I offer a personal mini-review of the WWII rules sets I own for the delectation (or otherwise) of list members. Some hoary old sets (ahh the nostalgia) and several new ones with a brave few in between. I have conducted review in distinctly unscientific fashion with bit of waffle and overall grading from A to E (a being best) I also give them what I call the Tiger Test (TT) as the first thing I usually look at in any set is how vulnerable/tough a Tiger 1 is vs Shermans/T34 within the game system (ie how hard or easy to brew up and at what ranges) all this is of course totally a personal view.
Blitzkrieg Commander
Brand new, read thru once but not played as yet, apparently based in part on some Fantasy (hiss boo) set these are a very nicely produced set. Very much in the trend of playable systems with easy to learn mechanisms and a good deal of abstractions. Look to give a good fast moving game and will be trying them out soon. Seem best suited to 6m/10mm and default 1 base = Plat/Troop Comes with built in army lists and scn generator and point system. Webpage/forum Grade : B TT : B
Spearhead
one of my fav sets of rules (that bloke Conliffe can sure write innovative rulesets or what !?) allowing loads of kit on tabletop without bogging down. Nice historical feel to games (although Huns are favoured a tad), good tactical options abound. Nice touches such as target priorities and suchlike. Additional scn booklets available several scns included.Best for 6mm/10mm with 15mm at a stretch. 1 base = 1 Platoon. Webpage/forum Grade : A TT : B
Crossfire
another Conliffe set with some very radical ideas. Superb for Inf combat giving a real 'feel' to actions less successful for AFVs. No set turn sequence with constantly changing initiative, system for LOS/Firing takes bit of getting used to and requires lots of terrain (numerous small items). Includes basic army lists and scn generator. Additional Scn booklet adds some nice rules. Best for 15mm+ as games quite petit. 1 base = 1 section/squad. Webpage/forum Grade : B TT : C
Battle! Practical Wargaming
venerable set by late great Charles Grant one of my first ever sets, great read and hardback too ! antiquated style but always gave good games. No points system, no scn generators but does include couple of scns. Complex (or rather convoluted) systems in some respects simplistic in others. Definitely a collectors item nowadays. Firmly designed for 20mm+ (or 1/76th 1/72nd to use its terminology) although most vehicles in photos were old Roco Mini-Tanks which were (are ?) closer to 15mm scale. Inf/Afvs are individuals. Simultaneous turns seem odd now. Grade : C TT : C
World War II Wargaming Airfix Guide No 15
an early Bruce Quarrie set with upcoming trend (at that time) for multiple charts with multiple modifiers for most aspects of the game. Good deal of info in a slim volume. Slow playing with several inconsistencies especially in area of gun ratings. Not a set I used much. Units are individuals. Designed for 20mm (ie Airfix 'midgies'). No scns but does include points system another simultaneous turn set. Grade : D TT : D
Battles With Model Tanks
another old hardback book with fairly generic set of simplistic Tank combat rules (Info neglected) by Don Featherstone/Keith Robinson. General in scope (covers 1917 to late 1970s) but with several scans. Nice read but not much as ruleset. Designed mainly for 20mm and with units as individuals in the main. Grade : D TT : D
Tank Battles In Miniature 1: A Wargamers Guide to Western Desert Campaign 1941-42
Another Featherstone tome in hardback. Super read especially the background stuff and since Don actually fought in the theatre it all has that ring of truth. Quite complex rules included with some odd stuff like the 'Movement Board' with little paper tanks on pins to emulate problems of movement in desert. Designed with 6mm in mind but with individual Afvs. Grade : C TT : B
Tank Battles etc 3
A guide to NW European Campaign - another Quarrie set, another hardback. Another superb read with lots of info and flavour. Rules are essentially an update of the Airfix guide stuff. Focus is on Tank combat with 6mm in mind, Inf rules are included but are tad cumbersome (too much bookeeping) and the Air-Ground rules (by Mike Spick) are a game unto themselves. Simultaneous turns caused a lot of problems playing this especially as one had to keep track of ammo usage and Rof combined with varying turret speeds (all seemed rather intricate for 6mm). Grade : C TT : B
World War II Rules (simplified)
where did I get these ? a Bath Wargame Society set very basic in outlook (being a pamphlet !) which I never actually used but which surprisingly covered most aspects. Grade : D TT : D
Tactical Commander
A Tabletop Games set (I think there are updated versions to my original) and very much in early 1980s mould (ie lots of detail lots of charts modifiers etc) designed for 20mm skirmish games. Another simultaneous type (although this is not really defined but assumed). Inf combat well covered and reasonably playable but I found the Tank combat always seemed to need a score of 6 to achieve hit vs any target. Some oddities in Gun/Armour relationships did not help. Individual scale. Grade : C TT : D
Combined Arms WWII Infantry-Armour Actions
another TTG set designed for 6mm scale primarily. Again heavy on stats/charts. This was a set I used for a long time and which I tweaked heavily. Slow playing due to large amounts of chart/modifier usage which seemed so accurate at the time but with hindsight seems so needless. Author (Ian Shaw) also done some separate army lists (which covered this set plus WRG and Newbury). AFVs were individuals with Inf grouped as Section bases. Grade : C (more like A when I was using them) TT : B
Armoured Warfare for 1/200th scale
set produced by Skytrex to accompany their 10mm range. Units were individuals. Some rather different rules (first use I recall of multiple dice for MGs etc in place of multiple modifiers) especially the ordinance firing system wherein firer had to predict the range in mm to target and depending how far out guess was this modified strike values. Designed for 10mm but easily useable for larger scales. Grade : C TT : B
Firefly WWII 1/300th & 1/200th Battlegroup Actions
set by Bruce Rea Taylor. Again another 1980s set heavy on charts/modifiers. Was direct rival to WRG sets with more depth/detail. Included several army lists including historical units. Again a slow playing set due to number of charts etc I neglected it in favour of Combined Arms but if I recall it was a rather popular set (at least in UK). Individual Afvs and Inf groups (rated separately for individual nations/types) Grade : C TT : B
WRG Rules for Armour & Infantry 1925-1950
WRG set another of my first sets. At the time a rather simple set but playable. Suffered IMHO from usual WRG predisposistion to competition rules. Inf was generic (no bonuses for MG42s in this) the little bases of 4 made them fiddly and annoying. List of manufacturers etc to rear makes for nostalgic reading. Overall a set I maligned at time in many ways but which actually generates a better 'game' than those I used. Primarily for 6mm (only small scale at time). Individual Afvs and Inf groups (half-sections). Grade : B TT : C
Micro-Warfare
another Skytrex set issued in early days of 6mm and designed for their use. A set with very strong board wargaming influence (in fact advocated use of hexes to play on). Simple in outlook and another set I never actually used. Units were Platoons/Troops with some record keeping to track casualties. Grade : E TT : E
GI Commander 1939-45
A US set (one of first I had seen/purchased) via Navwar. Complex (especially the advanced rules) with lots of charts/modifiers and odd fractional units stats (eg some Inf had hit factors of 1.25). Boardgame influence detected but not specified. 6mm design basis with inherent army lists. The need for fast mathematical brain made them not my cup of tea. Grade : D TT : D
Command Decision (editions I, II & III)
a set designed for 20mm (all Frank Chadwick's photos show this scale) another US set which distinctively came in a box but good set for 6mm. Simultaneous sequence but use of order chits was excellent and made HQs feel very important. Played this a lot but found that (unlike Spearhead) it was suited to none too large games or turns took a lot longer than the 15mins real-time the rules advocated. Good system of hits related to troop grade and morale (expanded in later editions) but way too much firing in a turn (3 possible firing phases with multiple Rof) this was addressed in 3rd edition (units only fire in 1 phase). Whilst loving the order chit system in someways it was too flexible as units could literally zip across the battlefield. 1 Base = 1 Pltoon/Troop Used to be supported with quarterly Command Post magazine. Webpage/forum Grade : B TT : C
Cambrai to Sinai 1917-1967 Newbury Rules
another early set covering 6mm and 20mm (parallel rules contained). Another set with convoluted systems which I found slowed games down to a crawl and were seldom finished. Numerous charts/modifiers. Covered all aspects of WWII. Separate Army lists available. Not a favorite with me this one. Individual AFVs and Inf (groups at 6mm scale) Grade : D TT : D
No 1 Wargames Command rules for WWII
a set for 6mm I played a lot prior to finding Combined Arms (which had similar firing/armour system). Inf a bit of an afterthought rules came with 1cm square cut-out counters in lieu of figs). Unique morale system termed IKB (I know better) wherein unit failing morale was subject to fairly random movement which lead to some odd situations. A campaign set was released (Sword Beach) with updated rules. Afvs were indidviduals Inf in groups but organized at 1/3rd historical basis (ie 1 coy eqivalent to 1 Bttn etc). Grade : C TT : B
Berlin Or Bust
slim set designed for skirmish games. Nothing ground breaking but nothing odd either. Another set not used (rather a few like this in my collection !). Individual Afvs and Inf. Grade : D TT : C
WRG Rules 1925-1950 Platoon to Battalion level
updated from original set (published 1973) with a good deal more detail especially in realm of Command and Control and use of Tactical Modes (I found this cumbersome). Much more accurate than old set at sacrifice in playability. Covers all scales but best suited to 6mm. Individual Afvs Inf in groups. Includes army lists (in rather cryptic form) and again shows its competition bent. Grade : C TT : C
Korps Commander WWII The Road To Berlin
another BRTaylor/TTg set aimed at playing higher level games (basic units being Coys) but with usual mass charts/modifiers. Very cumbersome mechanics in many respects and slow. Includes some nice Divisional organizations and as per Firefly a few historical. A set I wanted to like (who doesnt want to field Corps/Division) but found wanting. Grade : D TT : D
World War II Infantry Action
Newbury set designed for skirmish 20mm games. Lots of charts/modifiers with obvious emphasis on Inf. Way too much detail for my tastes with even small games bogging down. Some generic scns and points system. Grade : D TT : D
Operation Warboard
my first set of WWII rules (in fact my first set of wargame rules) firmly for 20mm games (quirk of illustrations are use of unpainted Airfix etc figs/vehicles and chalked on roads polystyrene hills etc). Another nice read (rules in 1970s were very much books) with lots of background/explanation. Units are individual Afv/Inf. Simple firing rules and Tank rules with several inconsistencies. Use of numerous plastic grids (which one had to make oneself) the MG grid being a real beast. Great fun to play (especially for a 12yr old) and a good grounding (along with Battle!) in the great hobby of wargaming......... Lots of nostalgia with this set affects grading. Grade : A TT : C
Clash Of Armor Rules for Grand Tactical WWII
set for 6mm (could use 10/15mm) with some interesting features such as rolls to activate individual formations (graded per Coy and more importantly by its Commander). Great way to show difference in quality of units and yet allow reaction to enemy moves (at cost for subsequent moves). However system was rather slow and the combat mechanisms rather odd at times (total firepower factors divided by target defense factor with limits to totals). Couple scn booklets available. 1 base = 1 Platoon. Had a lot of potential but never really got to grips with rules (mainly as more playable Spearhead available) Grade : C TT : B
Where The Iron Crosses Grow
set bought at Wargames Show (Colours at Reading I think) designed for 15-20mm skirmish games. Another set with nothing new but nothing bad either. Strangely for skirmish set the Inf rules are tad underwritten (ie unclear in cases) and seemed taken from Tactical Commander set in large part. The title and drawing of Tiger on front probably attracted m to this set Grade : C TT : B
Rapid Fire
designed as a fast play set for 15/20mm stuff they do exactly what they say. Definately a highly playable set nicely produced (who fails to drool at all the colour photos of 20mm kit !?) simplistic in most respects (especially for my tastes the Gun/Tank rules). A big following in UK and several excellent supplements available. 1 bases = 1 platoon (not strict scale). Such playable type rules are very much the trend in recent years. Webpage/forum. Grade : B TT : C
Tiger Tiger Burning Bright
produced as set for 1/200th scale but playable as 6mm or 15mm. Another Colours (or was it Warfare) purchase. Once again the Inf rules are tad unintelligible to me (maybe its me or authors are assuming too much ?) and rules are overall neither good bad or indifferent. 1 base = individual AFV/Inf section. Another set not played. Grade : C TT : C
Blitzspiel
slim booklet of simple rules another Show purchase. Fairly broad armour and gun groupings and no C&C rules of note. Bit like cut-down WRG 1973 (but why bother) certainly playable. 1 base = 1 platoon. Grade : C TT : D
Overlord Rules for the Normandy Campaign
a set designed for 10/15mm (20mm ok) covering a finite period (June-August 1944) and location. Author Barrie Lovell has some great ideas and produced one of my favourite rulesets (nice balance between gameplay and level of accuracy at scale aimed for). Inf combat system is reminiscent of Squad Leader in some ways. The morale/combat rules seem to generate rather historical occurrences (my usual opponnent often bemoaned how his Inexperienced US Troops basically went to ground (Pinned) when fired upon) which to a point can lead to rather poor 'games' (a good scn is key). AFV combat could tense but with 1" = 10 yds ground scale even heavy Tanks are vulnerable on average tabletop. Order chits are nicely used in the game. Quite chart/modifier heavy but not overly complex and with games of 1-2 coys plus supports quite playable. 1 base = 1 Afv or Inf group (half sections). Comes with Coy organizations and a single scn. Interestingly the author is now an advocate of Crossfire. Basic scns included and points system. Grade : A TT : B
Grey Storm Red Steel Tactical Combat On the Eastern Front
followup set to Overlord by Barrie Lovell and another fine set this time covering a much greater timeframe and theatre. Really Overlord Deluxe this set retains the basic systems of prevoius set but with numerous echancements. Order chits are still there but Ivans must place theirs first giving Huns more flexibility. Inf now fire not as individual groups but total firepower to cover a gridded oval area. Tank combat has been filled out (and complicated) greatly and several eastern Front aspects added (much more depth to fighting in buildings and melees). Includes a nice scn generator/pints system which usually sees the Huns well outnumered (one memorable game saw my 300pts of Huns reduced by half whilst Ivan 300 pts was tripled !!). 1 base = 1 Afv or Inf Group (half-section). Grade : A TT : B
Great Battles Of WWII Volume 1 The Canadians in Europe
set from (surprise) Canadians Wargamers Group set a Divisional level with basic stands being Coys. Interesting concept for games with Forming Up Points and passage of time being important. Combat system abstracted due to level played and games are rather big overall (1 scn advocates having a rolling 15ft paper map) Designed for 6mm. Terrain so abstracted that game plays best on boardgame style map. Includes background on the Canadian army and several historical scns. Grade : C TT : C
Battalions In Crisis! Small Unit Combat in WWII
a US set (apparently a clone of Tractics ?) for 20mm skirmish games. Lots of charts/modifiers (including individual charts for each Afv). Tank combat was reasonably good (if tad modifier intense) but I found Inf combat too slow for anything but smallest games. Artillery grid was slow to use as it tracked individual shells (mind you older Battle and Op Warboard also done this). Lots of detail included but a too high a loss of playability for me. Couple of expansion modules and I think a bi-monthly mag Grade : C TT : B
Abteilung 15mm WWII Battle Rules
Set produced by Peter Pig (RFCM range) to accompany their 15mm figs. Generic unit types and simplistic combat to garner a playable game is the aim. Some nice ideas for setting up scns but the overall system weighed too much in favour of fastplay IMHO. No hard and fast scale but basically 1 unit = Platoon Forum. Grade : C TT : D
Military Operations '39-'45
another show bought set (by Agema) with again some interesting concepts but not radically different enough to garner much play on my tabletop. Production values rather low (pages all photocopies) but included army lists for most nations. 1 base = 1 platoon Grade : C TT : C
Panzer Tactics Rules For Coy and Bttn Battles
another US set (the support I give their economy eh ?) with an Armour combat system I enjoyed (more a something of a throwback to 1980s rules) but an Inf system I did not (card counters advocated again with some stacking !). 6mm design emphasis. 1 base = 1 Afv or Inf fireteam (bit US-centric). Grade : C TT : B
TAC : WWII Rules for Brigade Level Actions
another low production value UK set with some nice C&C concepts but again rather tedious to play (mainly due to number of counters required). No advantage to this set to my mind (enfeebled as it may be) over Spearhead and not played. Several campaign scn booklets available. Grade : D TT : D
Cross of Iron Eastern Front Skirmish Rules
skirmish set set a very low level (individual figs stats) in sort of RPG setting (influence of film obvious). Several scns included. best with 20mm + (I would think great for new 28mm stuff). Low production values (included some pasted in pages. Another set read but unplayed. Afv rules give scant attention. Grade : C TT : D
Take Cover !! Tactical Approach to WWII
Brittania Minis set nicely illustrated with their figs etc. Very much a rival to Rapid Fire being of similar ilk/scale/playability with some tweaks. Ambush rule is nicely implemented but overall combat rules are simple/generic. Includes 2 scns and sample lists but other army lists are available separately. As per Rapid Fire they are fastplay with 1 base = 1 platoon/ Inf group in sixes for firing. Forum Grade : C TT : C
Mein Panzer WWII Edition
original set (new updated set) from US using a modular system (ie if you want to lay only Tanks or without Arty etc). Combat was quite well done (not too many modifiers) although some stats seemed off (that Tiger Test again) but Inf very brittle indeed (addressed I believe in newer version). Complete with army lists and couple of scns. 1 base = 1 Afv or Inf squad another set that I did not use much as better sets around. Webpage/forum Grade : C TT : C
Tiger Tiger
Another show purchase and another low end photocopy (DTP ?) type. Actually quite comprehensive with Armour combat system the author seems to intend is used in Rapid Fire or similar but since its not much different/better I cant see why. Inf rules are again bit lacking. 1 base = 1 platoon Grade : C TT : C
Piquet II Point Of Attack II The Blitzkrieg
PK seems to be a system gamers either love or hate I quite like it for its unpredictability but was insure of how system would work for WWII (having previously tired it for Horse & Musket). I was pleasantly surprised that games play as well as they do. The initiative/card system is of course unique (house rule I like is to roll D12s not D20 and higher roll gets to choose to go first or second with both players playing out their respective rolls and disregarding the 'clock'). POA gives rules stats for 3 levels of play Squad/Platoon/Battalion (with Coy level available on web) and can use any scale of minis (I used 15mm for squad and 6mm for others) and each level plays similarly only with few tweaks and differing ground scales/ranges. Combat system is fairly simple in terms of stats (usual dice type modifiers) and if using random unit selection rolls it can lead to odd but plausible unit matchups combat results combine damage and morale outcomes. Lack of any spotting rules whatsoever seemed odd but within the PK context it works ok (as seeing something does not mean you have available action points/cards to deal with them). The coverage of several levels of play in one set is nice and offsets initial expense of rules themselves. PK is a highly tweakable set (tweaking seems actively encouraged in fact !). Webpage/forum Grade : A TT : C
Battlefront WWII
yet another US set (I really ought to get a medal or something !) by authors of Fire And Fury Acw set (and a fine set they are too). Presentation is excellent with numerous illustrations/diagrams and a fun set of individual unit cards (with colour (sorry color) photos. Scale is strange in that AFVs represent 1-2 vehicles (half-platoons). Initial rules include Huns/Yanks/Ivans late war with Brits and other timeframes in expansions. System uses a derivative of dice modified action points for activations and combat is simple but effective combined with morale outcomes. Overall a nice set of rules but lack of Brits in initial release relegated these to my read but not played much bunch. Webpage/forum Grade : B TT : C
Panzer Marsh!
set by North Hull Club with nice glossy presentation (a nice bi-product of Rapid Fire is this trend in UK rules now) designed for 20mm stuff (some nice pics of Hull blokes stuff inside). Somewhat of a throwback to older style rules with strange system of ranging sticks for shooting etc. A set I again read but not played as they seem no advantage over other sets I had (why then did I buy them you ask .....who knows !). Includes late war army lists with others available separately. Webpage Grade : C TT : C
Megablitz Rules for Large Scale Actions
Set designed for very large level games with bases = roughly a Bttn/Regt (including POL stuff most divisions only need 6-10 bases !). At such a scale combat etc is very generic and simple being mostly a case of hit points and defense points and Afvs along the lines of Heavy-Light. Designed with 20mm in mind but any scale possible. As with Great Battles system terrain is very abstracted at this level. Not played this set as yet. Forum Grade : C TT : D
Kampfgruppe Commander Clash Of Armor II
updated version of COA with somewhat streamlined mechanics making gameplay a tad easier but still too convulted compared to Spearhead and similar. Grade : C TT : B
Battlegroup PanzerGrenadier WWII Fastplay Rules
new UK set by David Brown (of Chef De Brigade Nappy rules fame) designed for 15mm (10/20mm useable) with 1 unit = squad. Uses a derivative of DBx PIP dicing system for C&C. Fairly simple and straightforward combat systems. 2 Scns included and scn booklet available. A set I have read and played once but intend to give at least another outing. Webpage/forum Grade : B TT : C
Flames Of War the WWII Miniatures Game
another love or hate set it seems based word has it on GW Warhammer Fantasy (boo hiss) set. Nicely produced in NZ this time (nows its the world economy I support !) with lovely photos of Battlefront Minis. Comes with mid-war lists and basic scn generator. Simple mechanics based firmly on D6 with saving throws of all things (come to think of it new Blitzkrieg Cmdr has this must be the fantasy rules influence?). Certainly a fastplay set seems designed ala GW to bring hordes of youths into the hobby and thats no mean feat or aim. Interaction between units is basic leading IMHO to fairly stylised/samey games which publishers seems to address by issuing of a large number supplements with new types of kit and list/special rules (not a fav 'tactic' of mine). Pushed as competition set for which it is well geared. Webpage/forum Grade : C TT : C
Well that's it except to give honourable mention to numerous web-based free-download sets I have tried (1943, Dic Tac, etc etc) of which I am currently reading the SL Miniatures set (based on original Squad Leader/COI board game) and of course to several boardgames/PC games from which I have tried to steal ideas/systems/stats over the years (Steel Panthers/EF/Combat Mission etc) in the search for that elusive 'perfect rule set'
Advance To Contact Infantry Action In WWII
A slim booklet with rules for 20mm Inf actions with details such as figure Skills & Strength and scant Tank coverage. 3 scns included with no more than 12 figs per side. Another set not tried by yours truly. Individual scale. Grade : C TT : E
Microtank Warfare
a early set for 6mm ( photo on front cover shows sandtable terrain and Leicester Microtanks remember them ?). Written by Keith Robinson they are vehicle-centric with combination of effective armour stats vs strike values (which rather uniquely are garnered from graphs ie literally lines drawn on graph paper !). I liked these except the Inf rules were a let down. Designed for 6mm with 1 base = 1 Afv or Inf Section Grade : C TT : B
Battles With Micro-Tanks
an early US set by Martin Greenan which I obtained via Heroics & Ros. I used these quite a lot with 6mm stuff for which they are designed. They have a quirky sequence of play with 2 movement 'impulses' with sides alternating movement within each impulse. Another vehicle-centric set with Inf being 1 hit and they are dead wonders. As I recall Artillery was overly potent especially vs AFVs. 1 base = 1 Platoon/Section Grade : C TT : C
One note ref Battles with Micro-Tanks is that the rules were playtested by Southern Maine Wargamers Association and one Dan Cyr is mentioned by author is this the list member Mr Cyr I wonder ? note rules were issued in 1975 so Dan must have been playing wargamers whilst still in nappies (diapers)
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