New!! 15 April 2007

"A Difficult Affair"

The Stalingrad Module

Ever since the release of Squad Leader in 1978, players have been enthralled with one particular scenario and theme; Scenario #1, ‘The Guards Counterattack’, set in the hell that was Stalingrad.
  
I have endeavored to bring out the capabilities of Advance of the Reich for this theme.  Sadly, the AvR stock Stalingrad scenarios were very generic and stale; however, the Stalingrad map and the OOB & scenario editors were sufficient to be able to provide an excellent series of realistic scenarios on Stalingrad.  TF-E4 already carries several updated and expanded Stalingrad scenarios, and we may release more if players show interest.  But something was missing; this ultimately got me thinking about two ideas; one, a monster scenario with true to life forces, and two, a campaign of sorts for the system.

The “mini-campaign” as I call it, was built first; I took ideas from ASL, Critical Hit games and my own thoughts and worked them into a mini-campaign game that requires an umpire to play, but can really be fun and imaginative if played right.  Essentially each player starts with a pre-set force, and then purchases additional units to fight in the upcoming scenario.  With the help of an umpire, the players fight out a scenario that represents one day of fighting and then take stock of their losses, replenish forces, purchase new units and prepare for the next day’s scenario battle.  Depending on what time frame players start their mini-campaign, several scenarios (called Campaign Game days or CG Days) can transpire before campaign end.  The time between scenarios is referred to as a ‘refit’ phase.  All the actions of the refit phase require an umpire.  The facets are very detailed and can really give players a sense of frustration and immersion in the see-saw struggle for the city.   

The monster scenario is set in the Dzerzhinsky Tractor Factory and Red Barricades Factory; at least 5 Divisions are involved.  The on-map forces are immense; however, the biggest problem with the scenario so far is that it cannot acquire the feel of the fight; the game mechanics are not set-up to represent the time frame, reinforcements, fire support or combat action required to actually capture these two titanic facilities.  My guess is that players will end up using the monster scenario as a starting point for the mini campaign, which is probably the direction I will take the module; melding the two together into a single element.

We are releasing a modified Stalingrad base map w/ historical buildings added, campaign map w/ all the important points in the city labeled, an OOB for 14 Oct 42 and the Mini campaign rules.

      

This is DEFINITELY a work in progress; I would be delighted to hear from players what they think of the work so far, and would entertain input or ideas on how to make the module better.

The monster scenario will get released when I get it complete.  It truly is daunting to see the size of the forces crammed into the tiny map area of the scenario.  But that was how it really was.






Get it here:  download

Marc can be reached at: marcbellizzi@biltmorecomm.com