Mein Panzer

Core Rule System

by Bill Rutherford

Published by Old Dominion Gameworks, this version of MEIN PANZER (MP) updates and collates just about all that ODGW’s prior work on this popular miniatures rule system. It includes approximately 172 pages of loose-leaf-punched rules, two basic and two advanced player reference cards, a sheet of full-color game information counters printed on cardstock, and a transparent sheet of game-play templates.

Production qualities are good, with clean artwork and very readable text and charts. The counters compare favorably with those included with other miniatures games. Scales are: one vehicle or fire-team per model or stand; 50 yards per tabletop inch; and (though I couldn’t find it stated in the rules this time around) just a few minutes per turn.

Despite the somewhat hefty size of these rules, the basic game is only 13 pages long and covers the basic activation, movement, and direct fire sequences. They’re essentially a tutorial on how to play the full game. The “full” game includes 27 more pages of advanced rules, as well as another 50 pages of drop-in modules. These last bear some explanation. The essential game mechanics are fully covered in the basic and advanced rules. The drop-in modules each address a specific add-on to the basic mechanics that might not be used in every game. They include artillery, infantry, morale, engineering, amphib ops, etc.

As with the earlier edition, great attention is focused on game setup, the author’s contention being that good prior planning makes for a good game. Much of the setup seems oriented towards points-based play and the setup reflects this. The play sequence is dependent upon the two sides’ alternating activating units (generally platoons) until each side has activated their entire force, with the larger side doubling up so that there are no left-over pots of troops laying in wait... Activated units move, shoot, or perform other actions, depending upon circumstances. Movement is normal – units have given movement rates, modified by terrain. Spotting (using all of the rules) is ranged and probabilistic (yea!). One thing I liked way back in 1999 when I read the first edition of MP and still do, is hiding. Stands can, even in the open, hide, taking advantage of the ground – the lumps and bumps in the terrain that most game tables don’t show – to become hidden. There are restrictions (infantry’s got to be at least 24” from nearest enemy, others must be out of LOS, etc.) but the net result is that once you’ve spotted a target, you may, at a later time, lose it… Neat! Direct fire, too, is ranged and probabilistic for hits, with target damage determined by a second die roll that compares the ranged attack value to the defense value, with a host of modifiers. Terrain and target aspect both play big roles in determining spotting, hitting the target, and damaging it.

The modules don’t so much change the essential nature of the game as they add a multitude of additional factors for you to deal with. Artillery mechanics are simple but reasonably involved, with contact, mission, ammo, and pattern decisions…

The infantry module (to my mind, this should be part of the main mechanics!) brings in the intricacies of infantry shooting one another up, attacking tanks, meleeing each other, and generally doing the things that infantry does. One thing to remember is that the scale of these rules is in a niche pretty much their own (these days, at least!) – where a squad of infantry includes two or more stands, bringing players pretty close to the platoon-drill level of play. The morale module adds simple morale rules based on troop quality and morale level; when bad things happen, troops check morale and if they fail, more bad things happen… They only deal with platoon-level morale, but as a player span of command is only a company or so, this suffices. Command control (another module) covers units in and out of command control, command radii, loss of officers, and the effects of officers on morale. Other modules address their little chunks of the rules in similar manners, and reasonably consistently. I thought the air support module was more detailed than necessary for a fire-team-level game. The engineering and amphibious rules are appropriate to the rest of the game and are modules you’ll only read if you plan engineering or amphibious feats… I was really glad to see a module dealing with armored trains (I’m a model railroader…)!

There are 26 pages of TO&Es including battalion-level WW I (France, Germany, Britain); late-WW II (German, US, Soviet 1944-45); Cold War (Soviet and US); and contemporary (Germany, Russia), all with representative but limited equipment data. Complete TO&Es and equipment data for WW II are available from ODGW in their “Mein Panzer World War II Data Book”, a separate product. MP winds up with a pair of scenarios. The first, Sidi Resegh, is from the first edition of the rules, and pits a British company-strength armored rear-guard against a reinforced German tank company. The second, First Clash, pits the 4th Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group against a Soviet MRD (well, in the scenario, small parts of each) back in 1984. The actual battle didn’t happen but was used for training purposes (in a book of the same name, by Kenneth Macksey) by the Canadian Armed Forces. Both are well done, with good battle descriptions, orders of battle, victory conditions, and clear, usable battle maps.

MEIN PANZER remains an interesting, reasonably fast-playing set of rules, as long as you play with the force levels they were designed for – that is, stick to a company or so per player… These rules fill the gap between the 1:1 scale skirmish rules and the battalion level games with squads represented by single stands and are recommended to players looking for something in that scale. You should be able to obtain MP for $29.95 from your local game shop. If you can’t get them there, go directly to Old Dominion GameWorks at PO Box 1456, Winchester, VA 22604 or visit their website at www.odgw.com (email them at mpanzer@odgw.com).

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