Meanwhile the Russians managed to get into position behind a roadside fence and used that cover to take down the German regulars working towards the lumber mill.
This board layout is certainly proving to heighten the already advantageous nature defenders usually enjoy.
I made a couple of changes mid game. I took the tanks off the table. They were making the Infantry too cautious and the game less enjoyable. So I just removed them and carried on, having far more fun.
I also started marking where casualties occur with little red cubes I stole from some boardgame back when. I thought it would be neat to see what areas prove to most dangerous.
Finally I got really annoyed measuring things for some reason. I've never read the Crossfire rules, but I've read about them. Just enough to be dangerous. So I've been hammering out some no-measuring concepts as I go. Nothing I'd share with the public or subject a live opponent to, but an added project that has proved to make the game a bit more fluid this time around.
Crossfire is absolutely fantastic. If you have any questions at all about how that works (whether in context of no measurements or in general), ping me and I'll be happy to fill you in.
ReplyDeleteIvan Sorensen are you familiar with Lindybeige on YouTube? His videos sparked my interest. It's on my list of books to hunt down once the holiday season is over. That and Kings of War are, I'm hoping, to be my Wargame projects for 2018. This was the hear of skirmish games, so I want to try some new scopes and game mechanics.
ReplyDeleteI've watched him a little bit a while ago.
ReplyDeleteI think Crossfire is currently out of print but finding second hand copies isn't too difficult to do.
There was one expansion "Hit the dirt" which is mostly scenarios and some new mechanics.
I've been keeping an eye out at the second hand book shop near work. There must be a wargame club in the vicinity because they always have a good stock of older rule books, ASL modules, and Avalon Hill sets. I keep hoping to stumble across it.
ReplyDeleteVery nice. You never know what you might find :)
ReplyDeleteIn a town in Wisconsin where we visit on occasion, they have a treasure trove of old gaming stuff. Found complete sets of both Panzer Leader and Squad Leader there for dirt cheap.
It seems Crossfire could be available, at least in/from the UK.
ReplyDeletecaliverbooks.com - Welcome to Caliver Books
I am sure this must be a great, highly innovative game. I don't expect company-level could work for me, but boardgamegeek gives it at 2.5 / 5 complexity...this sounds good :)
It’s easy to learn. It’s kind of abstract, so people who are used to conventional mechanics sometimes stumble a bit :)
ReplyDeleteJenga? Jenga. Jenga!! Why didn't I think of that?
ReplyDeleteAnother option in the variable measurement to no measurement options is the measuring 'sticks' of Song of Blades and Heroes, a sort of middle ground you might consider.
ReplyDeleteMove 1 stick, shoot 3 kinda thing? :)
ReplyDeleteOn a dense table, you can often just move from terrain feature to terrain feature (which feels more "military" too)
Absolutely, although SoBH uses three stick sizes to avoid the 3 sticks 'problem'.
ReplyDeleteI've tinkered with rules (who hasn't) with always on overwatch.
I found then the only tactical options were in movement, which may or may not be 'realistic'. It made the movement rules really quite important.
Steven Lincoln At the risk of flogging my own wares, I tried tackling that in "No End in Sight".
ReplyDeleteIf you are in sight of enemies when you move, you are assumed to be at risk of taking shots, so you have to roll for the move distance.
Failure to reach cover means being pinned down and possibly hit.
It requires a pretty dense table but creates a very interesting mechanic.