"Arc of Fire rules - comments, reviews?" Topic

I'm thinking of picking up the Arc of Fire ruleset…

link

…anyone have any comments, concerns, feedback, etc.?

I've played: Battleground WWII (too detailed), Rapid Fire! (nice rules but a bit too abstract for scale), Crossfire (best set of Infantry Tactics rules yet, but a bit lacking for Armour)

I've looked at: Battlefront WWII (beautiful work, but way too detailed for what I'm looking for), Panzer Marche! (again, great production values, but a bit too labour-intensive for a quick night of gaming).

AoF seems to be aimed at "skirmish level" which is what I'm looking for – in 15mm or 28mm --make use of all those different figs I have! :) Does it hold up well on that basis? Does it have decent Armour coverage? I see from the comments on the website, a main focus is on Command and Control – a definite "plus" from my point of view.

I really like Crossfire for what it does, but it doesn't seem to translate well for larger (10 -20 figs a side) skirmish battles. If the Crossfire rules covered Armour a bit better, I'd never leave!

Thanks,
KH

Arc of Fire does it all well! I've played many of the smaller Skirmish Campaigns scenarios with the rules in both 15 and 28mm, and have always had a realistic, satisfying result to each battle. I have also played really big (a company or more per side) battles that have been fought to a reasonable conclusion in 4 hours or so, and that was when I was a newbie to the rules. Armor works just fine in the game, and almost all the different vehicles are covered, or can be easily adapted. I started with Battleground WWII, and although I still think it a decent game (albeit badly organized and edited), I am absolutely satisfied with the AoF rules, and I don't believe I will be exploring any other options in the future...

Jerry

I have the rules though I have not yet played them. The rulebook is a bit "wordy"(for lack of a better word). What I mean is that when you thumb through it, it looks like there are a lot of rules, but when you actually start to get into it and read the rules, you will find that they are pretty easy. It gives some examples and optional rules. The optional rules are in the same section as the main rule that it would work with. For example, there are optional rules for types of wounds, and they are in the section about -can you guess?- WOUNDS. All optional rules are marked as being optional.

This is great because it will allow you to make a more detailed game for smaller skirmishes, or back off on the optional rules, and you can easily do larger skirmishes.

Tanks are somewhat abstracted. They are divided by class/size, and armament. There are only a few sizes/guns which means that you don't have to look at individual tank charts too much. You don't get the high detail like you do with Battleground, but in the end the results are similar (at least that's what I've been told by people who have played the game)

I'll be getting together with a couple of other guys that have read the rules, and will be playing within the next month or so. Then I will know if the rules play as well as they sound.

Our group has used Arc of Fire to play two WWII scenarios in 25mm and a South Africa vs. Cuba/Angola scenario in 15mm. The rules work great, play fast, are fun, and you get a good result in a few hours. Yes, the armor system is abstracted, but for skirmish games it plays well. I could never understand why gamers want to go through dozens of charts and tables to see if a German 88mm round will go through a Sherman at 100 yards! In this system it assumes it will, which saves you hours of gaming time.
The rules include scenarios and vehicle stats from 1900 to the present day, with six very well done scenarios. The random events chart is great and the command and control system is simple and effective. It's like The Sword and Flame meets WWII. You can customize the number of movement cards that units get to better simulate elite forces. All in all, get rid of all of your other skirmish rules and use this set.

I have played AoF. I haven’t tried it yet for WWII, I use it for 28mm Vietnam Skirmish. It is a good set of rules. I made a couple tweaks to help simulate Vietnam a little better. The armor rules I haven’t used, but they seem decent. Yes it isn’t as detailed as Battleground, but that is why I have switched from using Battleground. The command and control system is okay, but I wouldn’t call it great. I wouldn’t say it is the main focus of the game, more that it is in the background, which isn’t a bad thing. I will be planning on using the rules for WWII here shortly and then I will give the vehicle rules a try. I would say it is one of the better skirmish games out there. Though I am a little excited about the new set of rules coming from Two Hour Wargames called Nutz.

Chris

AOF can be considered basically a reduction and playable set of EE's Battleground WWII.
The strength is it's good coverage of an entire century of modern warfare in one set - addendums available free for download to cover some Colonial, WWI and Vietnam issues - some of the Vietnam stuff is quite applicable for other eras.
The ability to use it in conjunction with the excellent SkirmishCampaigns book sets.
Simplicity. The rules are well written, concise and flow well; with only the minor spelling error (compare that to EEE!). The rulebook can be held in one hand (my Battleground stuff is in about the equivalent of five different heavy binders). The rules can handle few to many figures well. Does not require armor to have a good game.
Minor forces countries have also not been ignored in the vehicle tables. Players can use the results tables themselves to figure things out - only an initial explanation and example are necessary. Card Driven, some people hate this, I don't. GREAT Web support and answers to any questions -true of many recent WWII rules, I've noticed. (Congratulations to all the authors on this point).

For more intricacy (some people like this), with the caveat that this does not necessarily produce a better game or simulation, I use 'Face of Battle' though would like to see the spotting/firing modifiers in that set cleaned up a bit. I think the Command and Control issues are actually better in 'Face of Battle' though it comes at a cost in time and charts. Also in cash - Face of Battle, the Commonwealth supplement - VC, and the US supplement are around 70 odd USD's all up - AOF less than 20 covering an entire century.

I'm a rules junkie, so the 20 bucks was a great investment.

I have just got Arc of Fire. The throwing distance for grenades seems extremely short. Anyone changed this when using the rules?

We've extended the grenade range a little. Offhand I can't say how much, but we thought it was a little too short too.