"1985 WWIII rules?" Topic

Well after re-reading The Third World War: August 1985 for the umpteenth time I've got the itch to game some of it. What would be a good ruleset for this time period using 15mm figures?

cold war commander could work probably

It depends on what you want. I would take Force on Force and slug it out at the Platoon level

I would take Force on Force and slug it out at the Platoon level

You'll never reach my FROG launcher loaded with chemical warheads since it's on a tabletop four blocks over. :D

Ha!

My Lance, and/or Pershing missiles can easily hit that far away, and with superior satellite intel, BOOM, it's gone in a flash……

Cold War 1983 apparently works pretty well for platoon level and below. They're working on a 2nd, more expanded edition – no idea of a targeted release date.

Fistful of Tows. Platoon stands.

Modern Spearhead. Platoon stands.

If IABNM (or whatever the new name will be) is done soon I will recommend that as well. Squad stands.

Tankwreck for brigade sized games.

There are several options I'm kicking around with – theres some sterling work been done on a Flames of War adaption on the Stopping the Red Tide Blog:

link

Although I guess if the Battlefront 'Fate of a Nation' trajectory continues we may even get official FOW modern rules!

Also if you want some actual authenticity in the ruleset itself you could try the Canadian Army training version from the period; Contact! These are available from John Curry's History of Wargaming project. These rules are essentially a stripped down version of the WRG Modern set.

I am also trying to start a rumour that Piers Brand and co will produce a Cold War set in the Battle Group Kursk series – repeat it often enough and it might come true…

There is also a little known but very effective set called FEBA (Forward Edge of the Battle Area) written by ex Tanky Mick Bliss published by QRF, but I think its between versions ATT…

Yea, Contact! looks to be very good, as does the Threat rules. Both are free, so definitely worth checking out.

Might need a lot of vehicles for those though, depending upon how long you want your games to last, since both look like fairly quick-playing, lethal rules.

In 20mm we have been messing with the BattleGroup rules they work well for 1:1 games, specifically for the 86-88 period!

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Tally Ho!

I played Combined Arms with the West Point cadets decades ago. Great game. We knew we were in trouble when they were out in the hall looking up the rules for Fuel-Air explosives. Brings back fond memories.

I also have a copy of Close and Destroy somewhere. Current events show the wisdom of never throwing away anything.

Although The Third World War is a great book, I would suggest that Team Yankee or First Clash (if you like Canadians) are better suited for gaming purposes. Both books have maps that follow the battles described in the texts. You can start with a small scenario and work your way up to an entire campaign.

Enjoy your games. Good luck.

we kept in the trees. no road travel in daylight

In 20mm we have been messing with the BattleGroup rules they work well for 1:1 games, specifically for the 86-88 period!

And it looks p.d. good too!

Any chance of a copy of your stats and scenario please?
Especially any stats for BAOR and 3rd Shock Army…

Feel free to call me a lazy arse!

ralphh at uow dot edu dot au

Thanks mate!

Nice phot Marcus – was that you on stag?

playing around with Rapid fire modern at the moment, test playing at our club meet in March in Sunny Goulburn Australia.

cheers
Matt

15s might be a bit big for MSH, FfoT etc. You'd probably be OK with CWC.

Depends what sort of game you are after really, skirmish, tactical, operational?

The classic encounters are generally combat team vs bn, or battlegroup vs regt.

Sparks send email over!

Tally Ho!

Will do mate – email address?

I like larger scale actions, I had considered Modern Megablitz but at the moment am trying out a conversion of a board game Corps Command: Dawn's Early Light. Each unit is a battalion.it will need some additional tinkering but is, in my book anyway, enjoyable. I plan on giving it a run through tomorrow with forces I have at hand.

nickdives4@hotmail.com

Tally Ho!

Thanks for all the Cold War Battle Group stuff Nick – looks interesting!

I'm starting with Force on Force and looking to spread to Battlegroup once I've enough to do a company group :-)

Thre is MG

link

1 to i vehicals 1 stand = team. instructionsdetails provided.

Interesting discussion I've tried Combined Arms several times- though for a bit later- with local amendments and find they work well see
link
and other posts on my blog- notably"The Battle of Al- Kahol and Al- Kahol not taken… (sorry the jokes are awful but the games work well.
After all this time desert bashing I'm just starting up "green" forces in 15mm.
I pefer a higher command level than 1:1 so chose Combined Arms but am also looking at Cold War Commander- again with the accent on Hacketts book . Figures will be mostly my own- ie the Fireforce15mm range from OGUK for the Brits with Russians to come when I get that far. Vehicles again OG with a few QRF for the bits I don't make yet .