GHQ Models Forums

I've been looking for a cold war to modern era ruleset that is realistic to use, but more importantly able to use a 1:1 scale..i've read the top 3 rulesets thread and still fell confused. I have thought about the fistful of tows series.

Any help appreciated.

if you only want tanks 1:1 & an infantry squad is OK, there is always MBT/IDF. If you are familiar with John Day's Panzer system, it is similar

coldwar commander, it can be played at a 1:1 scale and is a great set of rules.

Why 1:1 scale?

What is significantly different in game play between 1:1 and 1:4 scale rule sets?

Thanks,

---Daryl

For me, primarily aesthetic reasons, its just how i would prefer my games to look. I dislike forces that look significantly anemic and understrength. Whilst i understand that 1:4 in relative terms is near, I have not used any 6mm gaming rules before and as such wanted something like ritter's schwere kompanie (spl?) rules yet in the cold war to modern era. Perhaps i was seeking something that doesnt exist? Sorry if my lack of experience has lead to a pointless thread..

Cold War Commander (mentioned above) works well at the 1:1 scale for vehicles. It is a very flexible system.

dnichols wrote:Why 1:1 scale?

What is significantly different in game play between 1:1 and 1:4 scale rule sets?

Thanks,

---Daryl

I'm with Daryl on this. From what I can tell the only significant difference is unit proportions and weapon range.

A 4:1 tank company plays about the same as a 1:1 tank platoon when comparing most games. An OPFOR tank company has three tank platoons/models while an OPFOR tank platoon has three tanks/models. From a game perspective, both in-game maneuver elements have three models on the tabletop.

And at 1:1 most gamers end up fielding too much stuff to be playable since they want to use ALL of their toys for a total combined arms experience. You end up with companies supported by assets more appropriate for higher level formations and/or so many stands/models that a typical 5' x 8' or 4' x 6' table becomes a parking lot as the 1:1 gamer fields an entire reinforced battalion+ on a 4x6 table.

Finally, at 1:1, if using anything close to a 1:1 ground scale then maneuver goes out the window since troops are in short tank gun range immediately upon deployment. A 6' long table at 1:1 is only 520 scale meters long! That's nearly below minimum range for some ATGMs!!!

So, at the end of the day, in practice there's not a lot of difference between the two approaches if kept within reasonable limits. But, as a former 1:1 gamer, I've found that the 4:1 scale allows for more "game-able" weapon ranges relative to table size.

On the other hand, if you're limiting yourself to pure infantry actions, maybe only with light support weapons, then 1:1 can make sense even on an average size table. With maximum effective assault rifle range of ~500m it's almost like a turly accurate 1:1 skirmish game.[/i]

olly_usafsoc wrote:For me, primarily aesthetic reasons, its just how i would prefer my games to look. I dislike forces that look significantly anemic and understrength. Whilst i understand that 1:4 in relative terms is near, I have not used any 6mm gaming rules before and as such wanted something like ritter's schwere kompanie (spl?) rules yet in the cold war to modern era. Perhaps i was seeking something that doesnt exist? Sorry if my lack of experience has lead to a pointless thread..

Not a pointless thread at all!

Cold War Commander can be played at 1:1 or 4:1 organizational ratios. Simple. Not completely satisfied in how it handles armor, but certainly enjoyable (I love the Warmaster command system...lots of fun!)

I'm with you on 1:1. Mein Panzer has modern supplements but I haven't played them so I can't say for certain how far into the modern period it gets.

Challenger 2000 modified and under development Steel Arrows modern armor rules set.

The WRG rule 1950-2000 are very good for 1 to 1 scale games. They written by Phil Barker and his writing style is hard to read, but they play very well. If you've played his Anicent rules you'll know what I mean.

We play with about 10500pts in and encounter game and that will get you 1-2 tank companies and 1-2 mech/mot companies and some artillery, AA and AT.

Cheers
Kieran

If you like the level of play of Ritter's Schwere Kompanie (1-to-1 unit scale, rich detail, something like a platoon or a company per player) you might want to check out AirLand Battle by Mobius (of this board).

His rules are available as a free download on his website. Just google for panzer-war. He also has a forum, where he answers questions on the rules, and responds to suggestions for updates and new data.

I've never played his modern rules, but I played his WW2 PanzerWar rules extensively. If you want a detailed game for one platoon- or company-per-player level of action, with 1-to-1 vehicles and 1-to-squad infantry, you could hardly do better. If nothing else, the level of detail present in the rules makes them a wonderful reference source for your library. As I understand it, the modern rules are very similar (but with new weapons data, and some new capabilities written-in).

And they're free. Did I mention that? Free it good. Let's you spend more money on your tanks! Quite a guy, that Mobius.