Scrapjacks - Trying a new system

 Ross came over for a game last night which gave me the opportunity to have a second try at Scrapjacks. This is a new set of sci-fi rules from Patrick Todoroff, due out in March. Patrick has put a free Quick Start Guide with a taster scenario on Wargames Vault  https://www.wargamevault.com/en/product/500732/scrapjacks-quick-start-guide

I'd had one opportunity to play through the rules so I had a reasonable grasp of the mechanisms. Anyone who has played any of Patrick's other systems, like Exploit Zero, Zona Alfa, When Nightmares Come or Nightwatch will be familiar with the basics.

The premise is a solo or co-op game, running a salvage team exploring derelict space craft/stations. The Quick Start Guide includes a two-park scenario to familiarise you with the basic rules. There are 4 basic roles in the team, each of which has specific specialisms.

Starting off in the first MHU (Modular Habitation Unit) the crew split up and move quickly towards various POI (Point of Interest). The main objective is to hack a fried relay by the exit, so Buzz (our specialist hacker) ignores the POIs and heads straight for the dodgy panel. Wrecker gets to the closest POI and find a Maintenance Supply Cabinet. This is quickly broken open and contains a Power Cell, some useful kit and 2 pts of salvage. POIs may contain useful bits the Scrapjacks can make use of (like suit patch kits) and generic salvage that offer a monetary value. As the rest of the team spread out we roll for the first Hitch. After all the Scrapjacks have taken their turn you roll of the Hitch table, which could bring foes into play, or else some environmental hazard. We roll a Void Mould, a nasty substance that can damage suits we get 3 suit breeches.

The team has a pool of Air Charge, representing a mixture of air and power available to the crew. We were already down to 5 and unless repaired quickly, each suit breech loses an Air Charge at the end of each turn, so it's not good.

In Turn two we concentrate on fixing the suit breaches but and Wrecker realises that her suit is still leaking air. This means that the team don't move so far, and at the end of the turn some maintenance bots turn up.

Two malfunctioning bots , ready to clean the MHU of all unwanted organic material (which includes the Scrapjacks).

Wrecker's suit is still leaking air.

Buzz gets close to the objective, but there are two more bots nearby.

In turn three Doc repairs Wrecker's suit, then moves on towards the objective. Q.B. (the team's "muscle") kicks open the POI next to him, a Security Locker, grabbing the goodies inside, then takes down one of the bots with his riot gun. Buzz ignores the threatening bots to start working of rerouting the fried relay. The bots activate and move in on Wrecker and Q.B. , but fail to score a hit.

This is leaving Wrecker looking rather exposed.

Turn 4, Buzz completes the rewiring, so it's safe to exit. Wrecker moves up to join the crew. the bots attack again and both Q.B. and Wrecker are wounded this time.

A bot's eye view.

The Hitch roll brings on a team of pirates/claim jumpers, which makes thing look fairly hairy for the team, so we elect to move on to the next MHU. Unfortunately this means we have left two POI not investigated, so it's not looking like a very profitable start.

The second MHU has lost gravity, so we start off in zero-g. This make movement easier, but has a risk of damaging suits every time a Scrapjack moves, so we decide to restore gravity asap. Once that is accomplished the team move on towards the various POI. Our Hitch roll trigger's a Hull Shift witch wounds two of the team.

 Doc uses his med kits to stop the bleeding and we break into 2 POI, finding a Emergency Aid Cabinet and a Supply Crate. This replenishes a med kit and 2 patch kits as well as giving us some valuable salvage. We strike lucky with the Hitch roll of just "Uneasy Silence", which (literally) gives us breathing room. 

Moving on to Turn 3, we check out another POI and find another Maintenance Supply  Cabinet, giving us some more salvage and Wrecker gets to the objective. This just requires breaking into a wall panel and installing a beacon, and Wrecker is very good a breaking into things!

But the Hitch roll turns up more maintenance bots, two of which a very threatening to Doc, bringing up the rear.

Turn 4 and Wrecker blew open one of the hatches with a det-cord, them prised the other open with her wrecker bar, to complete the objective. With bots closing in we decided to call it a day and evac.

Good fun! We both enjoyed the games. Having played once already I was more comfortable with the mechanisms, allowing me the opportunity to make better use of my utility items. We had escaped lightly, but a bit light on salvage. Between the two MHUs we had only acquired salvage to a value of 6.

With a bit of time on our hands, we decided to re-set and play through the second MHU again. This time it was a much more dangerous mission. Between Void Mould, Hull Shifts and Toxic Gas, by the end of turn 4 we were down to 2 Air Charge and had 3 wounded. As more bots turned up we decided to let Wrecker do her stuff on the wall panels and then get out of Dodge. A very close call, however we had scored 13 points of salvage, more than double what we had found in the entire first run.

The Quick Start Guide is, as expected, quite basic. It's fun to play a few times, as each scenario is different, depending on the Hitch rolls. After a while I expect games will start to feel a bit "samey", but I am hoping the full rules will have plenty different options to give variety to the fun.

For me, Scrapjacks certainly has an Expanse-vibe, and I am looking forward to the full rules coming out (hopefully) in March.