"Battlegroup Panzer Grenadier Anyone Play????" Topic

G'day

I am a nap nut when it comes to wargaming...but i am also slowly starting to go back into WW2 Wargaming and i am looking for a good set of rules....Flames of War is alright but i don't like the idea that i have to buy a specific brand of figures just to play the game properly....i feel too pressured to buy those expensive blisters from Battlefront.

The rules that i use for my Nap Games is General De bRigade and i will never use any other rule set for the Napoleonic Period as it is the best on the market and the other players around the world give some great advice on the dedicated General De Brigade forum.
Anyway....i am not trying to sell General De brigade here but i am trying to find out if there are any players that play WW2 wargames using the Battlegroup Panzer Grenadier rule set.

If anyone uses these rules could they please give me a run down on these rules and how they play out....i have been interested in playing these rules and have not been able to find a copy or get any information on how they play....most WW2 Focus here is on Flames of war and i am guilty of that too....

What i am seeking is the generally the following information:

Figure Scale
Unit sizes
Unit orders
Can 20mm Figures be used for these rules.

Are GdeB and Battlegroup Panzer Grenadier simular or are they world apart in game play?

Cheers

AC

Never played gdeB but

The figure scale of BGPG is 1:1 - vehicle scale is 1:1-3

Unit size - the lowest level HQ is Company

Unit orders - very flexible - do what you like so long as you have the command points to sustain it

We played using 10mm but I doubt that scale is important - 6/15/20 or 28mm would all work, just adjust the ground scales to suit.

Regards

Phil.

You don't HAVE to use BF figures to play FOW. People all over the world are playing FOW with whatever figures they have in their collection, whether they be 20mm, 15mm, 12mm, 10mm, 6mm, 2mm or whatever scale suits them. Only in a BF sponsored tournament would anyone tell you that you HAVE to field BF miniatures (and in that case you're subject to whatever punishment the BF Police decide to dish out to you).

Allied
I have played a few games with the guys at my club ( including the author )
Obviously gaming with the author helps a newcomer to any game and although WW2 is not really something I have got in to in a big way the rules provide a fast enjoyable game.
Command is organised by activating units using command points that are diced for at the beginning of each turn

Players allocate activation points as they see fit and these can be used on calling for off board artillery or airstrikes if the game allows these.Units are activated in their entirety i.e. a point is used to activate a tank battalion not individual units within that battalion.
Proximity to a command stand is important very much like in G de B so that units can comply with their orders.
The guys at the club fall in to 2 groups- one group seems to have lots of 15mm ,mainly Peter Pig figures with a variety of tanks, artillery. The other group has 20mm AB figures a similar variety of armoured vehicles

As to unit sizes I cant really help you as they seem to be historically based and I am a complete ignoramus as to what the size and make-up ( in terms of mortar sections, LMG/HMG sections) a particular nations infantry had. The guys are , as you would expect very knowledgeable however and can tell the difference between panzer types purely on the shape of the cupolas from a hundred yards( thats a tank joke by the way)
Tank battalions seem to be made up historically with 4-7 individual model vehicles per battalion but this needs some research on your part and depends upon what bit and period of the war you are doing.
You need markers for being "Pinned" -where you take fire and cannot move that turn, low ammo markers and damaged markers.
Hope that helps

You are being a little unfair to Battlefront. Nowhere do they state that you "have" to buy their figures to use the rules, even if you want to play in tournaments - they don't have a problem with using other companies figures, although obviously they'd prefer to sell theirs :-) They aren't the Evil Empire. Individual tournament organisers might do but that is their problem - personally I'd advice anyone doing so to insert their tournament where the sun doesn't shine.

The BF blister packs provide platoons etc according to the actual TO & E of that nation - generally they are representative of the army represented, even if they don't cover, so don't write them off automatically if you do stick to 15mm.

There are plenty of other rulesets & scales out there so have a good look round. It all depends what you are looking for in a ruleset.

I've been looking for something which will work 1:1 armor 1:1 squad stand for large battles on the Eastern Front with 1/285 scale armor and infantry. I have the old Jagdpanzer rules. How do these rate? Will they work with 1/285 scale well?

I had a game of Battlegroup PanzerGrenadier yesterday and although they played ok, I do think that the "nazee superhero" have also found their way into these rules. For example, the Germans win ties, except in 1945! yes the Germans win initiative ties apart from the last 5 months of a 69 month conflict!

From our initial ~1200pt game yesterday it seems that everything the Soviets can do the Germans can do better for the same or less points. It seems that the only things cheaper for the Soviets is a basic infantry stand.

OK, some players don't like points based games and prefer to devise a scanrio, but for most of us, the ability to do a quick pickup game on a club night helps.

Oh, I forgot to add – if a quick reference sheet runs to six sides of A4 then it's probably not a quick reference sheet.

'I do think that the "nazee superhero" have also found their way into these rules'
Called 'Battlegroup Panzer Grenadier' I'm hardly suprised!

John

Don't know if you fancy trying these but they are homegrown and we used 'em for all size games prior to putting them up;

TMP link

Blitzkrieg Commander rules are excellent and very adaptable for all kinds of situations.

QRF, Peter Pig, Command Decision, etc all have ranges of WW2 in 15mm if you dont want to use Battlefront.

Battlegroup Panzer Grenadier is similar in many respects to the GdB series rules, but uses activations for units. It does favor certain nationalities, such as Germans, in the activation sequence, but not overly so, and it is historically justifiable and does not give unreasonable results. I have found them to be quite good, and well worth the investment. Be aware they are now out in a 2nd edition, which has some updates which I am not aware of.

Your best bet is to go to the GdB forum and ask questions there. They have a fairly active group.

Cheers,
gregoryk

There are 2 rules which effect the germans in BGPG when doing points.

They win initiative ties and their lmg's can do sustained fire.

In the new version, the japanese also win ties.