FLAMES of WAR: Improving Your Game
So you picked an army, got it painted, played a few games….. and you lost every one! Obviously, you are doing something wrong, but what? You understand the formal rules in the rulebook, but what about the unwritten rules? You know the logic behind the game and how you play it. Two factors play a big part in the game. This is pretty basic, but oh so important.
Use that Terrain
Your random board should be between 33% and 66% covered with terrain. Anything less, really favors direct fire mobile armies(like heavy tank armies or medium tank swarms). Any thing more takes the advantage of combined arms away and pretty much leaves infantry the king of battle (because mobile armies cannot move). A good rule to follow at your club: if Tank Armies are winning more often than not, Add Terrain. If Infantry Armies are winning more often than not, Reduce Terrain.
Also, don’t think of terrain features as blobs. Man-made terrain tends to be very linear. Streets, roads, embankments, and even man-made landscapes can block LOS. Terrain also means that there is reason to fight for it as it provides cover and protection. When placing terrain, note that rivers, hills, and natural vegetation generally run in one direction in conjunction of the other, helping to make you divide up your board into smaller sections, and cutting down on the wide open spaces.
So what does this mean? Usually most games are played on 4×6 foot boards. That means that just about any centrally placed Tank/Artillery team with a 32 inch range can hit just about anything he can see. If you have terrain, then you can hide your infantry in woods or buildings and shorten the range of their nemesis to something that infantry can deal with. You can move your forces with out being seen whether behind or in Terrain. Remember, if they can’t see you, then they can’t fire at you! If you are wholly in Terrain, then your LOS range is only 6 inches, but your opponent can only see you if they are within 6 inches as well. Terrain can bog tanks and weaken tank platoons, but if you are skilled, it might be worth it. Also, if infantry is in terrain and did not move, they can assault tanks without defensive fire. Furthermore, Armor assaulting infantry have to take a bog every assault, making it a risky proposition.
Also Terrain not only blocks LOS, but it provides concealment. Concealment gives the defending team a +1 to be hit from direct fire. If your team is on the edge of the woods, it gets not only concealment, but its full LOS from out of the woods. Also, if you don’t move and haven’t fired and concealed, then you get the added bonus of Gone to Ground.
The Power of Range
This game is all about 16 inches or less for close in combat and any over 16 inches is for the big guns. The reason is that game uses a telescoping gun scale. This range dynamic is what allows Armor, Artillery and Infantry to interact without warping the game. Remember, you can premeasure distance in FOW.
So with this in mind, 16 inches is the golden rule. For big calibre guns, anything over 16 inches suffers a +1 to hit and +1 to you opponents armor. 16 inches is also the minimum distance for aircraft wave offs and recon screens from ambushes. 16 inches in the maximum range for most infantry teams’ fire.
These plusses are stackable. Thus, if you have Veteran squad concealed in the woods, it is gone to ground and the firing platoon is over 16 inches – you can’t be hit. Veteran base to-hit is 4, with +1 Concealment, +1 Gone to Ground, and +1 is over 16 inches gives the unfortunate firing player a 7 target to-hit number. Try rolling a seven on a 6 sided die. Even a Trained Team can be a royal pain to hit with 6s in the above scenario.
So the next time you play, watch that terrain, and always know what 16″ looks like. Cadets, dismissed!
See you at the tables! Bluestroll out.
