Votoms Simulation Manual

Tactical level wargame based on the Japanese animated series "Armored Trooper Votoms". The game was developed over five different games published in Dual Magazine issues no. 6 to no. 10. Each game featured a different setting but used same basic rules with different map and units. Game no. 5, "Armored Trooper," serves as an omnibus edition and collects most of the rules from the previous four games. Players each control one or more piloted Armored Trooper mecha units (AT for short). Each turn, players choose a behavior, called an "Action Pattern" for each unit. An action pattern (such as Run, Walk, Fire (Weapon), Dive (Underwater), and Roller Dash (use roller skate-like wheels)) determines how a unit may move and how well it performs in combat for that turn. Players also plot their movement and how many shots they will fire from a ranged weapon, if any. All movement takes place simultaneously and the players move their units on a hex map. After movement, ranged and close combat (called "Battling") are resolved. All action is simultaneous, so results of damage do not take effect until the end of the turn. In the basic game, each player use one Armored Trooper and battle to destroy the opponent. A skilled player can handle more Armored Troopers for large-scale battles. A few scenarios are included, but players are expected to design their own combat situations. Game no. 3 "Outer Space Battle" is very different from the other games. It uses vector-based movement in outer space and only a small number of AT units are able to be used outside of the atmosphere.