Thoughts: Dropzone Commander

At Hold The Line, I bought some raffle tickets. Unusually, I won something. Specifically, a copy of the Dropzone Commander rules and a box of figures for the rules.

This isn't really a review because I haven't played the game yet. So what we are dealing with is basically a set of first impressions. My first thought was to sell the two to make some money to buy something that I really wanted.

Now that I've read the rules (how could I not when I actually have a copy in my possession?), I'm more inclined to keep them, but I realize that it means that I need to spend money too.

Anyway, so you get the book and there's about 10 pages or so of background fluff that I still haven't read (and probably won't). Then there's about 14 pages of rules. The rules engine is basically IGOYGO but it's by group instead of the whole side. Units move and shoot or shoot and move. The wrinkle is that all shooting occurs at the same time and you have to designate targets before shooting. The emphasis is on movement, but the real key is on using the dropships and troop carriers to do the movement.

The combat is very deadly. Stuff dies quickly and easily. Especially, it looks like, infantry. Yet infantry are crucial because they are basically the only units that can enter buildings. So you are forced to protect them, even at the point of sacrificing other units.

After the rules, there are a healthy number of scenarios. Most are quick with only 6 turns or so. The focus is typically on grabbing an objective. You can win even though you lose 90% of your force and your opponent loses nothing. Basically, killing your opponent is a secondary thing used to break victory point ties.

The final part of the book is a reference with lots of pictures and stats.

Overall, it's a decent package. The rules are pretty straight forward and there isn't many of them. I still haven't made up my mind about them but they are at least under consideration.

Big Chain of Command: Russians vs Germans

This is David's report of the game:

Last Friday we had 5 people (Ian, Stephen,John,Ray and myself) chewing up the tundra in Mother Russia using Chain of Command. 

Stephen, Ian and I were trying to end the evil machinations of the Nazis but with mixed success.  We were the attackers and had 6 squads of inf, 1 T34 tank, 1 team of anti-tank inf, 1 sniper while they had 3 squads of inf, a Herzer tank, an anti-tank rifle team, a minefield and a stretch of barbed wire.

It started well with a Russian arty barrage having an impact on the arrival of die Krauten although they did get more people on table faster than the  Germans did the last time we played this. Stephen's right flank inf platoon moved ahead as did my left flank platoon while Ian had the tank, sniper and anti-tank team.  My leftmost squad had terrible movement rolls leaving them in the open for Nazi fire to hit.  My other two teams got to a hill where they could shoot down at  the Germans.  

Stephen moved a squad into a field and eventually used a CoC die to relocate a jump-off point to beyond the barbwire.  He then brought on a squad which inflicted casualties on the Nazis over there but they stabilized the situation with their tank. My rightmost squad inflicted damage before they took a pummeling from the Bosch and had to pull back into the woods and down a slope.  My left somehow held on under the withering fire of 2 squads (one in a building) for most of the night before they had to retire during the last phase.  

Our tank rolled along in a big circle on the right and back towards the centre where it poured HE into a machine gun nest in the building until an anti-tank rifle team appeared beside the house and scored a lucky hit on it.  Tank gone!  Stephen's forces in the field inflicted damage on the Krauts and my centre team dealt out some hurt to a machine gun and others.  

All the while, morale was dropping and the Germans were getting so close to getting to roll only 4 dice per phase.  12:30 came so we packed it in but it could have gone either way.  It would be the Russian turn if we continued and we just needed a couple of kills on one almost gone German team and on the anti-tank gunner and that probably would have been it (thanks for a number of German leader casualties).  However, the Stephen's morale status was almost as bad and mine was a bit better so it could have gone either way.  Thanks to Ian for running this.