Like many, I've recently picked up Rapid Fire Reloaded, since it's very cheap, and I'm an old RF die hard.
I was never a fan of RF2 (over the original RF 'green' book), as to be honest, I hadn't considered tank crews wandering about the battlefield since the days of Squad Leader (2-3-2 or something?), but RFR has returned to the spirit of the original Green Book philosophy - where the rules are simple, fluid, yet give a great game - while being hard to master, and easy to hack.
Infantry fire now resolves itself without a table, based on number of figures firing. For even more simplicity, I assumed a company 'stand' with 8 effectives, using a little dice to record casualties. We used this system for Vapid Fire, this time last year, and it worked really well here. The company stands are 3" x 1.5". The system works very well.
Vehicle fire is also simplified in the new rules. In fact, barring the hex variant, a lot of the new system is very akin to the simplified rules we adopted last year for Steve's Kursk campaign. Absolutely brilliant set, and always give a great game.
Only complaint is that 20mm does create a bit a 'car park' at times, so we're thinking of removing lorries in future games after dismount of their carried infantry.
Scenario was the perennial favourite - the Relief of Vilnius. Pre-blog, we played this to death with RF#1. The Germans have never won...yet.
The defenders on the outskirts of Vilnius - will they make it this time?
The relief column from 6th Panzer.
A tight perimeter, already under threat from Soviet scout elements.
The nearby village of Vievis is full of Lithuanian Partisans.
...and Soviet armour recon elements are already heading west from Vilnius toward the relief column on the German right.
the smoke rules are very easy to use in this version, and for once, I remembered them...really makes a big difference, in this case masking the Lithuanian ATG.
Major flanking axis on the German left.
As ATGs position themselves on the high ground. This would prove pivotal at game end.
The Soviet armoured thrust takes damage from STG IIIs on the right flank.
...as German infantry from the covering group secure the village, and form blocking positions. They will be the last to withdraw.
The relief truck column pushes through, well covered.
'Taxi anyone?'
A powerful blocking position at the crossroads, but Sovs are coming...
Dismounting infantry to foil the Soviet infantry in the woods by the crossroads. I don't imagine these guys actually got away in the end.
Elements of 3rd Guards Tank Corps arrive and push toward the crossroads at the perimeter. That's a lot of T-34-85s.
Shot for shot, reserve fire making a big difference, and the Panthers get some very lucky kills.
GO! GO! GO!
Realigning, Soviet armour and infantry make for the high ground in an attempt to cut the road ...though those 75mm Paks from earlier come into their own now.
More Soviet reinforcements in the form of lend-lease Shermans on the German left ...but there is a Panther screen awaiting them.
The attack and escort column takes a lot of damage, but not enough to render it completely ineffective.
In the end, the thrust from Soviet armour is stopped by a very well thought out, stepped defence in depth.
A great new version of Rapid Fire - really enjoyed this. A lot of potential with these new rules, and aside from Field of Battle WWII, which is a level up, it's hard to find a set that gives a better result in good time.
I also think a modern version of this scenario, perhaps set in the middle east in the 1980s, would be superb. I believe there was a version of this available on the internet ages ago.
Yes - it's a sped up version of Manowar's 'Sons of Odin'.
Yes - that sword is far too big for physics.
Yes - I am taking the p*ss (though they weren't a bad band at normal speed).
Ages ago, I joined 'Steam', and discovered all of the old PC games that I wasted time on 20 years ago on the PC.
I also found 'Pike & Shot Campaigns' which I had first seen on Doug's excellent 'Cry Havoc' blog, and it included a lot of late C17th battles, so what's not to like?
So when I say this is a screenshot, Duc de 'Luddite' couldn't work out how to do a 'Prt Scrn' from here...these are actual screenshots...like with a camera.
I chose Walcourt 1689, which is great, as the scope of the battlefield encompasses all of the movement of incoming reinforcements from both sides, seizing built up areas and hanging onto them, and massive cavalry actions on the flank. It's a nice system, which is obviously built upon the mechanisms of wargaming rules, so all makes sense.
Great action, great dynamic gameplay ...I lost!
Say what you like about video games 'addiction': I was up until 3am ....uhhhh....and I lost! Great game, and lots of scenario detail.
Point the second: More thoughts after the last GDW Team Yankee / First Battle game. I'll be graduating to 'Battlefield Europe' next - the follow on variation, which used D10 instead of D6, and added some more developmental rules for modern warfare.
I have a few sizes of hexagon, though the 4.5" variants are the ones that I have most of, and that are finished/flocked. I had contemplated using the 1/200 and 1/300 stuff on hexes and so had a few tests.
1) I can mimic the rules exactly in terms of smaller hexes- though I can't fit enough vehicles on board to mimic the stacking limits (3 or 4)
Too Small
2) I can use the ultra large hex, but it allows too many vehicles, and I don't really have enough of them - plus increases the footprint of the map - even if this represents two map hexes.
Too Big
3) I can use the 4.5" hexes - and model each of them on the basis of 'two' actual hexes on the GDW gameboards...AHA! Stacking to this extent is rare, but does allow Soviet platoon doctrine.
Just Riiiight!
So this represents 2 hexes on the actual game map.
Now, this also has the handy bonus of mimicking Soviet doctrine - in that, I can place a platoon in the hex and have it restricted to staying in 3 vehicle groupings.
As it's two hexes, I can have a platoon of tanks and BMPs in the same hex, if required.
I can further have a single platoon fire at a single target as per Soviet doctrine, and rule it perfectly with this system.
So, if two hexes in the boardgame, becomes one hex on my table, I re-do the counter information slightly, along these lines:
Now that I see these rules in action again, I'm wondering even if mimicking NATO training is simply done by virtue of granting them initiative each turn.
Also, I can use the scenarios from here:
to test the system
The more I see of this simple (but not simplistic) GDW/Chadwick system, the more I like its elegance. The advent of the D10 over the D6 actually fixes the obvious issue that the system had with decent armour, whereby if you fired enough shots at an M1, you could destroy it through disablement. That's harder on the D10 CRT.
Managed to squeeze a game in, and it seems we keep coming back to the old GDW Team Yankee boardgame for WW3.
I used the stats for British forces at the back of the rulebook, plus there are more of these in the other 'First Battle' supplements.
1:200 vehicles in play today
The turn sequence seems like nothing new, as does the combat table, but this game is so elegant.
Elegant systems include:
The
Turn sequence, where if you have initiative, forces you to choose
between going 1st or 2nd in turn - but be careful with reaction fire.
The
CRT seems very old school, but range and cover make such a difference.
The game design advice is correct; if you can fire, you 'might as well try it' unless staying hidden and closing range is worth doing. Two
Chieftains got taken out in the game below, simply by virtue of the
weight of Soviet numbers.
For me, the great thing here is one set of rules suiting all levels and modern periods / scenarios.
GDW's Team Yankee - all the boxes are like this; it's part of GDW's 'patented battered box' design.
I've managed to collect all of the 1st Battle series now, including 'Stand or Die 1941' which appears to take 2 jumps up from Team Yankee (where 'Sands of War' jumps to units being platoons, 'Stand or Die' makes them companies - but without making it obvious ;) ).
So, I'm hoping to explore the entire set using miniatures. Aims include:
Also expanding 'Last Battle' for Man to Man on tabletop.
Playing some of the modern battles included in 'Sands of War'.
Using some bits for 'Hyboria Now'.
I'm still keen to develop the 'turn clock' and 'traits' systems in conjunction with these rules.
(oooh Blogger sucks so much now with pics...Now I get it!)
Soviet armour on their left makes a dash for the town.
The British Chieftains are poorly spread out.
BMPs on the left start to take MILAN hits.
T72s exploit an apparent flank opportunity on the right.
While on the right, Soviet infantry mass against the British units in cover, pinning them early.
Soviet units make it into the BUA.
The weight of Sov armour is just too much, and a couple of lucky hits put paid the British right flank.
There are unexplored nuances in these rules, and the rest of 'First Battle' just waiting to be explored.
'When I said, 'stay on my tail', this is NOT what I meant!'
