Combat Ready! Playtest Materials

I have assembled a mass of figures and other items to use when I start playtesting the rules for Combat Ready in the near future. I had not intended to do so already because I was out picking up a few groceries and cleaning supplies for the house. I am in the middle of packing up and preparing for a move to my first home purchased so I needed to restock.

The first stop I made was one of the dollar stores; I honestly do not recall if it was Dollar General or Dollar Tree but it was one of the two. I found another bag of the old green and tan Army Men for only $1 so I added it to my purchases. The figures look almost exactly the same – with the exception of the green being darker in the second bag – but the bag and label are different. At this point, I had collected 50 figures for a total out of pocket expense of $2. I was pretty pleased with the unexpected find and did not expect anything further at this point.

The next stop I made was Wal-Mart. While I was browsing the aisles and looking for the items on my list, I recalled that I had seen Army Men in the toy section on a previous visit. I figured I might as well go look to see what I could find that day. I discovered that Wal-Mart had a bucket of Army Men but it was the the only one available at the store that day. I added it to my basket and went about the rest of my grocery shopping.

I took a closer look when I got home to see that I had purchased the ADVENTURE FORCE Army Bucket of 100 items for only $9.96! In addition to the usual green and tan Army Men there are items such as tanks, sandbags, barrels, concertina wire, paratrooper, and more. In other words, a healthy supply of materials to start from and it only cost $11.96 plus tax.

The next step will be going through the bags and the bucket to see exactly what I have and how much of each figure and item. Then I will come up with some ideas on statistics for Attack, Defense, and Special. I will also need to devise some rules for obstacles (concertina wire and barrels), reinforcements (paratrooper), tanks, and I am sure there will be other things to consider after that. That seems like a pretty good place to start.

If this works out then I would like to expand it in the future. I know Hobby Lobby has similar figures of knights, dinosaurs, etc. but I have not taken a good look at them. I will investigate on my next visit. I also know that I can find science fiction figures online so that would be another genre to branch out with also. Unless I just find a really good deal I will stick with the Army Men game and then go from there later.

Combat Ready! (work in progress)

Combat Ready! is an idea for a game I’ve had for a long time. It’s nothing new or revolutionary and similar attempts have bene made over the years but I want to do my own version. The concept is simple. Remember those old green plastic Army guys that everybody seemed to have back in the 1980s? For years, I have wanted to do a rules light, fast playing game centered around small forces of these figures; maybe squad or platoon level in the real world. A game that is easy to setup with minimal investment that can be played in a short amount of time.

I want to start small by focusing on personnel and weapons. There are tons of possibilities for expansion beyond that base. Some of the possibilities include vehicles, calling in air strikes, minefields, booby traps, demolitions, reinforcements etc. Eventually, there could be enough material for a basic game and an expanded game. The goal should always be to keep the rules simple and easy to follow.

I picked up this 25 piece bag of green and brown ARMY COMMAND soldiers from the Dollar General last night. That’s what I’m going to use to start my design. My focus will be on using what is available rather than trying to search for high dollar single figures or other that ultra rare item. I’ve seen various forms of these Army figures at various locations ranging from a low price of a dollar a bag to maybe $15 for a big bucket of them. If needed it would be pretty easy to gather a larger force if you wanted to add to your collection or have a massive battle.

On a site note, there are other options available other than the standard green or tan figures. I have seen blue and grey ones. I also stumbled across some websites that sell other types such as medieval, western, space, etc. In effect, a whole range of compatible games could be made to scratch whatever itch you may be experiencing at the moment.

There are some initial thought out of the way. I’ll be revisiting this idea from time to time. I’m not sure how long the process will take but it IS a work in progress…