GunFrame: Anime Mecha Battle Game

Gleaming white mecha and technicolour explosions; the swing of mighty steel fists; the krak-krak-krak of anti-tank guns slung like rifles; a cloud of missiles raining down on an exposed mecha before it deftly rolls out of the way or meets its fiery doom. Young pilots, grizzled veterans and the tangled web of relationships that play out against the backdrop of war and clashing robots. 

GunFrame is a fast-playing, exciting and tactically challenging miniature wargame. It has been built from the ground-up to let you play out the spectacle of mecha-on-mecha combat as portrayed in your favourite anime. Use any mecha miniatures to engage in small clashes between a handful of robots, or all-out battles with mecha supported by conventional units including infantry, tanks and aircraft. This complete game also includes rules for building your own units, transforming and combining mecha, unusual environments including underwater and space, and more than seventy upgrade abilities to customise your mecha and pilots.

Gear up, strap in and launch your gunframe - it's time for war!

The Basics:

• Skirmish miniature game
• Two or more players
• Simple dice pool mechanic
• 3'x3' playing area
• Abstract scale - use 6mm to 28mm figures
• 1-2 hours playing time

The Features:

• Game play that focuses on manoeuvre and reaction
• Flexible unit construction rules that let you create and field any mecha you want
• Build and fight with transforming and combining mecha
• Rules for pilot relationships, including buddies, lovers, rivals and nemesis!
• Conventional units including infantry, tanks and flyers
• Twelve missions to challenge your mecha pilots
• Environmental conditions to spice up your battles
• Rules for mecha battles in space
• Optional rules for morale, crippled mecha and occupying structures
• Three OVA settings with premade mecha to show you just what is possible

Layered PDF - note that the PDF is layered, so you can turn off the background and/or images to make printing a little more forgiving (or hit the greyscale option!).

From the designer:

I set out to create a miniature battle game that captured the feel of anime mecha combat, without bogging down in long lists of moves, modifiers or special equipment. The game had to be flexible enough to allow the use of any miniature figures, and not be restricted by a range of figures or scale - after all we all have our favourite miniatures, and our favourite anime, and I wanted the rules to cope with it all! As a result there are some abstractions in the rules, and whenever there was a choice between "realistic" and "cool" I always went for the cool option.

GunFrame is most definitely a "skirmish" game, where players will field a half dozen mecha, perhaps supported by a similar number of infantry, tanks or flyers. The relatively small model count and alternating activation means that players are always engaged, and every action in every turn can be pivotal. The focus on missions means that it is never enough to just slaughter the enemy, and you have to push towards objectives quickly and decisively, while preparing for your opponent's inevitable counter attack!

Ultimately, I set out to design a game that felt more like giant robot samurai than one-hundred ton walking tanks, where I could use any figure in my collection, and enjoy a game over an easy afternoon and a cold beer. You can build units that represent pretty much any anime franchise you like, and games can easily be played in a couple of hours. If you enjoy giant robot anime, pushing miniature figures around a table, and having a laugh with your friends, GunFrame is well worth your consideration.