Strike Legion is a series of three separate games that portray ground combat actions over time periods ranging from mid-20th century conflicts and alternate pasts through far future 'hard' SciFi and Science Fantasy settings. All three games in the series can be played with 6mm or smaller-scale miniatures; two of the games can be played comfortably with larger miniatures scales.

The Strike Legion Tactical series represents combat at reinforced company or battalion level, with each vehicle representing one vehicle one the tabletop, each stand of infantry representing one infantry team, and one linear inch equal to roughly 250 meters. The core mechanic of assignable electronic warfare (EW) ratings for vehicles allows players to vary their attack and defense ratings from turn to turn during the game, making for a more thought-provoking game beyond determining how many combat dice need to be assigned to a target to statistically ensure its demise. Game-play uses alternating platoon activations and simple polyhedral dice mechanisms to determine combat results. Battalion vs. battalion games can be resolved in one to three hours in most cases, and can include artillery, air, and orbital support should the players wish to do so.

The Strike Legion Main Rulebook, when combined with its three attendant supplements, allows players to use and create nearly any type of unit from any genre of SciFi film or literature - pulp, Victorian, 'hard', space opera, science fantasy, and anything in between can be successfully emulated on the tabletop using this system. Each supplement is written in a 'modular' fashion; players may pick and choose which rules sections they would like to include in their games; this can be further defined by players including or omitting specific items (from some two hundred plus) when creating their own units, or altering one of the 30-odd pre-made army lists available from the Legionnaire Games website.

A free demo version of the Strike Legion Tactical system is available here.

Strike Legion: Planetary Operations takes a look at regimental and divisional-level combat, with each vehicle or infantry stand representing a company's worth of troops, and a linear inch representing 1km. Maneuver units are battalions, with each battalion possibly having one or more attached support companies, such as artillery batteries, scouts, combat engineers, shock troops, or HQ units. All of the options available to commanders in the Strike Legion Tactical series have been distilled into a single book that provides for unit creation and conversions of units from the tactical game series. This game is best played with 6mm or smaller-scale miniatures.

Planetary Ops also supports three types of campaign gaming: Linked Scenario, Sector Campaign, and Planetary Operations Campaign games. The Linked Scenario CG has players facing off over a series of specific scenarios, with the next scenario to be played determined by the winner or loser of the previous game. Points are accumulated from scenario wins, with the CG winner based on the high total of scenario victory points.

The Sector CG represents extended combat actions over the same piece of vital ground, with multiple scenarios being fought over the same table layout. This CG introduces simple supply rules, and victory, more often than not, determined by judicious allocation of those limited resources (along with making your opponent pay handsomely for any tactical mistakes made during each game).

The Planetary Operations CG has players fighting multiple Sector CG games concurrently, and makes for a great group playing experience. The outcome of combat in one sector can influence the results of other combat sectors in the form of troop re-deployments and supply allocations.

Planetary Ops is currently supported by a single module that represents Cold War era combat in Europe, circa 1989, with TO&E for some 14 NATO and Warsaw Pact countries and several optional rules that can be applied to any Planetary Ops game. Additional historically-based modules are planned for release later this year for use with Planetary Operations.

A free demo version of Strike Legion: Planetary Operations is available here.

Strike Legion: Platoon Leader is a small-unit combat game that works as a 'skirmish' game equivalent, and is suitable for 6mm up to 28mm miniatures. Each figure represents one soldier, vehicle, or weapon. Platoon Leader is currently in the final stages of development, with an expected release of sometime in April 2012. This section of this post will be updated when the game's release is imminent.

Feel free to post any questions you have about any of the games referenced in this post; I'll do my best to answer in a timely fashion.

KJ