Been a gamer and a hobbyist since I was a wee lad. Can't remember a time in my life when it hasn't been present one way or another.
My World War 2 Rules Wish List
Posted by Jeff Hiatt on Saturday, November 14, 2009
I am at the point where a lot of miniatures gamers get to where you are looking at what is out there rules wise and there is nothing that is quite perfect for you.
So here are some of the things that I find important in WW2 Rules.
As I have mentioned in previous entries there are other games that we have played that have hit on some of these but not all. I am still looking for that perfect system that will give me all of the things that I am looking for. Here is a run down of what I have played or looked at and what my thoughts on them are and how I grade them:
AEWW2: Good System but rather limited in the size of the games. The basic mechanics are fine but in larger games it tends to get bogged down. The largest games that you can play before this happens are platoon on platoon. Also this system suffers from the lack of a point system. I have found the detachment creation system to be a neat idea but it is easy to come up with power combos in the detachments that while perfectly legal to create, are not fun to play against.
The other this where AEWW2 Significantly breaks down is with vehicles. Vehicles tend to lord over everything else of the field. This is the biggest reason why AEWW2 is not what I am looking for in this application.
To end my summary of AEWW2 on a positive note. The morale mechanic is very well done. I think that this is on of the great strengths of the game.
Overall Grade: C
No Limits: Another system that I am fond of Like AEWW2 The core mechanic are pretty good but there is a lack of published information on WW2 Stuff however with a little work this can be rectified.
Overall Grade: C
Battlefield Evolution World at War: I have yet to play this. But I have had the rules since they were released. I does have an IgoUgo turn mechanic which I really do not care for however it has a very robust reaction mechanic that it uses to compensate for this. On the surface this seems the be the right system for what I am looking for. However it is the turn sequence that I do not like and keeps me from getting fully in to this game.
The other thing that I am particularly fond of with this system is that this system has an OGL (Open Game License) with it so it is not tied to when the publisher feels like adding onto it.
Overall Grade: C+
Secrets of the Third Reich: I cannot in good faith Grade this system according to what I am looking for. There are a couple of things that have kept me away from this. The first being that the emphasis of this game seems to be 1949 weird war and there seems to be very little in the way of tackling regular war stuff (for lack of a better word). And the other reason is that friends of mine that have looked into this system a bit more than I have find the system lacking in clarity in how the game is played.
So while I will use plenty of their figures for my games at this time I have to give the rules themselves a pass.
Gear Krieg: I don’t plan on grading these rules at this time. I used to play this game quite frequently when they first came out but I found that they were clunky and did not translate well into the types of combined arms games that I want to play.
Flames of War: This game has two strike against it in regards to what I am looking for. First being that it is designed for multiple infantry figures on the base. This does not fit in with what I have been doing. Secondly it utilizes the IgoUgo Turn Mechanic.
Crossfire: This is a great system for what it is supposed to do (simulate infantry actions). But Like FOW it utilizes the multiple figures on base and is not geared toward combined arms. That being said I do have a Crossfire army and it is something that I play. But for my 28's it doesn't work.
Warhammer Panzer Battles: This game has all of the drawbacks of 40k which has driven me from the game. IgoUgo Turn mechanic, broken close combat, no overwatch, etc.
Battleground WW2 this is a game that has some potential. There are quite a few people that are playing it. However there are a few things that give me pause with this system. It seems too detailed for the level of game that I want to play. The company is out of business and what there is out there is all that there is going to be. There are a few Weird War Sites for this game out there. That and the fact that there is an active player base locally prevents me from writing this off out of hand.
So here are some of the things that I find important in WW2 Rules.
- Size: What I am looking for is something where I can throw out a company or so per side with tanks, vehicles and guns and play a game in a reasonable amount of time. I am looking to do this with 28mm figures.
- Turn Sequence: I am looking for an alternating turn sequence. It could be based on initiative, die role, modified die role, card draw or what ever. I cannot stress how important this part is to me. There are many games I will not touch because they use the "I Go You Go" mechanic.
- Over Watch: There has to be an over watch mechanic. I find this especially important with machine guns and how they were set up to fire on anything that would come in their line of fire.
- Late War Lists: Yes I like the late war stuff. So what if I am a band wagon jumper. Also, it is what I happen to have figure wise.
- Weird War: I like to be able to use my Weird War Stuff (Walkers, Tesla Weapons, Occult, etc.)
- Point System: I like having a point system. Realizing that battles are seldom balanced, I would like to know what the differences are in the quality of forces and what sort of margins victories and defeats come at.
- Ease of Creating New Units: Lets face it no rules writer is going to have army lists that encompass everything. I want something that will make it easy to create new units to compensate for that.
As I have mentioned in previous entries there are other games that we have played that have hit on some of these but not all. I am still looking for that perfect system that will give me all of the things that I am looking for. Here is a run down of what I have played or looked at and what my thoughts on them are and how I grade them:
AEWW2: Good System but rather limited in the size of the games. The basic mechanics are fine but in larger games it tends to get bogged down. The largest games that you can play before this happens are platoon on platoon. Also this system suffers from the lack of a point system. I have found the detachment creation system to be a neat idea but it is easy to come up with power combos in the detachments that while perfectly legal to create, are not fun to play against.
The other this where AEWW2 Significantly breaks down is with vehicles. Vehicles tend to lord over everything else of the field. This is the biggest reason why AEWW2 is not what I am looking for in this application.
To end my summary of AEWW2 on a positive note. The morale mechanic is very well done. I think that this is on of the great strengths of the game.
- Size: C+
- Turn Sequence: A-
- OverWatch: C
- Late War Lists: B
- Weird War: A-
- Point System: F
- Ease of Creating New Units: C-
Overall Grade: C
No Limits: Another system that I am fond of Like AEWW2 The core mechanic are pretty good but there is a lack of published information on WW2 Stuff however with a little work this can be rectified.
- Size: B
- Turn Sequence: A-
- OverWatch: B
- Late War Lists: F
- Weird War: B-
- Point System: B+
- Ease of Creating New Units: A
Overall Grade: C
Battlefield Evolution World at War: I have yet to play this. But I have had the rules since they were released. I does have an IgoUgo turn mechanic which I really do not care for however it has a very robust reaction mechanic that it uses to compensate for this. On the surface this seems the be the right system for what I am looking for. However it is the turn sequence that I do not like and keeps me from getting fully in to this game.
The other thing that I am particularly fond of with this system is that this system has an OGL (Open Game License) with it so it is not tied to when the publisher feels like adding onto it.
- Size: A
- Turn Sequence: F
- OverWatch: A
- Late War Lists: B+
- Weird War: A- (With the addition of the Gear Krieg Expansion)
- Point System: B+
- Ease of Creating New Units: D
Overall Grade: C+
Secrets of the Third Reich: I cannot in good faith Grade this system according to what I am looking for. There are a couple of things that have kept me away from this. The first being that the emphasis of this game seems to be 1949 weird war and there seems to be very little in the way of tackling regular war stuff (for lack of a better word). And the other reason is that friends of mine that have looked into this system a bit more than I have find the system lacking in clarity in how the game is played.
So while I will use plenty of their figures for my games at this time I have to give the rules themselves a pass.
Gear Krieg: I don’t plan on grading these rules at this time. I used to play this game quite frequently when they first came out but I found that they were clunky and did not translate well into the types of combined arms games that I want to play.
Flames of War: This game has two strike against it in regards to what I am looking for. First being that it is designed for multiple infantry figures on the base. This does not fit in with what I have been doing. Secondly it utilizes the IgoUgo Turn Mechanic.
Crossfire: This is a great system for what it is supposed to do (simulate infantry actions). But Like FOW it utilizes the multiple figures on base and is not geared toward combined arms. That being said I do have a Crossfire army and it is something that I play. But for my 28's it doesn't work.
Warhammer Panzer Battles: This game has all of the drawbacks of 40k which has driven me from the game. IgoUgo Turn mechanic, broken close combat, no overwatch, etc.
Battleground WW2 this is a game that has some potential. There are quite a few people that are playing it. However there are a few things that give me pause with this system. It seems too detailed for the level of game that I want to play. The company is out of business and what there is out there is all that there is going to be. There are a few Weird War Sites for this game out there. That and the fact that there is an active player base locally prevents me from writing this off out of hand.