LaserStorm - Starship Troopers AAR 10/24/15

I wanted to try out my new alien swarms out in a game so I decided a Starship Troopers themed game was in order.  I decided to go with a game that was in line with the book instead of the movie.

Excerpt from mission briefing

You have been chosen for a mission of utmost importance.  The engagement area has a number of bug holes that you must monitor.  If any bugs exit these bug holes you are to eliminate them.  Each of you will be equipped with the standard Morita Assault Rifle, but today you will also be equipped with a MK55 Tactical Nuclear Launcher.  

Teams will be entering a number of bug holes in search of some specific intel.  Once they have a acquired that intel, you will be notified to close the holes.  We expect you to use the nukes to close all the bug holes in your area.

We expect the bug resistance to be heavy, but we know that you are the best trained and best equipped soldiers in the universe.  We know that you will not fail to do your duty.

Good luck!

I used the LaserStorm rules with some slight variation for this game.  I used 15mm models for the Mobile infantry.  6 soldiers were assigned to this area of the engagement zone.  There were 6 bug holes in the area.

The bugs had 6 swarms of 6 models each.  The bugs are fierce in close combat, so the MI will do their best to stay out of melee and blast them to pieces with their assault rifles.  Once given the order to close the holes the MI will use their nukes to close the holes.

This was a test run for this kind of scenario, so I wasn't sure what to expect.

The first play through.

The bug holes where spread around the table fairly evenly.  The MI were deployed as teams of two, but each man was independent and could act on his own.  Then the bug swarms were deployed with one swarm at each hole.

The bugs had a +5 assault score in this play through as well as the Charge special ability.  Each time they charged they were able to get 3 bases (the max we allowed) into contact with the MI trooper.  This means that the bugs effectively had a +8 assualt vs the MI troopers +2 assault.  This amounted to the MI trooper losing every assault they were engaged in and then failing their save through each time as well.

While the troopers were able to shot a few bugs they just couldn't stay away from the bugs long enough to complete their mission.

The bugs took the advantage and made short work of the MI troopers.  They got most of the snap actions and were very lucky with armor save rolls.  At the end of the game all the MI troopers were dead with only 3 of the bug holes closed.

The second play through.

I made some adjustments to stats for this game and I think they were a bit too much.  Still a fun game, but...

The MI troopers did a much better job this time.  So much so that I feel like I over fixed the game after our first play-through.  At the end of this game, all the bugs were dead while only a single MI trooper had been lost.

I used this game to introduce Randy to the LaserStorm rules.  However, this scenario was a pretty big variant on the basic rules.  The games were fun, but I still have a little testing to do to find a nice balance.  In my experience, anytime you have a very small force of powerful troops versus a horde of less powerful troops, luck can play a big role and can cause problems in the game.

I plan to play some more Starship Trooper themed games in the future.