Today, I'm reviewing Mini Six: Bare Bones Edition, from AntiPaladin Games,  written by Ray Nolan and Phil Morris. Mini Six is available both as a  free pdf or in print for $8 (with free shipping in the U.S.). Mini Six  is a generic, 38-page, d6-based system that seeks to provide a faster,  but still-compatible version of the West End Games-derived d6 system.

As a brief commentary, d6 has been an ill-starred system in a lot of ways. It shined in such lines as Ghostbusters and Star Wars,  but the history of d6 has been one of struggles since then. The  mercurial, frustrating nature of the last days of the last incarnation  of West End Games served to turn a lot of people off d6, fairly or  unfairly. Honestly, when I first heard of Mini Six, I sort of  glossed it over--that's how tired I was of the d6 drama. That turned out  to be a disservice to both myself and the fine folks at AntiPaladin  Games, who have made a really nice product here.

Mini Six strives to simplify itself from traditional d6 in many  ways. There are 4 stats (the self-descriptive Might, Agility, Wit, and  Charm) instead of 6, and there are some tweaks to how combat is handled  (more on that in a minute). The Wild Die remains, but is different in Mini Six; unlike standard d6, a result of 1 on your Wild Die doesn't spell catastrophe. However, results of 6 still explode.

The basic of character generation are described in less than a page.  There are 4 basic steps involved. First, you distribute 12 dice amongst  the 4 attributes mentioned above. No attribute may begin with less than  one or more than 4 dice assigned to it. Then, you distribute 7 dice to  skills, with a cap of 2 dice for any skill at the start of the game.

As with standard d6, skill and attribute dice may be split into "pips."  Each die is equal to three pips. To quote from Mini Six "An attribute  may have dice only (no bonus pips), +1 or+2. Going to "+3" advances the  die code to the next largest die. Example progression is 1D, 1D+1, 1D+2,  2D, 2D+1, etc.".

After these first two steps, players can choose Perks and Complications,  if they so desire. Perks and Complications are little quirks,  abilities, hindrances, or special circumstances that modify the  character. Perks cost you in skill dice, and are things such as Lucky  (cost 2D, lets you reroll an attempt once per session) or Sidekick  (costs 3D, gain a minor accomplice and sidekick in your travels). There  are also Esoteric Perks, such as Telekinesis and X-Ray Vision, to  provide examples of the sorts of Perks a powers-based game might have.

Complications are flaws or hindrances for the character; they don't cost  dice, but when these problems come up in play, a player can earn up to 1  Character Point per session. (Character Points, or CP, work not unlike  XP in other games. They may be spent to better skills or attributes).  Complications are limited to two per player, and are items such as you  would expect.

The last section is to choose gear, which is presented in Mini Six in abbreviated form--unsurprisingly for a generic ruleset.

The basic skill resolution in the game should be familiar to d6 fans,  and easy enough for new gamers to grab immediately. In essence, you roll  relevant attribute + relevant skill vs. a Target Number, or TN. A Very  Easy Task may have a TN of 2-5, whereas a Difficult roll may have one of  16-20. Truly Heroic Tasks may be in the neighborhood of 31+ TNs.

Mini Six also includes Hero Points, which are rewarded by the GM for  various incentives. They can add to rolls, help reduce damage, and other  various benefits. This is a subsystem that has been featured in similar  ways in many RPGs, and is an easy enough option to turn on/off as the  GM prefers.

Combat is presenting in a single page. Traditional d6 combat is also  presented and compatible, but the default combat sets up as the Fast  Static system, where defensive abilities of opponents are set as static  TNs to be overcome. Depending on how far over the Target Number the  attacker rolls, the defender may be anywhere from Stunned to Dead. This  is a sort of damage track/level system, where each level of damage has  adverse affects. For example, a character who is merely Stunned will  suffer -1D to all actions for two rounds, whereas a Wounded character  (the next step up) is a -1D to all actions until healed. The penalties  are even more severe as the character spirals to Death. The Fast Static  combat should be a time saver for a lot of groups.

Mini Six also takes some time to discuss vehicle rules, and  features a nice, if short section on various vehicles that might be  encountered in various genres along the way. Along with this are Mini  Six's scaling rules, which help to define the difference between things  such a player firing a laser pistol and vs. a starship attacking. It  seems like a little thing, but I was impressed that this oft-overlooked  detail was addressed, quickly and reasonably.

Mini Six contains a lot in these 38 pages: several sample  settings are presented in abbreviated form, from a Willow-esque fantasy  realm to Precinct '77, a love letter to 70's cop shows. These are  fun, inspirational settings, and I hope more than one of them is  fleshed out further.

Rounding out the book are conversion notes for Mini Six and d6, a  simple magic system (I have seen several people suggest pulling WEG's  d6 magic systems instead; I don't see either option as a problem), some  optional rules to suit various game types, GM advice, a reference sheet,  and a great Rogue's Gallery. And as with all proper-thinking RPG  companies, yes, there is a copy of the character sheet in the back. All  in all, this is a remarkably full smaller product, which manages to be  so without being cluttered.

One complaint some readers may have is that the game isn't always  completely clear on gaming concepts. I understand they are working with a  self-limited page count, but a thorough example of play for skills or  combat would have been nice. The authors of Mini Six do assert  this is generally not a game for novice gamers, but hopefully there will  be an edition that is, as I think the d6 basis is a pretty solid one  for your rookie RPGer.

The other issue some may find with the product is that the layout could  be better. Things seems "squeezed in", and crowding is evident on  several pages. Even with a "Bare Bones Edition", layout still counts.  This isn't a fatal flaw by any means, just something to work on in  future products.

Even with a few bumps in the road, Mini Six should prove a welcome addition to the arsenal of setting-independent rulesets.  I'll give it a standard 3 (plus change) on Style, but an enthusiastic 4 (plus change)/5 on Substance, rounded up to a 8/10 .  If you're looking for a simple generic system that doesn't feel too  sketchy, or want a somewhat streamlined, cinematic d6 experience, give Mini Six  a look--I don't think you'll be sorry. It's definitely worth the $8 I  paid for the print copy, and of course the pdf offers a free look at the  system before you buy. The d6 system has had a rocky, winding road as  of late, but with products like Mini Six, it looks to be back on  track.  There are plenty of generic systems out there from you to choose  from, but few are perhaps as well-considered, significant in legacy,  and quickly grasped as Mini Six.

I know this is an old review, but it's a good one. I recommend everyone check this game out.

Mini 6 is good, I agree.

According to the AntiPaladin blog, MiniSix should be up on Lulu very soon.

Just noticed this, but that's excellent news! I know they had some delays in their plans--common enough in this hobby...

This game is so good, I had to use it for one of my own projects.

Oh, I agree. They did a splendid job with it. Probably the best thing to come out of the entire d6 mess.

It's good to have a new interpretation of these rules.  I bet one could use the past d6 content with it easily, ignoring the aspects that are not a part of mini-six, somewhat like using d20 content with AD&D.  I wish it had a less negative connotation title.  It reads like handicap-6.  There is the high quality science fiction game In Flames that uses mini-6.  A good example of how to play a setting under it.