As Gen Con looms ever closer (the show starts tomorrow, and runs through Sunday), I wanted to talk briefly about another game that I’m really looking forward to: AE Bounty.

AE Bounty (short for Alien Encounters: Bounty), from Darkson Designs, is a miniatures skirmish game in a science fiction setting. This will be Darkson Designs second miniatures game. Their first game was AE WWII (Alternate Events: WWII) which was also a skirmish level (individuals fighting, as opposed to squads or armies) miniatures game in the Weird War genre.

I’ve heard a lot of good things about the AE WWII ruleset, but the setting wasn’t really one that grabbed me. But, a few years back when I heard that Darkson was working on a science fiction game…well, I kept my eye on it. And, now, finally, it’s been released. I hear the rules are based on the AE WWII rules, which I have heard are solid…so that bodes very well for this game.

I’ll be picking up my copy of the rulebook at Gen Con, so unfortunately I can’t really speak to the game and how it plays. Suffice it to say that from what I’ve seen on their website and the variety of cool alien miniatures they are producing to go with the game it looks very cool.

I’m, c’mon, look at that cover. If that was a graphic novel I’d bet a lot of you readers would pick it up in a heartbeat! 

So cool in fact that I’m interested in it despite the fact you have to assemble and paint the miniatures! That’s a part of gaming I’ve pretty much left behind. All my gaming for the past four years has either included pre-painted miniatures (AT-43, Heroclix, Monsterpocalypse) or has been a boardgame like Battlelore, where I’m not concerned about the gaming pieces being painted. But, there’s just something about the designs of the alien bounty hunters I’ve seen so far that I really dig.

So, when I get to the main exhibit hall at Gen Con on Friday morning Darkson Designs will be one of the first places I go. I really enjoy reading rulebooks for games (something only a gamer geek can really appreciate, I’d think) so I’m excited to hunker down in a nice corner of the convention center and read the book through!

I’ll leave you with the official description of the game:

Alien Encounters: Bounty is a science-fiction miniatures game set in the distant future of a galaxy shattered by greed. Players pit bounty hunters, mercenaries and pirates against one another in an effort to eke out a living among the chaos of the galaxy. The game is intended for use with the Darkson Designs line of AE-Bounty ‘true’ 28mm models but is compatible with any 1/48 scale models or miniatures.

AE-Bounty lets players build crews of pirates, mercenaries, and bounty hunters, equip them with a variety of deadly weapons and useful gear, and then fight it out against other crews looking to score big as dregs of the galaxy. Players use a flexible points-free crew creation system to build their forces, selecting units, heroes, aliens and gear to create a powerful force they can use against other players. Players can mix and match the various alien races and fully customize the weapons and equipment of their units, giving players countless options from which to construct their crew.

Game on!

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