OVERVIEW

MEST as in "matter-energy-space-and-time".

The MEST Tactics miniatures rules system is designed to be a flexible set of rules that can work with numerous genres such as Wild West, Sci-Fi, Modern Battles, Fantasy Skirmish, or Pulp Heroes.  It is a TTWG or "tabletop wargame" involving opposing Assemblies of character models placed atop and between a terrain elements such as trees, boulders, walls, and buildings. The simplest gaming session is for them to fight until only one side remains standing. More complex gaming sessions, driven by Missions and Scenarios, alter the basic victory conditions and may introduce other forms of game-play.

As a core set of rules, MEST Tactics is also designed to be extensible; new rules can be added using either genre-specific systems such as Magic or Psionics, or cross-genre systems such as Vehicles or Mecha.

• The current MEST Tactics rules are available from the downloads section.

• Finally, be sure to examine the Change List for news on updates. Recently updated rules to Edition 1.62; and to Edition 2.83.60.

Models representing characters are assigned Archetypes. 

An Archetype is a way to identify any model a player may have, and quickly assign attribute ratings and abilities.

These can range from the simple "Average" humanoid, or the hardened "Veteran", to the incredible "Elites". Or they can be merely "Militia" or even "Untrained". The Quick Start Rules [ QSR ] contains just those few archetypes, but when combined with Weapons and Armor, expand the possibilities greatly.

The Basic and Advanced rules, available in MEST Tactics Core, introduce several dozen more Archetypes and many more abilities. 

MEST Tactics Core rules define the Basic and Advanced game rules in a universal gaming system. 

The core rules have expansive lists of Weapons, Armor, and Equipment divided into numerous Technological Ages. With just these core rules, a clever group of players can already begin crafting their own genres and settings. 

Additional documents (PDFs and books) will be made available which cover common genres and unique settings with those genres. Each setting will introduce new character Archetypes, new Weapons, Armor, and Equipment.

MEST Tactics is a combat simulation game designed for low-count table-top wargaming. A typical "small" game is 4 to 8 models per player, and a "standard" game is 6 to 12 models per player.

With such low model counts, the gaming rules can be expanded to allow stateful information to be tracked. States include being Distracted, Wounded, Nervous-Disordered-Panicked, and also Waiting. There are also clever ways to maintain Hidden status, and to gain the benefit of terrain known as Cover.

Show here there are custom tokens placed near a model, but player preferring "clean table" gaming can merely take notes on paper or elsewhere instead.

A driving concept in MEST Tactics is the idea of verisimilitude. 

If a player can think of something fairly common that should be able to happen during combat between small numbers of aggressors, then the rules system should support it.

One of the key features is tactical positioning, which are reflected by the Situational Test Modifiers for Close Combat, Range Combat, Detection, and for handling Morale. A model that is Cornered or Outnumbered will not be as effective as one that wasn't.

Another key feature is the idea of using large elements of terrain upon the battlefield to acquire the advantages of Cover, and to possibly become Hidden. Such characters can't be attacked until they are Detected, and that effort makes them become Revealed (no longer Hidden), but only after they've repositioned to some other advantageous location within radius.

Characters which were Outnumbered or Cornered may gain the advantages of Bonus Actions, and be able to Circle, Switch positions, Push, or Pull their opponent to alter the next actions' considerations.

MEST Tactics also uses an innovative Initiative system, that determines which player goes first, paired with a strict "action economy" that limits how models, and groups of models can perform actions. Initiative tokens are acquired during this time and can be spent for in-game advantages. Here is where having expensive archetypes with the Tactics skill trait provides an advantage. Having a large number of weaker units also affords a sort of advantage, but it is always a trade-off between doing things first, or doing many things second.

Lastly, the concept of Morale is key to winning battles. Models which become Nervous, Disordered, or Panicked can be submit to harsh penalties to succeed in any actions. Being Disordered and Panicked will cause compulsory actions where a Nervous model will make effort to avoid combat and seek Safety. Again, having expensive archetypes with the Leadership skill trait can be an advantage here, but these usually cost the same as two lesser archetypes.

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