Rob came up to me a week or so ago in Asgard Games and pressed a set of
rules into my hands asking me to read them, maybe I’d be interested in trying
them out???
I’ve pretty much “been around the block” several times as a wargamer and
instantly recognised the mild desperation tinged with hope that you get when
someone is really wanting to play a game system but can’t convince his fellows
to get involved. It happens to us all. What I should have said was “Thanks Rob
but I’m just so busy with other projects I can’t take on another” and it would
have had the added bonus of being true. However I am a soft hearted sort really
so accepted the proffered rules on the understanding I would read them and
return them.
I’m not wholly sure if my intention was to read them, or
maybe just wait a week or two and then return them, but read them I did.
The rules are called Aggro, produced by Ainsty and are a
semi skirmish set in the mid to late 70s around the theme of football gang violence.
This is a bit of an issue for me personally. I’m old enough to
have been there when the real thing was happening – going to the match with my
Dad, and can remember being escorted by the Police out of Fleethams after watching
the mighty Hartlepool United beat “the Scum” (aka Darlington AFC). Nowadays
football violence is something we thankfully seem to have grown out of, but
then it was a major issue. Given this I was pretty much prejudiced against
Aggro from the start.
So I was pleasantly surprised when I did get a half hour
spare and decided to read them. The rules are well written, with some really
interesting aspects and mechanisms. They’re card activated and all combat is
card driven, all using a standard deck of playing cards. There are rules for
gang building and a rudimentary campaign system, all in all pretty good and well worth the price of a tenner. If this is your thing, or you are looking for an interesting non dice mechanism then Aggro may well be worth "having a go" at.
Will I play them ? – probably not. I can’t see myself investing
the time and money for what would be another “boutique” game. I’m also 100%
sure the setting is not attractive to me either. Given the popularity of
fantasy \ Si Fi sports games – BloodBowl, DeathBall & now GuildBall the
authors may well have been better shifting the setting to a post match brawl
between rival gangs of fans for those types of games – the rules are robust
enough to handle it, and would give that extra edge to any fantasy sports game.
So sorry Rob, not this time, but thanks anyway to Rob &
Ainsty for a nice set of rules and associated figures. Now I’m off to find my
bobble hat and rattle.
