Copyright 2005 T. Sheil & A.

Sheil All Rights Reserved

Army Men Homepage

Fighting Plastic
by Corey Butler

This is a game for plastic toy soldiers. The original website is gone, but the author gave blanket permission to use it
wit ha few restrictions. It is simple, easy to learn and easy to play. The author was obviously inspired by 3DO's
Army Men PC games. It is our good pleasure to bring you these rules.

Here are the basic rules for the game as authored by Corey Butler:

Introduction
FP is a miniatures war game for two or more players using plastic army men and vehicles as units. Because it was
designed for maximum fun and playability, the game can be played with as much lightheartedness as the players
desire (e.g. nerf cannons, ping pong bombs, glue weapons, etc.). It can be played on a large table, in a living
room, at the beach, or anywhere else you happen to be. The only materials needed are these rules, a supply of
different colored army men, some six-sided dice, and a couple of yardsticks or tape measures.
Before beginning the game, players should discuss and agree upon the playing area, victory conditions, selection
of forces, and starting positions. Setup is conducted jointly by all players before army assignment is determined.
Players are assigned armies by drawing colors ( as in chess ). Each player then rolls a die and the highest roller
moves first, followed by the second highest, and so on.
An army typically consists of 30-40 men plus a few fortifications or vehicles. As a general rule, attackers should
be given more troops ( perhaps even double ) than army men who are defending a fortified position.
Example scenarios ( and victory conditions ) may include such themes as: destroy all enemies, capture the flag,
escape to a safe area, escort vehicles and cargo, rescue prisoners, capture the enemy leader, destroy a secret
weapon, etc. Variants can include space troops, toy dinosaurs, trains, boats, or any other items on hand.

Additional Game Components

Pencils = anti-tank obstacles
Big paper clips = barbed wire
Jar lids = fox holes
Houseplants = forests
Bottles, cans, etc, = miscellaneous obstacles and cover
Coins = minefields
Rulers = bridges
Boxes of matches = fires and/or smoke
Blankets = low hills or bodies of water
Piles of books = steep hills and cliffs
Dixie cups = small pillboxes ( cut out gunports)
Game Turns

Each Turn represents an abstracted amount of time in which a soldier can move and attack. Turns are divided into
Each Turn represents an abstracted amount of time in which a soldier can move and attack. Turns are divided into
4 phases which porceed in the following order:
1. Movement ( sequential )
2. Automatic weapons ( simultaneous )
3. Other small arms ( simultaneous )
4l Heavy weapons ( simultaneous )
Heavy weapons inlcude tanks, artillery, bazookas, flame-throwers, mortars, and anything else that is not a machine
gun, rifle, or pistol. If exotic, high-tech weapons like missiles and lasers are involved, they should be fired in the
automatic weapon phase.
Since combat is simultaneous, units destroyed in a phase may still return fire during that phase. Keep track of
destroyed units by flipping them on their sides. At the end of the phase, casualties are removed or replaced by
wounded figures and/or dropped weapon accessories up to a limit agreed upon before the game started. Destroyed
vehicles remain flipped over, serving as cover and obstacles for the remainder of the game.
Movement
The standard movement allowance is one foot per turn for infantry, and two feet per turn for vehicles. The
allowance is halved when going up hills, and is it also halved for vehicles crossing rough ground. Jeeps and trucks
( as well as trains ) can move up to three feet per turn on a road.
Tanks lose half their movement allowance when they change directions by turning. There is no movement penalty
to turn the turret, which is positioned during the movement phase. Tanks can eliminate enemy infantry by running
them over.
Soldiers climbing cliffs must roll one die: 1 fall to death, 2-4 no progress, 5-6 climb three inches. Climbing
infantry may not attack during the turn they are attempting to climb. Swimming infantry move at a rate of 6" per
turn. They have a 1 in 6 chance of drowning every turn they are in the water. Paratroopers must roll a die when
they attempt to land: 1-2 on target, 3 north of target, 4 east of target, 5 south of target, 6 west of target. If off
target, roll another die to determine how many feet they are off ( max 3' ). Paratroopers may take no further action
on the turn they are dropped.
Opportunity Fire
Army men using direct fire ( i.e. not mortars, etc. ) have the option of attacking any units that moved through their
line of sight ( LoS ) during the movement phase, even if they are not in LoS at the end of movement. This rule
eliminates the possibility of units simply running by enemy machine gun placements. Units attacked by
opportunity fir may return fire.
Combat
Combat occurs simultaneously, but in different phases for different weapons types. Any weapon depicted on a
given army man may be used, but each figure may never attack more than once per turn. Check the range ( in feet
) and the attack rating for the appropriate weapon on the table below. The attack value or less must be rolled on
two dice to be successful. Infantry units are automatically eliminated if hit. Armored vehicles and other hard
targets may be destroyed by heavy weapons depending on a second die roll ( see Hard Targets ).
Rate of fire ( RoF ) indicates how many attacks ( on separate targets ) an automatic weapon can make in a turn.
These attacks must be clustered within a 60 degree arc. RoF is abstracted and does not necessarily correspond to a
specific number of bullets fired.

Weapon Range Attack RoF Notes

Knife 0 6 1 silent, no adjacent bonus
Pistol 1 6 1
Rifle 2 7 1
Sniper rilfe 3 9 1 stationary
Submachine gun 1 8 3
Assault rifle 2 8 5
LMG ( bipod ) 2 8 7 stationary, 1/2 move
HMG ( tripod ) 3 8 10 as above, crew of 2
Grenade 1 6 1 6" diameter blast
Light Mortar 2-4 6 1 6" blast, stationary, 1/2 move
Heavy Mortar 2-5 6 1 as above, 9" blast, crew of 2
Flame Thrower 1 9 1 6" wide cone, 1/2 move
Bazooka 2 6 1 6" blast, 1/2 move, crew of 2
Tank gun 4 7 1 6" blast, crew of 3 ( inside )
Light cannon 3 7 1 6" blast, stationary, crew of 3
Howitzer 6 7 1 9" blast, stationary, crew of 3
Missile 9 8 1 12" blast
Laser any LoS 8 1 automatic elimination
Glue Cannon 3 7 1 immobilizes 9" area

Special Units
Leader +1 attack for troops in 12" area
Binoculars +1 to attack with range >3
Radio allows indirect fire without Los, can transfer leader bonus
Engineer can destroy obstacles, stationary
Medic Convert wounded to healthy soldiers on a roll of 7 on two dice
Mine detector locate mines, deactivate a 3" path per turn
Minefields one attack of 7 on all men vehicles during the movement
Barbed wire blocks infantry, can be destroyed by engineers, tanks, guns
Tank obstacles blocks vehicles, can be destroyed by engineers

Miscellaneous Notes
A natural 2 always eliminates its target and a natural 12 always misses.
bullet
Automatic weapons jam on a roll of 12. Can be fixed by rolling a 7 or less next turn.
bullet
All tanks, heavy guns, and flame-throwers are out of ammo on a roll of 12.
bullet
Stationary weapons cannot attack on the same turn in which they move.
bullet
At least 50% of a target must be within a blast area to be hit.
bullet
Attacks on AFVs use armor-piercing rounds and do not make a blast.
bullet
Most tanks and planes may fire LMGs in addition to their other armaments.
bullet
There is a 50% chance that a flame-thrower will explode ( 3" blast ) if hit.
bullet

Attack Modifiers
Behind cover -3 flame-throwers and grenades are -0
Flying -4 planes can only be attacked by MGs and lasers
Inside pillbox -5 flame throwers are -0
Range >3 -1 NA for high-tech weapons such as lasers
From lower elevation -1
Adjacent +2
From behind +2

Guns using indirect fire ( and/or range >3 ) are -1 on their first attack on a fixed location.
bullet
Infantry with shovels can entrench ( -3 cover ) after two turns of digging.
bullet

Hard Targets

Unlike most units, hard targets such as armored fighting vehicles ( AFVs ) and pillboxes are not automatically
eliminated when hit. Furthermore, they are immune to most weapons. Bazookas, tank guns, cannons, and flame
throwers that land a successful hit have a chance to eliminate them according to the following rule:

Roll one die... For AFVs: 1-2 no effect, 3-4 immobilized, 5-6 destroyed. For pillboxes: 1-4 no effect, 5 stunned
for one turn, 6 destroyed. Die roll modifiers...
Target is a half track +1
bullet
Target is the side or rear of a tank +1 ( flame throwers NA )
bullet
Target is a heavy tank -1
bullet
Weapon is flame-thrower or howitzer +1
bullet
Weapon is a high-tech missile +2
bullet
Weapon is land mine or bazooka -1
bullet

Flame throwers cannot destroy pillboxes... only the occupants can be targeted
bullet
Destroyed vehicles are flipped over and remain in place
bullet
Crews survive destroyed tanks ( not jeeps or half-tracks ) on a subsequent roll of 1-2, pillboxes 1-3.
bullet
Cannons are automatically eliminated when hit by tanks and other big guns.
bullet
Trucks and jeeps can be eliminated by tanks, cannons, mortars, and sustained HMG fire.
bullet
Infantry units can eliminate adjacent AFVs with a natural attack roll of 2
bullet

Army men in pillboxes cannot fire at targets that are behind the fortification or directly below and in front of the
gun ports ( Exception: grenades can be tossed onto units in front of pillboxes ). Enemy units in these safe zones
can destroy the occupants of the pillboxes on any roll other than a 12 if they are armed with either flame-throwers
or grenades.

Small arms can be used to attack soldiers in pillboxes and half-tracks. If they score a successful nit after the
appropriate penalty ( half-tracks act as -3 cover ), they eliminate enemy units but do not affect the hard target itself.

Heroes

One or more army men form each side can be designated as heroes. These men may or may not be leaders.
Heroes must be "eliminated" three times before they are actually removed from the game. They have +1 on all of
their attack values and may have additional abilities that should be agreed upon beforehand. Figures representing
heroes must be unique or easily identifiable. They should be given names like Tex, Radar, Sarge, or Bill.

Designers Notes: This game is copyright 2000 by Corey Butler. It may be freely distributed in its original form,
with this notice, but not sold. Modifications and house rules are encouraged and should be labeled as such.
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