Final Fade Out

Image from THW's site

The latest incarnation of Two Hour Wargames' "All Things Zombie" rules,  "Final Fade Out" is nearly upon us, with an expected release date of late September/October. The THW blog (http://2hourblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/atz-final-fade-out-daybreak-final-act.html) has featured examples of play using the new rules.  Colgar6's site (http://colgar6.blogspot.com/2012/09/atz-ffo-campaign-game-5-battle-of.html) also has a full (exciting) write up of a game from his own Zombie campaign using the new rules as for playtesting. Vampifan, whom I communicate with regularly is also a playtester for Final Fade Out, so I'm privileged to having his views on the rules from too.

Although nothing is cast in stone, following on from THW's "After the Horsemen" rules, which featured the addition of skills and a greater number of attributes, to make for a more role-play style of game, FFO promises to have much of the same.

The additional skills of "Savvy" and "People" as separate skills to the all-encompassing Reputation (Rep) are useful ideas although I can't foresee the "Savvy" skill being used that much when its novelty wears off after a few games.  Separate Shooting and Melee skills would to my mind have been of greater use. However, one of the greatest features of THW's rules is their adaptability to one's own needs. If you don't like a rule, just change it or ignore it, it won't have that much effect (if any) on the overall enjoyment of the game.

There appears to be a lot more detail put into the "bells and whistles" aspect of the game, which I personally like.  Attention to detail in rules, where appropriate and where it doesn't detract from the flow of the game is welcomed and can of course be ignored if it proves annoying or a nuisance.

There will be changes of course that may appear to be changes, for changes sake, such as being able to fight four opponents simultaneously instead of six. Again though, if the changes don't appeal to you then you can always revert to the original ATZ rules.

Will I be buying the new rules ? - Undoubtedly, although I can't see me using them without having a bit of a tinker with them to give me the game I want. I'll certainly be using separate Shooting and Melee skills for example. there's a reason why our Gold Medallist in the Men's Double Trap, Shooting event (Peter Wilson), didn't also win the fencing competitions !

That's it for this week, thanks for taking the time to look.
All comments are of course welcomed and appreciated.