You get the following in the starter game: a nicely bound, paperback 105 page rulebook, several six-sided dice (d6s), a paper fold-out map to serve as the playing surface for your games, card terrain and 12 plastic miniatures, which you have to assemble and paint. In order to play, you'll need to assemble the minis and also get a measuring device like a tape or yardstick so you can measure distances.
Each player in GMC1 plays the leader or 'Top Dog' of a gang of ruffians trying to make a name for themselves in the fictional future Mega City One. Each gang has only one Top Dog (represented by a specific mini) and is otherwise made up of Punks and Juves, aspiring low-lifes who want to be part of the gang. Juves are, as their name suggests, younger and less experienced. Punks, on the other hand, have some time being bad under their belts and often have special skills and abilities that help make them more useful in a fight or afterward.
To begin a game, you have to build your gang. You get the Top Dog for free and 10,000 credits with which to recruit gangers and buy them all equipment. Starting gangs are limited by the Reputation rating as to what types of weapons and equipment they can start off with. Their Rep also limits what kind of specialists (models who provide specific skills not normally found in a gang) will work for the gang. Using the 10,000 and the limits of equipment choices, you can figure up a gang in about ten minutes---once you're familiar with the system.
The starter set includes 12 miniatures with a lot of weapons and equipment choices on the model sprues. The plastics included with the game are not the most revered minis ever produced. They serve well enough for low-level gangers but serious players will likely find themselves buying the metal range for the GMC1 or supplementing their gangs with minis from other manufacturers. IMO, they work well as standard mook type gangers for casual players and serious Judge Dredd fans alike.
You need at least 5 minis (including the Top Dog) to form a gang, so you're set with what comes in the box if you want to just play games with those minis. As with most minis games, you generally wanna have the weapons shown on the mini so that there's no dispute. Frex, your Top Dog will have to have a rifle-type weapon modelled on the miniature if you want to say that he's got that sort of thing on him. GMC1 is pretty casual about the exactness of the modelling, though. As long as it's obvious that something's a knife or a pistol or a rifle-type gun, you are pretty much free to go with the flow in your modelling efforts.
Every gang starts out with one territory or turf that it controls. The point of the turf, in game terms, is to produce revenue and to maintain reputation. The more turfs your gang holds, the more money (which equals equipment, support and weapons) and reputation (greater variety in accessing equipment and support) your gang will have. There are several scenarios in the back of the book and it's good to run through a simple one before you start a campaign---a series of games during which your wins and losses will affect the improvement or degradation of your individual gang members.
Models are described by a set of characteristics as they would be in other wargames/RPGs. Speed is the number of inches the model can move in a turn. Agility is the number you must match or exceed in order to shoot a target; it also measures how well a model climbs and navigates terrain like fences and such. Resilience is your ganger's toughness and the number which must be met or exceeded in order for a 'hit' to be lost.
Close Combat is the number of d6s you roll in melee combat. Unlike many games, GMC1 does not allow you to add these dice together to determine the winner of a close up fight. Instead, you roll the appropriate number of dice and select the one you want (usually the highest). Hits is like wounds or hit points, with most starting figures having only one hit.
Will to Fight is a measure of morale. There are a number of instances that require a WtF check. Losing the Top Dog, being surrounded by enough enemy models, losing a quarter of the gang, seeing a nearby friendly ganger get killed or injured or when the model is injured itself. If a model succeeds its WtF check, it soldiers on and keeps on fighting. If not, the model is removed from play, assumed to have grabbed its toys and headed for the hills.
The last characteristic describes any special abilities or traits that the model may have. Not every model will have an entry for this, of course.
One of the unique things about GMC1 is its turn sequence. During your turn, you get to activate only ONE model. That's right. You only get to choose one of your gangers and do something with him/her. This is where the leadership mechanic of the game kicks in. The Top Dog and sometimes a punk (assuming you purhcased the specific trait) in a gang have leadership capabilities that can allow you to activate one or two additional models in your gang. That means if you activate the Top Dog as your single choice for your turn, you can use his ability to activate two other miniatures (as long as they're within the range of his leadership----usually 10").
An activated model can use its abilities (like the Natural Leader skill for the Top Dog) and make up to two actions. Actions include move, shoot, charge and ready. Movement is simply changing where your ganger is on the table and is governed by terrain, armor (some armor types slow you down), and the model's speed characteristic.
Shooting is done using the Agility characteristic for the shooting model. Assuming the shooter has line of sight and the target is within range, the player rolls the number of shooting dice (e.g., a rifle might have 2D -- 2 shooting dice) for the particular weapon it is using. Different weapons obviously use different number of dice to reflect things like rapid fire, etc. Each die (d6) that equals or exceeds the shooters Ag score is a hit.
Cover comes in light, heavy and fortified varieties and gives the target a die roll for each successful hit against it. Light cover negates hits on a die roll of 6, heavy on a 5 or higher and fortified ignores successful attacks on 4 or more. If the attack succeeded in hitting and cover was failed, it's time to take a damage roll. Each weapon, from pistol to laser bazooka (lazooka), has a specified number of damage dice. Roll these dice for each unsaved hit and compare the result to the targets resilience score. If it equals or exceeds the score, damage is scored. Armor is useful in the game (to targets) because it increases the effective resilience score.
Charging is simply moving into close combat with another model(s). As noted before, the players use their Close Combat dice to face off. More dice means you have a better chance of rolling a '6' or at least beating your opponent's best die. The highest single die (each player selects his best die) for the combat wins with ties remaining as a draw. Every point you beat your opponent by (he rolled 6 and you rolled 4, so you were beat by 2 points), allows a damage roll. Just like shooting, damage rolls in melee are affected by weapons with some weapons being nastier than others.
Ready actions are the things you do to prep something. You might have to ready a fuse for a specific weapon, load a special magazine, set up explosives on a door or any of a number of things that aren't shooting, moving or melee fighting in close combat. Ready actions are used to prep certain weapons for attack and can be used to perform scenario specific actions such as picking a lock.
Wounded models that have lost their last hit are removed from the game. Their fate in a single one-off game is not that important. However, in campaign games, that model's destiny is governed by dice rolls on the injuries table. A model can recover without so much as a serious scratch, be disabled or be killed outright, depending on the after game dice roll.
Another really neat thing about GMC1's mechanics is Alert status. As long as a model didn't act during its player's last turn, it's on alert----ready to react to enemy activity within 10". Basically, this is like overwatch in other games and allows a better balance as one player is able to react to his opponent's nearby actions. Models on altert status can basically fire off a round at the closing enemy troops during the enemy player's turn.
Where are the Judges, you ask. Well, as was mentioned before, reputation is the lifeblood of a gang, determining their access to resources, funds and other support. If a player is challenged by a gang that he knows will absolutely fry him due to a large difference between their reputation ratings, the challenged player can take the low road and call the Judges. That player then plays the fight out but instead of fielding his usual gang, he gets to play using a patrol of Judges.
Judge miniatures are not included in the game but their rules and stats are. Mongoose produces very nice metal minis representing Judges including an excellent model of a Judge aboard a LawMaster combat cycle. While this does represent additional outlay, playing the
Unlike gangs, Judge patrols are very well coordinated. All Judges can be activated each turn, whereas the ganger player must rely on his Top Dog and lieutenants to motivate more than one ganger at a time. Judges first must try to arrest the perps and can force a WtF check that could result in individual gangers throwing down their weapons and going along quietly. Judges are a balancing gimmick and can be a blast for both players---especially if you house rule things like saying Dredd-like things before the Judge player takes his turn :)
A final place where GMC1 shines is its campaign system. Your gang members will improve (and some may get injured and disabled) the longer you play them. They can gain characteristic increases, learn skills and purchase new weapons and equipment as your gang expands its turf and improves its resources. The advancement system is very nicely done and players can become quite attached to their models after a few fights.
Good Things: Excellent range of metal miniatures including characterful support options like robodogs, batgliders, fatties, etc. Superb rules that introduce some unique mechanics combinations Judge patrols as a balancing mechanism Seems to capture the Mega City atmosphere
Things I Would Change: Plastics in Starter are passable Consider including some Judges in the starter Ditch the too-thin cardstock terrain and playmat as current ones are not very sturdy---perhaps include a terrain making section in the rulebook instead
Bottom line is this product will ultimately be compared to previous future skirmish rules like Combat Zone, but especially Games Workshop's Necomunda. Having played Necromunda and GMC1, I have to say that I honestly prefer the atmosphere in GMC1 better. I also like GMC1's resolution for shooting, melee and damage resolution that doesn't require a cross-referenced dice roll since it speeds play. Last, I like the mechanics for GMC1 since they seem to encourage a more flowing game style. Didn't want to end the review as a comparison of the two products but people familiar with Necromunda will wonder why they should check out GMC1 since both games cover admittedly similar territory.
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