This review is being written based on version 0.92 Weasel's Counterattack. Weasel-Tech will continue to grow based on the visions of the author and the input of the players so if anything in this review conflicts with a later version, my apologies.

This is probably the first full on solo space opera anime episodic campaign heavy tabletop skirmish game ever created, so there's not a lot to compare it to. The only other solo mech game I know of is 5150 No Quarter - Mecha Combat and that is an entirely different gaming experience. Other mecha games have a bolt on solo system that can work well, but Weasel-Tech was built from the ground up for solo play.

You start the game with a stable of 8 Mecha, 6 Pilots, and 6 Command Staff. Unlike most 5 X from Y systems such as Five Parsecs from Home, Five Leagues from the Borderlands, and Five Klicks from the Zone, Weasel-Tech does not have background generators for your characters. I used a random anime character generator to form my 6 Pilots and used a combination of characters I've been holding in my head and a random name generator to form the Command Staff. You start with 2 styles of mecha frames to choose from, and have 4 of each. You choose from available weapons and equipment to load them out and gain access to better tech levels as you increase in experience. This allows for more advanced mecha frames as well.

Not only does Weasel-Tech offer the fluid gameplay of campaign and combat as seen in most of the 5 X from Y systems it also has the single most important addition to gameplay that I had no idea I was lacking until I read it upon these pages.

The Social System.

It is an optional rule, but intergral for a true character driven experience. Personal encounters create plot importance, friendship, rivalries, love, and the potential love triangle shenanigans that could ensue. While it is not currently part of starting a campaign, I would highly recommend starting Turn 0 of your Operation with a roll through the Social System. Frank Castillo of Jaguars Den Games first suggested it on the Facebook group, and it is a winner.

Here is an example of how my Squadron is starting the game:

Pilot Orochimaru and Intel Officer Ami Mizuno meet in a Private Location. They have no known feelings for each other. An Unexpected Event occurs. While hanging out, Pilot Happy shows up. Orochimaru and Happy have a heated exchange.

Orochimaru and Happy are now Rivals

Before the arrival of Happy, Ami Mizuno and Orochimaru had spent some time together and got along well, strengthening their relationship.

Ami Mizuno and Orochimaru are now Friends

Happy and Ami Mizuno spend some time together after Orochimaru leaves, strengthening their relationship.

Happy and Ami Mizuno are now Friends

And that's how Operation: Strong Biscotti starts for Battlecats Squadron.

This game is great. I was the one who suggested rolling on the social table at start of campaign 1st David! hehe all joking aside this game is what ive been waiting for. ive spent the last two days creating my own squadron and playing out the operations. the social rolls are great for story telling. ill be honest towards end of game im itching to wrap it up just so i can see the saturday morning cartoon drama between my Mech Jocks and the other command staff. 5 out of 5 stars and its only going to get better as Ivan is great about taking input from his community. cant wait to make some vids of this.

Weasel-Tech does what it sets out to do: help you tell a story of anime-style mechs battling each other, as well as the extra layer of interpersonal drama that is central to those shows. Gameplay itself is straightforward and brutal, and your mechs zip about the field blasting away across the table with glee (this is why cover and breaking up fire lanes with terrain is so important)! As stated in the description, it is being updated and adjusted currently, so wait to print this one for a little while. Definitely a fun way to kill some time.

An excellent system which handles fire power combat, ebe and flow with an elegant single dice. Fully adjustable for many periods. Really enjoyable, playable and give a real period feel. Well worth a try. 5 star....

I do love how versatile and malleable this game is. You certainly can't beat the price!

If you wat to have a great time getting your butt kicked by the game system, Five Parsecs: Bug Hunt is a good way to go.

It's in the Five Parsecs from Home family of rules done in the old NWG format so it's very printer friendly but lacks the flash of the Modiphius book. Like the current edition of Five Parsecs, it's based on 2e with some mechanical tweaks. In this case you start with a team of three military operatives and you roll for extra support and weapons for every mission. You face waves of blips that spawn enemy melee types (bugs, zombies, cybernetic nightmares) and try to accomplish your objectives before calling for evac. It's fun, brutal, and when your military folk muster out you can add them to your crew of Five Parsecs from Home.

5p made me a NWG fan. This module turned me into an unholy shill for these games.

Liked the campaign system but not a fan of the resoltion of combat

I am new to miniature gaming. I picked this up for something to use my minis with since solo gaming is all I have time for now I love that I can use whatever I have instead of having specific sets.

The rules are enjoyable and fairly straightforward. It took me two games. (1.5hrs for the firs and 1 hr for the second) to get the rules down. The randomness of it gives good replay value and keeps it challenging. You'll get the most out of it if you create a narrative to gowith each game. I also recommend finding a group to share your battle reports with if you like playing with people but don't have time to coordinate schedules.

Squad Hammer is amazing for two huge reasons. One, it is a great lighter slirmish game that is great for gerting any minis to the table quick. Squads, monters, tanks, mechs, indivdual heroes... all here. Mix and Match at will without worry of imbalance. The combat system is quick but still favors tactical smarts, weapons, and gear over standing in the open going rambo. Second, it is an amazing foundation to create ANY setting, any unit, only limited by your imagination. A great little gem from NWG.

This is hands down one of the best "engines" for smaller & larger skirmishes. It's incredible elegant in mechanics and allows for a very tactical gameplay experience. I would recommend this to anyone who has a couple of minis available and is interested in exploring different games than your typical grimdark franchiese.

It's very rules light, easy to pick up and really inspiring to make it work for all kinds of settings.

This is a great skirmish game with some very unique mechanics. It takes a bit to get used to the layout of the rulebook but it is well worth it. Stealth isnt just a roll or a simple concept, but an integral part of the game. Some of the fanstay stuff is a bit odd for the theme, and I would have prefer a little more traditional with the fantasy as extra, but overall, this is easily one of the best solo skirmish game on the market. It slims down the 5 parsecs RPG aspect while still creatimg an amazing narrarive and campaign. Easily 5 stars.

This is a gem! The game is full lovely funny details and fun references. It's based on the great Squad Hammer Engine (check it out aswell) which leads to fun, tactical and fast flowing games. The campaign system is very detailed and it's great fun to roll up a gang of punks and fight some evil CEOs

This is a fantastic squad based skirmish rule set that allows for the inclusion of individual "hero" units as well. a great blend of individualism and squad. Squads can be highly customized or stock from the book. There is a lot of freedom to make this game specifically for you or get going quick with stock stats from the book. Clash also lets you use modern military minis all the way to sci-fi and aliens. It really covers a lot of ground and does it well. The activation is great at keeping everyone involved and there is still potential for units not to activate depending on opposed activation rolls being tied (which is the perfect opportunity to let the enviroment to do something... move aliens, zombies, throw a curveball etc.).

This really is a perfect hybrid of wanting a band of individuals and having individuals lead an attack with squads (think jedi leading clones in the clone war era).

I highly recoomned this title for anyone looking for this style of skirmish game.

5 Parsecs Bug Hunt is a stand alone set of eules based on the 5Parsecs From Home solo RPG skirmish rules. You do not need any other NWG products to play this game. Everything you need to play is contained within this set -Bug Hunt. However, i highly recommend checking out ALL other NWG titles, they are full of great rules and inspiration that can be used across the different rule sets that you can plug and play to your hearts content.

On with the review.

As always with Nordic Weasle Games, the rules layout is excellent, logical, and eady to follow. Where alot of shiny over produced photo heavy expensive rule sets lose themselves and leaves the players scratching their head, tryinv to hunt down a single sentence of rules lost in 10 pages of guff, there is no fear of this happening with NWG titles, and Bug Hunt is no different.

Following from one proper read through, i set up a game with my newly painted, based, and varnished figures, and after just a few turns, i felt completely at home with the turn sequence and moving and shooting rules etc.

It was then, at this point, i realised i was physically grinning to myself. This rarely happens with a solo set of rules and should speak volumes for these rules. I am havung so much fun playing out encounters and the follow up RPG lite campaign turns as well. If you like more RPG heavy campaign turns i highly recommend purchasing Starport Scum and the expansions as well as obviously, all the 5 Parsecs rules and expansions. These titles have amazing rules and details and ideas for deeper RPG play that could easily be incorporated if you were so inclined.

The Rules

Its easy, set up your encounter by following the detailed encounter set up guide. Get your two sides together, the humans, and the bugs, imagine you are in a Hollywood scifi saga where creatures who are ill disposed towards human incursions in space/planets, pray to the dice gods, set your face in an expression of grim determination (stubby cigar optional), say something like "bugs dont surf" and hope for the best.

Bughunt will let you fight movie amd videogame inspired games solo and have great fun.

The rules are intuitive and become second nature after just a few turns.

The bugs on the board are first represented by contact markers which either move directly towards the nearest humans or in a random direction, once the marker is detected, a dice will be rolled according to the specific profile for the bug type included in the rules - there are many profiles for different types of bug enemies, then that many bugs will spawn on that marker. From then on, the bugs move directly towards the nearest human at a predefined rate in their phase.

Humans

Typically you will follow, in the campaign two to four main characters. Typically 3.

Then according to the mission prority rating you spend the priority points on additional troops - such as a 4 man fireteam. You automatically get 1 free 4 man fireteam to accompany the main characters in the encounter. You can spend points on additional combat teams or non-combatant specialist teams if you want, who have their own unique bonuses on the field of battle.

You will usually have 2 or 3 objectives to complete and then you have to call in evac which is not guarenteed to turn up when you want. The idea is to try and keep your characters alive whilst completing objectives as bugs continuously spawn and hunt you down.

There is also a difficulty system whereby you can make it easier or harder, if you so wish as well as variable encounter priority setting. Sometimes you will be fighting a low priority encounter, or medium priority, or high priority respectively. Obviously higher priority will be a harder fight but you will have more support points to buy support teams etc.

What is even better is that you only need approximately 20 miniatures per side.

For the humans you will need a couple of characters, a few 4 man fireteams, and a few groups of different specialists such as a recon team, engineer team, sniper, etc etc.

Overall, superb - soo much fun on your own! Highly recommend.