Dav Vandenbroucke  - Sep 7, 2008 4:04 pm (#42270 Total: 42391)  
"Sexual relationships with prohibited sources cannot, by definition, 
be arms-length," the inspector general noted. 	 

Hammer's Slammers

It's less a matter of out of the wrapper than it is back from the grave,
but I've been trying out Mayfair's Hammer's Slammers game. Mayfair did a
number of games based on science fiction novels, and this is one of
them. Hammer's Slammers is the name of a mercenary unit featured in a
series of novels and shorter pieces written by David Drake. The game is
a tactical treatment of ground combat in the Slammers universe. Some of
the scenarios depict local forces fighting one another, some mercenaries
vs locals, and some have mercenaries vs mercenaries (with or without
local auxiliaries). 

The components are fairly good for their era. The geomorphic map is
mounted and cut like a jigsaw puzzle (another Mayfair hallmark). It has
the usual sorts of terrain features for a tactical game. On some of the
boards, the light green clear terrain and the dark green woods are hard
to distinguish. The counters show pictures of the military units they
represent and are rather thicker than most games counters. They are
single-sided, except for mercenary infantry, which are back printed to
show the "pongos" mounted on their skimmers. There are a few charts and
tables printed on unbound sheets, and then there is a rulebook. About
half the rulebook is taken up by a reprint of an essay that Drake wrote
explaining the background and organization of the Slammers and their
opponents. A separate booklet contains the scenario information. 

Units have four ratings: attack, defense, range, and movement. In
addition, each side has a morale value, which may change with
casualties. In general, the mercenaries, with fusion-powered hovercraft
and power guns, have the advantages: longer range, faster, higher attack
and defense ratings. Local forces make do with tracked vehicles equipped
with cannon and machine guns--essentially contemporary weapons. 

The core of the game is a simple modern tactical game. It uses player
turns. First, you try to rally disrupted units by rolling more than your
morale rating (all rolls in this game are 2D6). Notice that this means
that low morale ratings are good, which takes some getting used to. Then
you move. Then there's a mutual combat phase, in which everybody fires.
The subsequence is indirect fire, direct fire, and then assault, but
it's all simultaneous within each subphase. 

Combat is ratio-based, with two dice rolled on a CRT. Units are either
disrupted or destroyed. Disrupted units move at half speed and can't
fire, except in assault. Units disrupted twice are destroyed. Infantry
is doubled in assault combat. There are terrain effects, of course, and
fairly simple LOS rules. One interesting twist is that one can fire at
stacks or at individual units, as you like. Units can fire at up to
double their ranges, but at half strength. 

Mercenary units have various special abilities, consistent with the
books. Hover tanks and calliopes (multibarrel heavy power guns) can
intercept incoming artillery. It's automatic: one unit can nullify one
artillery fire within range. But such units can't otherwise fire in the
same turn. In some scenarios, mercenary artillery can fire gas. They
also sometimes have ECM ability. Each local force unit subject to ECM
can't spot for artillery and can't combine fire with other units. There
are also rules for paratroop landings and intercepting them on the way
down. Mercenary infantry, as mentioned above, can move on their
skimmers. That gives them extra mobility, but they are destroyed if they
get disrupted while mounted. 

Somehow, this doesn't really add up to very much. The components are
there, but they don't combine into anything very interesting. In the
scenarios with mercenaries vs local forces, the locals seem to have the
choice of hunkering down in good terrain and being dug out one by one,
or massing for an attack--and getting blasted out in the open. The
scenarios with similar units on both sides play a little better, but,
even so, it all comes out a bit plodding, without any excitement.