"Rapid Fire, some help required" Topic

Hi gang,

Recently heard about this rule.. while i'm aware that
it's not everybody's cup of tea, i'd like get some info
from those enjoying it.

It looks like it can be played as a large skirmish game,
allowing both plenty of tanks and infantry.
How many of those can you put on the table before it gets
too much for a 3-4 hours game?

What level of command does it use? I mean, do you move
and fire as a section with the same target for all the
section or does it allow splitting fire?

Apart from the rulebook, what other supplements would you
use for a start.

p.s: as usual, sorry for the possible broken English…

a very large skirmish game as 1 miniature represents 15 men and one tank represents 5 ..Brigade level is about right..if you want to see a game in actions look at
link

They do a free lite version if you want to try it out to see if you like it.

PDF link

They also have a nice website that might help answer some of your questions

rapid-fire.uk.com

and hopefully some more links next week as the boys at our club are doing a big 4 aside Italy game on Sunday

Thanks guys,

Nice pics Cardinal Hawkwood :)

Thanks for the links Prince Rupert i'm going
to check those.

As above, it isn't really a skirmish game. Infantry manouvre in companies of 6-8 figures and tanks in squadrons of approx 3 models. Units are battalions and really it is aimed at brigade ish sized actions.

All that being said I know some who do play the rules at skirmish level with each figure representing one and each vehicle equal to one.

As far as game size, with players familiar with the rules, you can field a fair size force. I run games at our conventions (Recon and, at the end of this month Hurricon) using Rapid Fire. All game blocks are 4 hours. I find that even with beginners you can finish a game in that time period. It is fairly easy to catch on to the rules and if you provide each player with a copy of the charts (available as PDF downloads on their website) and a sheet of vehicle data specific to the scenario you will find they will be running the game themselves in short order.

I do run some fairly large scenarios at conventions but then I have the luxury of two fellow GMs AND we run the games as a battle problem with all the players on one side.

I would suggest, especially when starting out, you limit the size of our game. If looking to run the game at a convention this is especially true. I find that, regardless of rules or era, one of the biggest mistakes new GMs make is overly ambitious scenarios!

I played in two games of Rapid Fire, enjoying both of them, it was only after the games that I realized it wasn't a 1:1 skirmish game, when I was told. Really though, other than fluff and the supposed unit organizations, it is. Just like every wargame it boils down to "this figure shoots at that figure" eveything else is conceptual.

Anyway, I enjoyed the games, but never got around to buying the rules, still reccomended if you like faster play and not too much nitty-gritty.

A while since I've looked at these rules and they do seem to contain a number of oversimplifications--until you remember the brain-straining horrors of other super-detailed WW2 rules.

Thank you for the additional comments all :)

I was thinking using the rules for skirmish games as i'm
still looking for simple skirmish rules allowing big
games and read that some of you found it was possible.

I also read that some found some things lacking for a
proper skirmish game, like cover and such, but i thought
i could leave without those.

I'm probably going to try the rules at the level they
were initially created too.
For this i'm planning to use 6 or 10mm figures and put 3
or 4 figs per infantry stands.

I'm correct to think that i'll be able to field 20-25
"units" (companies?) and still finish a 1vs1 game in 4
hours?

While simplified cover is very much in the rules. Its effects are taken into account by working them into the combat table meaning one less modifier to have to remember. For example, as Short Range, you have 3 different columns of combat results labelled hard cover, soft cover and open.

If both players know the rules you can do a 1 vs 1 of 20-25 units. In the rule book they walk you through an actual game (I do hope we are talking 2nd edition here by the way) of a short scenario with 8 German units (remember a unit may be as little as one figure or considerably more) versus a British force with 11 units. Gives you a good idea of size and pace.

And dont forget, there are two very good Yahoo groups for Rapid Fire which are very active as well as the official website. The rules are well supported and I have gotten very prompt responses from Richard Marsh whenever I have written him.

Thanks Marc, i'm talking about the 2nd edition indeed.
My membership for the 2 yahoo groups is on it's way.

Thanks again all.

Its kind of nuts, as you have rules for chucking grenades, but we're supposed to fight a brigade action. Its kind of like Command Decision in that regard.

It does however provide a quick and fun game

Take it as a skirmish game (it has very little Command and Control to make it into a higher level game) and it provides a good, simple easy to follow game with lots of kit on the table. However as a skirmish representation of WWII skirmish it lacks detail and feel … nice game if you want a huge skirmish … rubbish if you want squad v squad skirmish action!