Fun with Maximillian

Lately, I've been trying out Maximillian 1934 by Mana Press at my two local clubs, the South Devon Games Club and the Brixham Berserkers.

The game can be summed up as 'Mad Max' set in the 1930s, using cool 'in period' cars duelling each other while armed with a manner of nasty weapons, including machine guns, dynamite and cannons. We ran an article in WS&S 95 on new gear for Maximillian 1934.

Regular blog readers may recall my post last year on converting a Warbases armoured car for the game. So how does the game actually play? It is chaotic, crazy and very enjoyable.

One player described it as the most fun game he'd played since he first tried the original Necromunda in 1995 (!).  One thing we discovered early on is you should have a lot of terrain, otherwise games tend to be 'who can outshoot whom' instead of using manoeuvres, risky tight turns and tactics.

Note the clever movement template.

One unique and essential feature of the game is the turning template, which also doubles up for weapon arcs. Effectively, the tighter the turn, the more likely you are to skid, with usually comic consequences.

Too little terrain!

The rules are designed to make customised vehicles. We've been raiding car boot sales and Ebay for suitable Lledo and Matchbox 'Past Times' vehicles. Or, of course, you can pick up some of the excellent models from Eureka. We'll be giving Maximillian another outing soon, this time with painted models!