Optional Rules In Panzer Campaigns
Too many players
in Panzer Campaigns will automatically try to use all the possible optional
rules given in the game, without giving too much thought as to how they may
affect play balance or realism.
However, most of the Panzer Campaign options have significant impacts on
play balance and certain combinations of rules can lead to less realistic
play. This article is intended to give
my view of the various optional rules available, when and how they can best be
used, and how they can affect game balance.
Of course other Panzer Campaigns players will have significantly
different viewpoints and perhaps this article can lead to fruitful discussion.
Manual Defensive Fire (MDF)
This rule replaces
the extremely versatile and powerful default turn phasing with more stringent
time/space constraints. The
free-flowing Panzer Campaigns turn sequence is replaced by a turn sequence more
similar to John Tiller’s Battleground games with separate movement, defensive
fire, and assault phases. Usually this
greatly benefits the defender in a scenario since breakthroughs will be more
difficult to achieve and exploit. MDF
also prevents some “gamey” tactics such as “dancing” and what I call “the hit
parade.” Dancing refers to using a
unit to draw off enemy opportunity fire by repeatedly moving it past a defender
so that no further opportunity fire is available when more valuable units move
in. The Hit Parade refers to the
situation where a single defending hex may be attacked repeatedly from the same
direction by several different units which move in, fire, then move away.
MDF is best used
in situations where the dynamic fluidity which arises from the default turn
sequence does not seem appropriate.
Such situations may include fighting in extremely dense terrain such as
bocage, urban, or fortified locations.
Many players feel that MDF is the best way to play most of the Normandy ’44
scenarios due to the static nature of much of the campaign.
Many players will
see MDF as a fun versus realism dilemma.
The default sequence produces much more dramatic situations while MDF
forces players to more rigorously adhere to actual time and space constraints.
Automatic Defensive Fire (ADF)
Contrary to what
many players believe, this rule has absolutely no effect except in PBEM games
using MDF. It’s purpose is to shorten
the number of mailings necessary to use MDF by letting the computer do all of
the defensive firing at the end of the phasing players movement. If you like MDF but dislike the effect it
has on PBEM game length, you will want to use ADF. The MDF/ADF combination again favors the defender, but less than
MDF alone since the AI will do all of the firing for the non-phasing player.
Alternative Indirect Fire Resolution
This rule halves
the number of shots available to indirect fire artillery and doubles it’s
attack strength. It also causes all the
units in an attacked hex to be affected by indirect fire, with smaller units
taking less of the firepower than larger units. As a result, smaller units become more difficult to kill with
indirect fire. This rule will usually
favor the side with smaller, more dispersed formations. I like to use this rule because I feel that
it simulates indirect fire properties well.
Alternative Air Strike Resolution
Similar to
Alternative Indirect Fire Resolution, this rule has the effect of dividing air
attacks amongst all of the units in a targeted hex, with larger units taking
more damage than the smaller units. If
you believe that airpower in a given scenario was not accurate enough to pick
out individual targets amongst several in a 1 km square hex, then you will
probably like this rule. This rule has
the effect of making smaller units more difficult to kill with airpower and
probably reduces the overall effectiveness of airpower in a scenario. I like to use this rule to simulate Allied
airpower capabilities while I believe that the default mode simulates German
Stuka capabilities well.
Alternative Direct Fire Resolution
This seemingly
innocuous rule can have an enormous effect on play balance and game play. Under the rule, direct fire still targets a
specific unit in the target hex.
However, the smaller the unit is, the more difficult it will be to
kill/affect with direct fire and the fire will be scattered among all the units
in the hex. With Alternative Direct
Fire Resolution a 3-man broken remnant of a battalion can resist the fire of a
1000-man battalion. You’ll have to
resort to assaults to mop small units up.
This rule seems to simulate dense terrain situations well, but may not
be appropriate for more wide-open scenarios.
Use of Alternative Direct Fire Resolution will greatly benefit the side
with smaller units.
Alternative Assault Resolution
Alternative
Assault resolution makes armor more difficult to assault with infantry since
infantry must use its anti-armor strength instead of assault strength to combat
armor. The anti-armor strength of
infantry units is typically about one-third the assault strength so the rule
will make assaulting armor with infantry alone much more difficult. Its use will benefit the player with more
armor.
Artillery Set Up
Under Artillery
Set Up units are no longer capable of indirect fire immediately after
moving. Each turn after a move is made,
the unit has a % chance of setting up for indirect fire varying from 20% for
the Soviets to 90% for the Germans/Western Allies. Since use of this rule prevents players from quickly assembling
powerful indirect fire systems on the move, its use will generally favor the
defender. However, in highly fluid
situations where the Soviet player is defending, the effect on play balance is
not clear since the hindrance to the attacking Germans is offset by the
extremely slow average set up times of the Russians.
Recon Spotting
Allows
reconnaissance units to spend movement points to attempt to spot units within
their LOS. Obviously this rule will
favor players with more reconnaissance assets.
Its use is pretty universal in most PBEM games. Don’t forget that the Soviet cavalry units
are also recon-capable.
Virtual Supply Trucks
First available in
Kharkov ’42, and adaptable to the earlier games with some scenario editing,
this rule was the result of repeated player requests for more realistic supply
constraints. Major roads become much
more important in the supply network since supplies move more freely along
them. Use of this rule will favor the
defending player in most situations since the attacker will have to secure a
road network in order to continue deep penetrations.
Optional Fire Results/Optional Assault Results
These rules alter
the combat results distribution from a flat distribution to a bell-curve
distribution, with average results being more likely than extreme results. It is similar to using 2 dice on a combat
results table with extreme results placed at the “snake eyes (2)” and “boxcars
(12)” dice rolls rather than one die where a “6” or a “1” roll is just as
likely as a “3”. Use of these rules
should be neutral to play balance and is based only upon your preference for
getting extreme combat results.
Locking Zones of Control
This rule is “on”
as a default. Without locking ZOC’s
units are able to move one hex directly from one ZOC of an enemy unit to
another enemy ZOC if and only if there is a friendly unit in the hex moved
to. With locking ZOC’s a defensive line
is actually stronger with units in every other hex than with units in each hex
because adjacent defenders on the flanks can be assaulted and the central unit
surrounded with little possibility of escape.
My opinion is that the fluid ZOC’s actually benefit defenders in most
situations because it becomes more difficult to surround and trap large pockets
of units. Because a friendly unit must
be present in the hex moved to under fluid ZOC’s, its use by attackers is
limited. The fluid ZOC’s may be more of
a benefit to the attacking side in specific river crossings since it will be
easier to reinforce contested river crossings.
Higher Fatigue Recovery
This rule allows
relatively healthy (low fatigue) units to reduce their fatigue level 3x as fast
as normal. Moderately fatigued units
(100-199) regain fatigue at 2x the normal level, while high fatigue units are
unaffected. This will usually benefit
the attacker since it allows a high tempo of attack. However it may aid the defender as well if the defender in a
scenario is on the receiving end of most of the combat damage.
Indirect Fire and Airstrikes by the Map
This rule allows
artillery and air to attack units that are not presently spotted by friendly
units. Used in conjunction with aerial
reconnaissance, it can devastate rear area artillery, moving transport mode
units. Although the fire strength is
one-fourth of the normal attack strength, the results are still deadly versus
vulnerable units. The dangerous
effects of random interdiction can be amplified by use of this rule in
combination with aerial reconnaissance against enemy roads and bridges. Use this rule with caution as it may greatly
affect balance.
Counterbattery Fire
Allows non-phasing
player to spot attacking artillery units which fire and can even trigger return
fire from non phasing batteries which are in range, Soviet units are not as adept at Counterbattery Fire, so its use
will be to their disadvantage. Will
also tilt balance more toward players with stronger, longer-ranged artillery.
Night Fatigue
Another rule which
was put in at the request of many players.
This causes units which move or fire at night to gain a small amount of
fatigue. It will usually slow down the
attacking side in a scenario since small amounts of fatigue will be added as
well as forfeiting the normal double fatigue recovery at night.
No Low Fuel Effects
This option is a great advantage to more mobile forces,
since they can range far from their HQ’s without fear of running low on
fuel. As low fuel is only tested at
the 2400 hours turn, this rule will not affect short scenarios without a
midnight turn.
Summary
Hopefully this
review of optional rules will be helpful to players when deciding which options
to use. For example, if you feel the
Germans in the Normandy ’44 Campaign Game are severely disadvantaged, you might
want to put the following list of options into effect:
| Manual Defensive Fire | ON to slow the Allied advance. |
| Automatic Defensive Fire | ON if pbem |
| Alternative Indirect Fire Resolution | ON to benefit the less concentrated German forces |
| Alternative Airstrike Resolution | ON to reduce air effectiveness |
| Alternative Direct Fire Resolution | ON to improve survivability of small German units |
| Alternative Assault Resolution | ON to improve resistance of positions containing armor |
| Artillery Set Up | ON to slow the Allied advance. |
| Recon Spotting | OFF to keep German units better concealed |
| Virtual Supply Trucks | Not Applicable currently, ON when Normandy ’44 is updated |
| Optional Fire Results | No effect on balence. |
| Optional Assault Results | No effect on balence. |
| Locking ZOC’s | OFF to improve tenability of defensive positions and reduce deadly encirclements. |
| Higher Fatigue Recovery | ON to improve German resistance to fatigue since they are on the receiving end of most attacks. |
| Indirect Fire and Airstrikes By the Map | OFF to reduce Allied artillery and air effectiveness |
| Counterbattery Fire | OFF to reduce Allied artillery effectiveness |
| No Low Fuel Effects | OFF to reduce Allied mobility |