Squad Leader-style games set in the Cold War

[Whirlwind]

Are there any, and if so which one(s) would you recommend?

[maggico]

Not played yet, but my 2 cents on MBT of GMT.

[MartinR]

A lot of people still rave about SPIs Firefight. There is also Mechwar 77, but I never played that. The entire SPI back catalogue is available for download.

"Mistakes in the initial deployment cannot be rectified" - Helmuth von Moltke

[Russell Phillips]

MartinR wrote:

The entire SPI back catalogue is available for download.

I didn’t know that, but given that, I used to have Sniper and Patrol back in the 1980s, and I think they might fit the bill.

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[Whirlwind]

Thanks all for the suggestions.

[John D Salt]

Mr. Picky thinks there are some pretty weird suggestions there. I should have thought the minimum requirement to be “Squad Leader style” would have been to use a squad-a-counter level of representation. I would also expect a combat resolution mechanism based on morale checks.

“MBT” is similar in scale to SL, but uses 100m hexes.

“Firefight” is similar in scale to SL, although it was published before it, and uses 50m hexes and fireteams as the basic infantry element instead of squads.

Neither game uses mechanics anything like those in SL.

“Mech War 77” (like the later “Mech War 2”) is part of the extended Panzerblitz family, and counters represent platoons, not squads.

In “Sniper” and “Patrol”, counters represent individual soldiers, not squads.

Games that use squad-leader-like mechanisms, set in the period 1947 to 1991, include:

“’65”, from Flying Pig games. Contains numerous recognisable Squad Leaderisms, but for my money entirely fails to capture any of the atmosphere of Vietnam, where the game is set. I have not seen the companion game “’85” set in Afghanistan.

“Fireteam”, from West End Games. Long out of print. Obviously based on Squad Leader, but the setting is US vs Sovs in central Europe. LMGs are represented by separate teams, I think a more sensible approach than the “gun only” counters in SL. The game also uses a command point mechanism, so unusual in wargaming terms in modelling motivation and command with entirely separate mechanisms.

“En Pointe Toujours”, a Vae Victis magazine game, set in French Indochina. Very SLish in flavour, regardless of what the designers might say, and I think offering some useful improvements. Has produced a couple of sequels, set in Normandy in 1944 and Kursk 1943. There is a bunch of other material available, covered at http://enpointetoujours.free.fr/EPT-en-modules.htm

I suspect “Fireteam” is closest to what you have in mind, and of course you’ll need to be able to get by in French for the “En Pointe Toujours” family. If I’ve missed any, they will surely be listed on Mike Dorosh’s marvellous “Tactical Wargamer” site: https://www.tacticalwargamer.com/boardgames/boardgames.htm

Given the sheer quivering genius of John Hill’s original “Squad Leader” design, it is an enduring mystery to me why it did not spin off a myriad of companion games in different theatres and periods using substantially the same basic mechanisms. This is what “Panzerblitz” did, with its offspring covering the Blitzkrieg years, NW Europe, the Western Desert, central Europe in an enhottened Cold War, and the Arab-Israeli wars. Given that there are many more wars that have involved squad-level infantry combat than have involved platoon-level armoured combat, I am at a loss to understand why nobody ever seems to have thought to try SL variants for the CBI, the Korean War, Vietnam, the Dhofar war, the Falklands, or, going earlier, the Spanish Civil War, the Russian Revolution, and the Great War. The human factor of morale remains the same, and the important technology has not changed much. Regrettably SL evolved in depth rather than breadth, and became perhaps the greatest folly of overcomplication in the history of wargaming, ASL.

This is so depressing I think we need some music to cheer us up, so here is the song after which “En Pointe Toujours” is named:

All the best,

John.

[Whirlwind]

John D Salt wrote:

Given the sheer quivering genius of John Hill’s original “Squad Leader” design, it is an enduring mystery to me why it did not spin off a myriad of companion games in different theatres and periods using substantially the same basic mechanisms. This is what “Panzerblitz” did, with its offspring covering the Blitzkrieg years, NW Europe, the Western Desert, central Europe in an enhottened Cold War, and the Arab-Israeli wars. Given that there are many more wars that have involved squad-level infantry combat than have involved platoon-level armoured combat, I am at a loss to understand why nobody ever seems to have thought to try SL variants for the CBI, the Korean War, Vietnam, the Dhofar war, the Falklands, or, going earlier, the Spanish Civil War, the Russian Revolution, and the Great War. The human factor of morale remains the same, and the important technology has not changed much. Regrettably SL evolved in depth rather than breadth, and became perhaps the greatest folly of overcomplication in the history of wargaming, ASL.

I guess it is quite surprising, put like that. All predates me a little, but I also wonder why the fan base wanted more complicated rather than more complete.

In any case, thanks very much for the comments and recommendations, I think Fireteam and EPT look closest on first glance.

[Ruarigh]

Whirlwind wrote:

John D Salt wrote:

Regrettably SL evolved in depth rather than breadth, and became perhaps the greatest folly of overcomplication in the history of wargaming, ASL.

I guess it is quite surprising, put like that. All predates me a little, but I also wonder why the fan base wanted more complicated rather than more complete.

I disagree quite strongly with Mr Picky here. ASL is not a complicated system per se, even if it is not to everyone’s tastes. It resolved the bloat of the various Squad Leader supplements, and at its core is a solid and fairly simple game. The issue lies with the chrome that allows you to field demoralised, conscript Romanian infantry on aerosans at night in a blizzard, but you will not use most of that chrome in a single game. There are also sufficient scenarios published (literally thousands) that you can find and play scenarios with just the infantry rules and still have a lifetime’s gaming ahead of you. On top of that, the official scenarios cover from the Chaco War to the Korean War, so there is both breadth and depth available, and campaign game options.

I’m not sure ASL fits the remit of the original question, unless the Korean War is your thing, though, or unless you are interested in third party products which take the system up to the Vietnam War, but it might be worth looking into. The only thing to be aware of is that it is likely to be a hefty commitment because it is not a game in a single box.

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