In the English speaking world at least, Arnhem is one of the defining battles of World War II. Vince Lody from the Shed ran a multi-player Crossfire game based on the last stand of the Paras at Arnhem. A last stand poses certain challenges for a scenario designer, i.e. you know the defender has to lose, so I wondered what other aspects of the battle would make for interesting gaming. I’ve sketched out the course of the battle and outlined what I think might make interesting scenarios.
Wargaming
Wargaming and Military History are the interests I pour most of my spare time into. This section concentrates on the wargaming rules I’m interested in. I’ve got quite a lot on running wargaming campaigns. I’ve also got sub-categories on: Crossfire, DBx (including DBA and HOTT), Twilight of the Sun King, Engle Matrix Games, Megablitz, Liberators QPR, Field of Glory. All other rules are lumped together.
Wargaming Maps with Campaign Cartographer
The Crossfire supplement Hit the Dirt contains maps made using Campaign Cartographer 2 (CC2 Pro) (available from www.profantasy.com). Bill Rutherford, one of the authors of Hit the Dirt, kindly gave me some advice on using CC2 and the notes below are based on Bill’s advice and my own fumbling experiences.
Huge Crossfire Table at the Shed
For a couple of years I wargamed at The Shed. These guys specialise in multi-player games on a big table. They play all sorts of game systems but for most of the time I was there they played Crossfire. The table at the Shed is 14′ x 6.5′, which in Crossfire terms is quite big. The table, as you’ll see, absorbs a lot of terrain. Thanks to Vince for sending through the photos.
Revised Random Tank Table for Crossfire
Standard Crossfire uses a random roll to determine the type of tank that you get for your 9 points. The tables given in the rules seem a bit naff, so I’ve built my own based on production information I could find on the net (see What Weapons When). I feel these gives more representative results than the tables in the standard rules.
Ian Galley’s WW2 Gallery
Thanks to my mate Ian Galley who sent me some photos to liven up my pages. Ian likes Russians so you’ll see a lot of Human Wave shots. By the way, Ian’s figures are based for Flames of War – the dominant WWII rule set in NZ at the moment.
Fielding the French Expeditionary Corps under Crossfire
This is how I’d field the French Expeditionary Corps (FEC) with Arty Conliffe’s Crossfire. Use the French organisation in Crossfire except …
Direct Fire Mortars in Crossfire
Some musing on Direct Fire Mortars in Crossfire. Special Rule 6 in Hit the Dirt (HTD) is Direct Fire Mortars. I queried Bill Rutherford – the author of HTD – on some aspects of this rule. See also my own house rule for Direct Fire Mortars – similar to the HTD version, but some key differences.
Clarifications and Amendments for Conquerors & Kings (C&K)
Some clarifications and amendments for Conquerors and Kings.