OVER THERE!

The Modern Skirmish Wargame

by Evan Anhorn

Basic Rules, Version 2.5

 OVER THERE!
The Modern Skirmish Wargame

Special Thanks to Gloria and Adrian

Playtesters: Abraham J. Edelheit, Adrian Anhorn, Alex “Big Hagar”, Gloria McKinney, Ian Clinton, Mike
Clinton, Owen Marston, Patrick Manhatton, Rick Clapp, Sevya Edmiston, Steve “SeattleRedGamer”

© Copyright 2008 Evan Anhorn. All Rights Reserved.

This book is protected under international treaties Publisher ’s Note:

and copyright laws of the United States of America.
No part of this book may be reproduced, without the
express written consent of the author. Permission is
granted to the purchaser of this product to reproduce
sections of this book for personal use only. Sale or
trade of such reproductions is strictly prohibited.
Games
This is a work of fiction. Names,
characters, places and incidents either are
the product of the author’s imagination or
are used fictitiously, and any resemblance
to actual persons, living or dead, events or
locales is entirely coincidental.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Credits 1 Section 5: Scatter Dice 12

Table of Contents 2 Section 6: Mission Resolve 13

Who Wins? 13
Basic Rules 3
Setting up the Game 3 Section 7: Alternate Ways to Play 13
Elements 3 Fog of War 13
Charateristics 4 Scaled Elements 13
Good Order, Shaken and Panicked 4
Testing Characteristics 4

Section 1: The Game Round 4

The Activation Sequence 5
Elements 5
Groups 5
Groups and Stress 5
Splitting and Regrouping 6
Morale Problems and the Rally Test 6
Break Point 6
Leadership 6
Fall Back! 6

Section 2: Action! 7
Movement 7
Reload 8
Melee 8
Ranged Attack 8
Point Blank 8
The Kill Zone 8
Concealment and Cover 9
Gone to Ground 9
Hit the Deck! 9
Weaponry Statistics 9

Section 3: Damage, or “I’m Hit!” 9

Allocating Damage 10

Section 4: Advanced Weaponry 10

Automatic Attacks 10
Area Effect and Auto Attacks 10
Recoil 10
Ammunition and Auto Attacks 11
Suppression from Auto and Blast 11
Blast Attacks 11
High Explosive 11
Blast Attacks against Vehicles 11

2
 Over There! Basic Rules
Welcome to Over There!, the modern skirmish between 1 and 12 soldiers, depending on the role of
wargame. This is a tabletop strategy game that that element. If you are playing a specific historical
attempts to recreate the physics, psychology and period, it might be useful to do a little research and
friction of the modern and future battlefield, all while find out how many soldiers a certain nation had in
remaining quick to play, simple to learn and virtually a squad, what their equipment was and any other
chart free! particularities.
As suggested already, elements are formed
What do I need to play? before the game when both players are determining
For a quick game, all you will need is a what forces should be present for the battle. Once
handful of dice (a dozen should do), a measuring tape, an element has been collected, you must assign the
and a tabletop with scenery and models. You should soldiers in the element their characteristics; their
also cut out the counters at the back of this document Skill, Morale, and Initiative, as explained below. All
for use as tokens. soldiers in the same element automatically share the
Since the scenario at the end of this document same characteristics, so you only need to assign a
happens to portray a theoretical battle in Afghanistan, single set of characteristics per element. Note that
having American and Afghani soldiers as your models each soldier must be assigned to one and only one
would be ideal. If you do not have these models, element before the game begins.
simply proxy any other models you have into the After you have given the soldiers of an element
game. The standard scale of Over There! is 20-28mm, their characteristics, you must assign each soldier
where models are about an inch tall. For this scale, all a weapon. If you are using appropriate miniatures,
distance is measured in inches. If you would rather simply go by whatever weapon the miniature is
play with 10-15mm models, simply convert 1 inch to 1 modelled with. Otherwise, make it clear to your
centimeter and use centimeters for your distances. opponent who has what. If any element has any
special traits (like Recce or Irregular), you should
Setting up the Game assign those now as well.
To set up a game, first each player must agree Lastly, one soldier in each element is (usually)
on the forces that will be used in the battle. Over nominated as the Leader of that element, although
There! is meant to portray the tides of battle, where two or even three Leaders in a single element is
commanders rarely get all the resources they want, possible. The Leader is a special soldier that affects
and firefights are hardly ever between evenly matched how coordinated and effective the element is during
opponents. We find that a point system is inimical to combat. It is quite possible for militia forces or
this playstyle. Thus most battles should be scenarios, undrilled troops to have no element Leader.
with things like mission objectives and terrain
bringing balance to uneven sides. If you are new to
this type of game, please read the section on setting up
scenarios after you get a firm grip on the rules.
After the forces have been determined, the M4 Assault Rifle
table is then set up in any agreeable fashion. The
Photo Courtesy U.S. Navy
defender deploys his army first, followed by the
attacker. The players are now ready to begin the first
round of the game! A Note on Scale
The ground scale for Over There! is 1 inch = 2 meters. If you
are using the smaller centimeter scale, then 1 cm = 2 meters.
Elements The time scale is 6 seconds per round, or roughly 1 to 2
In Over There!, an element represents the seconds per action die spent. All measures of time, distance
smallest military organization on the battlefield, be and speed in Over There! are very close to their real world
it a squad of infantry, an artillery crew or a special equivalents, so do not be surprised if your model’s rifle can
shoot right across the table!
weapons team. Usually, an element should contain
“Over There!” The Modern Skirmish Wargame, Copyright © 2008 by Evan Anhorn
Characteristics
Each soldier in the game has two basic
characteristics and one combined characteristic. As
mentioned before, all soldiers in the same element
always share the same characteristics.
The first statistic is Skill, which is always
a number between 2 and 5. Skill represents a
soldier’s experience and training. A Skill statistic of
4 is reserved for hardened veterans, while Skill 3 is
appropriate for regular troops and 2 is appropriate
for untrained militia. Skill is used when taking Skill
tests, such as when a soldier must reload a weapon. A
Skill of 3 is used by default, although a scenario could
assign soldiers a different Skill rating.
The second statistic is Morale, which is also
always a number between 2 and 5. Like Skill, a higher
Morale characteristic is always better than a lesser
one. Morale 4 could represent the most enthusiastic
and fearless troops, while 3 could represent confident
troops and 2 could be demoralized troops. A Morale
of 3 is used by default, although a scenario could
assign soldiers a different Morale rating.
The third and final statistic is Initiative,
representing general battlefield cohesiveness and
efficiency. Initiative is a three part statistic that is
determined using the soldier’s assigned Skill and
Morale ratings. To find the first Initiative score,
simply take the soldier’s Skill or Morale (whichever
is higher) and add 1. The second part of Initiative is
the soldier’s Skill or Morale (whichever is lower).
Finally, the third part of Initiative is the soldier’s Skill
or Morale (whichever is lower) minus 1. Initiative is
used for activation, actions and more.
As an example, here is the complete profile of
a modern day US Marine rifleman:
US Marine Rifleman
Skill: 4 Morale: 3
Initiative: 5/3/2
Good Order, Shaken and Panicked
At the start of the game, the first and highest
Initiative value is used, as the element is considered to
be in “Good Order”. Later, panic and stress can force
a squad to use the second or even third lesser Initiative
values, as the squad becomes Shaken or Panicked,
respectively. Only by fully rallying will a shaken or
panicked squad be able to return to good order.
4
Testing Characteristics
You will often be required to “test” against a
soldier or element’s characteristics (to reload weapons,
to rally and so on). To do this, simply roll 1d6; if the
result is equal or less than the characteristic, then you
have passed. If the result is higher, then you have
failed. Note that since a soldier’s Initiative can change
over the course of the game, you must be sure to use
the soldier’s current Initiative when testing Initiative.
Thus, if the US Marine rifleman from earlier were
panicked (using his third Initiative), he would have to
roll a 2 or less on 1d6 to pass an Initiative test.
1.0 The Game Round
Over There! is played out in rounds. Each
round consists in the players taking turns activating
groups of soldiers in their armies. Once one side has
no more groups to activate, the round ends.
The game starts with one player as the “active
player”, designated by the scenario. If playing without
a scenario, the attacker starts as active player, or the
two players simply dice for it. During a game round,
the active player activates and acts with his groups,
one by one, resolving each activation before moving
on to the next. Once a group has been successfully
activated, it may not be nominated for activation again
this round (a handy token can help keep track of this).
If the active player runs out of groups to
activate, or fails an activation roll, he hands over
initiative to his opponent. The opponent is now
considered the active player and can now do the same,
activating his groups one by one. If the opponent runs
out of groups to activate, or fails an activation roll,
then the initiative is handed back to the first player
and so on. If initiative is handed back to a player who
has already activated all of his groups, then the round
is over. Remove all activation tokens and resolve any
“End of Round” effects. A new round begins with that
player as active player.
At the beginning of a round, you are active player.
You nominate one of your groups to activate and successfully
activate it. You continue to activate your groups, one by one,
until you get to your last group. Unfortunately, they fail their
activation roll due to battlefield stress and you must hand over
initiative to your opponent (as you have failed an activation
attempt). He successfully activates his only three groups,
one by one, and then hands initiative back to you (as he has
no more groups to activate). You only have one group left to
activate. If they fail, the round will end and a new round will
begin (with your opponent as active player). If they activate
successfully, the round will end after they act.

The Activation Sequence
When a group of soldiers is nominated for
activation, a strict sequence is followed to see if
they activate or not. Nominating a group also
provides secondary benefits, as it gives them a
chance to rally and recover from stress. Only
groups that have not yet successfully activated this
round can be nominated for activation.
1) The active player nominates one of his groups that
has not yet been activated this round.
2) If the group has morale problems (has stress
tokens and/or is shaken or panicked), the group
must immediately take a rally test. After any rally
test is resolved, go to Step 3.
3) The group may now attempt to activate. If the
group has no morale problems (no stress tokens
and is in good order) and has concealment against
all visible enemies, it activates automatically.
Otherwise, it must make an activation test. To
take an activation test, roll one die and compare
it to the current initiative value of the group. If
the group has an equal or higher current initiative
value than the die roll, it activates successfully (go
to step 4). Otherwise, it fails (go to step 5).
4) Each soldier in the activated group now acts
independently. Once all activated soldiers have
acted, set the Take Cover level of the group. If
you still have unactivated groups, go to step 1 for
a new group. Otherwise, go to step 5.
5) Either the active player has failed an activation
roll or run out of groups to activate. In either
case, the opponent becomes active player. If the
opponent has no further groups to activate, the
round ends and he becomes active player in the
new round. Before beginning the new round,
resolve any End of Round effects and remove all
activation tokens.
1.1 Elements
The element is the larger subset of the group.
Elements represent one army unit, be it a squad, a
team, a section or so on. The soldiers of an element
are one group when they are near each other, and
can break into many groups as they spread out. Two
groups may only regroup with each other if they are
originally from the same element.
5
1.2 Groups
A group is a subdivision of an element, and
is formed by all soldiers of the same element who
are connected by an unbroken chain, from soldier
to soldier. The maximum distance between any
soldier in this chain is equal to the soldier’s Skill
characteristic. This is called “cohesion distance”.
Below is an example of soldiers of the same element
forming groups.
4”
3”
Soldier 3
2”
Soldier 2
Soldier 4
Soldier 1
American Infantry Squad (1 Element)
Skill: 3 Morale: 3
Initiative: 4/3/2
In this example, four soldiers of the same element
form two different groups. The three soldiers on the left are
within cohesion distance of one another (maximum 3 inches,
for Skill 3). The fourth soldier, on the right, is outside of
cohesion distance (being 4 inches away) and thus forms his
own group, how lonely!
1.2.1 Groups and Stress
When a soldier generates Stress tokens
(usually by being fired upon), these Stress tokens go
to the soldier’s group. Later, upon failing a Rally test,
these Stress tokens may cause the group’s Initiative
to be reduced (to Shaken or Panicked). Therefore, it
is quite possible that different groups in your army
have different Initiative statuses and thus use different
current Initiatives characteristics. Different initiative
statuses are marked with the tokens at the end of
this book. Use “Shaken” when the group is shaken,
“Panicked” when the group is panicked and no token
when the group is in good order.
1.3 Splitting and Regrouping
Later, due to movement or casualties, it could
be the case that one or more soldiers have left cohe-
sion of former groups or entered cohesion with new
groups. When soldiers leave a group and form a new
group, the player must split the Stress tokens as evenly
as possible between the two groups. The new group
takes the same Initiative status as their former group.
Likewise, when soldiers join groups (by moving
within cohesion distance of another group from the
same element), simply pool the Stress tokens between
the groups. If the two groups have different Initia-
tive states, the new combined Initiative state for the
group is Shaken (otherwise they keep the same state).
Groups may split at any time, but regrouping is only
resolved as an end of the round effect.
1.4 Morale Problems and the Rally Test
Whenever a group is nominated for activation,
you must check if the group has morale problems. A
group is considered to have morale problems if it has
accumulated Stress tokens (usually an effect of being
fired on) and/or the group is either Shaken or Pan-
icked. If a group falls into any of these categories, it
must take a Rally test before activating.
To take a rally test for a group, simply test one
die against the group’s Morale characteristic, as de-
scribed in the section on Testing Characteristics. That
is, roll 1d6 and if the result is equal to or less than the
group’s Morale characteristic, the test is passed (other-
wise it is failed). If the test is successful and the group
has Stress tokens, then remove a number of Stress
tokens equal to the result of the die roll. If the test is
successful and the group did not have any Stress, then
increase the group’s Initiative status by one level.
If the test is failed and the group has no Stress
tokens, then the test has no further effect. If the test is
failed and the group does have Stress tokens, then the
group’s break point must be checked; there is a chance
they will drop a level of initiative or even withdraw
from the battle entirely.
1.5 Break Point
A group’s Break Point represents the amount
of stress it can cope with before losing confidence. If
a group with stress equal to or greater than its break
point fails a rally test, it will drop a level of initiative
(either from Good Order to Shaken, or from Shaken
to Panicked). If it was already panicked, there is a
chance the group will flee the battlefield.
6
If the group is in Good Order when it fails the
rally test, its break point is equal to its middle initia-
tive value (i.e., the initiative value it has when Shak-
en), or the number of unwounded soldiers in the group
(whichever is less). If the group is Shaken when it
fails the rally test, it’s break point is equal to it’s mid-
dle initiative value plus it’s worst initiative value (i.e.,
the sum of it’s Shaken and Panicked initiative), or the
number of unwounded soldiers in the group (which-
ever is less). Consider a group of 6 infantry:
The soldiers in the group have Skill 4, Morale 3 and
Initiative 5/3/2. The group’s break point while in Good Order
is 3. When Shaken, the group’s break point is 5 (3+2). If the
group was reduced to 3 infantry, it’s Good Order break point
would be 3 and it’s Shaken break point would also be 3 (due to
the reduced size of the group).
If the group is Panicked and fails a Rally test,
it must take a Rout Test. To take a Rout test, roll 1d6
and add the number of Stress tokens to the roll. If this
is greater than the number of soldiers in the group, the
group routs and is removed from the board. Wounded
soldiers (as described later) count towards this number
if they do not outnumber the unwounded soldiers. If
a group Routs and the nearest non-panicked group is
friendly, the routed group is considered to have with-
drawn from the battlefield. If the nearest non-pan-
icked group is enemy, then the routed group is consid-
ered to have surrendered to the enemy and counts as
casualty for scenario purposes.
1.6 Leadership
A leader coordinates the fireteams in his squad
to work together towards a single objective. A leader
can spend his entire round’s activation to take a Skill
Test on 1d6. If this test is passed, a nearby group from
the same element as the leader, in Command Distance
and line of sight, may activate automatically (if they
are the next to be nominated for activation), no need
for an activation test.
1.7 Fall Back!
Before taking an activation test, a group may
nominate to Fall Back! With a Fall Back! order,
the group automatically activates as long as it is not
surrounded by enemies. Reduce the group’s Take
Cover level so that the soldiers in the group have at
least one free action die. Each soldier must spend
all actions on movement away from visible enemies.
Do not set the group’s Take Cover level after it is
activated.
 movement roll, as indicated. If remaining movement
2.0 Action! points are not enough to move another inch, then they
When a group activates, each soldier in the
are lost if they cannot be otherwise spent.
group receives a number of action dice equal to the
Certain obstacles may also cost actions to
group’s current Initiative statistic. These are, you
move through, as detailed below:
guessed it, used to act! Each model in a group may
act differently from the next, but you should generally
Maneuver Cost
try to remain in group cohesion once the dust settles.
Opening a door or window 1
At the beginning of the game, and immediately
Swapping weapons with a wounded soldier 1
after a group has taken all of its actions for that round,
Jumping through an open window 2
the group sets a Take Cover level (usually any where
Leaping over a low wall, fence or similar 2
from 0-6), representing how much they are taking
Leaping over crevasse (1” or less) 2
cover for the next round. When the time comes, set an
Climbing on/into a vehicle 2
extra die next to the group to denote this.
Climb a 10 foot ladder 3
When a group activates, the group’s Take
Bashing in a jammed door 3
Cover level is applied as a penalty to the number of
Picking up/dropping a wounded soldier 3
actions each soldier in that group receives. Simply
reduce the number of available actions by the current
Whenever a soldier wishes to attempt one
Take Cover level. The benefits of taking cover are
of these maneuvers, he may spend any number of
described in the Ranged Attack section.
available actions to reduce the cost of the maneuver.
To take an action, the acting soldier declares
If the maneuver still has a cost after this, roll a number
the action (and any particulars about it), spends any
of dice equal to the remaining cost of the maneuver.
number of available action dice and rolls the spent
The result is deducted from any remaining movement
dice together to determine the result. A soldier may
points. If the result is greater than the number of
take any and all of these actions in a round (action
remaining movement points, the soldier fails the
dice permitting) and in any order. The four common
action and loses all remaining movement points.
actions are explained below:
Otherwise the maneuver succeeds and the soldier
continues moving as desired.
2.1 Movement
When taking a movement action, you may For example, an American soldier is attempting some
roll any number of available action dice and move maneuvers. He has 5 actions available. First, he spends 3
up to a distance equal to roll along any traversable actions to pick up one of his wounded squad mates. With his
remaining 2 actions he declares a movement into a house.
route. When a soldier in a group declares a movement Rolling 2d6 for movement, he gets 11. The house is 7 inches,
action, but before the spent action dice are rolled, so he has 4 movement points remaining once reaching the
other soldiers in the same group may spend the same front door. He wants to open the door, but has no actions, so
amount of action dice to follow the first soldier. In simply dices the remaining cost. Rolling 1d6 for Cost 1 results
this case, roll the movement dice for the first soldier in a 3; he opens the door and moves 1” into the house. If the
result were 5, he would not open the door and would lose all
and move the soldier and all those following the same movement (the door was stuck and wouldn’t budge!).
distance along the same route.
Terrain may slow movement, sometimes
costing extra movement points to traverse. The most
common difficult terrain modifiers are given here:
Easy Going 1” per Movement Point
Grassy fields and paved streets!
Difficult Going 1” per 2 full Movement Points
Deep water, thick vegetation, rubble, ascending stairs.
Very Difficult Going 1” per 3 full Movement Points
Deep snow, dense jungle, heavy rubble, swampland.
When moving through such terrain, each
inch of movement costs more points from the total
Photo Courtesy U.S. Army
7
2.2 Reload
The Reload action is taken when a soldier’s
weapon has run out of ammunition. To take a reload
action, spend any number of available action dice and
roll the dice together. Work out each die in the roll as
a Skill test for the acting soldier (see the section on
Testing Characteristics). To successfully reload the
weapon, the soldier must have passed a number of
these Reload dice equal to the weapon’s Reload rating.
All weapons have a generic reload rating, given here:
Weapon Reload Rating
Hand Weapons 1
Handguns, fully automatic pistols, revolvers.
Two-handed Weapons 2
Rifles, submachine guns, mortars.
Heavy Weapons 3
Machineguns, cannons (80mm and smaller).
Light Artillery 4
Cannons (81mm-125mm).
Heavy Artillery 5
Cannons (greater than 125mm).
Unlike other actions, reloading does not
conflict with taking cover. When a soldier activates,
he immediately gains a number of free action dice to
Reload equal to his Take Cover level. These dice may
only be spent on Reload actions.
Additionally, any soldier may assist another
soldier of the same group in reloading his weapon,
as long as the first soldier has not yet acted and is in
physical contact with the reloading soldier. The first
soldier forfeits all action for the round to provide the
second soldier with a free action die that may only be
spent on reloading his weapon.
2.3 Melee
When a soldier moves into physical contact
with an enemy soldier, both soldiers immediately
become “locked” in melee until one side is routed,
wounded or KIA. The fight between the two soldiers
is known as a melee combat. If a soldier moves into
an existing melee combat with multiple enemies,
he breaks off a single enemy to form a new melee
combat. If a soldier moves into a melee combat with a
single enemy, he fights alongside any friendly soldiers
against the lone opponent.
While locked in Melee, a soldier cannot
attempt any actions, doesn’t activate with his group
and is considered to have a Take Cover level of zero.
Any ranged attack directed against a melee combat
affects all combatants (each makes a separate defense
roll against the initial attack roll).
8
At the end of every round, resolve each melee
combat before beginning the new round. First, take
a rally test for any groups with soldiers in melee.
Second, each player makes a single melee attack roll
for each melee combat in turn. To make a melee
attack roll for one side, roll a number of dice equal to
the highest current initiative on that side, plus 1 for
each additional friendly soldier in the combat past the
first. Compare the attack rolls of each side against
each other as if they were both ranged attack rolls (the
side with the highest dice doing damage as normal).
Melee attack rolls always explode in the same way as
ranged attack rolls within the Kill Zone.
An US Marine charges into a melee with three
insurgents and another American. The marine “breaks off”
his target and they fight alone. At the end of the round, after
resolving Rally tests for each group, the lone insurgent and
marine each make a Melee attack roll against each other;
each side rolls their Initiative in dice and both get the highest
die, meaning no damage is done as the two wrestle for control.
2.4 Ranged Attack
The Ranged Attack action is taken when a
soldier fires upon an enemy. To make a Ranged
Attack, you must declare a target enemy group, spend
any number of available action dice and roll the dice
together. The opponent must then make a defense
roll for the targeted group, determining defense dice
according to the soldier in the group that is easiest
to hit. If the attack has the highest die, the attack
succeeds. If the defense has the highest die, or its a
tie, the attack misses completely. To make a defense
roll, simply roll the following number of dice together:
1d6 for every range band the target falls distance from
the attacker or source of the attack.
+1d6 for every level of Take Cover the target has
(maximum +1d6 if the target has no Concealment from
the attack or +0d6 if the attack is point blank).
+1d6 if the target’s Concealment is Hard Cover.
2.4.1 Point Blank
If an attacker is within 6” of a target, the
target is not considered to have concealment from
the attacker and doesn’t add his Take Cover dice to
defense rolls against ranged attacks by the attacker.
2.4.2 The Kill Zone
If an attacker is within 12” of his infantry
target, every 6 rolled in his attack roll “explodes”,
allowing him to throw another 1d6 into the attack roll.
2.4.2 Concealment and Cover
A target has concealment against an attack
if a line drawn from the attacker to the target passes
through terrain or obstacles that obscures at least
one third of the targeted model. To check if there is
concealment, it may be necessary to go down to eye
level and look from one point to the other.
Concealment gives the defender full benefit
from multiple levels of Take Cover and comes in
two types. The first type of concealment is called
Soft Cover, which is concealment that could not
stop a bullet. This includes tall grasses, shrubs and
hedgerows, and gives no further benefit than being
concealment. The second type is Hard Cover, which is
concealment that could stop a bullet (including stone
walls, vehicles, sandbags and rubble). In addition to
the normal benefits of concealment, Hard Cover gives
the defender an additional +1d6 to all defense rolls.
2.4.3 Gone to Ground
If a group has concealment from an attacker
and a Take Cover equal to or greater than their current
Initiative, they may not be targeted at all by Ranged
Attacks from that attacker. The group is considered to
have “Gone to Ground”.
2.4.4 Hit the Deck!
Normally, Take Cover levels are set before the
game and after a group has acted. Additionally, after
any ranged attack is resolved, the targeted group may
Hit the Deck! They may immediately increase their
Take Cover level (this is not an action and does not
require the group to be active), although the surprise
causes the group to gain stress. Roll 2 dice; the group
gains a number of stress tokens equal to the lesser of
the two dice. Groups may also Hit the Deck! when
an artillery strike scatters (the placement effectively
counts as a ranged attack for this effect).
2.4.5 Weaponry Statistics
Ranged weapons have three statistics. The first
is the Range (or Rng), which accounts for accuracy.
When making an attack, each band of this distance
the target falls distant from the attack provides the
defender with an additional defense die. No weapon
may ever fire beyond the 5th range band and Rng is
capped at 50” for non-scoped weapons.
For example, if a Rng 25” weapon targets an enemy
52” away, the enemy receives 3 extra dice to his defense roll
for being so distant.
9
The second value is Damage (or Dmg), which
appears as a modifier (such as x3). This is a measure
of armour penetration, and only applies when the
weapon is firing at hard targets like vehicles.
The final statistic is Malfunction (or Malf).
After every single attack with a ranged weapon, the
attacker must roll one die. If the result is equal to or
higher than the Malf rating, then the weapon has run
out of ammo, jammed or generally failed and cannot
be used again until it is reloaded with Reload actions.
Malf can be modified when taking automatic attacks,
meaning even weapons with Malf higher than 6+ can
fail this roll.
Additionally, most weapons have one or more
special rules. An example of a complete weapon is
given below:
Weapon Rng Dmg Malf Special
M4 Assault Rifle 40” x3 7+ Auto 3
3.0 Damage, (or “I’m Hit!”)
When making a ranged attack roll against
infantry, compare each individual die of the attack
roll to each die of the defense roll. If the defender
has the highest single die, or if neither side has the
highest single die (due to a tie), the attack misses. If
the attacker has the highest single die, or highest dice,
consult the following table for damage:
• Tied or Defender has Highest Dice
No damage! The attack grazes past the soldier, barely
breaking skin, tearing clothes or ricocheting off the
helmet. The attack has no effect.
• Highest 1d6
Injured! The attack inflicts light damage upon the
soldier, slowing his squad, causing panic but not
generally threatening the soldier’s life. Add one Stress
token to the target’s group.
• Highest 2d6
Wounded! The attack disables the soldier, taking him
out of the fight. Put the model on its side (counting it as
wounded) and add one Stress token to the target’s group.
The soldier may not act for the rest of the game, but
counts as having a Take Cover level of 1 and being Gone
to Ground whenever possible.
• Highest 3d6 or more
KIA! The attack results in a casualty. Add two Stress
tokens to the target’s group (if there is a group left) and
remove the model from the board as casualty.
3.1 Allocating Damage
Normally, a ranged attack simply targets an
enemy group and the defender makes a defense roll
for the group as per the easiest to hit member of
the group. If the damage from the attack results in
wounded or KIA, the actual hit must be randomly
allocated to a member of the group. The attacker
rolls 1d6. Counting away from the closest visible
target (to that attacking model) up to the result of the
die roll determines which enemy gets hit. If the die
roll is higher than the number of visible targets in the
target group, simply continue the count again from the
closest. Attacks that have area effects (as described
below) are allocated differently.
4.0 Advanced Weaponry
The normal ranged attack rules above describe
all single shot firearms, like rifles and pistols. Some
weapons that are very common on the modern
battlefield, work very differently, however. Once you
are comfortable with basic firearms, move on to these
rules to train with automatic weapons and explosives.
4.1 Automatic Attacks
Weapons that have the Auto special rule may
be fired in one of two ways. When taking a normal
“aimed” attack, the attacker may re-roll the attack roll
once if the previous attack roll has no effect (i.e. it
does not have one or more of the highest dice). This is
called a semi-automatic attack.
Alternatively, Auto weapons may make a
full automatic attack. This works just like a normal
ranged attack, except that the attacker may spend one
(and only one) action on the attack. Before rolling,
the attacker may add any number of “burst dice” to the
attack roll up to the Auto value of the weapon. Thus,
if a weapon has Auto 2, a ranged attack could roll 3d6
(1 action die plus 2 burst dice). Instead of being added
to the attack roll, burst dice may instead be spent to
give a full automatic attack an area effect or increase
its area effect, as explained below.
4.2 Area Effect and Auto Attacks
Full automatic attacks can create area effect
by covering a wider area with less focused fire. This
is simply a circle that spreads out from the intended
target a distance equal to the number of burst dice
spent on area effect. When making an Auto attack
with an area effect, the attack must be directed before
10
rolling to hit. The targeted player may choose the
target (and thus center) of the area effect among
the closest, easiest to hit targets that also makes the
best use of the area effect (i.e. affects the greatest
number of models). When this is not obvious, simply
prioritize the requirements in the above order (as long
as the attack covers at least two models). If the area
effect cannot cover at least two models in the targeted
group, the damage is allocated as per a normal attack.
Once an enemy is targeted, one attack roll is
made for the entire attack, as normal. The original
target and all models that fall under the area effect
radius must then make individual defense rolls
against the one attack roll, just as if they had been the
intended target of the attack. Recalculate line of sight,
concealement, range and hard cover from the attacker
to each model for each defense roll. If the attacker
does not have line of sight to a model that falls within
the area effect radius, then the attack does not affect
that model.
For example, a soldier declares a full automatic
ranged attack with his Auto 2 assault rifle. He picks an enemy
group and spends one action die for the ranged attack action
and decides to use both of his two available burst dice; 1
added to the attack roll and 1 for area effect. Because of the
1” area effect, the opponent must pick the target soldier. The
attacker now rolls 2d6 for his attack roll, 1 die from the action
pool and 1 burst die from the Auto value of the weapon. The
targets must now each make defense rolls against this.
4.3 Recoil
By default, all Auto weapons have a Recoil
value of 3. This means that every third burst die
gained from the Auto value of a weapon for a ranged
attack must be spent on area effect. Occasionally, a
weapon may list a different Recoil value in its Special
Rules, which is used instead. Follow the normal rules
for Area Effect when spending these burst dice.
Photo Courtesy U.S. Army
4.4 Ammunition and Auto Attacks
When making a Malfunction test after a full
automatic Ranged Attack action, the Malf test die
gains an added modifier equal to the number of burst
dice used in the attack plus one for each full automatic
attack already attempted by the same weapon this
round since the last successful Reload action. Thus,
an Malf 7+, Auto 3 weapon that uses two burst dice
in an attack and has made two other full automatic
attacks this round will add +4 to its subsequent Malf
check (+2 for the recent two burst dice used, and +2
for the previous two full automatic attacks).
4.5 Suppression from Auto and Blast Attacks
Automatic and Blast attacks both have the
ability to cause extra stress to their targets. After
resolving an automatic or blast attack roll, generate
one additional stress token for the target of the attack.
This may not raise the stress of the target group higher
than the Auto or Blast value of the weapon (if it
would, the extra stress token is not generated).
Photo Courtesy U.S. Navy
4.6 Blast Attacks
Weapons with the Blast special rule create
explosions upon impact. The area effect from these
attacks is similar to that of an automatic attack, but
works a little differently. For Blast weapons, there are
two attack rolls: a to hit and a blast roll. The first roll
is used to determine where the attack hits and works a
little differently than a normal ranged attack.
First, the attacker chooses a point exactly 1”
away from a target soldier. The attacker then makes
a normal attack roll and the defender makes a normal
defense roll for that target soldier. Once the dice are
rolled, they are read differently, however; instead of
comparing the highest die, compare the total sum of
the attack roll and the defense roll. If the attack roll
11
total is higher, the explosive lands at the designated
point. If the defense roll total is higher, the explosive
scatters a distance equal to the difference between the
defense roll total and the attack roll total, in a random
direction (as described below).
Once the position of the attack is determined,
trace a line from the attacker to the new location.
Unless the weapon fires in a steep arc (such as a
hand grenade or a mortar), the attack will hit the
first obstacle (vehicle or terrain feature) between
the attacker and the new location (using your best
judgment). The attack is then given an area effect
equal to its Blast value and a second attack is rolled.
To make the blast attack roll, the attacker rolls
dice equal to the Blast value of the weapon. Any
target in the area effect must make a separate defense
roll against this one attack, recalculating line of sight,
concealment and hard cover for each target from the
center of the explosion (instead of from the attacker).
This second attack ignores concealment from soft
cover and counts as first range band. Resolve each
defense roll like a normal attack, except rules like The
Kill Zone and Point Blank do not apply.
For example, an insurgent fighter fires a rocket
propelled grenade (a weapon with Blast 3) at an American
soldier. The first ranged attack is made, resulting in an attack
roll of 7 and defense roll of 17. The attack misses, causing
the grenade to scatter in a random direction 10” from the
American soldier. No obstacle lies between the insurgent
fighter and the new location, so the attack lands at this new
point. Unfortunately, the attack has scattered within 3” of
another nearby American soldier. The grenade explodes and
the second attack roll is made against the American soldier.
4.7 High Explosive
While the area effect from a normal Blast
weapon has only a single “blast” ranged band,
weapons with the HE (or, “High Explosive”) special
rule have a number of blast bands equal to the Blast
value of the weapon. Each band is the same distance
as the first (equal to the Blast value of the weapon)
and counts as an additional range band for defense
rolls. The number of range bands a HE Blast has
is never limited by the normal max of 5 for ranged
weapons, so a Blast 6 weapon with the HE special rule
would have 6 range bands of 6 inches each and would
extend a total of 36 inches.
4.8 Blast Attacks against Vehicles
Blast attacks work slightly differently against
vehicles. If the first attack roll is greater than the
defense, this indicates a direct hit; the Blast dice are
simply rolled and added to the measure of success. If
a Blast attack scatters directly onto a vehicle, the Blast
dice are rolled for an automatic measure of success (no
defense roll necessary). Unless otherwise noted, Blast
attacks always have Damage x3 against vehicles, and
all HE attacks beyond the first blast range band count
as small arms.

5.0 Scatter Dice

As explained in the Blast Attacks section,
explosive attacks that do not successfully hit their
original target will scatter. To determine the direction
of scatter, simply roll two dice near the original
targeted point. The attack is shifted in the direction
of the larger die result towards the smaller, from the
original target. If doubles are rolled, simply re-roll the
dice until they are different. For an example of scatter
dice, see the diagram below:

Point of Origin

er
catt
on of S
Directi

Photo Courtesy U.S. Army

12
 6.0 Mission Resolve
A game of Over There! can end in many
different ways, including playing to a set number of
rounds, playing until a certain scenario objective is
achieved and so on. Optionally, the players may agree
before the game starts to use the rules for Mission
Resolve, to determine when the game is over.
Mission Resolve represents an army-wide
breakpoint. At the end of any round when one side
has lost more than half of its Mission Resolve, it must
retire from the field, ceding victory to the opponent.
Before the game begins, each side must
determine their Mission Resolve value for the
scenario. Usually, each element is worth at least 1
point of Mission Resolve. Tactical objectives (such
as a church tower) can also be worth 1 or more points
while you control them (this may or may not also be
true for your opponent).
When a element is brought down to half
strength from wounds and KIA’s, you lose its value in
Mission Resolve. If it is completely wiped out, you
lose twice the Mission Resolve instead. These values
can be tweaked according to the scenario you are
playing (perhaps no resolve is lost for withdrawal, but
double for surrendering etc).
Generally, Mission Resolve should be close to
equal for both sides.
6.1 Who Wins?
Over There! is primarily a scenario-based
game, so conditions for success are usually given. If
not playing with a pre-written scenario, then there are
many other ways to determine the winner. If using the
above Mission Resolve rules, an army will break when
it loses enough resolve. If neither side fails Mission
Resolve, then a neutral third party can arbitrate who
seems to have won the conflict. In some cases, it may
be obvious which side has won. Otherwise, creating
objectives before the game may be useful. In this
case, you could also use a system of pre-written orders
for each element, to better simulate small unit tactics.
Only elements who did not significantly deviate
from their fairly elaborate written orders would count
towards a successful objective.
There are many ways to decide the winner of a
game of Over There!, although the point of the game
is to have fun. Although this is an extremely tactical
game, it is not at all meant to be a competitive game,
so relax, roll some dice and enjoy yourself.
13
7.0 Alternate ways to play
Here are some optional rules that are simple,
yet change the feel of the game quite a bit.
7.1 Fog of War
Over There! uses a hybrid “I Go-You Go”
activation system which may not be everybody’s cup
of tea. This alternate setup allows you to play with
an activation deck for a more random, unpredictable
battle. You will need a deck of poker cards for this.
Before the game, one side takes all the black
cards and the other takes the red. Players then assign
each element in their army to one number (Aces count
as 1) and writes this down on a roster. Up to three
face cards of one suit can be assigned to a commander
as bonus order cards. Unused cards are dropped
from the game, and the remaining cards are shuffled
together with a single Joker card into an activation
deck. During a round, the players play through the
deck until they reach the Joker card, when the deck is
reshuffled and the next round begins.
When a card assigned to an element is
revealed, the controlling player may immediately
go through the activation sequence for one group in
that element. As normal, no model can be activated
twice in a single round. Instead of their usual benefit,
commanders provide order cards. When one of these
face cards is revealed, the commander may nominate
any friendly group in command to activate.
Playing with the Fog of War rules also gives
access to the special scenario rules “Airpower” and
“Artillery Strikes”. Unused face cards can also be
thrown in the deck to represent different scenario
events (vehicles breaking down, reinforcements
arriving etc).
7.2 Scaled Elements
Although the rules as written presume a squad
sized element, and suggest platoon sized engagements,
Over There! is designed to cover many different
levels of engagement. To change the scope of a game,
simply alter the number of soldiers in an element
and tweak break points. A small skirmish battle
between two squads of 12 soldiers each could feature
individual fireteams of 3 soldiers as independent
elements. Likewise, for larger engagements, try larger
elements (like one element for two anti-tank guns).
Any combination is possible, although it is suggested
an element generally have between 1 and 15 soldiers.