trying the rules out in anger. The rules support and encourage the development of house rules, and this book is a solid foundation.
The periods covered range from the first black powder weapons through to high science fiction. The rules are designed for combat mainly with ranged weapons, melee being short and bloody. Each period introduces new rules, such as vehicles and machine guns, and is followed by a scenario.
The system is designed to be fast and furious. The simple approach can lead to a feeling that the rules lack period colour. However, the key to this is the scenario design; there is are sections on scenario design and campaigns.
I am looking forward to trying the rules out in anger. The rules support and encourage the development of house rules, and this book is a solid foundation.
September 24, 2018
Marvellous set of 'toolbox' rules, which seems to cover most of the periods I am interested in dabbling with.
Everything works though a deck of normal playing cards, and whilst the rules are simple, they are comprehensive enough to cover most things you would need in an average game.
The way the rules are structured and how the cards are used also make it easy to add in any extra bits you might feel are essential .
I really, really like these rules, they might not suit the 'rivet-counters' as there are no extensive tables, wacky dice, or enormous army lists to digest, however they do give a crackingly good game
Everything works though a deck of normal playing cards, and whilst the rules are simple, they are comprehensive enough to cover most things you would need in an average game.
The way the rules are structured and how the cards are used also make it easy to add in any extra bits you might feel are essential .
I really, really like these rules, they might not suit the 'rivet-counters' as there are no extensive tables, wacky dice, or enormous army lists to digest, however they do give a crackingly good game
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews