Description (from the Publisher):

“The game of Grim Fantasy is a fantasy skirmish wargame between two or more players, with games of up to four players working quite well. The game is set in a dark fairy-tale world that is inspired by European lore as transported to colonies in a New World.
Set in the Village of Armbraid, the Pilgrims that have come from the Old Word are discovering that their new home is not as safe as they thought it would be. Creatures from the Great Woods raid their small village, wreaking havoc when they come. Nearby the Natives are friendly, but wary. Some say that they know the land and what it can do.

Sample Pages from the rules.

The land appears to be strange and changes both people and objects, some say that even the Scarecrows move around at night…“

—description from the publisher

Cost, Availability, and Support:

The rules are redly available in pdf form from Wargame Vault for US$5.00. These are good value, especially if you are a fan of pdf rules. Personally I always print the rules anyway so I do prefer the availability of a hard copy. I do understand the ease of publishing for small organisations through organisations like Wargame Vault so this is generally not a deal breaker for me, just a preference. Availability is great with easy access and downloading from Wargames Vault. The rules are backed up by an extensive range of 15mm figures (more on these later) and the pre and post sales service from Drew at Slave2Gaming that I have received is excellent. So a rating for cost, availability, and support of

Layout, Design and readability:

The Graphic Design, and layout befits a full glossy print and for a pdf set of rules I was very impressed. There is an extensive contents page but no index which in this day and age, with ease of creating one with Microsoft Word, I cannot fathom, especially for a pdf version where page numbers are not an issue.

The rules are easy to understand, are made as simple as possible and yet with an agreeable amount of detail as well. The balance, for me, is about right.

Proof reading could have been improved with a sentence repeat on pages 14 and 15. So a rating for Layout, Design and Readability of

The Rules:

I am not going into a lot of detail about the rules, buy them if you want that. I will make some general comments and then highlight some specific sections.

For any experienced gamer it is very easy to pick up and play these rules. With one exception the game mechanics are all familiar, Character statistics, numbered and opposed die rolls, and random character activation – a player who draws one of his chits, beads dice, or whatever, can chose which figure to activate and what action they perform from hit, shoot, move, use (mainly for spells) and wait (similar to over-watch).

A character also receives a free move with every action, so a character can hit and move, shoot and move or move and move (run). A unique concept with moving is that the characters total movement can be broken up in any way the player sees fit. A character can move part of their allocation, shoot and then move back into cover as long as their full move is not exceeded. I like this concept.

There is also the standard set of weapons, skills, and spell tables that you would expect. As a fantasy set of rules there are also special weapons and unique traits suited to the genre.

Some nice quirky things are included in the fear test. In most rules you will need to face a fear test if charged by or wishing to charge the fear causing creature. In “Grim” the fear causing creature has a fear radius which can cause a character to become fearful just by its close proximity. I think this is a great idea and quite “realistic” (well as much as a werewolf can be realistic!).

Night rules are included. In most rules sets there is only day time and night time, with some having modifies for dawn and dusk. “Grim” has “full darkness”, “partial darkness”, and “clear night” as well as taking into account illumination such as torches, a campfire, or a bonfire which is a nice touch.

The character and creature cards are not extensive but suit the world that surrounds the village of Armbraid. I am told that a new booklet of characters is planned for the near future.

The scenarios provided are interesting and are divided into “generic scenarios” and “fairytale scenarios “, the later being linked. The fairy tale scenario provided is an interesting take on a very well known fairy tale and provides a very concrete example of how to use other fairy tales as a basis for creating your own linked scenario games.

I have had a few solo games and the rules move seamlessly, are easy to learn and quite fun to play. It would be even better with opponents who have the ability to play in character in a true D&D type style. Overall I give “Grim” a rating of

Points of difference

With the range of rules out now, the ease of getting “home grown” rules into the market place and the accessibility the internet offers, it is hard to come up with points of difference. I have already indicated that some of the mechanisms are interesting like the movement, night fighting and the fear test.

The real “unique” part of the Grim Fantasy Rules is in fact the “Grim”. I do not want to give much away but this consists of a counter (or the Grim Figure which you can purchase – see below), which once used is passed from player to player to affect events during the activation phase. The player with the “Grim” can do a number of things, but at a cost. This allows players within the Grim world surrounding the village of Armbraid to impact on events in a way that befits a fantasy world, but without being over the top. I like it.

For points of difference I have given “Grim”

What would I have added:

I would have liked to have seen a map to be able to understand the setting the author(s) were envisaging, however there is enough information supplied to make your own to suit what your particular tastes and figure ranges. I am just lazy! I spoke with the author about this and I was shown three campaign maps that have been produced and are likely to be included on Wargames Vault. A sample is below.

The rules could have benefited with a character progression system like a number of other fantasy rules, but they could easily be “bolted on”.

Would I recommend these rules:

I would be very willing to play these rules so the answer is a definitive yes. Would I swap from what fantasy rules I currently use, probably not. This may seem a contradiction so let me explain. I think the rules are excellent, put together well, and supported with great customer service and an excellent supply of figures. This is evidenced in the ratings I have given. Would I recommend them to others certainly! It is just that I do not play the genre often enough to change what I currently use.

The Grim Miniatures Range

The figures are 18mm in height and sculpted by the very well known and respected Australian Miniature designer, Mike Broadbent. Mike is well known for his Eureka Miniatures 28mm Warrior Mice, 28mm Kung Fu School Girls (St Trinians by another name), The Good the Bad and the Cuddly Western Teddy bears, 28mm Toy Town soldiers, and 18mm Mexican – American War.

The figures are excellent sculpts as you would expect from someone with Mike Broadbent’s credentials. All photos below are taken from the Slave2Gaming website.

I was sent four packs for review: Firstly some Werewolves.

They are great figures, posed well, and solid for gaming purposes. The detail is superb and easy to “pick out” when painting. They are slightly larger at about 22mm. I particularly like the one jumping on the skulls!

Next was a packet of wolves:

Great running action poses. Again with plenty of detail.

Next was a packet of four male Pilgrims.

Two with pole axe great for dealing with wolves and werewolves, an arquebusier, and a Witch Hunter type with torch. Excellent detail and poses.

Lastly was a packet of four Woodsmen:

Two with torch and two with sword. A bit too well dressed for woodsmen for my liking but still excellent adventurer types.

I could not review these figures without showing you the Grim. Although not necessary for playing, from a gaming perspective it would be great to pass an actual model around. I would try and pick up a 54mm one myself but hey that’s just me.

Overall I was very impressed with the models

If you are after a fantasy game that you can play in about 60 minutes on a small table with 15mm figures you cannot go past these rules and figures. The game itself is scale and manufacturer neutral so you can you what scale figures and ranges that you currently have. You may just need to change the movement and other ranges if gaming in a different scale.

A great investment of $5.00.

Disclaimer: I need to declare that I am a regular retail customer of Slave2Gaming and do not receive any discounts on purchases. The rules and sample figures were supplied to me for reviewing purposes by Slave2Gaming. This has NOT in any way influenced the comments and recommendations in this review.