I had a chance to preview the rules for Armoured Digital, and it brings me back to the amazing days of Total Annihilation and Command and Conquer. In Armoured Digital you control an army of drone tanks to out move and shoot your opponents while running mobile factories on the board to create additional drones during the game.
This looks like a ton of fun, and its currently up on Kickstarter with a delivery date of November. (right about the time Christmas comes around).
Armoured Digital
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wordforgegames/armoured-digital-miniatures-wargame/
$8,837
pledged of $7,021 goal
113
backers
15
days to go
via Word Forge Games
Armoured digital is the new miniatures wargame from Word Forge Games that features drone tanks, programmed orders and building new units during the game. Players alternate selecting their orders programs and sending them to their tanks as they try to out-manoeuvre, out-shoot and out-think their opponent. Meanwhile, their transports race in under fire to grab resources from the automated mine in the centre of the table, and mobile factories assemble new drones in the middle of the battle. There are many layers of strategy and multiple paths to victory so each player can choose the approach that suits them best.
The tanks are 1/100 (15mm) scale miniatures rendered in high-fidelity resin. There is minimal assembly required, just drop the turrets into the hulls and deploy straight from the box.
Official Press Release
Armoured Digital Miniatures Game: a new way to wargame
Armoured Digital (AD) is an exciting new tabletop miniatures wargame from Word Forge Games. Players take control of small forces of drone tanks and fight for control of ground and resources. It’s a game that takes an innovative approach to several aspects of wargames, as players program their orders, harvest resources and build new units during the game.
Armoured Digital will be coming to Kickstarter on 27 March 2018.
Programming combat drones
The key mechanic in AD is programming drones. Unlike other games where each unit can choose to move, shoot and assault, in AD you have a limited number of orders programs (represented by cards) and decide how you will distribute them. A key unit that has all of its commander’s focus may receive multiple orders in one turn, while some other units may not receive any at all. Players select orders from their deck at the start of each turn and then alternate playing them.
Each orders card allows the unit that receives it to perform one action, like moving, shooting or using a support system. All orders are designed to have the same level of power, with orders that bring greater rewards balanced with more restrictions or risks. Using the right orders card allows players to fire artillery, adopt a defensive position, boost communications or even crash enemy CPUs or reprogram enemy drones to make them yours.
The cards explain the action that players need to take, so once a new player understands the turn sequence and how to move and shoot, they can play on with only the cards. However, choosing the right order to play at the right time on the right drone with the right target is a challenge that ensures no two games are alike, and mastering the game is not an easy feat.
Building new units
Players send their transports to capture resources from an automated mine in the centre of the table and return them to their mobile factories. Those factories build new tanks to replace a player’s losses during the game, opening new tactical options. Players can respond to the enemy by choosing the right units to deploy, or they can try to surprise their opponent by switching force mix in the middle of the game. It also means that players can put more of their collection onto the table by rotating in other vehicles during the game.
A detailed setting with a basis in real life
AD is based on a high-tech post-apocalyptic version of our own world. From a golden age where AI and drones did almost all of our labour, a terrorist attack successfully deactivated key safety systems in AI overseers and led to global chaos. A global war between humans and AI slowly ground down to a stalemate, but in the process, we discovered Digipaths, people whose brain structures allow them to reprogram computers merely by thinking.
The remaining AI are scattered across the world, roaming the wilderness and still trying to grow food that people will never eat, or build apartments that no human will ever live in. The remains of the human population live in heavily fortified refugee camps known as enclaves. And the Digipaths? With the generals dead or missing, the Digipaths are now choosing their own course. And like any human beings, they disagree on what needs to be done.
Players take on the role of one of these Digipaths, fighting for resources, prestige or power. Choosing a faction brings with it special bonuses and new victory conditions on top of the standard ones.
Easy to collect
AD doesn’t bother with points values. Each unit has an equivalent power level but a distinctive role on the table. There is also a scissors/paper/rock attack and defence system, where choosing the right weapons technology to use against a particular defensive technology is the key to destroying your target. No single unit can be the king of the battlefield alone.
The starter set comes with two complete forces, each consisting of a command vehicle, a transport, a mobile factory and three combat tanks that each take up a different role. Players can use these same units no matter which faction they are playing. The starter also comes with a 54-card orders deck and one commander from each faction.
As players expand their forces, they can purchase individual tanks to swap in to their starting lineup or build during a game. Each new tank comes with the miniature, the unit’s stat card, a production specification for the unit and a pair of new orders cards designed to work with that unit.
The Miniatures
Miniatures in AD designed in 1/100 (15mm) scale. Each miniature draws on the game developer's real-world experience with armoured vehicles, and all the vehicle's stats are clearly modelled on the vehicle itself.
The miniatures will be cast in high-fidelity flexible resin, built in as few pieces as possible. Players will be able to simply place turrets into hulls and be ready to play. There are also recesses for magnets in both turret and hull. The quality will be on par with all of Word Forge Games’ products, including Devil’s Run and Goreball.
Future expansions
There are plans in place to expand the game with combat drones other than tanks, including hovercraft, insect-like walkers and aircraft. New units are either being actively playtested or are planned for stretch goals and future releases. Super-heavy tanks, new game modes and faction packs with new commanders and orders are all in progress.