Recon and Rushes

WWII Skirmish Rules

Reviewed by Bill Rutherford

Rules for 54mm gaming

Published by Charles Elsden, these rules contain 37 loose-leaf pages (in a three ring binder) and seven stiff card pages of game charts. they are designed to allow players to game battles at the company level using 54mm figures (though smaller scales may be used). No ground or time scales are provided, but the figure scale is one figure = 4 troops. A typical company includes approximately 50 infantry, with a set ("standard") number of heavy weapons. AFV companies are comprised of 4 models, as are other motor companies, one model representing approximately a platoon. The rules use a play sequence in which a turn is broken into several phases (off-board artillery, vehicle movement, infantry movement, direct fire, morale, etc.), both sides simultaneously performing actions in each phase. Game mechanics are simple, with an emphasis on speed of play. Vehicles and figures move at standard rates, weapons ranges are somewhat stylized (e.g., all tanks fire 90", all rifles, 18", etc.), and hit, damage, and melee resolution, are resolved by single (simply modified) die rolls each. Most hits kill, though a separate armor fire table allows partial damage during tank combat and recognizes three general classes, or "weights" of vehicles.

Lines of sight play an important part in the game, though they're deterministic, i.e., you can or cannot see a target within visibility range, based on LOS blockages. Though the game systems are simple, the rules do address such topics as ammo supply and transfer, air and anti-air attacks, and several more esoteric topics including air drops, role playing, prisoner interrogation, and others, appear in the optional rules.

These rules generally expand the scope of things that can be done and NOT the complexity of doing them… I had a bit of difficulty simply learning the rules; I found myself rereading passages to be sure I understood what the author meant… Recon and Rushes seem to me to be targeted towards, and seem a good set for the first-time gamer, especially considering the suggested 54mm figure scale. Get an experienced gamer to explain them to the neophyte, though! Available for $19.95 from your local game shop, or failing that, directly from the publisher at the Toy Soldier Company, 100 Riverside Drive, NY,NY 10024.- Bill Rutherford

More Courier Reviews

Back to Table of Contents -- Courier #79
To Courier List of Issues
To MagWeb Master Magazine List
© Copyright 2000 by The Courier Publishing Company.
This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web.
Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com