After my Musing on Crossfire as a board game, I got talking to Markus Bruckhardt about using blocks for Crossfire. Blocks are Markus’s thing, as you can tell from his blog: Wargamer’s Block. So I thought I’d follow his lead and experiment with 3cm blocks.
Crossfire for Newbies
Where to buy Crossfire and Hit the Dirt
On Military Matters are the current publisher of Arty Conliffe’s Crossfire. The rules and the Hit the Dirt supplement are available in both the USA and the UK.
Steven’s Fallschirmjäger Battalion for Crossfire
This post is long overdue. Roland painted the last of the Fallschirmjaeger in June 2011 and I got them based soon afterwards. Tragically I haven’t used them in a game of Crossfire. I guess I don’t often create Crossfire scenarios for German paratroopers. Perhaps when I have some Kiwis to fight them in the Italian Campaign; I should bump the New Zealanders up in the priority list. Anyway, here are my Fallschirmjaeger.
Steven’s Russian Rifle Battalion for Crossfire
I’ve taken the liberty to update my previous post on Steven’s Russian Rifle Battalion for a number of reasons:
- They have done good service; I received them, from my mate Roland in New Zealand, on 15 November 2001.
- I rebased them using Sand, Flat Earth paint, and Dry Brushing
- I took the opportunity to give them the proper Battalion Code = “R”
Play Test of Mac’s Crossfire Missions v3
Chris Harrod and I played a game of Mac’s Crossfire Missions v3. So a pick up game for Crossfire with the option of reinforcements.
Summary: Good tense game. I conducted a fighting withdrawal in the face of massive Soviet firepower and took the game. Reinforcements gave more options (good) and did not unbalance the game (also good). I wax lyrical about the game in the conclusions and observations section at the end.
Mac’s Missions v3 – Revised Pick Up Games for Crossfire
A frequent suggestion for Macs Missions v2 is to give the attackers more troops. In v2 both sides get the same order of battle. Attackers have to capture enemy territory and are likely to take losses in the attempt. In compensation they get bonus victory points for achieving their more challenging mission. In the new version of Mac Missions (v3) both sides get the option of reinforcements but taking reinforcements makes victory harder. Or, put another way, taking more troops offsets any victory point bonus.
Crossfire Clarifications by Arty Confliffe from 2001
Back in the days when there was no Crossfire Yahoo forum, and we shared a forum with the Spearhead guys, John Moher posted some Crossfire clarifications from Arty Conliffe. Tim M. hosted these clarifications until his site closed down a couple of years ago. I thought they are useful for the community so have reposted them here.
Balagan Point System for Crossfire
Dick Bryant got in contact this week and said “I just spent an unproductive 1/2 hour looking for your write ups on using points to balance a scenario. Where did you put it?” It isn’t there. Sorry about that Dick. My points system was missing because it is based on the points at the back of the rules. However, on reflection, I think there are sufficient differences between what I do now and what the rules say, that I should share.
How many figures will I need to start playing Crossfire?
One of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for Crossfire is “How many figures will I need to start playing?” The answer is a company a side. 78 figures in total, if you follow my recommendations.
Crossfire for Novices – A Battle Report
Back in June 2012 Andrew Fisher played my scenario for Crossfire novices and published an after action report on the Crossfire Forum. I’ve reproduced it here. All words are Andrew’s.
PowerPoint Maps: Drawing Maps for Crossfire
Okay, we’ve decided our map scale, got our table grids and our Crossfire Symbol Catalogue, now what? Time to actually draw a map for a Crossfire Scenario.
In this post I explain how I go about drawing a map for Crossfire. All that preparation from earlier posts makes drawing such a map really easy.
Rather than talk in general terms I thought I’d take you through the process I used to draw the map for Papa Eicke – A Crossfire Scenario.
Crossfire Reprints from On Military Matters
SPREAD THE WORD! HALLELUJAH! On Military Matters have reprinted Crossfire. They are available both in the USA and in the UK.
Standard Crossfire Orders of Battle
Orders of battle are a central part of Scenarios so I wanted one place where I could find the Crossfire Orders of Battle I use regularly. I can just copy and paste into a new scenario. Obviously I’ve got an bias towards the Eastern Front.