"Fast-play 1 stand = 1 Platoon/Brigade level WW2 rules?" Topic

On a whim I bought Andrew Rolph's "Barbarossa: Kicking in the Door" campaign, mainly for some ideas as I have a future project idea to do early war Eastern Front, and also because I think it might be fun to pitch to my gaming group in the future.

The campaign suggests any rules where one stand = one platoon, with each player commanding what looks like a regiment/division (with support), and makes some suggestions but I know for a fact if I were to present this to my local group complicated sets of rules would immediately turn them off.

What sets of rules out there exist, and are in print/supported (I don't want to scour ebay or hunt for something long OOP) for this level of game that are fairly straightforward and not bogged down by a lot of charts or cross-referencing things?

I'd likely be looking at 15mm figures or possibly 20mm (undecided atm as I can think of good reasons for both).

Thanks,

Wayne

I'd Suggest Rapid Fire Reloaded.

Same same on Rapid Fire Reloaded. Basic unit is a battalion made up of 3-4 companies and each company around 10 figures mounted 1-2 to a stand.

Fast play rules.

Third agreement on Rapid Fire Reloaded and if you wanted
further detail the older Rapid Fire second edition. Reloaded
seems to be quicker and is simpler, also faster.

Is reloaded the current/up-to-date version of that? It seemed pretty small (that's good), like 15 pages maybe?

- Wayne

I agree on Rapid Fire. It's what we use with my FoW based minis…

Dave

Dave,

Does it work well with 15mm? I read it's "designed" for 20mm but can't find anything that really requires that, so 15mm is tempting.

-Wayne

RFR is small because it hasn't got rules for many common situations. There are additional resources on the Internet and scenario/theatre booklets which may help fill the gaps but it definitely seemed incomplete compared to its predecessor.

Wayniac,

We didn't adjust ranges. Just roll with them as is…

Panzer Blitz with minis.

Blitzkrieg Commander

Wayniac,

Here is a BatRep on my blog:

link

Dave

I'm a big fan of Fistful of TOWs for this. I do it in 6mm but it works perfectly well in 15mm.

This video provides a list of rules where each stand/element is a platoon. I would suggest rapid fire or spearhead, but it really depends what you wish to achieve. Using 15mm or 20mm figures means you will need a huge playing area, or need to keep element count down a lot. I would suspect a Brigade/Regiment is the maximum size you should be fielding. If you want to field a Division you need to move to a one element equals one company, Panzer Korps is a good suggestion and is 15mm focused. youtu.be/wCqX9HK7AkQ

I wrote the original campaign system (Race to Leningrad) and Andrew has expanded on the concept with his Barbarossa campaign. Originally it was designed to generate battles involving 2 to 4 battalions using Spearhead in 6mm. Generally the battles would take one to two hours to resolve.

Yes, the formations are divisions, the players only commit a few battalions to each engagement, the rest need to be kept in reserve to recover, as losses from both combat and attrition are high.

So, Spearhead would obviously work, and yes, I guess Rapid Fire. I'd go with the old RF system of 2 figs to one platoon, or the maths for the randomised Russian battalion strengths is going to get complicated.

Other obvious candidates are Blitzkrieg Commander or Fistful of Tows.

You don't have to use platoon stands of course, Andrew provides some simple 1 base = 1 company rules, and I've found fir a quick evening game, that level of representation works fine.

Is spearhead even still in print? I tried looking but couldn't find anything "current"

All good suggestions above.

For me Rapid Fire for a relaxed game to be played in a couple of hours and the rules are inexpensive.

Fistfull of Tows for more detail, especially around artillery strikes. The cost of the rules are much higher but the extensive organization references make it a solid investment.

Have been running Rapid Fire, now Rapid Fire Reloaded for years at Hurricon and Recon in 15mm with no changes needed. There is now a supplement out, Rapid Fire Reloaded Extra with rules for things like paratroops, ground attack aircraft, amphibious operations and more.

One reason the rules are so slim is all the equipment lists/stats are online at their website and free to download. This means you have the latest equipment stats (on occasion they change) as well as any new weapons added. You will also find a number of scenarios there ready to go.

Is spearhead even still in print? I tried looking but couldn't find anything "current"

Caliver Books has it in stock. The URL is link

If you want something free try LWRS: groups.io/g/LWRS
Its about as quick play as you can get. I have reformatted the rules and added game aids: groups.io/g/Bewegungskrieg

Finally, while not simple or quick play you could also look at Corps Commander: groups.io/g/Corps-Commander Its the correct scale, but rather complex.

Played Drive on Smolensk using Kampfgruppe Commander.