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Hey guys recently discovered freebooters fate and loved the models so jsut wondered if anyone could tell me anything of how the game macanic works and if it is any good?

FBF is a fun game. It plays quickly once you get the hang of it and the mechanics are a little bit different from some other skirmish games. Using cards seems to be in vogue now, and that's what FBF uses for things like initiative tests, damage, etc. However, combat is rather interesting.

Attacking and defending uses a small deck of cards with body locations (right arm, left arm, head, legs, torso, and abdomen). When attacking, the attacker selects a number of body location cards equal the the attack characteristic (plus or minus modifiers), and the target selects a number of body locations based on the defense stat (plus or minus modifiers). The two compare the cards, and the attacker hits if any of his locations are not matched by the defender's cards. If the attacker has two cards that don't match, the attack is a crit.

Crits cripple body locations, which affects stats, typically by halving them. Plus, two crits to a location will kill a model. This is interesting as it tends to impact how you play locations when in combat. For example, if my character's head has already taken a crit, another crit to the head will kill him. So I can play the head location as a way to ensure that there is no way for my opponent to hit the head. However, my opponent can assume I'm going to do this, and play locations other than the head to try and pull off a crit to some other location.

It is a fun mechanic to fool around with and I find that it tends to make games relaxed and fun. Combat tends to be a bit brutal, especially if you make a mistake, and characters can get wrecked pretty quickly. Gunfire can be deadly, but it takes actions to reload. Because games tend to only take place over a short number of turns, spending a whole turn to reload a musket can be a big deal.

Overall, I really enjoy FBF. The mechanics match the spirit of the game and the setting rather well. The rules are written well, and there are consequently fewer issues than with other games. And the models are fantastic! So overall, I can't recommend FBF enough. The cards are a little flimsy though, about on the order of a Malifaux Fate Deck, which is the only thing I have been disappointed with. Oh, and that lots of the models have vents and sprue connections in inconvenient places like the ball joint on an arm bit. The arm itself isn't marred, but the trade off is that you have to re-sculpt the connection point to get a good fit.

It does sound fun it has to be said.
Can you recommend any of the crews?

I play the goblin pirates personally. I enjoy the look of the models. All of the factions play well, are well balanced, and have some interesting unique features. It's the kind of game where you can go with what you like in terms of looks and find a way to make it work well in game play.

Every list is a combination of a leader, basic crewmen, and specialists. One weakness in the model line is that there are only a couple of options for the basic crewmen and there's typically only one pose of those. The company will be expanding that part of the line though, as far as I understand. It is more of a problem with the goblin pirates because the models are typically on the low end points-wise, so you need more of them. But, FBF is very flexible. I can build a goblin pirate crew with as few models as other factions typically field by taking specialists that pack a bigger punch.

The starter boxes will set you up nicely, and you won't need many more models to play a good size game. I suggest picking a faction that strikes your fancy and then getting the starter box. When you figure out the game and get a sense for how you like to play, you can modify your crew by picking up different specialists or even a different captain if your faction has more than one.

FBF has a very Cutthroat Island feel to it, which is fantastic. You can alter the flavor of your list by mixing and matching different specialists , and the table looks like a bunch of characterful guys with unique abilities running all over the place, swinging on ropes, firing braces of pistols, and yelling wild insults about your mother.