"Company-level Rules?" Topic

I'm sure this has been asked multiple times but my search ability failed me.

I'm looking for a ruleset where the player controls a company or two, preferably where the maneuver element (e.g. base) is a section or heavy weapons detachment.

I normally play Five Core Company Commander and I enjoy them but I'd like to try something that has some more depth for some armor and variation in troop quality.

I'm sure this has been asked multiple times but my search ability failed me.

I'm looking for a ruleset where the player controls a company or two, preferably where the maneuver element (e.g. base) is a section or heavy weapons detachment.

I normally play Five Core Company Commander and I enjoy them but I'd like to try something that has some more depth for some armor and variation in troop quality.

Is this not "Flames of War?"

Robert, I should have stated that I would prefer something other than FoW. I played about half a dozen games and it wasn't to my liking. The rules were simple but there were lots of them.

Try Rapid Fire. They claim to be Brigade level, but really they are what you make them….

We've not played the 'Reloaded' incarnation, but we enjoy the originals.

Dave

Battlefront: WWII from Fire and Fury
link

Crossfire. The rules are very simple indeed but the interactions between units aren't and leadership and troop quality are vital. If you can't face housecruling the CF armour rules (which are essentially a bolt on), the Fireball Forward, which a sort of mush mash of Crossfire and Squad Leader. FF has a lot more detail for armour combat.

I ain't been shot mum, Too Fat Lardies.

A second vote for I Ain't Been Shot Mum.

Loads of info and AAR at vislardica.com

This video lists all the element equals vehicle/squad sets of rules i am aware of.
youtu.be/kIrjinHQDUE
Some are rather old, but WAR GAME RULES 1925-1950, BATTLEGROUP and MICRO SQUAD – THE GAME, WWII are free. IN my opinion Mein Panzer may be the most suitable, more detailed than FoW, but not as complex as many other rules. ‘O' Group is another good choice.

Firstly I would recommend your game partners make this decision with you. Then you can share the load of learning a new set of rules and organising your forces?

Do consider PBI.
New edition every ten years, so this book will last.

The new version of PBI is due out at the start of 2025.. With a bunch of accompanying videos.
It does use a grid which many gamers find an anathema. It will catch on though.

You can get agood idea of how it works from
peterpig.co.uk/infopbi.html

This is the to be replaced 10 year old edition.
Other rule sets might have a similar list of game mechanisms?
This makes comparison easier.

Whatever you choose make sure your company commander has received your full painting skill and care.

God loves the PBI.

martin

Take a look at Hail of Fire. Here's the link to it on Wargames Vault:

link

Fireball Forward is ~ company level with heavy weapons stands and some vehicles/tanks. Troop quality appears to be less dramatic though combatants with more leaders and better morale stats can be crucial. A fair number of scenarios and the main rule book are available at Wargame Vault:

link

Third vote for IABSM. Lots of support online and can be used with various scaled minis.

Arc of Fire and Force on Force are my favorites.

I'm at the tail end of building and publishing a set of rules in this territory. It's called Storm the Front. I've got a page set up on Facebook and if your interested in a beta version and a little play testing effort then DM me there.

Mein Panzer is a good possible choice for the level of gaming that you are looking for Prince Albert's Revenge.

Each player can comfortably control a Company or two for a good game. Each vehicle stand is one vehicle and a gun stand represents a gun and its crew while an infantry stand represents either a squad or team.

Here are a couple pictures from a game we played here in Arizona just last Saturday.

Definitely NOT IABSM… that game would drag to a full stop under multiple companies per side. The actual game you are looking for is Battlefront WW2, as others have mentioned, which is a game where each side controls no more or less than a battalion and the companies are your maneuver formation and squads are the individual stand/element in those formations.

Thanks for all of the recommendations. I ended up picking up Hail of Fire but I will probably kick the tires on a few others. I've owned Flames of War, IABSM as well as Battlefront (even played a few games) and I think they may be a bit more rules than I am looking for in my games at this stage.

Crossfire is company level and easily handles a couple of companies per side. Rules are elegant in their simplicity but do an excellent job of representing this level of combat. They are very innovative and introduce fog of war in a very effective way. At best an infantry game and one suited to dense terrain (think urban or bocage).

I'll give a second to Pete's suggestion about Mein Panzer.

I think there are two factors that contribute to making this game fit the OP target -- first is the question of how many stands (vehicles, units, whatever) an individual gamer can control for a game with a reasonable pace. With Mein Panzer that comes to about 20-25 stands for most players, and perhaps as many as 30 stands for someone who is very familiar with the rules. Second is the unit scale, which is that each stand represents (typically) one vehicle, or one squad of infantry (squad here meaning the US Army model of a squad, which might be referred to as a section or some other term in other armies), with occasional stands of half-squad (or fireteam) size.

Given a typical platoon of 3 squads with a command team, or 4 or 5 tanks, that means a typical company will be 18-22 stands. Add one platoon or battery of another 3-5 stands for some re-enforcing elements, and you have a game that plays well when each player gets a company+ sized force.

I'd like to try something that has some more depth for some armor and variation in troop quality.

Other aspects that I like very much in these rules, vs. several other sets I have played at this unit scale, include:

-They are relatively quick play in approach. This is necessary to get a reasonable game flow when players are controlling 20-25 stands.

-The starting point for almost any die role is the troop quality (TQ) rating of the unit in question. These rules are very good at answering the question of how German Pz IIIj's can out-fight T-34s and even KV-1s, without artificially lowering the armor and gunpower of the Soviet tanks.

-They are exceptionally well balanced in the game play for different unit types. Infantry, supporting guns, etc. all play as fast as tanks. I like to game combined arms warfare, with tanks, recon units, infantry, supporting direct fire weapons (AT guns, HMGs, etc.), artillery (both on-board and off-board), and even occasional airstrikes. I have played too many rules where one arm is notably slower to play than another, encouraging gamers to pick only one unit type, leading to games that are too mono-dimensional for my tastes. You'll never understand how the US or British armies were so successful in 1944 if you only match Shermans vs. Panthers and Tigers, or how German Pz Is, Italian L3s or Russian T-60s could be very useful facing an opposing army that has a large proportion of foot-bound infantry, but quickly come to grief vs. a few medium tanks, if you don't have a mix of units on the table.

-They scale up very gracefully in terms of the number of players at the table (and thus to total size of forces in the game). Mein Panzer has a particular turn structure that is both fast play and keeps all players active, so that you can have 2, 3, or 4 players per side and get full battalion+ sized forces on the table without anyone wandering off to grow a beard or write a novel while they wait for their turn to come.

So to my experience, at least, they fit the bill for a company per player.

-Mark
(aka: Mk 1)