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Golgo Island version 2
Golgo Island version 2. By Sylvain Boudeele using the WarEngine rules by Aaron Overton
72 page pdf 10.00 euro (approximately $13.95 or £8.99)
Available from: Golgo Island
Miniatures available from: East Riding Miniatures
WarEngine rules: WarEngine
"A Golgo Island game is a fast and furious struggle between opposing factions firing countless rounds and strange energy rays from unbelievable zapguns, complete with close combat fighters wielding sacred nunchuks or using some long forgotten bare-handed techniques, and anonymous hordes of helpless extras dressed up in the most pathetic costumes prepared to die by the dozen, never to be remembered."
Golgo Island version 2 is a 76 page pdf containing rules and background to allow you to run games in the Golgo island setting. The document is well laid out with a pleasing uncluttered style and easy to read typeface. It is decorated with some pleasant and atmospheric illustrations.
There are two parts to Golgo Island, the rules and the setting. I'll deal with them separately because I have very different feelings and opinions of each.
The Rules
The rules are the long established WarEngine rules written by Aaron Overton. These rules drive several games includung Shock Force: Battles in the Remnants of America which was their first incarnation.
I imagine if you were introduced to wargaming by Games Workshop and were only conversant with their rules WarEngine would come as a breath of fresh air. Unit by unit activation and opposed rolls is better than IGOUGO. However there's lots of unnecessary measuring and dice rolling that achieves nothing but presumably makes everyone think they're doing something important.
For example, having every model check to see if it's in command radius at the end of its go is time consuming but, ok, if that's how you want your command and control rules to work it's cumbersome but workable. Checking them all again at the beginning of their next go is pointless and just serves to slow play down. What's going to have changed? And, if something did change, incorporating the check immediately for the models involved is a much quicker option.
The basic dice mechanic of rolling some, keeping some and then totalling gives the same bell curve of results as just rolling and totalling, it just flattens the curve a little. All you're doing is rolling some dice and ending up with less than you rolled, every time. Your opponent is doing the same, why not just roll less dice if you want lower numbers and add them all up?
At least you don't need to keep track of wounds.
So, I think the rules stink, why should you care? You can download the basic WarEngine rules from the link above and try them yourself and you might find you love them, some people do. I'm only giving an opinion so feel free to dismiss it. It's all pretty much irrelevant to the Golgo Island phenomenon anyway.
Luckily for me the WarEngine rules are not the point of Golgo Island. I am slightly amazed that someone as imaginative as Sylvain would use them instead of making up his own but I'll give him a break since he came up with the background and setting and, when he saw no one made figures to fit, started to sculpt his own. The man is a gaming legend, forging his own path and being an innovator. People like him grow this hobby and I, for one, am glad he's around.
The Setting
The point of Golgo Island is the setting and the feel of the games. Most of the rulebook is dedicated to this; background, scenarios, stats for all the characters and inhabitants and many, many additions to the basic WarEngine rules to allow them to bring out the weirdness and flavour of the setting.
The basic premise is 'anything goes' which suits me. I will be introducing some Golgo personalities into my own games as soon as I can paint the figures, Doctor Who and the Alpha Zorgl looks like it might be the first encounter.
Most of the scenarios are designed for four players, more can be accommodated without any bother which makes Golgo Island a good social game where more people can bring their own individual strangeness to the table in the form of their personally designed bizarre gangs, each increasing the communal Golgo feeling. The design of the scenarios encourages players to venture forth into the island and so meet and come into conflict with each other. Each gaming group has the tortoise player who prefers to hide in his shell and see if every one else will die off first, well in Golgo Island this sad individual will lose every time. The bold and the adventurous will triumph as was always intended by the Gods of Gaming.
There are many additions and tweeks to the basic rules that add flavour. The best is the addition of Twist Rolls for Heroes which is a wonderful gimmick. The effects are tailored to the individual Hero and range from controlling a monster to receiving a helpful gift just when he needs it from a supporting local. This is an innovative idea that adds to the novelty of the game, increasing the unexpected and adding chaos whilst keeping within the spirit of the setting.
The characters that inhabit Golgo Island are a mixed bunch of lunatics ranging from the strange to the very strange. Each is a little masterpiece of creation and should serve as inspiration for players to add their own. If you're not already thinking of adding your own characters then the game probably isn't for you. Golgo Island requires people to input something for it to work, spectators who just turn up to roll dice will miss out on a fundamental part of the Golgo Island experience and all participants should be encouraged to immerse themselves in the world as much as possible.
To summarise, Golgo island is a wonderful setting full of great and inspiring ideas tacked onto a clumsy rules system. However, you don't need to use the rules as given, this is wargaming, use them or not as you see fit. I shan't and you can expect some Golgo related content here as I introduce it into my own games. The background and ideas are easily worth the price of the pdf so I still recommend you get it. When it's finally recognised as the work of genius that it is you'll feel bad if you missed out.
9 cats, loses two for unimaginative rules but gets one back because projects like this deserve support and need to be widely known about..
Golgo Island version 2. By Sylvain Boudeele
All the pictures illustrating this review were taken from the Golgo Island website and are used without permission.
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