Through the letterbox today ..... the newly released RF Reloaded module, 'Brothers in Armour'.
As the cover says, this is giving us four 1944 scenarios for the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry.
The first thing I checked out was scenario size and all four come in on a 6x4 table ..... THANK YOU!
This is an A5 sized booklet with 40 pages including the covers and is presented on very heavy, high quality, paper - it is just lovely and an excellent addition to the expanding 'Reloaded' line-up.
Those who have had the previous booklets, especially the one on Crete will recognise the layout, though I do feel that this volume has a certain additional lushness to it with excellent photographic support.
The introduction tells us that the booklet was inspired by James Holland's book 'Brothers in Arms', which offers a detailed history of the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry (SRY) tank regiment, late war, in northwest Europe.
The four scenarios presented have been taken from the book, which are described as;
Scenario 1 - Inland From Le Hamel D-Day 6th June 1944.
Scenario 2 - On To Ruray 26th June 1944.
Scenario 3 - The Battle for Gheel 11th September 1944.
Scenario 4 - Assault on Prummern 18th November 1944.
Looking through the orders-of-battle, there doesn't seem anything particularly onerous here and I think I can do most of it from my current modest collection. I don't mind using a few proxies, though I quite fancy adding a couple of Sexton SP guns anyway (for scenario 1).
I will be using 1/72 (20mm), though I can see this being popular with all the main scales. 28mm would likely need a bigger table, while 15mm and below could reduce the table size. The new Victrix 12mm range could cover this, with jeeps and Jagd Panthers available from Pendraken as indeed would be the entire order-of-battle.
I can also see some 'O' Group fans adopting the booklet.
The back of the booklet and its rear page conveniently gather all of the tank / gun stats needed.
The format of the scenarios take their usual and familiar Rapid Fire 'look'.
We get background, followed by deployment and special rules, followed by the map and finally the orders-of-battle.
Above - This is a two foot by two foot section of the map from Scenario 2. I have telescoped in to preserve the books copyright. The blue dotted line denotes the limit of German initial deployment.
Above - Again, a telescoped view, into one of the order-of-battle pages, with a style very familiar to Rapid Fire fans.
All told, this looks to be a very playable volume and an excellent addition to the series. I like to buy these from Richard and Colin at war-game shows to support the show circuit, but I have become such a fan of the books that I pre-ordered it as soon as they announced it.
I understand that they will have a trade stand at Partizan (Newark) in May and at Phalanx (St. Helens) in June.
I have just realised that I have the James Holland 'Brothers in Arms' book on my shelf, so that should make a good pairing of scenarios and book - excellent.
Resource Section.
My sister webspace ‘COMMANDERS’ showcases the various figure and boardgame systems that I am enjoying and gives a flavour of where current projects are up to. Link.
Mine came today too, got to start planning the purchase of some late war British🙂
ReplyDeleteI could lend you mine if you fancied trying the scenarios out. I'm sure I'd have all you need?
DeleteHi Phil, I think it is the best one so far. I think there is an early east front one somewhere on the horizon ….. right up your street.
ReplyDeleteIt is good to see the scenarios can be accommodated on a 6x4 tabletop.
ReplyDeleteHi Peter, in their Canadian booklet, they made a comment that they were going to 6x4 because it was a common standard, but in the Crete booklet, that grew to 7x5, so the return to 6x4 is most welcome.
DeleteWill we be treated to a scenario or two on your table soon?
ReplyDeleteHi Jonathan yes, almost certainly. My ‘ready’ kit is mostly German / Russian, but for the NW Europe, I pretty much have everything in the stash. I just need to do some infantry and carriers and will be able to make a start. Getting the 1809 project to fulfilment is dominating the painting sticks at the moment.
DeleteThanks for posting Norm. I've been giving Rapid Fire Reloaded alot more attention these days.
ReplyDeleteHi Steve, I like that they have been a solid presence in the hobby for so many years and that ‘Reloaded’ is breathing renewed life into it. They are cracking booklets.
DeleteInteresting looking scenario book Norm.
ReplyDeleteI like the layout of the order of battle. I assume that you could just copy the page and move the cut out figures around while you painted up minis.
Hi Ben, What an excellent thought and without re-sizing, the 10 / 12mm gamer could play alongside their existing and growing collection.
ReplyDeleteA very useful addition there for any ruleset I would have thought. Good to see they have used the 'standard' size table, which makes it much more accessible. RF used to get lots of play at the club I attended many years ago, but they always used very big table (12'+) and played down the length and never ever finished a game!
ReplyDeleteHi Steve, the scenarios look well crafted and the 6x4 table is a good discipline and focus for scenario designers to work to. I’ve noticed in the WSS magazine a definite shift towards the 6x4 table, so perhaps it is becoming a thing again, probably helped by the fact that many are strapped to time and want to see a completion of their game rather than that dreadful ending of everything just left hanging because players have run out of time.
ReplyDeleteLook forward to seeing some of these games on your table soon Norm and I think you are right about the 6 x4 table...same syndrome that is making skirmish level games ever more popular...lack of time and space for anything larger.
ReplyDeleteHi Keith, for a while, the commercial side of the hobby lost sight of the 6x4, Black Powder being a good example, it gave the impression that we all needed a Perry's sized table, but as ever, gamers made rules work for them and there are regular examples of BP being played in a small space. The hobby media might give an impression of re-emergence of a 6x4, but in reality, it never really went away.
DeleteSounds like a great booklet and the use of 6x4 always a bonus.
ReplyDeleteHi Gary, the Reloaded stuff certainly reduces barriers to getting things to the table.
ReplyDeleteLoI’m is like a great resource for its core game and for other WW2 games. Good scenarios are always useful. 😀
ReplyDeleteHi Stew, it is both useful and just a nice thing to own. I think the ‘pocket’ form just has something about it.
ReplyDeleteSounds like an excellent addition, on the 6' x 4' front I've been happy mostly playing the likes of Blackpowder on a 6" x 4" difficult to go much bigger generally I think?
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Hi Iain, one of the things that I have enjoyed most about your AAR’s has been the big table rule sets (BP and P&S) being tamed to a 6x4.
ReplyDelete