The Power of Three: What am I attacking, what am I hitting it with and how is it affected by terrain and/or range modifiers?Panzer Blitz is a classic game from the early Avalon Hill era best recognised from hexes, symbolic terrain, movement points, attack points, defence points and the ratios between them in a Combat Results Table (CRT). A statisticians heaven. Importantly it also brought in the concept of how you breakdown an attack on a hex containing multiple targets (see below, selective attack on one target [the weakest] - multiple targets but not all attack [working from the weakest up] and finally combined attack [everything attacked as if were one big unit]):
There were plenty of opportunities for "wargaming cheese" here (or unrealisms) that exploited the mathematics of certain situations however the purity of the design principles is clear. In fact the Spearhead rules by Arty Conliffe seems to draw indirect inspiration from it in its target assignment and prioritisation of targets depending on weapon type. Another consideration apart from the power (as in attack points a counter has) is the weapons inherent capability aka purpose: Infantry Weapons, Anti-Infantry Guns (HE: High Explosive) and Anti-Armour Guns (AP: Armour Piercing), plus if it has indirect "Mortar and Howitzer" characteristic (see below, nicely summed up in a little chart):
There then follows range and target type considerations (see below, the rows read Infantry Weapons, AP Weapons and then HE Weapons):
The terrain of the target hex counts too (see below, +2 DRM with cover from Woods, Swamps and Towns, with slopes and hills significantly affected the AF because of good cover):
The above consolidated into an odds-based Combat Resolution Table (CRT) as seen below, where "X "X" is a KIA, "-" is 'No Effect', D equals Dispersed (with no action other than to rally at the end of the next player's turn, so effectively missing a go) and DD is a special chance to kill units already Dispersed this turn (see below, a special tactic in Panzer Blitz seemed to be suppress with long range fire and close assault to kill - that was one unit can be attacked twice in the same turn):
The above formula seems to have stood the test of time!
In Panzer Leader you can get to attack units three times in a row - Indirect Fire, Direct Fire, Close assault. Watch out for those DD results!
ReplyDeletePanzerblitz of course featured them mighty panzerblitz attack - an armoured overrun, dropping off any carried infantry who then get to close assault as well. All this after firing at the targets first of course. So you get three attacks.
In Panzer Leader you can get to attack units four times in a row - Indirect Fire, Direct Fire, overrun and Close assault. Watch out for those DD results!
What a great game.
I am looking forward to playing some Western Desert games - probably by Skype .. or alternatively I will have to teach the wife how to play.
ReplyDeleteHmm, let me think on that ..