West End Games (1986, $19.95)
Designed by John Hill with Guy R. Hail
Players 2 Playing Time
Period WW2, ETO Eastern Front Scale
Tactical Turn variable (45-60 minutes per scenario)
Map 150 meters Unit platoon/company

Components:
Box 9"x12" bookcase box
1 22"x34" unmounted mapsheet
1 32 page rulebook
3 20 die-cut counters 2 player aid cards
72 formation/reinforcement cards 3 six-sided dice 1 counter tray with locking lid
1 Fall 1986 game flyer

Counter Manifest
160 red Soviet counters
112 gray German counters
48 tan neutral markers

Card Manifest
45 Russian cards
3 reinforcement cards
4 2 numbered 200-214 and 216-242
27 German cards
3 reinforcement cards
2 4 numbered 100-123

West End says

“You are in command of a tank battalion, making the snap decisions that win - or lose - the day. You have a chance to secure the bridge if you split up your companies, but you risk demoralization by doing so. Do you lay an ambush along the highway, or push straight for the river? ... The battle hinges on your decisions. You are the Tank Leader ... Command, Control, and Communication (C 3 ) is the pivotal factor in the game and is simulated through the use of formation cards which rate units’ C-3 abilities.”

The reviewers say

“Though realism takes a back seat to playability ... Tank Leader is undeniably an ingenious design and a riveting game. Sticklers for history, however, will probably find this too frivolous to take seriously.” Rick Swan in F&M 62.

“After only a glance at West End’s new World War II eastern front game you want to like it. Especially after seeing cards that say, ‘Communications have failed. Your reinforcements cannot find your position’ ... While I like the nuances of the poker play, an abundance of German ‘A’ rated Formation cards and the rule that their cards win ties dilutes the excitement, as usually the German moves first whenever he pleases. A Soviet formation may be strong, but the Germans will destroy it long before it can fire a shot with their dominance over the turn sequence ... Tank Leader will not impress hardcore tactical wargamers ... the whole affair, from the card play to the combat system, is just too whimsical. I must stress, however, that the frivolousness which makes this an insipid simulation also makes it great fun and easily playable in one sitting.” John O’Toole in F&M 55.

A designer responds

“When West End hired me, I told them I liked games, not simulations. If a game couldn’t be played in a day, it wasn’t a game. Fortunately, Tank Leader provided me with an early opportunity to design a short, playable tank game. Throughout I constantly tried to create new, simpler ways of handling the same problems every tactical game must conquer ... I think calling this an insipid (that is, dull or without flavor) simulation misses the point. O’Toole certainly seemed to like the game’s nailbiting excitement ... Designing a playable game should not be a controversial issue ... A game does not strive to be a more accurate rendition of warfare than its predecessors. Its designer chooses what to place in the foreground and in the background. As much as I wanted to break with the SL/ ASL tradition and make a game two humans could play, such is easier said than done.” Guy Hail in F&M 55.

Comments

The innovative card driven command/control system was used in two more Tank Leader series games: Western Front Tank Leader and Desert Steel.

Collector’s Notes

None of the games in the Tank Leader series seem too hard to find, and unpunched copies turn up online on a regular basis. For Eastern Front Tank Leader, Boone lists low/high/ average prices of 5/17/10.88 at auction and 7/34/14.76 for sale.

Unrelated “Leader” games:

Advanced Squad Leader ; Flight Leader ; Panzer Leader ; Squad Leader (all AH), Star leader: Assault! (Metagaming); Hornet Leader; Thunderbolt-Apache Leader (both GMT);Wingleader (Nova).

Introduction
Eagle Day Battle of Britain 1940
Eastern Front Tank Leader World War II
Eighth Air Force: Air War Over Europe, 1942-45
Escape From Altassar Sci-Fi POW
Europe Aflame World War II