During 1977, two new major efforts in the realm of small unit tactical wargaming came upon the scene, each of which represented an advancement in the state of the art (of wargaming design),

The most popular of the two, Squad Leader, has already been written about and described to a fantastic degree (second only to Panzer Blitz in its heyday), and needs no more mention here. The other design, which dealt with miniatures like Squad Leader but without the board, was Brew Up, written by Leon Tucker and Thomas Crepeau and published by Heritage Models.

The major subject of Brew Up, like its previously mentioned counterpart, is Second World War tactical ground combat with individual tanks, anti-tank guns, artillery pieces and infantry (along with much emphasis on individual infantry weaponry, like rifles, hand grenades and other small arms). The result is similar to Squad Leader, but the microscopic look at the actions of single men that make up the platoons and other groupings leads to an entirely different feel for the conduct of the battle (in SL, KIAd squads disappear from the board; in Brew Up, prone and motionless figures dot the gaming table).

Like all miniature games (and especially like Tractics, which Tucker helped to design), combat is accomplished by measuring the distance from the firing unit to the target, applying modifiers for target movement, size, etc., and then rolling a die to see if the result of the roll plus the appropriate modifiers and base allows for a hit. With tank fire, after a hit with AP shells the armor penetrating ability of the shot is compared with the armor to see if a penetration occurred. An infantry-weapon hit against enemy soldiers results in a kill, with no wounded results usually allowed (it's hard to get figures in limping positions).

Brew Up obtains an excellent feel for the problems of small unit combat since the modifiers for hits include adjustments for degree of cover, target size, speed of the target, percent of the turn that the target was seen, as well as the normal range modifiers and weapon limitations. Where the system excels is with regard to the resolution of tank fire, where a very workable and fluid system has been prepared.

In Tractics, the penetration characteristics of shells changed every few inches, the hit/miss determination required a host of different charts and dice rolls to see which part of the vehicle was hit and then which sub system on occasion (turret face or mantle), the small distances that led to arguments where a kill depended on the target being less than 65 inches away (53mm of penetration versus 52mm of armor for instance) and a small deviation could break up a friendship (could shell capabilities be calculated to every millimeter with any accuracy anyway?) and a host of other factors made Tractics a nightmare with more than five vehicles on the table. In Brew Up, all that changes.

Fortunately for us people with bad eyes (due in part to the need to always read in inches with most miniatures), Brew Up bases armor penetration by shells and target ranges in feet (or easy percentages of a foot-1.75 equals one foot and 9") which makes the system flow like water over the California landscape during the flood season. In addition, the five charts needed to go through the hit/miss jig are on consecutive pages, and are a snap to use.

But what about after a hit is made, you might ask. Well, that's easy too. Once the hits are determined, one rolls the dice for external damage (track breakage, busted gun, freak hits and all). Then it' a penetration occurred after comparing the penetrating capability of the shell with the armor (fast, since penetration is only given for three ranges) one rolls the dice, adds the number of armor classes the shell could go through above what it hit and reads the results. While it isn't as scientific or detailed as Tractics, the results aren't as tedious to obtain and are about the same despite the difference in mental gymnastics.

While the infantry combat is basically the same for single shot weapons, the fun begins when the automatic stuff starts to open up on the poor Airfix Russians that muddle into a LMG crossfire. Instead of rolling to see if you hit, for submachine guns, Bren guns, flamethrowers (which aren't technically automatic weapons, but almost always "automatically" melt the opponents men into shapeless globs) and similar "multi-projectile" goodies you roll to see how many you liquidated (up to 90%, can be wiped out in one throw of the two twenty-sided dice).

It's lots of fun to play Stalingrad street battles with hidden machine gun positions, and then try to guess where the Gatling guns are hidden. if you guess wrong, your roster of figures will be considerably less after your turn. Some people get so carried away that they turn it into a Dungeons and Dragons affair with Kesselmasters and everything (here in Mechanicville they have it formalized and call it "Kessels and Kampfgruppes").

Like its distant relative, Tractics, the game features a weird turn sequence. Whereas, in Tractics, who went first in a turn alternated, and both sides moved one after the other and then fired simultaneously, in Brew Up you roll to see who moves first every turn. After the one guy moves his pieces or leaves them be, the second guy gets to shoot at everything he saw during the turn (and then they change places).

In addition to the dependence of casualties on rolls to a great degree with automatic weapons, the random first move and immediate defensive fire can really throw one into a tither, since anybody in the open is liable to be done in, and if it's your HMG that gets it in a firefight, when your opponent moves nobody will be there to pull the MG trigger. Or, if your tanks come charging across a clearing on the last move of a turn and you lose the next roll for the new turn, it's two straight phases of defensive fire against the moving units (those Ml0s can really do a job under these conditions).

As can be readily appreciated, the random roll at the start of a turn can really make things unpredictable, which simulates in an odd sort of way the shifts in "momentum" or unit reaction that occasionally will leave one open to an overly aggressive enemy's actions while at other times your groups grab the advantage at a critical moment. Rather unorthodox and chance- dependent, but fun if you can manipulate the dice with your mental vibes at important points in the game.

For artillery fanatics, the system also holds some interesting little tidbits. One designates the point of shell hit which one desires at the start of a turn, and the shell lands at the end of the turn (almost like Panzer Leader, but with an important difference).

The ability of shells to land where you want them to is dependent on the dice roll and how many previous turns you brought down fire on the point. Even the hits aren't necessarily beneficial, since there are near, marginal and direct hits, and each of them can cause from 0 to 90%, casualties to the group they catch in their effective radius depending on cover state and dice roll plus the shell size, among other things.

Smoke can be played with, since smoke shells stay on board for four turns in varying degrees of intensity (they build up in area and then fade away), and one mortar with a little luck can simultaneously cloud two or three areas at once (mortars are really valuable in this system, since they can indirect fire on the same turn you request their use, unlike bigger guns, and their smoke and HE can be used to neutralize enemy strongpoints).

Taken in whole, the Brew Up design catches all of the flavor of different weapon systems on a micro-scale level with a host of special characteristics and peculiarities that bring life to the tabletop units without taking all day to resolve one turn of platoon level tank and infantry fire (don't put too many infantry on board or your wrist will likely dislocate from tossing the dice about).

Extensive playing ofBrew Up has brought up a number of sore points in the rules which really spoil the overall effect of an otherwise valuable game. In order to assist those gamers who are just getting into the Brew Up experience (Mad Avenue talk), the following paragraphs will discuss a few of the things that need to be modified in the rules.

During a current game which pitted a number of Stuart recon units against two King Tigers and some infantry (why do the Stuarts always end up in situations like this while the Shermans wait until the shooting is over before they appear?), the Tiger IIs confidently proceeded out of their hiding place (no need to hide from Stuarts) and faced them at a distance of 2500 feet. Nonplussed, the Stuart commander nonchalantly ordered the group to load up and they peppered the two behemoths with ten 37mm HE shells. After going through the dice rolls, the German infantry turned and ran 'cause the tiny HE shells had disabled both Tigers!

Unbelievable as it may seem, Brew Up allows any and all HE shells a good chance of doing in any types of monster tanks (or even an Ogre, if it could fit into the rules - although its armor would require a ZZZ rating). A 37mm HE hit on any tank has a 72% chance of immobilizing or disabling the giant beasty with a direct hit and, even more unbelievable, a 21% chance of obtaining the same result with a near miss! How a 20 or 37mm HE shell could break a track or stun a crew with a near miss is beyond me (perhaps it kicks up enough dust to clog the axle or jam the transmission), and as you might guess is a favorite tactic with undergunned adversaries who know the "ins and outs" of the rules.

What will usually occur in a game with experienced gamers is that one side will load up with light, high rate-of-fire ATGs which have plenty of HE. When the Tigers and Panthers come into range, boom, a rash of tiny explosions and dust and when it clears, a horde of immobilized tanks.

While the ATGs and their crews eventually get machinegunned or done in with HE (how appropriate, and we usually throw the dead figures through the air out of frustration), they usually succeed in stopping an armored thrust through attrition bought by junky rules.

The major problem with the rules as they now stand is that every HE hit on a tank (or at least the greater portion of them) is assumed to hit a vital part of the tank or seriously shake the crew. While a direct hit on a track with a shell greater than 37mm might be able to blow the links wide open (some sources give even 20mm HE the capability, but I seriously doubt it), or a 75mm explosion against the turret might knock the crew for a loop, certainly less than 72% of the direct hits will do significant damage (what really makes the whole situation ludicrous is that firing HE shells at a tank has a higher accuracy with direct fire than AP due to the "explosive shell" bonus, even though HE was fired at lower muzzle velocities and had a harder time hitting something on a fly.

In order to prevent games from degenerating into long range duels with HE shells fired from tanks at one another, major rule changes are needed to bring some sanity to the whole affair. Here are a few suggestions offered to solve the problem, and should you feel more changes are warranted feel free to add on to the revisions.

Direct Hits With HE Less Than 65mm

50mm and smaller HE shells carried less explosive punch, which just about rules out damage to a tank from a "near miss" (Tiger IIs no longer have to cower in front of Stuarts and Chafees). No near miss damage for the little shells. In addition, hits on a tank other than the track will do little or no damage, even if they're direct, so scratch another weapon from the Mark IIds arsenal when confronted with a JS III (direct hits should be rolled on the external damage table).

Hits By Larger HE Shells

A favorite tactic of the Grants in North Africa was to lob HE shells at German tanks at ranges where the Mark IIIs couldn't effectively retaliate. A hit by a 75mm HE shell could knock off a whole wheel, destroy the track or create enough external/internal damage to stop the vehicle (my thanks to Arnold Hendrick for the preceding bit of trivial.

However, since it is unlikely that every HE hit will shake things up, for 65 to 80mm HE shells, any direct hit will be resolved by going to the External Damage chart on page 8 and rolling the dice.

Direct hits by 88, 105 and larger guns will probably blow things about with a violent fury, which can be determined by rolling for external damage and possibly allowing for a penetration in line with the HEAT values on page 11 (since the HEAT of 75mm shells can penetrate "E" class armor, perhaps the regular HE might be given a penetration chance of about 20-30% against "E" armor. and slightly more against lesser thicknesses).

Tractics in its treatment of HE hits on armor rates the penetrating ability of the shells as a very, small scale thing (only 20mm for 75-HE). but the force of the shell can flake metal off the internal walls and injure personnel or damage delicate equipment (75mm HE can "flake through" 60mm, which is just enough to go through the turret of a Mark IIIj if the face-hardened armor plate has been removed). While the final form of the direct hit damage is up to the individual gamer, it should definitely be somewhat restricted against tanks with decent armor thickness.

At any rate, whether a near miss by 75mm or 105mm HE can seriously damage a tank is something I'd rather not guess about. (Most of the preceding was an "educated guess" by me, so don't go quoting this article as the final word or you may eat "my words.") I leave that up to you and the degree to which you want to search into the matter.

The next little avenue of this investigation is the issue of tank gun accuracy, always a delight when comparing rules due to the widely diverse predictions different rules like to make.

As an example, suppose it's an absolutely clear day with no, dust and a Marder III is quietly watching a Humber armored car stroll by at a range of say 7000'. If it's the first turn of fire, what is the probability of a kill (same as a hit against such a fragile vehicle)?

Looking in Tractics, one finds a probability of 45%, which is fairly good shooting at over 1.3 miles. In Brew Up, the accuracy is 21% - half that of Tractics - which is very interesting since Leon Tucker worked on both. Now on to the pessimistic rules. The Wargame Research Group people have determined that the first shot at the armored car will hit on target 0% of the time, since the Marder's gun can't fire beyond 2000 meters (6666'). That scientific study of the desert battles, Tobruk, looks at the situation and after overloading the computer banks and being checked by Mr. Hock, certifies that the Marder has no chance to kayo the unsuspecting English scout car. Verrrrrry interesting, wouldn't you say, Hock (elementary ballistics, my dear Watson).

Well now, miniature novices, who is one to believe given an average hit probability of 16.5%, with a range from 0 to 45%? Throw in the fact that in Brew Up HE shells can be fired with a greater accuracy than AP (as previously described) and the stage is set for loads of doubt and mass confusion (the Marquis De Sade usually would enter right about mow).

Given such conflicting data (although actual battle reports indicated that a bit beyond 800 meters or so-2670'-was rather rare unless one had an "88" or other such highpowered gadget), the basic thing is whether one is a purist or a visualist. The visualist will allow 45% hit probabilities at 7000' game scale since it allows the units to spread out on the playing area during battles without all combat taking place at 15" (which appears insane).

The problem is that in a constricted area (and who has the equivalent of 14,000' game scale to safely move units about without fear of direct hits by Elefants in Tractics?) there will be nowhere to hide, and the better long range capability of the Panther's gun will get lost in 2400 meter gun battles where everybody's hit probability is excellent.

For the sticklish purist, whose common sense refuses to accept the values Tractics and Brew Up present, there is no hope of a compromise; WRG, Tobruk or nothing.

Letting common sense prevail (I'd rather have common dollars, but I'll take what I can get), and without redoing Brew Up from top to bottom, perhaps one should leave the basic system alone and attempt isolated refinements on the smaller guns and HE shells in order to at least show the power of the longer ranging guns on the wargame table.

For HE direct fire on tanks and other thick-skinned targets, subtract an additional -3 from the roll because low velocity shells are invariably very inaccurate when fired in the direct mode (I'm on touchy ground here, since no one else seems to think HE is different from AP when fired from a tank gun, so you'd better hang loose).

For the "tiny-tot" guns (anything less than a 75mmL/43, and that includes the Sherman 75 and the T34 76.2mm), subtract an additional -3 from 1500' to3000' to simulate the better accuracy of the bigger guns (-2 for the 75mmL/40 because it's better than a 50mmL/60). Give an 88mm gun a +1 beyond that since it's considerably better, along with the Panther's 75mmL/70.

While we're on the subject of tank guns (my favorite), the T34/76 deserves some major modifications in Brew Up.

Based on data supplied with Stalk I, the 76.2mm gun on the T34 could penetrate about 60mm of armor from 0 to roughly 750 meters or so, which is a D penetration class weapon in Brew Up. The low penetrating ability for the gun is explained by a low muzzle velocity and a poor ballistic/pointed shell shape (German shells were capped, Russian weren't).

In Brew Up, however, one will find the T34/72 gun classed as medium velocity along with the U.S. 75mmL/40 which it closely resembles in terms of plain numbers (40 calibers long versus 41.5, for instance), with a penetration rating of 80 to 99mm of armor to 1500', with 60-79mm out to a range of 3000', and 35-59mm after that.

Given the two different sources and the general worth of the 76.2mm tank gun against the very armor Brew Up infers it should be able to defeat, I'd be more inclined to accept the Stalk I data and downgrade the gun in Brew Up.

What I'd suggest is that the T34/76 gun be treated somewhere in between the medium and low categories, perhaps with "D" penetration out to 2.5' and then "C" right on out to 5.0'.

The last recommendation is that the APCR value for the 50mm medium velocity German gun be reduced by one armor class at all ranges, since the gun was not as lethal as the high velocity version and a differentiation should be made just to be consistent. (You might also want to reduce the German SMG multiple projectile bonus to 7, since it was inferior to the Russian weapon - remember which gun Sgt. Steiner preferred?)

While the preceding little bits of assorted trivia and anecdote may have confused the majority of you readers, the general message from all the facts (and the fantasy, too) is that one should continuously strive to have the rules you're using jive with what you've read on the subject. Many rules will present data which appear rational and orderly (especially if the pages of numbers and formulae scare away readers from further investigation), but if you think about what the actual armies did in certain circumstances and the possible things that made them select that approach, then the rules can be studied to see if they'd motivate you to do the same thing under the circumstances.

Even if this little article hasn't dented by one iota your appreciation of Brew Up, Tractics or whatever rules you use, perhaps from now on in you'll look a little closer at the system when the Stuarts go hunting after Tiger IIs. and JagdPanthers with their miniscule high explosive shells (and succeed, much to the panzer leader's chagrin).

More Miniature Warfare

Stalk 1: The Rise of the Simple Armor Rules System