Game: I Ain't Been Shot, Mum

Thread: TFL International Games Day

bactrian5 — 2008-11-27T19:39:21+00:00

This Sunday, November 30th is the fall session of International Games Day for the Too Fat Lardies. Held twice a year the event organizes world wide players through the yahoo group to play a linked series of games centered around a common rule set and historic event. The theme this fall is the airborne operations on D-Day using the IABSM rule set. Players world wide have each been assigned a scenario involving the British and American airborne landings on June 5-6. Each group then reports results into "Lard Isle" where a theoretical winner is determined. A 6 - 8 week built up of research and yahoo chat comes to a head with friends and a great game. To get involved with the next "Lard Day" join up at the yahoo group link in the files.

Thread: Re: Review: I Ain't Been Shot, Mum

agent_pumpkin — 2008-06-21T11:14:46+00:00

This has got to be the best wargame ever. Its just so playable and really feels like I'm playing a wargame and not just a silly dice rolling game. Splendid.

Thread: Special deal for new customers

bactrian5 — 2008-02-14T17:55:18+00:00

From the publisher, "Too Fat Lardies"

"Lots of new stuff for January, the Up Your Cara Al Sol IABSM deal will get you a pdf copy of our I Ain't Been Shot Mum rules and a free copy of our Spanish Civil War supplement for just £6.00."

I Ain't Been Shot, Mum is a company level miniatures rule set covering WW2, many supplements have been published in the specials adapting these rules to conflicts both pre-WW2 and afterwards (Arab-Israel war - Korea) This is your chance to get the rules with a free supplement so you can dig right in.

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bactrian5 — 2007-12-04T00:33:21+00:00

Commonwealth assault on the Japanese held hill

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bactrian5 — 2007-12-03T22:20:58+00:00

Skulls from Litko showing wounds, colored bases are "Big Men"

Thread: AAR 'The fall of Singapore" Jurong Road scenario

bactrian5 — 2007-11-28T16:44:23+00:00

This game actually took place on Labor Day in San Francisco but I wanted to get an AAR in for this game. I Ain't Been Shot Mum! We had two
players with a dedicated card turner, our own Vanna White while I
did my best to umpire. The Japanese moved unmolested from their start
positions to occupy the hill before the Commonwealth got a chance to
move or deploy. Once the Japanese deployed it was an uphill struggle for
the Commonwealth to assault the seven sections plus MMG. The Brits
used what little cover there was to close before one section mistaken
rushed the hilltop and closed with the Japaneses. The Brits lost the combat
and retreated back down the hill. The Aussies sent two sections on a
flank march to try and get behind the MMG's while the other two
sections got into a fire fight with the 1st Japanese platoon after
retreating from a charge up the hill. A Japanese Banzai charge rushed
into the weakened Aussie's and after multiple rounds of combat one
Banzai charge had just a Japanese big man and a lone rifleman left. The
fire fights were taking a toll on both sides as sections from both
sides dissolved. One last desperate Aussie charge against the MMG on
the flank took casualties and retreated back into the light cover to
regroup. At this point the Commonwealth realized that they didn't have
the strength to keep the Japanese from controlling the hill and
decided to fall back to Singapore. This was the first time playing IABSM for all involved. Having an umpire allowed the players to concentrate on tactics and rolling dice. It was great fun, both the gaming
and meeting a few fellow Lardies. IABSM is a well needed historical alternative to the tournament army build style of FOW.

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bactrian5 — 2007-11-28T06:32:14+00:00

Aussies and Brits charging a Japanese held hill

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bactrian5 — 2007-11-28T06:30:22+00:00

Japanese and Commonwealth blinds in Singapore

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Barn — 2007-05-07T00:39:41+00:00

Unbased 15mm PeterPig Fallschirmjager

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whisperin_al — 2007-04-29T08:46:36+00:00

To Die for a Tie: The Korean War Supplement for IABSM

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whisperin_al — 2007-04-29T08:45:56+00:00

An Un-Holy Mess: The Arab-Israeli War 1947-1949 Supplement for IABSM

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whisperin_al — 2007-04-29T08:44:55+00:00

We'll Have to Bloody Walk: Falklands Supplement for IABSM

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whisperin_al — 2007-04-29T08:43:59+00:00

Up Your Cara Al Sol!: Spanish Civil War Supplement for IABSM

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whisperin_al — 2007-04-29T08:29:48+00:00

In the Footsteps of Legions: The Mediterranean and African Campaigns

Thread: Re: Review: I Ain't Been Shot, Mum

bactrian5 — 2007-01-12T05:24:22+00:00

I've bought a few rule sets from the Lardies and recieved them via pdf within the day. Interesting and unique concepts which hopefully will be very playable.

Thread: SCW, Arab-Israeli, Korean War and Falklands supplements

whisperin_al — 2006-12-16T09:24:20+00:00

The Too Fat Lardies produce seasonal specials twice a year which contain articles, scenarios and supplements for their various rule sets.

The summer 2004 special contains Up Your "Cara Al Sol" a Spanish Civil War version of IABSM by Kevin Lowth along with some scenarios for it.

The winter 2004 special contains We'll Have to Bloody Walk a Falklands supplement by Richard Clarke again with some scenarios.

The summer 2005 special contains An Un-Holy Mess a supplement covering the 1947-49 Arab Israeli war by Richard Clarke with some scenarios.

The winter 2005 special contains To Die for a Tie the Korean War supplement once again by Richard Clarke along with some scenarios.

I believe all of these are still available in .pdf form via the Lardies website.

Thread: Re: Review: I Ain't Been Shot, Mum

madDdog67 — 2006-11-28T03:48:02+00:00

I emailed them, and requested the PDF. I made the payment, now I'm awaiting the file...shouldn't take too long, hopefully.

Thread: Re: Review: I Ain't Been Shot, Mum

whisperin_al — 2006-11-26T17:59:00+00:00

The rules are available either as an Adobe .pdf download or as a hardcopy. They are GBP£6.00 for the .pdf and range from GBP£11.25 (UK) to GBP£13.50 (Australasia) including postage and packing. You can order from the Lardies website and also check out the supplements. Their service is usually pretty good and the support via the Yahoo group is also good.

Thread: Re: Review: I Ain't Been Shot, Mum

madDdog67 — 2006-11-26T16:31:29+00:00

Thanks for the review...I've been looking at these rules for a while. I bought Face of Battle, another skirmish ruleset earlier this year, and just now got around to playing it a little.

In FoB, movement/actions are done kind of the same way...you construct a deck of cards that correspond to the soldiers and the number of actions they have (based on initiative/type of troop, etc), then you and your opponent each flip a card and move/shoot simultaneously. As you can imagine, this also produces a situation where you may not be able to move or shoot the particular soldier you want when you want.

I've enjoyed it so far, but will probably pick up a few other sets, just for comparison. IABSM is probably at the top of that list. I can't remember off the top of my head, how much were the rules?

Thread: Review: I Ain't Been Shot, Mum

whisperin_al — 2006-11-26T10:45:02+00:00

I Ain't Been Shot, Mum (IABSM) is a set of World War 2 rules by Richard Clarke and Nick Skinner of the Too Fat Lardies.
The rules are based on a 1:1 figure:man ratio, with the smallest manoeuvre unit being the section and placing the player at Company commander level or above.
Turn sequence
The turn sequence is dictated through a card system with each platoon, each "Big Man" having a card combined with various special cards. In addition there is the "Tea Break" card which, when drawn, indicated the end of the turn; however, units which have not yet fired and have a target in short range may then fire. The Tea Break card means that not every unit will be able to act each turn.
You will have noticed the reference to Big Man this is Lardies shorthand for the natural leaders within a company who are able to galvanise their fellow soldiers into action. Their inate command ability is represented by having their own card so a unit with a Big Man attached doubles their opportunity to activate during any turn.
The special cards include bonus moves, bonus firing, ammunition shortages, national characteristics (e.g. human wave attacks) etc. These cards are theatre and scenario specific.
Once active a unit may utilise their "Initiative Dice" in order to perform actions (spotting, movement, firing etc.). The number of Initiative Dice (d6) is determined by the quality of the troops and is gradually reduced as a unit takes casualties.
Spotting
The rules system provides for the use of "Blinds" where units have not yet been spotted. These are card templates which can conceal one or more or, indeed, no units and must be the subject of a successful spotting roll or activate in order to be revealed. Any cover may also be treated as a blind and hence be hiding troops deplayed in concealment.
A separate Blinds Move card is used in the deck and the cards for the units concealed are kept to one side and only inserted into the pack when the unit is revealed. This system enables some greater co-ordination of units before they fully deploy and maintains an element of the fog of war. Additionally Blinds may perform any action that a unit can do other than firing (in which case they must be revealed).
Spotting is achieved by sacrificing one Initiative Dice in order to make each spotting roll. The target number for the spotting roll is an example of the Lardies approach to these issues. Rather than provide a prescriptive list of modifiers they provide examples of factors which may make spotting easier or more difficult alogn with typical target numbers (e.g. a particularly easy spot will require a 3 or 4 on a 2d6, with ahard spot around 11). The players or umpire then need to determine the number and thus whether the units revealed or the blind removed. This may no appeal to all gamers but I have found it provides a much more flexible approach than a precriptive list.
Movement
Movement is determined by allocating a number of Initiative Dice, rolling them and then moving that number of inches. Units who have take sufficient casualties to lose their Initiative Dice may make a Guts Test to see if they may move or must rely on a Big Man (who has an Initiative Dice of his own) to help them. Modifiers are provided to allow for different terrain types.
Firing
Firing is determined by the number of Initiative Dice allocated to it. It does not need to take place when a unit's card turns up as the dice may be reserved for use later in the turn when the attached Big Man's card turns up or on the Tea Break card.
As with spotting th system is not prescriptive it requires the players to agree as to whether the situation provides a Good, OK or Poor shot and different columns on the firing table are applied. Range bands are also included. The result is specified as a number of potential casualties and may also make the unit pinned (no move but may fire) or suppressed (no move or firing) for the remainder of the turn. Potential casualties are the diced for to determine whether they were a near miss, wound or indeed dead. "Wounds" is more Lardies shorthand and actually means loss of unit cohesion and is a negative modifier to the unit's Initiative Dice. These "Wounds" may be removed by a Big Man.
Close Combat
This is achieved by each side rolling 1d6 per figure with the total number of dice for each unit being modified for troop quality, Big Men, heavy weapons, wounds, suppression etc. A "six and you're dead" approach is then used with the overall result being determined by the difference in casualties.
Morale
For the most part morale is built into the system through the Initiative Dice being reduced as casualties are suffered; however, where the players agree a specific morale test is required due to the particular circumstances a specific roll of 2d6 versus the number of casualties suffered may be made. Again a flexible approach is provided with the players agreeing any positive or negative factors which should be taken into account (examples are provided) and ultimately agreeing the effect of the result.
Optional rules
Various optional rules are provided to address Tank Quirks, MG Sustained Fire, National Characteristics etc.
Vehicles, Artillery etc.
Rules are provided for all these but I have concentrated on the infantry to better communicate the basic mechanisms as armour, artillery etc. all follow similar principles.
Presentation
The rules are clearly layed out in sections with a table of contents and some examples. There are no graphics and, other than the covers, the rules are in black and white. This obviously has benefits if your are buying the .pdf option and printing it yourself. A few more examples might be beneficial but overall the presentation is good.
Summary
The Lardies strapline is "playing the period, not the rules" and these rules are an excellent example of this approach in that they provide a framework for play rather than having a prescriptive approach thus meaning that player should win through the use of appropriate tactics rather than relying on obscure references to or inappropriate application of rules. I believe these rules achieve the aim.
IABSM are not rules for everyone. If you like to have total control with every unit moving on every turn then the initiative system will not be for you. If you like a prescriptive set of modifiers for spotting, firing or morale rather than the common sense/by agreement approach adopted by IABSM then you will probably not like these rules. But if you want a good set of World War 2 rules for this level of combat then I highly recommend IABSM. With the unpredictability of unit movement the best use of Big Men becomes a real challenge along with the need for a more complex level of planning which is appropriate for the level of command being represented. They have become firm favourites of mine and work equally well in two or multi-player games.

Thread: I Ain't Been Shot Mum!

badinfo — 2006-01-26T05:47:35+00:00

Having started my WW2 miniatures gaming with Tractics back in the late 70's I've since played rather a lot of different rules sets. Well, at least the names were different
I Ain't Been Shot Mum! is truly different. While it is fairly simple in execution and easy to learn, it very nicely captures the friction and "fog of war" inherent in tactical level modern combat.
Drawing inspiration from the original Kriegspiel concepts, the chaps at Too Fat Lardies have crafted a game that deals with company level WW2 combat without getting lost in trivial detail that bogs down so many games.
Figures are 1 to 1, and there are supplements for different periods and theatres of war giving basic company and support organisations for each army.

The game uses a card driven system to determine who moves when. Cards are made up for each platoon and support element, and there are suggested cards for "national differences" such as the Out of Petrol card for the late war Germans. There is also a "Tea Break" card, which when drawn ends the turn. So it is possible some or all of your units may not get to move in a particular turn. Chalk it up to "friction", your guys didnt get the order etc.

Each unit has a pool of dice based on their experience rating that determines movement and shooting capability. For instance your platoon gets say 4 dice. It can use those dice to move, or shoot, or hold some back for opportunity fire. So if you really need to get to that hedge across the field you may want to roll all four dice, if you think the enemy is going to appear around that hill you may want to save a couple dice back for an opportunity fire attempt.

Movement starts on "blinds", a very nifty way to handle hidden movement.
Each side gets a number of blinds at the start, these can then represent an actual unit or be a dummy. Blinds can still spot other blinds, it is assumed that the dummy blinds represent small scout teams of one or two men who just melt away if spotted.

Combat is handled nicely by an easy to use table. Depending on the status of the target unit, a shot is either Great, OK, or Poor. Like most things in IABSM it is up to the players to agree on things in a gentlemanly fashion. Is the unit moving in the open? Then its usually a great shot. If the firing unit is taking fire it may become just an OK shot as they have other things to worry about. The designers have stated that they prefer to play with gentlemen and rules lawyers need not apply. Some find an umpire helpful, in my group we generally get along without one.

Once you've come under fire, you will start to accumulate "wounds" which act like a cohesion hit, the more wounds your unit has the worse it performs. This is where the Big Men come in, they are your heroic leader types. You will only have a couple Big Men, and how you use them is key. Big Men can remove wounds from units they are with, putting the unit back in fighting condition again.

We've played several games of IABSM at the local shop and the rules have been well recieved. Some folks used to playing games where you have TOTAL control of each and every figure have trouble getting used to the chaos of IABSM but those looking for a game that presents the sort of challenges a company commander would have faced find it great sport indeed.