Fields of Fire coming soon

[judgedredd]

Now resolve combat in the 6.3. Combat Effects Segment. I'll start from the left and work right starting with the Sniper.


Combat is resolved by adding up the VoFs on a location and all the defensive modifiers. In the Woods where the Sniper is, there's the following NCM for the Sniper
-1 Automatic Weapons VoF
+2 Natural Location Cover
+1 Foxholes
So we have an NCM (Net Combat Modifier) of +2

I draw an Action Card and look up the Combat Results on the left of the card and check what it says next to +2...

MISS!

Now I work out the NCM for the Assault Team on the same card
-3 Sniper VoF
+0 Small Arms VoF
+2 Natural Location Cover
-2 Exposed
So the NCM is -3. The card result is

Hit.

What's the damage

He's Paralysed and Pinned. Pretty useless now - but alive enough to keep the Sniper's focus.


NB Where there are two characters in the Damage section, you apply both if there's two or more steps. As an Assault Team only has one step, I only apply the first character. That's why you send Assault Teams ahead to scout where possible and not a whole/partial Squad.


Now the newly created Sniper firing on the Assault Team in the Open Fields

-3 Sniper VoF
+0 Natural Location Cover
-2 Exposed
+1 Cover
That's a -4 NCM.

I pull a card to check the damage and it's a....

Hit

What's the damage?

Paralysed and Pinned


Frankly I think this team is a goner. With +0 natural cover, they're unlikely to rally.


Finally, it's the German Squad and the US Assault Team in the Woods on the right flank

Germans first. NCM is...
+2 Natural Cover
-1 Automatic Weapons VoF
Giving a NCM of +1.
The result is

Pinned

The Assault Team NCM is
+2 Natural Cover
+0 Small Arms VoF
So the NCM is +2 and the result is

Pinned

Because they are pinned, both project a +2 All Pinned VoF - as they're both cowering behind cover firing over it without looking.


This is the battlefield at the end of Turn 3


And that's it peeps. I hope you enjoyed this and seeing all the mistakes that can be made - mainly due to a badly formatted and ambiguous manual. The BoardGameGeek boards are a godsend.

Thanks everyone and if you like squad games with seemingly unlimited replayability, proper use of a command structure and tactics and have a spare £70, do yourself a favour and pick this up. It's immense fun.

[Tolstoi]

Finally caught up with the rest of your FoF AAR. Very cool! 

Many thanks for showing us how the game is played. I've been looking at other examples of play and reading other peoples views on the game and they all echo your thoughts: a great game that is hobbled by poorly written rules. I will definitely keep my eyes open for a copy or a reprint from GMT. 

[bayonetbrant]

Or come to Origins and win a copy in the raffle!

[bbmike]

Or come to Origins and win a copy in the raffle!

 

[Tolstoi]

Hey JD! I wanted to let you know I enjoyed your AAR so much that I took the plunge and pre-ordered FoF from GMT. It is only in the "Made the Cut" track of the production schedule, so I'm guessing I'll get this sometime around 2024, or maybe 2025, if I'm lucky! 

[judgedredd]

Well Tolstoi, I'm sad that I've helped you pay with your money but glad you will experience an excellent single player experience.

Also you'll have the new manual which will help massively. I've heard it said many, many times...this game is not hard to play - it's hard to learn and that is 100% down to the manual and the dispersion of information. Once the rules are learnt, the game is an absolute blast.

Whenever I'm playing a board game, I'm often thinking about getting FoF back on the table...and I'm doing that even now with The Dark Summer on the table.

I hope you get it done rather than later