""Panzer" miniatures rules" Topic

Have you played "Panzer"? I recall that the same author wrote some games for Yaquinto way back when, and that this set is a mash of several that he has done. I played "88" a long time ago, but can't recall if I liked it.

Any reviews, comments, or firsthand knowledge of the game?

are you talking about Panzer Miniatures rules?

You mean these? strikenet-games.com

I've played them a few times. Pretty good rules.

One of my friends still plays miniatures with the old yaquinto boardgame rules. He plays on hex maps. They seemed pretty good back in the day but I don't like the plotting of movement. Moving single file is a little problematic as some hexes cause a delay in movement of the tank behind another. So while they start out one hex behind one another after a few turns of movement through non-clear terrain the tank column becomes all strung out.

I considere buying but cost so much to get all of rules and there was no n.africa.

These rules are now much cheaper than they used to be, and are available as a downloadable .pdf at an even less expensive price from the Wargame Vault. The game is very detailed on armor, as would be expected, although it flows well after its steep learning curve is mastered. I have not tried out its infantry rules, which is the most important part of a game for me, even for one named Panzer.

Very enjoyable game, and fairly simple to learn the basics. The rulebook can be off-putting to some as it uses very concise wording instead of a conversational style like many rulebooks do these days. Very much worth the effort to get through (and it's not really as difficult as I make it sound, either), and you'll have numerous examples for each basic rules concept presented.

Basics: Game turn runs Orders, Initiative, Fire, Move. Orders are given to units via face-down chits prior to initiative. The number of orders for each company varies by troop quality; available orders are fire, move, short halt (move and fire), overwatch, and no command. Initiative is percentile, with modifiers for troop quality. Spotting is handled via a simple range chart, modified for moving and firing.

The initiative player can choose to fire first, move second or fire second and move first. Fire sequence is done in the order of initiative, with overwatch available to fire at targets that were not visible at the beginning of the phase.

Fire combat works on a percentile roll to hit, then two d10 rolls for hit location and penetrating damage (if any). Vehicle guns have five ranges (point blank, short, medium, long, extreme), with penetration values varying by range (for kinetic rounds, at any rate). Possible results against each vehicle are none, suppression, immobilized, damaged, destroyed, and brewed up.

Optional ammo (APCR, HEAT, Smoke, etc.) is available, with no tracking of rounds necessary (as the boardgame had). Want to use it, roll a die and check your data card to see if it's available for the shot. Likewise, some guns with higher rates of fire may hit a target multiple times; additional hits are determined using the original to hit roll.

Artillery, if available, always fires first in a player's fire phase. Air phases (two of them) are inserted prior to firing and after movement, but each aricraft can perform actions in only one of them (player's option).

Movement works the same, with the determined player moving all of his units, executing overruns/CC/CA, etc, with Overwatch fire being performed during the opposing player's movements.

Morale is an optional rule (since most people just want to see things go BOOM!), but integrates easily into the game.

There's lots of detail for each type of unit; the data cards are laid out very well, with everything necessary easily accessible and decipherable.

In practice, a game with a reinforced Soviet tank battalion fighting against the Germans in equal point values (point values are provided for every unit type, but not necessary if you want to use formations as the basis for your games)using just armor will take 60-90 minutes; add about 45 minutes if using air/art/inf as part of your force.

The entire game bundle costs about as much as a FoW hardback rulebook and 2-3 supplements. If you don't need all the TO&Es present in the different PaK books (which are excellent, with some concentrating on specific divisions for certain operations), you can purchase the cards from each PaK separately to save a few $$.

Overall, one of the best gaming dollar investments I've made in terms of number of game plays. Every game of Panzer Miniatures we've played has been thoroughly enjoyable (even when I'm getting my butt kicked).