So, I have a freebie game I have been developing and would love some feedback on. Here are the basic rules, and my full rules and unit stats are attached in a file below.
The whole idea of the game is for it to be something where, if you have a copy of the book/printout, you can play it with whatever you have lying around. I still have several common items/units that I need stats for, but I am finding that it gets exhausting to be comprehensive when desigining a minis-wargame.
Let me know what you all think!
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Knick-Knack Attack
Knick-Knack Attack is a miniatures game played where common items you can find in your pockets, around the office or in other public places are meant to be the primary units, waging war across the epic wastes of the average coffee table.
What you’ll need:
Knick-Knack Attack is meant to be played with things you already carry around in your pockets or that may be laying around the area you are when the urge to play a quick game may arise. Players need only carry around this printed rulebook to reference rules, and because the spine of this book (if printed at the current size) has a 6 inch ruler for a spine, which can be used to determine range, and distance pieces can move. Everything else you need to play should be available any time anywhere, in your pockets or as a free item in your current location!
Setup:
Due to the nature of Knick-Knack Attack, this book will assume you are playing in a public place in which you are likely to be bored like a doctor’s office, the DMV, the office lunch room or even a restaurant. Typically a small coffee table or dinner table is recommended as a battlefield. If no such are is available you can use the spine of this book and estimate a 2 foot by 2 foot square in which play will commence on a table, the floor or other convenient surface.
Units:
Players will field an army of objects that are no larger than 4” in width, and no larger than 6” in length or height. Any unit with a height of larger than 4” is considered “BIG”. Armies may only have one BIG unit. Any item placed in the battlefield area that does not meet these criteria is considered terrain. Those objects will have designated stats listed in the “Units” appendix in the back of this book. Players agree on a number of starting units (6 is standard), and each player may field that many objects. (All objects have been balanced to be equally powerful to one another unless a scenario arises in which their abilities are more advantageous…etc, there is not “point cost” associated with creating an army in Knick-Knack Attack).
Measuring distance for ranged attacks, abilities or movement:
Whether or not a ruler or tape measure is available, players should use the spine of this book as a ruler to determine all lengths requested by Units during the game play. As different printers/printings of this book will likely have marginal errors in print size, players are advised to use the exact same book as their opponent. As long as everyone is using the same scale, competition should be fair.
Order of Play:
Choose a player at random to go first (usually by flipping a coin). The player who loses the flip may choose to place his units in the battlefield first or second.
Deploying Units:
When deploying, all of a player’s units must be within 2” of one another. Opposing units may not start closer than 6” away from any given enemy unit. If the first player’s deployment would not allow the opponent to deploy all of his or her units, the first player must move some or all of their units to allow both forces to be deployed.
On each turn:
Choose one unit you control to be the active unit. Each unit that is not the active unit on the current player’s team gains one MP if it has any Spells. (Spells are denoted by + on the unit’s description in the Units appendix at the end of this book). Players may declare 2 actions for their active unit on each of their turns. A unit CAN choose the same action twice, although sometimes the results of such are pointless or undesirable. The following are possible actions:
- Attack
- Cast a Spell
- Use an Ability
- Move
- Prepare
- Defend
- Ready
Attack: Subtract the defending piece’s DEF score from the attacking unit’s ATK score. Flip that many coins. Each HEADS is a hit. If a unit is hit it dies, and is removed from the field.
Prepare: Choose a figure and skip the rest of your turn to get +1 ATK against the chosen figure next turn. (That attack must be made with the same figure) If you perform another action for any reason, at any time this bonus is negated.
Cast a Spell: Use one of the special abilities that some figures have that costs MP to activate. All spells have a range of 6 if they can affect other units.
Use an Ability: Use one of the special abilities that some figures have that does not cost MP to activate.
Move: Move a number of inches in any direction equal to its movement score.
Defend: Gain +1 DEF until your next turn. If you perform another action for any reason, at any time this bonus is negated.
Ready: A unit choosing to ready, selects its second action any time before your next turn. Ready may not be the second action a unit takes in one turn.
Glossary of Terms:
Flammable – Flammable units and terrain are any items, in the case that they were thrown into a lit fireplace, would catch fire and burn.
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