On our last game night we played Heavy Gear among others.

We are still learning about Heavy Gear and as a result we are still playing very basic games, 3 gears on 3 gears.  They are often short and vicious battles.   In every game there is always a surprise.   This game was no different it is a testament of how balanced I believe the game is.

Box cover of the first Heavy Gear computer game (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The two forces that faced off were 150 points or less.

Warrior w/bazooka

Hunter

Jager

against

Dessert Viper

Mad Dog

Hunter

We played on a 28″ by 24 Inch board with a lot of terrain.  The models were all deployed.   The dessert viper was the first to activate.  He stepped out from the Fuel silo and took a shot at the Warrior.   The  Warrior was in the open at sub optimal range – definitly worth the shot with a heavy grenade launcher.  The dice were cast 2 natural sixes compared to a one and a two.  We didn’t even finish the math, we just removed the model.  the rest of the first turn was spent jockeying for position.

On turn two my opponent had the opportunity to go first.  His Hunter came running around the corner towards the Mad Dog and the Dessert Viper and threw a hand grenade at the Mad Dog.  Each of the Gears took at least a box of Damage.  If memory serves the Hunter took 2 boxes.  Then the Dessert Viper moved forwward and Fired another grenade only to miss, with no end result.  His Jager, ostracized from the battlefield, kicked into ground mode and top speed in an attempt to get into combat.  The Mad Dog moved forward his minimum distance crashing into the Hunter.  The Hunter was no more.

On turn 3 The Jager dropped to combat speed and took a shot at the stunned Mad Dog.  It was a devastating blow, pieces of the mad Dog went everywhere,with a plume of flames.  The Desert Viper advanced and returned  ripping of about half the Jagers armor, while the Hunter kicked it into top speed.

On Turn four the Jager advanced and fired.  He lit up the Jager with a margin of six on the dice thus ending the pilots life.  The hunter dropped to combat speed and opened fire missing the Jager.

At the top of round five we had one Jager with half of its armor and an untouched Hunter.  The Jager won initiative and managed to hit the Hunter.  It was too little too late, sadly, the Hunter returned fire and ended the game.

That game is one of the most appealing things about heavy gear.  The game isn’t about a list.  It isn’t  just about how many dice you roll. In so many games it is about what you have to put on the table. In Heavy Gear it looks like it is more about how you use it

Related articles

• Heavy Gear Blitz: A Brief Overview (gamer-goggles.com)
• Game Night Feb 22 2012 (gamer-goggles.com)