Using Star Wars Miniatures and Maps with a D6 RPg

[Xynar]

I used to use minis but after a while, they just didn't keep the players attention to the game. It turned into "I'll pay attention when my turn comes up." and also broke out of role-playing and went to roll-playing. So I pulled the minis and started to run without. I still have them and I do have plans to integrate them back into gaming but for limited senarios.

BTW: All of my minis are the WEG metal minis so I haven't done minis for quite some time now.
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Xynar
The Great Adventurer

[Ankhanu]

When I'm GMing, the minis are mostly a tool for ME to keep track of positions and which people are in and out of combat at any given time. Before I had minis, I'd draw maps on graph paper and have convoluted arrows and Xs all over the place... minis make it easier.

[Dooku]

I find that miniatures help me a great deal to keep track of everything, just like Ankhanu said. In D&D we use miniatures, and sometimes the adventure makes the transition between roleplaying game and miniature game several times in an evening, but I have never had a problem with it. By the time my players are used to their characters, the characters have enough experience to make good tactical decision on the battlefield. As long as I remember that not all their enemies are master tacticians, the "miniatures game" part of the adventure is rewarding.

Although we have just restarted d6 Star Wars after 7 years and have yet to do any combat, other than a bar-room brawl where all the player characters decided to do full defensive maneuvers, I plan on using miniatures and possibly maps without a grid, keeping the distances a little less exact. Not allowing square-counting, in my experience, goes a long way to reducing the "miniatures game" aspect of miniature-based combat in a roleplaying game.

[Maur]

The game I'm currently in, the GM builds cardboard cutout buildings for all the various adventures. This means we see not just the 2D tactical view, but can also work with the 3D by climbing on top of structures or vehicles. Line of sight is easy. Put a laser pointer above your characters head and swing it around in a line. Most of us seem seasoned enough to not react to everything the GM puts on the board until another player says they warn the team about them.
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[Rasputiza]