TANKS!

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

I have been seeing a few copies of this game around locally but haven't heard any buzz or seen anyone playing it so naturally I decided to buy it.

It looks like a WWII armored version of X-Wing.  The quality isn't too bad (although the laminate on some of the cards was peeling when I first opened the box but I was able to re-seal it with a clothes iron).  Each of the miniatures is actually packaged as a buildable model and you can select a wide variety of customization components (the Panther Ausf G even has an IR nightsight option).  More stuff to throw on the painting backlog!


Anyway, I got the base came for $23 CDN (comes with a Panther and two Shermans with 75 and 76mm variants), a Firefly, a T-34, a StuG IIIG, a Tiger I, and a Panzer IV for $10 each.

[Barthheart]

So what do you think?

People I talked to at Origins thought it very basic and super light. Tanks can move sideways, hit points, etc. The models always got good grades though.

[bayonetbrant]

supper light

salad and water...

[mirth]

What's the scale of the models? Might be worth it just for them.

[Bison]

1/100 scale.  I've seen the starter box and expansions at the FLGS.  The models look fine enough given the price point.

[mirth]

Not a great scale for other minis gaming.

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

So what do you think?

People I talked to at Origins thought it very basic and super light. Tanks can move sideways, hit points, etc. The models always got good grades though.

Haven't played it yet.  The rules are only 24 pages and much of that is taken up with examples, illustrations, and unit descriptions.  It really is X-Wing with tanks from what I can see.   

The scale of the models is 15mm (1:100), same as Flames of War.  The nice thing about the base game is that they provide unit cards for the following tanks:

US:  Sherman M4 (all variants with 75 and 76mm guns.  No 105mms), Pershing, Super Pershing.

UK:  Sherman V, Sherman Firefly, Comet, Cromwell

Germany:  Panzer IV, StuG IIIG, Panther, Jagdpanther

USSR:  T34, T34/85, IS-2, IS-85, SU-85, SU-100, SU-122, SU-152


So if you already have a mini in the right scale, you can use it in this game.  For $23, the base game seems to offer up some pretty good value.  3 models, rules, dice, terrain, unit cards, critical hit cards, upgrade cards, movement rulers, and tokens.


The movement does seem a bit silly.  The game comes with two movement rulers.  Each tank can move twice per turn (some can move three times).  To move, you simply put the base of the ruler against any edge of the tank and re-position the tank in a notch at the end of the ruler and then turn it to face in one of four directions in 90 degree increments.




This means forward movement






And reverse movement are the same speed.




Easy fix to this rule is to say that the movement arrow must always be aligned with the front of the tank rather than along any edge.



Looks like it'll be a simple, face paced little skirmish game where you can have fun pushing around your toy tanks and wrap up a game in 30-45 minutes or so.

[Bison]

It really is X-Wing with tanks from what I can see.   

This is the problem with the game.  I know a few guys who bought it to build and paint the minis former 19K/D types, but they don't play it.  Star Wars gets played at the store.

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

I put together a few of the models last night and today.  I found myself rather enjoying it even though it reminds me of why I'll never be a brain surgeon.  I managed to break the end off one of the Sherman 75mm barrels while trying to cut it out of the sprue.  I also managed to lose a coax MG bit for one of the Sherman hulls.  I was holding it with a pair of tweezers with the intention of gluing it in place.  Guess I was holding it a bit too tightly as it had rounded edges and with a SPROING, it flew off to who knows where ( I searched for it for a good 15 minutes.  Never heard it land.  I assume that with the glue I had on it, it's affixed itself to something somewhere in my kitchen.  I hope somebody finds a teeny, tiny little MG attached to the side of a dinner plate someday).

I wish they provided some more detailed instructions.  The ones that come with the game/kits do a good job of explaining how to build the core model but they don't really go into all the optional bits.  I was hoping to build a late model StuG only to find out that I'd selected the wrong upper hull at the start so I couldn't attach the correct MG mount and ended up going with the early metal plate mount instead.  Same with some of the US Shermans.  I just threw together two Frankentanks with random bits.  I have one with an extra armour plate welded to the front along with some hedgerow cutters and another with a bunch of spare track bolted to the front.

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

Tiger I is done.  Kind of surprising that this model has the fewest options available to it.  There are a few different models of turret hatches and some "clean" track skirts vs. bent and dented ones.  Other than that, your optional equipment consists of a bucket, a jerry can, and four spare track lengths.

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

A friend and I played our first ever game of Tanks today.  We used the map from the starting scenario and gave ourselves 100 points to build our forces.  I played as the Brits and went with a Sherman Firefly with high velocity ammo, two Sherman Vs, and a Cromwell.  He took the Germans and chose two Panzer IVs, a StuG III, and a Panther with Wittman in command.  The scenario takes place on a 3'x3' playing area with two copses of trees and 4 Norman farmhouses as the terrain.

If you're looking for a game that accurately models WWII tank combat, this game isn't it.  What it is is easy to learn, very fluid, doesn't take a lot of time, and most importantly, is a hell of a lot of fun

It's odd that British Shermans are much less robust than their US counterparts for some reason.  Oh well.  Guess it's for play balance.

Each of the 4 nationalities currently in the game gets their own special ability.   (US tanks at better at firing on the move; Soviet tanks get a bonus if they stick close together and move in a wave; German tanks can take an extra move at the end of the round in lieu of making repairs, and Brit tanks get a bonus to accuracy when firing while stationary). 

The British accuracy bonus to firing while stationary was teeth gnashingly frustrating as the Cromwell is a speed demon so you want to keep it moving in order to get around and get flank and rear shots off.  The Shermans can't take a lot of hits so it's a real gamble to stay still and trade shots with the Germans.  You're much harder to hit if you're moving at full speed but then your accuracy suffers and, as the Brit, you lose your bonus. 

Anyway, the Germans stuck their StuG and both Panzer IVs in a tight group and sent them into the woods for cover while their Panther brazenly charged off to one side.  I put one of my Sherman Vs into the woods and hid the Firefly behind a building so that only a bit of it was peaking out.  I sent the other Sherman V with the Cromwell to try to get around behind the Pz IVs and the StuG.

Wittmann gave the Panther an initiative bonus so it always got to fire first.  It zeroed in on the stationary Sherman V and landed some good hits on it, nearly taking it out on the first turn.  The Firefly fired back and managed to get a lucky critical on the Panther and set it on fire.  Nobody else managed to score a hit.

On the second turn, the Panther crew managed to extinguish the fire and knock out the Sherman but the Firefly tagged them again with another crit which stunned the crew.

The Pz IVs lightly damaged the other Sherman V and one took minor damage in return. 

Because the Panther's crew was stunned, the Firefly got to fire simultaneously and, thanks to its high velocity ammo and the Brit's special ability, landed a killing shot in exchange for having one of its tracked blown off.

The Pz IVs knocked out the other Sherman V but the Cromwell got behind them and heavily damaged one.  They were forced to alter their positions next turn in order to face the Cromwell and allow the StuG to turn around.  The Firefly moved up and had a nice shot at the rear of the remaining Jerries.  It finished off the heavily damaged Pz IV.  The Cromwell continued zipping around like a meth addict and got some shots into the side of the remaining Pz IV but took a few hits in return. 

Combined fire from the Firefly and Cromwell took out the last Pz IV but the Cromwell's engine took a crit from the StuG. 

Both sides had terrible rolls on the next turn and everyone whiffed on their shots but the Cromwell crew was able to repair the engine damage.

the StuG landed a light hit on the Cromwell but then decided to call it a day and bugger off the map as the Brit tanks were close enough that they could easily steer outside of the firing arc.

Whole game took about 45 minutes to play out and never felt like it was dragging or getting bogged down.  Lots of laughs, lots of cursing at the dice, lots of wondering what the devs were smoking with some of the rules.  Quite enjoyed it as did my friend who went and ordered his own copy.  Looking forward to giving it another go next week.

[Staggerwing]

How was the firefly able to move after losing a track? Is that something that can be repaired easily?

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

A lot of the crit cards say "repairable" on them.  During the command phase at the end of the turn, each tank can attempt to repair one crit.  Roll a 4+ on a d6 and its repaired (but damage points stay).

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

Played a couple more games of this tonight.  The first was a bit of a write off as my friend showed up drunk off his ass (he's Asian and maybe a 130lbs so that was probably 4 shots?).  Lots of cringing as he managed to drop pretty much every single component he touched on the ground.

Second game was retardedly fun.  I played against a guy who's really into Bolt Action (not a system I enjoy myself) and he wanted to give this a whirl.  He took the USA and fielded two Shermans with 76mm guns and a Pershing.  I had a Tiger I with elite crew and two Pz IVs.  Things went well for me initially as I had great luck with the dice and my Tiger was an absolute beast.  It ripped the Pershing up quite handily and did a fair bit of damage to one of the Shermans.  Luck changed though and the Yanks always seemed to crit me once per turn and I always drew the "lucky shot" crit which deals double damage.  My Tiger took out one of the Shermans and died right after.  I figured that mopping up the final Sherman shouldn't be a problem with my two remaining Pz IVs as the German's special ability lets them make an extra move at the end of the round so I should always be able to flank him.  His damned gyroscopic mount was my undoing though.  He just gunned the engine and plinked away at me and I couldn't manage to land a good hit.  In the end, he took out my last Pz IV while he had only 2 hull points left.

I'm really enjoying this game.  The rules are easy so getting new players involved is a breeze.  The company is doing a great job of putting out free supplemental scenarios, campaigns, terrain, and special units and the fact that the Flames of War stuff is interchangeable makes it quite easy and fairly cheap to build up a decent collection of tanks.  The fact that they throw in a good number of unit cards with the base set is a huge plus.  Three guys ordered copies of the base game and some extra minis after watching our game so hopefully we can set up a regular group here.

[bayonetbrant]

O0