The project/product came out of what we felt were game design shortfalls with other game systems and rules sets on the market (the basis for all new approaches, right). The objective, a game that rewards good tactical decision making and emphasizes command and control as well as fire and maneuver; all while recognizing you can't really capture the complexities of combat on a tabletop. In the end, we want a framework that allows players to recreate historical events with some level of accuracy or be able to develop WWII-era "what ifs" with plausible forces and factors in-mind... you know, no M5A1s at Tobruk, Cromwells at Dieppe, or Axis lend-lease Panthers with the Japanese on Leyte. Finally, we're not too serious about ourselves and we want people to enjoy their Combat Action WWII games rather than worry about too much nit-picky nonsense. There will be no tournament or points system aspect to our work... everything will be scenario based with the intent of playing a game rather than playing in a tournament.
Here are a few pics from some of our recent playtests (to date, 22 playtests in all). The games played on these table layouts used US and German forces, which varied slightly from playtest to playtest. Each layout is a modification of our original table layout - so we could assess various factors and influences within a limited context. Anyone who has designed scenarios and/or games understands that a change at Point A results in a cascade of related adjustments and often unintended consequences. The pics wrap-up with a couple of game action shots. Figures in these pics are 20mm and most equipment is 1/87. BTW those gray squares... those are the urban area templates which underly our structures
Thanks for looking, hope you enjoy what you see. Double click to enlarge pics. Bill
