UM010

A free article by download for this title.  Terrain Building by Kurt Benson.  This download can be had for free from HERE.

It works alongside the UM010 title but can also inspire on its own.

This expansion title began as a way to randomly generate terrain and such for the USE ME system of game titles in 15mm scale. Titles such as UM001 USE ME 15mm Science Fiction and UM003 USE ME World War Two among others. It was also used in the testing for UM012 USE ME Alien Safari with a lot of success. After some interest by the Notables Yahoo Group in a game weather generator when the idea was mentioned in posts the word count expanded a bit. Then a couple of Notables mentioned how they were using the easily grasped USE ME system to introduce their offspring to Miniature War Gaming. This sort of tied the whole idea together for a war-game supplement. So here we are!

Ten titles are now in the USE ME series and in fact while this tenth one by Kurt Benson, author of UM008 USE ME Wild West, was under development three more were also being penned!

So what do you get in the pages of this expansion title? Read on to find out.

 

CONTENTS OF PRODUCT:

There is no game engine in this book you will need another USE ME title to make full use of it. It is important to mention this as the removal of all the game mechanics has made space for all of these sections.

First off the bat is a short 'Designers Notes' page where Kurt outlines how the Support Pack works and also how it came about from sources such as Alternative Armies 'MOTH' squad level science fiction rules set in the Ion Age. Right on the heels of this is 'Strategy 101' where the overarching approach to tabletop battles is covered by reference to why combatants fight and how gaming groups should handle this. Guidelines for bunkers and also alterations to points costs in USE ME for set up's that favour the attacker or defender. All you need to get you to the table with your platoon, army or squad.

Next is 'Tactics 101' where discussion takes place as to how your own and the opponents force relates to each other and how this might come out in missions and on the wargames table. The book then outlines mission types such as 'move to engage', 'blitzkrieg', 'fighting withdrawal', 'hostage', 'ambush', 'Patrol' and 'Raid'. Each of these mission templates tells you how they work and how points values, terrain, objectives and more can be altered to fit that template. All of this gets you set up and playing for an objective without the need for head scratching.

After Kurt has got you on the table and given you a mission to fight out he then proceeds to discuss 'Building the Props', that is how to make easy and affordable terrain for your wargaming. From the raw materials to the tools to use for the construction of Hills, Flocking, Roads, Rivers, Sand and also simple buildings too. Vital knowledge from a very experienced wargamer.

Laying the Board comes next and gives the reader a simple but ingenuous system to look any a wargame table and divide it into nine quadrants which can then be filled with your terrain and miniatures as per your Tactics and Strategy choices. Basic rules for the use of the centre quadrant for objectives are followed by detailed sections concerning City Fights. Kurt makes the analogy of the a City to a Human Body. With the Heart, the Soul, the Hands, Head, Gut and Legs all covering different parts of a city such as docks or a spaceport and ways to fight over them. After this the same treatment is given to Small Towns, Open Ground, Rainforest, Glaciers, Deserts and more. While the book is mainly aimed as historical or near future warfare there are also parts given over to science fiction with High Oxygen Atmos, Toxic, Thin Atmosphere, High or Low Gravity environments and how they are played out.

Now that the troops and the ground are all sorted out it is time to look to the skies! USE ME Support Pack contains a full Weather System for giving your games that added element of complication and or realism. Weather is explained and its game influences given including the effects of Tornado's, Ice, Dust Devils and more such as Blizzards. This part of the book ends with four weather tables for random generation based on temperatures from hot to temperate then cold and then frozen.

USE ME Support Pack is pocket sized and packed full. It gives you a really good read with lots of useful advice in its pages. It will make you smile and be a favoured companion at your gaming table. Go on give it a whirl!

HERE IS A RUN DOWN OF JUST WHAT YOU GET IN THE BOOKLET.

Frontis Page pg1
Introduction and Contents pg2
What is Support Pack & Designers Notes pg4
Strategy 101 pg4-6
Tactics 101 pg6-11
Building the Props pg12-15
Laying the Board pg16
The Standard Pattern Diagram pg17
City Fights pg18-21
Non City Fights pg22-25
Sci-fi Fights pg26
Weather for War pg27-30
USE ME Titles for Support pg31
Free Resources pg32


MINIATURE RANGES SUITABLE FOR PRODUCT:

This wholly depends on which genre of USE ME you decide to use Support Pack with. All 15mm scale miniatures as listed with your chosen title will be suitable.

Promotion for Product:

When you purchase a copy of USE ME from 15mm.co.uk you get access to two brilliant promotions. Here are the details.

Firstly this booklet qualifies for the specially discount MAGAZINE postage rate world wide. If you order only this USE ME booklet (no other books or miniatures but it can be multiple USE ME Titles) then you can select magazine for your shipping region and pay only 1.00GBP postage (UK) or 2.50GBP (Europe, USA and ROW). All non UK orders are by airmail too! Secondly when the booklet is in your hands turn to its back page and your can gain access to the following. A promotional code to use on the 15mm.co.uk website which will get you 5% off your next order from us!

There are also many FREE files for USE ME including scenarios, templates, rosters, optional mechanics and more which you can have by email for free by contacting 15mm.co.uk and asking for 'USE ME Files' by reply or by going to www.barking-irons.co.uk and downloading them on the USE ME page.

How is that for value on a rule system priced at only 3.50GBP !!! Get your copy today!