We have, amidst the rest of the things going on in the shed, been playing a lot of the new Osprey rule sets lately. These are all good rule sets. Usually simple and quick and easy to learn. Their other selling point is their somewhat individual nature. A couple of the books stand out as appearing very unique. Their Gods and Mortals rules (I have posted about my force before, one day I aim to finish this to a point that I can show it…) are unlike any that I have seen and are written by a talented chap named Andrea Sfiligoi.
His second rule set for Osprey uses the same activation rules and a lot of similar concepts but is set in a wildly different world. A Fistful Of Kung Fu is designed to allow us to play out any movie style game even down to those cinematic effects like swinging round lampposts or being hit in the face by a frying pan.
I know, we can all use our imagination to picture how our little heroes are beating up our enemies. These rules however, actually allow you to play a game and, as a result of combat, activate any item on the battlefield as a weapon or effect. No surprise here but I actually own 2 deep fat fryers in 28mm. In our first game I actually got to push one of my opponents henchmen into one of them, causing it to become a weapon in the fight and also leaving a slippery oil patch on the floor for later in the game.
The game calls for lots of small bits of scenery to be scattered over the table for just this purpose. When we played I got to use the modular warehouse I bought a while back, something that I have never found a place for in any other game.
It will be no surprise to some that I like scenery. With lots to pick from I can put an effective table out with ease. Lots of lampposts and table scatter. Trash cans to kick over, gas trucks to jump into and drive though shop windows, crates to climb and lengths of 2×4 timber to swing, poke or throw at anyone in range…
Fighting on container tops.
Running over the tops of buildings.
Jumping from place to place (and sometimes falling off stuff).
It’s all possible in this game.
If you want a game that is new and refreshingly different, but easy to read and play, this is likely to be one for you…
Andrea also appears to have his own rules system using the same (or very similar) basic rules. It’s called Song of Blades and Heroes and includes a fair few expansions already. Maybe this will be on the next wish list I set up on Amazon.
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