Legions of Steel (1992)

Global Games Company is the now defunct Canadian company that created the game. In Europe the miniatures are produced by [Amazon Miniatures] who now have the original moulds from Global Games Europe. Legions of Steel is in the same style as Space Hulk - while this is a full description, it does include comparisons to Space Hulk to help understand the differences. LOS features a modular board of passageways and rooms, doors, dice, and miniatures - "Over one pound of metal" as the box claims (the miniatures are lead unlike the plastic GW miniatures). The rulebook has several scenarios, and for a period it had a lot of expansions, at least in Canada. For example, like the Deathwing and Genestealer expansions, LOS has several advanced rule expansions to complicate the game (new units, moves, weapons). There are plenty of individual miniatures, and several map tile packs.

It is a squad-based tactical game. One player plays the commandos (typically two squads of 4) and the other player plays the machines (typically one "Mark III Assault Fiend" and a horde of 10 nightmares - skeleton like robots). Whereas in Space Hulk where the marines are slow but have ranged weapons, in LOS everyone has ranged weapons. But the commandos are more accurate, particularly at close range. They have leadership points, similar to Space Hulk, and one heavy weapons trooper with a short range but double-die plasma weapon. The Assault Fiend, for the machine player, is an exception. He moves quickly, takes two hits, and only has short-range weapons, but is very deadly. To add an additional differentiation each unit has grenades. Each commando has a force wall grenade (blocks one tile), and a K-pulse grenade (like a frag but low chance of success). The nightmares use "nachtmacher's" which are like super smoke grenades - they create an area of pitch darkness.

While the basic mechanics are similar to Space Hulk - move and shoot, one hit kills - there are some notable differences. Space Hulk, particularly in the later edition, uses a basic rule set. Other than move and shoot, you can also put a marine into "Overwatch" which allows you to take shots at any target that enters your line of sight. In Legions of Steel the rules are slightly more complex. For example, there are several battletech-ish modifiers to be aware of, such as firing through corners or firing after running. You have "Cover Fire" which is simply delaying your firing action to your opponent's turn - and so you only get one shot. You also have "Suppression Fire" which is more like Overwatch in Space Hulk, except it is a constant stream of fire, no risk of jamming, and more effective. You also have more fire options, such as auto-fire vs. burst fire (a basic mathematical evaluation usually identifies a clear favorite).

The basic rulebook includes several scenarios. Each scenario details how to build the map with the given tiles, the starting conditions, and objectives. Objectives are things like deliver the bomb, escape, kill, defend, and search. While there are no rules for custom maps or even campaign play, there is certainly no limit to your creativity. For example, having a hidden traitor unit on the commando’s team, playing a double blind game (two separated boards and one game master), etc.

Technically, it is a 2-player game. However, it is easy and enjoyable to play with 3 with the commando squads divided.

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