Have you ever watched Star Wars and thought, “I wonder what it would be like to pilot an X-wing or Tie fighter?”
Well 5150: Fighter Command from Two Hour Wargames is a sci-fi wargame that gives you the chance to get into the cockpit and blast away at your foes with lascannons and rail guns.
But before you scramble, let’s take a look at what’s in the rule book and how the game mechanics hold up.
Or you can just watch the video here:
The 5150: Fighter Command Rule Book
If you are familiar with any of Two Hour Wargames’ products, then 5150: Fighter Command is going to be instantly familiar. Many of the rules are very similar to other games in the system, giving a very short learning curve if you are coming from another game in their line-up.
However, there are also some differences. Turns are more IGOUGO based, although fighters can still react to incoming fire. So, much like other games from Two Hour Wargames, 5150: Fighter Command still feels like there is simultaneous action going on.
The fighter dogfight rules are an excellent example of this, and really give you the feel of the cut and thrust of space combat. Fighters react to each other with manoeuvres as they try and get the drop on the other pilot and bring their guns to bear. This makes the game feel “alive”.
The rule book also weighs in at a chunky 104 pages. But don’t panic, a large amount of that is given over to campaign games and background information.
The rules handle both fighters and capital ships, and there is a fair amount of granularity here. Fighters have a wide variety of weapons, and come in five flavours: light, medium, heavy, bombers and assault craft.
Capital ships are also included, and you can wargame attacks on installations or battle cruisers, as well as fleet combats. However, this is more micro-scale. If you want larger fleet combats, you should be looking at playing 5150: Star Navy, which handles fleet against fleet. Capital ships also have a wide variety of toys and strengths, giving plenty of variety to your star-ship wargames.
So how many figures do you need to play? Anything from a fighter or two a side, up to a couple of capital ships and a dozen fighters a side will be fine with these rules. More than that and you might want to go with Star Navy. Of course, if you don’t mind taking your time with the game, you can play larger battles. Star Navy just resolves the big battles faster is all.
The rule book itself comes in pdf and printed versions. There is a full colour cover, with a black and white interior, and all the charts gathered in to section at the end of the book.
Space Fighter Wargame Campaign Rules
Where would science fiction wargaming be without a campaign? 5150: Fighter Command does not leave you high and dry and provides detailed campaign rules that allow your squadron to grow and improve, without bogging down in book-keeping.
There is plenty of scope for individualisation too, and that turns your team into more than just miniatures on a tabletop. They become part of a story and there is a definite attachment that you build with them as they go through campaigns.
Solo Wargaming in 5150: Fighter Command
There are also detailed rules for playing solo and co-operative wargames. In these the opposing forces are controlled by a series of tactical tables that determine actions in specific circumstances. There is an element of randomness too, so you can never be sure of what the enemy is up to.
You also don’t know what you are running into as often the enemy will be in the form of PEFs, or “possible enemy forces”. These counters represent the possible locations that enemy forces may be lurking, but you won’t know if there are any there, or even what they are, until you get into sensor range. But by then it may already be too late.
This adds a really nice touch to solo gaming, and provides you with some excellent tactical challenges. It really feels as if you are playing a human opponent, only without the rules discussions and difficulty in scheduling a game.
Anything Wrong with 5150: Fighter Command?
When I normally read through a Two Hour Wargames product, I’m ready to play. The rules are usually written in a way that has everything clear right off the bat.
However, with 5150: Fighter Command I struggled a little bit. Some terminology is not clear, and some graphics to explain the rules would have been useful. I found myself reading through the rules twice and looking for battles for help in clarifying some situations.
For example, ship descriptions refer to an “aft AA turret” but there is no mention of such a weapon in the fighter weapon descriptions. There is a laser turret, although its stats are almost identical in profile to the laser cannon. Nothing a few tweaks won’t fix, but the terminology should be clear.
I also found spelling errors in the rule book. In a commercial product, these should have been weeded out at the editing stage. This, combined with unclear terminology, were my major gripes.
In Summary
If you are looking for a detailed set of rules for wargaming space fighter battles, this is not it. The rule book states that right at the beginning. If you are looking for a fun game that places emphasis on fun and playability, then 5150: Fighter Command will scratch your itch.
If you are looking for a set of sci-fi rules that you can wargame solo, this is also going to tick all the right boxes for you. In addition, the campaign system is detailed, yet doesn’t require a great deal of book keeping.
In summary very fun addition to science fiction wargaming, offering some really novel rules, which would have benefited from a little bit more proof-reading.
TheWargamingAddict’s Ratings of 5150: Fighter Command
Substance: 8/10 – There are plenty of rules here and they are easy to modify to your taste
Innovation: 9 /10 – Solo play that works, a campaign system, and a blend of role-playing and wargaming elements
Ease of Learning: 6/10 – Would benefit from more graphical examples and clearer terminology
Speed of Play: 8/10 – Game complete in a couple of hours. Could get two or more games done in a day.
Presentation: 6/10 – Spelling errors and incorrect terms in the text
Fun: 8/10 – Enjoyable to play and the personalisation of the pilots adds to that.
Total: 7.4/10 – A good sci-fi wargame. One for the collection.
What Do Our Ratings Mean
1/10 – The game is horrendous. Avoid as if it was a mutating chaos spawn that was hungry.
2/10 – The game has more flaws than a rabidly psychotic ogre. With three eyes and no nose. And bad breath.
3/10 – Great if your idea of fun is to undergo Chinese water torture.
4/10 – It jumps, it leaps, it stretches…and it still can’t achieve mediocrity.
5/10 – Meh. Yes, that’s it. Meh.
6/10 – Needs work in these areas. It could be better. Like a barbarian princess that is not wearing a chain-mail bikini.
7/10 – Good. Not great, but good. Like getting a cup of hot chocolate without a sprinkling of marshmallows.
8/10 – Pretty darn good. Makes you want to dance. Don’t sing though. Just dance.
9/10 – Awesomesauce. On tap. With sprinkles. And a cherry.
10/10 – The Holy Grail of wargames. Bow now before this game and offer up your lives in service to its rules.