20th Century Rules Sets

(WWI, WWII, Vietnam)

Reviewed by Bill Rutherford

WWII WARGAMING FOR YOUNG AND OLD

By William Greenwald, WAG Pub., 39 N. Whittlesey St., Wallingford, CT 06492, 1989, $6.00. Designed for tbe younger novice gamer, these rules stress playability at the expense of realism. There are no set time or ground scales, though basic unit sizes are the platoon for infantry and the company for vehicles. The sequence of play in the basic game is usual, with initiative, sequential movement, and simultaneous fire and melee. Morale is tested for units suffering 2/3 losses. Melee is resolved by using the paper-scissors-stone game. Fire combat is resolved by the toss of a die, the number to be exceeded being dependent upon whether the target is in cover or in the open. Weapons factors are generic; there is one type each of tank, cannon, infantry, etc. Engineers are merely a second type of infantry. Remember, these rules are aimed at the absolute beginner! Recommended models are 1/87 or 1/76 scale, or even the plastic soldiers found in most toy stores. The advanced rules fill things out a bit more for the more experienced gamer. They include the use of order chits (supplied with game), preparatory fire, smoke, and aircraft. Terrain is basic. Woods and towns give cover, hills block lines of sight, and roads and rivers affect movement. Melee becomes a bit more complex, as now a formula is used to determine winners. Overall, this is a good introductory set for the younger newcomer to the hobby. Concepts are clearly laid out and easy to understand, though a parent or older sibling might be needed to help with the first read-through of the advanced melee resolution. The price is right!

GREAT WAR

Great War is a set of grand tactical rules dealing with the opening months of WW I ($10, see advt. elsewhere in this issue). It uses a ground scale of 30 yards per inch and a figure scale of 40 men per figure. Movement and combat are sequential, with a twist -- all of the brigades of each side are assigned a certain number of command factors equal to the number of companies in that unit. For a subordinate company to act during a turn, it must be allocated one of these command factors. Sounds easy -- right? During the course of battle, as companies win and lose melees, rout, etc., the number of command factors assigned to the brigade will change. If things go badly, the number of command factors may well be less than the number of owned companies, so some companies won't be able to act on a given turn. Also, when it's side A's turn, player A draws a card from a small deck of cards, each bearing a number from one to three. This number is how many actions each of side A's companies (that were given command factors...) can perform that round (move, fire, (un)limber). The relative proportion of ones, twos, and threes appearing in a deck is determined by the relative command control abilities of the antagonists (as detailed on a game chart). Command radii are also used to control maneuver, though they're quite large. Combat is based on modified percentile dice rolls and are semi-deterministic (eg. 440% kill = four killed and 40% chance for a fifth kill). Morale is quite simple; failing units rout a variable number of movement phases, then recover. Extensive organization tables are included, as are play-aid cards and activity card decks. Play is simple (mechanics), elegant, and fast! Recommended.

BARBAROSSA 25

Barbarossa 25, by Frank Chadwick, pub. by Game Designers' Workshop, Bloomington, IL 64 pgs incl. maps and charts, $8.00.

This is GDW's second separate campaign module for their popular Command Decision WWII miniatures rules. These have been out for some time, but I only now received a review copy. All of the details one would expect -- campaign movement, road capacities, supply, weather, engineering, and replacements/repairs -- are covered simply and effectivly. Troop and equipment data, including aircraft data, are given for all of the protagonists in Barbarossa 25. This includes not only the Germans, Italians, and Soviets, but also includes Axis allies, such as the Finns, Hungarians, Romanians, and Slovaks. Specific rules clarifications to be used in Barbarossa 25 are addressed, as are several options. An interesting twist to this module is that the players aren't playing out a specific subcampaign to Barbarossa -- they are playing out the entire campaign, but with 1/25th of the forces historically used. Complete orders of battle are given for the two sides using this reduction. For example, the German army contains three infantry divisions and a single panzer division. Similarly, the maps included in the module are scaled down to 1/25th their original scale; the distance from Danzig to Konigsberg is approx imately 5km in game terms, not over 100km, as is actually the case. This takes a bit of getting used to, but allows the players to fight a major campaign, not merely a small portion of it. Well worthwhile to any Ostfront gamer, and especially so to the Command Decision gamer!

BODYCOUNT: WARGAME RULES FOR THE VIETNAM WAR

Bodycount, written by Ian and Nigel Drury comes in a 36 page digest- sized booklet and includes a player aid card. The figure scale is 1:1, the ground scale is 1 "/5 meters, and the time scale is 1 minute per turn. These rules are unusual because the players all control US/ARVN forces. The referee (mandatory to play) sets up the scenario and runs the VC/NVA forces. Each player controls a squad, though platoons may be commanded when there's a player shortage. Much is covered, including small arms, vehicles, mines and traps, snipers, morale (important!) and command control. Interplayer communication is quite limited -- the rules go so far as to recommend use of a cassette recorder, with appropriate referee-supplied "static" for all interplayer radio comm. Troops have characteristics (aggression, discipline, endurance, etc.) that affect their performance. There are several different movement rates, ranging from search' (slow) through 'run' (fast). Target acquisition is based on variable sighting ranges, modified by terrain, target posture/movement, and a random die roll. Targets within the determined range are spotted; those outside aren't. Small arms fire and melee are both a matter of adding up various factors and dicing on a CRT to see what happens. There's an interesting rule for spotting firing positions, made doubly important because the NVA/VC typically start the game well hidden off-map. Extensive scattertables allow grenades, aircraft, and artillery to do terrible things when dropped too close to friendlies. Morale checks cause units to carry on, halt, or flee. Player, referee, and scenario design notes are good. The referee has a lot to do in Bodycount, but the resultant game is well worth it! Available from TableTop Games, Nottingham, England, for $9.95.

FIRE! OGON! FEUER!

By Rudy Nelson, and published by Nelson Enterprises, Ashland, AL for $5.00, these are a simple setof rules for tactical WW II miniatures gaming. The ground scale is variable, ranging from one inch equalling 25 yards up to one inch equalling 100 yards. The figure scale is 1:1 for vehicles, with a stand of infantry representing a half-squad. The play sequence is fairly conventional, with units performing different tasks during different parts of the turn. The only problem I had with it was that the rules don't state whether things are sequential or simultaneous -- either would work, as long as both players make the same assumptions... Tank, infantry, aircraft, and artillery combat is probablistic and ranged, results being resolved by casting percentile dice and modifying for circumstances. The second half of the rule book covers such things as scenario generation, terrain types, and extensive vehicle notes. Two notable omissions from these rules are the lackof morale and command control rules. At this level of command, with each player controlling, perhaps, a reinforced company, both morale and command control are quite important, and their absence is noticeable. These rules are simple and fast, and the price is right, but inclusion of the two mentioned rules sections could only improve the game.

UNDER FIRE

Written by Messrs. Holmes and Walsh, and published by 1:1 Games, Providence, RI, (no price given), Under Fire is a detailed set of WWII skirmish rules. They cover 54 pages, in addition to casualty cards and suppression markers, and a player-aid card. The figure scale is 1:1 and the time scale is three to five seconds per turn. No ground scale is given. The game's focus is the role of the squad leader (SL) in combat. Success is based on how effective the SL is in getting his troops to act. SLs command a variable number of troops each turn. When a troop is commanded, he may attempt to perform an action. The likelihood of a troop successfully performing an action varies with the action, the troop, and the proximity of a leader. Most activities, combat, and casualty determination are resolved with percentile dice. The rules governing casualties are extensive. Wound location (on the body) is quite important, as each type of wound (there are 30 different types) has a different effect on the troop's ability to act. Due to the time scale, it may take several turns for a troop to reload a small arm. Artillery may take 15 turns to be fired for effect. AFVs are included. This is primarily an infantry game, so armor thicknesses, gun types, etc., are somewhat abstracted. This is effective, though, as the normal infantryman was more concerned with the fact that a tank's gun was big and was pointed at him than with its actual calibre. This is the feel one gets playing Under Fire. There is a lot of detail here, but one's attention tends to be focused more on getting the troops to do something than on the tools with which they must work. 19 pages of platoon organizations and equipment data, and two sample scenarios (well done...) complete the rules. These rules take some effort to play but will reward the diligent player with a very enjoyable game.

More Reviews

Back to Table of Contents -- Courier Vol. IX No. 4
Back to Courier List of Issues
Back to Master Magazine List
© Copyright 1990 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