Don't Go in the Long Grass - Dino Sci Fi

 

It all started by me saying that 'Spiney' the Spinosaurus, pictured above, was about the right size for 25mm figures. Turns out he's about the right size for 15mm figures 😱. In any case, Monty, our 7 year old asked "can we make stats for your game, then you can game with him!".

I answered, yes, but reminded him that blokes with shooty weapons would likely shoot Spiney and he may not win. I was trying to avoid the tears of disappointment when Mr 'Favourite Dinosaur at the Moment' was taken off the board; but it seems I jinxed my janx.

The first challenge was to make an element for him for the new game. He needed to be tough but not so tough he couldn't go down. That required a new special rule called 'Large Beast' with basically up to five small arms penetrations causing 'one' penetration.

I used the 'small' Spinosaurus stats for 25mm and the large stats for 15mm. First up, a couple of Federal Stats Europa (FSE) squads of GZG 25mm 'volunteered' for the test.

"What, you lookin at? We's just standing here waiting... what was that noise?"

I initially put the Resilience too high for Spiney and realised small arms couldn't penetrate him, but quickly rectified the situation.

It didn't really matter as Monty Stormed the squadies and despite concentrated fire, Spiney had dinner.

Next up I tried balancing the points on both sides to get three FSE squads, two with AT weapons... 

... Monty thought this was so awesome, he put his second favourite dinosaur, 'Jaw', on the board too 😂.

And both Stormed the troops before they had a chance to move.

That's a lot of teeth!

It ended badly for the FSE and even Jaw got some dinner.

Then it was Scale Test time, re-tuning for 15mm - only multi-shot weapons needed adjusting. This time the only sci fi 15mm I had painted got put in the front line, a platoon of GZG's New Israeli.

To be fair, I wasn't really trying to 'win' per se - honest - but I noted with balanced points the dinos did start to get worn down in an 'enjoyable' way.

If I'd actually moved the troops and set up firing lanes, etc, instead of trying to make Monty giggle all the time, the elements would have worked really well. (BTW this is pretty much 'to scale' for a full-sized Spinosaurus. Maybe closer to 20mm.)

All in all, a great laugh and a successful trial for Dinosaurs.

Will make a great army list supplement, but might add a 'Driven Off' rule to the Large Beast rule, whereby after taking half the damage points the Gargantuan rule allows, the dino runs off. Oh, and also a Stampede rule for herbivores... and a poison rule... and a Team Work rule for smart dinos...