"Men Under Fire by Frank Chadwick?" Topic

I need another set of rules like I need another hole in my head, but I am always interested in trying different rules.

Men Under Fire by Frank Chadwick

Anyone playing this?

How does it play?

How does it compare with CoC and other skirmish level rules?

Thanks in advance to everyone who replies!

I used to have it (it came as part of the 'book of Sandhurst wargames')
It's not really a conventional set of rules at all.
It's only for Pacific island battles.
Each player gets a card with a secret objective – which most of the time involves not firing your weapon or just trying not to get killed. Only a very few are actually fighters.
All players play the same (American) side, and the idea is to play it as a semi-role play thing with perhaps a dozen players a side and an umpire.
So it wouldn't work as a 1 on 1 set at all, and it's really not suitable for any sort of normal wargame

Most underwhelming! The production value is very sub-par compared to contemporary rule sets. I'd question how much Chadwick was actually involved with the production of these rules, as they seem more like a cheap money-grab than anything else (which I don't think Frank would be a part of actually).
HARSH impressions – yes, buy only if substantially discounted if you must.

@ Dexter Ward: The Sandhurst Wargames game of that name was by Paddy Griffiths.

I played the beta version of Chadwick's Men Under Fire some years ago, and enjoyed it. In those days 1 fig = 2, but we played it 1:1, which is how it came out in the final version which I have not played.

The rules play smoothly though at least in playtest, they covered more than the Pacific. We only played 44-45 Europe in the games I was in. As with most Chadwick products, the design mechanisms include a healthy does of command control that most skirmish rules do not bother with. A player can actually run a platoon easily. I like the rules, but that is just me.

I like them. I think they give a much better game than Bolt Action, for example. They are very tactical but not really skirmish and they definitively not for large numbers of vehicles on the board

I playtested an early version refed by Frank. It was a combined arms scenario of the Brits attacking a German position in a built-up area.

My only real memory is that it was a pretty conventional design regarding the game sequence and combat. I was shocked that infantry was not allowed some type of reaction when taken under fire.

I cannot comment on the final version.

Wolfhag

Like some others, I've played the original playtest version
I did quite like the MG lane of fire rule (not sure if that made it into the final version, but would be a shame if it didn't).

Cheers
David

The Chadwick *Men Under Fire* rules are good for small-unit actions where a player controls up to one company (they are not, and specifically state that they are not, skirmish rules).

I highly recommend them, having run several games at recent HMGS events, set in WWI East Africa so far. But at Cold Wars 2018 I will run a WW2 game, which is what they were originally designed for.

I played the beta version of Chadwick's Men Under Fire some years ago, and enjoyed it. In those days 1 fig = 2, but we played it 1:1, which is how it came out in the final version which I have not played.

Funny to read this, because in the WWI games that I run, I have 2 fig = 1, because my WWI figures are based two to a stand so I can use them for Command Decision. No one has noticed any significant problem with this. A stand is a stand is a stand.

Oh, by the way, the WW2 game will have 1 fig = 1.