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Exoshift Tactics is a 28mm squad scale skirmish game set in a bright, fantastical but plausible, science fiction future.

To download the playtest documents, check the link below:
exoshift.org/downloads

I'm looking for very early playtesters for the newest version of the rules.

Also available is an early draft of a faction document for The Sol Republic, a nation of human and former alien refugees created in the aftermath of a horrific war.

There's a lot missing, but at this point, I just need miniatures on the table and people going through the rules. I need to get back to sculpting so I can finish the first set of miniatures to show.

A lot of the game is in flux as playtesting will surely reveal problems and entire rules systems that need changing or removal. This is why I've chosen to release the playtesting documents this early.

Over the next week I hope to post the faction documents for the next 3 factions, and start posting some artwork and sculpts.

I really like the fiction I've read so far. The universe feels very vast, and I like that. I am also a big fan of the rules using d10. I'll give it a thorough read sometime soon and see if I can't do a test game.

If you are able to make a short youtube video demonstrating how to play the game, that would go a long way to helping people start playing.

Rules document updated to 0.52.1 to fix some typos, undoubtedly there will be more.

Ah, the d10. It's not used enough in wargaming, but I loved it back from the old Vor: The Maelstrom days. I like the larger granularity, even though that means wilder swings in results.

I was planning to do a youtube video eventually, but was waiting until the game was more fleshed out after local playtesting, and hopefully a miniature or two to show. However, from your recommendation I should probably start doing a series of short videos that are updated with any changes to the rules as they progress.

The intent really was to have a big universe in which to play in, along with a lot of factions that weren't only interested in killing each other.

Add to that the Sine, the crazy nihilistic crystal people, one of their mandates is that they retaliate against anyone using weapons of mass destruction, especially those of a highly energetic nature. Making sure that there was at least some low level fear of using WMDs across the galaxy. After all, since everything's an alien to everyone else, the natural empathy or aversion to nuking or using other massive or cruel weapons is gone. Only problem is, sometimes they show up centuries too late. But when you see an entire planet encased in crystal, their screaming inhabitants forever frozen, staring out along a major trade lane, with a beacon broadcasting their crimes, any species might get the hint.

Just a bump, no new version since I'm going through a major rewrite due to feedback from playtesters.

However, I wanted to brainstorm the action/activation scheme.

The game is a fantastical scifi skirmish, squad sized (5-14 models), where each model is an individual on its own base.

I'm pretty sure this isn't original, but it is a particular mixture of ideas that I haven't seen in the usual games I play. I'm trying to think of loopholes, or balance issues that I could avoid while using such a system.

The game uses alternating activations, where one player takes a turn to activate a model to take an action. Then the next player in turn order gets to do the same. This is done until all models have taken an action.

Models get one action per turn, from a simple list of actions:

Move – Average movement value is 6"
Shoot
Aim
Prepare*
Interact - Interact with other units, terrain, or objectives.

Each model also gets a Reaction, which can be used to take any action whenever an enemy unit ends an action within LoS (line of sight), or within a 5"-12" reaction bubble regardless of LoS.

The Reaction can also be spent during that model's normal activation as a second action.

Effectively, every unit can have 2 actions on its turn if they sacrifice their Reaction.

On top of all this, you have Command Points that grant additional actions, but at a reduced effectiveness. For example, shooting is done at a penalty, and movement is done at a reduced rate.

Command points can also be used to allow another model to activate immediately after another, instead of another player taking a turn, you can activate 2 or more models at once.

Lastly, you can take a prepare action for 1 CP in addition to the CP to take the action (if any), to get a Reaction back.

Just wanted to make sure this system was easier to grasp from a short explanation than the previous system.