S.M.L.E.
[ Short Magazine Lee Enfield *]
Fast Action Skirmish System for WW2
and Twentieth Century wargames
Chris & Alex Nicole 2004-2021
Introduction
S.M.L.E. is a set of wargame rules for skirmish games using models and miniatures on the tabletop. SMLE was derived from Slammer, our Science Fiction rules. At one level you might just see SMLE as Slammer with the chrome scraped off, but I hope to add more historical background and period flavour. It is primarily intended for WW2 but it should work reasonably well for gaming most twentieth century conflicts. It pays to study your period. Good references on military organisation and tactics should be most useful to you. Whilst soldiers and equipment were much alike across the period, their tactics, training and ethos can make a great difference to their performance on the table top.
I intended from the start that SMLE would be flexible and adaptable to different scenarios.
The game uses a rather innovative Activation system is based on studies of Twentieth Century infantry squad tactics, chiefly Paddy Griffith's "Forward into Battle". It is designed to work well for C20 games. The Activation mechanism determine when units move and allows for multi-player or solo games. It also covers Morale, Unit Confidence and Fire effect.
I have intentionally kept it fairly 'loose', particularly in areas like troop motivation and Hollywood heroics. We use miniatures on the table top to represent men, and/or women who might well be scared or heroic, angry or bored, professional or just hungry, above all they are unpredictable. You may find that an element of role play here makes the game much more enjoyable even if you are losing. SMLE is meant to be fun!
SMLE is designed as a modular rules system, i.e. you should be able to use the bits you like, and/or replace the bits you don't like.
* S.M.L.E. stands for Short Magazine Lee Enfield, the British rifle. I really don’t mind if you refer to the game as ‘Smelly’.
Chris Nicole 16th July 2021
The latest version of the SMLE rules can be downloaded for free as a pdf file here:
Acknowledgements
SMLE is an ongoing project, it seems I add something or try to make existing rules clearer each time I look at it. If (or when) you come across a rule or statement that seems strange or unclear, if it's not covered in the design notes send me an e-mail. I will reply and try to explain or clarify my intentions. I may also include it in the design notes or update rules to cover it. If you disagree with something in SMLE and have an alternative, try it and let me know how it works.
SMLE is derived from Slammer SF skirmish rules, written by Chris Nicole with contributions and reality testing by Alex Nicole. Slammer was originally playtested by members of Humberside Wargames Society and the Society of Fantasy & Science Fiction Wargamers; Game Design Study Group. Additional playtesting and comments in the designers notes were supplied by Tom Pope.
Since then Slammer was developed greatly due to the suggestions, advice and contributions from the now defunct Slammer Yahoo group:
If you would like to follow any further developments in Slammer, SMLE or any other of my rules, there is an io.group that you are welcome to join:
SlammerSkirmish@groups.io
If you have any comments or suggestions, you can e-mail them to;
Chris Nicole. c/o chris.nicoleuk@gmail.com
Slammer and SMLE was influenced in approach, ideas, style and game mechanisms by many other authors. Some game designers and rulesets I particularly admire and recommend are:
John Armatys | Blitzspeil |
Phil Barker and Richard Bodley-Scott; | De Bellus Antiquatus (DBA), Hordes of the Things. |
Chip & Curtis (Chipco); | Fantasy Rules! |
Matthew Hartley; | Riot, Scudbusters. Tusk I, II & III. |
Arnold Hendrick; | Grav Armor. |
Steve Jackson; | Car Wars, Ogre / GEV / Battlesuit, The Fantasy Trip, Melee / Wizard, |
Jon Tuffley; | Dirtside, Full Thrust, Star Grunt, |
Jim Webster; | Hell and Fateful Decisions, Hellfire. |
and not forgetting Hollywood.
No comments:
Post a Comment