Achtung Minen | 14 Jul 2021 6:37 a.m. PST |
Well we often debate about historical periods on this site, but this question is about a particular period of historical period rules. What were the best WW2 rules published during the 1990's? |
Big Red | 14 Jul 2021 6:53 a.m. PST |
CrossFire and Spearhead come to mind. |
DisasterWargamer | 14 Jul 2021 7:41 a.m. PST |
Agree on both Crossfire and Spearhead |
williamb | 14 Jul 2021 7:46 a.m. PST |
In addition to the ones Big Red mentioned, these are some of the other rules published in the 1990"s: Wargame Rules 1925-1975 Infantry Action by WRG Battleground WWII Battlegroup Rapid Fire Great Battles of WWII |
evbates | 14 Jul 2021 8:02 a.m. PST |
Battleground still my go to rules for WWII. |
SBminisguy | 14 Jul 2021 8:33 a.m. PST |
Battleground WWII for skirmish Rapid fire for battalion level games Panzer Corps for Operational games |
monk2002uk | 14 Jul 2021 10:29 a.m. PST |
Another vote for Crossfire and Spearhead. Robert |
45thdiv | 14 Jul 2021 11:52 a.m. PST |
Battleground ww2 for me as well. |
pfmodel | 14 Jul 2021 2:23 p.m. PST |
If the criteria are, which set of rules published in the 1990's are still commonly being played today, then, Battleground, Spearhead and Rapid Fire fits that category. Mein Panzer is a bit of an outliner as it just gets into the 1990's, but is considered a modern set of rules. It also gets confusing when different versions are published as well, but I think all these four sets of rules are still in their original version. This is of course not a complete list, i am uncertain when crossfire was published, but it is still being played today so could be another candidate. |
Wargamer Blue | 14 Jul 2021 4:11 p.m. PST |
Crossfire and Battlefront WWII |
John Leahy | 14 Jul 2021 4:32 p.m. PST |
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Captain Pete | 14 Jul 2021 4:34 p.m. PST |
Mein Panzer was first published in the late 1990s. Micro Armor the Game also came out in the 1990s as well. |
Dukewilliam | 14 Jul 2021 8:07 p.m. PST |
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Dan Cyr | 14 Jul 2021 8:12 p.m. PST |
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Decebalus | 15 Jul 2021 1:36 a.m. PST |
Crossfire and Spearhead. And IMO still the best. |
All Sir Garnett | 15 Jul 2021 2:32 a.m. PST |
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deephorse | 15 Jul 2021 6:43 a.m. PST |
Rapid Fire, and it's slightly lacking cousin "Reloaded". |
MajorB | 15 Jul 2021 12:03 p.m. PST |
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nnascati | 15 Jul 2021 5:52 p.m. PST |
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Blutarski | 15 Jul 2021 7:41 p.m. PST |
Played a lot of Barker's 1925-1950-1975 rules back in the day. At that time, I had in my basement the luxury of a 6'8" x 15' game table (five x hollow core doors – they really work well) upon which I had duplicated (@ 1mm = 1yd) a 2,000 yd x 4,500 yd area of "real world" terrain from an old 1:50,000 scale AEF topo map from the 1918 Meuse Argonne offensive – topographically cut layers of 1/2-inch Styrofoam sheet + vast tracts of woods (twigs dipped in glue and flocked) + roads, trails, towns, rivers, streams, etc. I don't think we ever played more than a battalion on a side, so everyone had open flanks and plenty of maneuver room. We had many very interesting games and obtained great results with Barker's rules – > A company of US infantry reinforced by a platoon of tanks, trying to cross a bridge over a steep-banked stream (impassable to vehicles) into a French town on the opposite bank, completely frustrated by one defiladed 75mm AT gun, an infantry squad, a couple of snipers and an HMG overlooking the bridge and far enough away that it could not be spotted when firing (>500yds IIRC). The American player's downfall was not buying any indirect fire support or smoke. The German AT gun was hidden behind some buildings about 100 yds from the bridge and could not be seen from the opposite bank. The gun did not cover the bridge per se, but the road which required the tank to turn away from the AT gun's position after it had crossed over. Since the bridge required a tank to use slow movement mode to cross and the range was < 100 yds and the gun was shooting into tank's rear and no one could spot the gun's position from the other side of the stream, it was a foregone conclusion that no tank was likely to get across. After the first tank got shot up by an invisible enemy, the other tanks backed off to provide covering fire from the friendly side the stream while the infantry fored the stream and clambered up the opposite bank (my opponent never thought to send any infantry across the bridge to clear the opposite area). I let the infantry get into the town proper – we're talking good-sized real-world village/town with several side streets parallel to the stream that could not be observed by anyone on the opposite bank. That is where my infantry squad and snipers ambushed the American infantry platoon and drove them back into the stream. One of those rare moments when a plan works to perfection. > A battalion of US infantry, supported by a battalion of 4.2-in mortars was slaughtered in an attack across a field to seize a long hedged-lined road. The American player (me) plastered the hedge line with prep fire, moved up and took the hedge-line only to discover that the Germans had dug in 50 yards behind the hedges. As soon as we passed through the hedge, they slaughtered my men with auto-weapons fire and mortars from point blank range. I had no support because the view of my support observers was blocked by the hedges, my men were in the open and too close to the dug in Germans. I got stomped. Suppression fire + neutralization + command and control limits + consequential morale effects made these rules a thinking man's game and a pleasure to play. But good realistic terrain was a requirement. The only house rule mods I remember using were - > dug-in AT guns did not pay a ranging penalty on the first shot at a new target > German 88mm flak crews had range-finder men as part of the gun crew. OK. Time to conclude my walk down memory lane. B |
Wolfhag | 15 Jul 2021 10:05 p.m. PST |
OK. Time to conclude my walk down memory lane. No, don't stop now. Wolfhag |
Dexter Ward | 16 Jul 2021 6:19 a.m. PST |
Battlefront:WW2. Still my go to rules for company to battalion level combined arms Crossfire. Brilliant for infantry combat |
mildbill | 16 Jul 2021 3:19 p.m. PST |
kiss rommel. Still played around here. |
thomalley | 20 Jul 2021 12:40 p.m. PST |
The Clash of Armor which became Kampfgruppe Command. |
historygamer | 24 Jul 2021 8:36 p.m. PST |
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No longer interested | 26 Jul 2021 6:55 a.m. PST |
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Ivan The Not So Terrible | 14 Oct 2021 11:24 a.m. PST |
Grey Storm, Red Steel by Barrie Lovell. Focused on the Eastern Front, lots of great historical info. Perhaps too detailed for today's gamer who wants to play a game to completion in 23 minutes. |
Cpl Uhl | 05 Jan 2022 3:52 p.m. PST |
Battleground WW2 Rapid Fire |