Modern Battlefield Miniature Rules

(Rules)

Reviewed by Bill Rutherford

By T. Wisner, pub. by the author and available from RSM Ltd., 188 St. Woodland Ave., Lexington, KY 40502.

These rules, as the author states, are simple and fast. The ground scale is 50 meters per inch, with a model or stand of figures representing a single vehicle or fire team, respectively, a* player typically controlling several com panies of equipment. Units (platoons, typically) are activated for move ment by drawing from a standard deck of playing cards -black activates a single unit of one side, and ,red, a unit of the other side, with a queen, king, or ace bringing in random helicopter, artillery (not including mortars, which are controlled directly by the owning player), or aircraft support for that side, respectively. There is no discrete sequence of turns per se - as the card deck is exhausted, itis shuffled and restarted. Each unit that is activated may perform two actions - moving and firing (normally) each take one action, while digging in takes two.

Spotting, in the interest of speed of play, is not addressed beyond acknowledgement that a line of sight (LOS) is necessary to spot a unit and that a unit may remain hidden in a wood's edge until it fires or moves within enemy LOS. Hidden map movement is recom mended, but no recommendations for implementing it are given beyond the suggestion that units out of enemy LOS be kept off-table and their locations noted on a map... Heavy weapons fire is addressed quite simply and effectively. A given gun has a percent chance to hit its target, based on range, and modified according to a number of situational factors. Following a hit, penetration is .determined via a die roll - specific rolls are given for each weapon. I presume (though it isn't stated in the rules) that if rolled penetration exceeds the a rmor value of the target, that target is destroyed. Infantry combat is equally simple -based upon the morale of the attacker and the defender, a die roll of less than a given amount must be made - success destroys the defender. Direct HE fire destroys soft targets if it hits them; Indirect (artillery) HE fire will destroy varying types of targets, based upon the roll of a D6. Morale is straightforward.

Various battlefield situations (losses, enemy activities, etc.) trigger morale checks. Based upon the morale of the unit (there are three grades - A, B, and C, corresponding to a good, ok , and so-so, respectively), a. die roll is made and modified by various situational factors. The results vary from "morale good" at one extreme, to "rout" at the other. Antiaircraft, helcopter, and fixed-wing air activities are handled in as simple a manner as anything preceding. Air and artillery assets arrive randomly - both quantities and configurations vary based on die rolls - the players will typically receive some support, but its nature and timing is completely beyond the players' control. Supporting materials include vehicle statistics and basic unit organizations, as well as a point value system for use in scenario design. After studying the game charts, I noticed that though the various MBTs differed in detail, there was really little difference between them - The M1A1 has more armor (15 vs. 14) than the Soviet T80 and at all bu tpoint blank range, the M1A1's 120mm gun is 5% more accurate than the T80's 125mm gun, but in game terms, the vehicles are quite similar (their point values reflect this at 34 vs. 32 points).

There is an obvious modem generation of tanks weighing in at between 30 and 34 points, an older generation in the mid 20's, etc. On the plus side, the extremely fast play mechanics and the innovative play method make for a free-wheeling game. On the negative side, much of the detail that lends so much flavor to a game has been factored out in the interest of simplicity. As noted, many of the vehicles seem overly similar to one Another. At the book's end, a basic and an advanced scenario are given to get the players into the game. They appear fo- be well set up until it is realized that in the later scenario, the Soviets are attacking at approximately one to one odds, and are (presumably) given a reasonable chance of winning, I put my money on NATO ... Overall, these rules should make a good introductory set - they're easy to learn, fast to play, and though detail has suffered to those ends, the price is fight.

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