"Looking for Rules Suggestions" Topic

I need a set of rules and here are my rules about those rules:

1. each stand would be a fireteam or squad (prefer the former)
2. Weapons do not all function the same (sorry, but a Garand is more effective than a bolt action)
3. Has Korean War ratings/unit organizations
4. Has vehicle ratings
5. Has close air support considerations
6. Has enough detail to give a decent feel/simulation, but can be taught at conventions
7. American players would run platoons
8. Bases would have 2-3 figures on them

I have the Mein Panzer Korean War supplement (but not the core rules) and they *might* do the trick, but am I certainly open to other suggestions. I also have the Nuts! Fire in Korea, but it is man to man scale, which is too small.

Suggestions?

GDW Striker

1 fireteam stands
2 weapon differentiation
3 Korean War tech is available/almost any unit org is possible
4 rules for vehicles
5 rules for air support
6 lots of detail in command and control
7 platoons are easy – collection of fire teams plus leaders
8 2-3 figure stands are fine – 4 fig is standard

Maybe look into that "Fistful of TOWs" game?

Platoon level with close air support might be a tough sell since low level games tend to omit it.

You could try Phil Barker's experimental Modern Rules.

They are free!

link

They don't have Korean lists but.

JohnG

Take a look at Fist Full of TOWs. I think it meets most of your criteria from what I remember. The current version allows for either individual vehicles or platoons, IIRC.

Cold War Commander meets most your criteria. They call the bases platoons but they could just as easily be squads.

Flames of War would be easy enough vBulletin to build lists for…

Too me the shopping list is too big for a UK convention game. That list looks too much to pick up in 5 minutes. Remember some players will not even understand a platoon. One ardent wargamer with stunning troops and vehicals can up short as soon as we mentioned command structure. He was used to "tanks" with no command stucture.

Convention game (I have done a few but am no great expert) should be KISS (Keep It Simple and Stupid). The ones that were sucessfull were all very very simple. The complex ones failed horribly.

Buckeye, Mein Panzer would deliver based upon your requirements but it is still more of a battalion-level game. You should look at Micro Melee (MM) if you want a playable and detailed company-level game. You can read about it here:

link

MM requires some prep work on the part of the GM but has proven to be a very rewarding gaming experience for gamers at conventions. I've run several MM games at the most recent Cold Wars and Fall In cons. Each player controls a platoon comprising 4-6 stands representing HQ, Squad/Sections, and attached support teams. The biggest challenge for new gamers is the mechanics, but by the end of the first turn the players get it and really get into the tactical problem presented. And the players are active on each action chit drawn (anywhere from 4-6 chits per turn) and are not sitting idle for 30 minutes waiting for their turn to act to come along.

Echoing saltflats1929, I'd give Cold War Commander a go. A colleague and I have run demo/participation games at shows here in the UK with reasonable take up by punters.

Sabresquadron has 3-5 men per base, treats a Garand differently to a bolt action and the tactical unit is the platoon. It's also easy to pick up. We haven't looked at the Korean War yet but could knock together some TO&Es and vehicle data (already have the T34/85 and M3 on the datasheet). The full beta rules have close air support and other rules that would be apt for Korea.
The website is:
sabresquadron.com/index.html

Iron Ivan Games' Disposable Heroes rules would work well. They can be picked up quickly enough for participation play at a show/convention. They have all the options you list. E.g Garands allow you to move and fire better than a bolt action rifle.

A figure represents a soldier. A model is a gun/vehicle.
They are WW2 in the main rules, but there is a supplement for post-WW2 – SOCWAD (seek out, close with and destroy).

Also, TooFatLardies have their Chain of Command rules. I have not used them, but they have a large following, and I will be getting them shortly.

I think that Fireball Forward might be what you want. It seems pretty well liked around here and is available as a pec from Wargames Vault.

Although I love FF it misses the first three points.

1 – Squad based rather than team (granted, squads are acceptable)
2 – No differentiation between garand and bolt action rifles.
3 – No Korean war unit lists. (if I remember correctly it has no WWII unit lists either, it is a scenario driven game)

Flames of War ticks every box except the organization charts. With their April '45 emphasis in new equipment, though, you can stat most everything in play.

A LOT to ponder! I have a copy of Frontlines: Korea and Micro Melee on the way. Another chap suggested that I simply change what a stand represents and use Command Decision, which also could work.

Am interested in seeing more about Sabresquadron as well. Heck, really wanting to see more on all the suggestions…and Striker, WOW, didn't even come close to thinking about that. Pretty complex rules (at least when playing Fifth Frontier War tech level games).

Appreciate the input, folks!

Designing tanks in Striker is a tad time consuming. I would go with Fistful of Tows-all TOE's for the fifties are there plus the Pentomic organisations.

I'd honestly 'borrow' the Late-late war American and Soviet lists from Flames of War.

If you're really feeling brave, I've seen some games of Air Cav versus 1945 Soviets and it was pretty balanced!

pretty simple mechanics that I can teach someone in about 30 seconds, Garands are rated differently than bolt-actions, and one base is 3-5 men.

Though I'd want to go all the way back to v1's Air support rules where you had the chance of your air strike hitting your guys instead of the enemy.

The old WRG modern rules would work fine. We got 10 year olds playing in 5 minutes when we used it at my old school club in the 80s

Battlefront WW2 meets your criteria – and there are Korean War stats on the fireandfury website.

Mein Panzer ticks your boxes, and as you note is already stat-ed for Korea.