AT-43 The Rulebook — Review « The View from the Turret

AT-43 The Rulebook — Review

Posted on 01Jun07 Updated on 25Aug09

With the free rules preview having been out for a few months now you would not think the actual rulebook would hold any surprises. You would be wrong. The AT-43 rulebook is a 127 page, full-color, softbound book. The feel is more like a magazine because the paper, including the cover, is thin with high gloss. There is color on almost every page and the layout is well done. Overall the look is very professional.

In addition to pages 46-77 included in the free rules download, the full rulebook includes an introduction to the AT-43 universe, i.e. ‘fluff’, as well as an introduction to the four starter races, the White Stars, Therians, Red Blok, and Karmans. This section includes some really great full-color artwork, photos of the miniatures, as well as black and white concept sketches.

The latter portion of the book includes a section on unit composition, missions, using terrain, a battle report, a glossary, and starter army lists. There are six full missions included: Seek & Destroy, Bridgehead, Hold the position, Skirmish, Landing, and Extraction. This section of the rulebook is also liberally sprinkled with more full-color artwork, photos of the miniatures, as well as black and white concept sketches.

The full rules expand considerably on the intro rules provided in the Operation Damocles Initiation Set. Striders now divide their structure points among frame, propulsion, and weapons as indicated by the white boxes on the unit cards. The best part of AT-43 is certainly the activation sequence. This was included, in a simpler form, in the OD rules. Basically you use the unit cards to decide on the order you will activate your units. You can then spend leadership points to modify the activation sequence during play. For example, you can spend two leadership points to delay the activation of a unit. This is a far more exciting turn sequence game mechanic than the traditional ‘I Go U Go’ system and highlights leader abilities well.

Also new are Combat Drills that include Knee to the ground, Overwatch, Take Cover, and Split Fire. Overwatch is probably the most interesting as it is a feature often missing in modern miniature games. Overwatch allows a designated unit to do nothing during the player’s turn but be eligible to fire on any moving targets in the opponent’s next turn. AT-43 also includes rules for indirect and area fire, close combat, morale, and heroes. Indirect fire includes artillery type attacks as well as template attacks such as flamers. Units are required to take morale checks under certain conditions and leaders have a direct effect on a unit’s morale.

Overall Rackham has done an excellent job with the rules. The rules provide enough depth to keep play interesting but are streamlined enough to not be difficult to learn. The activation sequence and Combat Drills keep suspense high and mean no two games will ever really play the same. Best of all, with the free rules preview gamers can judge for themselves before buying.

Remember to get the FAQ and do not miss our AT-43 Tips and Tactics.

This entry was posted in AT-43, Miniature Wargames, Reviews, Sci-Fi, Wargames.

20 thoughts on “AT-43 The Rulebook — Review”

AT-43 U.N.A. Army Book -- Review « The View from the Turret said:
01Jun07 at 1016

[…] Sci-Fi The first AT-43 army books is for the U.N.A. The quality and layout is similar to the main rulebook but the cover seems a tad thicker. The book is 64 pages long. A smaller error slipped past and the […]

inrepose said:
11Jun07 at 0805

Thanks for an excellent review. I am now very tempted to start a collection and one of my local group has already purchased the start set. Looks like fun!

The View from the Turret said:
20Jul07 at 1315

[…] 20 Jul 2007 Posted by tanker under AT-43 , Miniature Wargames , Sci-Fi The AT-43 Therian Army Book is now available. The quality and layout is the same as the U.N.A. Army Book. The […]

AT-43 Therian Army Book — Review « The View from the Turret said:
20Jul07 at 1326

[…] Army Book — Review Posted by tanker under AT-43 , Miniature Wargames , Sci-Fi The AT-43 Therian Army Book is now available. The quality and layout is the same as the U.N.A. Army Book. The […]

AT-43 — Advanced Rules Available for Download « The View from the Turret said:
14Nov07 at 2016

[…] our AT-43 Rules review.] […]

AT-43 – The Second Wave « The View from the Turret said:
29Nov07 at 2023

[…] Posted by tanker under AT-43, Miniature Wargames, Sci-Fi The second round of AT-43 releases are generally available now. This round includes the Accessory: Expansion Set 1, the […]

AT-43 — The Red Blok « The View from the Turret said:
07Dec07 at 1509

[…] to cover any Red Blok miniatures because we assumed it would mostly be more of the same as far as AT-43 miniatures went. Once you have seen some of the U.N.A or Therian models you get the basic idea of […]

The Best Games Not Yet Published, 2008 « The View from the Turret said:
04Jan08 at 1125

[…] AT-43 [Rackham] – 2007 saw some supply problems but overall the quality of the rules was excellent and minis good to very good. We do not have much interest in the Karmens but we are hopeful we will see at least one more faction in 2008. […]

AT-43 — News « The View from the Turret said:
25Jan08 at 0956

[…] Wargames, Sci-Fi Rackham has been busy. They have announced a number of new items for AT-43. First off the Karmens get fleshed out pretty quickly this year with a large number of new units […]

AT-43 — U.N.A. Close Combat Troops « The View from the Turret said:
12Apr08 at 1431

[…] Miniature Wargames, Sci-Fi Rackham recently released some new U.N.A. Close Combat units for AT-43. First up is the new U.N.A. Shock TacArms. These were previously unseen troops and the last of the […]

AT-43 — Cold Toad « The View from the Turret said:
12Apr08 at 1450

[…] tanker under AT-43, Miniature Wargames, Sci-Fi Rackham released a new U.N.A. Fire Toad for AT-43. Unlike the original releases (MKs 02 and 03) of the Fire Toad this one replaces the shipping […]

AT-43 — Karmans Review « The View from the Turret said:
13Apr08 at 0840

[…] Posted by tanker under AT-43, Miniature Wargames, Sci-Fi You have probably noticed that our AT-43 coverage of the Karmans has been very light. We just decided to skip them and wait to see what […]

AT-43 — New Errata « The View from the Turret said:
18Apr08 at 1236

[…] sheet for its AT-43 sci-fi miniatures game. It is two pages long and includes corrections to the AT-43 Rulebook, U.N.A. Army Book, Therian Army Book, RedBlok Army Book, and Karmans Army Book.. […]

AT-43 July 2008 Releases — Review « The View from the Turret said:
09Aug08 at 1334

[…] Posted by tanker under AT-43, Sci-Fi Rackham released a number of new figures for AT-43. Most of them seem to be for the upcoming Operation Frostbite expansion. The Red Blok got two […]

AT-43 Operation Damocles — Review « The View from the Turret said:
05Sep08 at 0941

[…] with the Operation Damocles Initiation Set) is one of the latest campaign books for Rackham’s AT-43 sci-fi miniatures game. Physically the book is the same as the other AT-43 books. It is a 61-page […]

AT-43 Operation Frostbite — Review « The View from the Turret said:
07Sep08 at 1508

[…] first blush you might think Rackham’s latest AT-43 expansion was another book similar to the recent Operation Damocles Campaign Book. In fact it has […]

AT-43 Tactics — Review « The View from the Turret said:
11Nov08 at 1005

[…] is not an AT-43 expansion. It is actually a stand-alone game and ownership and knowledge of the AT-43 miniatures game is not needed. Obviously the audience is AT-43 gamers and knowledge of both the AT-43 miniatures […]

The Best Games Not Yet Published, 2009 « The View from the Turret said:
14Jan09 at 1446

[…] AT-43 [Rackham] – 2008 saw some excellent AT-43 releases and then the implosion of Rackham. Supposedly their problems are sorted out now and with luck 2009 will see more AT-43 goodness. The Cogs are the new race we should see for this year. […]

Wither AT-43? « The View from the Turret said:
28Nov09 at 1632

[…] really like the AT-43 rule system and much of the design aesthetic but without consistent releases including more supporting material […]

The Best Games Not Yet Published, 2010 « The View from the Turret said:
20Jan10 at 1630

[…] AT-43 [Rackham] – 2009 saw two new armies released (the Cogs and ONI) with some very nice, and not so nice, models. There are rumors of another new army for 2010. But with nothing happening on rules/campaign front we are much less excited than we once were. […]

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