Stats:
No. of players: 2
Amount of time to play: 45-90 min (depending on scenario and point build)
Age requirements: 14+
Set-up time: 5-10 min

Robotech RPG Tactics is a miniatures skirmish game that may be played in a variety of ways. There are a plethora of different scenarios and special rules you can use or you can play in campaign mode.

Robotech RPG Tactics Rules Description:

Robotech RPG Tactics is based in the Robotech universe as the United Earth Defense Force and the Zentraedi aliens faceoff. Your armies are built of squadrons of Valkyrie, Tomahawk, Regult, and Glaug units.

Each round starts with both players gaining Command Points (CPs). You can spend these to gain extra attacks, dodge, avoid damage or trigger special abilities. You gain CPs for most units in your army plus extra for units that have leadership. You CPs refill each round but the ones you don’t spend do not rollover.

Next you roll 2d6 and if you roll higher you choose who activates a squadron first. Your opponent can attempt to steal your activation before you choose a squadron to activate. Stealing an activation requires you to spend a CP and roll a six on a d6. If the steal is successful it can be blocked by spending a CP and rolling a six on a d6. You may only attempt one steal per activation and if successful your opponent must be allowed to activate a squadron before you attempt a steal again.

During activation you may move all units in one squadron. You may measure before moving and may boost a unit’s movement by spending CPs. Once you have finished moving all your units you wanted to move, you attack. Again you may measure and check line of sight before declaring a target. You may shoot through units from your squadron, but not other friendlies, enemies or buildings. If you are in base to base contact with an enemy you may perform a hand-to-hand attack.

To make a ranged attack you choose a weapon with enough range to reach the base of your target. Then you roll a d6, add your unit’s gunnery stat and subtract or add modifiers for terrain, close formation or other tactical advantages and penalties. If the result is equal to or higher than your target’s defense you hit. The defender can spend a CP to dodge. They roll a d6 and add their unit’s piloting stat. If their result is equal to or greater than your result to strike, they dodge the attack. When using missiles to attack you roll once per missile in the volley and your opponent may use anti-missile weapons (for 0 CPs) instead of dodging. Most anti-missile weapons shoot down incoming missiles on a n unmodified roll of 5 or better. If a unit does not dodge they can attempt to roll with the impact of the hit. This costs their owner a CP and that unit takes half damage. A unit within two inches of a hit unit can shield it. This splits the damage between both units. A unit may only shield another unit once peer round. You may spend a CP to trigger a different ranged combat system after resolving the first.

Hand-to-hand combat is very similar. First you choose an attack and then a target. Hand-to-hand attacks include punching, kicking, stomping and more. Some cost a CP and others are free. The attack you choose determines the damage you deal. To strike you roll a d6 and your unit’s piloting stat. The defender rolls a d6 to parry and adds their piloting stat. If the attacker’s roll is higher is attack hits and damage is dealt. If not the attack is blocked. A unit that is hit by a hand-to-hand attack may still spend a CP to roll with the impact for half damage. You can gain positive modifiers for hand-to-hand combat by outnumbering your target or attacking them from behind. Units engaged in hand-to-hand combat may not be targeted by ranged attacks. And to disengage from hand-to-hand combat you must spend a CP.

Different units and weapon systems have special abilities that give them bonuses or restrictions on attacks or movement. Some specials only trigger when a unit is stationary, fire only one weapon or in other specific situations.

The scenario determines the length of the game and your win condition. Typical armies have 300 points of units and are made up of core squadrons and support squads. You can buy upgrades for units and add characters from the show to pilot them too.

You can string scenarios together to create a campaign of which there are a few different types. Campaigns let you use recurring pilots, have battle outcomes effect later battles and gain experience. There is even a section about using the game and miniatures for players of the Palladium Robotech RPG.

Quick Review of Robotech RPG Tactics:

Robotech RPG Tactics is fast and action-packed just like the show. It has a robust collection of scenarios and ways you can play the game. But be aware there is work involved. The miniatures need assembled and painted.

The components for this game are a bit of a mixed bag. The art looks great and so is the graphic design. The miniatures look nice but require assembly. As a board gamer I have not put together a ton of miniatures and these weren’t too hard to put together, but some of the units are tedious to build. The included assembly instructions are lacking so be sure to download the updated ones here. Getting them off the sprues was sometimes harder than building them. Some of the pieces are very tight to the frame. I used an x-acto knife a lot. The rulebook has a ton of useful information about the story and each faction. There are stats for all the units in the game (including ones not represented in the starter set). But squadron costs can only be found on the included cards. Some of the squadron cards were missing from the box but may be downloaded. It would have been nice and more efficient for squadron costs to be in the rulebook. Another nice thing to have is a reference sheet with unit and weapon special abilities. I found an excellent fan made one here. And as a non-miniatures war gamer a nicer ruler would have been cool too.

I really enjoyed Robotech as a kid and this game feels like the show. It is fast-paced, things explode and may die quickly.

Command Points really make the system hum. They are vital to avoid damage, to make extra attacks or steal your opponent’s activation. Many of the starting Zentraedi forces do not contribute CPs. So the Zentraedi player needs to keep their leader units safe so they can provide much needed support.

The rules are pretty streamlined once you are used to the abilities and flow of the game. The ruleset has enough depth without a ton of extra complexity. The combat round is a quick, back and forth affair that makes sense. Still you might need some rules clarification so check out this living FAQ.

I also really like you can measure thins before you act. I really don’t like war games that require you to commit to a move only to find it is out of range. Getting to measure first is great.

There are some things to be aware of though. First it is a lot of work to get all the miniatures assembled. Then you will probably want to paint them. You almost need to just to tell different units apart. And for units that are posed and painted the same you might need another way to differentiate them. There are decals but they seem tiny and intimidating.

Missiles seem over-powered. Having anti-missile weaponry helps but they can put out a bunch of damage at once. This is accurate to the show but can be tough in the game.

I wish the starter box had more variety of Zentraedi units. The squadrons of Regults work fine but having some different units would be cool. The UEDF has a lot more options for builds right out of the box. FYI to build a 300 point army you need more than the starter. It has enough units to build to mid-sized armies but know you’ll need more.

Robotech RPG Tactics is a fun, tactical miniatures game. It has many modes of play and fans of the show will enjoy its faithfulness to the series. But it is a lot of work just to play. If you are a board gamer and are used to having pre-assembled and pre-painted miniatures you might want to pass on this. Or at least look around at some of the blogs and videos showing you what it takes to play this game. If you are a miniatures war gamer it probably depends on your love for the subject matter. If you and some friends really like Robotech pick this up you’ll enjoy it and can divide some of the work.

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 4 out of 6
Luck 5 out of 6
Player Interaction 6 out of 6
Replay Value 5 out of 6
Complexity 4 out of 6
Fun 4 out of 6
Overall 4 out of 6