These rules are designed for playing short, fast, army-level fantasy battles. They can be used with 15mm or 25mm figures. Our recent games, slightly larger than recomended at 1250 points per side, fit comfortably on a 4X6 table and took under two hours to play. The first several games took a good bit longer, due to the need to hunt down specific rules; there is a lot of material, and the precise point you need to know may be buried in the middle of a long paragraph. It's all there, however, and after a few games it all moves along quite quickly. There is a quick reference sheet provided, but it lacks several frequently used tables.

The basic mechanics of movement and combat are somewhat akin to WRG's HORDES OF THE THINGS (HOTT). CHIPCO's FANTASY RULES! (FR!) uses a "morale clock" which measures declining army morale and determines victory; it also limits the number of groups of units which can move in a turn, in the same way as the "pips" from rolling movement dice in HOTT. Initially each side's clock is at "9", which allows any but the most scattered army to move in its entirity; but when the main battlelines clash three or four turns later, armies may be down to "7" or "6" on their clocks and be forced to choose which units to move each turn. This reviewer has always admired HOTT's pip system as an elegant way of discouraging overly complex dispositions and battle plans, but has also felt it relied a bit too much on luck. FR!'s morale clock is an equally elegant mechanism which has the added benefit of being predictable. A commander knows that he will gradually lose control over his units as the battle progresses, but the decline is more likely to be gradual than the wild shifts from turn to turn characteristic of HOTT.

The combat system is very similar to HOTT. Units in contact roll a D10 and add modifiers for factors such as charging, special weapons relationships (e.g. pikes versus cavalry, hand weapons versus pikes), terrain, and so forth. A tie roll is a lock, otherwise the winner demoralizes the loser. A second demoralized result (on a subsequent turn) pushes back the loser, and a third defeat destroys the unit. If a unit's score is doubled by its opponent's roll, it is destroyed immediately.

Where FR! improves upon HOTT is in its magic rules. HOTT magic was very abstract, while FR!'s is very detailed. There are various classes of major and minor characters (wizards, clerics, shamans, witch doctors, bards, hive queens, and many more) with appropriate spell lists and special powers. Each magic user rolls a D10 each turn for "magic points" which are expended either in casting or in opposing enemy spells. If players can trust each other, or if there is an umpire, then the number of magic points each player has available can be kept secret, creating an exciting subgame of bluff and suspense. Wizards and shaman possess spells capable of destroying the most powerful units, but clerics can cast "ground" which prevents further magic by anyone for the rest of a turn. In our experience it is possible for the magic combat largely to decide a battle's outcome before the main battlelines meet; to prevent this may require limiting the number of magic users allowed in an army (as the rules recommend) or adjusting the speed at which an army's morale clock runs down.

Extensive army lists are provided, and there is a very complete point system for designing your own unit types and armies. We have more than a dozen armies (in 15mm) already painted and playing, and will soon begin a campaign involving about that many gamers.

CHIPCO maintains a good website, and there are several other fine sites devoted to this rules set. We recommend FANTASY RULES! highly.

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