Solo Wargaming

I’ve been on the lookout for some time for a good set of rules for solo wargaming. Sometimes you just can’t meet up with your regular group, or sometimes you just have to strike while you’ve got a spare hour or two when everyone else in the house is taking a nap on a Saturday afternoon.
That brought me to the rules for 5150. a science-fiction skirmish game by a company called Two Hour Wargames. These rules are intended for multiple players, but they happen to work really well for solo games.. I gave the rules a quick playtest over the weekend and I have to say I’m quite impressed.
The big drawback to any kind of solo gaming is there really is no good way to simulate a human opponent. 5150 doesn’t quite do it either. Instead, it uses a system called reaction checks to determine how forces on both sides act during an encounter. It’s really simple, roll some dice, compare the results to your basic stats and consult the tables provided in the rule book.
5150 does a great job of setting up different reactions for different phases of an encounter. For example, you have to take an in-sight check when an opponent comes in to view. When a unit is fired on, it takes a “received fire” check to determine how it reacts.
This really takes away any chance a player has to “rig” a solo game, unless you fudge the dice rolls. And then you’re only screwing yourself.
One of the best things about 5150 is it allows you to use any figures you want from any system or range of miniatures. Brilliant. I played a skirmish between a tactical squad of space marines from Warhammer 40k and a detachment of Dragonov Kommandos from AT-43 supported by a combat strider.
The 5150 rules contain army lists for a variety of forces, which are generic enough to adapt to your gaming needs. It was simple to come up with lists for my game.
I breezed through the battle quickly. Despite the name of the company, these games can be played well under two hours.
The only drawback is the relatively poor production quality of the rules set. They are spiral bound and its easy to see these were a labor of love, not a slick booklet from a production house. Still, the content is there. If anything, I’m thinking about photocopying out certain pages to avoid flipping pages back and forth as I search for the appropriate table.
So if you’re looking for a simple, relatively crunchy and fun-to-play set of rules, give 5150 a shot.