Game Testing a Simple 40k Ruleset for Epic

I've got a nice little set of Epic sized space marines.  They're basically painted up as Space Wolves and Emperor's Children.  Since my last post on the topic, I've added some terrain to my collection, as well as Devastator, Assault, Terminators squads, and two Knights.  So, I've got two armies of what would be a "normal" 2,000 point 40k game, but not enough for what would constitute a full "Epic" sized army.

And that's cool by me.  While the idea of huge massed battles may be appealing, my kids are growing up and its tough to get in a hour-long game, let alone three hours.  Plus, I've got enough unfinished painting projects.  While I've perused the Epic ruleset, I just don't have the time to try to learn a whole new complicated set of rules.

So, with an eye towards trying to put together a very, very simple ruleset that roughly replicates a "normal" game of 40k, I pulled a few of the minis out and starting just rolling some dice.  The fact that I had identical sized teams made the issue of "balance" moot, and point calculations unnecessary.

I really just wanted to get a ruleset in which the pace of minis coming off the table felt similar to what you'd see in a normal 40k game, and where, by the end of 6 turns, there would be a decisive winner.

Now, my regular scale 40k collection is very heavy on Space Marines, mainly because I let the kids pick them.  So, I have a pretty good feel for the pace of these marine-on-marine battles.  And keeping both sides the same removes the complexity of points and army building.

So, here's my initial notes on how the game would work:

Basically, the combat mechanism consists of both sides rolling a number of dice based on the type of and, whichever side gets the highest die scores a Hit (ties go to the defender).  Minus one die if attacking into cover.

Initial results had the game resolved in 7 rounds, which is basically what I wanted.  But, it felt a bit slower than I had hoped.  I may change "ties go to defender" to "ties go to attacker", to get pieces off the board quicker.

That said, I'm still trying to work out how the shooting works.   I think both sides will still roll the same dice, but the target can't score hits against the defender.

Below are shots from the game, as it played out.

Round 2

Round 3

Got these skull shaped beads off eBay for pennies a peice, and they make great hit markers.

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

Now, time to sharpen my pencil and get back to the game testing!