Grimdark Future Battle Report

As my first post in almost a year, I’d like to showcase a game that I’ve recently been interested in from the fine creators at http://www.onepagerules.com. The game in question is Grimdark Future (aka GDF), formerly known as onepage40K. As you’d imagine, this is a simplified version of Warhammer 40,000 designed to be fast and easy to pick up, and most rules fit onto (you guessed it) one page.

I know what you might be thinking – how can a game that fits its rules on one page be tactically deep and interesting to play? Here are a few advantages of the system:

1. The game captures the essence of 40k without an endless number of rules and datatslates from a variety of sources.
2. GDF features alternating activation, adding a layer of tactical complexity and avoiding the alpha strike issue that plagues 40k.
3. There is a points calculator available through onepagerules’ Patreon, which allows players to create their own units or tweak existing ones.

This last point is the absolute jewel in the crown, as far as I’m concerned. How many times have you, as a wargamer, seen a cool model and thought “That looks amazing, but what army would that fit into?” or “How could I use this on the tabletop without clumsy “counts-as” trickery?”. With the points calculator, you can create the unit that fits the look and theme you’re going for. For someone like me, who enjoys creating themed armies based on pop culture, this is a godsend, as you’ll see in the Battle Report.

A short word on my own experience with 40K – I played for 20 years or so between 1991 and the early 2010s, but haven’t played since 5th edition. With “New 40k” (aka 9th edition) dropping soon, I’m not keen on having to invest a lot into making my fairly esoteric armies into something that would work in this new environment, and I’m not sure I would enjoy the game anymore. Since quitting 40k, I’ve played games like Star Wars Legion and Bolt Action, which feature alternating activation, so a traditional IGOUGO system like 40k has lost its appeal. I’ve still kept a lot of my old 40k armies though, so Grimdark Future is a great way to breathe new life into old figues.

So, for my first game of Grimdark Future, I had planned to play against a friend who was unable to make it due to sickness. Rather than waste the opportunity, I decided to play a solo game, taking control of both forces to see how the game works.

First, the armies. My first force is a Stargate themed army of Jaffa under the command of a Goa’uld System Lord. This was an army I started around 15 years ago and I used to play them as Necrons, with their regeneration/resurrection protocols representing the healing properties of carrying a Goa’uld symbiote (told you I was a fluff monkey!). In GDF, this translated over fairly well, but I was able to tweak the rules somewhat. I used the Robot Legions list (aka Necrons), but removed the Fearless and Slow rules. This resulted in units that are average speed, but very tough to take down.

Next is an army I’ve been working on for about a year incorporating models from Beyond the Gates of Antares and Mantic’s Warpath/Deadzone games. With the preponderance of drones in BtGoA, I thought a Tau army would suit my collection, so I based this on the TAO Coalition list. Again, I tweaked the list, creating a flying transport (the Intruder) and stats for the Enforcer Jetbikes, which I envisioned as fast moving gun platfoms, somewhere between Tau Battlesuits and regular Jetbikes. I also couldn’t resist adding in a unit of Fremen Commandos from an old Dune army project. I created these as a close assault/close fire support unit which would ride around in the flying transport (think of it as an Ornithopter, I guess!).

 

Each army was 1500pts in total. The rules suggest 750pts for an intro game, but I wanted to see what a bigger variety of units would be capable of, and test the unit creation rules as well.

So, to battle. 5 objectives were placed around the battlefield. The aim was to capture more than your opponent, but you could capture and then move away from the objective, which I found an interesting wrinkle to the standard way these games go.

Here are the initial force deployments, followed by some highlights of the action.

 

Opening moves – Jaffa take the closest objective as Enforcer Jetbikes secure the Stargate.

On the opposing flank, Enforcer Jetbikes catch the Jaffa Hoverbikes in the open, and decimate them before they can become a threat.

Employing Goa’uld Transporter Rings, the Eternals rapidly redeploy to the bridge and catch a group of Tao Grunts in the open, cutting down half the unit.

The other unit of Tao Grunts, led by the Army Commander, take up position in the woods and start to lay down fire on the bridge.

The Intruder zooms onto the central objective, disgorging the elite Fremen Commandos, crysknives thirsty for Jaffa blood.

Despite their ferocity, the Fremen are rebuffed by the staunch defense of the Eternals and cut down by their return fire. The left flank is held well by a unit of Jaffa Warriors on a wooded hill.

The lone survivor of the Hoverbikes makes a run for the bottom right objective. The left flank starts to weaken for the Jaffa as the Jetbikes close in. Meanwhile, the Eternals stand strong on the bridge, brushing off fire from the Tao Grunts. 

The final disposition at the end of Turn 4: The Bridge is secured by the Eternals, whilst the fast elements of the Tao force contest 2 of the objectives in the Jaffa’s half of the board. Final result, Tao 2 – Jaffa 1.

So, my closing thoughts on the game. The Fremen were a unit I created which I expected to do a little better, so I think they need to have a bit more bite, perhaps with some special close combat weaponry on the unit leader. The Tao Enforcer Jetbikes performed as expected though, a nice combination of the Battlesuit and Jetbike roles. A lesson learned would be to always take Spotter drones – the units without them had issues with consistently hitting targets in cover, which was quite a waste on some heavy-hitting shooters.

On the other side of the table, the Jaffa were tougher than expected, making some amazing Regen rolls. However, the Hoverbikes were quite lacklustre, having been caught out of position so early in the game, so next time I will need to be more careful with deployment.

As for the game, I’m completely sold. I love the ability to use standard 40k models and armies without any effort, or have the ability to create exactly the type of unit I need for my theme. How many games can do that?! The alternating activation is also a fantastic addition to the system that really gives each turn a lot more tactical  options.

So, do yourself a favour and give it a look.

Happy Gaming!