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Originally Posted by Hobgoblin
It's well worth checking out - it's a very simple but very elegant system (and the PDF version of the rules costs very little). I bought it for my son's sixth birthday a few years back, and we've been playing it ever since. I've played quite a bit with my old gaming friends too.
It's actually the main reason I got into TFT. I've run a lot of RPG games, both for kids and adults, in the past few years, and my abiding feeling was that almost every RPG combat encounter was less satisfying and dynamic than a game of Song of Blades. But while I quite like the RPG version of Song of Blades, it's a bit less enjoyable than the skirmish game, mainly because the system's smooth abstractions clash somewhat with the character-sheet details that make RPGs such fun. I'd say Melee is better for a gladiatorial clash or an adventuring party's exploits, but Song of Blades is pretty much unparalleled for a quick, fun, fast-moving skirmish in more open spaces (usually a 3' by 3' table).
Now I think of it, both systems share the "two-attribute economy"; SoBH has Quality and Combat where Melee had ST and DX. That kind of showcases the difference: SoBH emphasise wild movements and morale, whereas Melee emphasises tight manoeuvres and attrition.
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I have SoBH but seem to be in the minority who didn't like it. I think this was largely due to the fact that the system only has two attributes and they only span a few points 1-5 or maybe 1-6 from memory so there's little to differentiate the characters at the base level. What differentiates characters is "special abilities" of which there are many such as: Large, Ferocious, Poisonous, Fast, etc. There are many dozens of these and that means you have to remember what each of the special abilities does, which I found a pain.
TFT manages to create a lot more base character variety with only a few key stats: ST, DX, IQ, MA, Armour, Weapons; partly because there are more base Stats (6 v 2) and partly because the ranges are bigger than in SoBH. There is no memorisation so it's much easier for beginners to get right into.
I'm sure if you play SoBH enough, you'll eventually memorise the special abilities, but I wasn't willing to make that commitment.