"So what rules are these....?" Topic

I'm thinking each player is a company commander and controls platoons and heavy weapons. There would be several company commanders on each side (rules out skirmish, and high figure ratios like Rapid Fire), and tanks are a tank, or at best two (though really, how does that work?).

Has to be a multi-player game. Not too complicated as my aging mind can't play games longer than four hours anymore.

Thoughts on what rules fit this description?

IABSM?

Battlefront WW-II

Flames of War (of course)

Kampegruppe Normandy (KGN)and Panzermarsch work very well, in both a tank is a tank and are moved as such not by the handfull.

link

for some reports on KGN.

Tally Ho!

Ugh, no FoW. I'm looking for something… else. :-)

Anybody play Panzergrenadiers?

I thought IABSM were skirmish?

Another vote for Battlefront:WW2 from the Fire and Fury guys.

IABSM is not skirmish.

IABSM – Although it is usually played at 1 fig = 1 man it can easily be played as a stand = 1 squad (with 2 or 3 figs on the stand representing the squad).

Schwere Company – Written for Microarmor but can be scaled up easily, when the rules say 1" use 1.5 or 2 inches instead. In this game each stand is 3 to 4 figs to represent a squad (I use 3). Rules are somewhat complex but play quickly.

Battlefront WWII is what you want.

KGN for me… Wonderful game, fills an evening, is always exciting and fun and perfect for historical scenarios or points play.

Crossfire. Infantry focused, few, if any, tanks.

I agree, Battlefront would be a good choice.

Haven't heard of Panzergrenadiers, so would like to know more about that set.

Like the other Battlefront WWII great game

Battlefront: WWII for me too – fireandfury.com

Just to be clear, each model in BF: WWII represents 2-3 actual vehicles/guns and each infantry stand represents a section.

Battlegroup: Panzergrenadier by Dave Brown of General de Brigade fame is the only other game at that level that I'm aware of.

Command Decision, Spearhead, Blitzkrieg Commander, etc are all one step further up the food chain, where each model or infantry stand represents a platoon.

PBI2 from Peter Pig sounds like it might fit the bill.

link

@Dynaman216
ABSM is not skirmish.

IABSM – Although it is usually played at 1 fig = 1 man it can easily be played as a stand = 1 squad (with 2 or 3 figs on the stand representing the squad).

How is that even possible? How is 1 fig= 1 man not skirmish?

I can always plug Blood and Guts. commmandpostproductions.co

Dave

I like Crossfire, but I like tanks and lost of players. Doesn't work well.

Not crazy about Rapid Fire. It reads well, but doesn't play as well, and it is not the scale I am looking for, though I'm not sure it really matters with those rules.

Have BF, and do play it. Just looking to find out what else is out there.

I agree about IABSM – walks like a duck….

Just fishing… :-)

"How is that even possible? How is 1 fig= 1 man not skirmish?"

Simple the squad/section and weapons teams are the smallest independent units. Some players mount their squad members individually but you can just as easily mount all of them on a single base. You just need a method of marking casualties.

I guess it of course depends on how you define "Skirmish level". I think most people would define it as the smallest independent unit is a single figure.

jdg

Simple the squad/section and weapons teams are the smallest independent units. Some players mount their squad members individually but you can just as easily mount all of them on a single base

Do they fire by model or by base?

By section/squad or weapons team which could be one base or several

My only knock against BF is that there are no platoons in the infantry, only squads, and then the rules jump to the company level. So I was wondering if any rules at this level exist? In other words, platoons would be the lowest level of movement and morale, and each player would be a company commander.

One of the problems for gaming WWII is the force mismatch you need to historically create battles. In other words, about three attacking players taking on one defending player. That makes a game hard to manage.

Battlegroup panzergrenadier is the exact same scale as BF and has the platoon commanders. Adding the platoon commanders is the only addition you make

So I am re-reading Battlegroup Panzergrenadiers. I am a fan of Battlefront, have played them more than anything, other than my old home rules.

Just re-reading BG Panzer grenadiers. IIRC, the reason I put these rules aside is they seem written for two players, as the activation system seems geared toward that. It also seems you'll have a lot people standing around if you have multiple players. Is my understanding correct?

no, That doesnt seem to happen. All you have to remember is the order of the command rolls so that you know how many points are left and that you have a further roll. In fact, I cannot remember not playing multiplayer!

Do you have the 1st or 2nd edition? I believe the activation system was the major revision.

2nd addition. But does that mean each player has to take a turn waiting to activate?

I noticed the scenarios in the back, and they all seemed rather small to me – one or some company of infantry, a few tanks. That did not seem like it would work for four players a side.

they are introductory scenarios.

We do 2 or 3 a side normally. Each has his company

But does that mean each player has to take a turn waiting to activate?

Possibly but unlikely. If you play it so that company commanders are activating at the same time it actualy makes it fun and adds excitement as they clamour to get the pips to help them activate when they fail.

An umpire can help things move along relatively fast so that no one is idle for too long.

one or some company of infantry, a few tanks. That did not seem like it would work for four players a side.

As mentioned they are intro scenarios. Have a look at the Crossfire scenario booklet (Hit the Dirt?), they translate almost directly. Also, BGPG has it's own scenario book.

Finally have a look here link the Battle Front scenarios just needs platoon commanders to be added to translate directly. I did this one PDF link with 3 players a side over 2 evening sessions with novices at BGPG.

Several scenarios at the bottom of this page, some of which could suit multi palyer games

link