Fast and Furious Dogfights Amongst the Stars, Fueled by the D12 System
Red Shirt Smash is a departure from other D12 System games. It is a fast-paced space combat game, designed for play with large groups of players at conventions or other events. The rules are written to be easy and quick to learn, while offering options that reward clever play. all while remaining accessible to new wargamers and veterans alike. Red Shirt Smash is designed to be played with four to twelve players, and gets ever more fun and chaotic as more players are added. As a game originally written strictly to be run at conventions, the rulebook is less polished than other Red Shirt Games projects. However, players had so much fun at each event that we wanted to make it available to anyone who wanted to try it.
Red Shirt Smash uses a modified version of the D12 system, while keeping that system’s ease and speed of play. Each player controls a single space fighter, maneuvering around a map made up of small hexes instead of large zones. Movement is a core element of the game, with players needing to stay aware of their ship’s facing in order to best bring their cannons, missiles, and torpedoes to bear. Each player starts with a simple-to-operate tier one ship, with the objective of causing a certain number of critical hits on enemy ships and escaping the field through a wormhole. Once a player has accomplished this, they return as a more powerful ship of the next tier up. The first player to reach tier three, cause enough damage, and escape, is crowned the winner. They will have to be smart and skilled however, as all their opponents share the same goal.
The D12 System, Modified
Red Shirt Smash uses a modified version of the D12 System shared by other Red Shirt Games products, and shares their emphasis on staying easy to learn while rewarding careful tactical thinking. A few highlights of the system are included below:
· Ease of Entry: Red Shirt Smash is easy and affordable to start playing, requiring only a rulebook, a deck of standard playing cards, a play area marked hexes, a few D12s, and between a collection of model space fighters.
· Hex-Based Measuring: Red Shirt Smash measures all distances in “hexes”, making measuring quick and easy, without the need for tape measures.
· Unpredictable, Card-Based Initiative: Instead of players rolling for initiative, Red Shirt Smash uses a randomized, card-based system to determine initiative. Players can never be certain who will activate next, and must be willing to adapt their plans on the fly, as any good pilot must.
· Dynamic Movement: Movement in Red Shirt Smash is flexible, with ships able to move or attack first, or even make their attacks partway through their movement. This creates dynamic dogfights with ships darting into and out of each other’s fields of fire.
· Weapon Variety: Ships in Red Shirt Smash carry a wide range of weapons, from simple autocannons or miniguns, to rail guns, blasters, and guided missiles or torpedoes. Each weapon has its own strengths and weaknesses, and players must take advantage of them if they aim to achieve victory.