Xeno Games

WWII Tank War

by Bill Rutherford

This boxed set of rules addresses tank warfare on the Eastern Front during mid-war WW II. Components include a ten page rulebook, clear plastic burst overlays, a play card, and 52 vehicle data cards. Scales are 1:1 for vehicles and infantry squads, 50 yards per inch on the table, and a very short period of time per turn.

The authors designed Tank War with a view to fast play; several of the game mechanisms reflect this. Editing is sketchy; grammer errors abound. The rules read clearly enough, however. Gameplay is straightforward, reflecting the design philosophy. The play sequence is interactive-sequential, a turn containing several phases, including initiative determination, movement, spotting, artillery plotting and execution, fire (three types). One side, then the other, completes a phase before play moves to the next phase, all activity during a given phase being considered simultaneous. The rules use initiative, but leave it up to the players to decide how to determine initiative. There are also game phases for air and anti air combat and morale determination. These are considered advanced rules and unfortunately, my copy of the rules didn't include explanations or rules for any of them!

The vehicle data card contains all play information for a given vehicle or squad, including that unit's fire table. Fire is ranged and compares firer accuracy and armor penetration with the armor value of the target, resolving combat with a single ID100 roll on an elegant kill chart. Spotting is important and is probabilistic. Who spots whom will determine the outcome of firefights to a larger degree than what is fired. Types of direct fire include ambush (first) fire, normal fire (nonmoving and moving firing in that order), and opportunity fire.

There are several infantry types, each with individual characteristics. As noted, the game covers midware Eastern Front combat; the data cards address only Soviet and German equipment. Planned expansions include data card sets for the other combatants, spread over three expansion sets. Tank War has the potential to be a good game. Re-editing the rules, as well as completing them (advanced rules, initiative determination, etc.) would go a long way toward helping them to fulfill their potential. This game is available for $15 from your local game Store, or if unavailable there, directly from the Publisher, Xeno Games, at PO Box 7130, Jacksonville, FL 32238-7130.

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