Prologue
"7TV studios was the brainchild of the late maverick millionaire Sidney Barron, and produced a number of television shows in the 1960s and 70s – all contemporary action adventure serials. Most believed these shows were lost to the archives, but Crooked Dice have uncovered several boxes of cans of film. Now they can reveal some of 7TV's short lived series and abandoned pilots."
Helena
Rodings, Cult Zone Magazine, April 2010
7TV is our brand new tabletop miniatures game set alongside the classic sci-fi and action TV shows of the 60s and 70s.
The plots are preposterous and the guest stars improbable. Car chases, debonair adventuring, punch-ups, explosions and open-top sports cars are all in a days work in 7TV. From the groovy mews of London town to the casino tables of Monte Carlo, flamboyant rogues and high-kicking heroines safeguard the world against madmen, despots and secret cults.
Fight across the tabletop as your favourite re-diffused heroes or villains. Flamboyant geniuses, karate kicking angels or unearthly agents sent to maintain the universal balance fight against double agents, sultry spies, mad scientists and supernatural legends. So get out from behind the sofa. Put the kettle on. And tune in to 7TV.
The Rulebook
7TV is available as either a 184 page hardback A4 rulebook, or a correspondingly identical PDF. In glorious full colour throughout, all you need to add are some miniatures, scenery, dice, players and a table. And a brilliant but barely feasible plan to take over the world in some improbable manner.
The rulebook has been lavishly illustrated with both photos and groovy spy-fi silhouettes by (and in the style of) awesome artist Stan Chow. In addition to get you in the mood there are numerous pages of actual 7TV script excerpts and original TV listings from back when the shows were originally on the box.
The Basics7TV utilises the simple mechanics of the action:engine and a few six-sided dice to enable you to learn the basics quickly and keep the action coming thick and fast on the tabletop. Mimicing a filmed production, the activation rules force you to prioritise which models get to act each turn – the camera can't be everywhere! Harvest the constantly changing wave of audience appreciation and utilise heroic actions to perform all manner of heroic or villainous acts. The straightforward rules focus on 28mm skirmish games with around a dozen models per side.
Added to this simple D6 cocktail come all manner of complications – throw your opponent's plans awry with one of 39 Event cards, including the annoying Equipment Mix Up and the satisfyingly evil Premature Gloating. Or whip out one of the 42 Gadget cards with which your models might have equipped themselves, including the multi-functional Miniature Laser or the hilarious Brain Swap Helmet. Meanwhile, your models can deploy some of the 75 special effects to gain all kind of benefits. Special effects are divided into 7 categories: Combat, Disadvantages, Knowledge, Physical, Traits, Unexplained and Other. Will your characters be highly focused experts or jack-of all trades?
Casts
Your cast comprises all the models you bring to the table and usually includes limited numbers of powerful Stars and Co-Stars, guiding your less able but numerous Extras. There are 12 Star and 12 Co-Star archetypes available, including the dashing Flamboyant Agent, and the villainous Failed Experiment. These are customisable to allow you to create exactly the kind of character you're thinking of. Extras include both mundane types such as 'Eavies, Soldiers, Security Guards and Technicians and more exotic types such as Robo-Rodents, Marksmen, Metalnauts and Ninja. A ratings system is used to keep things all nicely balanced, no matter which outlandish bunch of characters you bring to the party.
Special Guests
Special Guests are the heavyweight stars of 7TV's on-screen productions, and the rules contain the full background and stats for 21 of them. From Department X's all-round action hero Doctor Hugo Soloman to the crazed Man In The Lead-Lined Suit, add some serious names to your casts.
Episodes
There are 6 quick-play episodes included, simply find an opponent and match your cast against theirs in a Chance Encounter or a Raid, among others. Or try the 4 episode campaign One of Our Satellites Is Missing, which ends with the chance for the villains to launch their captured rocket onto the World Peace Conference!
MiniaturesThe Crooked Dice Store has an ever growing range of miniatures to support 7TV, including Femdroids, Minions and Special Guests such as Tweedy Mattison and Pandora King. The Links page details other useful sites which deal with other miniatures or scenery for your episodes.
Expansions
Our first 7TV expansion is out in both print and PDF formats, the Summer Special. While away the holidays with 48 pages featuring even more weapons, profiles, special guests, episodes and lots more! The Summer Special includes the Ratings War, the excellent 7TV campaign rules, and the Envoys, a new alien race! The next planned release is On Location, with all manner of info on setting your games in wild places – snowy mountaintops, blazing deserts, underwater, space and more! After that we'll be looking at all things magical and mystical in our third offering(!). In between we'll be releasing short PDF-only supplements to keep you trying lots of new things in your games – see what's lurking in an abandoned Russian lab in The Menagerie, shortly.
More 7TV
Intrigued? Take a look at a 15 page PDF preview from the rulebook right here.
The Products link details all official 7TV products which are available from ourselves at our secret Dice HQ. Or check the Downloads link for more free 7TV PDF files, including a cast list and reference page, Event and Gadget cards and tokens to avoid you cutting up your copy of our beautiful book. Join our Crooked Dice Forum and get a say in the future of the game, or simply share your experiences with other players or chat with Graeme and Karl.