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Caution: Wall o' Text!!!

I managed to proxy a few games of Infinity over the weekend. My friend and I met up at our LGS decided on an army we thought "looked the best", setup a dozen pieces of terrain on a 4x4 table, and started playing. Being our first game, the game took slightly longer than we anticipated, but we finished the second game quite quickly in about 45 minutes or so. Even though we spent considerable amount of time looking up unit stats and rules clarifications, etc. I think if we can easily finish a small ~100 point game in roughly 20-25 minutes. Anyways, I thought I'd share my opinions of the game just in case some people are interested but unwilling to invest $$$ in a game they know little about.

Read-on (if Infinity appeals)


COST ($$$)
Like most tabletop miniature games, Infinity is not "cheap". Some of the large snazzy models such as the Tactical Armor Gear (TAG), (think Dreadnaughts in 40K or WM jacks) can get quite pricey $ wise (around $40), but the good news is that TAGs are around ~90-100+ points each or 25% of your army in a large 400-point game! Each infantry model ranges around $9-15, but some infantry models can be worth 40+ points depending on the model’s weaponry and equipment.


SCALE
Infinity is a skirmish game, so each side consists of approximately 10-15 models. Game size is determined by point values, 150 for small point games up to 400 points for “large” games. Battlefield is fairly terrain dense (terrain should be no more than 10” apart across the entire (4x4 or 4x6) battlefield. Since this is a sci-fi game, there are no unit coherency rules (radio is a marvelous invention). Models can freely climb buildings (if there is a second/third floor), snipe out of windows, flank the opponent, etc. The game follows a fairly strict, "if you can see me, I can see you" rule.


MODELS & SCULPTS
The models in Infinity are top notch, highly detailed and heavily stylized. Everything has a sleek futuristic rounded edge feel to them. Infantry is broken down into three classifications, light, medium, and heavy infantry. Unlike the familiar 40k and PP miniatures, infantry are sleek and slender, and fit nicely on to the base (extremities, swords, guns, etc. do not stick too far off its bases). Heavy infantry are armored with “Power Armor”, but they are nowhere as bulky as Space Marines in 40k.

Infantry Sample here
TAG Sample here
Motorcycle Sample here


GAMEPLAY
Infinity is probably the most “different” of all the tabletop games I’ve play thus far. (WHFB, WH40K, Necromunda, WM/Hordes). Units have their standard stats, such as movement (MOV), ballistic skill (BS), close combat (CC), wounds (W), armor (ARM), biotechnology shield (BTS) – aka armor against biological attacks, hacks, etc., will power (WIP), physique (PH)

Gameplay Basics
When a unit activates, you are able to either give your model two “short” orders (either two short-move, or one short-move + one short-action) or one “long” order. Short-move actions are things like, move, climb, prone, etc., and short-actions can be things like “shoot, dodge, hack, etc”. Long orders are actions like: suppression fire, cautious movement, speculative (indirect) fire, etc. Upon activation, you can give a model two short-move orders or a short-move + short-action like “move/move”, “move/shoot”, “move/dodge”, (shoot/shoot is not allowed because you may only have "one" short-action during a single activation), or one long order, such as “suppression fire”, “speculative (indirect) fire” etc.

Movement
Movement stat is broken down into two sets of numbers such as: 4-4, 4-2, 8-6, etc. First number means the distance in inches a model may move on its first move, and the second number is how far the model may move on its second “short” move. So a heavy infantry with a MOV stat of 4-2 is give an order of “move/move” may effectively move 4” then move again for another 2”, or “move/shoot” by moving 4” and firing their weapon at a target. Motorcycles are fast and can move 14” (8-6) a turn with a basic “move/move” order.

Shooting
Nothing really new here. Roll D20, if your result is less than your BS including modifiers (range, cover, etc.), then you hit your target, and the target must make an armor save. Target’s D20 roll + ARM stat is greater than your weapon strength then the armor stopped/deflected the bullet. Although getting hit by bullet(s) will sometime cause a solder to recoil and duck behind cover.

Close Combat (CC)
Most miniature games seem to have a heavy emphasis on close combat. Infinity is one of the few games that do not glorify CC. In fact you do not get any bonuses for “charging” an opponent. Charging a Yu-Jing (Asian faction) “Ninja” or “Shaolin Monk” with your basic grunt can mean a quick boot to the unsuspecting guy’s face. Of course dice will always play a factor, but know that he has no bonuses for charging. Anyways, I think you get the idea.


GAMEPLAY – Differences

Actions & Activations...
is probably one of the biggest differences in Infinity over all the other tabletop miniature game. In most games, each unit or model gets one-activation per phase or turn. One move, one shooting phase, and one charge/CC attack per unit/model. In infinity, each model contributes to your army’s activation pool. If you have 7 models in your army, you will have 7 activations, if your opponent runs 10 models, he/she will have 10 activations in his army, and models can be activated multiple times per turn.

So you can effectively activate one model 10 times in one turn and rampage around the entire table! Sounds completely broken, but it isn’t as bad as you think. Because...

For every action there is...
A reaction. Alright, so it’s not exactly equal reaction, but there are draw backs to sending in Chuck Noris with 15 activations to single handedly take out an opposing army. Here is why.

Whenever an action is declared any model within Line of Sight (LoS) of the activated model may declare a response to or against him. For example: if you activate a model with a “move/shoot” command, the instant your model peeks around the corner to draw LoS to my model, then I may declare an Automatic Reaction Order (ARO). ARO is a short order response to enemy model(s). If someone walks around the corner with guns blazing, are you going to stand their and watch? I wouldn’t either.

So when an opposing model shows up, you may fire back, dodge, prone, etc. Chuck Noris is good, but he may not be good enough to withstand 10 shots fired back from my ambushing squad's ARO action!

Of course there are counters to every strategy. Like bring in the speculative (indirect) fire weapons and rain grenades (templates), etc. onto my pile of infantry, or simply use Suppression Fire from the flank to suppress my gang. While you’re busy handling my pile, perhaps, I will simply “deep strike” some models in and try to take down your inferior infantry on the backlines and reduce your army’s total number of activations. As the remainder of his squad is KO’ed, Chuck will have fewer and fewer actions. This is the tactical beauty of Infinity.

Units with stealth/camouflage can effectively sneak through areas with suppression fire undetected, while deep striking units opens up the board for different flanking possibilities. Bring in too many heavy weapons teams and TAG’s, and it will open your solders up for possible hacking attempts which may immobilize or even take over your most powerful fighters.

Possibilities are almost endless, the combat mechanics are balanced, factions didn't feel "broken good or bad" and I thoroughly enjoyed the game. Thanks for reading!

EDIT: Typo & grammar & clarified difference between short-move & short-action in "Gameplay Basics" section.

More about hackers please...do they work like "Magic" or "Psychics" in other games?

whitedragon wrote:More about hackers please...do they work like "Magic" or "Psychics" in other games?

Ahh, I knew I forgot something!!!

HACKING
This is another major difference with other miniature games. Hacking is one of those skills that seems relatively benign at first, but it does have some seriously gameplay ramifications. With the advent of long distance communications, hackers may now conduct cyber warfare against their opponents without picking up a weapon (although they are quite proficient with firearms).

This type of warfare essentially enables a hacker to remotely connect to an enemy TAG, Remote (think remote control mobile sentry gun), or Power Armor's computer systems and attempt to “shut them down” or even take control of them remotely. Here is how it works.

First you need to either deliver your team’s hacker to within 8” of the target (no LoS needed), so his/her hacking device’s signal is strong enough to break through the target’s electronic shielding, or try to sneak your scout with a “Repeaters” into range to deploy the “Repeater” (aka remote hacking station) so that your hackers may use it to conduct their cyber-warfare against your opponent. All else fails, try to bait their TAG into your Repeater’s range.

Hacking is considered a short order, so an order maybe given to “move/hack”, or “climb/hack”. The hacker is activated and can move his movement value, and if he gets into position, then he may initiate the hack by first announcing the intent. Whether to immobilize (1 success needed) or take control (2 successes needed). The hacker then rolls a D20, and if the roll is under his will power (WIP) stat minus the target’s Biotechnology Shield (BTS) attribute, then the hack is successful, and the target is effectively immobilized. The hacker must then perform a follow up order to possess the target, if the second attempt is also successful, then he model is successfully hijacked, and you may use your orders to activate the possessed model. However, if the hacker’s second hack attempt fails, then the target successfully broke free from the hacker’s control and is no longer immobilized.

To be even more devious, hackers can even hack enemy’s communication network and adversely affect their units Airborne Deployment (AD) navigation systems! With a successful skill check at -9, you can force your enemy’s units with “AD: Combat Jump” skill to deep striking onto the battlefield immediately! And they must all deep strike to a single location! You will then have your remaining activations to try to take out his units who just emergency jumped onto the battlefield! Sucks to be them!

In order to counter hackers, during your turn, the ONLY order you may give a hacked unit to force it to reset/reboot their TAG or Power Armor, but this will be a battle of wills (WIP) and tests will be needed. (think Star Trek: Will “Data” be able to reroute the power routines before the Borg can disable the power core. ) Or perhaps you can have a friendly hacker hack the enemy hacker! Hacker hacking another hacker, what a concept!?! Anti-Hacker Protocol is an attack hackers can use against each other to cause neural overload and brain haemorrhaging. Basically Eldar "Mind War", but only usable against other hackers and no LoS is required. )

Combat aside, I want to let people know that some missions may require hacking! Get to a building, recover (hack) the data stored there and escort the hacker off your table edge. Easier said then done of course, with units deep striking into your back lines as you retereat.

I hope this is somewhat useful. There are no Psyonic Storm craziness, but it's a powerful game mechanic!

Oh yeah, one last note. Since humans do not fully understand alien tech, you can immobilize but not possess Combined Army (CA) TAG's, since CA is essentially a league of alien races. Ariadna are humans who got lost in warp and crash landed on a super hostile planet. They essentially have no technology and here is a pic of their TAG. Needless to say, it is VERY DIFFICULT to hack.

Great review, thanks!

Nice review Salisar,

Ive been looking at the Inifinity Models for a while now, but didnt know much about the rule sets.

Seems interesting, might pick it up when I have some $$

whitedragon wrote:Great review, thanks!

ShotgunFacelift wrote:Nice review Salisar,

Ive been looking at the Inifinity Models for a while now, but didnt know much about the rule sets.

Seems interesting, might pick it up when I have some $$

Thanks for your kind words about my review!

If you do not mind proxying the models (40K scale) and the game sounds appealing, then you really do NOT need to wait or spend any $$$ to try out the game. Literally almost EVERYTHING is downloadable. Rules, unit/model stats, etc., but no fluff. The rulebook is not very well organized, but it's not bad once you get used to it. If you really enjoy the game, the only things you really need to buy are the models, and their models do look awesome!

Here is the download link to Infinity Rules, unit stats, and templates.

Create a new thread or post your questions here, and I will do my best to answer them. Do know that I am not quite an Infinity expert, but I'm getting there. Enjoy!

When I tried the test rules way back when the game was released, I found that the game really got bogged down due to all the interruptions that happened regarding the AROs and such.

It was such a problem that you really couldn't move anywhere or do anything without getting killed. Pretty much making it a case where the game could be decided by who got into position first.

What's your take on this?

CAUTION: Wall o' Text Reply

Vertrucio wrote:When I tried the test rules way back when the game was released, I found that the game really got bogged down due to all the interruptions that happened regarding the AROs and such.

If you posted this question several weeks ago, I would agree with you that Infinity seems to have a "pacing problem". However, after nearly a dozen games under my belt, this is no longer an issue. My friends and I can finish 150-points games in about half an hour.

When you first get into Infinity, the game can feel very "bogged" down by your opponent's reaction to your every move. ("I declare a move/move on my heavy infantry, this guy can see him as he runs across the alley, what's your ARO?" 5-minutes later... "I will shoot him with my... Rifle, no shotgun... Wait, what's the range modifier for my shotgun? Let me look it up, one sec..." etc.)

Now when my friends and I play, turns go something like this...
I declare a move and shoot with my light infantry's (LI) Combi Rifle, what's your ARO?
How many orders to you have left this turn?
I used four, so I have three left.
Okay, we're more than 8", so he'll will fire back with his standard Rifle.
(Measure, 14" apart)
That's medium range for both combi and standard rifle, so we both get +3 to BS. However, we're both in cover, so we both get -3 to BS. I'm PanO, so I have base BS of 12 with 3 shots (B3), you're Ariadna, so your LI is BS 11 ARO is always 1 shot back.
I roll 3 dice (4 (hit), 10 (hit), 18(miss)) , opponent rolls one dice (11 (CRIT!))
Opponent's CRIT wins the Face-to-Face roll and my LI bites the dust due to a lucky shot from his infantry.

The entire exchange takes less than 20 seconds. First few times through though, this shooting back and forth will take minutes!!!

Vertrucio wrote:
It was such a problem that you really couldn't move anywhere or do anything without getting killed. Pretty much making it a case where the game could be decided by who got into position first.

What's your take on this?

The ARO game mechanic does need some getting used to, as each model can react to EVERY enemy action! Hence turtling can be overwhelmingly powerful in Infinity. Have you played a real-time strategy games on the PC like StarCraft, WarCraft, etc. where the computer will continuously stream one or two units into your HUGE defensive line only to get shot to pieces? Infinity works the same way, charging into your opponent's fireline is suicidal, and turtling can make the game extremely frustrating. Here are my recommendations.

1. Mission, mission, mission - One major distinction between Infinity and other tabletop miniatures games is that the game is not designed for straight kill-point missions. If you take a look at all the Infinity games, almost all the missions will require your army to be mobile, and the few "defense" scenario will give the attacker bonuses to compensate for their disadvantage. (e.g. Defenders have 250-point armies, while attackers have 350-points.) Missions are incredibly important to Infinity, I would HIGHLY recommend playing games with missions even for learning games. Spend 2-3 turns with your opponent to teach him the rules & mechanics, and reset the game with a mission!

2. Proxy, proxy, proxy - Once you are used to the basic game mechanics, do not hesitate to begin proxying with other models as soon as possible, as the game has such a wide range of game mechanics, that you really must familiarize yourself with how different abilities work. (Camouflage, Impersonation, Hacking, Combat Drop/Deep Strike, Smoke, Martial Arts, Regular/Irregular troops, etc.) If you have a well built and diverse army, there is no way for your opponent to get into position before you. And if they do, you'll have someone already there waiting for them...

Here are some examples to positional counters. a) Infiltration - Deploy up to 12" outside of your deployment zone. b) Mechanized Deployment - Deploy up to 12" outside of your deployment zone. c) Thermal Optic Camouflage (TO Camo) - Units with TO Camo can hidden deploy ANYWHERE on the map outside your opponent's deployment zone. d) CH: Combat Drop - Deep strike your commandos, and they may activate immediately when they touch down. e) Smoke Grenades - Cover your army's advance as they get into position. f) Forward Observers (FO) - use "Flash Pulse" to blind your opponent's sentry (model cannot shoot till opponent's turn). g) (B)urst Weapons - split your fire to hit everyone you can see, they will eventually fail a roll (hopefully). h) Mobile Units - If all else fails, consider using fast units, such as motorcycles. Bikes in Infinity move a whopping 14" in one Move/Move order, so 3-4 orders will get your bike into position ANYWHERE on the board. They are your ideal flanking units. i) Speculative Fire/Indirect Fire - If all else fails, bombard your entrenched enemy troops with grenades from above or guided missiles with the help of your FO!

Needless to say, Infinity is a very indepth game that requires a lot of experimentation and trial & error. In my opinion, Infinity is like a complex game of "Rock, Paper, Scissor", but every faction has access to all three. It is up to you (the player) to determine if it is more beneficial to get your rock into position to counter your opponent's scissor, or to attack with paper on the opposite flank to route your opponent's scissor to come counter you? Or maybe, you should just build your entire army around rocks and paper to overwhelm your opponent? The game emphasizes tactics rather then the meta-game. Here's my anti-marines, nids, Cygnar, Circle, etc. list... There is no need, because whatever faction you play has access to Paper, Rock, & Scissors in various units.

The games are often fast and furious, but you have to learn the mechanics before you can thoroughly enjoy the game... I would agree that the learning curve is not for everyone.

EDIT: Typo

Thanks for this description. I have been looking at this game for a while but have never found such a great description of the game mechanics.

After two months of playing INFINITY, the game is still going strong at our LGS. The free rules and unit specs have definitely helped the game grow, as substantial financial contribution is not required for people to get into the hobby. (Since many people seem to have access to 40K minis)

However, we did identify one obstacle that our game community experienced... I wanted to share this with everyone, so you do not encounter the same problems with your local gaming group.

In a WORD, the problem is:

TERRAIN:
Terrain setup is incredibly important in INFINITY. This can literally make or break your gaming experience! Here are the symptoms of terrain problems in your game. If you find yourself wondering or thinking about the following during your game:

1. My guys can't do ANYTHING without getting SHOT and/or KILLED!
2. That one model can shoot at anything on the entire board!
3. What the heck, my opponent killed half of my army on the first turn!?!
4. The first player who gets his model to X location always wins.

Then you either have problems with terrain, deployment or both! My money will almost always be on terrain... Troubleshoot your terrain setup by looking for the following problems:

1. How far apart are the LOS blockers?
2. Does the table have excessive fire lanes?

As a general rule of thumb, terrain in the game should be less than 10" apart from each other throught the ENTIRE board! Remember, this is considered minimal terrain, and yes, this includes the deployment edge! That 6" gap between the table edge and that first piece of terrain can spell certain death for your entire squad! Remember that INFINITY is a game that takes advantage of 3D nature of tabletop gaming. This means there are plenty of vertical fire-lanes to find! Flanking maneuvers in INFINITY does not only come from left, right, or rear, but it can come from ABOVE and BELOW! If a model can climb on a roof and see the entire board, then you have a MAJOR terrain problem! Issue we encountered was that our LGS is that their terrain is relatively flat. If all the buildings are only two levels tall, then when a player gets a model onto a rooftop, he/she can cover the entire second deck of the board. Anyone climbing to a rooftop automatically takes shots from opposing snipers. No fun...

I don't know if you have any terrain enthusiasts in your group, but INFINITY is a game that will really let them shine, because the flexibility of the game mechanics actually promotes extremely elaborate terrains features. Take a look at some of the stuff the INFINITY community built for the game!

Look at this HOUSE for example.

With elaborate terrains like the house above, there is no way for your opponent to take out half of your entire army on the first turn. Especially, if they have to run into a house and climb a flight of stairs to KO to each guy, and run back out...

Of course the bad news is that you have to drain your order pool to get out of the house. Perhaps, you can camp on the roof, but that will leave you susceptible to enemy fire and more bad news if your opponent manages to get a unit into the house... Because you can either look out that window or guard the door behind you... Sorry, can't do both... Unless you have 360-Visor of course...

Anyways, I hope this helps alleviate some of the INFINITY pitfalls for new comers.

EDIT: Typos

Another problem that can cause those same frustrations is people not using Combined Orders properly.

If I combine order 4 models to move through the line of fire of an enemy figure... it only generates a single ARO as they are all performing 1 action (you still pay 4 orders to do so).

This can negate people feeling 'overwhelmed' by return fire... as you are effectively removing a number of AROs equal to the number of models you're activating with the combined order.

Not that I do not agree about Terrain... it is probably the single most game changing factor (proper use thereof and having an appropriate supply).

If you want to see my 'suggested' terrain and read some battle reports between my Pan Oceanic and some evil Nomad Hippies, head over to the TGN Battle Challenge #1 Forum.

There is also a complete Scenario Book and Tournament Rules that I have posted here.... Feel free to use or discard at your leisure!

Nice review.

I played a while back and enjoyed the system and the figures (which are awesome).

However, as you have noted, the game HEAVILY relies on terrain set up. We commonly found the game was virtually decided on how we set up the table as a sniper in a tower or elevated spot had LOS on the entire board and anything that moved got shot at. Even knowing this, we still had issues setting up a fair board. We got to the point where we never had any elevated terrain and kept figures on ground level.

The other problem we ran into was the superman crews. A lot of people took 1 or 2 really good figures and then a hanful of grunts. The grunts hid in the back and were fielded just to give the superman figures the actions so they could fly across the board and kill everything.

Overall, I like the ARO system but I think Infinity is enjoyable or horrible depending on your opponent. Amongst friends who have a common understanding it can be a lot of fun.

CrazyBones wrote:However, as you have noted, the game HEAVILY relies on terrain set up. We commonly found the game was virtually decided on how we set up the table as a sniper in a tower or elevated spot had LOS on the entire board and anything that moved got shot at. Even knowing this, we still had issues setting up a fair board. We got to the point where we never had any elevated terrain and kept figures on ground level.

As you already mentioned, the game "HEAVILY relies on terrain setup", and elevated positions are highly cherished, as it gives the model the ability to overlook the entire battle field. One thing we discovered in our games is that no matter how well positioned a sniper is placed, he is actually very vulnerable to reactions as well. Here are a few things people have done to counter a well-placed sniper.

1) Finesse Method – Get several models with Forward Observer skill and use the flash pulse attack against snipers. Most snipers tend to have terrible BTS and remember that flash pulse does not have any range modifiers and is unaffected by any levels of camouflage. If the sniper fails the BTS, then he cannot declare any shoot reactions for the remainder of your turn!

2) Sandwich Method – Combat behind the sniper and unload a full clip or two of heavy slugs towards him. The sniper can not react to attacks coming from the model's back. If you missed he can turn to face you, but then simply move another model up and shoot him from behind again.

2) Hail Mary Method –If possible, mark the sniper with forward observer, and speculative/indirect fire grenades onto his position, or fire a single guided missile. Auto hit with armor piercing (AP) and Explosive (EXP) munitions will ruin their day.

3) Brute Force Method – Issue four coordinated orders to your squad and bring them into LOS of the sniper. The sniper can react with one shot/order, possibly taking out one of your models. Now you have three models ready to react to the sniper if he acts, or follow up with a coordinated action to suppression fire the sniper. He can now either 1) React with a ranged attack to possibly take out another of your cheerleaders and take six to nine rifle shots, or he can dodge out of the way and leave your LOS... A sniper without LOS cannot do much...

Whether blind or dead, there’s a good chance that the sniper will not be bothering you for awhile.

CrazyBones wrote:The other problem we ran into was the superman crews. A lot of people took 1 or 2 really good figures and then a handful of grunts. The grunts hid in the back and were fielded just to give the superman figures the actions so they could fly across the board and kill everything.

Like anything else, the simplest solution to dealing with Rambo (the one man army) is through terrain, if he can kill all of your models in one or two turns then terrain density and excessive fire lanes are definitely an issue.

As mentioned before, flash pulse will almost always shutdown Rambo. My recommendation is that your forward observers should always work in pairs, as you have a better chance of winning Face-to-Face rolls when you’re rolling one dice against one or two, than one dice against three or four. Another very effect method is to combat drop your units into his backline with your weapon of choice, and take out his order pool. Mercenary Yuan Yuan models are especially effect with "AD-Combat Drop" and "Chain Rifles". I finished a game over the weekend where I managed to take out ALL three of my opponent’s Rambo models, but I eventually still lost when my army began running out of steam. The game was very close and fun.

INFINITY is definitely more of a thinking man's tactical miniature game.

I disagree, it's no more a thinking man's tactical miniature game than other skirmish games out there.

The heavy handed need for terrain belies an inability to abstract the gameplay to a point where you can play with a more reasonable amount of terrain.

The ARO system is a nice concept, but they let it get out of hand.

Vertrucio wrote:I disagree, it's no more a thinking man's tactical miniature game than other skirmish games out there.

The heavy handed need for terrain belies an inability to abstract the gameplay to a point where you can play with a more reasonable amount of terrain.

The ARO system is a nice concept, but they let it get out of hand.

Please know that I mean no offense when I said that "INFINITY is definitely more of a thinking man's tactical miniature game". I simply meant that the game is tactically rich, and by no means am I trying to "put down" other skirmish games. Either case, you are welcome to disagree!

However, I do have to say that, I have yet to see or experience INFINITY games where the "ARO system got out of hand". The Rambo scenario CrazyBones mentioned (where a few models wipe out a large % of my army on the first turn) has happened, but I've never gotten wiped out by ARO... Both problems can be sovled with terrain. If you play Infinity in an open field or with 40K style terrain setup, then I can definitely see the game's ARO system becoming too powerful, but I do not see why the ability to play on a battlefield with more dynamic and complex terrain becomes a "liability" in a miniature game. The INFINITY mechanics takes advantage of dynamic and complicated terrain pieces, and lets the players choose how to "engage" the enemy. Additionally I have no problems with a game that actually penalizes the player for running through a single enemy's line of fire, let alone multiple units lines of fire... Honestly... Who wants to stand in the middle of an open field in the middle of a fire fight? I would want places to hide, and LOTS of them!!! Guess, I'm just a sucker for the illusion of realism.

I can see that some people prefer more static turn based games, but I, personally, REALLY do not like the feeling that my highly trained soldiers become nothing more than punching bags during my opponent's turn. I would say that the game does penalize you for not bringing the right tools for the job. (i.e. bringing a knife to a gun fight.), but having lots of terrain makes the game more fun, so I fail to see why this is a negative? However, if you do not have access to enough terrain, or perfer desert shootouts scenarios, then INFINITY may not be a game for you...

And it is okay!

EDIT: Typo

Vertrucio: Can you substantiate your comment? How would abstracting terrain benefit the game? How are AROs out of hand? What additional limits would help?

If you want lots of terrain go to this site:

http://www.toposolitario.es/workshop/index.html

where the guy shows how to build pieces for Infinity quickly out of stuff or card.

Awesome, thanks Kilkrazy!

Now I just need to brush the layer of dust, 10" of snow, and old pizza boxes off my Spanish...

Gotta love all the free stuff for this game.

Salisar, thanks for drawing attention to the game that deserved way more than it has gotten.

I am ok with the heavy use of terrain. I don't understand how that is an issue of inability to abstract the gameplay. With less terrain, the field looks kind of plain; I'm not sure that would fit Infinity's style.

The worldworks paper terrain helps. Since you can print a bunch.

A Warning about Cost: Assuming you aren't going to proxy forever.

Free game rules. Small model count. You think it'd be cheaper.

The minis are awesome, but cost slightly more than GW singles, I think. Of course, due to the low model count, you don't need a lot. You can get by with less than 10 minis, even without getting the more expensive TAGs (big units).

But you WILL BUY MORE.

may be you are better at controlling yourself than I am, but thats what happened to me.

I can get free rules. I'll just make a list that has like 7 or 8 minis. I'm not even gonna proxy. I'll play it right. That's awesome. I'll get a list for just some 50 bucks. I'll get another list just to play 1on1 at home. At most I'll only need to spend 100 or so.

But then those new releases keep hitting. Every wave of mini better than the last. Comparing the stuff they had at the beginning and the stuff they have now... I used to think at the time those minis at launch were simply amazing; the stuff they have now spoils me so much I think those old ones are not good enough. They are amazing, but they aren't good enough. The newer stuff they keep coming out with are just THAT DAMN GOOD.

AND, 1 list becomes 1 list plus more minis for variety. basically, you are getting 1 faction. Is that it?

Noooooooo... Each faction has stuff that looks good in their own way, each has its own appeal. And so, you find yourself deeper involved.

For the Aragoto bikes (pic posted before in 1 of the posts), I dabbled into the Yu-Jing (Chinese, Japanese faction). And for the TAG called Cutter, I dabbled into PanOceania faction.

Am I done? For now. But I've always wanted that arab faction's spider looking TAG... or the scottish werewolf-like character unit from yet another faction that just look fantastic. May be I should just get the minis and use them as merc or something... but those factions are really cool too.

If you can control yourself, or if you just proxy forever, then you are good. But if you are tempted to get minis and play the game for real, and aren't known to be wise with money, be warned!!

This game is fun. highly replayable (you'll not be playing similar lists all the time; mixing and matching is so easy due to low model count). great minis. no u-go-i-go down time. very tacticle. very rewarding when you pull off some nice plans (like successful combat drops behind enemy lines... or a hidden deployed sniper taking out an Lt by chance).

It only requires you to get some terrain, and place them well. Which is honestly harder than I thought... but then I am not a heavy tabletop gamer, I am just a casual casual gamer.

The extra price charged is well worth it, the quality of the designs is spectacular, i got the rules online, abit unorganised but very interesting.

I love infinity. i love the fluff, models, and even the rules and need for lots of good terrain. If you ask me a board with a lot of terrain is better than little terrain.

Kilkrazy wrote:If you want lots of terrain go to this site:

http://www.toposolitario.es/workshop/index.html

where the guy shows how to build pieces for Infinity quickly out of stuff or card.

That is gold! Thank you!

BTW, check this out: http://www.infinitythegame.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=3216

OP links to an edited version of the rules (original and Human Sphere combined). It seems to be organized a bit better than the original, and it even features an index (very practical). It's a lot more printer friendly as well (no background fills).

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I like the fact that Infinity plays a bit like a modern FPS video game. Sure, there's no actual physical skill involved, but the reasoning and tactics needed to play well are quite similar.

Vertrucio wrote:I disagree, it's no more a thinking man's tactical miniature game than other skirmish games out there.

The heavy handed need for terrain belies an inability to abstract the gameplay to a point where you can play with a more reasonable amount of terrain.

The ARO system is a nice concept, but they let it get out of hand.

The ARO system really does exactly what they say it does in their movies, it lets both players play at the same time. Though there are very strong strategies (rooftop sniper with camo, etc), they're strong because Infinity does a great job of simulating real tactics. If you had a guy in a bell tower, than he can pin down an entire platoon of men. The flip side is that there are lots of ways to counter things like this including having your own bell tower sniper, models with goggles, models who can climb, models who can air drop, hackers, etc. The game really is one of the best balanced mini games I've ever played and though your list is important, it is also far less list dependent than most mini games and certainly not even close to being dominated by lists in the way 40k and WFB are.

I also like the density of terrain because it gives me the opportunity to make really different, interesting terrain. Also when people walk by and watch me playing Infinity, they stop and marvel at how cool the table looks. Infinity tables end up being much more interesting than other mini games due to the density of terrain.

It took me a while to get the hang of Infinity and protect myself from things like rooftop snipers and TAGs, but the game does offer great fun ways to implement tactics on the table.

This thread is a tad old guys, may want to look at the dates before you post up since it was posted back in 2009. (Dakka frowns heavily on Thread Necromancy)

That being said, as a Infinity Veteran I welcome any questions or reviews in another thread.

What size bases do the models use, for the sake of proxying to learn the rules and see what we want before we buy?

Threadomancy of a threadomancy?

25mm for all infantry other than sappers and a couple of other exceptions.

40mm for TAGs and most Remotes.

you didn't write this on your own, did ya selisar? Anyway, it IS a good summary and I would've done it myself, so I'll thank you for bringing it over from 1d4chan!

bahzakhain wrote:
you didn't write this on your own, did ya selisar? Anyway, it IS a good summary and I would've done it myself, so I'll thank you for bringing it over from 1d4chan!

Please note the date and more important date of OP post, them check the date the info was put on 1D4chan. Them come on back and make that post again.

Sorry................