A Crossfire Wargame Playtest - Part 2

Quarantine Crossfire - Part 2

Still not safe to go out ...so here is part 2.  The Americans now realize that the terrain has been placed in their favor, and it is always good to have more than a 2 to 1 advantage in numbers.  Although the 2nd platoon has taken some lumps, the 1st platoon is steadily advancing.

It is US initiative (the 4th) They try to rally 2nd platoon and promptly fail.  Boo, 2nd Platoon!

German +2 PC gets brave.  He wants to be able to form a Crossfire with the HMG and the squad.  First he has to survive reactive fire from the Americans.  He moves behind the house and then climbs in the window.  Reactive fire is a miss.

The Crossfire goes off, but the HMG misses completely.  Initiative is lost!

American 5th initiative.

 In this initiative, the Americans go on a hot streak.  First, they rally two pins.

 Then the US HMG suppresses the German HMG!

 The right hand squads move to the hedge.  They are fired at and both pinned.  It takes a suppression to lose initiative so it is still the US turn.

HMG and squad open up on the Germans in the house. Suppression!

The +1PC moves up and rallies both squads by the hedge

The situation.  Germans are taking it on the chin.  The US side is figuring out how to close to close combat and finish this without losing initiative.

Going with the odds, the HMG fires on the German HMG again.  Another suppression (2hits) on an already suppressed stand causes double-secret suppression.  Otherwise known as eliminated.

The squad in the same house as the HMG fires at the Farfegnugen guys (remember them?) and double secretly suppresses them!  The Germans are in deep trouble.

 1st platoon squads by the hedge who rallied earlier now form a group fire on the squad in the right hand house. A suppressed result by one squad means US keeps initiative.

Now it is time for 2nd platoon.  The FO moved to cover earlier so cannot call in mortar fire, but the US doesn't think it will be needed.  A squad rallies off it's suppression (veteran squad with +1PC needs only a 3+ to do that) And they try to pick their route for an assault on the house.

 They pivot (1 action)then move forward to the next field (2nd action)  If the Germans had LOS to them they could be fired at each time they move. However the hedges and the smoke from the burning halftrack mask them.

They move across the road and line up for a straight shot.  The German squad is suppressed so it cannot fire at the attackers.

 Moving to contact.  Close combat is an opposed d6 with mods. The Americans get +1 for the PC, +1 for being veteran, +1 for the second squad , and +2 because the enemy is suppressed.  The Germans get +1 for veteran.  So +5 to +1.

The roll is 4(+5) to 3(+1).  CC is bloody in this game.  All stands of the losing side are eliminated.

The Americans take the house, but are promptly shot and pinned by the German squad in the field behind.  The squad could not fire at the Americans as they closed because there was no LOS through the building. Still, the pin results do not end the US initiative. I assume the last remaining Germans will take off running after this.

All in all, it was pretty fun.  Took about 30 minutes of actual play time but it was a very small scenario with an almost pre-determined outcome.  I'd say the tactics needed seemed realistic.  The American side got really hot on the dice in the 5th initiative and sealed the deal.  If the US had rolled badly, I could see the game going on for a while.  The Americans would have to use the mortar for smoke support or suppressive fire followed by a risky assault.

The rules are very simple, but there are some nuances, such as Crossfires and Group fires which are vitally important.  Reading the terrain and deciding which stands act before others takes some practice, so there is a steep learning curve.

One thing I like is that both players must be fully engaged whether they are phasing or not. You can't walk off to the fridge while the other guy moves his forces.  You got to watch the board for your chance to gun him down in the street like the dog he is!

Lastly, I am not sure this game can ever be a multiplayer game.  The best bet would to be divide the board into sectors and have the players face off in basically separate games.  Still, that seems to be the net outcome in most multiplayer games at our club.

Hope you enjoyed!