DOOM SQUAD!

Doom Squad is a solo minis game from Alternative Armies.  I like solo games, so I definitely decided to give it a try.  I think it's kind of like a modern era "Sengoku".  You've got your little crew of guys, and you wander around the map encountering enemies and events.

I only played on session, and a very simple mission, but it seemed to be pretty fun (assuming that I'm even playing it correctly, more on that later).

Anyway, here we go.

The Setup

So, I put together 20 points worth of guys, which really isn't a lot.  It's enough for maybe four, four man teams, but that's assuming dead-basic Troopers.  If you want medics or armor or grenades or scopes or whatever, that will eat up those points quick.  My team is a Leader, a Trooper, a Medic and a Gunner.  All have armor, grenades, and advanced sights, bringing me to 19 points.

Trooper, Leader, Gunner & Medic

Because I've only got one team, there will only be one Spawn Point.  Because I have 4 figures in my force, there will be four Target Markers (unidentified potential enemies or events) in play when the game begins.  This will be a "Patrol" mission.  My objective is to reveal four Target Markers and get out.

It seems tight, but the move is only 4cm.

The bottom of the Target Markers have enemies or events under them.

Turn 1

The Doom Squad goes first, because they're sneaking in and the enemy is unprepared.  Each squad can take two actions (but can't, as a rule, shoot twice).  Two move actions puts them into cover behind a barricade.  Once my guys get within 12cm of a Target Marker (or 8cm if in cover), I roll a d6 on a simple table to see what happens.  On a six, the Target Marker isn't revealed.  On a 1, a new one shows up and both are revealed.  Otherwise this Target Marker is revealed normally.

"Gathering Threat".  Sounds ominous.

I look up "Gathering Threat".  It's a bit of a challenge, because none of the information is alphabetized, which seems like a weird choice.  Anyway, "Gathering Threat" is basically replaced with two new markers which, being in automatic observation range, are immediately tested for.  Both are flipped over and are revealed to be "Enemy Unit".  A d6 is rolled for each.  One has five members, and the other has two.

Now, is that three Target Markers revealed, all in the first action?  Who knows?  I decide that the extras don't count, so this will only be tracked as one so far as the mission parameters are concerned.

Each of the enemy teams rolls for their reactions.  They aren't well organized because they weren't expecting trouble.  The larger team gets a 1, which means that one member takes an aimed shot, 1d6 members rally if necessary, and then they all go prone.  The smaller team just shoots.

The enemy units aren't as awesome as the Doom Squad, so they need 5+ to hit, though they do get +1 for short range (and the one guy gets +1 for aiming).  The aiming unit hits with a 6.  Because it's less than 7, it's just a Suppression result (as opposed to a Kill).  Suppression hits are harder to save against, but we're in hard cover, so a d6 result of 4+ ignores it.  The smaller team, shooting over its prone companions, hits once, but the Doom Squad saves versus that one as well.

"Why are we fighting aliens?  I thought this was Napoleonic to Modern?"
"Shush, you!"

Since shooting happened within 24cm of it, the Spawn Point is tested for.  A d6 is rolled, but the result isn't a 1, so nothing pops out.  Whew!

You'll notice the weird "arrowhead" formation that I'm in.  It doesn't really come up this session, but there are a few different (and mandatory) formations for Doom Squads.  The arrowhead allows some units to fire to the side.  A diamond allows firing to the sides and back, but is slower.  A column, is faster, but all shots target the lead figure.  A line allows everybody to shoot forward (why not use arrowhead?) and an extended line is the same, but with a defense bonus for being spread out.

Even cooler, whichever unit type is on point (that is, at the head of the formation) grants another special based on type.  Troopers, trained in using the terrain, grant the team a defense bonus.  Leaders allow for quick changes into other formations (which normally take an action or two).  Gunners get increased range.  It seems pretty clever.

Turn 2

And then it was time to shoot back!  All four Doom Squad members  aim and shoot.  The assault rifles get two dice each, the LMG gets three, and the pistol two.  I get 4, 4, 4, 5, 7, 8.  That's three Suppression hits and two Kill hits.  The enemy forces roll to save for each hit.  They're not in cover, but they're prone, so they need 5+ to avoid Suppression and 4+ to avoid Kills.  In the end, they still end up taking one Kill and all three of the Suppression.

"Yeah!  This is going to be easy," he said prematurely.

More shooting wakes more Target Markers.  The nearest one is "Incoming Fire!".  Three shots come at us out of nowhere, but luckily, they all miss.

Kind of like a really sneaky (but temporary) sniper.

Then, the two Target Markers at the back of the map are checked for.  The first is "Enemy Strength", which gives all of the enemy a defense bonus this turn and next.  The second is another two-man(?) infantry unit.

I'm not quite sure how I'm supposed to sneak at all in this game.

Now, the identified enemy units roll for reactions.  The two units in front unload on my Doom Squad (separately), with a net result of one Suppression on my Trooper (because he's in front).  Three of the Suppressed enemy recover.  The small enemy unit in the back can't see us, so they advance.

"Wait, I thought we were winning.  What happened?"

Turn 3

Ok, technically, I've revealed as many Target Markers as I have Doom Squad members, so I can bug out.  Unfortunately, I miscounted and thought I had one left, and so I stuck around for a bit longer.

I spend one action Rallying to remove Suppression, but the Trooper still can't fire this turn.  So the other three fire and score one Suppression on the enemy...

...who immediately Rally and shoot back, Suppressing me three more times (between the two units).  The unit in the back advances some more, trying to see around its own side.

Oh no!  All of this shooting has spawned a new Target Marker at the Spawn Point!

Camping the Spawn Point.  Probably wasn't a great idea after all.

Turn 4

Ok, I've got this.  Just got to stop messing around.  I Rally with my first action, and Agent M shoots with his sad little pistol.  One die is... a big fat miss!

Then the Target Marker is checked.  "Enemy Rallies!"  Well, none of the enemy were Suppressed, so at least they didn't get anything out of it.

More of the enemy go prone, letting the guys behind them shoot at me, too.  Their fire is pretty accurate, and there are several kill results in the mix, but in the end, it's just another Suppression result on the Trooper.

Turn 5

That's it!  I'm out of here!  I obviously am a bad player who doesn't know how to roll dice correctly.  Besides, I've now revealed (what I believed to be) the last Target Marker, so I'm free to escape the way I came.  Suppression affects shooting, not movement, so we just double-move our way back to our starting point (which we barely got away from to begin with).

Although the enemy did manage to very nearly Suppress the crap out of us on the way out.

"Ow. Ow!  Ow!  Quitit!"

Conclusion

Technically a success.  I revealed four markers and got out without any casualties.  Woo!

What did I think of the game?  Well, it seems like there's probably a cool core in there, somewhere, especially for solo-players of a semi-historical bent.  Bless their heart, though (as one says before criticism), the text is just a mess!  There's the lack of alphabetized table descriptions, for one.  Then, the rules are just sort of piled in under their headings, without much of a thought to the flow of the game, or where you might need to look for things.  The Jager Period historical scenario is wedged between the Stormtrooper Weapons section and the Special Forces Weapons section, and that pattern continues for a bit.  Also, there's a lot of repeated information.  I guess they're trying to make each time period sort of self-contained, but it's at odds with everything else about the layout.

Sigh.  So, that was my rant.  Having said that, there does seem to be a fun solo game in here.  The game is pretty inexpensive, and if you don't mind putting in a little work, harassing the company's Facebook page for clarifications, or just shrugging and making things up (it IS a solo game after all so who's watching?) I think it's probably a worthwhile investment.

So, you know, there you go.

-Jason "Ludanto" Smith C;E