For those of you who haven’t heard of this, it is effectively small scale tank vs tank combat. We have played it with up to 3 tanks per side and there are no infantry or guns in the game. Some may view this as odd but that’s how it is! Each tank/ player has a dashboard indicating the status of the tank, and a la Chain of Command rolls set of dice per turn with the numbers indicating what sort of actions the tank can do. This can lead to some very frustrating turns but I guess that’s “friction”. Movement, acquisition and firing are very simple and hits are registered via the rolling of attack and defence dice. Some damage can be repaired, others are more permanent and some catastrophic.
Our game saw a platoon of Shermans including a Firefly take on a Tiger1 and a Panzer IV. We guessed that the Tiger would prove virtually impervious to the Sherman’s 75mm so concentrated on killing the Panzer IV leaving the Firefly to hunt the big cat. That bit of the plan worked but eventually the Firefly’s luck ran out and it was destroyed by the Tiger. My plucky Sherman then found that even pumping shells into the Tiger’s rear from close range was still a tall order and eventually it too was destroyed leaving the other Sherman to creep off and lick its wounds.
The game is quite simple but can be tactically challenging. Think of it as a fun game of tank combat not an accurate simulation. Each tank type has an armour value and “strike” value, plus features ( eg a BT2 is “fast”). However if you want a mass of accurate statistics and a plethora combat factors this probably isn’t for you. There is also a simple “career progression” or campaign system which sees surviving tank crews advance towards “ace” status and also improve their tank type over time. We are yet to explore this aspect of the game, but already there are murmurings of starting in France 1940 and trying to fight throughout the war!
I will be honest and say that up to now I haven’t been the biggest fan of Two Fat Lardies products. I own a few sets and have played a several games of “Chain of Command” and “Sharpe Practice 2” but have yet to catch the bug. However I found that these were exactly what it said on the front cover…..”A challenging and fun game of WW2 tank combat.”
Recommended.
This weekend some of the Hitchin club are invading France and visiting the Musee de Blindees at Saumur. A copy of WAT and some 15mm tanks and terrain is being packed for the journey.”
Regards,
Simon.
It does sound like a beer and pretzels game, but nothing wrong with that either. As you say it will come in handy for a quick fun game on your travels.
