Copyright 2006 T. Sheil & A. Sheil All Rights Reserved
(Get a PDF copy of the game - click here!)
Spy Agent Shambattle: a ‘lite” version of an up and coming spy game.
The story : a nefarious Mastermind has set up a facility to fire a missile to shoot down the new Telstar satellite. His secret facility is guarded by a cadre of mercenaries from several Communist countries. The super spy James Illya Phelps has discovered the secret missile launch site just in time. With a team of commandos, Phelps intends to assault the facility and shut down the missile.
You need: 5’ by ‘3 playing area (150 cm by 90cm)
Grey and black cardstock to use as scenery
Five foam or cardboard blocks that are 1” wide, 1” to 1 ½” high and 3 ½” to 4” long (25mm by 25 to 37mm by 88 to 100mm)
A toy missile
A 6” circle of blue card
Regular dice
Two armies:
Side 1:
12 men with automatic weapons
3 officers with pistols
1 figure to represent Mastermind
1 figure to represent Henchman #1
16 men with automatic weapons
4 officers with pistols
1 Super Spy with submachine gun.
You must make:
Four 8” by 8” grey pieces
2” wide grey strips to make walkways in map
A 3” grey circle
¼” wide (8 to 10mm) Black strips to demark walls and barriers
A 6" blue disk
A 6" for the helipad
An machine gun square: use a 2” by 3” (50mm by 75mm)rectangle of card. Inside, cut out a triangle that is 2 inches long and 1 ½ inches wide (50mm by 37mm)
We measure movement with a “movement stick.” You can make it out of cardboard. The Old Rule use a stick that is 6 inches long and about 1 inch wide. (15 cm by 2.4 cm) The width does not have to be perfect. You can also use a wooden dowel, if you wish. Mark one end of the stick “Full” for Full Move. Measure up from the opposite end. First measure 4 inches (10 cm) and mark a line. Write “Part Move” on this line. Next measure 3 inches (7.5 cm) and mark it “Half Move” Finally, measure up 2 inches (5 cm) and mark it “Short Move”.
(Note that when the full game is published, it will use the better “new rule” sticks instead of this old one. If you already have new sticks, use the new infantry stick.)
A marker is used to measure the distance which a soldier can move each turn. To make a marker, cut out a piece of stiff cardboard six inches long and one inch wide. Draw a line across it four inches from one end and mark the line: Part Move.” So, each turn, a soldier can move either six inches, a “full move,” or four inches, a “part move.”
When moving, face a soldier in the direction in which you wish to move him. Place the marker at the front of the standoff the soldier, lift the soldier forward and set him down again with the rear of his stand at either the “part move” mark or at the end of the marker
Soldiers may move a “full move” when on catwalks or in laboratories but only a “part move” on any other part of the map.
If a soldier is moving from a catwalk or laboratory onto another part of the map, or if a soldier is moving from another part of the map onto a catwalk or into a laboratory, he may only move a “part move.”
On catwalks, only two soldiers can march abreast.
A soldier can be moved all of his allotted move, any portion of it, or not at all, at the player’s discretion,. He can move any or all or none of his troops on his turn, as he sees fit. A soldier does not have to move his full distance at any time.
(Why the cavalry illustration? Well, what if some enterprising nerd-o-geek decided to play a “Sharpe’s Rifles / Steampunk version of the game….)
Combat:
There are two ways men can fight: shooting and Combat Judo.
Shooting: there are two types of firearm in this game, the submachine gun and the pistol. Both have a very short range. The effective range is how far a weapon can fire at a specific target. The closer the target the easier it is to hit it.
A submachine gun has an effective range of a Full Move. A pistol’s effective range is a Part Move. You determine range by placing the end of the Movement stick on the center of the soldier who is shooting. The other end is placed over the target. If the target is too far to be touched by the stick, he is out of range. You cannot shoot him.
The Pistol has two ranges. Its Longest Range is a Part Move. It short range is a Short Move. If the soldier is at a Part Move or closer, you can hit him. If he is between the Short and Part move lines you must roll a die. On a 5 or 6, he is hit and removed. If the enemy is between the Short move line and the soldier, but not touching the soldier, it takes a 4, 5 or 6 to hit him.
The submachine gun has two ranges and a Bonus. Its longest range is a Full Move. Its short range is a Half Move. At 5 or 6, it will hit a target at a Full Move. At 4, 5 or 6, it will hit a target at a Half Move or closer, so long as the enemy is not touching him. The bonus is that at close range, the Submachine gun can spray. This means the shooter can use the machine gun cone instead of aiming. The cone is placed so that the side nearest the triangle’s narrow end is placed at the center of the shooter. The cone faces out. Anyone under the cone is hit and removed. Of course, if a friendly soldier is under the cone, the soldier may not use it. He may not shoot friendly troops. The shooter would then have to use aimed firing.
Combat Judo is the 1950s and 1960s type hand-to-hand combat that was taught to soldiers and agents. When soldiers are touching, they cannot shoot. They must use Combat Judo.
Each man rolls a die. The high score wins. The loser is stunned: knocked back up to a Short Move and is unable to move or attack the next turn. He cannot shoot. He can only defend if attacked with Combat Judo. A man who is stunned subtracts 1 from his dice roll. If a stunned man wins, the attack was foiled. The attacker is not hurt or stunned, however. If a stunned man loses, he remains stunned or is removed, according to the dice.
If a man wins a combat Judo roll by 4 or more, the loser is removed from the game.
A soldier can start only one Judo fight per turn. He must be touching his opponent. A man may respond to as many Judo attacks as happen to him, Thus, if two enemy are touching him and both attack on their turn, he gets to roll both time. However, when more than one man attack with Judo in a turn, there is a sequence. Defender rolls normally against the first attacker. If a second man attacks in the same turn, the defender rolls but subtracts 1. The defender subtracts 1 against a third man, as well. No more than three men can Judo attack a man in one turn.
If a man loses a Judo fight within a Short Move of the pool around the missile, the winner can force him into it, removing him.
Officers have more combat experience than their men Officers automatically add 1 to their die roll in a Judo fight.
The Spy and Henchman are highly trained agents. They add 2 to their die roll in a Judo fight.
Cover: men can use consoles as cover. They must be touching the consoles, and the console must be between them and the enemy. Men who use cover get 1 added to their shooting, since they are steadying their weapons against the console. If the enemy shoots at men under cover, he must subtract 1 from his die roll.
To Play:
Set up the map as shown:
Squares are laboratories.
Strips are catwalks. The thing in the center is made by placing the Blue disk, then laying a catwalk across to both edges. Next drop the 3” grey circle in the middle, and place the rocket on it. That is the launch pad surrounded by a pool of toxic liquid, like liquid nitrogen or acidic rocket fuel. The black pieces are consoles. The disk marked H is a helipad.
You must set up the Mastermind forces by placing three cadre at each console. The Mastermind is in the Laboratory #3. The Henchman is in Laboratory #1
15 commandos are placed at A, and five commandos and the Spy are placed at B.
Place marked T are tunnels
The spy carries a Shaped Charge which he can use to blow a hole in the wall large enough for men to pass in single file. He may not move or shoot on the turn he uses it.
The Count Down:
Spies have a limited number of turns to stop the missile, before it goes off. Roll a die and add 7. That is the number of turns the Spy team has to stop the launch. If they do not do it in time, the missile automatically launches. This is called the “Count Down.”
The Count down is halted whenever the Mastermind leaves the secret lair. It resumes when he comes back.
The Spy takes the first turn. All turns are done in sequence: Spy, Mastermind, Spy, etc. A turn lasts five minutes. Once five minutes is up, the player can no longer move, have Judo fights or shoot for that turn.
A turn must be done in this order:
Move any troops. The player moves any of his men that he wants. One done, he goes to the next step.
Combat Judo Fights . The player does any Judo attacks. Once these begin, he cannot go back and move.
Shooting. The player handles any shooting. He cannot go back to have Judo fights or move. Once done shooting, his turn is over.
To
win:
The Mastermind gets a Full Victory if he manages to launch the missile and escapes capture.
He gets a Major victory if he Launches the Missile, but is either killed or captured.
He gets a Minor success if he escapes, but the missile is destroyed
The Spy gets a Full Victory if he disables the missile and captures the Mastermind.
He gets a Major victory if he disables the Missile, but the Mastermind is killed or escapes.
He gets a Minor success of the Mastermind is captured, but the Missile goes off.
To disable the missile:
The Spy team must have two men on the missile platform for one full turn. They can neither shoot nor fight during that turn. No enemy may be on the platform during that time.
To capture the
Mastermind:
The mastermind can shoot a pistol, but he cannot fight. The Spy team must have at least one soldier touching the Mastermind, with no enemy troops within a Short Move. Up to three men may guard a captured Mastermind by touching him. To release him, his soldiers must attack each of the guards. They can either shoot or use a Judo fight. If all guards are attacked at once, the mastermind gets away.
Guards must escort the Mastermind to the edge of the table at A. Once there, he is out of the game
To escape: Once the missile launches, the Mastermind must escape. He does this by going to the Helipad at the B side of the table, shown as a disk marked H. If he makes it to the helipad, he is safe.
Editor’s Note: this game is based on the large battle scenes in popular spy movies. They come at the end of the movie, when the Spy and commandos attack the Nefarious Mastermind’s lair. No historical precedent exists for this kind of battle. Everything within it is pure cinematic excess. This game is meant to be an exercise in too many guys, too many guns and too much fun.
Suggestions: we designed this top be played as imply as possible. A couple bags of Army Men two different colors should provide most, if not all, personnel. One fellow suggested using police figures for Mastermind cadre and soldiers for the Spy commandos. However, tan and green army men do just as well. You only need mark three figures: Mastermind, Spy and Henchman. A player suggested using a binoculars guy or radioman as the Mastermind.
Do not use prone figures. Kneeling, standing, running and walking figures are best.
If you can get to a shop that has the painted rubber novelty figures of TV, cartoon and novelty figures, you can easily find a Spy, Henchman and Mastermind. Any heroic figure will do as Spy, and any combat type will suffice as Henchman. A nerdy or bizarre character can play the Mastermind. Be imaginative.
People who want to make painted armies can do no better than consult the October issue’s articles on spy movie armies and spy army attire.
Spy commandos can be based on real-world equivalents. Herald khaki Infantry are 1950s / early 1960s British troops, good for commandos a la “J.B.”. We used the Castings Inc mold of copies of Lone Star Paratroopers to make a variety of unusual commando types. If you enjoy this game enough, it pays to make the kind of troops you want.
(To get a PDF copy of the game! Click here!)
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