One of the more recent games to hit the market is Spinespur, by Comfy Chair Games. One of the interesting things you’ll note about Spinespur when you take a look at the rulebook is that it comes complete with a parental advisory label. This is not something you typically find on a miniatures game. In fact, I don’t know of any other games out there that do.

The World of Spinespur

Spinespur is a graphic and disturbing world in which the worst of the worst are sent. It is, at its core, Hell minus the lakes of fire. It is a place where the sun never shines, and its inhabitants live in fear and squalor, never knowing where their next meal will come from or who will be waiting to take it from them. The worst faces of humanity from film, fiction, and fact were used as inspiration for the personalities that inhabit this city of darkness. This is not to say that the creators just stole every character and piece of folklore they could get their hands on. No, it is explained within the fictional world that the evil men who live in Spinespur are the real faces behind the stories we’ve all seen and heard. This allows for some interesting twists and reinterpretations of old classics to fill the setting with grim and unsettling characters.

Spinespur itself is a sprawling city broken up into several districts ruled over by powerful gang leaders known as Senators. Senators each have their own agenda, though what that agenda is is anyones guess. An underlying story has not emerged and I haven’t read anything to lead me to believe that the game itself will be heavily story driven. Even so there is a lot of disturbing and entertaining fiction to be read throughout the first and currently only rulebook, Spinespur: Threshold.

The Core Mechanics

All the rage these days are the concepts of opposed rolls and alternating unit activations and Spinespur delivers on both these counts. The vast majority of the games rolls boil down to both players rolling three six sided dice, adding the appropriate stats, and determining the results of an attack or action. The interesting thing about this mechanic is that one of the three dice is a different color and it determines damage. What makes it interesting is that while you want to roll high on all three dice so you will succeed in your action, it is actually preferable for the third die to be low because the attack will deal more damage the lower it is. What possessed the designers to go this route is anyone’s guess, but its interesting and quirky enough to make me like it at the very least.

Beyond the simplicity of the opposed roll method of resolving things, the rules were not streamlined to make a quick, simplified play experience. The creators wanted to keep as much realism and depth in their game as possible. The rules for weapons are notably complex. Guns are not limited to popping off shots at thugs who are closing in to bash your head in with a pipe, and melee weapons can be thrown if the need arises. Just keep in mind: once you throw it away, it’s gone, and if you scored a hit, the rules are in place for your victim to just rip it out of his shoulder and throw it back.

This depth does come with a downside, and that is the often annoying layout of the book when you’re first learning the game. If you’ve got someone who knows what they’re doing teaching you, it’s not really an issue, but for two people sitting down to try and play for the first time it can get annoying fast.

The Options

Spinespur doesn’t have set factions and relies instead on a sort of character alignment system to determine who will and will not work with each other. For instance characters that fall under the heading of Calculating will not work for those who are considered psychotic and vise versa. If you decide to field a force of nothing but characters who share the same philosphy you gain additional points to spend based on the total point value of the game. Additionally there are Agendas which amount to people who have grouped together for the same purpose reguardles sof philosophy. Adhering to an Agenda grants access to an Agenda specific special bonus.

Overall there is a great deal of freedom to play pretty much anything you want to put together while at the same time rewarding those who want to stick strongly to a specifc theme.

Final Thoughts

I’ll be honest, the genre of the game isn’t my favorite. Despite being a zombie I’m just not huge into the slasher flicks and B monster movies. I do however think the core fo the game is extremely strong. Being a new game on the market, the miniatures line is far from being completely fleshed out, but a lot of what has been released shows a lot of promise for things to come. If you’re looking for a new game that isn’t built around tournament play, Spinespur is worth taking a look at. The only thing it’s missing, in my opinion, is a strong Zombie character, perhaps named Carl. Okay, maybe not…

Until next time, braaiiins…